Hickeys

Jellybeans, the perfect concentrated food for long space voyages. They've been quietly observing us for centuries to catch us planting them and then steal some seeds.

The scout who tried to pass off lima and soybean seeds instead now hangs on the Emperor's trophy wall, permanently immobilized in tofu..

Whoza fish? Pierson's Puppeteers certainly weren't. Did we catch you before your first cuppa this morning, Jim?

Oh, I had forgotten that the moties had no spine. But critters with lungs, arms, and legs aren't marine invertebrates in my book.

By going into space, we may be perceived as a threat to the more warlike aliens. It's a good thing that rumor has it that a nicer species will be visiting us here.

Why don't they go to the store and grab a bag of Reagan's fave, Jelly Belly Jellybeans?

Ditto goes for the one who gives them Hogwarts Jelly Beans.

As long as they're "fixed" first, but why ruin another world?

They can only gather them on Halloween and the yield inexplicably vanishes on the long journey home.

You do realize that the Mote and Ringworld are fiction, right? Although the imaginary creatures do have some basis in Earth biology:

Pournelle and Niven are real scientists who contributed to US space policy:

" Years later I heard straight from a senior Soviet advisor that the U.S. SDI had been the straw that broke the back of the military's hold on foreign policy. That seems to be the consensus now among the diplomatic community, though politically SDI is a common whipping boy, its funding cut."

I've heard the same privately from Russian sources after they were freed from parroting the Party Line.

IIRC Pournelle credited these members as being the most influential:

--jsw

We aren't a credible threat as long as we depend on hopelessly inefficient chemical rockets.

However.....

Many people think aliens are, too. We'll know soon enough.

I'll check those out.

There have to be some harsh, unwanted planets with no life on them. Like Pluto. ;-)

EM and Ion drives putting out a milliNewton per kilowatt arne't going to get us intergalactic any time soon. They're as practical as the new solar clothing.

"The Strategy of Technology" is on line here:

Steam engines needed a century to become light enough to power practical vehicles.

--N. Cugnot

The interesting experiment would be to put them in a safe, comfortable climate with abundant food, but no sharp metal tools they might hurt themselves with, and see what they create for a civilization. I suspect they'd quickly revert to the Stone(d) Age and the few who tried to advance would be suppressed.

They wouldn't last one generation.

Excellent. Mandatory for war colleges, etc. Must be good. I love his Iron Law of Bureaucracy restated. "...in any bureaucratic organization there will be two kinds of people: those who work to further the actual goals of the organization, and those who work for the organization itself. Examples in education would be teachers who work and sacrifice to teach children, vs. union representatives who work to protect any teacher including the most incompetent. The Iron Law states that in all cases, the second type of person will always gain control of the organization, and will always write the rules under which the organization functions."

I think it's more true today than when he wrote it.

If it's space they want, SPACE THE LIBERALS!

How about Keith Laumer's "Retif" stories. The little aliens with eyes on stalks were rather fragile. :-)

Enjoy, DoN.