Species of the week: Xindi

[Sionnach Glic]

It's possible, if it was a large planet, with as many as 5 continents(remember one species is aquatic) that were seperated long enough, it's plausable that a multi-species planet developed.

There's nothing prohibiting the developement of multiple sapient creatures, but once they discover each other there will be trouble.
Look at things like the crusades, started over something as trivial a persons beliefs.
Then there was the conquest of Africa and South America, where anyone that wasn't white was deemed inferior. And these were members of the same species! Could you imagine the response if Colombus had been greeted by a talking insect?

It is unlikely, to say the least, that more than one or two of these races would ever survive to develope space travel.

[Mikey]

I think Rochey's right. To again use the example of Life, the Universe, and Everything, it's far more likely that at least one of the species, upon discovering another, will say, "They've got to go," rather than, "Hey - here's an opportunity for peaceable relations!"

[Blackstar the Chakat]

Well they did say they destroyed their own planet somehow because of war. It's possible they were in a prolonged war, and wars always causes technological leaps so it's possible that they had advanced technology before they destroyed their homeworld. Maybe they developed even faster then humans. Their technology could have gone from 1600's tech to 2100's in less then a century. If they needed 1600's tech to reach each other, and they began developing ways to destroy the other species faster then that would include faster ship, air craft, and even space flight.

In fact, what we've seen supports your arguements. Clearly freak circumstances led to this developent, but it's far from impossible.

[Sionnach Glic]

Indeed, the threat of warfare boosts technology like nothing else. So that scenario is quite possible.

[Deepcrush]

I would think of it as none of them were strong enough to kill off the others. A massive stalemate that lasted for hundreds of years.

[Mikey]

However, on of the species was eventually exterminated... and after that kind of hostility, would that have been enough to engender the cooperation that we saw?

[Deepcrush]

Very possible. One race died off and the others weren't to far behind. Work together or die?

[Sionnach Glic]

Actualy, most other races in that situation would probably keep fighting. Particularly humans. It seems as though the Xindi have some sense.

[Deepcrush]

Humans have done the same ie USA & USSR

[Blackstar the Chakat]

But didn't the Sphere Builders aka the Guardians somehow get them to work together, and use them as a tool for destroying humans, and by extension the federation? A common enemy has often united sparring factions.

[Deepcrush]

Indeed, but they couldn't have done it if the races were still looking to wipe each other out.

[Sionnach Glic]

Humans have done the same ie USA & USSR

Neither of those actualy engaged in open warfare with each other. Unlike the Xindi. If either of the superpowers had started firing off nukes, we wouldn't be having this conversation.

[Deepcrush]

Well the cold war was in its own right very deadly. As to the Nukes problem, well neither side wanted to end the world. There was also only TWO superpowers keeping the table even. The xindi didn't have that.

[Captain Seafort]

The Xindi situation was probably more stable than the Cold War. With multiple power blocks, all with rough parity, the fundamental reasoning behind MAD (i.e. wreck the other bloke's day as badly as he wrecks yours) wouldn't exist, as there would be other species waiting to take advantage is two of them nuked each other. This multipolar world would be a lot easier to balance, as Europe was for hunndreds of years, as alliances would be formed and disolved continuously to compenste for temporary weaknesses of one faction or another.

[Sionnach Glic]

Hmm, good point Seafort.