Contact with the Hive

[Flubber]

Latest offer from the Hive--

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Greetings again from the Human Hive; after further discussion and consultation amonghts the Hive governing and administrative bodies it has been decided to formaly issue an offer of trade to Peace.

We offer Applied Physics in exchange for Doctrine: Mobility. We await your response, and wish to see a positive outcome to these trade negotiations in the hopes that this step will help further the good relations between our two factions.

Sincerely,

Voltaire

Chairman of the Central Continuing Committee

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I have not yet responded

[Hercules]

In the interests of good relations and getting us a mil tech I can go with this. Plus a treaty.

A question is if they pre accept and we accept will it mess up the tech we are offered. I must go back to the Chart room discussion.

[Hercules]

It seems, according to Cuspidore's latest intelligence, that Adaptive Econ will still be offered, even with delivery of Applied Physics.

Should we play safe and agree treaty and trade but let us pre-accept first?.

But before that have we any inclination that the Hive have Non linear Maths. Have we asked them outright about it and/or are they researching it?.

[Flubber]

My latest message to the HIve as suggested by herc
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Honored Voltaire

I have been asked if your faction has acquired nonlinear maths or would be in a position to acquire it soon. The council feels that that would be a more desirable tech to acquire.
Our preference for any trade for lower level techs would be for a deal being concluded after our next discovery . The idea is to minimize tech cost. WE could negotiate a binding deal now but we just don't don't have a burning need to acquire any of those lower techs immediately.

The deal applied physics for mobility is still a possibility ( discussion is ongoing) but our people really hoped that we can deal for other techs. Nonlinear maths or HEC are of most interest. If you fear the spread of those techs, we could agree not to trade them onward for a set number of years.


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The purpose of this message was threefold

1. see if they have any better techs
2. stall
3. set up the idea of restrictions on trade as an acceptable thing-- we are offering it-- for when we might want to trade them doc flex without them trading it on.

[Flubber]

Voltaire has confirmed they do not have nonlin maths and he provided a friendly message indicating willingness to trade. He indicated he would let me know if they might acquire the tech soon

[Hercules]

In the circumstances I am happy to accept the trade, Applied Physic for Doc: Mob. (I mean every Hive boy wants a rover).

It also gives us a starting Military tech and I feel it might make Miriam and Roze pay more attention when we call up.

We also get some trade ecs I presume. There was the suggestion that we look for a Pact because they are distant from us. May not be a bad idea and at least we would have an idea of their relationships and demographics.

Our advantage is I believe we have a better map of the world than they or anyone.

[johndmuller]

I presume that our trade costs were not actually a major concern of Cap'n Flubber, but mostly an excuse not to trade Doc:Flex right away. I think that we are doomed to have high tech costs if we are going to be a trading power. That's one of the reasons I tend to favor researching those more obscure techs, because then we don't have to worry about someone else researching them first and having to accept a lousy trade under the gun of researching a low trading-value tech (also because those new techs mostly on the right side of the chart are seemingly more appropriate to us than most of the others - I'm not obsessed with them though, I promise).

So while we can do without those level 1 techs and just trade for their descendant techs (assuming we stay on good terms with whomever eventually does research them so that we don't have to worry about them getting used against us), I also don't have anything against getting them, especially if we get them for something that isn't particularly special either. Doc:Mobility is probably a little more useful than most level 1's, but not so much so that I would balk at trading it for Applied Physics, which we may turn out to need if nobody else wants to research NonLinear, effectively making it one of those techs I was talking about above. Although if we keep talking it up, it may become a hot research item yet.

[Hercules]

I'm in favour of the trade App. Physics for Doc:Mob and the hint of Doc: Flex to follow in the near future.

With Roze building ships, it surely won't be long before she makes contact. The Hive we feel are her closest faction.

When we trade Doc:Flex depends on progress with the PUT and Cycon.

[Flubber]

well johnd-- we are a trading power and our tech costs will really suck but if we are talking a trade for which we have no pressing immediate use, like app. physics, I would delay until after our next discovery to save a turn or so of research time on our next tech. On the contrary, if people saw ANY immediate use for app physics, I would conclude the trade now.

So my rationale to the HIVE was part truth and part excuse


Herc--

I am stalling everyone on the doc flex deal-- The wording of how interest is calculated in the cycon deal is designed so thay will not want the tech until they are close to their next discovery. If they want it early, the likelihood of major interest coming our way is greatly increased

With PUT I am still waiting to hear back on my request to genesplicing-- IF they come across with that, IMHO we accept their deal and then haul ass to deal doc flex to the Hive and Drones. I would then move into commlink sale mode about 5 years after that to try to sell the commlinks just before they would otherwise meet

[Hercules]

Looks like you've got it exactly right.

[johndmuller]

No Prob, Cap'n F; even if we worked a deal as fast as possible, it couldn't get here before we finish our own research (the beginning of the forthcoming turn) as we could just refrain from accepting it until after our research ship comes in. . . unless you were talking about our next research ship, by which time we could hope to have so many more traded techs under our belt that the one more would hardly be a drop in the bucket.

[Flubber]

I was not aware our next tech was so imminent-- Dp people like the mobility for app physics deal-- I never really rejected it and got the sense it was on the table if we want.

[Makahlua]

Sounds good to me - just wait until we get Doc: Init nailed down

[Hercules]

You could delay the tech Applied Physics for Doc: Mob trade, by explaining the need to minimize our tech costs as above. As a gesture of good will we could send over Doc:Mob, wait a year and then ask for Applied. This would gain us 2/3 years more before we would under pressure to trade Doc:Flex.

They won't know we have Doc:Init until we start the MCC. Just an idea.

Equally I can live with the trade just after we get Doc :Init next turn. Useful to get that Applied Physics under our belt and it will show the borg we're not dependent om them.

Overall I do approve of the stall strategy.

[Hercules]

Received this by email from Ambassador Kody

I put gene splicing in the diplomatic window. It should appear in your
turn.