Chapter 10

The experience with the Nolyn caused a complete rethinking of the communication system used aboard the battle carriers. A hand-held FTLR was developed for use, and everything using conventional radio was scrapped. The radar systems for close-in navigation were kept, but the frequency was high enough that the Nolyn were not bothered. The Nolyn's star did put out EMR in the dangerous range, but their planet was far enough away from the star to cause the radiation to be too weak to be harmful, except for rare burst of stellar activity.

The experience with the Nolyn also caused the Family to consider what they would do, once the Wasps were eliminated. The threat had already been reduced to the point where any uninfected planet in the galaxy was probably safe from them, so there was only mopping up left to do. By now, the Family had considerable experience with contacting alien races and engaging in diplomatic relations with them, so they decided to become the "policemen" for the galaxy until someone better suited to the job came along.

The Family also planned to contact as many other species as they could find and try to establish a trading empire. Every planet and species had something that another planet or species wanted, and nearly zero-cost FTL travel made easy trade possible. The items wanted ranged from necessities to the aesthetic, so there was plenty of room for exchange.

They had the means of travel and communication, so all they needed was a universal means of exchanging wealth. There was nothing that every species wanted or needed, so it was impossible to find a physical item that would satisfy everybody. Good faith was the only item that everybody wanted and could use, so the Family established a central bank of good faith. They printed a kind of money which said that the Family promised to honor any agreement made in GF units and would make up the difference if anyone reneged or welshed on a deal backed by GF units.

This was a little slow getting started, but barter was eventually replaced by GF units, and interstellar trade picked up many fold once that happened. It was now possible for a species to export to a second species and earn credits which it used to purchase items from a third species.

The antigravity belt, protective force field, and universal translator opened up another form of trade that had never before been possible: tourism. Soon there were tourists all over the galaxy, spreading wealth and culture. Music was especially popular among all of the species who had sensors for hearing, which was most of them. Touring musical groups revived what was very close to the touring "big bands" of the Earth in the 1920s and '30s. Likewise, theatrical groups traveled from planet to planet putting on shows that were usually well received for their novelty, if nothing more.

This era saw the revival of the circus, with performing animals being the most popular, though sometimes it was difficult to separate the trained animals from the sentient trainers. Nevertheless, these, too, were usually well received. Once in a while, though, a misunderstanding would arise, and a touring group would be accused by the locals of abusing an animal, but, so far, this had always turned out to be untrue. What looked like abuse to one group turned out to be normal treatment for another.

All-in-all, the galaxy settled into a prosperous, but relaxed, Pax Familia, which suited everybody.