A known phenomenon in the various incarnations of Traveller is that high-
technology goods often increase vastly in cost with each TL rise while income
does not. This leads to peculiar artifacts of the system such as in High Guard
TL15 starships are so expensive that not enough of them can be bought to
overcome greater numbers of lower TL designs of equal cost (I think I remember
this referred to). Also in many cases the utility of the high-tech device does
not justify the cost. The extreme here is the TNE plasma rifle, which requires
ammunition, is short-ranged, guaranteed to give away the firer's position, and
in general inferior to an auto-grenade launcher, which happens to be much
cheaper ( The old main advantage of the man-portable fusion/plasma guns was that
apart from the prototype they had infinite ammunition, and that is now no
longer the case).
There is a case to be made that high tech-level civilizations should be very
rich compared to lower TL ones, apart from any details of exchange rates. In
this case the high costs are affordable and the equipment is seen as being the
minimum standard (while lower-tech equipment is seen as cheap, shoddy and of
course old-fashioned.) Massive automation and computerisation at all levels
would make the average TL15 individual richer than the richest TL8 individual
in terms of comfort and lifestyle(much as the average TL8 individual is better
off than the richest TL3/4 one). The income of people with equivalent jobs
would increase significantly at each TL.
This is not a traditional Traveller idea, and it would change the old Imperium
background in interesting ways (this is not hugely relevant to TNE except in
the Regency and the most advanced of the pocket empires). If high-tech planets
are comfortable and rich their inhabitants will not want to leave them for
barbarian(as they see them) planets, as they would have too much to
lose(extended lifespans amongst them). High-tech cultures will probably have
zero population growth, which makes colonisation difficult. Also, colonists
have historically been those with little or nothing to lose, such as the poor,
refugees, and dissidents; adventuring types have been a very small fraction.
High-tech planets would use resources prolifigately, even assuming recycling,
and would probably have to import raw materials from other systems. These raw
materials would come from poorer worlds who would probably not be paid much for
them. This could produce a rich country-poor country divide, much as is
becoming visible in the Northern/Southern hemisphere divide today.
I can see it now, stolid TL8 barbarians fighting against the effete high-tech
invaders who are attempting to replace the legitimate government with a puppet
regime, so that they can siphon off the planet's valuable natural resources at
way under a fair price. Thanks to TNE they have the benefit of superior TL8
weaponry over the invaders ineffective laser weapons and plasma rifles. Down
with the evil RCES........ oops, sorry, got carried away there :-)
Tom O'Neill | [email removed] [email removed]
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Fact is stranger than fiction