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Brainstorming an Alt-Dimension/Quasi-Star Trek setting
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<blockquote data-quote="Dannyalcatraz" data-source="post: 8103385" data-attributes="member: 19675"><p>Yes, that was a hash! There is something I read a while back that was NOT included in my post, namely a discussion on how close the Greeks were to stumbling onto gunpowder, and how some of their scholarship may have been disseminated to other ancient cultures. It was all a bunch of historians speculating, but some felt it was a possible kickstart to similar research elsewhere in the world. Some also speculated fundamentals of gunpowder were part of at least some versions of “greek fire“.</p><p></p><p>Because if <em>Connections</em> taught me anything, just because you have all the pieces in front of you, it doesn’t follow that you’re going to see the big picture. Sometimes, putting it all together requires a bit of luck or rare insight.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Excellent points.</p><p></p><p>That additional power structure is, to say the least, somewhat at odds with the imperialistic nature and certain cultural mores about what is right and just in dealing with other humans. There’s a serious case to be made that The Sermon on the Mount is- among other things- one of the first recorded directives on the use civil disobedience.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>That‘s the too big to survive thing I was getting at. There‘s no way to effectively gather and use all the data needed to efficiently and effectively manage an empire so vast, so Rome either stagnates and/or shrinks or consolidates. Metaphorically, it cuts off a limb here or there in order that the main creature survives.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Hell, the <em>threat</em> of Rome- even thought it’s more of a paper wolf- and its firepower may keep all but the hungriest at bay for a while.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>As I recall, the current theory is that the Norse colonization of North</p><p>America actually started @1000 years ago, and failed primarily due to environmental issues. So <em>some </em>of the indigenous people were exposed to <em>some</em> of the European pathogens, but not enough to make a huge difference.</p><p></p><p>But a bigger push to the West because they can’t reasonably go South and East probably changes their calculus a bit. They won’t give up on the new settlements because they can’t afjord...errr..<em>afford</em> to.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>One BIG equalizer between the Viking/Native American culture of this setting and a newly expansionistic Rome would be the horse. The vikings didn’t really have those in their failed settlements, but they knew their value. At some point, they sure to have tried and eventually succeeded in bringing them to the New World. So by the time Nova Roma reaches the Americas, the horse will not be a machine and weapon only for the Europeans.</p><p></p><p>The question then becomes whether there is a new equilibrium reached for a while, or if the New World becomes Rome’s next Carthage...</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Dannyalcatraz, post: 8103385, member: 19675"] Yes, that was a hash! There is something I read a while back that was NOT included in my post, namely a discussion on how close the Greeks were to stumbling onto gunpowder, and how some of their scholarship may have been disseminated to other ancient cultures. It was all a bunch of historians speculating, but some felt it was a possible kickstart to similar research elsewhere in the world. Some also speculated fundamentals of gunpowder were part of at least some versions of “greek fire“. Because if [I]Connections[/I] taught me anything, just because you have all the pieces in front of you, it doesn’t follow that you’re going to see the big picture. Sometimes, putting it all together requires a bit of luck or rare insight. Excellent points. That additional power structure is, to say the least, somewhat at odds with the imperialistic nature and certain cultural mores about what is right and just in dealing with other humans. There’s a serious case to be made that The Sermon on the Mount is- among other things- one of the first recorded directives on the use civil disobedience. That‘s the too big to survive thing I was getting at. There‘s no way to effectively gather and use all the data needed to efficiently and effectively manage an empire so vast, so Rome either stagnates and/or shrinks or consolidates. Metaphorically, it cuts off a limb here or there in order that the main creature survives. Hell, the [I]threat[/I] of Rome- even thought it’s more of a paper wolf- and its firepower may keep all but the hungriest at bay for a while. As I recall, the current theory is that the Norse colonization of North America actually started @1000 years ago, and failed primarily due to environmental issues. So [I]some [/I]of the indigenous people were exposed to [I]some[/I] of the European pathogens, but not enough to make a huge difference. But a bigger push to the West because they can’t reasonably go South and East probably changes their calculus a bit. They won’t give up on the new settlements because they can’t afjord...errr..[I]afford[/I] to. One BIG equalizer between the Viking/Native American culture of this setting and a newly expansionistic Rome would be the horse. The vikings didn’t really have those in their failed settlements, but they knew their value. At some point, they sure to have tried and eventually succeeded in bringing them to the New World. So by the time Nova Roma reaches the Americas, the horse will not be a machine and weapon only for the Europeans. The question then becomes whether there is a new equilibrium reached for a while, or if the New World becomes Rome’s next Carthage... [/QUOTE]
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