Technology is slowly creeping its way to new pastures. Advancements are not as common as they once were, or at least, not as public. Someday, we may have the capability to move between worlds. Slowly at first, but maybe in the future there will be instantaneous travel between planets using some form of technology. Most people think about the technology portion of this equation. But what of humanity itself? What will happen to us? By colonizing other worlds and splitting up the population, what will happen? What changes will we see?
I would first like to discuss how these colonies would be split up. How will people be chosen for worlds? Will it be a mix of different peoples? Will there be select groups chosen for certain aspects? Most people would say that specially chosen groups would be the best. Groups that have a mix of different qualities. Be it race, gender, profession, IQ, or anything else. This seems the best course as it would allow for the colony to be diverse like Earth from the start. But would having these different people together really create a perfect colony? Probably not. I’m not saying I would choose having a single type of person on each world, but it could be feasible. The reason the world is such a nasty place is because there is no tolerance anywhere really. Sure, places have “tolerance”, but not enough to get rid of hatred and war. Differences in people are what start these altercations. So sending certain groups to other worlds would make sense. Each world could be populated with it’s own race, religion, or political belief. Could this really work at all? Maybe at first. People might start off in agreement, but there will always be factions within factions. And who is to say there will not be altercations still? There would almost have to be some communication between worlds. There will still be disagreements between these different groups. Nothing will stop them from fighting across the vast distances between them. So would it be better to start with a mix of people, or separate between them?
My next point is the changes in humanity itself. By separating the human population, will each planet gain a distinct look? Or even a distinct species? This might not be the case if travel between planets was instant, or even in a few months or years. People could then move around the planets at will, and maybe relocate to another planet and broaden the gene pool. The human race is always changing now, but that is on one world. We never notice because of this. But humans on distinct worlds could change in dramatically different ways. What will happen? Will some worlds have giants? Will others have amphibious humans? Who knows? Changes in biology would of course take a lot longer than cultural ones. But by being able to travel to other planets quickly, trade would be possible. It is safe to say that each planet will have it’s own distinct “culture”, be it in architecture, clothing, and food. Trade could keep each planet in check, at least in staying “human”. But if travel took decades, at least in the sense of relativistic speeds, would the human race on each planet change? If travel took forever, each planet would have to be self-sustaining. Trading would not be in as large a scale as it would be if travel was easier. Would the diet of each world be different then? How different will architecture and clothing be? Mostly it would depend on the environment of the planet. Certain aspects of the environment could force the colonists to adapt in varying ways that could change them drastically. Without contact from other worlds, will they stay “human”? Or will others change around them on other planets? But of course, what is human, and what isn’t? That definition could change on each planet.
What about Earth? Who would stay? Who would go? Would people who left feel banished in some way? Would the people left on Earth feel abandoned? Would life go on? Someday, no matter what, the human race will have to leave Earth. The sun will expand and overtake Earth with it’s fiery mass. Then our solar system would be unable to sustain life. The human race’s home would be destroyed. Would it be forgotten? Probably. Over time each world would come up with it’s own history of how it was the homeworld of humans. Maybe humans would be smart enough to keep our true history intact. But we have a certain forgetfulness when it comes to our history, so I doubt it. Earth would probably start out as the “core” world. It would send out supplies to the other colonies. If travel was instant, it wouldn’t be a problem. But if travel was slow, shipments would have to be sent right after the colony ship was sent in order to accommodate the colonists. Over time each world would become independent. Or maybe not. Earth could stay the authority figure for a very long time. Or war could break out and another planet would become the “core” world. Who could ever know? Some despot could have delusions of a galaxy-wide empire and try to take over. Or, some planets could go isolationist and stay behind closed doors. Both could even happen.
Could a galaxy-wide government even exist? Maybe. As long as travel times were halfway decent, it could be possible. There would be a “core” world, but there would also have to be garrison worlds throughout the galaxy to make sure the government stayed intact. These garrison worlds would be sort of like a state capital, or maybe a “sector” capital if you are feeling spacey. It would definitely be hard to keep together, but with certain systems put to work, it could be possible. Now, if travel took even just a few years between planets, a galaxy-wide government could not stay together. Problems on each planet could be handled by their respective government, but planet-to-planet disputes would take years to handle, and who knows what will occur during the voyage to another planet. If communication was instant, it would still be hard to keep the government together. Sure, a telephone call from the “core” world will have you stop in your steps for a moment, but an armada coming in when you are still alive causing mischief is another deal. The trouble is, if someone is sent to stop another person or planet from doing something, they probably already did it while they were in transit. And who is to say they will even be alive when you get there? Galaxy-wide government would be difficult without instant travel between worlds.
Sure, this little “essay” is pretty irrelevant. There isn’t a colony ship going out anytime soon. But hopefully this has got some people thinking of something other than what’s on television. Maybe it will make people think towards the future. Someday, this could very well be our descendants problem. What would our culture be? Would a galaxy-wide government work? Would the definition of being human change? I for one would be excited to catch just a glimpse of a future with colony worlds just to answer these questions.
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