Re: Why Space Empires?

Peter Knutsen wrote:

Michelle Bottorff wrote:
Galactic Empires are cool.

Yes they are.

See elsewhere on average temperature of the Galactic Empire.
<snip>

... and, I think if you look, you will discover that a great many
popular genre tropes are examples of doing precisely that: Magic, hidden
knowlege, superior technology, military hierarchies, amazing artifacts,
secret weapons, special talents, super powers...

Often, in fantasy, magical power doesn't lead to political powers. In
accordance with folk tales, users of magic, even people who have
excellent control over vast magica powers, live poor lives, in squaor
and poverty. And they live as outcasts, or even as outright outlaws.

Realistic? No, not at all. But in accordance with how witches and
sorcerers are usually portrayed in folk talkes.

(I remember the FVLMINATA RPG mentioning some Roman witches, that also
fit that stereotype reasonably well. "Veneficae" or something. Usually
proper chick-witches, but a few were male, according to the book...)

Power in relation to "powers" in actual practice, tends to be restricted to
localities - eg, the rural English "cunning man" attempting to control his
village; the Corsican "dream hunter" dedicated to the "spiritual" defense
of his village; etc.

The modern "equivalent", if such a thing exists, would be the televangelist
or politician, working on mind-control through verbal means and long-term,
long-trained acquiescence.

I can't seen how that could at interstellar distances on unitary-culture
planetary populations ...

Wesley Parish

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