Post by Floyd Looney on Jan 10, 2010 3:08:49 GMT -5
The governments of the world were shocked to learn that a small company had recently discovered what it described as an "unpopulated (by sentient beings) Earth-type" planet around 32-light years from Earth. The small company had immediately solicited advice from several dozen business leaders it trusted.
The creation of the Fortron Joint Stock Company had been done in complete privacy with more than 500 stakeholders each putting up $500,000 with the promise of another $500,000 once the first colony ship arrived.
The governments thought it was all a big joke when they began advertising on the internet for "stockholders in the colonization of another planet". Tens of thousands of people had bought in before governments began to actually suspect something was going on.
The Company claimed full rights to all video, photographs, descriptions of the new world, its fauna, animal life etc etc and the right to market and sell such for a cut of the proceeds. It became very apparent that this was actually a serious business venture.
It was worldwide news for weeks as the governments attempted to track down the company to order it stopped. The UN said it alone had the power to decide what to do with off-world discoveries. It said these belonged to it and not to national governments or even, *spit*, private industries.
This was all very good PR because soon they began to offer "paid members" exclusive access to photographs, videos and other things from the new world. Millions and then tens of millions plunked down several dollars a month to see and learn all about the new planet.
Still with all of its resources and abilities the US government could not actually locate the servers where this was all happening online. They began to call it a ghost server and attempted to block it several ways, to no avail.
The colony web site included weather reports, weather maps, video news reports and interviews. It became common that anyone appearing in them would have their families investigated and questioned.
One of the most fascinating things about the new world, Fortron, was its government. Or rather the government that was barely there at all. They had decided that voluntary association would be the very basis of social organization and this seemed to work well.
Many of the early stakeholders had sold everything on Earth and had bought tools and equipment and such that might be valuable on Fortron and then converted their shares into land.
$500,000 on Day One could later be transferred into 20 square miles of good land. In a sense they would become owners of their own minor kingdoms. Of course they could not impede the rights of others, but contracts and agreements they could do.
They invariably used part of their land to produce products and to process goods for sale or trade. They usually built a town on their own land as well. Roads to other lands were built, sometimes a road through their territory was tolled.
Using some of the high-tech machines and tools brought from Earth the denizens of the new world of Fortron also devised their own fleet of ground-based defense craft. In peacetime they were useful for getting to the farflung reaches of the colony or for transport of goods. In other words their defense vessels were private party, they were all part of the militia after all.
Rumblings from Earth made them more earnest to build a fleet capable of defending the solar system, not just hitting enemy ships in orbit. Soon they had constructed a fleet of Stellar-class warships, owned by a corporation that counted nearly every adult on the world as shareholders.
In peacetime these ships would continue to study their solar system, analyze asteroids for minerals and such.
In fact Planet Fortron needed no government because those who lived there shared values and morality. Sure, people did bad things here and there but those were handled without giving away soveriegn authority to a government.
blah blah blah
You probably got the idea.
What do you think?
The creation of the Fortron Joint Stock Company had been done in complete privacy with more than 500 stakeholders each putting up $500,000 with the promise of another $500,000 once the first colony ship arrived.
The governments thought it was all a big joke when they began advertising on the internet for "stockholders in the colonization of another planet". Tens of thousands of people had bought in before governments began to actually suspect something was going on.
The Company claimed full rights to all video, photographs, descriptions of the new world, its fauna, animal life etc etc and the right to market and sell such for a cut of the proceeds. It became very apparent that this was actually a serious business venture.
It was worldwide news for weeks as the governments attempted to track down the company to order it stopped. The UN said it alone had the power to decide what to do with off-world discoveries. It said these belonged to it and not to national governments or even, *spit*, private industries.
This was all very good PR because soon they began to offer "paid members" exclusive access to photographs, videos and other things from the new world. Millions and then tens of millions plunked down several dollars a month to see and learn all about the new planet.
Still with all of its resources and abilities the US government could not actually locate the servers where this was all happening online. They began to call it a ghost server and attempted to block it several ways, to no avail.
The colony web site included weather reports, weather maps, video news reports and interviews. It became common that anyone appearing in them would have their families investigated and questioned.
One of the most fascinating things about the new world, Fortron, was its government. Or rather the government that was barely there at all. They had decided that voluntary association would be the very basis of social organization and this seemed to work well.
Many of the early stakeholders had sold everything on Earth and had bought tools and equipment and such that might be valuable on Fortron and then converted their shares into land.
$500,000 on Day One could later be transferred into 20 square miles of good land. In a sense they would become owners of their own minor kingdoms. Of course they could not impede the rights of others, but contracts and agreements they could do.
They invariably used part of their land to produce products and to process goods for sale or trade. They usually built a town on their own land as well. Roads to other lands were built, sometimes a road through their territory was tolled.
Using some of the high-tech machines and tools brought from Earth the denizens of the new world of Fortron also devised their own fleet of ground-based defense craft. In peacetime they were useful for getting to the farflung reaches of the colony or for transport of goods. In other words their defense vessels were private party, they were all part of the militia after all.
Rumblings from Earth made them more earnest to build a fleet capable of defending the solar system, not just hitting enemy ships in orbit. Soon they had constructed a fleet of Stellar-class warships, owned by a corporation that counted nearly every adult on the world as shareholders.
In peacetime these ships would continue to study their solar system, analyze asteroids for minerals and such.
In fact Planet Fortron needed no government because those who lived there shared values and morality. Sure, people did bad things here and there but those were handled without giving away soveriegn authority to a government.
blah blah blah
You probably got the idea.
What do you think?
