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I'm new to science-fiction and I'm intrigued by the consequences of "Plan B". This explains the "how". My question pertains to the "why".

I don't remember what Edmund's planet would have been like but assuming Brand was able to establish a human colony on it, what might life there have been like?

I'm especially curious about the relation of the humans to the technology that got them there. Would they be able to make (sustained) use of it and attain the knowledge to reproduce it given they have access to the materials needed within their surroundings?

The underlying question would be thus: Why establish a human colony on another planet just for people to be subsistence farmers (as an example) without the means to evolve technology (and thus society) because the planetary resources won't allow it.

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    I feel like this would be better asked on worldbuilding "Would an off-world colony be able to sustain a modern standard of technology"
    – Valorum
    Commented Sep 2, 2017 at 20:35
  • Thank you for the comment. Would you suggest posting over there and deleting this post?
    – H3R3T1K
    Commented Sep 2, 2017 at 20:38
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    Already asked and answered. The short answer is that a colony of a hundred people, along with a teacher capable of instructing them in the uses of tech and sufficient computers and books would certainly be capable of achieving a 1900s lifestyle from the word 'go' and achieving a 20th Century lifestyle (computers / telecomms, etc) within a single lifespan; worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/questions/48376/…
    – Valorum
    Commented Sep 2, 2017 at 20:38
  • It's up to you if you want to re-ask it over there. My instinct is that you're more interested in the mechanics in general rather than the specifics of what's in the film, in which case WB:SE would be a much better fit for you, especially since the answer in the film (and related materials) is "we don't really know, they don't say"
    – Valorum
    Commented Sep 2, 2017 at 20:42
  • Thanks again. You answered part of the question. The unanswered part pertains to the reproduction of the state of technology that got man there. The new planet would not be the same as earth. It might be habitable but might not have the natural resources needed to build computers, telecomms and such.
    – H3R3T1K
    Commented Sep 2, 2017 at 20:47

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Why establish a human colony on another planet just for people to be subsistence farmers (as an example) without the means to evolve technology (and thus society) because the planetary resources won't allow it.

Here, first focus was to survive. They had to leave Earth to escape blight infestation.

Talking about the planetary resources required for modern technology, your pessimistic assumption is flawed. The inorganic elements/compounds you find on Earth aren't exotic to Earth. Space is filled with them. In fact, they were formed way long before the formation of Earth or Sun. It's very likely that new planet has all those resources. If not, they could always mine elements from other planets or asteroids in the region. Other than that, the new planet can have new resources which aren't found on Earth which can give rise to entirely new form of technology.

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