It is implied in the setting thus far that an overwhelming amount of humans live planetside, with skeleton crews operating on research stations, mining facilities, or in transit between celestial bodies on spacecraft (though spacecraft might as well be small homes in of themselves, a conversation for a different thread). There are a few exceptions. One are the Daqinese, whose bio-modifications and the hostile native life on Pingqiong's habitable planet, along with highly advanced virtual reality, allow them to stay on space stations without much negative mental effects. Another is the Magnetic Assembly, who are much more computer than human, living beings who've made an effort to shed as much of their organic bodies as possible in exchange for much more resilient technological ones, thus lowering the barrier to space habitation.
But then there's the GDW, a seemingly typical human superstate, made of normal people with normal ideals, diverse, but united in their common adherence to democracy, the greater good, a blend of socialism and capitalism for their economy, and strong industry. Unlike the other typical human superstates, the GDW has a large minority of their population living on space stations: a whopping 33%, give or take, enough for them to put a rotating space habitat on their flag, not only as a symbol of their mega-engineering capabilities, but also respect for this group. So why the discrepancy with other humans, barring any major modifications to the human body?
As the author of the GDW, I lean towards environmental determinism, the idea that geography plays a crucial role in the shape of a society, and the Commonwealth has one unique piece of geography that other superstates lack: the Silbern system, an incredibly resource rich system with no habitable planet. Normally, space mining can be largely automated with relatively small and cheap human crews making sure everything is in working order. However, an empty system with little human colonization from a sovereign nation attracts ambiguity in ownership. In the 22nd century, the GDW would be facing strong competition from the AU, the PRC, and the Soyuz, all at full strength.
Thus, the Commonwealth would've had to aggressively colonize the system to retain legitimate ownership. Constructing large habitat stations and the infrastructure to maintain them was only part of the solution; they also needed people. Forced emigration off of Earth was politically unjustifiable, unlike the PRC which was happy to force its civilians to emigrate to the Shen Zhou and Li Ming systems. In the 22nd century, the GDW would've paid exorbitant amounts of money for people to get highly technical education, then further incentivizing them to build families on space habitats in the Silbern system, primarily Magnuski Station at first. These great expenses were covered by vast mining efforts in Sol's asteroid belt and fusion fuel siphoning above the atmospheres of Uranus and Neptune. In situ resource gathering in the Silbern system would've decreased the cost of construction.
The expectation from the Commonwealth leadership was that such a massive investment would've paid out in the long run, which it did, economically. The Silbern system has massive deposits of Wofleonium and other strategic metals. Its habitats are completely independent and can grow on their own. The efforts here also lead to cheaper and more efficient space habitation methods back in Sol, allowing the GDW's spaceborne population to grow considerable across its territory.
This all is just a political and economic overview. But what would be the cultural implications of such a drastic effort? What are the consequences we may not be seeing?
But then there's the GDW, a seemingly typical human superstate, made of normal people with normal ideals, diverse, but united in their common adherence to democracy, the greater good, a blend of socialism and capitalism for their economy, and strong industry. Unlike the other typical human superstates, the GDW has a large minority of their population living on space stations: a whopping 33%, give or take, enough for them to put a rotating space habitat on their flag, not only as a symbol of their mega-engineering capabilities, but also respect for this group. So why the discrepancy with other humans, barring any major modifications to the human body?
As the author of the GDW, I lean towards environmental determinism, the idea that geography plays a crucial role in the shape of a society, and the Commonwealth has one unique piece of geography that other superstates lack: the Silbern system, an incredibly resource rich system with no habitable planet. Normally, space mining can be largely automated with relatively small and cheap human crews making sure everything is in working order. However, an empty system with little human colonization from a sovereign nation attracts ambiguity in ownership. In the 22nd century, the GDW would be facing strong competition from the AU, the PRC, and the Soyuz, all at full strength.
Thus, the Commonwealth would've had to aggressively colonize the system to retain legitimate ownership. Constructing large habitat stations and the infrastructure to maintain them was only part of the solution; they also needed people. Forced emigration off of Earth was politically unjustifiable, unlike the PRC which was happy to force its civilians to emigrate to the Shen Zhou and Li Ming systems. In the 22nd century, the GDW would've paid exorbitant amounts of money for people to get highly technical education, then further incentivizing them to build families on space habitats in the Silbern system, primarily Magnuski Station at first. These great expenses were covered by vast mining efforts in Sol's asteroid belt and fusion fuel siphoning above the atmospheres of Uranus and Neptune. In situ resource gathering in the Silbern system would've decreased the cost of construction.
The expectation from the Commonwealth leadership was that such a massive investment would've paid out in the long run, which it did, economically. The Silbern system has massive deposits of Wofleonium and other strategic metals. Its habitats are completely independent and can grow on their own. The efforts here also lead to cheaper and more efficient space habitation methods back in Sol, allowing the GDW's spaceborne population to grow considerable across its territory.
This all is just a political and economic overview. But what would be the cultural implications of such a drastic effort? What are the consequences we may not be seeing?