On Thu, 08 Jul 1999, Mike Allen <allenmk@gte.net> wrote:

Hi Jason,

Thanks for the quick comments.

Jason Liao wrote:

On Thu, 8 Jul 1999, Mike Allen wrote:

The last group of nobility was created a hundred and fifty years ago in
response to the technological superiority that the European monarchies
held over the people of Nippon.  These are the Technologists.

Similar to the popularity of physicists in the early 50's, huh?

Actually, I disbelieve the plausibility of this.  From what I was taught,
Japan was content to be isolationist until they were attacked by United
States ironclads demanding that they trade.  It was then that they decided
to increase their technology.

JK aluded in one part that the United States never formed.  So, just where
did Japan gain their motivation?  Since it's so far to Japan around
Africa, it's unlikely that Europe would have attacked since any ship
willing to make the journey would have rather gone to China.  After all,
Japan might have had some raw materials, but all the trade goods were
flowing from China.

Unless, of course, Europe already occupied the Americas, in which case,
shipping from Japan would be more desirable.  But if that were so, then
there's no way Japan could have waged a sucessful war.  After all, the
amount of raw materials available to its enemies would have been enormous.

Then again, I'm not a history major, so feel free to ignore me.

Well, I'd never ignore anyone who sends me non-spam!  J-K stated very early on
that the Japan of world +0.000, +0.000 diverged from ours around 400 years
ago.  At that point, Japan was merged under the power of one Emperor who then
began expanding the Empire to the mainland.

The Japanese of this world ran into the Europeans as they were expanding into
Asia.

The United States didn't from because the Revolutionary War failed.

   The most proper form of address to one of this caste is "Citizen
family name."  Due to a slight relaxing of the forms of address in
recent decades, even a low noble may be referenced in this way, for
example, "Citizen Saotome."

[Greetings, Citizen Saot-O-MEE.  Are you happy?  Thinking any treasonous
thoughts?  Any mutant powers?]

heh

Anyone found with a weapon that belongs to a lower caste
can be summarily executed.

I assume you mean "higher caste."

[Posession of a weapons about your clearance level is treason.]

Ouch, What I meant to write, but didn't, is this:

Anyone of a class lower than Freeman found with a weapon can be summarily
executed.

I hadn't thought of weapons clearances based on hierarchy. Hmm.

	It's primary element in every society, the leaders keep weapons in the 
hands of people with the greatest motivation to preserve the status quo.  In 
all of asia it has long been a tradition to arm only the military and kill 
anyone else who used a weapon.  Which is why you have unarmed martial arts and 
weapons that are modified farm tools, most people do want to defend themselves.
	Indeed, until the gun was invented, the degree of training needed to 
produce someone with truly effective skill in the main weapons of war is the 
founding reason for europe's system of knighthood, Japan's Samurai tradition, 
and all the similar traditions that gave extra rights and power to a small 
group in exchange for that group acting as profesional warriors.
	Don't misjudge the guns impact on warfare.  It was inferior to englands 
longbow and asia's composite bow in almost every aspect except for training 
time.  A bowman needed a lifetime of training, a gunman (With the smoothbores 
that were the only option for armies till the mid 1800's) needed about three 
weeks of training, at which time he was about as good as he was ever going to 
get.  Which is a major reason why rights for the entire populice started 
creeping into europe as the Gun became the primary weapon of armies.  The 
training cost meant they could form dramatically larger armies if a large 
enough segment of the populice could be trusted with the guns.