SATURDAY, JULY 11, 2015: NOTE TO FILE
Alternative to the Federation
You could become an alien
Eric Lee, A-SOCIATED PRESS
TOPICS: ENCLOSURE, SPACEFARERS, FRONTIERS, LAURENCE B. WINN, FROM THE WIRES, ALIENLANDSCAPES.BIZ
Abstract: There is a group based in Tucson who offer a vision that is alternative to limits such as the Federation would embrace. They clearly see that growth will not continue as there are no Earth-based frontiers left for the taking.
TUCSON (A-P) — All of the planet is owned by someone who can resist the taking of it. To thrive, the growth culture requires new frontiers and the only one left is up. There were continents for the taking, then a planet, but Earth-bound humans are up against hard limits and the only way out is up. Space is the final frontier and must be colonized. All will not colonize it, but the few, the Spacefarers, will. The solar system will be theirs for the taking, then nearby systems, and on and on.
They will build, by unleashing the dogs of free enterprise, vast solar arrays made of dirt (silicon) and, for a price, share some of the power with such Earthlings as remain. They will build spacecraft the size of aircraft carriers to lift such resources as are left on Earth that they wish to possess. The spacecraft will be powered by hundreds of nuclear bombs exploded one after another as the mighty birds rise aloft, filling the universe with wonder. Eventually something will go wrong and Earth will be left a cinder glowing in the dark, but they will be faring well in space. Their endless number of frontiers will await them.
They will keep building solar arrays until they form a Dyson sphere around the sun. When the solar system has been used up they will take to fusion-driven space ships (if warp drive hasn't yet been developed) and head for new frontiers, the stars, to grow and consume evermore.
They reject enclosure and Earth is enclosed by the vacuum of space—apart from solar radiation and a bit of meteoric dust. The solar energy that falls on Earth is not enough to sustain growth. All solar energy collected by their Dyson sphere will not be enough. The Milky Way Galaxy will not be enough, but there are many more galaxies in and beyond the visible universe. There are many more universes. It's universes all the way down and all frontiers are for the taking.
The Spacefarers website links to only one other site, that of a science fiction writer, who concurs: "Because Earth's resources can't last forever -- our descendants will need power and materials from space. Because they'll need room to raise families when Earth becomes too crowded. And because the only long-term way to preserve Earth's beauty, and its ecology, is for some humans to eventually move on." After consuming Earth, some must move on as they no longer have a tolerable planet to live on. To preserve Growth Culture, some must move on. Without Growthers, the planet would begin to recover, but a remnant human population would likely remain to repeat the pattern.
The unaskable question is, "And then what?" The planet for the taking has been taken, and then what? The solar system has been used up and every photon from the sun is being captured by our PV Dyson sphere, and then what? The Milky Way blinks out because every star has its PV Dyson sphere, and then what? The only way to preserve Earth's beauty and ecology is for the Growthers to stop metastasizing and get the belief therapy they so desperately need.
So you could be Federation. You could be Spacefarer. Choose wisely. You don't even have to live in Tucson.
The CEO of Spacefarers will have the honor of bestowing the name all who are encountered by them after they leave the solar system will briefly, before being assimilated, know them by: The Borg Collective, Inc.
Let history record that the Borg assembled in Tucson. Among their admired ones is Walt Disney. To assimilate the public they will build Alien Landscapes: The Theme Park. The enchanted public will support and help pay for their space colonies.
They will start by using a lesser theme park: Valley of the Moon, created by George Phar Legler, Walt Disney's contemporary who envisioned a theme park having no admission fee. He built his theme park by his own labor, with help from friends, hobos, and students according to his own vision. His vision was not limited to what would sell. His message: "Kindness to all is the golden key to happiness" is decidedly unBorg-like. The few who know of him count him a higher order of sentient being than Disney. Legler, who lived and died "poor" was early Federation.
That the Borg would select his theme park to promote their own would be ironic if not so Borg-like. Learn about the origin of the Borg and Borg Ethics.
But the Spacefarers have it all wrong. Colonizing space is too limiting. What is needed is a Planet B. That's B for Billionaire (multi). Today's billionaires are way ahead of they who think a theme park will save them. Mere Munchkins like Winn will at best serve to build the infrastructure for the billionaires to come. Some will be kept as pets or atavistic servants should the robots fail to amuse. Maybe someone will need a kidney transplant and so will need spare parts donors. Some forward thinking billionaires have it figured out: Space: the Wealthy Frontier.
