[gurps] Tinker's Starship?

[Kurt Feltenberger]

Troy Guffey wrote:
> Setting:  A vast federation/alliance/empire with worlds of differing tech 
> levels from about TL6 - TL13.
>
> The ship:
> TL13 Important items:  Enough armor and weaponry to make pirates give second 
> and third thoughts to attacking.  Cargo capacity about that of a 
> supertanker, with additional space devoted to a nanofactory tank big enough 
> to build a TL8 naval destroyer inside the tank, plus several smaller ones of 
> differing capacity.  A genius, high-capacity megaframe computer with lots of 
> storage space for templates.  Most of the cargo space is devoted to carrying 
> rare elements (such as rhenium down to titanium).  They also have several 
> chrysalis machines.
>
> The business:
> Going to various lower tech worlds to build items that they cannot, or at 
> least not easily.  The "host world" supplies common materials like iron, 
> carbon, etc.  Also, performing biotech transformations.  Then move on to the 
> next world after a period of time.
>
> QUESTION:  Is this a viable business?  Is it more viable if it is restricted 
> or illegal to give those lower tech worlds the tech?  Does it need more 
> cargo space for rare elements?  What would it take to make it viable?
>   

If it's a ship, and thus mobile, what would prevent the world's 
government/s or corporations from pooling resources and buying one or 
two (or more) and keeping them on world and only sending them off world 
for maintenance?

-- 
Kurt Feltenberger
kurt at thepaw.org/kfeltenberger at yahoo.com // http://www.teotwawki.net

“Before today, I was scared to live, after today, I'm scared I'm not living enough."  - Me