Some of the questions that I asked here are answered here:
"...the Kuang Shih had bonds to the ruling culture of Aeneas, in a way that the tinerans did not. They furnished the principal transportation for goods, and for humans who weren't in a hurry, along the entire lower Flone - as well as fish, flesh, and fiber taken from the river, and incidental handicrafts, exchanged for the products and energy recharges of industrial culture." (11, p. 159)
The Kuang Shih are the Riverfolk. We would still appreciate more information on the "goods" and "products" mentioned.
Boseville is a typical small town on the Flone between Nova Roma and the Cimmerian Mountains:
"Besides agriculture, Boseville lived off service industries and minor manufacturing. Most of its trade with the outside world went through the Riverfolk." (10, p. 151)
Among tinerans, the king has the only motorized wagon in the Waybreak Train. Obviously, tinerans also get energy from the dominant culture when necessary.
14 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
I'm reminded of this bit from Chapter II of THE PLAGUE OF MASTERS, where we see Flandry and an Alfzarian merchant talking about Unan Besar:
"What do you trade for?" he asked. It was idle curiosity, filling
in time until the merchant ship departed this planet. They were speaking
Alfzarian, which scratched his throat, but the other being had no Anglic.
"Hides, natural fibers, and fruits, mostly. You've never eaten modjo
fruit? Humans in this sector think it's quite a delicacy; me, I wouldn't
know. But I guess nobody ever thought to take some as far as Terra. Hm-m-m."
The Betelgeusean went into a commercial reverie.
For the ordinary goods and necessities of life, it was far more practical and cost efficient for planets like Aeneas, Unan Besar, and Altai to produce them themselves. Using the resources found on those planets and their solar systems. With whatever modifications, such as introducing Terran plants and animals, were needed by human colonists to help make them livable. But economies of scale made it practical to export some goods, including delicacies like fruits, to other worlds. With some of the profits being used to pay for imports of various kinds.
Ad astra! Sean
Kaor, Paul!
Today also happens to be the anniversary of C.S. Lewis' death in 1963!
Ad astra! Sean
I'm a little dubious about the river-freight in a culture with efficient energy cells, fusion power and antigravity.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
Good points. But I can think of reasons why barging might be practical on Aeneas. E.g., despite centuries of colonization, Aeneas might not yet have achieved the level of technology attained by the most advanced planets. Recall how the rise of the Web there, emblematic of a new class of urban entrepreneurs, businessmen, merchants, workers, etc., was still fairly new on Aeneas. And these were also people who felt themselves as having more in common with the Empire at large than with the University, Landfolk, river people, etc.
More narrowly, I thought the shipping managed by the river people was cheaper and more efficient for the towns on the banks of the Flone River.
Ad astra! Sean
The antigravity is what really makes it implausible.
Without that, any navigable waterway anywhere will have lots of boats with motors powered by those energy storage cells which are charged by the fusion power plants.
Take away the super battery too, & we get those fusion power plants being used to make hydrocarbon fuels from CO2 extracted from air or seawater, or maybe ammonia which I have seen proposed as a practical fuel.
Away from navigable waterways & without the super battery, most transport should be by electric rail.
Take away the fusion power plants & the energy comes from fission with such things as hydroelectric, geothermal & intermittents like wind & solar supplementing the fission. The super batteries would go a long way toward making the intermittents actually useful.
Antigravity -- as shown in the Technic history -- renders a whole clutch of other technologies obsolete, not cost-effective.
And remember, economic laws like comparative advantage and pricing signals operate on you whether you know about them or not.
They're not like a jaywalking regulation. They're more like gravity.
Kaor, Jim and Mr.Stirling!
Dang! That eliminates the River People, no practical basis for them to make a living shipping merchandise. Boating on the Flone River would be mostly for recreational purposes only.
And since we don't have super batteries that means trying to use wind and solar power as energy sources is not cost effective.
Ad astra! Sean
I suppose an argument has to be constructed along the lines of antigravity devices had been too expensive for the River People, then they and the dwellers along the Flone were technologically conservative and wanted to maintain their customs and way of life or something.
Like the Amish.
Kaor, Paul!
That might have been true during the early centuries of human habitation on Aeneas, but almost certainly not by Emperor Georgios' reign.
Ad astra! Sean
Sean,
How long might technological conservatism last?
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
I can imagine that kind of technological conservatism lasting for a long time, until the introduction of more advanced tech made it too painfully costly to keep obsolete technology.
I think if people want to live using antiquated technology, like the Amish, they would have to have very strong beliefs or reasons for doing so. Despite its costs and disadvantages.
Ad astra! Sean
A further thought about the effect of antigravity:
How much power would it take to run an antigravity craft?
If it could hover on lower power than a helicopter, but not all that much less, antigravity craft would replace current type aircraft, but water & rail transport would still be used for transport of goods that are not very valuable per unit mass.
The Riverfolk on Aeneas remain plausible if antigravity takes significant continuous power.
Kaor, Jim!
Makes sense to me, water transport and railroads being cost efficient for bulk shipping of goods with low value per unit.
Ad astra! Sean
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