Interstellar Trade

[blacknblue]

I need input. The discussion that wandered OT on the Enlistment thread got me to thinking about this. Someone mentioned Vulcan importing food from Earth. Which made me think of some of the TOS books, specifically Spock's World, where a character mentioned that he was worried what might happen if Vulcan withdrew from the Federation, because they already imported too much food as it was, and if they withdrew from the Federation they would really be hurting.

I am touching on trade embargoes, and harsh tributes being levied, as part of the punitive measures that the Terran empire levies against rebellious worlds in my Payment MU story. Tis is also coming up in a peripheral way in another story that is percolating.

How would this work? Would a logical race like Vulcans for example, ever allow themselves to become so dependent on imported food that they could not survive without it? What about us? And not just food. What about critical components to keep our technological civilization running? Suppose -

(this is just hypothetical. I know it is not canon. I am just supposing a 'fer instance' here, OK?)

- for example, that only Vulcans knew how to make a component that was critically necessary to the manufacture of replicators. And only Andorians knew how to make the material for the hulls that would withstand the stresses of high warp travel. And only the Tellarites could build the widgets that the inertial dampers used to keep everyone from getting smashed into jelly at high warp. And only Humans knew how to make the hardware for a containment field strong enough to hold an anti-matter reaction powerful enough to let a ship travel at high warp.

By high warp I mean say, above warp 7.

Now. What choice do we make? Do we go ahead build the ships that are capable of warp 9.5? Or do we stay with the older, slower ships and maintain our independence?

Same for food or medicines. How would all of this effect our civilization? It isn't like crossing an ocean. I mean, you can toss a barrel off the coast of Africa, and sooner or later it will wash up somewhere on America. It is a little more challenging to cross interstellar space. If trade breaks down with Vulcan, or Andoria, things might get a bit desperate.

[pookha]

i wonder if vulcan is that dependent on food considering in tng there is a seperatist movement.

[Linda]

I have always thought that part of the attaction of Earth for the Vulcans would be for the quantity and variety of food they could trade some of their technology for. But that would be in the non MU universe. Wouldn't Vulcn have colony worlds to supply the home world with raw materials? Maybe in the MU the Terran Empire could harm Vulcan by cutting off trade between Vulcan and its colony worlds. But they may have done that already, as soon as the empire took over Vulcan?

Distracted in an early fic had the Vulcans farming in gullies and such where there may be more water and less intense sun. In my fics I had them having large grain farms in the polar regions where it was cooler and wetter. And maybe they have hydroponic farms underground?

These are just a few ideas, hope it helps.

[enterprikayak]

i liike how black n' blue always starts these knotty question threads.

[hth2k]

Inter stellar trade within a terran empire would likely work similarly to the way trade worked within past human empires. Look to the Roman, British, CHinese, any wide spread dominant culture or the past and you may find clues.

Empires like Rome and Britan which expanded by conquest usually defeated the existing governmental and military structures of a regeon and installed a military ruler that took oderers from the ruler and made certain the populace complied. The rulers took what they wanted from the subjigated in the form of taxes or tribute or what ever you wish to call it. If the population paid up usually they were allowed to survive in some form. Should they rebel the hammer descended.

Would not an interstellar empire set up analagous institutions on the newly conquered territories?

One may assume different worlds and systems have different items of interest. Vulcans, Andorians, Tellarites, etc. Some systems may be rich in specific minerials or have large deposits of unobtanium. Other systems may have knowledge or processes. Others may have biological resources, say they make the best cheese in the universe according to human tastes and it just can't be made anywhere else. Perhaps one system has huge deposits of dilithium crystals but they need to be polished with sands from a certain Vulcan volcanoe to achieve the perfect finish to allow super high energies required above warp 6.

It has been shown some nonhumans develop a taste for coffee.

It would seem that a desert world would have a certain critical population that could be sustained effectively. That population could grow with trade due to imported food and other necessities such as water.
War reduces population drasticly. It usually also effects the gene pool as those willing and able to fight are often killed off before they can breed. Enough wars and you have France.

HtH

The NSA has not found any value to be contained in the above missive.

[blacknblue]

I am just wondering about how the logistics of this would work. For instance, in part 8 (which was submitted several days ago, I guess they are busy) I have proposed that among other things the Terran empire imposes punishing embargoes and confiscatory tributes to any world that rebels, as well as mass executions.

But I was wondering what effect this would have, what ripple effect I mean, on the rest of the empire's economy. Not to speak of the practical difficulty of enforcing an interstellar embargo. Look at the trouble we have enforcing international embargoes.

I may need to re-think this. Even though I already wrote and submitted it. I might have to write a enw section where it backfires and causes more trouble for the empire than it is worth maybe...

[Kevin Thomas Riley]

...large deposits of unobtanium.

War reduces population drasticly. It usually also effects the gene pool as those willing and able to fight are often killed off before they can breed. Enough wars and you have France.