On Sun, 3 Jan 2010, Onno Meyer wrote: > Johannes replied to me: > > An other possibility would be in a gigantic galactic empire setting. They > > might even build one or two such ships without custombuilding it for > > specific evacuation. > > Instead of building and mothballing specialized transports, the > GGE could use troopships (with extra speed, command and control, > and medical facilities). Or subsidize merchanters to mount more > life support. Neither would be as efficient in the refugee role > as a freighter, but they'd have other uses beyond evacuations. > > Or they take last-TL freighters, which are no longer competitive > in commercial operations, and refit them as evacuation transport > ships. (German civil defense and disaster response organizations > have some remarkably old trucks, because they are rarely used > and hence don't wear out.) >
Christening one great ship is a good reason for a politican to apeare in the press. Buying lots of smaller ships, that do the same more efficiently have less propaganda value. You'd just need a background where disaster relieve has a high value for the population at large, because it connects to national values and myths. Like a nation proud about it's military might attempt to build warships, larger then thoose of the other nations, even if building more smaller ships would be a more efficient use of funds. It also might be that due to political turf wars or because of treaties with other galactic empires, there are funds that can not be used for the military but they can be used for the disaster relief agency. So the plan was that the DRA purchases troop transports, that in case of war could be conscripted by the navy. Then some smartasses in the DRA accepted the bid for the giant evacuation ship, because it did fill the official role better then the pseudo troop transports. And propably because they were angry at being used. > Disaster response would be a reason not to rely on local assets > like shuttles, too. > Shuttles at least are easier to import, then ground infrastructure. > > Shuttle to ship would likely be one of the most easy operations. shuttles > > have typically simple floorplanes and there is only one way to go, there > > are very few reasons to stay on the shuttle (looking for lost luggage and > > going to the toilet). There is little place and reason to wander off. > > > > And if you have many shuttles, you might not need to make many runs with > > each of them. If thats realistic depends on the exact setting. > > How is that different from sending the colonists in special > trains or buses to the starport? Of course the psychological > of a shuttle would be greater. > If you hold them in an spaceport waiting room, some might want to have fresh air, while waiting, or take photos of the sunset or pick some flowers ect. If you lock them in trains or busses that don't move for a long time, they will complain and want to get out for various reasons. I have been in a post holiday gridlock. Lots of people running over the highway between the cars. If they are in a shuttle, it will take much longer for them to notice, that the journey does not make any progress, and if, they will not attempt to leave the shuttle. The passangers will all have to wait at places relativly close to the spaceport, unless you fly them in by plane. If the ship can only be boarded a day or two later then planned, you need to find accomodations for a lot of people. With shuttels they will be distributed all over the planet. A major power outage or similiar at the one spaceport will stop your whole operation and if passangers are already there you need to figure what you do with them. Otherwise one or two spaceports are taken out of the picture and either passangers from there are just late, or they can be diverted to other spaceports. If all the passangers of one flight are already living in the same general area (with this flight we evacuate New York, with the next Tokio) then indeed you have no advantage with shuttles. One mans groundfloor is an other mans earthmissle @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ Johannes Trimmel @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ _______________________________________________ GurpsNet-L mailing list <[email protected]> http://mail.sjgames.com/mailman/listinfo/gurpsnet-l
