Harvester vs. Zoner war & Zoner House

[Gemini893]

Actually, Corsair-Zoner relations are not as simple as "Neutral", "semi-allied", "semi-hostile" or w/e. Zoners have no centralised diplomacy.

True, Corsairs look upon Freeport 9 with greed, due to the biodomes that they would love to claim, and on Freeport 5 with annoyance as it is used by Bounty Hunters.

But they also live on Gran Canaria. Freeport 11 is a useful base out in Delta, and I'm sure they appreciate the efforts of hired guns operating out of Freeport 10.

Zoner neutrality is not maintained by "keep away or die" capfleets, but by the fact that Zoners offer services that are necessary to the survival...of everyone.

You don't see Hunters taking a hostile attitude towards Zoners just because they supply the Corsairs with food, and you don't see Corsairs taking a hostile stance because they grant docking rights to those same Hunters.

As for Zoners pulling together to form a "house"...that is the very thing that would not happen. They are an eclectic mix of individuals who chose to live by themselves with no higher authority. "Zoner" is really more of a tag for "I don't want to join a faction" than an "organization" in it's own right.

You don't address the issue of a common cause created by hostilities from Harvesters.

I'll use an example from media events from the last couple decades; Jihad. The various forms of Islam (Shiite, Sunni, etc.) do not recognize other factions as the true religion as passed down by Muhammad and yet individuals from each version of Islam join forces under the flags of Bin Laden or other terrorist leaders to carry out Jihad for what they perceive as their fight for survival. Survival and dominance of their beliefs, yes, but still they band together to fight what they perceive as a common threat.

As more and more Zoners are killed by Harvesters who are openly hostile to Zoners, so would they band together for mutual survival against a common threat. Zoner navies would develop and, as each recognizes they can not stand alone as effectively as together, they would join forces into a larger Zoner Navy. They would eventually become more and more organized to combat their common threat.

I'm not arguing that Zoners should be a house right now. I'm pointing out that, as events unfold in the future, it would become inevitable. This, alone, is why giving them a common enemy is unwise. Zoners are rich and powerful enough as a loose band of people to ensure neutrality with lawful and unlawful alike. Imagine the force they would become if they were motivated into banding together into a formidable house.

A common enemy, a common threat; that would be motivation.

And Jubal Early, very good point about Corsairs and their food supply. A good deal of it comes from Zoners. Would they really wish to threaten their major source of food?

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