Tech world an imperial client state?
- Thread starter MonkeyX
- Start date
PsiTraveller
Cosmic Mongoose
PoD Book 2 page 189
The first colony here – a Solomani outpost – was
destroyed by the Sindalian Empire’s Punitive Armada.
The world lay empty for hundreds of years, until the
GeDeCo funded the construction of a starport here
to encourage Imperium-Hierate trade through the
Borderlands. To reduce the costs of constructing the
starport, they contracted with renegades from the
technologically advanced world of Neumann in Gazulin
subsector. While the world of Neumann has the highest
level of technology of any world in the whole sector,
its use is heavily restricted by the Shield Church. The
heretics were eager to take GeDeCo’s offer of a world of
their own and funding to develop their science.
The human population of Tech-World is around four
thousand. The robot population is around a million
and rising, depending on how one tallies distributedintelligence
computer with numerous slave bodies.
Experiments in using nanotechnology, cloning and other
technologies of questionable legality are ongoing, and
Tech-world is attracting increasing numbers of researchers
who wish to pursue lines of inquiry not permitted in the
Imperium. GeDeCo refuses to put pressure on the Tech-
World rulers to rein in their scientific experimentation,
claiming that its contract with the Tech-World government
begins and ends with the starport.
PoD Book 1 pg 98
Only a few parsecs antispinward of Drinax is the planet
Tech-World. The ugly name - the product of a botched
advertising campaign by the General Development
Corporation - speaks of the planet’s ambition. On
Tech-World, there are no limits to scientific research,
and no fetters on what a scientist can attempt. The
colony’s foundation was bankrolled by the General
Development Corporation. Most of the researchers
come from the Imperial subsectors of the Trojan Reach,
especially worlds like Neumann. Others are eccentrics
and radicals, drawn to a world where they can conduct
virtually any experiments.
GeDeCo tolerates its collection of mad scientists, as long
as they occasionally produce something useful and keep
the automated starport operational. Tech-World is an
island of advanced technology amid the backward worlds
of the Reach.
So GeDeCo has made a planet staffed by limit pushing scientific lunatics, manned by a million robots to build whatever the boffins think up. If you can picture it, they can probably build it. (For a price)
The first colony here – a Solomani outpost – was
destroyed by the Sindalian Empire’s Punitive Armada.
The world lay empty for hundreds of years, until the
GeDeCo funded the construction of a starport here
to encourage Imperium-Hierate trade through the
Borderlands. To reduce the costs of constructing the
starport, they contracted with renegades from the
technologically advanced world of Neumann in Gazulin
subsector. While the world of Neumann has the highest
level of technology of any world in the whole sector,
its use is heavily restricted by the Shield Church. The
heretics were eager to take GeDeCo’s offer of a world of
their own and funding to develop their science.
The human population of Tech-World is around four
thousand. The robot population is around a million
and rising, depending on how one tallies distributedintelligence
computer with numerous slave bodies.
Experiments in using nanotechnology, cloning and other
technologies of questionable legality are ongoing, and
Tech-world is attracting increasing numbers of researchers
who wish to pursue lines of inquiry not permitted in the
Imperium. GeDeCo refuses to put pressure on the Tech-
World rulers to rein in their scientific experimentation,
claiming that its contract with the Tech-World government
begins and ends with the starport.
PoD Book 1 pg 98
Only a few parsecs antispinward of Drinax is the planet
Tech-World. The ugly name - the product of a botched
advertising campaign by the General Development
Corporation - speaks of the planet’s ambition. On
Tech-World, there are no limits to scientific research,
and no fetters on what a scientist can attempt. The
colony’s foundation was bankrolled by the General
Development Corporation. Most of the researchers
come from the Imperial subsectors of the Trojan Reach,
especially worlds like Neumann. Others are eccentrics
and radicals, drawn to a world where they can conduct
virtually any experiments.
GeDeCo tolerates its collection of mad scientists, as long
as they occasionally produce something useful and keep
the automated starport operational. Tech-World is an
island of advanced technology amid the backward worlds
of the Reach.
So GeDeCo has made a planet staffed by limit pushing scientific lunatics, manned by a million robots to build whatever the boffins think up. If you can picture it, they can probably build it. (For a price)
cunningrat
Banded Mongoose
MonkeyX said:
A lot of stuff on the Traveller Wiki (and travellermap.com) is not up to date with regards to Trojan Reach. A lot of it seems to be from publications older than "Pirates of Drinax". See the Pourne entry listing Asim as a colony, for example. (The Asim entry said it was controlled by Pourne until I edited it.) Acrid is listed as the homeworld of the Blotches (???). A lot of places are missing the High-Tech trade code, which the Pirates of Drinax says they should have. Etcetera.
ottarrus
Emperor Mongoose
GeDeCo is also mentioned extensively in most core references to the Trojan Reach.
They're simply an 'tech assist' company that seeks to make independent worlds Imperial client states through economic means. The offer is simple, "We'll supply you with [x] technology or [y] facility [typically a starport upgrade] in exchange for a say in world affairs and low-low monthly payments of [a] millions of credits." The underlying politics of is this: Unite the human worlds of the Trojan Reach under Imperial hegemony to thwart and resist Aslan ihatei expansion by whatever means, fair or foul.
For a lot of worlds this works out well. Generally these worlds are on mains, with a shirtsleeve environment, a sufficient population base, have a solid tech base to start with, and are maybe 50 or 100 years away from developing the technology or facility on their own anyway.
For other worlds, um, not so much... If a world doesn't meet the 'bootstrap' criteria but is in a strategic location, GeDeCo is perfectly happy to con the local rubes with amounts to a 'beads and trinkets' contract, that financially ties the world to the Imperium with MUCH less benefit to themselves.
They're simply an 'tech assist' company that seeks to make independent worlds Imperial client states through economic means. The offer is simple, "We'll supply you with [x] technology or [y] facility [typically a starport upgrade] in exchange for a say in world affairs and low-low monthly payments of [a] millions of credits." The underlying politics of is this: Unite the human worlds of the Trojan Reach under Imperial hegemony to thwart and resist Aslan ihatei expansion by whatever means, fair or foul.
For a lot of worlds this works out well. Generally these worlds are on mains, with a shirtsleeve environment, a sufficient population base, have a solid tech base to start with, and are maybe 50 or 100 years away from developing the technology or facility on their own anyway.
For other worlds, um, not so much... If a world doesn't meet the 'bootstrap' criteria but is in a strategic location, GeDeCo is perfectly happy to con the local rubes with amounts to a 'beads and trinkets' contract, that financially ties the world to the Imperium with MUCH less benefit to themselves.
ottarrus
Emperor Mongoose
cunningrat said:
The Traveller Wiki is an 'all sources' web site, and all sources often conflict with each other. For example, it lists a lot of information from 1980's era 'Approved for Use With Traveller' publishers [FASA, Gamelords, Stellar Knight, Digest Group, etc.] but that data has long been superseded by more modern material. And yet, it's rather amazing how much of original ideas from a lot of talented authors still remains as modern authors skirt around old license agreements.
Hence the phrase 'IMTU'
Condottiere
Emperor Mongoose
Going by the description, a million robots might be a sufficient as a critical mass for a manufacturing base.
Unless they decide to control the means of production.
As regards to unregulated scientific research:
Unless they decide to control the means of production.
As regards to unregulated scientific research:
ottarrus
Emperor Mongoose
MonkeyX said:
No worries, happy to help.
Because the canon in Traveller isn't nearly as controlled as, say, Star Wars, there's a wide latitude for you to make whatever aspect of the OTU what you want it to be. After all, no milieu survives contact with player characters anyway, right? :lol:
