Centrum Light, Homeline Dark.

[warellis]

Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl

Terrorism recruits from people who lack a reasonable alternative (in effect, it is a way for most people to give some meaning to their lives and/or deaths). If people can just gain everything that they need by colonizing another world, terrorist organizations are going to find recruitment very, very difficult. In addition, Homeline benefits from memetic and surveillance technologies liberated from other timelines, so I imagine that they minimize terrorism through memetic engineering and intelligence survillence (SEAL Team 6 can also use paratronics to hit terrorist camps from parallel worlds).

It has actually been found terrorism recruits far more from the ranks of the middle and the upper classes. The poor are generally too concerned about survival to make for good terrorists.

[Flyndaran]

Living by ideology seems to be a luxury for most of humanity. I guess I tend to be pessimistic thinking of all the times people are selfish for survival, that I forget about all the zealotry that also gets put by the wayside for pragmatism.

But once zealotry becomes pragmatic, all hell will break loose.

[AlexanderHowl]

Originally Posted by warellis

It has actually been found terrorism recruits far more from the ranks of the middle and the upper classes. The poor are generally too concerned about survival to make for good terrorists.

Not according to the research that I have seen. Most of the leadership is from middle and upper class origins, but the rank-and-file people tend to be working or lower class. Why waste educated people on combat/suicide missions when they can instead be creating explosives, making propoganda movies, smuggling drugs, handing computer crimes, etc?

[RogerBW]

Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl

Not according to the research that I have seen. Most of the leadership is from middle and upper class origins, but the rank-and-file people tend to be working or lower class.

This isn't in any case relevant to the plausibility of conveyor-based terrorism. If a real-world terrorist group can acquire people with skills in aviation, forgery, explosives manufacture, etc., a Homeline group can probably acquire people with skills in conveyor operation (at least the basics).

And we know that crime continues, so it's not that Homeline society is a paradise that prevents people from being discontented with their lot.

If you don't want to believe in ideological terrorism, how about good old blackmail? "We have a conveyor and a nuke. Pay us lots of money, or it goes off in a major city."

[warellis]

Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl

Not according to the research that I have seen. Most of the leadership is from middle and upper class origins, but the rank-and-file people tend to be working or lower class. Why waste educated people on combat/suicide missions when they can instead be creating explosives, making propoganda movies, smuggling drugs, handing computer crimes, etc?

Because effective terrorism (as in more than just running over some people for example) often requires college-level educations it has been found. Making explosives isn't as easy as people think for example.

[AlexanderHowl]

As mentioned before, terrorism becomes a real difficult proposition when the I-Cops have psis with precognition on their pay role. If the I-Cops find you with an illegal conveyor after their psis predict a terrorist attack, Coventry is probably the best that you can hope for. It is not like the I-Cops cannot come at you from a uninhabited parrelel (or send an automated conveyer back across with a MOAB in the middle of your base).

When you are facing an organization like the I-Cops, the best bet for a terrorist is subtlety and mobility. Otherwise, just steal a conveyor from a private owner (or government) and allow the infinite to protect you from the I-Cops. Why deal with the I-Cops when you can use your technological advantage to go conquer a Stone Age society?

[Flyndaran]

Maybe half a dozen that live and work mostly off world cannot possibly maintain such draconian holds over the entire planet of Homeline every moment of the day. That would snap my suspension of disbelief to LOL levels.

[Daigoro]

Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl

Why deal with the I-Cops when you can use your technological advantage to go conquer a Stone Age society?

I'm not sure what types of terrorist causes would be satisfied by abandoning their home society.

IRA, perhaps? They can escape the yoke of English rule, but it would mean abandoning their homeland.

Anarchists? They'd be free to set up their preferred society.

[Mark Skarr]

Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl

As mentioned before, terrorism becomes a real difficult proposition when the I-Cops have psis with precognition on their pay role. If the I-Cops find you with an illegal conveyor after their psis predict a terrorist attack, Coventry is probably the best that you can hope for. It is not like the I-Cops cannot come at you from a uninhabited parrelel (or send an automated conveyer back across with a MOAB in the middle of your base).

Precognition is not foolproof. And it doesn't give you the ability to know where the attack came from. All you could know is that, yes, a city is destroyed in a terrorist attack and a conveyor was used in the delivery. But, beyond that, you can't know everything. Precognition is not omniscience.

[Johnny1A.2]

Originally Posted by warellis

It has actually been found terrorism recruits far more from the ranks of the middle and the upper classes. The poor are generally too concerned about survival to make for good terrorists.

Specifically, the leaders tend to come from the upper classes and the rank and file from the middle class. As noted, the poor don't have the time, though desperation sometimes drives them into something (do a job for the terrorists, say, often a fatal one, in exchange for having your family funded).

Homeline could easily have the problem, esp. among the more idealistic/daydreamy college-agers in the rich countries, or their equivalents elsewhere.