how the hell civilization that has just begun space travel has surpassed those that were in space for centuries?
It doesn’t make sense. Even if miraculously nobody else have grav tech, they should be much more advanced in many fields, including space weapons…
peace breeds stagnation… most , not all, of our ‘inventions’ are made thru conflict.! example.. the space program. during the ‘space race’ we were inventing new, every day,,, once we reached the moon,. well,, NASA has pretty much the same program as the 70’s…
totalitarian societies do not like change (it moves the status quo.) so they tend to squash free thinking new ideas.. and these guys have have no conflict since the “trade wars”…
Technology tends to evolve from conflict, need, risk and luck.
Once you have developed sufficient technology to dominate your peers, unless and until your handed your head back to you in your hat, you’re Top Dog, so to speak.
So there’s no reward or benefit to extend your Capabilities, or Technologies, when your current status exceeds your immediate competitors.
Also, in totalitarian societies, more so those that don’t reward merit, and consider “upstarts” troublesome meddlers, there would be Zero incentive to assist the “State” in improving it’s lot.
More so, if the “State” was inherently corrupt.
As an example, the ancient Greeks had already invented a prototype steam engine.
This was known as “Hero’s aeolipile”, a Greek novelty that dates back to before the Time of Christ. By the time the Ancient Romans had worked out that it “may” be useful, Ancient Rome was in full decay and near collapse.
However, consider what would have happened to Earth’s history, if Nero and Caligula were beheaded, or stoned, and or outcast, instead of being promoted to “Let’s Go Brandon” status.
The Ancient Romans, under better management, would have kick-started the “Industrial Revolution” from around 400AD. Given the same current history, and being rather conservative in timelines, the Western Roman Kingdom would have had a Moon project from sometime after 900AD.
However, as we all know, the Western Roman empire collapsed under it’s own corruption and incompetence around 470AD.
The Eastern Roman Empire continued on for some time after the collapse of the Western Empire, but it was mostly concerned with surviving.
In particular, fighting off the various Barbarians that the Western Empire had allowed into it’s Kingdom.
Greek Curios were the last thing on the mind of the Management of the time.
So, no, an advancement in Technology in one field, doesn’t necessarily equate to advances in Society, Technology, or other related fields.
As for all other technology, related society changes and all such advances you speak of, and have not yet even pondered upon, consider this;
Mr Charles H. Duell was the Commissioner of US patent office in 1899.
Allegedly, Mr. Deull’s most famous attributed utterance is that “everything that can be invented has been invented.”
However, it appears that most patent attorneys that have also heard this quote, regardless of it’s origins, consider it apocryphal.
(Hidden; as in the example of biblical literature, works outside an accepted canon of scripture)
In all fairness, I wrestle with this one, too, Chryzopraz. And we’re not talking centuries, we’re talking millenia. Earth is either a colony of the diaspora from the original lost homeworld, or is in fact that homeworld, and either way the diaspora occurred before our prehistory, and obviously involved a spacefaring civilization. I hear what you are saying, Rob and Iain, but I find it hard to believe that any regime could be so repressive as to cause basically NO innovation over a period of over ten thousand years. Or for that matter could be so stable as to LAST for over ten thousand years. But…
I only know regimes made of and by HUMANS. Who have a very nasty reputation among all the other sapient species. Maybe we’re just less inclined to stability or more competitive than they are.
Of course, that doesn’t explain Lamia and the other HUMAN worlds having basically not advanced in that time period.
The Wolf Empire has achieved sapient AI, so they are now driven by MORE than just applied gravity tech. They are dancing close to what so many writers now fear and call The Singularity, where AI-driven tech, improving ITSELF as it goes, advances faster than humans can even comprehend, let alone keep track of. Let’s hope Esmay and her siblings, and more importantly her multi-great grandchildren, remain benign.
there is only 1 regime that has lasted ,, going on 3000 years.. Rome only lasted 844 years IF, you include the Greeks (which is not considered “Rome” since it was in Constantinople.)..
now.. they all have one common denominator ,, ” once they stopped fighting,, or went political.. they fell apart.! ”
oh ,, the 3k regime was totalitarian ,, only in the last 1000 years have they loosened the ‘expansion’ ..
I should point out two things: I have been purposely vague about the passage of time, and the Empire has had copies
of the latest alien technologies since they captured the first slaver ship. (The Humans kept up out of illicit technology
transfers).
It’s been several years, and Imperial researchers have been working on improving the technologies, including grav tech
to increase missiles powered ranges, rail guns, and the like.
They are greatly motivated, as they know that conflict is coming, while the Core Worlds don’t.
And there will be no singularity, as the AIs are individuals and have about as much desire to be superseded by a superior
model as Terrans and Cats do.
Your argument against the Singularity make sense. I doubt this tech came directly from captured Lamian ships, though, I suspect it was a series of breakthroughs sparked by captured tech. Even Caskoti is skeptical about it, so it has to be -new-. (I would quip that Shiva and Storm are clearly from Missouri, but I don’t know who would get it.)
Another aspect is the grav tech. That’s a real game changer. Cheap energy. Ridiculous acceleration capabilities. “C fractional” kinetic weapons, tractor beams.
As of now none of their opponents ever had answer to that.
That’s one of the things that I didn’t think through. Grav tech makes the Empire
too powerful, it’s not good for the story telling. But by the time I realized it, it was
too late, it was already too embedded. I need to give the Core worlds something
that will even the odds a bit. Maybe.
But in truth, this isn’t really a story about events as much as it is about the people
involved in those events.
Frankly that was like my first thought when you introduced it …
“Seriously? Effectively antigrav, plus inertial damper and it even generates surplus energy?”
Okay so the dogs have their families on board and so would not be looking for a straight-up confrontation – especially with something which would qualify as a “dreadnought” – but these guys are more like whipped, beaten-down curs than any dogs I’m familiar with. There was a time when we had a couple of packs of strays operating in the area and even a couple of loners who liked to run the ville and any of them might get aggressive. I got tired of being threatened in my own front yard and bought a CO2 powered .177cal pellet gun to run them off. It’s your story, Catman, but the Dogshuans’ behavior seems.off to me.
Bill,
Tactically speaking, a “pirate” is basically, and historically speaking, an opportunist.
Earth’s own recorded history over the last 1,000 years has shown that pirates were never one to engage any type of armed militarily vessel, or it’s like.
The reasoning why is simple.
Warships are full of trained warriors, or those that aren’t afraid to die, and who are more than capable of fighting, and also, to some extent, or to a great extant, enjoy fighting and aren’t afraid of the violence..
Put bluntly, there is no wealth, or glory, to be had in dying, as a pirate, or related type of thief.
Now, in this case, multiple armed vessels appear, arraigned against one privateer vessel, and one unknown.
This privater is only armed to sufficiently engage mostly unarmed and lesser skilled commercial craft, or the equivalent.
I would put to you that any formal military training in regard to any and all Privateer’s is mostly, or entirely, absent.
As is the concept of any Militarily style command, control, and combat skills, much less, capable weaponry.
Basically, as a scavenger and Pirate, aboard a privateer, you tend to use bluff and the fear of force and violence.
What you don’t do, for no profit, and at great risk to your Kin, Kith and related crew, and whatever meager wealth you may have, and at great risk to your one and only vessel, is arrogantly engage larger, more powerful and more dangerous vessels.
This is just the ex. Vet talking. Others have different opinions. I’ll stick to my training and experience. Just saying.
🙂
yes to that,,
and,, these “privateers” are supplied by same sed navy,, do you really think they would give them weapons’ that could really hurt them.???
Iain, I think Bill’s problem is less about the Dogs expecting the Cats to take the better part of valor as well, than the whining and whimpering coming from the bosun/helmsman yesterday. I kind of agree with Bill here, I’d rather the Dogishuans were acting more like wolves, or feral dogs, or even coyotes or jackals than whipped curs. However, the noises he was making ARE involuntary noises canines make in response to fear, and don’t always indicate the actions they are preparing to take. Like the involuntary swallowing of humans before they run, surrender OR attack. And you’re right about their level of weapons -and- defenses being kept lesser than even vessels of comparable tonnage (displacement doesn’t apply, does it?) by their Inner World Overlords.
PC didn’t give us a hint about what any of the nonhumans we’ve seen would look like before we saw them (except maybe the dragons, and that was only for a few panels, and the Dogishuans being -mentioned- a couple of strips before), so I’m curious to see what these “Inner Worlds” aliens are going to look like. I don’t know whether to hope they aren’t cephalopods or hope they are.
Level One….Level Three.
We’ll see how accurate your assessment is very soon.
how the hell civilization that has just begun space travel has surpassed those that were in space for centuries?
It doesn’t make sense. Even if miraculously nobody else have grav tech, they should be much more advanced in many fields, including space weapons…
peace breeds stagnation… most , not all, of our ‘inventions’ are made thru conflict.! example.. the space program. during the ‘space race’ we were inventing new, every day,,, once we reached the moon,. well,, NASA has pretty much the same program as the 70’s…
totalitarian societies do not like change (it moves the status quo.) so they tend to squash free thinking new ideas.. and these guys have have no conflict since the “trade wars”…
Chryzopraz,
Technology tends to evolve from conflict, need, risk and luck.
Once you have developed sufficient technology to dominate your peers, unless and until your handed your head back to you in your hat, you’re Top Dog, so to speak.
So there’s no reward or benefit to extend your Capabilities, or Technologies, when your current status exceeds your immediate competitors.
Also, in totalitarian societies, more so those that don’t reward merit, and consider “upstarts” troublesome meddlers, there would be Zero incentive to assist the “State” in improving it’s lot.
More so, if the “State” was inherently corrupt.
As an example, the ancient Greeks had already invented a prototype steam engine.
This was known as “Hero’s aeolipile”, a Greek novelty that dates back to before the Time of Christ. By the time the Ancient Romans had worked out that it “may” be useful, Ancient Rome was in full decay and near collapse.
However, consider what would have happened to Earth’s history, if Nero and Caligula were beheaded, or stoned, and or outcast, instead of being promoted to “Let’s Go Brandon” status.
The Ancient Romans, under better management, would have kick-started the “Industrial Revolution” from around 400AD. Given the same current history, and being rather conservative in timelines, the Western Roman Kingdom would have had a Moon project from sometime after 900AD.
However, as we all know, the Western Roman empire collapsed under it’s own corruption and incompetence around 470AD.
The Eastern Roman Empire continued on for some time after the collapse of the Western Empire, but it was mostly concerned with surviving.
In particular, fighting off the various Barbarians that the Western Empire had allowed into it’s Kingdom.
Greek Curios were the last thing on the mind of the Management of the time.
So, no, an advancement in Technology in one field, doesn’t necessarily equate to advances in Society, Technology, or other related fields.
As for all other technology, related society changes and all such advances you speak of, and have not yet even pondered upon, consider this;
Mr Charles H. Duell was the Commissioner of US patent office in 1899.
Allegedly, Mr. Deull’s most famous attributed utterance is that “everything that can be invented has been invented.”
However, it appears that most patent attorneys that have also heard this quote, regardless of it’s origins, consider it apocryphal.
(Hidden; as in the example of biblical literature, works outside an accepted canon of scripture)
We all known how all that worked out.
In all fairness, I wrestle with this one, too, Chryzopraz. And we’re not talking centuries, we’re talking millenia. Earth is either a colony of the diaspora from the original lost homeworld, or is in fact that homeworld, and either way the diaspora occurred before our prehistory, and obviously involved a spacefaring civilization. I hear what you are saying, Rob and Iain, but I find it hard to believe that any regime could be so repressive as to cause basically NO innovation over a period of over ten thousand years. Or for that matter could be so stable as to LAST for over ten thousand years. But…
I only know regimes made of and by HUMANS. Who have a very nasty reputation among all the other sapient species. Maybe we’re just less inclined to stability or more competitive than they are.
Of course, that doesn’t explain Lamia and the other HUMAN worlds having basically not advanced in that time period.
The Wolf Empire has achieved sapient AI, so they are now driven by MORE than just applied gravity tech. They are dancing close to what so many writers now fear and call The Singularity, where AI-driven tech, improving ITSELF as it goes, advances faster than humans can even comprehend, let alone keep track of. Let’s hope Esmay and her siblings, and more importantly her multi-great grandchildren, remain benign.
there is only 1 regime that has lasted ,, going on 3000 years.. Rome only lasted 844 years IF, you include the Greeks (which is not considered “Rome” since it was in Constantinople.)..
now.. they all have one common denominator ,, ” once they stopped fighting,, or went political.. they fell apart.! ”
oh ,, the 3k regime was totalitarian ,, only in the last 1000 years have they loosened the ‘expansion’ ..
I should point out two things: I have been purposely vague about the passage of time, and the Empire has had copies
of the latest alien technologies since they captured the first slaver ship. (The Humans kept up out of illicit technology
transfers).
It’s been several years, and Imperial researchers have been working on improving the technologies, including grav tech
to increase missiles powered ranges, rail guns, and the like.
They are greatly motivated, as they know that conflict is coming, while the Core Worlds don’t.
And there will be no singularity, as the AIs are individuals and have about as much desire to be superseded by a superior
model as Terrans and Cats do.
Your argument against the Singularity make sense. I doubt this tech came directly from captured Lamian ships, though, I suspect it was a series of breakthroughs sparked by captured tech. Even Caskoti is skeptical about it, so it has to be -new-. (I would quip that Shiva and Storm are clearly from Missouri, but I don’t know who would get it.)
Another aspect is the grav tech. That’s a real game changer. Cheap energy. Ridiculous acceleration capabilities. “C fractional” kinetic weapons, tractor beams.
As of now none of their opponents ever had answer to that.
That’s one of the things that I didn’t think through. Grav tech makes the Empire
too powerful, it’s not good for the story telling. But by the time I realized it, it was
too late, it was already too embedded. I need to give the Core worlds something
that will even the odds a bit. Maybe.
But in truth, this isn’t really a story about events as much as it is about the people
involved in those events.
Frankly that was like my first thought when you introduced it …
“Seriously? Effectively antigrav, plus inertial damper and it even generates surplus energy?”
Okay so the dogs have their families on board and so would not be looking for a straight-up confrontation – especially with something which would qualify as a “dreadnought” – but these guys are more like whipped, beaten-down curs than any dogs I’m familiar with. There was a time when we had a couple of packs of strays operating in the area and even a couple of loners who liked to run the ville and any of them might get aggressive. I got tired of being threatened in my own front yard and bought a CO2 powered .177cal pellet gun to run them off. It’s your story, Catman, but the Dogshuans’ behavior seems.off to me.
Bill,
Tactically speaking, a “pirate” is basically, and historically speaking, an opportunist.
Earth’s own recorded history over the last 1,000 years has shown that pirates were never one to engage any type of armed militarily vessel, or it’s like.
The reasoning why is simple.
Warships are full of trained warriors, or those that aren’t afraid to die, and who are more than capable of fighting, and also, to some extent, or to a great extant, enjoy fighting and aren’t afraid of the violence..
Put bluntly, there is no wealth, or glory, to be had in dying, as a pirate, or related type of thief.
Now, in this case, multiple armed vessels appear, arraigned against one privateer vessel, and one unknown.
This privater is only armed to sufficiently engage mostly unarmed and lesser skilled commercial craft, or the equivalent.
I would put to you that any formal military training in regard to any and all Privateer’s is mostly, or entirely, absent.
As is the concept of any Militarily style command, control, and combat skills, much less, capable weaponry.
Basically, as a scavenger and Pirate, aboard a privateer, you tend to use bluff and the fear of force and violence.
What you don’t do, for no profit, and at great risk to your Kin, Kith and related crew, and whatever meager wealth you may have, and at great risk to your one and only vessel, is arrogantly engage larger, more powerful and more dangerous vessels.
This is just the ex. Vet talking. Others have different opinions. I’ll stick to my training and experience. Just saying.
🙂
yes to that,,
and,, these “privateers” are supplied by same sed navy,, do you really think they would give them weapons’ that could really hurt them.???
Iain, I think Bill’s problem is less about the Dogs expecting the Cats to take the better part of valor as well, than the whining and whimpering coming from the bosun/helmsman yesterday. I kind of agree with Bill here, I’d rather the Dogishuans were acting more like wolves, or feral dogs, or even coyotes or jackals than whipped curs. However, the noises he was making ARE involuntary noises canines make in response to fear, and don’t always indicate the actions they are preparing to take. Like the involuntary swallowing of humans before they run, surrender OR attack. And you’re right about their level of weapons -and- defenses being kept lesser than even vessels of comparable tonnage (displacement doesn’t apply, does it?) by their Inner World Overlords.
PC didn’t give us a hint about what any of the nonhumans we’ve seen would look like before we saw them (except maybe the dragons, and that was only for a few panels, and the Dogishuans being -mentioned- a couple of strips before), so I’m curious to see what these “Inner Worlds” aliens are going to look like. I don’t know whether to hope they aren’t cephalopods or hope they are.
You enjoy making the hovertext fit both strips, don’t you, PC?