“Well yes,” Ashima responded. “But it is not as if we really need anything from most of them. They are not slaves; they just give us a level of respect higher than what they give each other.”
She said it as if it explained everything but I still didn’t get it.
“Why do they respect you?” I probed.
“Because we are a dynasty,” she responded with a strange look on her face. “Look Mark, most planet bound societies are by your standards very advanced, totally self-contained, and have more natural resources than they could probably ever consume. They have no reason to develop interstellar relationships. We call the people Kikos after a well-known animal, Kikosolentis, which marks out a small territory and then never travels outside it. They make great pets,” she said with a grin.
“Most Kiko societies have a space presence so that they can harvest the resources of their own planetary systems but on the rare occasion that individuals might want to travel to another star they can probably hitch a ride with a dynasty ship. Although it can be kind of hit and miss because most planets don’t see a dynasty ship but once every few hundred years or so as you would measure it.
“When a dynasty ship does make planetfall, we bring news and information that can be invaluable to that society. The last thing the Kikos would want to do would be to alienate a dynasty.”
Judging from the look on Ashima’s face I think it must have been obvious that I was still missing something. After some thought I asked, “Why don’t the Kikos just build their own starships or tap into the galactic networks and databases for their information? Why are they so dependent upon the dynasties?”
“Oh Mark,” she said. “I thought you knew. Faster than light travel and communications are restricted technologies—just like gene modification and temporal physics. The Accord would never condone Kikos using those technologies let alone transferring it to them.”
No I hadn’t known, and I was very surprised.
“Ashima, how does The Accord prevent Kikos from discovering this technology on their own?” I asked.
“They don’t. No one has independently made discoveries in those areas in hundreds of millions of years.”
“Then how did the dynasties get them? Surely they didn’t all independently come up with the same discoveries?”
“No Mark, that is one of the advantages of being a dynasty. Under The Accord all accredited technology is shared amongst the dynasties—including travel, communications, etc.
“Those advantages come with a price however; The Accord also gives us guidelines and responsibilities. Let me give you an example: even though certain technologies are restricted from the Kikos we may drop bits of other knowledge and technology to them as we travel across the galaxy, but we have to be careful about even that. We have learned the hard way that too much advancement too fast can be harmful—and The Accord would take a very dim view on any dynasty that was damaging Kiko societies. ”
I tilted my head and gave her my ‘Oh really?” look…
Ashima laughed and said, ‘We told you Mark, in the case of Earth the Noridians are desperate.”
“Ok, at any rate that’s why the Kikos all look up to the dynasties; you’re literally on a different technological level than they are,” I summarized.
“That and the fact that we act as a safety net for them. If there were a natural disaster or a pandemic that threatened the planet we would be their best hope.”
“So, the bottom line is that the Kikos need the dynasties more than the dynasties need the Kikos,” I concluded.
“They need us more than we need any one of them,” she agreed. “Collectively it is a very symbiotic relationship. We all evolved on the surface of a planet and even though we are not planet bound most dynasty members find it better, both physically and emotionally, to spend time there. We would suffer if there were not any friendly Kiko civilizations to holiday with.
“And of course there are certain Kiko planets,” she continued. “A very small percentage which various dynasty members might befriend or frequent for a while—Stiger hosting Semi and her protégés are a good example of this—and then there are those rare instances of a dynasty placing a Protectorship over a planet.”
“How does that work?” I asked. “Everyone’s been quick to tell me the advantages for the planet but what are the advantages and obligations for the dynasty?”
“That is very insightful of you Mark to realize that a protectorship does carry an immense obligation for a dynasty.”
Her eyes were sparkling and I think she actually was feeling proud of me.
“When a dynasty places a protectorship over a planet they are declaring to The Accord that they have full responsibility for that society’s development and safety,” she continued. “Protectorates can access and use all of the technologies that the dynasty uses; so it is imperative that there be a close relationship that allows the dynasty to steer the protected civilization away from danger. Left to their own devices many civilizations would tear themselves apart with unrestricted access to those advanced technologies.”
“And what’s in it for you?” I asked. “Why would a dynasty want to take on that responsibility?”
“We usually will not,” she sighed. “That’s why protectorships are so rare—it takes an overwhelming consensus of dynasty members to approve it.
“Typically, Protectorships serve as a base of operations for dynasties. There are obvious advantages to having a centralized base of operations for communications, repair, and certain types of manufacturing. We are also a social species and having established gathering points spread throughout the galaxy eases the isolation a spacefaring culture can sometimes feel.
“Lastly, but just as important, a protected planet is free of the politics and intrigue that is part and parcel of being in The Accord.”
“So the dynasties do compete against each other,” I observed.
“Oh, very much so,” she responded. “The standing of our dynasty in The Accord is of daily concern to every member. Protecting and enhancing that standing is one of the obligations and responsibilities we have to each other.”
“So Ashima, if I’m understanding this correctly, your relationship to The Accord is analogous with the Kikos relationship to the dynasties? In other words you need them more than they need you?”
“Mark,” Ashima responded. “Remember that The Accord is made up of Lower Houses and Upper Houses, but from a technological standpoint the gulf between a dynasty and a Lower House is incalculably wider than the gulf between the Kikos and a dynasty. We don’t just need them; it’s fair to say we revere them.”
The ship we were on had a mind of its own. I mean it was literally what we would call an Artificial Intelligence or AI. At least I’m assuming it was self-aware; computer scientists on Earth had been debating for decades what that really meant and how you would be able to tell if a computer was truly an individual intelligence. We had invented the Turing Test and believed it to be the benchmark until 2014 at the University of Reading where the programming of a non-self-aware computer became sophisticated enough to pass it.
For me it was pretty simple; I didn’t care. If I couldn’t tell if it was a person or a machine when I was talking to it…
I was ‘getting to know’ the ship through my smartpad. Like the other ships we had been on there were no controls, control room, or bridge. Coridians mentally ‘merged’ with their ship via their bioware. I’m sure my method was much more cumbersome but both Anzio and I had taken Major Reagan’s advice and declined the offer of bioware.
The external ship views offered up in my holodisplay were incredible and I can only imagine what it would be like to experience them in my mind’s eye—I’m sure it must be a totally submersing experience that would take anyone’s breath away.