Week 3 Investment Mission - The Resource Stockpiles

Each Colony under your care has certain resources that can be used by your Industry. Eventually these resources will run out, and preparation for these times must be planned. This leads to the creation of Stockpiles. Stockpiles can be built up by purchasing them from trading partners, or by setting them aside when found.
Please describe what resources are most important to you, and explain your reasons why.
--Please note that petrol is not on the list due to the small number of planets that actually have it--

(OoC: No way this is related to earth day :-p )
***Excerpt from a panel at the Casablanca University on best conservation practices. The panel involved movers and shakers of the galaxy both in person and by holoprojector. The first speaker is Childeen Blackheart.***

"Had you asked me about conservation a year ago I would have scoffed, what did it matter how much a small PMC wastes? Well now that my corporations holdings have grown it has become a topic of debate.

Lets see the chair put these categories out for stockpiling; Iron, Aluminum, Gold, Wood, Copper, Zela. Wow that's a little limiting.

On Conflagros and Cypress my two mining worlds we have started stockpiling Iron. Steel is a component in pretty much everything from weapons, to armor, to space ships. Granted the market is controlled by the Iron Republic, but its economically feasible from my corporation to be self sustaining.

Really though the biggest thing we are working to conserve is biodiversity. Beyond the irrefutable aesthetic value of truly natural spaces we are continuing to find new drugs, chemicals, and animal goods if harvested sustainably. I have placed strict development controls on Nilos, and my lands on Wylanda have become protected planetary parks. Sadly its not a highly profitable commodity but when it comes to ecosystems variety breeds veracity. Who knows when it comes time to start recovering worlds rendered lifeless by conflict the ecosystems, species, and models found on these worlds could be the spark to rekindle life elsewhere.

Barring any questions I pass the podium to the next speaker."

Admiral Layne Yr stood on the pedestal next, loudly chewing gum, showing a lack of respect for the assembled dignitaries.

"Tell me one good thing that came from conservation that would not have been better done by not touching the resource at all.
After all if you have a large stockpile of money you can buy any other resource you need.
What is money but a representative of the Gold standard that Humanity has used since it first stood upright and cherished shiny things.
In most cases it has been gold that humanity has turned to in times of crisis. Gold shall be the foundation of the future as it has been of the past.
Because when stupid monkeys feel alone in space, they look to the gleam of gold and feel that someone is watching out for them.
We will collect and stockpile as much of the gleaming gold as we can.
Then we just buy out the Iron Republic. "

Layne Yr's sarcastic tone was obvious, but she did seem to be serious in her own way.
She blew a big smacking bubble as she stepped down from the podium. The Grand Admiral was wondering how long until she could retire to Casablanca Station's legendary bar.

Money is always the way to go, but when money is unavailable to stockpile, it is best to get the most valuable material.

"I believe in stockpiling that which will be of the most use. Since most of my Brethren weapons and vehicles require power, then having extra powercells will give them the ammo they need to take what we need," said Kal Marx bitterly, "We will take it on the end of the bayonet or by the plasma blast. Gold, Iron, even food and timber all can be taken through violence. So I am banking on stockpiling for violence. All who want to survive will invest in power cells. And the weapons they power."

Kal Marx, normally a peacemonger was strangely full of passion as he spoke. Slamming his fist to emphasize his point, he said, "You all know that a weapon is useless without ammunition. You all know that a man with a weapon will kill a man with gold or money, and take it for his own. Then why you waste time stockpiling useless shiney trinkets or paper money or even coins. Who cares, it will just draw the men with the weapons to your door to take it from you. Unless you have weapons and ammo to protect yourself and your treasure."

"Why be the victims, when you can hold the power position?" asked Kal Marx slamming his fist down with enough force to crack the podium.

"I ..sut... suppose it is fitting that i get to speak after Marx,, being that I come from being attacked by a Neutron tank... quite possibly from the design of ...Ugh...IR lackies."
Viggo will not speak from behind the podium. Hhe will stand next to it, firmly plant his Krato's Rage polehammer to the ground, and begin speaking after the rumble ends.

"Isn't it quiant to hear how the ...Dg... Director Scum speaks. For those of which are hard working and have a craft, I will speak of the stockpiling of useful precious metals. I speak of ...mug...mostly Iron, but luxuries such Gold and Zela as well. It is this these that armor is grafted and gilded. It is will these that you suit up an army to fight alongside. This army is to be trained, and nutured as you fight with them, so that when they are big terrifying nightmares they will use chill breathe to destroy those power cell you hold so dear. They will be around to set the traps to ambush your troops once the weapons are disarmed, and they will be around to join in on the feast over your dead cloned bodies."
And for a brief moment, you forget of Viggo's short stature, and nervous stuttering. There is a passion about they values he speaks, as if on a roll. Viggo will knock over the podium, give a sheepish "....Er... I mean what is said, and sorry 'bout the stand."

"Well, I guess I'll go next. personally, while powercells are useful as Viggo says they are easily distrupted. also, metals are nice but can be limited in their use. therefore, I would say of the options, i would go with wood.

Wood provides a home for the small creatures. it provides for the environment. it stimulates the growth of new species. Species that can be adapted to fill the needs and functions that are required by people and nations. Wood itself can be adapted and grown to provided the equipment and armour that some poeple seem to crave. anything that lives can be nurtured into more useful forms and new and unusual abilities developed. thus i pick wood, due to its myriad of potentials.

thank you for your time.

::The lecture halls' holoprojector blazes to life showing the silhouette of an Earther with bushy hair and long mustaches in front of a blue background::

"Greeting assembled dignitaries and personages of import! My Name is Clemente Samuels and I represent Terra Nova Industries. While Terra Nova Industries does not actually own any planets or any natural resources it does provide technological solutions to preserve and recycle those resources as well as produce clean energy."

"Terra Nova Industries is an exciting new Independant Corporation dealing specifically in technological innovations. At Terra Nova Industries we believe that technology can solve any problem when applied properly. When contacted by the Government of Druzi Prime instead of offering to import raw materials and power cells from off planet Terra Nova Industries saw an opportunity for the hard working people of Druzi Prime to use an abundant and self renewing resource for their betterment. Not only will Terra Nova Industries Druzi class geothermal power plants harvest the energies released from Druzi Prime's inherent tectonic nature but they also automatically store that energy for later use or export. It is technological innovations like this and several others Terra Nova Industries is poised to bring to market that should make you and your organizations think of Terra Nova Industries whenever a technology innovation is needed."

"Please remember: Terra Nova Industries means a better world through better technology. Thank you."

Hive Queen Ar'Yay stroked the upper left arm of her new obsidian throne, the move had been quite bothersome, raising new obsidian islands always causes some instability in the surrounding regions but it was passing, she had opened an energy bridge into the IR's dimension and had dumped some excess lava into space, shouldn't cause much problem, she was told that nothing was in that system anyway.

She was getting sick and tired of hearing the droning of her advisers, talking about what their next move should be, some wanted to go back to war with Garmen Fe, others, wished to stay put and not anger the Hive Queens further. There were some vocal groups who wished open rebellion against those who wrongly punished them, it was all so bothersome. Then Captain Khalnahatan Redhorns stepped forward, "my Queen these fools speak of endless war, they do not even comprehend the idea of long term planning. We have been cut off from support and we must make sure that we can survive into the long term. While we are cut off we need to make sure that we have the resources to make the war that will inevitably come to us. To do that we need to see what we have that others could want. We have found massive gold veins in our lands that can be used to purchase, technology, weapons, and supplies needed to make our never ending armies invincible.
We have the numbers we just need the wealth to supply them with everything that they need.
Therefore I suggest we dig up this gold and Stockpile it to make sure that when we need to supply our people we have the means to."
The Hive Queen heard these words and sighed. She hasn't had to save resources for the future for thousands of years, however the times being what they were, perhaps this was the best choice. One cannot war without resources.

"This one is to understand that there is a compound which can protect against this... "Leyas", as you call it?"

Mindy and Mandy looked at each other, while Sandy facepalmed. This giant walking jungle was just so... DENSE.

Mandy spoke up, while casually examining a set of elegantly manicured fingernails. "Yes, well, such as it is. It is very rare though, perhaps something more useful should be collected, such as iron or gold..."

A small beetle perched on a branch rolled its eyes. These humans had such silly notions about value. Oleifera could create anything it needed given time, nutrients and sunlight. These strange pink bipeds had no patience. Especially these three. Oleifera was beginning to think terrible things about upgrading them to doorjams and chintzy endtables.

"No, this one will concentrate on this... zela, if there is any to be found." The tree-giant's multitude of leaves suddenly seemed to perk up. "Has there been a survey of this planet to see if any deposits are present?"

Mindy suddenly had a bad feeling about this question. "Not to our knowledge..."

"This one has kept you indoors and out of the fresh air for far too long. Go and search, and make a good detailed soil profile catalog of the major continents in preparation for the Moringa. Go on now, may the wind bear your weight!"

As the three Kasanthian youths trudged off despondently, the Oleifera allowed itself to relax with many creaks and groans. If it saw one more vial of nail polish it would have ripped the whole arm right off.

Mor'aye'ahn smiled as he watched the proceedings aboard the Casablanca station from one of his many monitors. All the while a tiny holo projector on his desk flickered to life. "Sir the crew are awaiting orders, what course do we set in?" The tiny figure spoke up with its only inquiry.

"Charlie I know where we're going, but these discussions interest me. It is always good to know what the leaders of friendly and enemy governments require and value. The military strategist in me just can't help but be nosy." He said with eyes unblinking as he did not take his view from the screen. "We are not alone in that our society also needs."

The tiny figure looked up at his master and friend "Sir, is there nothing that we cannot create with NESA technology?" An honest question.

A chuckle escaped the lips of the shape shifter as his teeth momentarily changed to the sharp incisors of a true predator. "Simple building materials are easy to create and energy storage devices are also fairly simple. There will always be money in the universe in exchange for goods and if my darling sister has her way there will be a great number of planets with plant life so wood will be on the rise as time goes by."

"So Zela?"

At the mention of that accursed metal he did look down at the constructed individual. "No, though it's properties are unique in the universe and valuable for the right task I want nothing to do with it! No Copper is my interest. Though it is possible to re-create it with nanite re fabrication however the results are not always consistent. And until I can find or make a more conductive material that is where my main interests lie when it comes to acquisition."

"Ahh" the tiny persons eyes looked down before looking around as if bored "So orders sir?"

Rolling his head "Tell the crew I will be on the bridge briefly, I have to go back down to the science bays to check on the experiments."

"Ah yes, the amalgamate life forms." Upon receiving a decision from his creator the projector powered down.

Sector General Palomedes's aide righted the podium, and took up his position at it, wondering how he had gotten on the same stage as a Kasanthian Terrorist. For the first time, the aide was so happy that his boss the S.G. had decided to take on the duel with the Unity superclone. The S.G. would have been spotted here, with a known terrorist. What a terrible photo op.

The Aide plugged a portable memory drive into the podium, and the lights dimmed and the holoprojectors activated showing stock holographic footage of Sector General Palomdes.
The holo began to address the audience.

"Thank you and welcome to all.
It is common we ask the question, why is investment, storage and acquisition of Iron essential to modern life.
You see it is the Iron that becomes the steel so necessary in the creation of thousands of parts. These parts are in your starships, your hovercars, your refrigerators, your food synthesizers. Even the most advanced railgun spike requires a core of ferrous material, and Iron takes that position with pride.
It Defends you, it Protects you, It Feeds you, It Clothes you.
Under its Shelter you Thrive, outside its protective embrace you are killed by the rampages of an uncaring universe.
That is why we are an Iron Republic. "

The Aide pushed up his glasses, removed the memory storage device gave a short bow and said, "Thank you everyone. The Sector General Wishes he could be here, but he is currently in an honor duel against an avatar of an entire nation. It is truly an epic fight."
The Aide bows again and walks off the stage, looking very shy.

Duncan Stewart approached the podium with a smile. So many prominent people and he amongst them. There were elbows to rub and hands to shake and believe you me they would be well worn by the end of this event.

"Ladies and gentlebeings. Thank you for your time today and for the invitation to speak to such an illustrious audience. I shall keep this quite brief. I know we have many duties to attend both here and abroad and I myself cannot wait until the banquet following the discussion break out sessions.

I was torn in my decision. So many viable choices and yet I would be required to choose only one. So many even more viable options left out and again, I must choose one of the available.

Iron...the first material on the list. Used to make steel and other composites. Used for building and for war. Cook pots to swords have been made of this mighty resource. A good material but frankly very abundant in this fine portion of the universe and planes.

Aluminum... A lovely metal used in conjunction with steel for spoons to aircraft. Still very abundant and recycleable. One blasted starship could be reclaimed for much of this.

Wood... perhaps the only sustainable product when used properly. Replanting, regrowing using fast growing trees. No... I think not.

Copper... an antiquated product in this age of much superior metals. It is no longer even viable for superconductors.

Zela... oooh this is an interesting pony of the one trick variety. Cursed leyas users foiling your plans...look to the zela. Rare. Unique properties with a definitive use. It has possibilities.

Power... Hmmm. Another interesting possibility. In a universe of magic, fusion and the like power cells seem a necessity but not necessarily a hoardable commodity... Hoardable is a word correct?" Duncan paused and took a drink of water...he then looked at it and held it to the light.

"Now I come to the items that seem to be left from the list.

Food, Water, other consumables that other races require to sustain life are definitively a resource. What of drive, compassion, curiousity, research. These too are commodities. Without knowledge, iron would be but a rock in the ground. Without curiousity, aluminum would not have brought wings to the early earthers. Without food, none of the people would have strength to invent. What of composites...plastics that are stronger than steel.

I know you all must be curious as to what a simple administrator would stockpile. Well...that is simple. Barring not being able to hoard food, water, life energy, blood, medical supplies, knowledge, compassion or anything else, I shall choose gold. AU. The shiny stuff. With it I can purchase food. With it I can train the knowledgable and compassionate. With it, I can purchase the Zelas that are needed to foil the Leyas, the steel, iron and aluminum to transport it and the mercenaries to use it.

Now I shall use some of my already stored gold to purchase a bottle of fine wine. Good day."

Belief in-of-itself is a powerful thing. It alone can give the man strength to do amazing things. Introduce the power of Leyas and Belief itself becomes world changing. Belief in the Leyas can allow the most lowly of Fire Leyas User survive in absolute zero. It can allow a man to come back from death itself if someone else believes hard enough.

Belief can be a great and wonderful thing capable of uplifting society. It can also be the doom of the universe itself. Therefore, a material that can negate belief-made-real is the greatest commodity one can wield against the forces of radical evil. Our choice is clear, stockpile Zela.

There was a reason Su never went into politics. How do you manage a colony? Druzi, Henner 12, Maxa Provo 9... all of which required resources to handle. People need to eat, they need roofs over their heads, and they need credit or ghaz in their pocket.

How does one harness resources for these all important functions?

Maehl, for once, didn't have many answers. His business tactic would have said: focus on what the planet has, export it, then import the rest. Maximize resource output, don't focus on what you don't have. The question, of course, remains: what do you do when there's nothing left in the universe, when it couldn't be imported from somewhere. He was tempted to ask his friends in the Temporal Empire to figure out when that might be. However, there is something that, perhaps, he can use his market research team for.

Certain resources were renewable. The Oleifera, with their ability to grow vegetation, could perhaps create near limitless vegetation for the universe, such as wood. Animals could be born and/or cloned. Metals, on the other hand, were not so easy to reproduce. Ships, vehicles, bullets... all of these things that were required for survival in this current universe, both economically as well as literally, required these resources, which required something that had to be mined on some planet somewhere. While the universe was vast, eventually these things would run out, would they not? But is stockpiling the answer?? His business model flies in the face of that, presuming there was always somewhere else where these things can come from. Common logic dictates, however, that there is no infinite resource, no matter how many planets there are.

Su pondered, but no easy answers would be found today.

Absent-mindedly, he pulled data from all over the universe, seeing who had what resources and at what costs. He then sent a message to his market research team to do statistical analysis of usage vs. creation according to region of the Polar Expanse, particularly of metals, so that he may forecast what sectors would have what needs and when. If he didn't have an immediate answer to the problems of his own planets, he would at least know who would have surpluses of what and for how long. In that case, he successors would have the information they need to act accordingly. In the interim, perhaps it was time to invest in garbage....the ability to recycle those materials to replace scarcer metals would do his colonies well. Garbage, in this day and age, is the only infinite resource. Maehl sent sent a message to his research team to develop improved recycling resources for the purpose of creating building materials in lieu of metals. Furthermore, collecting garbage is profitable, and having the capacity to sell it back is also profitable.

Su smiled to himself. He may not have found a true solution to his problem, but at least he figured out a way to make more money. The irony, of course, did not escape Maehl as he wrote some notes on the project. In the interim, he realized his most pressing matter wasn't resource stockpiling, but food stockpiling. He needs to ensure that his people can eat today before thinking about what they'll be able to build with tomorrow. Maehl sighed deeply, as he finalized this task and set about the next one...

Lil'ye'ahn watched the proceedings on holoview from the bridge of the Chameleon's Grace, as it orbited her new prize. So many of them arguing over paltry metals! Most of them lusting for the shimmer and shine of gold. She rose from her command chair and addressed the assembled group.

I must say, I agree with President Ragman. Wood, or plants in general, are of all things the most useful commodity. They can be made into tools, shelters, even clothing or weapons if necessary. Trees renew the atmosphere, give shade, house wildlife, some have food or medicinal uses, and when they die, return to the earth to feed it. They are the only renewable resource and make the most sense to stockpile. Now if you will excuse me, I have saplings to transplant.

She turned to the comm officer. "Continue recording the rest of the proceedings so that I may watch them later."

Lil'ye'ahn left the bridge and headed towards the hanger, Claptrap beside her. She shook her head, chuckling to her self as they prepared to head down to the planet. "Copper? Silly dragon."

A small metal sphere flew behind the podium, and projected an image of Prime in a silver mantle before the podium. His voice was clear, and carried as if he were there in person.

"Firstly, you should all know that this method of meeting is painfully inefficient. Secondly, we are surprised at the obsession with easily reproducible materials. We are also surprised at the lack of matter usage efficiency detailed in the supporting materials of this conference. Why you would not recycle waste into matter-streams is beyond us.

This aside, great care must be taken with Zela. It is by far the most rare material of the list provided by the conference organizers, and it is the material with the most use. With it, we were able to destroy Warmonger Zigurat vessels which would otherwise destroy all in their path. Were you to have an infinite stockpile of any other material, it would sit idle against such a foe.

Beyond this understanding of the higher purpose of Zela, the basic rule of "economics" can be applied for those of you who still use commercial systems. Zela is the most scarce material listed by a significant margin. Therefore, the most "value" is derived from having the most of a scarce material."

The image winked out, and the metal sphere floated above the chair marked for Prime.