I'm thinking about sources of hydrogen in a system because I'm seeing
a few extended system that have neither gas giants nor ice/fluid
worlds.

Firstly, I say fluid because I assume that someone with a fusion plant
has enough energy at there disposal to electrically or otherwise
seperate hydrogen from any Carbon-Hydrogen or Nitrogen-Hydrogen
compound without too much work. My first question is: "Is this a good
assumption?"

Secondly, as I look at extended systems, I find that there are many
that feature neither fluid nor "ice" nor gas giants. In such a system
I would figure that the only source of hydrogen would be the Oort
Cloud. In Sol Terra, this region starts at about 11 light-days
(wikipedia) from the Sol. Is this beyond the endurance range of a ship
that hasn't got enough fuel to jump?

I would figure that this would seriously depress trade within such a
system. At least it would make such a system dependent on a fleet of
fuel tankers which regularly run from the mainworld to the oort cloud
and back. Am I barking up the wrong tree here?

--
Chris

      __o          "All I was trying to do was get home from work."
    _`\<,_           -Rosa Parks
___(*)/_(*)____.___o____..___..o...________ooO..._____________________
Christopher Sean Hilton                    [chris/at/vindaloo/dot/com]