> > We approximate the rate of uplift as an average of 1.1 client per mature > > species. (The [fictional] real rate has to include non-reproducers and > > mortality and some growth in the number of citizen species it must be > > between 1.01 and 1.2.) Clients are not fairly distributed. > > > > Lets assume 11% of all O-2 citizens are minors. (1% of these are going to > > get 'lost') > > > > Note this seems to imply that the mean life expectancy for an O-2 citizen > > race is about 1,000,000 years. > > This 1 My is explicitly stated in Heaven's Reach. > > > This is a bit short for purposes of > > continuity with the fiction. If you want the mean life expectency > > between the start of uplift and passing-on to be 10MY then you need to > > divide by 10, so only 1.1% of all O-2 citizens would be minors. > > But 10 My is too much for an average. Notice that everybody expects the > Buyur to be retired, after "only" 0.5 My. > > > With maximally equitble distribution about 10% of Citizens are patrons, > > 1% of the population have 2 clients. In this sort of society you might > > want to uplift your client early to maximize your power. This implies a > > species lifecycle of 10% minority, 10% young adult, 10% active parent > > with client, 70% empty nest (except for the 10% of the population who get > > a second client). With low death rates the average client in its > > minority/indenture would have 4 ancestors in its patronymic because a > > citizen tends to start its uplift project when it is about 200KY old. > > And this is consistent with the data from the Books. > > > Alternatively, a most responsible citizen might uplift their client late > > so they have a lot of wisdom and technology for the project. Then you > > have 10% minor, 60% adult, 10% parent, 20% elder. Patronymics tend to be > > short. > > And Patronymics _are_ short: few races enumerate more than 3 or 4 > "daddies". > > > At really low levels of equity only 1% of all species might be patrons at > > any given time and many patrons will be active uplifting clients > > throughout their careers as main sequence citizens. > > > > If we want 1MY mean life-spans, then 11% clients and 5% patrons might > > provide for interesting but not grossly inequitble politics consistent > > with existing sources on the Uplift Universe. > > Uh?
I picked 11% because there will be some mortality among uplift projects. With current medical technology the replacement birthrate is something like 2.1 births per couple. 1.1 is a convenient (if not totally convincing) replacement rate for the population of O-2 species My other point is that if there are X uplift minors and X uplifters then the system is egalitarian. The Uplift Universe is *VERY* fair. Even if there are 10 uplift projects for 9 uplifters the system is still pretty darn fair. We get what economists would call a flat wealth curve. The implication is that there is little class warfare -- most (almost all) races are middle class and equal. It implies that even powerful clans, like the Soro or Thennanin are not too powerful. Democratic and egalitarian socio-political dynamics keep them in check. This is bad for literature. If there are 10 clients being uplifted then we need fewer than 10 patrons. If there are 2 or 3 patrons per 10 clients things are ripe for revolution. 4 to 6 to 10 and things are noticibly unfair, but we can claim there is equal opportunity. Social Darwinism is good say Dr. Pangloss. 7 or 8 and we have some sort of dialectic between fair distribution and rewards to cummulative advantage. The wealth curves that involve 4 to 8 patrons per 10 clients probably make for good story backgrounds. (These ratios assume that patrons are assigned their clients all at once, instead of finishing a project and starting the next.... Still you see my point.) _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
