Alex quoted Old Man's War by John Scalzi (Old Man's War, #1)
John Perry did two things on his 75th birthday. First he visited his wife’s grave. …
"Well, why doesn't the Colonial Union share what it's discovered with us?" Jesse asked. "What's the point of keeping it to themselves?"
"Maybe they think that what we don't know can't hurt us," I said.
"Or it's something else entirely," Harry said, and waved toward the window, where the beanstalk cables slid by. "This beanstalk isn't here because it's the easiest way to get people to Colonial Station, you know. It's here because it's one of the most difficult—in fact, the most expensive, most technologically complex and most politically intimidating way to do it. Its very presence is a reminder that the CU is literally light-years ahead of anything humans can do here."
"I've never found it intimidating," Jesse said. "I really never thought about it much at all."
"The message isn't aimed at you," Harry said. "If you were President of the United States, however, you'd think of it differently. After all, the CU keeps us all here on Earth. There's no space travel except what the CU allows through colonization or enlistment. Political leaders are always under pressure to buck the CU and get their people to the stars. But the beanstalk is a constant reminder. It says, 'Until you can make one of these, don't even think of challenging us.' And the beanstalk is the only technology the CU has decided to show us. Think about what they haven't let us know about. I can guarantee you the U.S. President has. And that it keeps him and every other leader on the planet in line."
"None of this is making me feel friendly toward the Colonial Union," Jesse said.
"It doesn't have to be sinister," Harry said. "It could be that the CU is trying to protect Earth. The universe is a big place. Maybe we're not in the best neighborhood."
— Old Man's War by John Scalzi (Old Man's War, #1)
An interesting idea on how to keep world powers in check. I also liked how it was quickly disregarded near the end, with the simple reasoning that the universe is so much larger than some petty, political leaders.
