Quote:
Originally Posted by JagdPanther
The C.E. is, essentially, the 21st Century (in terms of, it's C.E. 74 and it WILL be the 22nd Century soon).
This is not the 17th, 18th, or even 19th centuries when trans-Atlantic travel took weeks. It's the 21st century. Instantaneous communication, global-trade, space travel, etc.
Do you really think that PLANT and the world could hold isolationist views towards each other?
At the very least, there are certain things that humans are incapable of reproducing that they will want. PLANT HAS to trade with Earth for some things and once you get trade, you get political concerns.
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To begin with, a lack of total isolation is hardly indicative that PLANT would somehow control the Earth Sphere.
That said, I'm afraid that you fail history. Even though the United States traded extensively with Europe and the outside world since its inception, it still held largely isolationist views up until the World War II. My point, however, isn't so much that PLANT would be isolationist; rather, its main issues are largely domestic, and will have to be dealt with on domestic terms. Interfering in other countries' policies seems to be a very low priority in such a situation.
Finally, travel across the Atlantic would normally take a bit over a week one way (assuming 20 knot speeds), requiring a small energy expenditure. Travel to moon-orbit, on the other hand, probably means a Hohmann orbital transfer, taking around 3 days one way, and requiring a huge energy expenditure (at least ~60MJ per kilogram transported). The Atlantic Ocean from the 18th to early-20th centuries and the space from Earth to moon-orbit aren't as different as far as barriers go as you seem to think. Arguably, Earth's gravity well might make large-scale commerce completely impractical.