Could be. Having another source for that sort of technology means having another advanced polity. We haven't heard anything about that yet. We may well hear about it soon enough as Dave delves into the Hegemony data base about their history.
That may well be an interesting story to read about. Two intergalactic civilizations battling it out with Earth caught in the crossfire. Well recruited into the fray, anyway.
Still it would be much more fun to see the vamps chew up the Shongairi home system and leave without saying bupkiss. Depending on just how much Vlad allows his demons to hold sway, the home system may well be cleansed of life. The colonies may just have their weapons systems destroyed, but otherwise allowed to live. After that it would be a race to see if humanity can develop enough technology to survive.
DrakBibliophile wrote:Found a Vlad quote that would explain his knowledge of Shongairi tech.
Quote
And like me, they have used your neural educators, learned how to control your vessels, how to use your technology.
End Quote
It looks to me like Vlad's "vamp power" could have forced the Shongairi to give him general info and the Shongairi own education devices would have done the rest.
PeterZ wrote:Because of the timing and his knowledge of Shongairi information systems. Had Vlad resulted from any other tech, he couldn't have navigated the computer systems at Ground Base 7 so quickly or easily.
DrakBibliophile wrote:Why does it have to be
Hegemony tech?