Colonization

The Ministry does little colonizing directly. Rather, it encourages colonization efforts by Harmonic worlds, subject and client states, megacorps and other groups.

Fostering the Harmony is also a goal. The needs of The Harmony call for giving different treatment to different worlds; the development of a homogenous Cosmic Culture would aide The Enemy. Diversity is vital as a teacher to and defense of The Harmony. Only thus may Organic Life hope to succeed in The Great War against the cold, synthetic machinations of The Enemy.

The Ministry uses its influence to encourage increased cultural diversity (and, with it, the development of alternate lines of technology) rather than the increase of a few powerful states. That this results in the Empire's gaining strength faster than any of her subject or client states is a very nice benefit. The Ministry may facilitate the licensing of technologies vital to the survival of a new colony while discouraging the licensing of other technologies in order to foster diversity. The result of these policies of The Harmony is the fostering of a rich diversity of cultures, fostered by some disparity in access to Cosmic Culture and its technological and philosophical achievements.

Non-contiguous settlement patterns and colonization programs that leave the new worlds fairly independent are also useful tools. The Ministry may encourage more than one "mother" to start colonies within a system, even on the same world. Competition is the aunt of invention.

Corollary the First of the Organic Credo states "Foster Organic Life" This gives rise to the Three Virtues of Spreading, Protecting, and Raising (to sapience) organic life. Thus, colonization, along with seeding, is inherently meritorious.

Therefore, colonization efforts may be launched to distant worlds even when there is little chance of the resulting world being brought into the Harmony championed by The Harmony, at least during the short range. Seeding is likewise promulgated as virtuous for own sake, but colonization, however much more expensive, is even better, as it results in a Raised world.

Seeding is also done as a precursor to colonization, whether with a specific project in mind or simply to foster some future effort.

SEE Seeding.

Evaluating Worlds

Several factors influence the value of a prospective colonization candidate.

Access

Cost of travel considers both time and expense, of initial scouting missions, of colonization personnel and supplies, and of future communications and trade. This varies by universe and by location within a particular universe.

SEE Interstellar Travel and Spaceships for details

Often enough, many worlds are colonized by routs taking years, decades, or even centuries to traverse. Whether their future will bring them a Gate or other more rapid contact with cosmopolitan civilization depends on two factors. One is simply the particular universe's physics, or, more specifically, it's inter-dimensional relations physics. (No two connections are quite the same.) This determines just how difficult to set up, and risky to operate, such faster travel methods are - if they are possible at all. The second is the colony's prosperity. A Gate may cost a continent, or at least a few moons.

Contact

The length of the "communication lag" between a system and cosmopolitan civilization is a vital consideration. Without communication, a colony may become "lost." Where communications are slow, a "Lost Colony may evolve in surprising ways both culturally and physically, such as becoming a new sub-race and believing they are indigenous to their world. They will be in for quite a surprise when they are "checked up on."

Even if not "lost," it may take decades or even centuries to send a Gate by slow-boat to a suitable position nearby - if a Gate is a possibility at all.

Location / neighbors

Assuming a colony is not expected to grow in isolation, it will interact with its neighbors. This is a key to the Harmony championed by the Empire.

Trade depends upon a formula of resources, transportation, and bureaucracy. A system needs something to trade, economic transference, and the ability to make arrangements.
Safety depends upon how accessible one is to potential sources of aggression and to potential sources of protection. Excessive "protection" provided by a sponsor may indicate an interest in tight control.

Habitability

One species' toxic hell is another species' paradise. Unfortunately, species suitability is not often the main criteria in determining who gets to colonize where. In the politico-economic war behind the "space race," many sponsors, whether states or megacorps, will colonize wherever they can. They generally prefer races of their own traditional species.

This results in many worlds being colonized by races and species not particularly suited to them.

In some instances, a seemingly unsuitable species or race will be selected specifically to create a dependency on its sponsor for supplies and support, creating a tie as well as a market.

In other case, often where the colony is close enough to maintain strong contacts or, conversely, where it is far enough that contact will be minimal, gene artists may be commissioned to, using material from existing races, artificially craft a new race, specifically suited to their prospective world.

Over time, the colonists adapt, technologically, culturally, and, often enough, physically. This is one way in which new races are created.

Resources

One might consider ready access to civilized neighbors (i.e., contact with multiversal civilization) the most basic of resources. Being a "paradise" class world, comfortably inhabitable without elaborate support systems, would be the second most valuable resource. Generally, though, "resources" is taken to mean usable and exportable materials.

Tellurian resources (from solid worlds) might include minerals, such as fissionable isotopes, or suitability for sustained, stable geothermal energy.

Jovian resources include easily refinable hydrogen more exotic gasses, or super-dense material from deep below the gaseous layers.

("Easily refinable hydrogen" is defined as "easier than splitting cometary ice or, worse yet due to the expense of lifting it from a gravity well, planetary water.")

Asteroid belts are valuable, whether as ore or as building material, because their material does not need to be lifted from a planetary gravity well.

Cometary shells are a valuable source of ice for water life support. If no gas giant with a suitable atmosphere is available, comet ice can be split for hydrogen for ship fuel and other needs.

Exotic resources include major Ancients' artifacts or being simply being in a universe with weird physics, such as result in Rift-worlds.

Indiginous Peoples

Where local sentient life is absent, a world may be awarded to one or more colonizing agencies, such as megacorps or subjest or client states of The Harmony.

Where colonization has been started a reasonable length of time before Harmonic authorities arive it is often considered to be a part of the Indie tradition. It may be influenced and even directly regulated or guided by Harmony officials such as the system Consul, but it is unlikely to be suspended outright, let alone reversed.

Where local cultures have developed interstellar travel, and thus demonstrated their qualification as a Major Race, they may be enlightened and brought into The Harmony as a Client or Subect State. If they have not shown sufficient promise, they are more likely to be designated as part of the gerneral Unincorporated Territory of the region.

Pre-Cosmic cultures must be evaluated carefully. Those with negligible cultural promise may be Raised by colonial powers, while those with more potential may be Enlightened only gradually, in order that their differences may be fostered, to the enrichment of all of Cosmic culture. The officials of The Harmony may be tasked to restrict themselves to observe, record, and pass on their findings. There will be time enough to absorb the Indies into the mainstream of Cosmic culture when they either catch up on their own or, as inevitably happens when a world is not totally isolated, external influences bleed in enough to Raise the natives.

On rare occasion, a world may be scheduled as a Crimson Zone for cultural, biological, or economic health and reasons, and left to develop in complete - and enforced - isolation.

Ignorance of their decent from a colonization expedition (or Seeding project) does not absolve any Indigenous population of their debts and mortgage, material and moral.

Such Indy populations may suffer a negative reaction upon realizing that their world is actually owned by someone else, that they are in debt, and that to pay off their debt a portion of their world has already been allotted to colonization by an extra-stellar investor. "Second Wave" colonists may have little regard for such Indies.

Whose side are you on?