Interstellar empires and the pre-1850(ish) European experience in Africa

[Michael Thayne]

There are several standard ways to handle interactions between multiple sapient species in star-spanning sci-fi settings. Sometimes, they're all assumed to be at roughly the same level of technological development, allowing them to interact on the same terms as real-world great powers. This can be rationalized in various ways—maybe every sapient race that surpasses a certain level of technological development inevitably shoves off to a higher plane of existence—but it seems rather improbable. Other times, there will be one vastly technologically superior species that has easily conquered all the others, the way Europeans conquered the Americas. And when vast technological superiority fails to result in conquering everyone else, this is often presented as a deliberate subversion of the Conquistador scenario, often involving the seemingly "primitive" species having a mystical edge of some sort (hi James Cameron).

But it seems like you could just ignore the Americas as a model, and start from a completely different set of assumptions. For example, in sub-Saharan Africa prior to 1850 or thereabouts, Europeans did establish trading posts along the coasts but had a terrible time trying to project power inland. This was due to a combination of factors: disease (particularly malaria), logistical problems, and arguably the fact that the slow rate of fire for muzzle loaders meant they didn't provide as decisive an edge as one might've thought.

It's fairly easy to see how you could translate this to a sci-fi setting where the dominant alien species dominates interstellar trade by having the best FTL ships in the known universe, but is unable to actually conquer any planets. For example, their focus on maintaining their interstellar trade monopoly might mean they just don't put that much effort into ground forces. If they occasionally have wars amongst themselves, this gives them even stronger incentives to optimize for something other than directly conquering other species. And of course, like H.G. Wells' Martians, they might be highly susceptible to diseases found on "alien" (from their point of view) planets, meaning any infantry would have to wear environment suits 24/7. In GURPS terms, this last item would probably be something like Susceptible to Alien Microbes -5 [-10].

It would also be interesting to carefully select their technology such that it isn't quite as decisive on the battlefield as one might initially expect—much like the muzzle-loading longarm. This might require carefully going through Ultra-Tech to pick things out. Curious if anyone has tried to do something like that, or have other ideas for leveling the playing field between humans and invading aliens.

[Witchking]

Originally Posted by Michael Thayne

For example, their focus on maintaining their interstellar trade monopoly might mean they just don't put that much effort into ground forces.

I would bet on the above. For a planet to be worth conquering it would have to have a special resource that is worth enough to offset the cost of conquering a planet, then the cost of extraction, and then the cost of interstellar shipping.

Some such resources will/might exist, but would be quite rare.

[Rolando]

Another possibility is that alien physiology is very different and they are better suited to cold and barren worlds, and planets like earth and mars are inhospitable to them.

So, they share systems with humanity but are superior in FTL technology and like having control, so they conquer the solar system and may even help humans across the galaxy to work for them in those "inhospitable planets". Humans agree because humans trade with humans already, workforce in exchange of profit is what humans have being doing for a long time.

This may end more like underdeveloped countries exploited by strong economy countries but fit the idea I believe. To make things grim you may say that a handful of humans (rulers, politicians and the very rich) encourage the workforce movement to other planets but the profit is not shared with the masses as they could, nor used to improve conditions of living, so more human families take the interstellar colony jobs as an alternative to living poor on earth.

If you want to make this more light then the aliens give humanity a lot of freedom and benefit for helping them exploit those "hostile" planets and encourage a fair handling of the work force. colonization under the alien masters is a good alternative as the quality of living is better.

In this scenario (probably more in the grim version at least) revolts, union movements and such may push the aliens into a more controlling attitude and end like full blown slavery, but as their technology and physiology is not fit for war maybe humans can free a few planets and keep the land while the aliens control the space lanes.

[whswhs]

I believe this scenario was in fact the inspiration for The War of the Worlds.

John Brunner's Stand on Zanzibar quotes an old rhyme: "The Bight of Benin! The Bight of Benin! One comes out where twenty went in."

[Astromancer]

Another thought might be that the technology of interstellar flight is simply very esoteric. Not every species can figure it out. It takes multiple extremely obscure disciplines to even get to a workable theory, and practice is much harder.

This would make FTL interstellar travel an enduring monopoly. Thus even highly technological cultures, perhaps even those advanced beyond the major interstellar powers, would be at a serious disadvantage.

Societies that lacked the resources to achieve an industrial revolution, or having had an industrial revolution, was forced by circumstances to a lower tech level, would be at the mercy of the interstellar powers.

However, just because I can dump rocks on you, doesn't mean I can conquer you. The present day USA, through an application of nukes, could kill most nations on the Earth. But taking one over to rule is another matter.

[Fred Brackin]

Originally Posted by Michael Thayne

T
It would also be interesting to carefully select their technology such that it isn't quite as decisive on the battlefield as one might initially expect—much like the muzzle-loading longarm. This might require carefully going through Ultra-Tech to pick things out. .

This is just a minor twist on the Ewok/Stormtrooper problem where it is extremely dificult to nerf Gurps UT armor enough that native weapons will be at all effective.

Underperforming weapons are actually easier.

[Balor Patch]

Earthlike planets aren't. The temperature, gravity, air pressure & composition, diurnal cycle, prevalence of minerals are all likely to vary such that none of them are shirt sleeve environments for aliens. That's not even looking at biomes and being at the bottom of a gravity well.

Having aliens want planets is the tricky, usually hand-waved, part.

[patchwork]

I'd consider making it a reliability issue; perhaps the Starfarers evolved around a red sun, or even out in the Black, so that they're seriously unaccustomed to the amount of solar radiation a yellow star puts out and their electronics aren't normally hardened against it. Having to replace a sensitive chipset in your guidance system every few days, or even every few hours, seriously complicates your efforts to rule the place. Sometimes your tech works and sometimes it doesn't and the maintenance bill is nuts. Perhaps this includes focusing systems in their energy weapons, so that they frizz out and have radically reduced Acc by day 3. These are problems that CAN be solved, but they require tweaking your whole manufacturing process, which will take time and money* they may not want to invest. And then there's skin cancer. Perhaps they come from a not-tide-locked red sun planet, which we believe is rare; their options tend to be yellow sun worlds (hot, radiation-intense) which can be pains to colonize, or tide-locked worlds around red suns (narrow habitable band, never really homey). Discovering a world with liquid water and decent spin around a red sun really excites them, because it doesn't happen every century.

*whatever 'money' means to them.

[ericthered]

Playing with the alien's size and habitat can be useful. I have done a bit on a species of arboreal aliens weighing 30lbs apiece. The result is abysmal infantry for occupying or even assaulting human cities or even farmland.



A purely aquatic species is going to have things even worse... though they could conceivably colonize just the oceans and leave the land to the "natives". That's an interesting scenario, but it might not quite be what you want. But that brings up...

Originally Posted by Rolando

Another possibility is that alien physiology is very different and they are better suited to cold and barren worlds, and planets like earth and mars are inhospitable to them.

Originally Posted by Balor Patch

Earthlike planets aren't. The temperature, gravity, air pressure & composition, diurnal cycle, prevalence of minerals are all likely to vary such that none of them are shirt sleeve environments for aliens. That's not even looking at biomes ...

Yeah, that's the other strong option.



A while back I built a generator that would randomly generate gurps space planets until it got a garden world, and then evaluate how habitable that planet was for colonization. The results are scary hostile.


gravity is usually wrong, temperature swings around wildly, getting seasons to grow earth's crops to line up right is nearly impossible, the spectrum of visible light is unreliable, And I even added fake biologies that can have different amino acid counts and those are a fun little wrinkle.



It is really not hard to envision "garden" planets as hostile environments you want an environment suit for, or that you have to ship in huge amounts of food or grow everything in greenhouses for.

..and being at the bottom of a gravity well.

Having aliens want planets is the tricky, usually hand-waved, part.

So this is a thing, though it depends on your tech paradigm. You could have the aliens prefer orbital habitats and leave your planet mostly alone, but I don't think that's the best setup for what the OP wants.

Originally Posted by Fred Brackin

This is just a minor twist on the Ewok/Stormtrooper problem where it is extremely dificult to nerf Gurps UT armor enough that native weapons will be at all effective.

Underperforming weapons are actually easier.

Of course, nothing says you actually have to have ultra-tech armor. Or even allow the aliens to have "advanced body armor", though finally making dragon scale work might be a nice minimal benefit to give the aliens. When making a scifi campaign, you should feel free and even encouraged to tweak what technologies are available.

[Fred Brackin]

Originally Posted by ericthered

Of course, nothing says you actually have to have ultra-tech armor.l.

Nothing says you _can't_ call it "sci-fi" when it's actually fantasy but it is a courtesy to use words the same way your audience does. Universes where even TL8 body armor is _not_ possible are running on such divergent laws of physics that they probably shouldn't be called "sci-fi".

Aliens who simply don't "have" protective technologies weren't expecting any resistance. When confronted with resistance they will say "Oops! Sorry! Didn't recognize you as sapient!" and then go away.