Douglas replied to David: > I worked for US Customs and can say that there is more to it than just > fighting between governments. One really important part of it is > stopping the transportation of pests from one area to another. This is > very important to a lot of people. Examples of this failing in the USA > include, rats, kudzu, dandy lions, starlings, cats, dogs, and a big > bunch of bugs like Japanese beetles, fire ants and tent caterpillars > and a bunch of diseases too. I would think any ecosystem with pockets > of isolation would have this problem.
Once you have multiple planets and their ecosystems to worry about, little differences might pale, or the need for strict controls to stop alien pests effectively means controls for any pests. If your ecosystem is messed up by Terrans and their crops, who cares about more contamination? But if you took painstaking steps to prevent Terran invaders, would you want that ruined by intercontinental invaders? Could go either way. > There could be checks for drugs, weapons, crime and other stuff to > depending on the government. If each planet tends to be a single political entity, stuff like illegal migration or smuggling is no issue. The other checks would depend on the most pressing problems and the attention span of the population. War on Terror, War on Drugs, War on Maglev Muggers ... Onno _______________________________________________ GurpsNet-L mailing list <[email protected]> http://mail.sjgames.com/mailman/listinfo/gurpsnet-l
