James Baranski writes:
> You remember I mentioned slowboat (long orbit robot freighters) shiiping of
> bulk cargos intrasystem at a certain TL. Anyone want to comment on the
> possibility of doing this intersystem, perhaps with a laser light sail?
I think economically, intersystem, it does NOT make sense. Why? Because
of the cost of idle inventory all those slowboats travelling 30000 AU's
or more, means. Were I doing business, I'd have no problem paying
multiple times the price for shipping, so my money wouldn't be tied up
in enroute waiting. If I turned 50 times the business with the same
cash, I could pay up to 49 times my profit margin to make the deal and
make the same profit. Not to mention the capitalization cost of all
those slowboats....
James
"if one man digs a posthole in 60 seconds, 60 men can do it in one second"