Colonizing the Trans-Neptunians

[Laryssa]

Actually its spelled Xenaphobia. Xena means hospitable and phobia means fear, so a Xenophobe is someone who is afraid to be hospitable. There is what's real and whats real in the OTU. In the real world, the motivation for settling the KBO and interstellar objects is that they are closer than the stars and their too hard to reach. In the OTU, its much less trouble to use the jump drive and go to the next star. I think in the future Interstellar travel will mean travel to interstellar bodies that are inbetween stars, the KBOs are just the closest of these.

 

[Black Globe Generator]

Originally posted by Laryssa:
...the motivation for settling the KBO and interstellar objects is that they are closer than the stars...

Hmmm...that gives me an idea for another type of KBO outpost: the religious retreat.

How about a temple-observatory run by the Church of Stellar Divinity, or a Stalker refuge?

 

[Laryssa]

A wee bit far to go for just a religious retreat. If one wants to be alone, Interplanetary space works just fine; if one does not want to be found Interstellar space works better.

 

[Black Globe Generator]

Originally posted by Laryssa:
A wee bit far to go for just a religious retreat.

The CSD temple-observatory is a practical facility, one that conducts research conducive to the faith - think of a high-tech Stonehenge.

The Stalkers think the stars are talking about them behind their backs, so finding a remote point in a star system is a place to get away from the bright, incomprehensible orb.

Extrastellar space is all well and good if you have a ship that can jump out there and get back again - a permanent habitat-settlement on a KBO doesn't require jump drives or maneuver drives or huge fuel tanks to accomplish a similar goal.

A jump-capable hermitage is an interesting idea - I may just steal that - but I think most of these facilities will be based on dwarf worlds or other small stellar system bodies.

(Hey, I got to take the new IAU terminology for a spin! Woo-hoo!)

 

[Laryssa]

And they have alot of black dwarfs, brown dwarfs, red dwarfs, and white dwarfs mining out all the gold nuggets out of the hills of these dwarf world. The various kinds of dwarfs sometimes have a racial attitude toward each other. Their are many conflicts between the various races of dwarves living on these dwarven planets. Heigh Ho! Every once in a while these dwarfs are seen in the company of a gassy, belchy, and flatulent gas giant, these creatures always seem to be eating something that disagrees with them and so they got gas.

 

[Black Globe Generator]

Originally posted by Laryssa:
Heigh Ho!

You've inspired me to introduce a merchant ship crewed by Geonee with nicknames like Sleepy, Grumpy, Dopey, Bashful...