How to manage non-MT nations properly?

[Permutatia]

A lot of NSG issues are not applicable to nations with tech level other than Modern Tech.
PT and FT nations! How do you solve this problem?

[Permutatia]

If I would write issues more applicable to FT nations, (genetic engineering, AI, interstellar travelling, etc.), would they be added?

[Kandarin]

You wind up dismissing a lot of issues if your nation is something weird. I find that only about half of the issues actually can be applied to the crazy sci-fi/fantasy mashup that is my nation. Nevertheless, there are plenty of issues that are applicable to a FT setting...

#038: @@NAME@@ Looks to the Stars [Sentient Peoples]

The Issue
The recent popularity of a science-fiction TV show has prompted calls for @@NAME@@ to develop its own space program.

The Debate
1. "Don't tell me space colonies wouldn't be cool," says excited fifth-grade teacher @@RANDOMNAME@@, still wearing big Spock ears from his last convention. "Think of how they would galvanize the national population! And there would also be some kind of scientific benefit, probably."

2. "The project certainly is feasible, but very expensive," says @@NAME@@ Space Agency Head @@RANDOMNAME@@. "We could make it less of a burden on the taxpayers if we sought funding from private industry -- advertisements on the side of our rockets, selling contracts to the Arms Manufacturing industry, that kind of thing."

3. "If God had meant Man to fly, he would have given us solid rocket boosters instead of legs," says religious type @@RANDOMNAME@@. "We should not be looking to the stars, but rather inside our own hearts. That's why we should abandon this so-called space program, and instead make the teaching of religion mandatory in all schools."

#053: Orbital Armageddon? [The us marine corps; ed:Reploid Productions]

The Issue
The space research organization in @@NAME@@ has requested more government funding for space-related research and development, and the possiblity of creating orbital weapons platforms has become a topic of intense debate.

The Debate
1. General @@RANDOMNAME@@ says, "We should spend more. But not just on exploration. We should start developing Orbital Weapons! Space Marines! Armed Spacecraft! We would rule the region, and look cool doing it! Just divert some funding from environmental protection, and BAM! Sci-fi goodies!"

2. Noted Scientist and pacifist writer @@RANDOMNAME@@ thinks otherwise, "No! Space is a place for peace! It's the only place left we've got that we haven't screwed up. Oh, the space program still needs funding, don't get me wrong, but none of this 'military in space' stuff will do! We ought to divert funding from the military to education and space research instead!"

3. Fringe Group Leader @@RANDOMNAME@@ disagrees, "Space is a total waste of time. We should spend more on stuff people actually CARE about. Like voting rights and protecting the environment! Forget that fancy-schmancy space station!"

#082: AI Researchers Rally For Android Rights [Eniqcir; ed:SalusaSecondus]

The Issue
Following recent advances in artificial intelligence, debate has arrisen in @@NAME@@ over whether AI's should have the right to citizenship.

The Debate
1. "Giving citizenship to computers and software programs is just downright crazy," says citizen @@RANDOMNAME@@. "Who knows if they're even really alive? Just because some of them may look human doesn't mean they're equal to us. It could all just be imitation."

2. "These beings have just as much of a right to citizenship as the rest of us," argues civil rights activist @@RANDOMNAME@@. "True, we may not be able to tell if they're really 'alive', per se, but how can we tell that they aren't? But the androids should be put at the top of the list. At least we know that they have the same viewpoint as us humans."

3. "This is craziness!" says @@RANDOMNAME@@, a resident interviewed by the popular news show 'Talk o' the Town'. "It's just blasphemy, plain and simple! We're, like, playin' God here! It's evil, man, evil! What if they turned against us? All forms of AI should be banned, dudes."

#252: Great Balls Of Fire! [Unibot; ed:Responsible]

The Issue
@@NAME@@ is abuzz with news of a huge meteorite - dubbed 'Big Max' by the media - which smashed into a large town on the outskirts of @@CAPITAL@@ yesterday, killing thousands and leaving behind nothing but a smouldering crater.

The Debate
1. "We can't let a little old boulder get the best of us!" bellows @@RANDOMNAME@@, a burly military official. "We have to fight back! Show 'em what we're made of! With a little funding, we could develop some terrific new weapons for the next bit of flying rock that dares to threaten us! Blow it to smithereens! If ever there was a time to prepare for space warfare, it is now!"

2. "That's all well and good," interjects Professor @@RANDOMNAME@@, leading scientist at the @@NAME@@ Meteorological Office. "Except that the chances of a fall of this magnitude occurring twice in the same area are miniscule at worst. I propose you direct your funding to the real issue here - rebuilding the homes and properties that have been lost, and tending to the injured and traumatised. As soon as we've removed what's left of Big Max for studying, you can make a start."

3. "Remove the greatest phenomenon @@NAME@@ has ever seen?!" cries @@RANDOMNAME@@, the famous museum tycoon. "Surely you can envisage the profit that could be had here? We should be opening the site for tourists! Think of the possibilities - guided tours, gift shops, theme parks! You don't want to build on top of all that potential, do you? Besides, the old residents are all dead now anyway! I'm sure this is what they would have wanted."

4. "All of these ideas are either costly, ridiculous or both!" snorts your Spiritual Advisor, leaning over your desk. "Your people are frightened and vulnerable right now. They don't want you to take action; they want you to tell them it'll all be okay. We could use this! Tell them Big Max was a warning from the Heavens! Strike the fear of the Mighty One into their hearts and they'll do whatever you tell them!"

#193: Robots Leaving Workers Jobless [The Ethics Union; ed:Sirocco]

The Issue
Amidst a growing level of unemployment, thousands of workers have been fired and then replaced by automatic systems. They have petitioned you to intervene.

The Debate
1. "It's just sickening! Do you know how long it took most of us to get a decent, 'stable' job?" shouts @@RANDOMNAME@@, president of the @@NAME@@ Labour Alliance, before dramatically sweeping your personal belongings off your desk. "And now we're losing our livelihoods to robots so that while our families starve, the corporations get even richer! Don't let the capitalist pigs blind you! This practice must be banned!"

2. "Hey, I've got a job to keep up too, you know," says @@RANDOMNAME@@, a factory manager. "If I don't think of new ways of keeping costs down, the investors will go elsewhere. It's my neck on the line as much as anyone else's, even if I do have much more money. Besides, it's business, and no-one ought to be able to say who - or what - I can hire."

3. "This could be resolved if instead of replacing workers with machines, we added machines to workers!" enthuses @@RANDOMNAME@@, CEO of Mondas Ltd. "By replacing the body parts with stronger, better, metal prostheses, we can make the best industrial workers - literally - in the world! Imagine a shelver who can shift whole crates with just one arm! One finger! So let's hear no more of this deplorable 'replacing workers with machines' idea and look to the future!"

4. "You can't allow that!" gasps @@RANDOMNAME@@, a manual labourer. "If that happens, only the people with cyber limbs will get jobs! And the corporations will contract you into having the surgery if you want to have one! No thank you! We should go back to the grass roots of industry when all the machines weren't computerised and workers were the salt of the earth! Then maybe we'd see a bit more appreciation! And cash!"

#057: Electronic Plague in @@NAME@@! [Sentient Peoples; ed:Reploid Productions]

The Issue
The malicious computer virus "DEAT.exe" is infecting nearly all the computers in @@NAME@@ and the people are crying out for the government to do something about it.

The Debate
1. "It's those horrible kids. Hacking in where they don't belong. You've got to give us more funding to put a stop to it," says @@NAME@@ Federal Police Chief @@RANDOMNAME@@. "Like with cars- ban kids from using computers until they pass a test and get a license!"

2. CEO @@RANDOMNAME@@ of CyberMirage Labs has a different idea. "Let us release SAL9000, our new AI, into the @@NAME@@ Network. It'll put a stop to this virus. Nevermind that it's still only an untested beta!"

3. "Yeah, wonderful! Fix a virus by releasing an AI that will likely turn on its creators? Are you people trying to get us all killed?!" Decries infamous technophobe @@RANDOMNAME@@, "What do we need computers for anyway? They will only bring us trouble and disaster! Personal computers ought to be banned!"

#183: Buy A Better Baby? [Sci; ed:Myrth]

The Issue
A top fertility clinic has recently announced a new service allowing parents to create so-called 'designer babies'.

The Debate
1. "Embryo selection isn't really genetic engineering in the technical sense," explains Dr. @@RANDOMNAME@@, owner of the Babies-2-Go Clinic. "It's more like being able to have a dozen abortions per month until you get the foetus you desire. I can't really see what's wrong with parents who can afford it being able to eliminate foetuses with undesirable genetic traits - like stupidity."

2. "Thou shalt pay for thy sins!" screams @@RANDOMNAME@@, waving a crucifix. "This is just meddling with the sanctity of life. If these children are to be born with horrible defects then it's God's will and who are we to question it? This technology must be banned at once!"

3. "This technology shows promise," muses @@RANDOMNAME@@, minister of health. "But we can't trust the private sector with the future of our nation's children. We must place it under strict government regulation, so that we only screen out embryos with serious genetic conditions."

4. "This has got me thinkin'," says General @@RANDOMNAME@@, thumbing through a big folder marked 'X'. "If this technology lets us reduce genetic defects, then couldn't it work the other way? We could create ourselves an army of genetically superior soldiers! With our army of Super Soldiers, no nation would dare stand in our way!"

...although MT and PT nations might have to dismiss those too, or at least be careful what they choose. If you have ideas for genetic, AI, space, etc. issues that aren't covered by those, by all means suggest them and they'll be considered.