From: dershem@cox.net   
      
   "J.Pascal"  typed in   
   news:5c72f8ab-e4ae-4baf-9959-8cf44e9468ac@googlegroups.com:   
      
   > It's easy to try to force world building into giving you what you want   
   > for a story but I'm realizing that my initial ideas aren't really   
   > holding together.   
   >   
   > I don't know if I can explain this so it makes sense.  And probably,   
   > just typing it out will help me see the solution.   
   >   
   > The setting is far future.  The tech is high-but-not-magical with   
   > their being ancient runes and leftovers from a previous non-human   
   > civilization that does count as magical which supports a Galactic   
   > Empire.  My population has been on a particular planet for many   
   > hundreds of years, at least.  The main population center is a fully   
   > modern city and space port that works constantly to keep the jungle   
   > and predators from over-running it.  The primary industry is   
   > archaeology/anthropology and pharmaceuticals and Port City has only   
   > been there since the nearby ruins were discovered.  That *could* be   
   > very recently, 20 years even, but I had defaulted to, perhaps, a   
   > century ago which was probably lazy of me.   
   >   
   > The older settlements are much smaller and in a more temperate but   
   > still plenty harsh area. They're mostly agricultural and mostly   
   > self-sufficient.  They've got ruins too but pretty much kept that a   
   > secret.  Maybe the original settlers were ideological back-to-nature   
   > types, maybe it was a big colonization effort but the predators got   
   > most of them, or disease, who knows. But there's no real reason to   
   > attract new immigrants unless they want to be farmers and it's   
   > relatively easy for young people to leave.   
   >   
   > What I was hoping for was a long term stable, I won't say "inbred"   
   > because they wouldn't be, population with long term loyalties and   
   > conflicts, possibly even raiding and warring between the various   
   > walled settlements.  Actually, *not* inbreeding might provide the   
   > focus on who you're related to and how closely (sort of like a ship   
   > culture) because the gene pool is sort of smallish. So they'd have to   
   > get along in between the times when they don't get along.   
   >   
   > But they've got access to all the technology anyone else in the Empire   
   > would have access to.  And they use it.  They've got science and   
   > medicine and communications. But they also go really low tech, too,   
   > for some things.   
   >   
   > But I'm realizing... why *wouldn't* they have a couple big cities?   
   >   
   > But if they do, I lose the personal loyalty, everyone knows everyone,   
   > your most promising kid gets elected to leadership when you die so   
   > long as you don't screw up shockingly "inbred" unite-against-outsiders   
   > sort of situation that I want to have.   
   >   
   > Unfortunately Ric isn't here to tell me what stupid thing I'm missing.   
   >  :(  He was really good at that.   
   >   
   > -Julie   
   >   
      
   Maybe they have a culture old enough to nrealize that big cities are   
   really not always a good thing, especially in some circumstances.  Maybe   
   they have a culural thing against big cities.  Maybe there's an economic   
   incentive to stay small enough not to be noticed by the central   
   government.  Maybe they know that having a big city means a big target.   
   Maybe it's just not that poopular a place.   
      
   Just a few guesses.  Hope they help.   
      
   cd   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)