In article ,
TKalbfus wrote:
Judging by what happened in the great wars of the past (WWII,
WWI, Napoleonic and Seven Years) the colonies would still be entangled
in terrestrial conflicts. WWn might even be triggered out there.

Depends on how far away they are, if its too remote, it might not be worth the
efforts of the combatants to entangle them in their conflicts. The Solar System
is a big place.

Some fairly remote places found themselves affected by the various
Great Wars. The trading posts in Hudson's Bay, for example, which were as
close to the back of beyond as one might like, found it extremely inconvenient
when their supply ships got nailed en route during one of the Anglo-French
disagreements because (among other things) it meant there were no trade goods
for the natives, who settled down to wait next to the posts, getting
increasingly peeved with the traders as time went by.

Unless we're talking Hermit Kingdoms in the Kuiper, at the very
least a Great War should have trade implications for the colonies, as
the effects ripple out from the warzone. Even back when the Earth was years
around in travel time, remote Spanish colonies got harrassed by the English.
Immunity seems to require a total disconnect, and even there you might
get effects like China shoving at one side of the Central Asian Nomadic
Barbarian Repository and Rome experiencing a slight westward shift on their
side of the CENBR, without the two powers being in any direct contact.


--
It's amazing how the waterdrops form: a ball of water with an air bubble
inside it and inside of that one more bubble of water. It looks so beautiful
[...]. I realized something: the world is interesting for the man who can
be surprised. -Valentin Lebedev-