Are the Aslan a major race?

[mike wightman]

The Terran Research Ship Pathfinder misjumped into unknown space on September 12, 2505AD.

That's during the Rule of Man, so Pathfinder could have had TL12 jump 3 drives no problem at all

There were ten survivors from the crash landing...
In order to enlist the natives help, Pathfinder's engineer began explaining the workings of Pathfinder's drives.

And factories were built with human assistance next to the crash site to produce the spare parts needed to repair Pathfinder - the crews' cause of death remains a bit of a mistery, but none of them ever made it home.

 

[GypsyComet]

As was pointed out after the story of the Pathfinder was revealed, the "Major Race" definition is a social label used by the three Imperiums, and most persistently by the 1st, to keep other races in their place. The Vilani, Zhodani, Vargr, Hivers, and K'kree have never been in doubt. The Aslan turned a mysterious crash into a large interstellar state. Can't argue with that, even in the face of Vilani racism.

Similarly, Vilani detractors of the Solomani (many of whom are on the TML, but which have appeared in Canon as well) view the Solomani invention of Jump Drive with suspicion. When it is pointed out that the Solomani not only exceeded the Vilani Jump drive abilities, but also caused their millenia-old empire to fall, the Major/Minor argument becomes rather moot. The Solomani earned their Major status twice.

 

[Darkhstarr]

Given that the Aslan have created a stable, longlasting & still expanding military & commercial Empire, they have my vote as a major race. And they seem to everywhere.

 

[inexorabletash]

And then there are the Droyne.

Presumably, as word spread through the 3I that (1) the Aslan didn't develop jump drive on their own, and (2) those annoying lizards with wings *did*, *and* were the Ancients, the Major/Minor Race terms would lose any meaning.

It does make you wonder about the Coyns, though. In theory, old Yasky dropped them 50kya. What is the significance of the 6 Major Race coins to the Droyne if there really is not distinction?

 

[kafka47]

Maybe, the coins represent a type of "psychic paper" whoever picks ups the coyn sees what they want to see. Plus, there is no true evidence when the coyns were introduced into Droyne society (I seem to remember some time only in the early days of the 3I).

As to the Droyne developing their own Jump Drive...I would want to see more about the contemporary Droyne. As on most worlds they live a pastural existance at around TL A/B then have toys left over from the Ancient period.

 

[GypsyComet]

The Coyns were introduced circa -75,000 according to the original Alien Module on the Droyne. There may have been a few worlds that got them later, however...

 

[kafka47]

-75,000 till 1116, climbing back to presumably TL F. That is a very slow climb...what has happened in between. I always figured the Droyne and their Coyns were the result of the accident that happened in Anomalies (M:0). Otherwise, we just have Chirpers.

 

[Hyphen]

Dear Folks -

Originally posted by Joshua Bell:
It does make you wonder about the Coyns, though. In theory, old Yasky dropped them 50kya. What is the significance of the 6 Major Race coins to the Droyne if there really is not distinction?

Possible answers:

1. Yaskoydray can see into the future, and saw the Aslan becoming a Major Race.

2. The original coyns used on Eskayloyt were different from the modern ones introduced by Yaskoydray!

The latter suggestion comes from the TML, and makes an interesting "what the?" plot device if you throw a few "Ancient" coyns at your PC's...

 

[mike wightman]

I doubt if the Ancients needed the coyns at all.

It is my hypothesis that the Droyne are genetically modified Chirpers. The Ancients made these changes to Chirper DNA - but the genetic switches have to be activated psionically.

After the war most Droyne colonies lacked an Ancient who could activate these markers, and so Grandfather invented the coyn ritual to replace the Ancient.

Tens of thousands of years later the Droyne think that the coyn ritual has always been part of their culture.

 

[Princedarkstorm]

I think the Aslan as a Major Race .

 

[aramis]

I think the Aslan as a Major Race .

Then you think wrong.

It's canonical that they copied the drive from a crashed terran ship (which had misjumped).

Therefore, they fail to meet the definition of a Major Race. (For that matter, the Vilani probably don't, either, as they probably developed it from remnants of an Ancients one, but that's not canonically established.)

Thing is, in-universe, no one knows the Aslan didn't do it themselves.

 

[mbrinkhues]

Kitties did not develop JumpDrive on their own but rather stole it from the Solomanie. Most likely killed the surviving Sollies too => Minor race.

Next target for the Solomanie Grand Fleet after that pesky Imperial Problem has been solved!

 

[rancke]

It's canonical that [the Aslans] copied the drive from a crashed terran ship (which had misjumped).

Therefore, they fail to meet the definition of a Major Race.

According to the common definition they're not, true. But that definition is flawed. It's got the correlation bass-awkward. A major race is a race that has a major influence on Charted Space. Inventing the jump drive when there's no one else with the jump drive around for many parsecs is one good way to have the room to expand to major status. Copying it from a misjumped starship early in the Long Night works too. And inventing it 75,000 years ago and not really doing anything with it doesn't work[*].

By any meaningful yardstick the Aslans are a major race (and the Droyne aren't).

[*] Yes, I know, that's not actually what the Droyne did. But that's what the people of Charted Space think they did.​

(For that matter, the Vilani probably don't, either, as they probably developed it from remnants of an Ancients one, but that's not canonically established.)

I don't know if any of the places where the Vilani invention of the jump drive is mentioned is held in authorial voice or if it's viewpoint writing every time, but I'm pretty sure there's no scrap of canonical evidence to say they didn't invent it.

One might argue that they're no longer a major race, but they've got enough influence still to make it arguable that they still are. They do dominate most of a domain and are influential in other parts of the Imperium.

Thing is, in-universe, no one knows the Aslan didn't do it themselves.

Not until Akidda Laagiir found out about it in 1115 and published the story.


Hans

 

[McPerth]

I know this is quite a feeble reasoning (even may not be a reasoning, just a side note), but we cannot forget that the Aslan are cited on the eldest list of Major Races that exists in OTU (even older than the Major Race concept proper): the Droye Coins (AM 5, pages 22, 36 among other references).

 

[mike wightman]

Major race and minor race are an Imperial label - they are an artificial way to claim superiority of the major races.

 

[McPerth]

Not until Akidda Laagiir found out about it in 1115 and published the story.

IIRC, in an interview with Alidda Laagiir published in one of the last Traveller Digests (I don't remember now which one) he himself defended the fact that Aslan are a Major Race, and advocated that what must be revised is the concept of Major Race itself

 

[Blue Ghost]

I don't understand why the Aslan wouldn't be considered a major race, particularly since they're all over the place. What does inventing jump drive have to do with anything? Isn't it the size of the territory balanced with their population that determines their "major" or minor status?

 

[E.D.Quibell]

I don't understand why the Aslan wouldn't be considered a major race, particularly since they're all over the place. What does inventing jump drive have to do with anything? Isn't it the size of the territory balanced with their population that determines their "major" or minor status?

And that's the cruxs of the argument and why GDW/DGP introduced the plot line in the first place

Best regards,

Ewan

 

[BlackBat242]

I don't understand why the Aslan wouldn't be considered a major race, particularly since they're all over the place. What does inventing jump drive have to do with anything? Isn't it the size of the territory balanced with their population that determines their "major" or minor status?

Kinda like if someone argued that Japan wasn't a major naval power in 1922 because most of their major warships had been built in Britain... and that the few that had been built in Japan used either British-built boilers, turbines, & guns or Japanese built ones which were slight modifications of British designs.

The Washington Naval Treaty of 1922 acknowledged Japan as the 3rd-most-powerful navy (after the US & Britain, but ahead of France and Italy).

 

[sabredog]

I would argue that anyone who can produce a functional jump drive and continue to advance that technology is a major race regardless of how they got started with that technology. If they could only copy it but not repair it, or continue to improve or advance its capabilities then ok, maybe.

It's like saying today that Russia still isn't a major industrial "First World" nation because they didn't invent the nuclear bomb all by themselves. I've always thought the whole Invent the Jump Drive = Major Race thing too subjective. It's too Star Trek-ish.

Besides, I wouldn't want to be the one delivering a diplomatic note to the Hierate from the Emperor saying, "Sorry, but since you are not officially a Major Race we will have to downgrade your trade status with us."