Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
In one of my sci fi stories, there is a force being brought to awareness where, if they lose control of it, there's a starship standing by, somewhere out there, ready to lay down firepower on that force.
Okay, in older days and closer to Earth, that would be a battleship or a cruiser in that position. 50's thinking wise, it was laying down a tactical nuke.
But in our thinking today, for "such an event", what would we use? A few pods of B-52's a'waiting?
If I understand your question correctly, one US aircraft carrier fleet can successfully lay waste, conventional firepower-wise, to the combined armed forces of most individual nations. I think that's the answer you are looking for.
In the story, they were awakening a Scanner Scanners (1981) - IMDb
of unimaginable power.
So consider a cybernetic AI computer system with full C4 capability, something that could penetrate into one's own computers in seconds. So one's smart bombs may be out of the question.
What's the best we have today to lay down pure fire power, a heck of a lot of lead (or heat) in a very short time?
possibly these new EMP class weapons...
I seen other weapon discussed on Deepweb sites, that are still "classified" ..
say like weapon system on the Tr-3b
In the story, they were awakening a Scanner Scanners (1981) - IMDb
of unimaginable power.
So consider a cybernetic AI computer system with full C4 capability, something that could penetrate into one's own computers in seconds. So one's smart bombs may be out of the question.
What's the best we have today to lay down pure fire power, a heck of a lot of lead (or heat) in a very short time?
Rail gun.
US Navy have them in trials. As a single destructive object its probably the biggest thing in the arsenal pound for pound.
Of course if they have a starship in orbit ready to act in case of accident, why not just have a mass driver "fire" an asteroid on the planet or on the facility.
Question is rationally, if any intelligence can penetrate security in seconds, would that also not mean that the intelligence could also penetrate the security of the starship? One assumes that the starship has communications, thus it receives data and would be networked. So why wouldn't the intelligence if it's malevolent not just vent the interior to space? You've already stated it's C4 so it has intrinsic comms, and computing. So you'd need something lower tech than a starship (unless that starship was of the BSG variety with nothing networked, which isn't going to happen, even today most vehicles are networked within the vehicle, the ballistics computer works with the gunner for laying down fire, the gunner puts the reticle on target the BC does the rest and the round hits the target).
Even if they shut down external communications (and how would they know when to fire if the thing went rogue), the intelligence you describe is like Michael Ironside in scanners (he of the explodicating head). So can it not just "hack" the crew, and get them to re-enable comms, so the intelligence can vent the starship?
US Navy have them in trials. As a single destructive object its probably the biggest thing in the arsenal pound for pound.
Of course if they have a starship in orbit ready to act in case of accident, why not just have a mass driver "fire" an asteroid on the planet or on the facility.
Question is rationally, if any intelligence can penetrate security in seconds, would that also not mean that the intelligence could also penetrate the security of the starship? One assumes that the starship has communications, thus it receives data and would be networked. So why wouldn't the intelligence if it's malevolent not just vent the interior to space? You've already stated it's C4 so it has intrinsic comms, and computing. So you'd need something lower tech than a starship (unless that starship was of the BSG variety with nothing networked, which isn't going to happen, even today most vehicles are networked within the vehicle, the ballistics computer works with the gunner for laying down fire, the gunner puts the reticle on target the BC does the rest and the round hits the target).
Even if they shut down external communications (and how would they know when to fire if the thing went rogue), the intelligence you describe is like Michael Ironside in scanners (he of the explodicating head). So can it not just "hack" the crew, and get them to re-enable comms, so the intelligence can vent the starship?
The starship example was the situation in a story which I then brought back to Earth and our time.....so please, let's not talk about starships or battlestars or the like. Let's keep here on planet Earth with things we know are possible or near possible.
Fuel air bomb as seen on Outbreak. No radiation, suitably black ops. Look up MOAB.
Couldn't drop it based on the character.
Quote:
Originally Posted by TamaraSavannah
In the story, they were awakening a Scanner Scanners (1981) - IMDb
of unimaginable power.
So consider a cybernetic AI computer system with full C4 capability, something that could penetrate into one's own computers in seconds. So one's smart bombs may be out of the question.
What's the best we have today to lay down pure fire power, a heck of a lot of lead (or heat) in a very short time?
Most aircraft have FBW, fly by wire use computers to take manual inputs and convert them to aileron movements. How you going to overfly somewhere with that kind of character? They'd hack the plane and crash it before it drops the bomb. It'll also have GPS so it has an active receiver tied in to the nav-computer/autopilot.
Problem is the character is pretty much invulnerable.
Can't use high tech because of the security hacking, can't use low tech because it's psychic (Scanners - David Cronenberg). Even if the plane has all tech stripped back to a WW2 aircraft, it doesn't stop the pilot suffering exploding head syndrome at the control of the AI (as seen in the intro to the movie where a guy's head explodes at the command of Daryl Revok [Michael Ironside]).
A submarine with nuclear weapons. Time to ad cloaking technology to your story.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
