I've been reading a lot of space opera type SF lately and a lot of John Scalzi in particular. So in my mind I've been thinking about planets and alien species as an analogy to nation states in the early mercantile colonization phase of Europe. I've also been playing with concepts of corporate nation-states (an old meme that I think needs refreshed) and how colonies and alien races would relate to each other (to this I owe a big debt to John Scalzi). Would we have an space equivalent to the UN?
But here is the bone. One of the lesser known diplomatic functions the US has is the American University system (provides education to both US and foreign nationals, has high standards for education, and places their campuses in other countries to help educate those countries about the US, our desires, hopes, goals, and thought processes). If we would, say, discover intelligent aliens in space, and develop some form of FTL, would one of our initiatives be an Earth University? What would being a student there be like, how would the function as a "cultural ambassador," and would their graduates be considered like the graduates of AU or would it be more like a community college degree for those alien races?
10 comments:
What about them starting a Alien University campus here on Earth? That might prove interesting.
There's that side of it as well. Most Space Opera (not all) revolves around humans, but most definately, if we are interesting to Aliens they would want to set up something like that here.
My current WIP is about nation states.
Cool. Modern nation states, historical nation states, or fantasy nation states?
Post Avian Pandemic, mutually seceded Sovereign Nation States of North America. What's left of them after the politicking and annexation and warring and whatnot.
Ahhh, dystopia.
Cool, I've been playing on an off with a Post-Earthquake, Chinese invasion of West Coast, Gansters Run Cities, sword and gun dystopia, told from the POV of a swordsman, near future meets steam punk meets noir meets samurai meets godfather meets dystopia meets far east street culture.
I like Dan's idea. Explains a lot. Stonehenge was on a role until the druids started cutting classes. The pyramids were a huge co-op education thing. The aliens thought crop circles were really going to do it, but never caught on.
Cutting classes, Stonehenge, ha! That's a classic.
Yeah, for those readers who don't know Dan, he's a great guy, and I've bounced ideas off of him (he's springy that way) for stories before. He was one of my friends that I bounced the ideas that became My Novel idea. Dan is one of my friends from college.
Did you guys read that crazy-cool new theory about pyramid construction?
Huhn, I thought that was one of the original ideas of how they built it (you know, other than aliens with anti-grav tech). Using the stepped pyramid inside to move the blocks around, then face it with the granite. This maybe on of my time displacement things. I get those sometimes where I see something "new" and know I've seen it before.
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