What exactly is Glitterworld?

[Kent Lang]

This made me lol!

And yeah, in Al Reynolds' books, the Glitter Band is a specific set of orbiting habitats around Epsilon Eridani. In RimWorld, a glitterworld is one of many planets which, at various times, have reached peak non-transcendent levels of sociotechnological advancement.

You might have seen that there's a lot of people making glitterworld mods out there. A couple of them are focused surrounding things like glitterworld weaponry or glitterworld armor, etc.

But if Glitterworlds have "reached peak non-transcendent levels of sociotechnological advancement", doesn't that mean that wars and crime is pretty much nonexistent? The way Glitterworld pawns are described nearly all of them seem to live in societies where there's no such thing as missing wants. If you have a degree of socialist worldview, that would pretty much mean that all reasons to commit crime or wage wars are solved, hence no real industry can be created in tools or equipment to hurt others, right?

If that's the case, it would also mean that Glitterworlds are vulnerable to even technologically inferior bandits.

[B@R5uk]

...If you have a degree of socialist worldview, that would pretty much mean that all reasons to commit crime or wage wars are solved, hence no real industry can be created in tools or equipment to hurt others, right?..

Such a naive and idealistic view. It's human nature to make others suffer. It's easy to restrain it when you have goals to achieve. But once you have everything there is a risk to break down in the other way, hence the need to suppress or use this.

Well, there might be some cardinal solutions to this and other social problems like that Tipharean citizens imployed. But that would be transcendent level IMHO.

[Lexa]

This made me lol!

And yeah, in Al Reynolds' books, the Glitter Band is a specific set of orbiting habitats around Epsilon Eridani. In RimWorld, a glitterworld is one of many planets which, at various times, have reached peak non-transcendent levels of sociotechnological advancement.

You might have seen that there's a lot of people making glitterworld mods out there. A couple of them are focused surrounding things like glitterworld weaponry or glitterworld armor, etc.

But if Glitterworlds have "reached peak non-transcendent levels of sociotechnological advancement", doesn't that mean that wars and crime is pretty much nonexistent? The way Glitterworld pawns are described nearly all of them seem to live in societies where there's no such thing as missing wants. If you have a degree of socialist worldview, that would pretty much mean that all reasons to commit crime or wage wars are solved, hence no real industry can be created in tools or equipment to hurt others, right?

If that's the case, it would also mean that Glitterworlds are vulnerable to even technologically inferior bandits.

While you do have a point, it really makes me wonder because according the fiction primer the mechanoids were first developed by the glitterworlds. Who then later went murder everything. Maybe not everything is sunshine and roses over there in those glitterworlds?

[Bozobub]

Just because YOUR glitterworld is at peace and utopian, doesn't mean the next one over doesn't need a glitterboot on its glitterneck ^^'.  People, in other words, remain "people" in the RW lore.

[LWM]

I have always suspected (in my headcanon) that there are several different varieties of glitterworlds: everything from post-scarcity utopia to post-scarcity police states (thanks Seedship, for those specific terms).  I have equated "glitterworld" with the technological marvels and the fantastic appeal such planets have - and the PR they put out of course.

Vinge's a Fire Upon the Deep gives an excellent understanding of several ways a glitterworld can create an AI that is terrifying.  Once one starts building things smarter than one's entire society....it's hard to plan where they go anymore.

--LWM

[Bozobub]

Vinge's universe-building was VERY interesting =).  I read that whole (loosely-connected) series.

[ShadowKatt]

...If you have a degree of socialist worldview, that would pretty much mean that all reasons to commit crime or wage wars are solved, hence no real industry can be created in tools or equipment to hurt others, right?..

Such a naive and idealistic view. It's human nature to make others suffer. It's easy to restrain it when you have goals to achieve. But once you have everything there is a risk to break down in the other way, hence the need to suppress or use this.

Well, there might be some cardinal solutions to this and other social problems like that Tipharean citizens imployed. But that would be transcendent level IMHO.

There is one option that I feel you're overlooking. You're right, humans are violent and tribal and without something to work towards they will find something to fight about. But I believe there is one thing even stronger than that that you would easily find in glitterworlds: Absolute, unadulterated hedonism. When I think glitterworld, I think pleasure planet from 40k. No war, no crime, because there's basicly infinite resources and no laws. Do whatever you want, whenever you want, as depraved as you want. There's not much drive for crime or war when you're up to your eyeballs in every vice you can imagine, and then someone will introduce you to something even more depraved.

Not only this, but if the bulk of your planet is enaged in unchecked hedonism, who's running the planet? A few royal planetary governors and a lot of AIs of varying intelligence.

[Bozobub]

I think narrow interpretations of "glitterworld" are missing the point.  From Tynan's words and my own view of what I've read of the Lore (including colonist backgrounds), "glitterworld" is a VERY broad term.  It could be a hedonist utopia run by AIs, a very lively, extremely high-tech, but still recognizably "normal" society (along the lines of a "future Norway", perhaps), or a cyberpunk "paradise"/"hell", with the best and worst imaginable things available at any given time.

[5thHorseman]

I always thought that while the world itself was peaceful, it was part of the same universe as the Rimworlds (duh) and had to be at least a BIT worried about its neighbors.

I mean, you're a starving Urbworld full of the human equivalent of rats who are going to die in a few years from malnutrition or disease anyway, why NOT attack that nearby Glitterworld?

Oh, their massive weapon stores and killer death robots. Right. I'll stay here and eat my shoelaces, thank you very much.