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TFT Snippet #2

This fascinating series is a combination of historical seafaring, swashbuckling adventure, and high technological science-fiction. Join us in a discussion!
Re: TFT Snippet #2
Post by C. O. Thompson   » Sun Jun 24, 2018 5:44 pm

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LadyWhirlwind wrote:
tialro wrote:Why manufacture Federation Tech on Safehold, when you have an entire star system that may not be covered by the OBS? Why not have remotes mine the materials from asteroid belts and build fully automated manufactures on a moon on another plant in the system?


Because those remotes need to get past the OBS?



But there is only one OBS and the planet is between it and several likely points of departure...

I vote that it should be tried, but, hey
I have been wrong before
Just my 2 ₡ worth
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Re: TFT Snippet #2
Post by Randomiser   » Sun Jun 24, 2018 6:34 pm

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C. O. Thompson wrote:But there is only one OBS and the planet is between it and several likely points of departure...

I vote that it should be tried, but, hey
I have been wrong before


I'm not sure that fact is in evidence. It depends what you understand by the word system in OBS. If it is only one bombardment platform with closely co-located defence systems, then the obvious thing is to use the shadow of the planet for launch and go stealth until you are so far away nothing is going to pick you up. However the OBS has to be designed to be able to detect and locate any (serious) infringement of the triggering Proscriptions anywhere on Safehold then deliver KEWs, maybe lots of KEWs on that location. It could well be that there are several detection and bombardment platforms with overlapping fields of view so there are no spaces for your initial launch to sneak through.
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Re: TFT Snippet #2
Post by tialro   » Sun Jun 24, 2018 10:26 pm

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OAR says that SNARC's could manage speeds considerably better than Mach 2 (their atmospheric top speed). This means they have a means of space propulsion. Whether it could reach Safehold's moon or another planet in the star system is another issue. There are two forum threads about the OBS. http://www.davidweber.net/forums/viewto ... f=7&t=5536 and http://davidweber.net/forums/viewtopic. ... 1&start=10. One of the SNARCs was destroyed a couple thousand KM from the OBS. We have yet to see any reference showing the OBS destroys anything above low orbit (which is as far as Nimue has taken the skimmer). The major reason for developing an automated FedTech manufactory off of Safehold is to deal with the 1000 year return AND take out the OBS.
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Re: TFT Snippet #2
Post by Fireflair   » Mon Jun 25, 2018 12:20 am

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The obvious thing to do, in my humble opinion, is to launch a probe of some sort on the far side of the planet from the OBS. Send the probe up and away from the planet toward a moon. See what happens and how the OBS responds. If it doesn't do diddly, then consider the possibility of something greater. I'd suggest moving up in stages from probes to an unmanned courier of some sort to a shuttle before letting anyone get off world. But at that point you could establish a presence on a moon and start manufacturing. Watching the OBS the entire time to see what it does at any stage.

Maybe the simple answer about what to do over the temple and the OBS is to let sleeping dogs lie? If they can get off planet, just move to new real estate and start building there.

We have text ev from the first book that OWL sent a probe up toward the OBS and it destroyed it. The implication being that there is just one main bombardment platform. There are, I suspect, more than sufficient deployed sensor arrays around the planet that the OBS knows if anyone is violating the limit on the prescriptions.
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Re: TFT Snippet #2
Post by Joat42   » Mon Jun 25, 2018 9:04 am

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The OBS consists of multiple platforms encircling Safehold.

---
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Anyone who have simple solutions for complex problems is a fool.
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Re: TFT Snippet #2
Post by DrakBibliophile   » Mon Jun 25, 2018 10:58 am

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That's my opinion but do we have Text Evidence (or Word Of Weber) to support that?


Joat42 wrote:The OBS consists of multiple platforms encircling Safehold.
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Re: TFT Snippet #2
Post by Joat42   » Mon Jun 25, 2018 11:11 am

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DrakBibliophile wrote:That's my opinion but do we have Text Evidence (or Word Of Weber) to support that?

Joat42 wrote:The OBS consists of multiple platforms encircling Safehold.


See this post. The original post from rfc was lost in a board-crash many years ago.

Relevant quote:
runsforcelery wrote:Okay, this is a system which uses solar power collection for its primary operation, is heavily stealthed, and kicks on the onboard fusion plants only when it's time to crank up the kinetic launchers and then turns them off as soon as the strike is over. The support and maintenance system operates under exactly the same sort of constraints, as well. As to how the platform(s) are arranged, for now that's for me to know and you to worry about, but I think you can safely assume that the people who put it/them in place weren't stupid enough to design a system that couldn't spot, track, and target objectives wherever they happen to be located on the face of Safehold.

---
Jack of all trades and destructive tinkerer.


Anyone who have simple solutions for complex problems is a fool.
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Re: TFT Snippet #2
Post by DrakBibliophile   » Mon Jun 25, 2018 11:23 am

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A nit-picker would say that DW left it open about there being more than one platform. ;)

On the other hand, multiple platforms would make it easier to "reach out and touch" every possible target on Safehold.



Joat42 wrote:
DrakBibliophile wrote:That's my opinion but do we have Text Evidence (or Word Of Weber) to support that?


See this post. The original post from rfc was lost in a board-crash many years ago.

Relevant quote:
runsforcelery wrote:Okay, this is a system which uses solar power collection for its primary operation, is heavily stealthed, and kicks on the onboard fusion plants only when it's time to crank up the kinetic launchers and then turns them off as soon as the strike is over. The support and maintenance system operates under exactly the same sort of constraints, as well. As to how the platform(s) are arranged, for now that's for me to know and you to worry about, but I think you can safely assume that the people who put it/them in place weren't stupid enough to design a system that couldn't spot, track, and target objectives wherever they happen to be located on the face of Safehold.
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Re: TFT Snippet #2
Post by C. O. Thompson   » Mon Jun 25, 2018 12:33 pm

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Randomiser wrote:
C. O. Thompson wrote:But there is only one OBS and the planet is between it and several likely points of departure...

I vote that it should be tried, but, hey
I have been wrong before


I'm not sure that fact is in evidence. It depends what you understand by the word system in OBS. If it is only one bombardment platform with closely co-located defence systems, then the obvious thing is to use the shadow of the planet for launch and go stealth until you are so far away nothing is going to pick you up. However the OBS has to be designed to be able to detect and locate any (serious) infringement of the triggering Proscriptions anywhere on Safehold then deliver KEWs, maybe lots of KEWs on that location. It could well be that there are several detection and bombardment platforms with overlapping fields of view so there are no spaces for your initial launch to sneak through.


But there is text evidence that Merlin was in recon skimmer if not out of atmosphere, at least at the edge of it.
He tended to take long distance, high speed trips where the friction would not heat up the skin of his skimmer and with the exception of the times he deliberately 'poked at the OBS', it did nothing to show reaction to his trips.
Just my 2 ₡ worth
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Re: TFT Snippet #2
Post by C. O. Thompson   » Mon Jun 25, 2018 12:41 pm

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Fireflair wrote:The obvious thing to do, in my humble opinion, is to launch a probe of some sort on the far side of the planet from the OBS. Send the probe up and away from the planet toward a moon. See what happens and how the OBS responds. If it doesn't do diddly, then consider the possibility of something greater. I'd suggest moving up in stages from probes to an unmanned courier of some sort to a shuttle before letting anyone get off world. But at that point you could establish a presence on a moon and start manufacturing. Watching the OBS the entire time to see what it does at any stage.

Maybe the simple answer about what to do over the temple and the OBS is to let sleeping dogs lie? If they can get off planet, just move to new real estate and start building there.

We have text ev from the first book that OWL sent a probe up toward the OBS and it destroyed it. The implication being that there is just one main bombardment platform. There are, I suspect, more than sufficient deployed sensor arrays around the planet that the OBS knows if anyone is violating the limit on the prescriptions.


While it seems logical and it is the approach I believe I would try (if I were the author) based on the text in snippet #2, I don't think I will bet next weeks beer money that David is leaning that way.

Also, It seems to my (somewhat spotty) memory that Merlin was looking at the stars while he waited to the OBS to react to his 'simulated steam engine' experiment and at at least one other point when he just needed to put things in perspective.

Also, I seem to recall that members of the IC were taken to the edge of the atmosphere for a look.
Just my 2 ₡ worth
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