“These are homemade barbarians. Workers and peasants who revolted to seize and divide the wealth and then found they’d smashed the means of production and killed off all the technical brains. Survivors on planets hit during the Interstellar Wars . . . who lost the machinery of civilization. Followers of political leaders on local-dictatorship planets. Companies of mercenaries thrown out of employment and living by pillage. Religious fanatics following self-anointed prophets.”
H. Beam Piper, Space Viking (1964), p. 12
In the end, it all comes down to the non-productive but terribly enlightened types demanding that everyone obey them and give them everything they desire. Or Else.
From the Long Walls of Athens to the Berlin Wall, such “aesthetes” always want to make certain that no one can ever escape their iron fist, with or without the velvet glove.
And like a bratty two-year-old, even when everyone gives them everything they demand, the only word they know is “More!”
Like most of his ilk, Piper’s brilliance and prophetic imagination is totally negated by his rejection of God; they know and acknowledge that the source of enrichment and freedom is rejected by his hated Dims, then turn right around and reject the source of that and everything else…as I said of Arthur Clarke on the old dead blog;
You nailed it, Chris. The progressives simply don’t understand that the capitalism they hate so much is the source of everything they have, from the tech in their hand to the food they eat.
I’ve been playing with a similar scenario for a story: What if Jews decided enough was enough, moved out, and established a new homeland somewhere else. “Peace in Palestine?” Nope. Within six months “from the river to the sea” would be one of the third-world deserts common in the Middle East, and the “Palestinians” would be at war with all their neighbors.
Panel four reminds me of the cover art for a ’50s SF novel “One in Three Hundred” https://classicsofsciencefiction.com/2020/03/16/one-in-three-hundred-by-j-t-mcintosh/
That I read way back in grade school. My English teacher was not too happy when I handed in a book report on more of “…that Buck Rogers nonsense…”. Then I told her to read the book. She came around.
The only problem with Zed’s “happy sexbot” dream is that there would be no next generation to carry on the white mans’ civilization.
What every pioneer man going to colonize Mars needs is a pioneer woman, with too many skills to list. Go back 300+ years, you’ll find the archtype settling the Eastern eventually-to-be USA.
in my wife’s family, go back approximately 100 years, just a couple of generations, they settled parts of the Intermountain West to become wheat farmers.I
THAT’S what’s needed, not “happy sexbots”, to leave this planet behind and start new.
“If you put fifty men and fifty women on a jungle island together, and come back in a century, you’ll find a thriving community of several hundred families with lots of children.
“If you put fifty men and fifty trans ‘women’ on that same island and come back in a century, you’ll find one hundred male skeletons.”
Trump’s birthday
Army’s birthday
Flag day
NoKings protests
One of these things is not like the others. 😉
We went to the range and shot targets 1690yds away! Took a bit of trial in very windy conditions and with the impact noise coming back in about 8 seconds it was interesting. Didn’t see any NK celebrations/protests, LOL
I suppose it was inevitable.
Our progress has made us the victims of out own success by placing power in the hands of those unworthy to wield it.
In the end we have only two options; Escape or War.
Escape is very difficult and invites pursuit. Safely moving people is much harder than moving death machines.
War is easy but extremely dicey, particularly when you consider who is likely to survive.
I’m afraid we are looking at the solution to Fermi’s Paradox, and it’s not pretty.
I’m not trying to be a skunk at the picnic … but Mars will most likely never be colonized, by humans anyway. Terminators? Maybe.
But Mars has only 0.6% of the air pressure of Earth, what little atmosphere is there is mostly carbon dioxide, no magnetic fields shielding the planet from cosmic radiation, super sub-zero surface temperatures, and all sorts of physical characteristics that really do make Mars the angry red planet when it comes to sustaining life as we know it.
Perhaps a nominal research station could be set up there in which small human crews periodically relieve each other, along with re-supplied Earthly provisions and resources.
Whatever the dream is … to be BASED is to be based in cold hard realities, and the physical characteristics of Mars are a hard reality.
Another reality is that we cannot escape our human caused problems here on Earth. It is better to deal with that cold hard fact as well, and then move ahead to actually confronting and fixing the problems that are created by leftist progressivism, socialism, envy, hatred, jealousies, greed, and all of the other frailties and sins that afflict the human condition.
Apologies for sounding like a “Debbie Downer” … but in the meantime, a Happy and Blessed Fathers’ Day to all those fathers, past and present. Piss off a liberal and celebrate fatherhood. G’day!
21 Comments
“These are homemade barbarians. Workers and peasants who revolted to seize and divide the wealth and then found they’d smashed the means of production and killed off all the technical brains. Survivors on planets hit during the Interstellar Wars . . . who lost the machinery of civilization. Followers of political leaders on local-dictatorship planets. Companies of mercenaries thrown out of employment and living by pillage. Religious fanatics following self-anointed prophets.”
H. Beam Piper, Space Viking (1964), p. 12
In the end, it all comes down to the non-productive but terribly enlightened types demanding that everyone obey them and give them everything they desire. Or Else.
From the Long Walls of Athens to the Berlin Wall, such “aesthetes” always want to make certain that no one can ever escape their iron fist, with or without the velvet glove.
And like a bratty two-year-old, even when everyone gives them everything they demand, the only word they know is “More!”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anZCbX21P-0
And if they don’t get it…..
clear ether
eon
When I read the first paragraph, the words that blazed in my head: “Palestinians” and “Gaza”.
It’s been a long time since I read Piper.
Like most of his ilk, Piper’s brilliance and prophetic imagination is totally negated by his rejection of God; they know and acknowledge that the source of enrichment and freedom is rejected by his hated Dims, then turn right around and reject the source of that and everything else…as I said of Arthur Clarke on the old dead blog;
https://poetnthepawnbroker.blogspot.com/2008/03/back-to-future-arthur-c-clarke-breaks.html
Yeah,Chris. I’ve had bad/good dreams similar to Zed. And Eon sums it up very good too.
My lil’ town had a protest Downtown in the pouring rain (Ha Ha ) Downtown is only like 3,4 blocks long, 1/4 mile or so.
Besides, No Kings Day is the 4th of July. The Yahoos just don’t get it.
Yeah. June 14 is Flag Day, a more courageous Congress adopted it for the U.S. flag in 1777.
I’ll bet none of the rioters torching the Stars and Stripes remember that.
You nailed it, Chris. The progressives simply don’t understand that the capitalism they hate so much is the source of everything they have, from the tech in their hand to the food they eat.
I’ve been playing with a similar scenario for a story: What if Jews decided enough was enough, moved out, and established a new homeland somewhere else. “Peace in Palestine?” Nope. Within six months “from the river to the sea” would be one of the third-world deserts common in the Middle East, and the “Palestinians” would be at war with all their neighbors.
Goose – Golden Egg – you know the rest.
Palestinians, a.k.a Philistines…. the war’s that old.
Yep, Gaza when the Israelis handed it over to the Palestinians and 5 years later… Devastation and religious mayhem.
Mars is FREEDOM!
Sounds fabulous.
Sign me up!
Panel four reminds me of the cover art for a ’50s SF novel “One in Three Hundred”
https://classicsofsciencefiction.com/2020/03/16/one-in-three-hundred-by-j-t-mcintosh/
That I read way back in grade school. My English teacher was not too happy when I handed in a book report on more of “…that Buck Rogers nonsense…”. Then I told her to read the book. She came around.
Zar Belk!
The only problem with Zed’s “happy sexbot” dream is that there would be no next generation to carry on the white mans’ civilization.
What every pioneer man going to colonize Mars needs is a pioneer woman, with too many skills to list. Go back 300+ years, you’ll find the archtype settling the Eastern eventually-to-be USA.
in my wife’s family, go back approximately 100 years, just a couple of generations, they settled parts of the Intermountain West to become wheat farmers.I
THAT’S what’s needed, not “happy sexbots”, to leave this planet behind and start new.
“If you put fifty men and fifty women on a jungle island together, and come back in a century, you’ll find a thriving community of several hundred families with lots of children.
“If you put fifty men and fifty trans ‘women’ on that same island and come back in a century, you’ll find one hundred male skeletons.”
The same holds true for sexbots, anywhere.
clear ether
eon
Trump’s birthday
Army’s birthday
Flag day
NoKings protests
One of these things is not like the others. 😉
We went to the range and shot targets 1690yds away! Took a bit of trial in very windy conditions and with the impact noise coming back in about 8 seconds it was interesting. Didn’t see any NK celebrations/protests, LOL
Who is John Galt? And the wheels of production grind to a halt.
I’m torn between “Who is John Galt?” and “So long, and thanks for all the fish.”
Dastardly Dan
My thoughts as well
Or
TANSTAFFL!!
We are living in interesting times, indeed.
I suppose it was inevitable.
Our progress has made us the victims of out own success by placing power in the hands of those unworthy to wield it.
In the end we have only two options; Escape or War.
Escape is very difficult and invites pursuit. Safely moving people is much harder than moving death machines.
War is easy but extremely dicey, particularly when you consider who is likely to survive.
I’m afraid we are looking at the solution to Fermi’s Paradox, and it’s not pretty.
I’m not trying to be a skunk at the picnic … but Mars will most likely never be colonized, by humans anyway. Terminators? Maybe.
But Mars has only 0.6% of the air pressure of Earth, what little atmosphere is there is mostly carbon dioxide, no magnetic fields shielding the planet from cosmic radiation, super sub-zero surface temperatures, and all sorts of physical characteristics that really do make Mars the angry red planet when it comes to sustaining life as we know it.
Perhaps a nominal research station could be set up there in which small human crews periodically relieve each other, along with re-supplied Earthly provisions and resources.
Whatever the dream is … to be BASED is to be based in cold hard realities, and the physical characteristics of Mars are a hard reality.
Another reality is that we cannot escape our human caused problems here on Earth. It is better to deal with that cold hard fact as well, and then move ahead to actually confronting and fixing the problems that are created by leftist progressivism, socialism, envy, hatred, jealousies, greed, and all of the other frailties and sins that afflict the human condition.
Apologies for sounding like a “Debbie Downer” … but in the meantime, a Happy and Blessed Fathers’ Day to all those fathers, past and present. Piss off a liberal and celebrate fatherhood. G’day!
See: https://gizmodo.com/humans-will-never-colonize-mars-1836316222
Oh Yeah!
Definitely Pioneer Women and let the gimmies eat each other.