[extropy-chat] DAY AFTER TOMORROW meets Asimov

[Mike Lorrey]

--- Don Dartfield <twodeel at jornada.org> wrote:
> On Thu, 10 Jun 2004, Mike Lorrey wrote:
> 
> > <snip>
> > Robots, after travelling many light years at sublight speed, would
> pick
> > whatever planet could be formed for the least work.
> >
> > Keep in mind that the spacers generally considered themselves
> distinctly
> > different from humans on Earth. They were thus of sufficient racial
> bias
> > to easily entertain genocide of alien species.
> 
> But is that spelled out, or is that just a deduction?  It doesn't
> sound
> like anything I remember from Asimov.  I mean, unless he was writing
> some
> kind of social commentary, Asimov doesn't seem like the kind of
> author who
> would write about mass genocide.  Wouldn't his characters usually
> rather
> study alien life than wipe it out?

Depends on which characters you are talking about. Keep in mind that
the robot explorers/terraformers faction was considered 'the enemy'
faction in Asimovs spacers/robots novels (Solaria, Robots of Dawn, etc)
from the point of view of the protagonist, who wanted human
exploration. 

Just because Senator Palpatine wants to dominate the galaxy (in star
wars) does not make George Lucas a fascist.

=====
Mike Lorrey
Chairman, Free Town Land Development
"Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom.
It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves."
                                         -William Pitt (1759-1806) 
Blog: http://www.xanga.com/home.aspx?user=Sadomikeyism


	
		
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