I don't have anything to go on there, just a few crumbs of questionable gnosis. I point out also that, in the antic climate of modern-day #venture #capitalism, it's possible that some long-shot startup is promising portal technology or some other miracle of "new physics", and there's enough interest among the #technology executives (it would require just a few believers to keep such a Hail-Mary project alive, anyway) to keep alive a flame of hope that they'll be able to continue their unchecked expansion into #space simply by stepping onto a platform or through a gateway.

It would be very #BattlefieldEarth I feel like pointing out. That's how the Psychlos are said to charge round the galaxy subjugating planets like they were taking over hamburger stands: they teleport ships in, deploying overwhelming force and poison gases to knock down global populations at a stroke. They're strip-mining worlds using their own workforce (in the book) and ignore the residual human population.

(cont'd)