[hal]

Several things and then I'll behave and listen to thoughts by others. ;)

1) You have the First Imperium. During that period of time, its history is specified by the writers who gave us the Third Imperium. As a consequence - much of what was written was written as a backdrop for the Third Imperium. This means that the setting for the First Imperium was never really intended to be wholly self-contained.

2) You have the Second Imperium - which when you get right down to it, was simply the First Imperium with new masters after a series of ongoing struggles between the old masters and the new masters. Its history is also intended to be a back drop of the Third Imperium, not its own self-contained history in its own right.

3) as a consequence of 1 and 2, there are a lot of gaps involved that fail to explain things when we "zoom in". Mind you, I don't have a real issue here simply because creating a detailed history of this nature is a LOT of work (who boy is it a lot of work!!!). None the less, if one wants to have a credible structure to work with, then the work at creating the skeleton can be worth the while later down the road.

Now, all of that not withstanding - here is my problem overall. Just because Rome built an empire, administered over a vast (at their time) stretch of territory - doesn't mean that everyone disappeared into barbaric stretch of time during the so-called dark ages after Rome's influence disappeared. People still were born and would die in the natural cycle of things. People still ruled their immediate surroundings in a fashion that suited them reasonably well once Rome lost interest in maintaining an Empire. By losing interest, I mean that they were no longer willing or able to spend resources required to rule vast stretches of territory.

That in turn makes me believe that Empire Building is a species of government that requires a few ideal conditions for it to sprout and grow and ultimately thrive. But here is the problem I'm having as a GM when/where it comes to the Dark Ages...

Just as the Americas had their low tech tribal communities of people, and vast stretches of real-estate that was not inhabited, so too will there be entire systems that were NOT inhabited. Then there are those worlds in which they have people, but those people are not interested in empire building. Heck, they may not have the wealth available to engage in empire building. Then there comes to be the issue in which low technology in general, requires vast amounts of time for which major events occur. The saying "Rome wasn't built overnight" has the observation that things take time. How long did it take mankind to reach Tech Level 1 from the level of zero? How long did it take to reach 2? From there, TL 3?

The point I'm trying to make here is that the higher up the Tech Tree you go, the faster the developments were. During World War I, they were just getting used to the idea of firing bullets through their propellers (without shooting them off!) by means of a technological innovation of "interrupter" mechanisms. Their wing structure required the use of two wings (sometimes three, and early on initially, one). Less than 50 years later, we would see the invention of Rocket propelled planes as well as jet propelled planes - the ability to armor plate the pilot's cockpit, and carry massively heavier weaponry than their World War I forebears could. With Technology comes greater potential for wealth. Without the proper cultural mindset however, empire building may not necessarily be tied in with tech level.

Which brings me to my final point. We can have the following states where it comes to star systems or planets.

A) Uninhabited - this world was never colonized, never the site of a transplanted "species" by Grandfather's group, etc.

B) Inhabited by a Transplanted pool of people or by original aliens. This world essentially acts like a home world. It has its history of a painful struggle to advance from the Stone age to where ever it might be in any given point in the history of the Traveller Universe.

C) Colonies and Outposts - these are worlds that were settled by transplants from other home worlds.

History has examples of colonies that were started, but who later disappeared either as a result of bad luck, or were wiped out by natives of the region who objected to the invasion. These colonies disappeared from existence on a world that is a home world for humanity, let alone some place like Mars or the Moon. How long would humanity survive on a world like Mars were all communication and/or contact with Earth were to cease? If the Mars Colony lacked the machinery required to manufacture replacements it needs to keep life support operational, then it dies out. If it lacks the means to educate the next generation with skills absolutely vital to its survival - it dies out. If the Gene Pool is not sufficiently sturdy, it potentially dies out.

So, what would have had to happen during the "Dark Ages" of time between when the Second Imperium bites the dust to when the Third Imperium takes over?