Space persuasion

Space persuasion is an ambiguous term that can refer to one of two related concepts.

The concept of space persuasion in the sense of the persuasion of space is an old theme in folk superstition, related to the idea of a sacred space, but more general and usually related to the behavior of physics. Unlike a genius loci, a persuaded space is not different by virtue of something distinct from the space that dwells there, but rather has some quality in and of itself. The quality or different operation, whatever it is, is woven into the fabric of the universe, so to speak. This makes space persuasion a mainstay of the sort of popular literature that astounds the reader by its seeming profundity more than its basis in fact. Space persuasion is often invoked to explain Barcuvian antiweather and appealed to as a link between the morose character of Kingslanders and the various phenomena that make it a hellhole to live in. The baselessness of this pop-sci is clear: if the concerted will of Kingslanders really could persuade space, it'd be the nicest place in the world.

These days, a year doesn't go by that someone doesn't suggest that symphonic warp traversal runs off of space persuasion. This widespread myth is helped along by the rumor that the song sung by the Hegemony's Chorus Perpetual is what keeps the planet in its orbit. The baselessness of this, too, is clear, since whales evolved after the planet came into its orbit.

This older sense of space persuasion gave birth to the other, newer sense when the illustrious Dr. Stafford remarked that a number of political issues would be solved if the campus of the Disputatious Assembly of Sovereigns were persuaded to throw itself into space. This remark, which became so popular for a brief time that the Assembly tied the building down just in case, introduced a sense of space persuasion as persuasion via space, i.e., persuasion by threatening to launch someone into space. It's not a coincidence that the Taurus Research Station was established within decades of this. In fact, recent declassifications have revealed that there actually was research into space persuasion going on up there — and surprisingly, into both types. I guess they thought they had a better chance at persuading space if there's not as much occupying its attention. Personally, I hope they can resume the research some day, because persuading the Committee building to keep itself clean would save me a lot of work.