(urth) Short Sun blog review

[António Pedro Marques]

James Wynn wrote (22-09-2010 16:44):
> Antonio wrote:
>> James Wynn wrote:
>>> Roy-
>>>> Lemur said: "A certain ruler, a man who had the strength to rule
>>>> alone and so called himself the monarch, built our whorl, Patera.
>>>> It was to be a message from himself to the universe." (LAKE, 298)
>>>>
>>>> The people on Urth would never see the _Whorl_, never receive the
>>>> message.
>>>
>>> James Wynn- Isn't this like saying that the Apollo lunar missions
>>> would never be seen by Americans or Soviets or the other nations it
>>> was intended to impress? It certainly isn't true for the Apollo
>>> missions. Why would it necessarily be so for the Whorl mission?
>>
>> António Pedro Marques- The Apollo missions wouldn't be as impressive if
>> they hadn't really been shown to reach the moon. The landings on
>> Blue/Green weren't televised back to Urth.
>
> Let's try a different analogy. Do the governments of Pakistan and Iran
> need to use a nuclear weapon for their nuclear weapon projects to inspire
> patriotism?
>
> Imagine footage of the construction of Whorl...the carving of the
> asteroid, the building of the cities, the prospect of sending thousands
> of Urthlings to a distant planet that could be freely portrayed as a
> fertile Eden, a lucrative opportunity, and a Land of Adventure. The
> actual landing of the colonists was almost irrelevant. What mattered was
>  the huge propagandist art based on the construction project and the
> /aspirations/ of its purpose.

If you ask me, it's quite the reverse. The only thing that mattered would be
the landing, otherwise it's just a massive waste of taxpayers' money. At
least that's how I see people reacting to every huge speding in public
works. Once it results in something, it's great. Before that, it's a white 
elephant in the making. I'm also not so sure people would be thrilled at the 
idea of their fellow urthlings being 'cargo'.