Comedy/Tragedy of Errors: Stupidity in the Honorverse

GabrialSagan wrote:It doesn't happen on screen, but the strategy of the Western European Federation during the Final War has got to be the single dumbest idea in the history of fictional histories "Lets genetically engineer a bunch of super viruses and unleash them on the masses. We are all vaccinated. There is no way that will backfire." Only a complete ass-hat would forget that viruses mutate and vaccines quickly become useless.

"viruses mutate and vaccines quickly become useless". That's really only an SF trope, not reality. Note that smallpox had several centuries desperately trying to mutate, and failed to do so.

phillies wrote:

GabrialSagan wrote:It doesn't happen on screen, but the strategy of the Western European Federation during the Final War has got to be the single dumbest idea in the history of fictional histories "Lets genetically engineer a bunch of super viruses and unleash them on the masses. We are all vaccinated. There is no way that will backfire." Only a complete ass-hat would forget that viruses mutate and vaccines quickly become useless.

"viruses mutate and vaccines quickly become useless". That's really only an SF trope, not reality. Note that smallpox had several centuries desperately trying to mutate, and failed to do so.

Most viruses don't mutate, and that includes the 200 different species of the "common cold"

One of the few that does is the flu, and only because is is zoonistic. The flu virus only mutates when it changes species. The flu hits humans, changes and hits pigs, changes and hits humans again, changes again and hits poltry, etc.

phillies wrote:

GabrialSagan wrote:It doesn't happen on screen, but the strategy of the Western European Federation during the Final War has got to be the single dumbest idea in the history of fictional histories "Lets genetically engineer a bunch of super viruses and unleash them on the masses. We are all vaccinated. There is no way that will backfire." Only a complete ass-hat would forget that viruses mutate and vaccines quickly become useless.

"viruses mutate and vaccines quickly become useless". That's really only an SF trope, not reality. Note that smallpox had several centuries desperately trying to mutate, and failed to do.


They could be talking about the strains of viruses. IIRC AIDS has 7 separate strains around the world tied to various regions. IIRC 'A' strain is common to Africa and North America, 'B' strain is common to SE Asia and 'C' strain is common to India and Middle-East. They all have different ways they being transmitted

Trying to wield the "Thunder of God" against his own people.

How about Randy Steilman destroying a perfectly good plan to desert from RMN just because he had to get revenge on Ginger Lewis for reporting him for the "accident" he caused.

pnakasone wrote:How about Randy Steilman destroying a perfectly good plan to desert from RMN just because he had to get revenge on Ginger Lewis for reporting him for the "accident" he caused.

Yea.

I apologize for not sharing a thought of my niece's with all of you long ago...

"Can you imagine the pummeling Steilman would have received had he actually killed her?

Wanderman would have been so mad he would have handled the entire thing spiritually, "Be thankful for what ye are about to receive."

- LOL, my niece

Rob the Fiend wrote:

saber964 wrote:Anyone who goes up against Honor in personal or professional way. They have a tendency to wind up dead or disgraced.

Denver Summervale dead
Pavel Young dead
Stephen Young disgraced
Georgia Young disgraced and running fast and far
Michael Janvier disgraced
Edward Janacek disgraced and dead
Reginald Houseman disgraced
Marisa Turner disgraced
Elaine Descroix disgraced
William Fitzclarence dead
Samuel Muller dead

You could probably add Dimitri Young too.

Didn't, in a conversation, Albrecht Detweiler (sp) say that Descroix was "taken care of"? Most probably very dead.

Yep! In At All Costs.

saber964 wrote:Anyone who goes up against Honor in personal or professional way. They have a tendency to wind up dead or disgraced.

Denver Summervale dead
Pavel Young dead
Stephen Young disgraced
Georgia Young disgraced and running fast and far
Michael Janvier disgraced
Edward Janacek disgraced and dead
Reginald Houseman disgraced
Marisa Turner disgraced
Elaine Descroix disgraced
William Fitzclarence dead
Samuel Muller dead

You could probably add Dimitri Young too.

You could have added humiliated as well if you'd've liked.

Denver Summervale dead, humiliated
Pavel Young dead, humiliated
Stephen Young disgraced
Georgia Young disgraced, humiliated and running fast and far
Michael Janvier disgraced
Edward Janacek disgraced, humiliated and dead
Reginald Houseman disgraced, humiliated
Marisa Turner disgraced
Elaine Descroix disgraced
William Fitzclarence dead
Samuel Muller dead

.

saber964 wrote:Anyone who goes up against Honor in personal or professional way. They have a tendency to wind up dead or disgraced.

Denver Summervale dead
Pavel Young dead
Stephen Young disgraced
Georgia Young disgraced and running fast and far
Michael Janvier disgraced
Edward Janacek disgraced and dead
Reginald Houseman disgraced
Marisa Turner disgraced
Elaine Descroix disgraced
William Fitzclarence dead
Samuel Muller dead

You could probably add Dimitri Young too.

I thought that she was one of the plotters in Queen's Gambit, if so then Honor was not involved.

George J. Smith wrote:I thought that she was one of the plotters in Queen's Gambit, if so then Honor was not involved.

More than Honor
The Universe of Honor Harrington:
Manticoran Domestic Politics wrote:The Liberal Party, headed by Marisa Turner, Countess of New Kiev, advocates humanist reform and is relatively disinterested in foreign policy. They are larger than the Crown Loyalists but smaller than the Centrists and have less numerous but extremely loyal adherents in the Commons.

You're (probably) thinking of Jean Marrou, exiled to Sphinx to study Treecats for the crown (and left to the Treecats tender mercies if they take exception to Monroe's suffering from the loss of King Roger.)