Hello dearest readers, I'm just adding a note here to say that I'm taking a bit of a winter vacation. I'll be back in the new year with more Critical Future's stories, but in the mean time, visit tychoish.com and be well. -- tycho garen

After Earth, Part 5

A Trailing Edge story, by tycho garen
on 4th August 2008. (commentary)

This is the fifth and final installment in the second sequence of the Trailing Edge story. Read part one, part two, part three, and part four. I once again leave you in the very capable hands of Mr. Leon Winter.

The familiar histories from the time surrounding the riots and the exodus–which I had heretofore been disinclined to question–argue that there had been no major protest about the depopulation of Earth. Furthermore the governments of Earth had all been very pro-depopulation, and wouldn’t have had reason or interest in protesting emigration. This seems like a fair assessment at face value, given that there aren’t many records from that period. After all, the riots left the domes ill equipped to support their populations, emigration was generally popular among the people and the governments of the domes and the nation-consortia that remained backed (and constituted) the colonial effort.

But, if there was an organized anti-colonial institution in Marrakesh. Marrakesh! The central home of the exodus, is hardly the place that I would have expected such a movement to occur, but it’s possible that this is just the only place that has managed to hold on to this memory. In any case, I’m fascinated by the idea that even in spite of global deterioration and widespread economic and societal collapse, that there were people fighting to stay, people who had the prescience to say “this is a dangerous path to walk down, lets reconsider now.“

Right before the extra-solar transports left the system, there was a spate of anti-emigrationism, which in retrospect reflected a general contempt for the unified colonial authority, rather than contempt for extra-solar emigration. The records that I have–news reports and government budgets and the line–seem to indicate that Edwin defiantly had the ear of the government.

While I suppose this doesn’t have much practical import given how long ago these events were, and how depopulated the solar system is these days, but if there was opposition emigration that predated the opposition to the colonial authority, what happened to it? And by proxy what are the implications for our assessment of the colonial authority’s role in the emigrations, both of Earth and of the solar system?

And besides, once I get a grasp of this, I should very much like to send a message about all of this in one of the tight band transmission to the extra-solar transports. But for now, I must wait. Wait to get the information, wait to get back to the outer colonies, wait to read the information. I have nothing but time, and though we aren’t flinging ourselves toward distant star systems, there is still much to discover.

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  1. Just wanted to let you know that I’m subscribed, and still reading. I’m finding it somewhat intriguing… :-)

    Comment by Naomi — 4 August 2008 @ 7:36 pm

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