Separated at Birth: America and Drakia
- Thread starter Ephraim Ben Raphael
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I suspect the 'space gun' is a dead end for manned space programs, can't get a human to survive the G-forces. Curious where this mad rodeo goes.
Looking forwards to seeing the cultural and intellectual impact of the public internet on the Alliance.
Looking forwards to seeing the cultural and intellectual impact of the public internet on the Alliance.
Well, it is. If they do really insist on such a sudden delivery, they would need to dig underground to support the weight needed for such a large-caliber gun, to say nothing of the injury that it will cause on the rider.
We need to know how it would be distributed and maintained though. That way, we would know how the alternate protocols would develop and the interaction and commercialization therein.
Given how military and space technologies have historically bled over into civilian applications, I'd say the money hasn't really been wasted.
And, c'mon, are you really going to tell the Free World that detering Drakia isn't worth the cost?
Oh, definitely. I expect the space gun race to peter out after the first moonshots.
But cheap satellite launches would pay dividends, and you can ship supplies and propellant this way too. Even after the space gun is overtaken by conventional rocketry or spaceplanes, there's no reason to believe it won't soldier on as a workhorse cargo launcher.
Love the update and glad to see the AfDs foundations getting set. They're also in a much stronger position compared to the books so assuming the AfD can hold together I would place my money on the final war being an AfD win. Assuming of course the Draka don't collapse first.
Hey look buddy, I'm an American engineer. That means I solve problems.
Not problems like "What is beauty?", 'cause that would fall within the purview of your conundrums of philosophy.
I solve practical problems. For instance, how am I gonna stop some big mean Societists from claimin' the moon for their truly nefarious and chilling goals?
The answer? Use a gun. And if that don't work, use more gun.
"...And that's how good ol President McKnight won the space race, kiddos."
Not problems like "What is beauty?", 'cause that would fall within the purview of your conundrums of philosophy.
I solve practical problems. For instance, how am I gonna stop some big mean Societists from claimin' the moon for their truly nefarious and chilling goals?
The answer? Use a gun. And if that don't work, use more gun.
"...And that's how good ol President McKnight won the space race, kiddos."
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Fair point. It's not like that they're not taking whatever inefficiency into account already, especially after Arthur Klein happened.
Well, we don't have civilian applications for artillery pieces yet IOTL. I could confidently write that space gun off as a white elephant project if not for not just perceived, but real need of deterrence against such strikes.
Well, that just for the space gun. Military expenditure sure have created the internet and contributed to engineering, but the nearest civilian project I could think of that gun is its barrel being converted into a Venusian ground base.
The satellite industry is worth hundreds of billions of dollars OTL.
That's with >$1000/kg launch costs.
Now, if we had a government-subsidized launch option that could manage, say, $600/kg...
Nice! A new chapter for a new year. Happy Rosh Hashanah!
Such a contrast! A good man, an awful regime.
Glad to see not everything is "crapsack world" in this timeline. We can still have some nice things!
You did it! You managed to have a President say something like this with a straight face.
Who knows, this could happen too...
Kobold: "Either you give in to my demands, or I will fucking blow up the Moon."
McKnight: "Y-you wouldn't!"
Kobold: "Are you willing to bet on that? If we can't have it, then no one else can!"
Such a contrast! A good man, an awful regime.
Glad to see not everything is "crapsack world" in this timeline. We can still have some nice things!
You did it! You managed to have a President say something like this with a straight face.
Who knows, this could happen too...
Kobold: "Either you give in to my demands, or I will fucking blow up the Moon."
McKnight: "Y-you wouldn't!"
Kobold: "Are you willing to bet on that? If we can't have it, then no one else can!"
I don't know, it felt a bit forced in context.
There's nothing strictly illegal about militarizing the moon without an actual treaty to that effect. It feels like--it is--bluster, and it doesn't have the impact or the humor it might otherwise have.
EDIT: Don't get me wrong, 'illegal lunar imperialism ' is an amazing punchline, it's just a bit orphaned in context.
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I just realized it, how would the prosthetics be more advanced than IOTL? Free World sciences surely won't be desperate enough to try cybernetics without the proper wealth of theoretical, especially medicinal knowledge and robust processing power for the data analytics that would be needed to read the brain.
Well, the economies of scale involved in such military-industrial complexes would have made for better materials and ergonomics, as shown by that assisting exoskeleton already being mass-produced, and I suppose those still won't produce any cyborgs. The Veterans' Association must have had a field day in efficiently procuring such prosthetics that civilians who suffered unfortunate accidents must have come to them to request one for themselves.
Also, with such exoskeletons supposedly being standard issue among the troops, what would be the load-out of the troops thereon? Surely, the special forces south of 60 degrees latitude must have still pushed themselves to the limits and used super-heavy guns (I wonder when they'll use some more advanced and perhaps heavier armor), but what about the average soldier? Pushing the capabilities of the soldiers that would enable them to easily carry armor-penetrating rifles and readily don heavier armor would surely warrant some reorganization and rethinking of tactics, with the most central question being: how far would they expend maneuverability in favor of survivability?
Well, the economies of scale involved in such military-industrial complexes would have made for better materials and ergonomics, as shown by that assisting exoskeleton already being mass-produced, and I suppose those still won't produce any cyborgs. The Veterans' Association must have had a field day in efficiently procuring such prosthetics that civilians who suffered unfortunate accidents must have come to them to request one for themselves.
Also, with such exoskeletons supposedly being standard issue among the troops, what would be the load-out of the troops thereon? Surely, the special forces south of 60 degrees latitude must have still pushed themselves to the limits and used super-heavy guns (I wonder when they'll use some more advanced and perhaps heavier armor), but what about the average soldier? Pushing the capabilities of the soldiers that would enable them to easily carry armor-penetrating rifles and readily don heavier armor would surely warrant some reorganization and rethinking of tactics, with the most central question being: how far would they expend maneuverability in favor of survivability?
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You don't need superheavy armor and arms to justify passive exoskeletons, if it lets you heft your full kit on longer/faster marches that more than pays for itself.
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What I'm stating out are those exoskeleton sets enabling such heavy loadouts. Sure, it must be good that the light infantry would be way less tired on their way to their objectives, but they were already competent enough to do those missions without such equipment, and with the vast industrial capability and expenditure that New York can provide, well why would they let equipping them with at least life-saving equipment come to pass? Even the most basic armor scheme would enable additional operational capabilities (in the time window where small-arms are still catching up) that may enable riskier maneuvers. Shock tactics come to mind where such an armor may be of use.
Also, the more advanced material sciences of this timeline must have already exhausted the possibilities on the materials they've used and must have had equivalents far more advanced than the ones we've used in the same time period, only coming short of present day due to their poor understanding of quantum mechanics. Surely, such an exoskeleton may handle some few more kilograms of cornstarch water?
Kobold: "...So guess what, I'm gonna fuck the EARTH. That's right, this is what you get: MY SUPER LASER PISS!! Except I'm not gonna piss on the Earth, I'm gonna go higher; I'm pissing ON THE MOON! How do you like that, McKnight? I PISSED ON THE MOON, YOU IDIOT! You have twenty-three hours before the piss drrrrroplllllllets hit the fucking Earth, now get outta my fucking sight, before I piss on you too!"
I'm so sorry
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