DemonLordEnigma
11-11-2004, 17:43
This is taken from Hollandia mayor's work and revised with several suggestions. The credit is his for the idea, despite his abandonment of it, and the following involves several revisions made by myself and others to make it more viable. Anything in italics is Hollandia's text, without alteration, while the rest is the revisions..
Quite recently, it came to my attention that the world at large is making more and faster advances in the fields of space travel, deep space research, and robotica. I therefore propose to instate a law to protect alien and extra-terrestrial life-forms (meaning any lifeform sentient or otherwise not originating from earth past, present, or future). In the best interest of all nations, religions, and trading ventures, I have made a few simple but significant rules:
1. There will be no permanent cities, colonies, mines, farms, or outposts with exception of small environmently friendly research stations on any planet defined as off limits. Off limits planets are planets where sentient life exists already but is not advanced enough for space travel, any planet where sentient life advanced enough for space travel exists and won't give permission for colonization, or a planet where colonization efforts will prove too disruptive to the local ecosystem.
Too disruptive to the local ecosystem is defined as causing enough of a disruption to cause large portions of the ecosystem to collapse or cause massive changes in how that ecosystem operates. An exception to this is a culture facing imminent extinction that is forced to move to a planet, as long as no other alternatives exist.
2. All manmade objects, not from the alien planet at large, should be totally clean and sanitized so as not to introduce an alien virus, pathogen, fungus, or otherwise into the extra-terrestrial's ecosystem unless introduction of organisms is part of a colonization method that does not violate rule #1. Accidental introduction of harmful organisms to a planet is to be cleaned up by the nation that introduced it or, if said nation lacks the technological capacity or manpower, another nation asked to do so by the contaminator.
3. All Terran scientists, probes, or otherwise should minimize contact with the local enviroment, or any extra-terrestrial civilization past, present, or future unless part of a colonization method that does not violate rule #1 or a cultural exchange between two advanced cultures.
4. Any battles in space shall fall under the same regulations that battles on Earth fall under.
5. Should there be an extra-terrestrial civilization present, first contact should not be made unless the civilization is advanced enough, and the aliens culture, language, customs, and values are studied intensly. Exceptions to this are in cases of advanced and modern nations having already come in contact and modern nations actively seeking to contact more advanced nations. Any advanced nation trading with a modern nation without the modern nation knowing they are advanced is to do their best to disguise their advancement level until such time as the modern nation advances to having the capacity for space travel.
6. For the purposes of this proposal, advanced is defined as having the capacity to travel to the nearest planet in less time than 1 standard Solar month.
How's this version?
Quite recently, it came to my attention that the world at large is making more and faster advances in the fields of space travel, deep space research, and robotica. I therefore propose to instate a law to protect alien and extra-terrestrial life-forms (meaning any lifeform sentient or otherwise not originating from earth past, present, or future). In the best interest of all nations, religions, and trading ventures, I have made a few simple but significant rules:
1. There will be no permanent cities, colonies, mines, farms, or outposts with exception of small environmently friendly research stations on any planet defined as off limits. Off limits planets are planets where sentient life exists already but is not advanced enough for space travel, any planet where sentient life advanced enough for space travel exists and won't give permission for colonization, or a planet where colonization efforts will prove too disruptive to the local ecosystem.
Too disruptive to the local ecosystem is defined as causing enough of a disruption to cause large portions of the ecosystem to collapse or cause massive changes in how that ecosystem operates. An exception to this is a culture facing imminent extinction that is forced to move to a planet, as long as no other alternatives exist.
2. All manmade objects, not from the alien planet at large, should be totally clean and sanitized so as not to introduce an alien virus, pathogen, fungus, or otherwise into the extra-terrestrial's ecosystem unless introduction of organisms is part of a colonization method that does not violate rule #1. Accidental introduction of harmful organisms to a planet is to be cleaned up by the nation that introduced it or, if said nation lacks the technological capacity or manpower, another nation asked to do so by the contaminator.
3. All Terran scientists, probes, or otherwise should minimize contact with the local enviroment, or any extra-terrestrial civilization past, present, or future unless part of a colonization method that does not violate rule #1 or a cultural exchange between two advanced cultures.
4. Any battles in space shall fall under the same regulations that battles on Earth fall under.
5. Should there be an extra-terrestrial civilization present, first contact should not be made unless the civilization is advanced enough, and the aliens culture, language, customs, and values are studied intensly. Exceptions to this are in cases of advanced and modern nations having already come in contact and modern nations actively seeking to contact more advanced nations. Any advanced nation trading with a modern nation without the modern nation knowing they are advanced is to do their best to disguise their advancement level until such time as the modern nation advances to having the capacity for space travel.
6. For the purposes of this proposal, advanced is defined as having the capacity to travel to the nearest planet in less time than 1 standard Solar month.
How's this version?