Ø Ask and ye shall receive: http://www.cgi101.com/~lkw/AskDave.txt Also, hello.
Yes, that’s the one. That will probably give you the best outline of what Dave was thinking way back when.
Ø FYI: I don't know that Dave (or perhaps Martin for that matter) ever really understood where I was going with the Terrans.
On Martin’s side (no spoilers here, really) IIRC he was driven by the desire to make the Terrans a force for good. For much of Traveller’s history the Terrans were actually *bad* guys. Which was pretty cool and forward-thinking at the time it was done. (Making the Terrans/Solomani the bad guys was something that helped Traveller stand out.) But, by the time of 1248, Martin thought that idea had been played out and it was time for the Terrans to be a force for good. (Or at least mostly good. He liked to work with flawed heroes and flawed forces.) Children of Earth didn’t seem to go in that direction.
Another problem I think you ran into was that many people who read the “Children of Earth” didn’t realize or understand that they were supposed to be the good guys. With their heavily regimented mandatory state religion and neo-theocratic government, I imagine that many readers just immediately lumped them in with the bad guys. I know that was the way I original read it. I doubt I was unique.
Mike West
Yes, that’s the one. That will probably give you the best outline of what Dave was thinking way back when.
Ø FYI: I don't know that Dave (or perhaps Martin for that matter) ever really understood where I was going with the Terrans.
On Martin’s side (no spoilers here, really) IIRC he was driven by the desire to make the Terrans a force for good. For much of Traveller’s history the Terrans were actually *bad* guys. Which was pretty cool and forward-thinking at the time it was done. (Making the Terrans/Solomani the bad guys was something that helped Traveller stand out.) But, by the time of 1248, Martin thought that idea had been played out and it was time for the Terrans to be a force for good. (Or at least mostly good. He liked to work with flawed heroes and flawed forces.) Children of Earth didn’t seem to go in that direction.
Another problem I think you ran into was that many people who read the “Children of Earth” didn’t realize or understand that they were supposed to be the good guys. With their heavily regimented mandatory state religion and neo-theocratic government, I imagine that many readers just immediately lumped them in with the bad guys. I know that was the way I original read it. I doubt I was unique.
Mike West