Latest blog post: Redraw of chapter 1 is happening (2024-05-11)
Author's comment:
Add Comment
Insert Link
Please enter the link of the website
Optionally you can add display text
Privacy Policy
This policy contains information about your privacy. By posting, you are declaring that you understand this policy:
- Your name, rating, website address, town, country, state and comment will be publicly displayed if entered.
- Aside from the data entered into these form fields, other stored data about your comment will include:
- Your IP address (not displayed)
- The time/date of your submission (displayed)
- Your email address will not be shared. It is collected for only two reasons:
- Administrative purposes, should a need to contact you arise.
- To inform you of new comments, should you subscribe to receive notifications.
- A cookie may be set on your computer. This is used to remember your inputs. It will expire by itself.
This policy is subject to change at any time and without notice.
Terms and Conditions
These terms and conditions contain rules about posting comments. By submitting a comment, you are declaring that you agree with these rules:
- Although the administrator will attempt to moderate comments, it is impossible for every comment to have been moderated at any given time.
- You acknowledge that all comments express the views and opinions of the original author and not those of the administrator.
- You agree not to post any material which is knowingly false, obscene, hateful, threatening, harassing or invasive of a person's privacy.
- The administrator has the right to edit, move or remove any comment for any reason and without notice.
Failure to comply with these rules may result in being banned from submitting further comments.
These terms and conditions are subject to change at any time and without notice.
{"commentics_url":"\/\/leavingthecradle.com\/comments\/","page_id":786,"enabled_country":false,"country_id":0,"enabled_state":false,"state_id":0,"enabled_upload":false,"maximum_upload_amount":3,"maximum_upload_size":5,"maximum_upload_total":5,"captcha":false,"captcha_url":"","cmtx_wait_for_comment":"cmtx_wait_for_comment","lang_error_file_num":"A maximum of %d files are allowed to be uploaded","lang_error_file_size":"Please upload files no bigger than %.1f MB in size","lang_error_file_total":"The total size of all files must be less than %.1f MB","lang_error_file_type":"Only image file types are allowed to be uploaded","lang_text_loading":"Loading ..","lang_placeholder_country":"Country","lang_placeholder_state":"State","lang_text_country_first":"Please select a country first","lang_button_submit":"Add Comment","lang_button_preview":"Preview","lang_button_remove":"Remove","lang_button_processing":"Please Wait.."}
{"commentics_url":"\/\/leavingthecradle.com\/comments\/","language":"english"}
Comments (7)
Good. Humanity should have the chance to prove it can become a space faring race on it's own.
Just re-thinking the first contact discussions.
It occurs to me that Shuru and Zane might have been approaching the question of mankind's readiness from the wrong perspective. The Silurans suffered a culture shock, so Shuru examined humanity's cultures and society much closer, determining they were very much like the Raharr and likely resiliant enough to withstand the shock of other, more technologically advanced species and not being alone in the universe. However, I believe they missed the geopolitical aspects.
This might be an area where the massive number of language groups, governments and nations that has surprised the Raharr, comes into play. They don't appear to have ever dealt with a species that was as "fractured" as humanity (possibly not the right word but I'll use it for now). Our nations and populations conflict with each other for advantage and even dominance on the international scale. As we've already seen, the nations, rather than working together, might very well attempt to maneuver and deal in ways they believe will benefit them to a greater degree than other nations, even if it could be detrimental to the planet or humanity as a whole.
I think the Raharr can still navigate it, but Gharr's input and expertise may be more important than Zane realises to give them the best chance of doing so.
I believe that " fractured " would be entirely appropriate from the Raharr perspective, considering that they come from mostly wold wide stable structures.
"something like your UN and European Union"
Except it actually works? We hope?
Because making that comparison is horrible for actually getting people to join, especially any group not powerful enough to get their equivalent of the veto on the Security Council.
Yeah, despite humanity's certain technological development, the Alliance is several centuries, if not millennia, ahead of us. And such a difference doesn't leave to speak as equals properly.
"Why not giving the Alliance technology directly?" Because that's not exactly how science works. You can't just pick up a new toy you don't understand and go from there. Science works in layers, accumulating knowledge after knowledge to form a bigger whole, and each layer is important in understanding and building the one above it. Giving the Alliance technology has it would be like giving a caveman an electric flashlight: we could use it, but we'd lack the fundamental knowledge and understanding of how it really works to apprehend it, and it would then seem like "magic".
No, what the Alliance will do is put us on probation. They'll send several specialists to answer on our current scientific questions with answers that are within the scope of our current knowledge, then vaguely point us in the direction of the next step, and so on until the gap has been reasonably reduced. Basically, a tutoring.
Okay, we could eventually figure it all out for ourselves, but it would be long and tedious. And all this time, we'd be terribly third-party dependent of the Alliance would create and control, and all the First Contact directives were especially created to avoid that.
That doesn't mean it's going to be easy. I wish good luck to the diplomat who has to tell the over-inflated ego of the United States of America that they're going to have to be tutored. And worse, that they won't get any preferential treatment and will, absolute scandal, even have to wait for the other students in the class who are behind on the program to catch up ("What do you mean I can't abuse my dominant position over others? We've always do that!").
EDIT: Oh, the new comment system alows editing \o/ (it's realy a feature I use very often)
IT seems that our world map presents an...innovative approach to geopolitics
Yeah... Belize, Honduras, El Salvador, & Guatemala are being shown as part of Mexico...
edit: And on a closer look, also large parts of Texas and Louisiana?
International borders have been moderately randomized and blurred, probably on purpose, to obscure the exact location of Protagonistan. And it keeps the setting from getting too personal for any readers. At least that's my guess about the map.
"Moderately"? As far as the approximate location of Protagonistan is concerned, I see an outright Balkanization of a current-day global superpower! :-3
(Also, it looks like Scotland successfully seceded, took North Ireland plus some along for the trip, and GB got the Southern half of Ireland for consolidation ... ? X-D
Darth has made clear that in this setting, the Soviet Union broke up differently and there is no equivalent of the Russian Federation, among other differences. Partly to obscure the exact identity of Protagonistan, and partly so he doesn't have to touch The Unfortunate Event Involving Russia.
Thanks Eric, I did not know this yet and it makes quite some sense that we're talking about an alternate post-Soviet reality here.
I don't fully understand what happened to Scandinavia there, and I am a bit surprised about Morocco and South Sudan, but I don't think we know which year we are talking about (2010? 2040?) and a lot of stuff can happen.
Not sure it would be a good idea to gain that travel tech with the way our world gets along. Tend to think it will be a long road to gain the trust of that. The UN definitely does not speak for the world as it stands today.
I like to use the Japanese as a good example when Commodore Perry "Visited" the formerly closed-off country with all sorts of Western Toys for them to consider, which changed Japan but not the Japanese, who still had their Emperor as a God and that ancient feudal class structure that led to wars for resources they hadn't needed until the Future hit them hard.
Well, the cat of the Alliance's multi-species-dom is officially out now. Which apparently drew more of a "wait, what?" from Iskra than from the POP (President of Protagonistan).
On the other hand, Zane announcing that the Alliance will not just dump an asteroid-worth of blueprints into the hands of any humans is bound to get POP's attention. Let's see what level of restriction Zane is talking about, there sure are shades and grades between "equivalent of your nuclear nonproliferation" and "welcome to the zoo" ...
My personal expectation is that Zane intends some kind of slow rollout intended to minimize economic shocks, balance-of-power disruption, and cargo cultism. Just because he's no longer shooting for zero contact doesn't mean he's forgotten about the Silurans.
Since New Technology equals money (with many wanting to be the providers and sellers, not to mention those standing in line to buy it) there will need to be some sort of licensing and registering of patents, (Legal Stuff) and payments to those who authorized this Technology to be manufactured and sold. (I can visualize the Ads on Television & Internet, creating a storm of consumers ready to own these items, but NOT how the Aliens would handle the issue.)
Wondering if money in the bank would be OK or not. It would certainly make their presence, as active members, and wouldn't they want to invest in manufacturing and other business things, and a Skyscraper Headquarters?