AQUATER PAPER 2.1 PRACTICAL LIVING ON THE OCEANS AND THE AQUATER ALLIANCE

The Problem

There must be some kind of organization for SEMAN on the oceans when large numbers are launched, or there would be navigational and interpersonal chaos. Furthermore, people like to live together in groups for companionship and to obtain special services. Finally, when people live together in groups, there are certain functions that must exist, namely:

  • Group government
  • Schools
  • Fire suppression
  • Police
  • Hospitals
  • SEMAN repair
  • Merchant services

It is natural to ask how SEMAN groups can operate successfully on the oceans by providing these functions.

The Solution

It is expected that on the ocean, people will gravitate together into groups like other mammals that operate on the land and on the oceans do, and the people in each group will tend to have common interests like religion, government, engineering, art, science, etc. In this and other Aquater Papers on this site, the people who live on the sea in SEMAN will be called Aquaters and groups of Aquaters operating together will be called pods, as with other ocean mammals.

Each SEMAN in a pod requires a certain amount of space to provide safety and eliminate energy harvesting interference. Also, each SEMAN in a pod should remain within line-of-sight communication distance (about 20NMI depending on the height of the transmitter antenna) of a central communication and governing SEMAN to allow use of UHF communication equipment or (less certainly) visible signaling devices. This gives an area of about 1260sq NMI. Such an area would define the number in a pod as follows. One-third nautical mile spacing (0.34sq NMI operating area) should give collision avoidance safety and minimize energy harvest interference for the SEMAN design currently under construction. This would allow about 6300 SEMAN (25200 people) to operate in a pod. If each pod were separated by about 20NMI to give a pod safe maneuvering space while moving as a group, 200 million SEMAN would require about 50 million sq NMI to operate. An initial estimate from satellite wind data indicates that winds with a mean velocity of 14 to 22 KN accompanying waves of 4.5 to 9 feet would normally cover about 40 to 70 million sq NMI depending on the month of the year (mostly south of the equator in June, north in December, and roughly equally divided otherwise). Thus the earth should be able to support about 200 million SEMAN of the design currently under development. Obviously this definition of a pod’s characteristics is only a rough estimate that must be refined as SEMAN pods begin to form and gain operational experience, but it will serve as a benchmark design for the purposes of the Aquater Papers.

Each pod should have an elected mayor and pod council to make day-to-day operational decisions. Each pod must have at least one specialist to collect data on weather and wind conditions in the area and predictions of these things for the future to advise the mayor, so he/she can decide pod course and speed that maximizes energy generation and minimizes storm damage risk.

Each SEMAN generally does not require a large amount of time to operate and maintain, so the owner can spend some of his/her time on other activities. Thus, each pod should have one or more SEMAN that can operate as:

  • Mayor and pod navigation leaders. These functions will be supported by a pod council, which has specialists to provide navigation and weather information. They can meet through TV and communicate decisions with telecommunications.
  • Schools. Note that schools can use telecommunications to operate classes and classrooms, but students should get together on a regular basis to learn social skills,
  • Fire control unit. Note that this job will require special fire suppression equipment, and runabouts with this equipment to go to the fire.
  • Police and Aquater defense units. Note that this job will require special weapons. A rail gun operates only on electricity and has great accuracy and range and so appears to be the most suitable for SEMAN.
  • Health care unit. Each pod should have at least one SEMAN that has a practical nurse and can dispense some medicines. There will probably also be a pod that also serves as a hospital pod for more serious illnesses. Other illnesses will require transport to the land.
  • SEMAN repair unit. At least one SEMAN should have the equipment, runabout and parts necessary for SEMAN repairs.
  • Merchant unit. At least one SEMAN should carry a selection of parts, commodities, and other miscellaneous merchandise for sale to the pod.

Each of these workers will be provided special pay from the pod for their work.

Initially, the Aquaters will be organized under the laws of their countries of origin. When only a few are on the ocean, more organization will not be necessary. As more SEMAN come on the ocean, a type of government must be formed. This government must be unified to some extent, regardless of national origin, so navigation and civil order can be maintained. Thus it will be necessary to form an overall governing body for all Aquaters to organize the pods and deal with land nations and other land/ocean matters. Each pod can govern itself, but the governing body will govern a group of pods. This governing body will be referred to as the Aquater Alliance here. It would decide and legislate on overall Aquater matters and supervise and direct an Aquater Alliance armed forces to keep the peace among the pods, and defend against infringements and attacks by land nations. In addition, the Aquater Alliance armed forces would defend against practices that are destructive of the ocean’s resources.

The Aquater schools would have a unique opportunity to construct a curriculum that provides for training in the skills needed for developing and operating the applications needed for the SEMAN and the Aquater Alliance such as:

  • Hydroponics
  • Aquaculture
  • Weather prediction and control
  • Navigation and control systems
  • Electrical generation systems
  • Energy storage systems
  • Orbital drives and satellite systems
  • Pod and Aquater Alliance government
  • History that shows the necessity for changes in civilization and how and why these changes were developed. 

The students will see immediate application for their studies in the SEMAN and the Aquater Alliance. In addition, there is space on the SEMAN for a shop/lab for studying and researching these subjects. In fact, the prototype SEMAN has such a shop/lab built into it.

Conclusions

It has been shown how certain basic functions can be provided for people who live on the sea (Aquaters) to avoid navigational and interpersonal chaos. The primary basic functions of interest are:

  • Group Government
  • Schools
  • Fire suppression
  • Police
  • Hospitals
  • SEMAN repair
  • Merchant

In addition, an overall governing body for all Aquaters to deal with land nations and other land/ocean matters is proposed. This body would rule a group of pods, which will be referred to here as the Aquater Alliance. It would decide and legislate on overall Aquater matters and supervise and direct an Aquater Alliance armed force to keep the peace among the pods, and defend against infringements by land nations. In addition, the Aquater Alliance armed force would defend pods and also defend against practices that are destructive of the ocean’s resources.

 

Notes

  1. The design work for the SEMAN is done. The physical prototype of the SEMAN is nearly complete-see “SEMAN prototype”, this site, and bottom of the home page.
  2. To donate to help complete this prototype, click “Add To Cart” on the home page.