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From: jcr@mitre-bedford
Newsgroups: net.sf-lovers
Subject: What an advanced race would come far to get...
Message-ID: <2389@topaz.ARPA>
Date: Wed, 26-Jun-85 09:58:19 EDT
Article-I.D.: topaz.2389
Posted: Wed Jun 26 09:58:19 1985
Date-Received: Thu, 27-Jun-85 07:21:35 EDT
Sender: daemon@topaz.ARPA
Organization: Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick, N.J.
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From: jcr@Mitre-Bedford



> From: looking!brad@topaz.arpa (Brad Templeton)
>
> There's only one commodity a highly advanced race
> would travel light-years to take by force, and that's slaves.  It
> certainly isn't water.

I have to disagree.

1)  If you're running out of water, and you don't have the resources
to reclaim it or manufacture it, then you've only one option open to
you: go get some more! And believe me, you'll go whatever distance it
takes to get it!

2)  Are slaves even very valuable to "a highly advanced race"? I mean, at
some point machine labor becomes cheaper and more efficient than human
labor; once a race has passed this point, human slaves have little value.
But I guess one could argue that the above refers only to physical labor,
and thus human slaves might still have value for other types of labor.
(What a nightmare: aliens kidnap the entire human race and make accountants
of us all!)

But I agree with your suggestions about improving "V." I too was disappointed
when the visitors turned out to be reptiles come to eat us -- how corny!
Making them human-relatives come to make us slaves would have been much
less ridiculous, and much more interesting.

				       Regards,
						 -- Jeff Rogers
						    jcr@Mitre-Bedford.ARPA