Honorverse ramblings and musings

Weird Harold wrote:

cthia wrote:The MAlign are restricted to procreating within class. I would imagine alphas with alphas. Betas with betas, etc. Yet the alpha through gamma lines have a population equal to that of the slave lines who, if allowed to procreate, have no restrictions within the line, yet the population of the alpha through gamma lines are still equal to the population of the slave lines. That does not compute less my computer's broken.

Nitpick: The MAlign are restricted to procreation at the direction of the "Long Range Planning Board." If the LRPB decided that a particular Slave line has something they want in an Alpha line...

Also the lumping of Alpha, Beta and Gamma lines into one comparison to the slave population hides the actual distributions -- which are unstated in textev anyway.

Extrapolating from RW racial supremacists, I'd guess that about 5% of Darius' population is Alpha Lines, 10% is Beta Lines, and 20% is Gamma Lines. It is difficult to be "superior" if there isn't someone to be superior to. The more inferiors there are, the more "superior" a star line can be. Note in my estimations, that Betas are Twice as "Superior" than Gammas and Alphas are twice as "Superior" than Betas -- I think that fits with the MAlign philosophy, despite their stated goal of "uplifting all of mankind."

ldwechsler wrote:The idea that one line is twice as superior to another is ridiculous. We have seen the Mesalliance and seen its best. The Detweilers are certainly alpha. Probably a lot of the other top leaders.

Yet they are hardly that brilliant. HAd they been they would have won centuries earlier. Honor, not part of their line, seems pretty much as on top of things as they are.

No one we've seen in the whole group seems as smart as WEB DuHavel. We keep hearing how smart they are. Yet they seem to make a lot of dumb mistakes that originally seemed clever.

By moving Byrd to a Frontier posting, they made certain that the Manties at least knew something was up. They've dropped clues all around.

They are breeding for smarts, yet we don't see all that much of it. There's no doubt they are very smart. But somehow they always seem to mess up...just a bit.

I could be wrong, he'll have to comment on it himself, but I don't think Harold actually believes in the superiority and or the stated ratio of intellectual separation, but was simply stating what he perceives the actual beliefs of the MAlign' philosophy to be.

I do believe that they are very intelligent. Remember, the notion is successful in the Harrington strain. And yes, I believe that Honor is as intelligent as any Alpha as well. In fact, Anisimovna is a genius amongst even Alphas. And I've stated before that she is exactly what she would be if Honor had been born an Alpha. (Actually, that notion is a bit startling, to contemplate Honor being born an Alpha. She could probably take down the GA with the few MAlign ships that are ready. LOL)

I don't think it is so much that they make mistakes, inasmuch as they were forced to stop on a dime and alter their century old plans and react on the fly. And the fact that no one is smarter than that Demon Murphy. At any rate, things only went wrong when their plans were impromptu. Oyster Bay was genius regardless of the tech. And the Machiavellian way they played the three most powerful navies against each other is brilliant. That is the one thing that broke through Beth's grudge, realizing how well she was played.

But I do get your drift and agree at the micro level. The ultimate creator is Tester himself, and man can manipulate but man cannot emulate. Case in point, Jeremy X. And Ginny. I wouldn't be surprised if there is an alpha brain in the slave lines as well.

What personally excites me though, is considering the real possibility that they are indeed as intelligent as they claim to be, which means their officers, once grown, will be very unlike the SLN idiots or even the bulk of the Peeps at one time. Which will make for a very crafty enemy with very crafty tech. If so, it promises to be a real page turner.

In fact, I'm hoping Honor meets a worthy MAlign adversary where it comes down to experience and Honor's sixth sense. Much like Kirk's worthy adversary Khan who was much more intelligent but lacked experience and suffered from two-dimensional thinking.

Speaking of Honor being as intelligent as the MAlign's Alphas...

There were actually four different modifications. The Harrington Clan descended from colonists who had undergone the Meyerdahl Beta modifications, as did about twenty-five percent of the human population of Sphinx. (HH9)

The Beta version of the Meyerdahl modifications included what was known as an "IQ enhancer", although it seemed to lack the aggressive side effects that plagued the "Super-soldier" modifications on Old Earth. Most of the Harrington descendants of Meyerdahl Beta recipients placed in the 99th percentile in intelligence tests, with only three known descendants rating lower than 95th percentile.

The Winton modification included a similar IQ enhancement. (HH9)

I always wondered why there isn't at least one other quite capable naval officer in the RMN of Meyerdahl descent, via Sphinx. That seems to be a very heady concoction the Harringtons are made of, but at least 25 % more of the planet has the same genetic makeup. I always found myself wishing there was a Meyerdahl Sphinxian aboard one of Honor's ships who was quite capable and respected her home girl.

And it begs the question whether the SLN has any Meyerdahl Beta officers.

cthia wrote:Speaking of Honor being as intelligent as the MAlign's Alphas...

There were actually four different modifications. The Harrington Clan descended from colonists who had undergone the Meyerdahl Beta modifications, as did about twenty-five percent of the human population of Sphinx. (HH9)

The Beta version of the Meyerdahl modifications included what was known as an "IQ enhancer", although it seemed to lack the aggressive side effects that plagued the "Super-soldier" modifications on Old Earth. Most of the Harrington descendants of Meyerdahl Beta recipients placed in the 99th percentile in intelligence tests, with only three known descendants rating lower than 95th percentile.

The Winton modification included a similar IQ enhancement. (HH9)

I always wondered why there isn't at least one other quite capable naval officer in the RMN of Meyerdahl descent, via Sphinx. That seems to be a very heady concoction the Harringtons are made of, but at least 25 % more of the planet has the same genetic makeup. I always found myself wishing there was a Meyerdahl Sphinxian aboard one of Honor's ships who was quite capable and respected her home girl.

Interesting question. It should be at least possible.

And it begs the question whether the SLN has any Meyerdahl Beta officers.

I certainly hope NOT.

cthia wrote:Speaking of Honor being as intelligent as the MAlign's Alphas...

There were actually four different modifications. The Harrington Clan descended from colonists who had undergone the Meyerdahl Beta modifications, as did about twenty-five percent of the human population of Sphinx. (HH9)

The Beta version of the Meyerdahl modifications included what was known as an "IQ enhancer", although it seemed to lack the aggressive side effects that plagued the "Super-soldier" modifications on Old Earth. Most of the Harrington descendants of Meyerdahl Beta recipients placed in the 99th percentile in intelligence tests, with only three known descendants rating lower than 95th percentile.

The Winton modification included a similar IQ enhancement. (HH9)

I always wondered why there isn't at least one other quite capable naval officer in the RMN of Meyerdahl descent, via Sphinx. That seems to be a very heady concoction the Harringtons are made of, but at least 25 % more of the planet has the same genetic makeup. I always found myself wishing there was a Meyerdahl Sphinxian aboard one of Honor's ships who was quite capable and respected her home girl.

robert132 wrote:Interesting question. It should be at least possible.

Indeed. As a matter of fact, I can't recall another Sphinxian RMN officer. There must be many. Yet either their performance is lackluster or they just don't exist. Really, if Santino and Young can make such rank, surely even the least intelligent of the Sphinxians, even without Meyerdahl Beta enhancement, can as well. With the enhancement, the sky is the limit. Does anyone know of another Sphinxian in the RMN?

And it begs the question whether the SLN has any Meyerdahl Beta officers.

robert132 wrote:I certainly hope NOT.

Indeed. Yet it might not turn out to be so bad. She won't be as idiotic as those that preceded her...

"Reverse engines. The system is crawling with Manticoran LACs."

"But they're only LACs mam."

"Dead from an SD or dead from a LAC is still dead you idiot!"

Harold Tschu, Cynthia McTierny, Linda Watson, Joanna Agnelli, Victoria Saunders...

Duckk wrote:Harold Tschu, Cynthia McTierny, Linda Watson, Joanna Agnelli, Victoria Saunders...

Thanks Duckk. I knew there had to be many, seeing the need for personnel and only three planets. Yet I couldn't recall a single one, though how I forgot Harold Tschu is beyond me.

Do you know if any are Meyerdahl B?

cthia wrote:

Duckk wrote:Harold Tschu, Cynthia McTierny, Linda Watson, Joanna Agnelli, Victoria Saunders...

Thanks Duckk. I knew there had to be many, seeing the need for personnel and only three planets. Yet I couldn't recall a single one, though how I forgot Harold Tschu is beyond me.

Do you know if any are Meyerdahl B?

Tschu might have been since he was bonded.

cthia wrote:Thanks Duckk. I knew there had to be many, seeing the need for personnel and only three planets. Yet I couldn't recall a single one, though how I forgot Harold Tschu is beyond me.

Do you know if any are Meyerdahl B?

Being a Genie is still a stigma in the Honorverse. It's something that wouldn't come up in normal conversation, and most people would deny/hide the fact even if asked about it except by an intimate. In fact, like today, your family might hide that aspect of your ancestry from you, if knowledge of it would be inconvenient/socially damaging.

Duckk wrote:Harold Tschu, Cynthia McTierny, Linda Watson, Joanna Agnelli, Victoria Saunders...

Forgot an obvious one,

Surgeon Commander Alfred Karl Harrington (ret)

saber964 wrote:Forgot an obvious one,

Surgeon Commander Alfred Karl Harrington (ret)

I was leaving Honor's family off the list.