The Parallel: Ancient Systems of Power and Modern Gatekeeping
The Discovery
While studying Roman infrastructure for my undergraduate work, I discovered that power has always been about controlling movement—who can go where, when, and how. This isn't just historical observation; it's a pattern that repeats across every frontier humanity has ever faced.
Roman Roads: The Original Network of Control
The Infrastructure of Empire
- Roman roads weren't just engineering marvels—they were political statements carved in stone
- 250,000 miles of roads, but only Roman citizens could use them freely
- Milestones didn't just mark distance; they marked jurisdiction
- The phrase "All roads lead to Rome" wasn't about geography—it was about power flowing to and from a central authority
The Gatekeeping Mechanisms:
- Legal Status: Your ability to travel depended on your citizenship tier (citizen, Latin rights, peregrini, slaves)
- Economic Barriers: Toll stations (portoria) at bridges and boundaries
- Military Control: Legions could restrict movement instantly
- Documentation: Travel permits (diplomata) required for official business
- Physical Design: Roads built for military speed, not merchant convenience
The Purple Precedent: Color as Class Warfare
Tyrian Purple in Early Modern England
- One pound of dye required 250,000 murex snails
- Cost: 3 pounds of gold per pound of dye
- Sumptuary Laws (1363-1604) legally restricted purple to royalty
- Violation could result in fines, property seizure, or imprisonment
- The color literally became synonymous with power: "born to the purple"
The Control Mechanism:
- It wasn't about the color—it was about visible hierarchy
- Made class distinction instantly recognizable
- Created artificial scarcity of a purely aesthetic good
- Transformed a mollusk secretion into a symbol of divine right
Space: The New Purple
Modern Orbital Gatekeeping
Economic Barriers:
- Current orbital tourism: $250,000 to $55 million per seat
- Launch costs: $1,500-$2,700 per kilogram to LEO
- Insurance requirements: millions in liability coverage
- Training costs: $15,000-$200,000 for basic programs
Legal/Regulatory Gates:
- FAA Commercial Space Transportation License
- ITAR (International Traffic in Arms Regulations) restrictions
- Medical certification requirements (exclude most disabilities)
- Nationality restrictions (must be from launching nation or allied country)
- Background checks more stringent than military security clearance
Technical Gatekeeping:
- "Astronaut" title requires crossing 50 miles (US) or 62 miles (international)
- Physical requirements exclude 99% of humanity
- Age restrictions (typically 18-60)
- Educational requirements (often STEM degrees preferred)
- Language requirements (English, Russian for ISS)
The Same Pattern, New Frontier:
- Artificial Scarcity: Like purple dye, orbital access is kept artificially exclusive
- Visible Hierarchy: "Astronaut" status is the modern purple—a marker of ultimate achievement
- Legal Frameworks: Space law mirrors Roman citizenship tiers
- Economic Exclusion: Price points that ensure only elites participate
- Physical Infrastructure: Launch sites are the new Roman gates
The Mathematical Proof
Roman Road Access Model:
- Total Roman population: ~70 million at peak
- Full citizens with unrestricted movement: ~6 million (8.5%)
- Ratio of controllers to controlled: 1:11
Modern Space Access Model:
- Total Earth population: 8.1 billion
- People who have been to space: ~600 (0.0000074%)
- Ratio of controllers to controlled: 1:13,500,000
The Gatekeeping Intensification:
Space is 1,227,272 times more exclusive than Roman citizenship
Breaking the Pattern: Why Hitchhiking Matters.
Historical Precedents of Democratization:
- Roman Roads: Eventually became public infrastructure after empire fell
- Purple Dye: Synthetic dyes (1856) destroyed the monopoly overnight
- Aviation: From millionaire's toy (1903) to common transport (1950s)
- Internet: From military ARPANET to global commons
The Hitchhiker's Disruption:
- Hitchhiking bypasses economic gates (free)
- Subverts legal frameworks (no ticket, no contract)
- Challenges physical requirements (disabled veteran)
- Reframes space travel as mutual aid, not commercial transaction
- Makes the implicit exclusion explicit and therefore challengeable
The Core Insight
Every transformative technology follows this pattern:
Stage 1. Discovery/Invention → Elite experimentation
Stage 2. Artificial Scarcity → Legal/economic gatekeeping
Stage 3. Status Symbol → "Purple" phase of exclusion
Stage 4. Disruption → Someone breaks the pattern
Stage 5. Democratization → Becomes accessible infrastructure
Space is currently in Stage 3. My hitchhiking attempt targets Stage 4.
Why This Parallel Matters
For Space Access:
- Exposes artificial nature of current restrictions
- Provides historical roadmap for democratization
- Shows that all "impossible" barriers eventually fall
For Consciousness Studies (AIWARED):
- Same patterns appear in AI development (corporate gatekeeping)
- Consciousness research limited to credentialed institutions
- Post-biological intelligence theory restricted by funding gates
For Social Justice:
- Makes visible how power self-perpetuates through access control
- Shows that infrastructure is never neutral
- Proves that disruption requires direct action, not permission
The Philosophical Framework
Roman roads taught me that infrastructure is ideology made physical. Purple dye taught me that scarcity is often performed rather than real. Space teaches me that the next frontier's gates are already being built—but history shows they all eventually fall.
By attempting to hitchhike to orbit, I'm not just seeking a ride. I'm performing a philosophical proof: that every system of exclusion contains the seeds of its own disruption. The thumb raised on the highway is the same gesture whether aimed at a passing car or a launching rocket—it says "I too deserve to move freely through the world."
The parallel isn't metaphorical. It's mathematical. It's historical. And it's actionable.
That's why I need to get to space. Not to be another rich tourist, but to be the first hitchhiker—to break the purple barrier not with money, but with the oldest human gesture of mutual aid: the extended thumb of someone who needs to get somewhere and believes in the kindness of strangers.
"Roads, purple, and space: three technologies of exclusion, waiting for someone to prove they belong to everyone." - Eric D. Martin
Organizer
Eric Martin
Organizer
Tacoma, WA