However, after an initial show of military might, most planets simply began shipping whatever the Corporation wanted to the portal. Moving product through efficiently and the occasional demonstration of force were often all that was required to reap enormous profits.
One of the biggest challenges was getting the timing right. If a Corporation invaded too early, then a planet’s power generating facilities, global logistics infrastructure, and its manufacturing, mining, and agricultural capabilities might be too limited to support the demands of the Corporation. Reasonable profits might be impossible, or at best, highly challenging to generate.
If a Corporation invaded too late, an indigenous population might have developed their own advanced technologies, including weaponry and monitoring systems. The probability of this happening was significantly increased if the scientists on a foreign planet discovered the scientific principles underlying the abilities of any Transprophetic
Given the changes that occurred on Koranth and Zoranth when the science behind the Transprophetics was understood, no Corporation was willing to risk a planet discovering what was scientifically possible until the Corporation was firmly in control of the planet and its resources. As populations were monitored, this hypothesis became accepted fact: Transprophetics would transform any world, giving it the capability to resist development by a Corporation. Over the centuries, the standard operating procedure for planetary development became monitoring a planet’s infrastructure and trade development, while at the same time, watching for Transprophetics.
However, one of the massive challenges was simply monitoring a planet. Space travel to any distant planet consumed enormous resources. Any interplanetary journey took well over a year, and until a portal was opened, the trip was a one-way adventure for its crew members. In addition to that challenge, intergalactic communication remained practically impossible. The early explorers of Koranth and Zoranth figured out how to move physically across the galaxy faster than the speed of light. However, a method of communicating beyond the speed of light remained impossible.
All things considered, a corporation would launch an exploratory mission to a planet about once every 20 to 40 years, sending crews with more frequency as a planet neared its optimum point of profitability. The spaceships that carried those crews to the distant planets also contained a much smaller, unmanned return vessel that would send back artifacts, media, products, and crew reports. The most critical item contained within these reports was the assessment of whether or not a planet was primed for invasion and development.
Tomar paused for a moment, looking around the room, as the board members nodded in agreement. A few shoved more food into their mouths or sipped their drinks as he continued his presentation.
