Saturn Run by John Sandford & Ctein

[james_davis_nicoll]

THERE IS AN ISSUE WITH MY SITE. WORKING ON IT



Saturn Run by John Sandford & Ctein

Comments

[gohover.livejournal.com]

Huh. Five minutes before I read your comment, I was reading about the Northern Mariana Islands (because of Trump's electoral win there). Here's an excerpt from wikipedia:

The first European explorer of the area was Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan in 1521. He landed on nearby Guam and claimed the islands for Spain. The Spanish ships were met offshore by the native Chamorros, who delivered refreshments and then helped themselves to a small boat belonging to Magellan's fleet. This led to a cultural clash: in Chamorro tradition there was little private property and taking something one needed, such as a boat for fishing, was not considered stealing. The Spanish did not understand this custom. The Spanish fought the Chamorros until the boat was recovered. Three days after he had been welcomed on his arrival, Magellan fled the archipelago.

Considering the story of the "stolen" boat, and considering your comment, I don't see how the cahes would work out very well. To directly apply the story of the boat, does anything stop visiting aliens from simply absconding with a cache? And if not that,what helps prevent other sorts of misunderstanding or miscommunication about what to do when a cache is found?

[ilya187.livejournal.com]

Here is how it works:

First, every cache is in contact with other caches. When a ship approaches, the cache alerts the nearest ones. When a trade is concluded, it notifies them of what has been traded for what. If a caches is attacked, it also notifies them -- and abrupt cessation of transmission speaks for itself.

Second, trade goods are not just lying out in the open. The controlling AI of the cache evaluates what the visitors offer, assigns value to it, then offers something equivalent. Mutual value of trade goods are calculated on the basis of past interactions over millions of years, and the algorithms are constantly updated as the cache receives news for other caches. Limited by light speed, no two algorithms can be exactly alike, but that is the ideal. If the visitors try to take things by force, the cache has defenses, but more importantly, it will immediately inform the rest of the network that such and such species is not playing by the rules. They will be denied access to other caches, for longer and longer periods of time -- but not forever.

Third, the cache is not only a trade post, it is a refueling station -- and the fuel is antimatter. If cache's defenses fail, it can always blow itself up, so anyone who refuses to play by the rules, will succeed only in killing the golden goose. Sooner or later they will get the point that trade pays more than aggression.

[gohover.livejournal.com]

Belatedly: thanks for the write up! That sounds interesting! I'm not sure I buy it, but your description made me want to read the book and see for myself.

[scott-sanford.livejournal.com]

It's plausible enough for a novel, like the interstellar Kula rings in the background of Roger Zelazny's Doorways in the Sand.