Retinae

[Pwyll]

i think the "least preposterous" option would have to be minor alien race.

 

[daryen]

Originally posted by rancke:
It's not so important how many there could be. The question is, how few does the available data allow us to assume?

[I would have responded earlier, but it took until today for me to have both the time and the RSB available at the same time.]

The RSB says that, "... the size of their refugee population is not given, nor are the refugees included in the world's UWP population data. Since the Zhodani Exodus is still underway with no sign of abating, the size of these refugee populations are subject to rapid change, ..."

It goes on to say, "The [refugee world] note indicates worlds which have either been officially designated as sites where Zhodani refugees are transferred, or which have large continuous influxes of Zhodani refugees and have become de facto refugee worlds."

So the answer is that it needs to be at least "a lot", otherwise it would not have gained its designation.

As a result, the only way I can see Retinae handle a large number of human refugees is if Retinae is already able to somehow a much larger number of humans successfully. Who knows how TL 5 humans can survive, but obviously they have. And quite successfully, too, as they have survived for a few centuries by this point.

 

[chrisr]

One possible solution to the atmosphere issue. Is it insidious all the time? or everywhere on the planet. The UWP indicates that it's a fairly large world with a good amount of land. Maybe the atmosphere is only insidious at sea level and only mildly corrosive at higher altitudes and then maybe only at certain times of the year. If the land masses are generally mountainous a lower TL population may be able to find a way of existing or even adapting to make use of more of the available land.