SVC wrote

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Quote:

Not unless we delete the Fralli.

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By Gary Plana (Garyplana) on Tuesday, August 24, 2010 - 11:50 am: Edit

I have another way to slay that dragon, Jean.

Please leave his kneecaps intact so he can carry those boxes full of goodies out to the loading dock for shipping.



There is a certain PD adventure I'm working on for next year (you know which one) ... (and what for).

I can easily move a crash site in one of the scenes to a certain moon.

Done, and in print.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Tuesday, August 24, 2010 - 02:06 pm: Edit

Can the moon in question crash into the planet and wipe out the Fralli, thereby clearing room in the book for other things?

By Jean Sexton (Jsexton) on Tuesday, August 24, 2010 - 04:14 pm: Edit

Galileo: "Eppur si muove."

SVC: "Does it get rid of the Fralli?"

By Gary Plana (Garyplana) on Tuesday, August 24, 2010 - 05:12 pm: Edit

No, it would get rid of the Romulans, Steve.

By Terry O'Carroll (Terryoc) on Tuesday, August 24, 2010 - 11:22 pm: Edit

That's the hard part about getting rid of Romulans. Are they really gone, or did they just cloak?

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Wednesday, August 25, 2010 - 11:18 am: Edit

III. HISTORY
While Donjebruche is the primary location of interest to off-world visitors, the history of the planet begins with a separate agricultural colony few off-worlders visit.
Groenveldt colony was founded in Y47 by a group of human colonists from southern Africa. It was a polyglot group of people (virtually all of them of Dutch or English ancestry, but about 5% were Germanic), including adventurers, traders, farmers, and miners. Descendants of a separatist white group in old South Africa, they would have rejected the title “racist” but were unreservedly “separatist” and wanted to ensure that their children did not intermarry with other groups.
They set out from Earth in Y39 in a fairly slow colony ship, with most of the people in stasis. Their goal was to go “as far from Earth as we can go” and set up a self-sustaining colony. At the time, the entire concept of “which empire you are in” was virtually unknown and it was assumed that it would be decades, if not centuries, before the colony became part of any future interstellar economy. While the ship contained only 600 human colonists (all but ten of them in stasis), they had the frozen embryos of 1,000 more unrelated Caucasians, on the theory that they needed a broader gene pool to set up a colony that would survive over the centuries. Many couples on Earth “sent one of their children” to be part of the new colony.
After investigating several possible planets, and having met briefly with the Mantorese, Cygnans, and a colony of Klingon monks of the Khortan Order, the working crew woke up the colonial leaders and presented the options. There were three possible places. One was a very nice Class-M planet which later gained the name Shiloh. A second was a marginal Class-L planet with what were clearly great mineral resources that could mean strong exports in the future. The third was a Class-N oceanic planet with volcanic island chains, a choice that was quickly rejected.
The colonial leaders debated for nearly two weeks as the ship coasted through space, and finally selected the planet Shiloh. This had some mineral wealth (and the potential for plenty more) but more importantly, it had good weather and excellent agricultural potential.
But fate took a hand. On nearing the Shiloh system, the ship detected signals from an alien military power (the Kzintis) and the colonists knew from discussions with the Mantorese that they should stay away from the Kzintis to avoid enslavement. The colony ship turned and fled the area at its best speed, and the colonists went back into stasis, all three of their choices left far behind. Shiloh was briefly visited by the Kzintis, who found little interest in it and did not remain very long. A half-century later, another group of human colonists found the planet and it was they who gave it the name Shiloh.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Wednesday, August 25, 2010 - 11:19 am: Edit

The South Africans pressed on, heading away from the Kzintis and from Earth. They found several marginal worlds and no end of worlds that could be inhabited only with artificial environments, which they had no equipment to maintain. Finally, their fuel and supplies nearly exhausted (not counting the colonial “start-up stocks” that the population would need when awakened from stasis), the ship came upon the Class-K desert planet that they named “Tafelland”. The name came about because of the huge granite “mesas” that seemed to be “floating” on the sand (Tafelland in their native Afrikans-Dutch). In the shadow of a huge mesa, there was an oasis, a region that (through a combination of factors) had accessible water.
Like all deserts, the planet got some rain. The rain that fell on the hard granite mesa ran southwest and collected in a valley on the edge. Ten thousand square miles of what little rainfall there was all ran “downhill” into 500 square miles of valley basin, producing the oasis. The colonists named the basin Grenveldt and established their homes. They quickly planted crops and colonial history insists that the first root vegetables were on dinner tables within 44 days. Crops of wheat, potatoes, and other foodstuffs were harvested in a few months, and by the end of the first year, a crop of cotton was providing replacements for the worn-out clothing of the industrious colonists.
The colonists found deposits of copper and tin and were able to produce bronze tools to replace their original tools as they wore out. The colony survived and grew, as the frozen embryos were carried to term by the women of the various families.
The first Klingons visited in Y82 as a Klingon ship surveyed the system. The Klingons made no attempt to “conquer” Groenveldt (it was not important enough to bother with) but did set up mining operations in the system a few years later. The first human ships (independent explorers) visited a few years later. These original contacts (which involved some trading) were a bit of a cultural shock to the Tafellanders. (Only the space crew had met the aliens in the original journey.) Being separatists, they were nervous about the aliens, but it was obvious that interbreeding wasn’t going to be an issue. More to the point, the Tafellanders had become a bit bored, curious about news of their original homeworld, and frustrated by the limited resources of their adopted homeworld.
Over the next decade, an impromptu spaceport was created on the granite mesa, and a small “town” sprung up there which became known as Donjebruche Trading Post. The separation (travel up and down the cliff edge of the mesa was difficult enough to discourage casual visitors) insulated the Tafellanders from the visiting aliens, while providing a market to sell their agricultural produce and to buy off-world products they could not make. A Klingon merchant sold the Tafellanders a few worn-out shuttlecraft, which were more than adequate for atmospheric flight. The Tafellanders (with the help of a visting Star Fleet ship) quickly found even more mineral resources, and the colony established two remote mining posts, but these were never succesful, as few Groenveldters wanted to live in the desert regions, and even fewer wanted to work alongside off-planet laborers.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Wednesday, August 25, 2010 - 11:31 am: Edit

The Klingon mining colony on one of Blauw’s moons brought more demand (and resources) to the market. The Border Declaration of Y102 upset the Klingons, but negotiations a few years later turned the mining colony over to Dunkars (whose citizenship status was murky). The two Federation-Kzinti wars bought more Star Fleet ships to the area, which steadily changed the Tafellander viewpoint of the galaxy and their place in it. Star Fleet bought foodstuffs and refined metals from the Tafellanders, selling them more advanced technology and other products.
More and more off-world people arrived on the planet, as corporations from Earth, Mars, Rigel, Mantor, and Cygnus established mining operations. The original colonists at Groenveldt were concerned over this. As a practical matter, they had no real way to stop off-world colonization of areas they had no real interest in. As the mining operations bought more and more food from the abundant Groenveldt farms, the South Africans came to tolerate their neighbors. The Groenveldters remained in exclusive control of the farmland (and kept to their separatist ways) while enjoying the booming economy, wealth, and off-world products that came and went through Donjebruche Trading Post. Donjebruche became exclusively inhabited by arrivals from off-world, but an automated high-speed railway joined the two communities. One visiting anthropologist described it as “Las Vegas on one end of the railroad, and an Amish farm on the other end.” The cultures of Tafelland and Groenveldt diverged and remain very different.
During the General War, Afrikanius and Tafelland were far behind Klingon lines. The Klingons simply replaced the Federation as the outside trading partner (albeit on less favorable terms). With little real choice, the Tafellanders dealt with the situation and the lower standard of living until the Federation recaptured the area late in the War.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Wednesday, August 25, 2010 - 11:42 am: Edit

More Tafelland tomorrow.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Wednesday, August 25, 2010 - 11:45 am: Edit

I am trying to upload something that isn't working. I'll send it to Jean and see if she can upload it.

By Loren Knight (Loren) on Wednesday, August 25, 2010 - 12:25 pm: Edit

They still know what Amish are in the 23rd century? Impressive (of the Amish).

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Wednesday, August 25, 2010 - 12:26 pm: Edit

I did get all of the planet art except one, and I can repurpose one of the unimportant planets if I have to for that one, so there is no obstacle to printing at this point.

By Jeff Johnson (Jeffro) on Wednesday, August 25, 2010 - 02:09 pm: Edit

Decades ago, sociologists predicted that the Amish would be soon extinct. Instead there are about ten times as many of them now.

By John Sickels (Johnsickels) on Wednesday, August 25, 2010 - 02:30 pm: Edit

There are actually Amish-offshoot colonies in the Federation. Technology is OK (a gift from God) if it gets you off Earth and onto a planet where you can live the low-tech life God wants you to live without outside interference.

By Jeff Johnson (Jeffro) on Wednesday, August 25, 2010 - 02:43 pm: Edit

Yes... "separation from the world" would be the driving value for them. Of course... even Amish hire drivers to go to town-- usually a big black van-- even if they themselves don't own cars. It's not so much that they think that "technology is evil." Their value system comes first-- and any technology that (to them) threatens their community, their way of life, or their capacity to perpetuate their church from one generation to the next is what sticks in their craw. Where the lines are drawn are determined by the bishops and ministers of the local congregation. If your average Amish person actually cares about a particular standard, he will move to a similar church where that particular thing is done differently.

Which means... yes... there probably would be Amish communities planted on other worlds-- not so much to get away from "the world", but rather... in order to establish communities that fit in with what the leaders want to try to do. And it's losing your people to nearby Amish communities that are slightly different that is the real threat! You see this today with the many communities that are being started far away from the more famous Amish regions.

Not that anyone wants to play an Amish character in PD, of course.... But a scenario like "The Witness" certainly becomes possible.

By Xander Fulton (Dderidex) on Wednesday, August 25, 2010 - 03:16 pm: Edit

SVC - sent you an email on the planet thing.

By Loren Knight (Loren) on Wednesday, August 25, 2010 - 03:30 pm: Edit

I wonder if there are any groups that see themselves as "caretakers of nature" that try to establish colonies on planets and try to protect them. I imagine such groups would range from passive (but active in conservation under the law) and more militant types trying to block development of or on pure nature planets.

By Jeff Johnson (Jeffro) on Wednesday, August 25, 2010 - 04:22 pm: Edit

Based on my observations of real life:

Successful "back to the land" type people would be few and far between. (The economic pressures of raising a family tend to unravel idealism fairly quickly.) The ones that do persist will be economically sustainable for one or more of the following reasons:

A) The idealism can be subsidized by the independently wealthy. Somehow they made a lot of money somewhere or have an independent income source that prevents normal economic forces from taking their course.

B) The idealists achieve some sort of business model that allows them to continue to operate long term. Real world examples: "The Farm" in Tennessee has a reputation for excellent midwives. "Walden Two" based on the book by B F Skinner is supported not by the Tofu factory but by the hammock contract that they have with L L Bean. The Bruderhof makes wooden toys and equipment for handicapped people in their highly advanced build-on-demand factory system. Amish that can't farm support themselves by doing roofing, making mini-barns, and/or making cabinets. Joel Salatin makes his money not so much by farming, but by charging people $1000 a head to come out and see his model farm. Miscellaneous charismatic people support their nonconformity by selling books and t-shirts-- not unlike a garage band. People will pay to see the "dream" lived by *someone*.

The militant groups are by definition unsustainable. They conduct asymmetrical terrorist actions, but they active only so long as they are subsidized by the normal middle class parents.

By John Sickels (Johnsickels) on Wednesday, August 25, 2010 - 04:55 pm: Edit

PD Feds has some data about human colonies, especially in the early days, being founded for a variety of reasons similar to this.

Also, even in TOS you have the group led by Elias Sandoval that tried to establish a farming commune on Omicron Ceti III (This Side of Paradise). So colonies of this nature are long established in Trek.

By Michael Bennett (Mike) on Wednesday, August 25, 2010 - 09:32 pm: Edit

I wonder how a travel agency would operate in the SFU? Sure, Earth has its beauty, but the sights to see and things to experience on other worlds...

By Xander Fulton (Dderidex) on Thursday, August 26, 2010 - 02:41 am: Edit

Pretty much like one would operate today, I imagine. Local ones, that specialize in 'local' places (what is today trips around your state is now trips around the planet...very economical, as you only need to bounce your transporter signal around a few DEFSATs); more exotic agencies (specializing in archaeological digs on 'frontier' worlds, shuttle tours of significant battlefields, or spelunking on long abandoned asteroid mining bases); or something like an interstellar cruise (which help you schedule and book month-long vacation trips that see the Federation Capital Planets, spending a few days at each, hitting up some resort locations, etc); or even the bog standard 'popular location' agencies that help you schedule your week on Risa Wrigley's Pleasure Planet.

By Terry O'Carroll (Terryoc) on Thursday, August 26, 2010 - 08:12 am: Edit

Long distance travel for pleasure would only be for the very rich. At normal cruising speed, it takes TWO YEARS to get from one end of the Federation to the other. Who could afford to take that kind of time off work? Wealthy retirees, maybe? "Join Star Fleet and see the galaxy!" would be a very effective slogan. I'm sure that there's lots of trivideo programs set on distant worlds... "Crikey, it's a space dragon! If it ravages, me and the camera crew will be instantly kil-"

By Loren Knight (Loren) on Thursday, August 26, 2010 - 10:11 am: Edit

My favorite Star Fleet Marine slogan is: "Red Shirts NEVER Die."


Which is true, they don't. It's the poor saps wearing them that do.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Thursday, August 26, 2010 - 10:55 am: Edit

IV. CULTURE OF TAFELLAND

Government: This planet was not the first or only one that the Federation found within its territory with a functioning colony that had not been specifically chartered by the Federation. The situation was muddy at best. Each of the separate communities depended on all of the others, but there was no single government and the thousands of miles between any two communities (and low population compared to the resources available) made conflict between communities unlikely.
Groenveldt and the mining towns had no trouble running their own business, but Donjebruche was little better than the wild west, with the equivalent of “local warlords” using “militias” to run each of the town’s neighborhoods. A trading corporation from Rigel operated and policed the spaceport, but going outside of that area was, well, always an adventure and sometimes dangerous. On three occasions, a Star Fleet ship had sent Marines into the town to clean the place up, but it never stayed cleaned up.
A team of experts was sent to negotiate a solution in Y104. The mines were swiftly made “franchised colonies” belonging to their corporate owners, and policed under Federation law. (Two of them, owned by Orions connected to local pirates, were the subject of investigations by Federation Marshals. They were eventually declared criminal enterprises and seized, then sold to corporations.) Groenveldt was already taking care of such things as real estate law, local police, elections, and the social contract; it was simply given the formal power to continue doing so. (The leaders of that community were amused by this “needless formality” but found it convenient in later years.)
Donjebruche was the problem, since it was the only place off-worlders wanted to visit and it was virtually lawless. (Many ships wanted to make port calls there, both to get fresh food and visit the markets to buy and sell no end of things.) The Federation imposed a temporary military government backed by a battalion of troops from the Rigelian National Guard. Over a period of a decade, a democratic government was created, backed by Rigellian military police. The first elections were held in Y115, but the Federation had to maintain a firm grip on the town until Y145, when it was declared “fully self-governing”.
The “planetary government” is rather unique. With so many independent communities on the planet, the Federation advisors helped create a “planetary council” in Y106. This body was to discuss and resolve any issues between the different entites, and to represent the planet to the Federation. The Federation appointed a Mantorese politician as the “planetary governor” and gave him access to the funds that resulted from the two Orion-owned mines that had been seized by the Federation Marshals. (Those two mines continue to pay royalties to the planetary council, which provides its funding.) His administration was so successful that he was re-elected in the first planet-wide elections in Y120 and remained in that post until he retired in Y129. His successor was another Mantorese politician, one of several who emigrated to Tafelland to work for the new “government”. Over the years since that time, the post has been held by people who were born on Tafelland, including ethnic Rigelians, Humans, and Cygnans.

Society: Donjebruche has an open and cosmopolitan culture. Groenveldt has a very “small town” culture, and does not welcome outside visitors without prior permission (and not without good reason). The mines have typical “company town” cultures, all of them different, but all of them the same in most ways.

Economy: All of the entities have a standard Federation economy with a free market.

Laws: Each community administers its own business, and all use Federation colonial law, plus local ordinances and regulations as appropriate.

Religion: There is no specific religion for most of the planet, and those who brought their religion with them variously kept it, changed it, or dropped it over time. There are active churches of two dozen faiths, and the pastors of the various churches often work together on social programs or community celebrations. Virtually everyone in Groenveldt is Christian, although of a unique denomination.