However, human beings spreading through space will have acquired a permanent frontier. In "Starfog," the thinly populated planet, Serieve, is at the edge of the known and the "Cloud Universe," concealed behind the Dragon's Head Nebula, is beyond the edge. The Kirkasanters claim that their home planet, in the Cloud Universe, is:
"'Well out in the Dragon's Head sector, where we're barely beginning to explore.'" (p. 716)
Human beings will live permanently with the knowledge both that there is a frontier and that someone is always beginning to explore beyond it. That knowledge will profoundly affect human cultures.
3 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
And my view is that a permanent frontier of that kind will be good for the human race. Dissatisfied of oppressed people could, theoretically, leave one planet to move elsewhere to live as they thought was best.
I said, "theoretically," because it would not always be possible, for one reason or another, for people to leave their planets. Even so, the mere knowledge of the existence of a frontier would probably be an inspiration.
We might see the beginnings of that kind of attitude if Elon Musk manages to found his Mars colony!
Ad astra! Sean
Sean,
This is still very theoretical. How many habitable environments will be there be off Earth? And how attractive will be even to people dissatisfied on Earth?
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
Fair questions! It's my view, from reading Gerard O'Neill's THE HIGH FRONTIER and Robert Zubrin's THE CASE FOR MARS, that if people really WANT to, they can make or adapt environments suitable for people to live in.
And I have read of how at least 500,000 people have expressed interest and willingness to sign up as Mars colonists in Zubrin's Mars One project. So such ideas are attractive to a large enough number that at least a start could be made. And, if O'Neill Habitats and a Mars colony succeeds, more can be expected to leave.
Ad astra! Sean
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