Now that space colonization is squarely in the domain of science fiction, the dream has turned inward, toward the oceans. As you report in a three-page article in your Technology Quarterly Section, seasteading is the rage with the likes of Peter Thiel of the PayPal fame and the Seasteading Institute, a think-tank he finances together with many others (“Cities on the Ocean,” December 3, 2011). Modern libertarians are after self-governing mini-states outside the territorial waters of extant countries. That is, twelve nautical miles or twenty-two kilometers away from the coast. You mention many technical difficulties with this idea, as well as a few legal ones. Namely, the sort of independence sought by the seasteading enthusiasts may well come against the world powers, and especially America. Thus you warn that seasteads may end up as wannabe sovereign states without the means to defend themselves against land-based governments. Precisely. But other, and much more immediate, dangers abound. Pirates had better be taken in consideration in the design of seasteads from the start. Self-government is unimaginable without self-defense. Happy-go-lucky designs, which grace your up-beat pages, would not last longer than a few years. In addition to clever fortifications, a small private army and a navy are a must nowadays.