Sorry for the double post, but here's that wall of text I all but promised.
Let's breakdown the Gaian Infocard:
[i Wrote:Soon after tourists began to arrive in Edinburgh in 690 AS, Cambridge scientists voiced their concern over the enormous ecological damage that even the most regulated visits could inflict on the planet. Almost from birth Cambridgers had drilled into them the stories of how New London & Leeds were blighted, so they tended to be very environmentally sensitive.A few of the younger and more militant scientists studying on Edinburgh actually went so far as to begin a campaign to sabotage tourist transports in an effort to discourage visits, but with little effect.[/i]
So...127 years ago, a minority of Cambridge-based scientists started to take matters into their own hands in order to try (illegally) to protect the object of their research...simple enough, & so far, so good.
[i Wrote:Once cobalt was discovered on Gaia in 740, the BMM began to make noises in New London about the need to establish a mining base there. What had been a quiet, bloodless campaign of active resistance blossomed into full-fledged conflict. Graffitti with slogans such as "GAIA WILL NOT BLEED" was spotted soon after. The eco-terrorist movement had begun.[/i]
After 50 years of having no real effect, it was during this era that the frustration of the Cambridge-based scientists hit critical mass & began walking the path of extremism.
I can't help but imagine all the changes within that group born of extreme frustration within half a century & those that joined the brand new 'Gaian' faction at this point would share little in common with their originators.
[i Wrote:Eventually any plans to mine the surface of Edinburgh were dropped -- mostly out of fear that it might cut into the burgeoning tourist industry -- but the Gaians had already broadened their horizons by an influx of radical elements from Cambridge who sought a ban on terraforming technologies.Planetform, Inc.was the natural target.What emerged was a militant terrorist group philosophically opposed to the exploitation of planets, and terraforming in particular. The group enjoyed considerable popular support on Cambridge, funded by the efforts of the legitimate arm of the Gaians called the Green Front.[/i]
Now we enter the era where it's safe to believe that this the point when the Gaians is gained enough popularity to construct Islay & it would be at this point that they would begin to loose touch with Bretonian culture & begin to develop their own, as their only real safe haven would be the station they built for themselves & that isolation would further re-enforce their growing extremest views & camaraderie.
[i Wrote:While the Gaians and the eco-terrorist movement as a whole have made little progress outside of Bretonian space, Green Front propaganda is a common sight in Bretonia. Green Front commentators are often present on the news, and unlike the Mollys, a certain amount of tolerance exists for them in the government from those disinclined to antagonize their Cambridge connections. Over the years, the movement has broadened considerably until the majority of its sympathizers are environmentally concious individuals from throughout Bretonia.[/i]
Although people love to argue this point (& I don't disagree that this should change to reflect the present day) Anyone who watches political pundits on the news channels know that they can rally some support from people for any given cause, no matter how crazy it may sound.
[i Wrote:The sole Gaian base lies deep within the Islay Ice Cloud at the northeastern edge of the Edinburgh system. From here, the eco-terrorists coordinate attacks on their enemies within Bretonia space and the Tau-31 system. Occasionally, raids are made on the center of all evil -- Planetform, Inc.headquarters at the Canterbury station in the New London system. Ironically, although they have strong Cambridge roots, there is no activity in that system.[/i]
Besides the sorely needed update to reflect our other stations, this part doesn't really need comment
Ok, now...For 77 some odd years, the Gaians have enjoyed absolutely no measure of Bretonian citizenship & while there are people who join the movement from wherever they happen to originate from, there would be multiple decades of station-living Gaians who will follow the same biological drive to reproduce that every other human possesses, & the the resulting offspring would know absolutely nothing about what it would feel like to be anything other than a Gaian...everything they know of Bretonian culture would be learned as an outsider to it.
Gaian Natives would have never set foot on any Bretonian planet legally, never know what it's like to be seen as anything other than a criminal by the gov't & that point of view would saturate everything in their outlook.
The 'culture' the natives would have 'developed' by now would by default, rub off on the Gaians that joined up from the outside & while these 'immigrants' would have cultural knowlege the natural born Gaians don't, Once they go Gaian, they can't go back (in a manner of speaking)
Anyhoo, the point is, there is no reason why the Gaians should be pidgeonholed into such shallow views.
