#space is big

In the middle of their slightly embarrassing pissing contest, Kirk unwittingly (I’m fairly sure it’s unwitting) makes a very good point that really underlines my biggest problem with militarised science fiction: the universe is big.

I guesstimated back in Balance of Terror that there are probably somewhere in the region of 4 billion Earth-like, habitable planets in our galaxy alone. I find it hard to believe that with such a vast number of options to choose from, planets and resources are at such a premium that it’s necessary to fight over specific ones.

That said, there’s plenty of room on Earth for all the humans, and that hasn’t stopped us fighting over little bits of it, so perhaps I’ve just answered my own question: humanoids suck in every century.