Trantor (about fredgiblet) wrote:Then go ahead, traitor.
It bit strong given we have already had one warning about this thread.
I also find such
passionate disputation can lead one to misunderstanding your opponents point and trap you in our own even if it turns out to be incomplete or fallacious.
First let us review the 2 main forms of alliance that might be available:
1.
Independent Ally
Not a formal member of the Union, but unable to prove a meaningful military force of our own, we would be dependant on the Loroi military forces garrisoned in our space and on our planets.
Ruled by our own civilian governments but heavily subject to the influence of the superpower (Loroi). Our own influence in the Loroi Union is limited to our diplomats' powers of persuasion.
In future we would be officially allowed to build our own meaningful military forces but this would likely be opposed by the twin effect of Loroi political pressure and our own economic and political considerations.
Possible comparisons: The USA as the Loroi and South Korea or Japan as the Terrans.
2.
Union Membership
Militarily dependant on the Loroi military forces garrisoned in our space and on our planets;
our own forces would only be used for police & patrol actions (which is all they are currently used for).
The union being federal in nature, most local matters will ruled by our own civilian governments subject to federal authority. Our legislative Assembly delegates - being proportionate in number to population - may well automatically become the second largest block after the Loroi themselves. While the Loroi no doubt hold a majority from a species perspective, the ability to negotiate with and influence individual Loroi factions will result in at least some say in the policies and legislation of the Union.
In future it would be next to impossible to break from the Union and have our own independent government and military, but we may be able to have considerable influence in the union itself.
Possible comparisons: The EU as the Loroi and, as the Terrans, at first Portugal or Greece then later the UK or Germany depending on how the Terrans want to play it.
Short Term:
There is not much difference for most civilians.
Long Term:
Very different but by then the choice has long been made.
Frankly I don't see it being immediately obvious that one choice is definitely better than the other for the Terrans.
Clearly there are people who will greatly prefer 1 choice to the other (e.g. Trantor & fredgiblet?
) but I very much doubt either faction will dominate the negotiations.
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Trantor wrote:This line will end, as history does, if those thinking alike you hand us over to the space-witches.
As i said before, there are more players at the table, there is a small gap that we can use, and we shouldn´t give up on that one.
Because those oh-so lovely Bishōjos are military blockheads, and they will do us absolutely no good.
Me, i will rather die in my boots than living on my knees.
The question is - who would be killing you - the Loroi or your fellow Terrans?
Most of us are living on our knees in one way or another, it is just the cushion is soft enough and that we are so used to it that we don't notice or think about it, distracted as we are by our day-to-day lives.
You seem to presume that
1. the Terran negotiators would be approached by the
Devil with a deal for you Machiavellian Historian A.I.s
and
2. that we would chose Skynet over the hot blue Amazonian space elf
Nazis
I don't have that much faith in Humanity let alone our politicians.