if we had to leave this planet and colonize elsewhere...

okay, say our planet becomes inhabitable and we gotta leave. people
remaining will all die.

the people who do leave for another planet.... no guarantee that it'll
be found but let's say they come upon a planet that may be
inhabitable.

1. suppose the planet already has inhabitants. what if they don't
allow us to stay? should we wage war like the israelites in the land
of canaan and carve out a little territory?
should we respect their wishes and drift in space til we inevitably
run out of fuel and die?

2. suppose the natives of the planet invite us but only as second
class citizens. would this be cool?

3. suppose the natives have the IQ of something like 70 and we have
the intellectual and technological power to rule them. should we?

4. suppose the indigenous animals are no smarter than animals. should
we hunt them and eat them?

5. could there be a planet that is inhabitable but has developed no
life? for example, can a planet have plentiful oxygen in the air
without plant life?

6. if we don't find a planet to settle on, can we survive on the
spaceship indefinitely by taking fuel and material from gaseous
planets like jupiter? could we perhaps download our consciousness into
computers so that we won't need food and to take a ****?

7. suppose on a planet there is a battle between two native groups,
something like ET version of nazis vs the soviets. should we side with
one group and help them and share in the spoils? should we remain
neutral?

8. what will the human colonizers and their descendants think of the
planet that was the home of their ancestors? will it totally be
forgotten or considered just some silly myth?

9. why do we bother with art, history, and civilization when we know
all this gonna turn into dust and will be entirely forgotten in the
grand scheme of things?

10. you agree that no matter what we do, it's ultimately pointless and
stupid?

: (meat n potatoes)
: okay, say our planet becomes inhabitable and we gotta leave.
: people remaining will all die.

Sort of like gasoline becoming inflamable so that cars don't work anymore.
I think there was a discussion about an upcoming book like that.


Wayne Throop http://sheol.org/throopw

In article ,
(meat n potatoes) wrote:

okay, say our planet becomes inhabitable and we gotta leave. people
remaining will all die.

the people who do leave for another planet.... no guarantee that it'll
be found but let's say they come upon a planet that may be
inhabitable.

1. suppose the planet already has inhabitants. what if they don't
allow us to stay? should we wage war like the israelites in the land
of canaan and carve out a little territory?
should we respect their wishes and drift in space til we inevitably
run out of fuel and die?

Depends. Depends on whether it would be possible for the humans to carve
out some kind of habitat on another body -- build space colonies, or
terraform a lifeless world. No sense in picking a fight when it can be
avoided.

2. suppose the natives of the planet invite us but only as second
class citizens. would this be cool?

No.

3. suppose the natives have the IQ of something like 70 and we have
the intellectual and technological power to rule them. should we?

Now that's a damned good question. I suspect we would wind up doing it
whether or not we think we should. And I suspect that no matter how
benevolent our intentions, it would end badly for the natives.

4. suppose the indigenous animals are no smarter than animals. should
we hunt them and eat them?

It's highly unlikely that eating them would do anything but lead to
vomiting. This is an alien biosphere we're talking about.

5. could there be a planet that is inhabitable but has developed no
life? for example, can a planet have plentiful oxygen in the air
without plant life?

No. Oxygen is rocket fuel; it likes to combine with other elements.
It'll bind up with silicon or with the methane released by volcanoes if
nothing else is available.

6. if we don't find a planet to settle on, can we survive on the
spaceship indefinitely by taking fuel and material from gaseous
planets like jupiter? could we perhaps download our consciousness into
computers so that we won't need food and to take a ****?

This has been suggested -- by Spinrad's _Riding the Torch_ and more
recently by Banks's "Culture" series. I think it's a fine idea; others
think it's horrible. I guess it depends on whether you think of it as
living in a moving city or flying coach forever.

7. suppose on a planet there is a battle between two native groups,
something like ET version of nazis vs the soviets. should we side with
one group and help them and share in the spoils? should we remain
neutral?

I'm a big critic of "prime directive" policies, both on Earth and in
space. Pick a side and back 'em to the hilt. Being evenhanded just gets
both of them mad at you.

8. what will the human colonizers and their descendants think of the
planet that was the home of their ancestors? will it totally be
forgotten or considered just some silly myth?

Depends on how good their records are, how long they live, etc. They
probably would remain aware that they're not native, if only because of
the considerable biological differences.

9. why do we bother with art, history, and civilization when we know
all this gonna turn into dust and will be entirely forgotten in the
grand scheme of things?

Because they're fun to do. And history happens whether you want it or not.

10. you agree that no matter what we do, it's ultimately pointless and
stupid?

Oh, no. Why bother living, otherwise? If it's all pointless, why stay
alive? Why post these questions?

Cambias

"Jim Cambias" wrote ...
(meat n potatoes) wrote:

10. you agree that no matter what we do, it's ultimately pointless and
stupid?

Oh, no. Why bother living, otherwise? If it's all pointless, why stay
alive? Why post these questions?

A really basic point is that the means _is_ (also) the end.
The journey is as much the point as the destination.

(Jim Cambias) wrote in
:

In article ,
(meat n potatoes) wrote:

snip

4. suppose the indigenous animals are no smarter than animals. should
we hunt them and eat them?

It's highly unlikely that eating them would do anything but lead to
vomiting. This is an alien biosphere we're talking about.

The idea that we couldn't eat anything from an alien biosphere seems to
be a generally accepted SF convention, but if they used the same sorts
of amino acids, etc that we do (which might not be that unlikely since,
IIRC, at least some of these seem to be reasonably common in space)perhaps
we could eat them. Does anyone know if there has been theoretical work done
on this or are we just guessing?

"meat n potatoes" wrote in message
om...
okay, say our planet becomes inhabitable and we gotta leave. people
remaining will all die.
[snip more drivel[
10. you agree that no matter what we do, it's ultimately pointless and
stupid?

Only if we abandon the conventions of punctuation. Then all is lost.

Luke

"Jim Cambias" wrote in message
...
In article ,
(meat n potatoes) wrote:

6. if we don't find a planet to settle on, can we survive on the
spaceship indefinitely by taking fuel and material from gaseous
planets like jupiter? could we perhaps download our consciousness into
computers so that we won't need food and to take a ****?

This has been suggested -- by Spinrad's _Riding the Torch_ and more
recently by Banks's "Culture" series. I think it's a fine idea; others
think it's horrible. I guess it depends on whether you think of it as
living in a moving city or flying coach forever.

Anthony's "Bio of a Space Tyrant" series has all the gas giants in our solar
system inhabited by bubble habitats, which range in size from "little bitty
family cabin" to "small artificial moon." They seem to get along fine. Of
course, they also have gravity control technology and antimatter energy
systems, as well as the bubbles themselves, which are made of pure
handwavium.

If the alternative is dying, I have no problem giving life as a computer a
try.

D

pure
handwavium.

If the alternative is dying, I have no problem giving life as a computer a
try.

D

How long before you really miss having a body?

In article ,
meat n potatoes wrote:

[scenario snipped]

loki, is that you?



--
Aaron Brezenski
Not speaking for my employer in any way.

"G EddieA95" wrote ...

If the alternative is dying, I have no problem giving life as a computer a
try.

How long before you really miss having a body?
A1:
4 femtoseconds.

'Cuz I'm going _first_class_ with my computer.

A2:
Never, 'cuz I'll be programmed not to.

A3:
Please don't interrupt me - I'm busy planning my virtual harem.

A4:
How do you put up with having just the one?