One interesting aspect of the TNE post-Virus environment is that much of the
old distinction between "Major" and "Minor" sentient races has vanished. The
little guys like Vegans and Ael Yael are in exactly the same boat as the big-
league species.
In fact, they may be better off in some cases. Low-tech sentient
races will hardly be affected at all by the crash. Their civilizations will
continue as before, only without any interference from starfaring busybodies.
And the homeworlds of minor races might recover quickly from the Collapse --
much faster than any colony world. (A couple of months ago I posted a mini-
essay on why Terra probably weathered the Virus better than almost any other
planet.)
So intrepid explorers venturing into the Wilds are likely to find a
fair number of pocket empires centered on the homeworlds of minor races. But
if they have a pocket empire, well . . . they aren't very "minor" anymore, are
they? It would be excellent if the ongoing history of the Traveller universe
saw a shakeup in the roster of "Major" and "Minor" races. Perhaps the old
distinction between Solomani and Imperials will vanish, so Humans will make up
a single race. And maybe the Vegans or whoever can attain Major race status,
as the Aslan did during the Long Night.
Jim Cambias
Who Likes the New Era
Misusing His Wife's Internet Account
At Duke Bio