However, spreading past Earth or transcending to entirely new ways of existing (e.g. computational life) are also possible The leap to another planet is far, f

However, spreading past Earth or transcending to entirely new ways of existing (e.g. computational life) are also possible The leap to another planet is far, far greater than to a new continent. It is an open question whether or not we could achieve it at all before a crisis destroys our civilization to an extent we may never recover from. There can be no second fossil fuel revolution, that was a onetime event in Earth’s history. But setting aside the challenge, with new possibilities come new opportunities for inequality. In the case of the former, it’s not difficult to imagine a wealthy person owning an entire planet. In the case of the latter, might I suggest the short story Incarnation Day [1] by Walter Jon Williams. In a world of finite resources and computational life, perhaps only the wealthy and privileged can afford to be incarnated. [1] http://www.sfsfss.com/stories/incarnation-day.html http://www.sfsfss.com/stories/incarnation-day.html