The Psychology of Prime Base

[tsofian]

If Prime was actually started in the 1960s and 1970s it may have predated freeze technology.

Freeze technology would have changed everything about the Project. Before that, it was a case of "riding the storm out" awake and vulnerable. There are a number of ways to do this, one is to disperse assets into as many widely separated locations. These will be cheap, easy to hide, probably not hardened and put all over the middle of nowhere. The other method will be to build a very limited number of highly valuable highly protected sites that are highly hardened and protected.

If Prime Base was originally one of, perhaps the only, of these high-value installations it would have had a very different original mission than that described in the module. It would have been designed, supplied and staffed to become the core of the rebuilding. The key here is "staffed".

If Prime Base (and potentially other bases) were originally meant to ride things out and actively rebuild they would have been filled with people selected for that job. These would have been "colonist families". There would have been a lot of the "support" skills, medical, agriculture, crafts and trades and such. As the Project gets new technology (freeze and fusion) the mission would evolve drastically, as would the operational planning.

What becomes with the original core of Prime Base? They can't be returned to the normal population. Not only are the original "colonists" there, but their children as well. There might have been a subtle conflict between the newcomers who were sent to Prime when its mission changed and the old guard who had been there for a decade or more. If the mission changes in 1975 there will be almost 15 years between closing up and the war starting and another couple of years after that. During all this time there might have been a lot of discussions concerning what would happen after the war ended.

By the time refugees show up what will feelings be in the population of the base? Will some of the most senior people, who may be well respected by a large number of the residents be thirsting for the chance to help someone? These "old timers" may have been in the roles of educators and medical staff within the base. These informal leadership positions may have substantial "soft" influence within the community.

It may come down to a techies vs hippies argument as the refugees start filling in the area near the base.

This would not have been an ideal situation. It might never have even been identified before the war happened and it developed.