Prior to the current war, the regimes of Eighth Dawn and Greywind were quite confident in Loroi power; the Loroi met a lot of new civilizations during this period, and they tried to set up trade relations wherever possible (including with the Historians and Umiak, both of whom were at least equal in technological advancement). The Loroi are culturally insular (mostly because of telepathy), but they are pragmatic... they have benefitted substantially in terms of technological advance and material prosperity through interactions with other nations. Isolationist Loroi may be rightly concerned about the discovery of more advanced and powerful empires, but hostility toward someone who can clearly beat you is not beneficial... especially if you can learn new technological secrets from them. It's the Umiak who are paranoid, not particularly the Loroi.Quickdraw101 wrote: ↑Fri Apr 01, 2022 11:59 pmI was thinking more of a scenario where no war ever erupts, or any that does doesn't last very long, and thus their reputation isn't shattered after 25 years of nonstop war. The Loroi are a warrior species and greatly proud of their military and culture. I don't imagine they'd hold great respect for a civilization, especially not a newly discovered one. They probably respect the Barsam and other Union species, but they've known them for centuries, and have provided technology to the Loroi. A new civilization or force appearing from the wild blue yonder, with a myriad of species, one with demonstrably more advanced technology, would put them on edge, would they not? Especially considering how the Loroi regarded the Umiak from the beginning, I can't help but think they'd be even more xenophobic or paranoid.
Especially if they caught a glimpse of what they could do if angered. A civilization like that, with all the above information, seeking free trade and cultural exchange with the Union, would likely be taken badly, wouldn't it? Especially if they wanted the Union to join under the pretext of peaceful cooperation for the galaxy?
Maybe I've read them wrongly, but to me the Loroi come off as extremely paranoid of any neighbors, are highly xenophobic, and view themselves as the peak of civilization and culture, and look down on aliens. Being presented with the above scenario sounds like it'd invoke a very negative reaction from them, including their allies. Meeting another civilization who dwarfs them, but claims to want peace, would make them extremely suspicious, wouldn't it?
The Historians are a perfect example of a very advanced civilization with secretive and highly suspicious motives... it's hard to imagine that the Loroi would react worse to a hypothetical galactic federation than they have to the Historians.
It's all about context; who this civilization is, where they are and under what circumstances they are met, and what they ask or offer. Just from a practical geographic point of view, it doesn't make much sense for a distant federation to ask the Loroi to join, since they will probably have little or no access to this distant territory. it would be kind of like an emissary of the European Union arriving in Bolivia and asking them to join... they share no borders or even access to the same oceans.