NUCLEAR ROCKETS
This is really just a variation of Jules Verne's method for getting to the
moon. I thought of suggesting it earlier but I figured the acceleration would
have been too great. It would indeed require an exceedingly benevolent GM.
PSIONIC SOCIETY
This is really convoluted. I only have the basic MTraveller set, so I
don't know too many specifics of the Zhodani. However, I have given thought to
psionic societies for a GURPS campaign or two I ran.
First of all, I would assume that deceit would still be possible. It would
take on new forms and measures, but things like that will always be around.
Kind of like an arms race. Sure, there are thought police, but I'll bet the
average Zhodani is more adept at shielding his thought than a Solomani. In
fact, they would have to be, if privacy is important at all.
Consider intimate thoughts, or the little lies we tell when we want to avoid
hurting someone's feelings. What would you do if you were dating one of these
Thought Police guys, liked him (or her) as a friend but didn't want to get
too close? Things could turn ugly if there isn't some way of keeping some
thoughts private.
Also, the thought police are going to be limited by the constraints of their
own resources. What would prevent a noble from hiring a number of underlings,
retiring to a secret base, and plotting there, where no one could monitor him?
A lot of the arguments so far have assumed that either the power levels balance
out, or assume that the thought police are significantly more powerful than
the average person (the latter is not wholly unreasonable). I think that there
will always be a balance between the means of detecting and correcting deviant
behavior and the means for accomplishing criminal acts.
J Roberson