On Sibylla

For reference, see Sibylla.

Although the initially colonized Sibyllan polar regions have more humanly acceptable air pressure and lower background radiation than any other part of the planet, the polar seasons are too extreme for Terrestrial crops without a greenhouse technology that is beyond both the resources and the industrial capacity of the colonists with the result that "'...everybody moved equator-ward.'" (p. 72)

Sixty eight years ago, an unknown alien fleet attacked, destroying New Washington and reducing the colonial economy to a pre-industrial level, thus obliging the Terrestrial Directorate to send "...the Colonial Fleet to evacuate the Sibyllans." (p. 73)

Successful extra-solar colonies are politically advantageous to the Directorate because they make the public think that at least someone is doing well and maybe we can go next if we don't cause trouble. Thus, the alien enemy is not only a physical threat to the Sibyllans but also a political threat to the Directorate.

Also, remember the time scale. The arriving fleet is greeted by a President of Sibylla who was not yet born when the aliens attacked... Over interstellar distances, a message is history when its response arrives.