Honorverse ramblings and musings

cthia wrote:Is it just me, or does the author seem to delight in killing innocent kids?

It's more that kids aren't going to be in the story unless it's one of
1) A child of a main character OR
2) An actual main character in a YA-focused story OR
3) People who something bad is going to happen to in order demonstrate just how evil the bad guys are.

drothgery wrote:

cthia wrote:Is it just me, or does the author seem to delight in killing innocent kids?

It's more that kids aren't going to be in the story unless it's one of
1) A child of a main character OR
2) An actual main character in a YA-focused story OR
3) People who something bad is going to happen to in order demonstrate just how evil the bad guys are.

The first two are no reasons to kill off innocent kids. Very interesting, promising and very lovable, innocent kids -- which unfortunately, validates your number three quite well.

Anyone notice how the great authors can build up -- and endear you to -- a character in a single paragraph, writing them under your skin, piercing a major artery leading to your heart?

cthia wrote:

drothgery wrote: Is it just me, or does the author seem to delight in killing innocent kids?

It's more that kids aren't going to be in the story unless it's one of
1) A child of a main character OR
2) An actual main character in a YA-focused story OR
3) People who something bad is going to happen to in order demonstrate just how evil the bad guys are.

I think it's also that there are not many kids in navies. And even not many really young kids taking part in revolutions. They tend to be collateral damage. Remember how many died at Yawata Crossing, etc.

cthia wrote:SNIP

Anyone notice how the great authors can build up -- and endear you to -- a character in a single paragraph, writing them under your skin, piercing a major artery leading to your heart?

::slightly insane laughter::

No, I hadn't noticed that... hadn't noticed that at all...

::returns to glugging vodka::

roseandheather wrote:

cthia wrote:SNIP

Anyone notice how the great authors can build up -- and endear you to -- a character in a single paragraph, writing them under your skin, piercing a major artery leading to your heart?

::slightly insane laughter::

No, I hadn't noticed that... hadn't noticed that at all...

::returns to glugging vodka::

I deserved that from you. Of course, the insane laughter could be caused from glugging vodka. I certainly can't hang with you. Vodka seems to always put me in touch with my feminine side... "Mommy, help! I've fallen and can't get up. And don't want to!"

There is something I don't rightly understand. Whilst reading SoV, there seems to be mention of certain systems without hyper capability. I'm not certain if that is referring to whatever naval component (or no) there is w/o hyper capability or the business sector as well.

I know there are navies w/o hyper capability? But would that limitation extend to the private sector as well? No freighters, dispatch boats, etc.? It seems funny that the private sector would have ships with such an important capability that the navy cannot emulate.

Also, in the Honorverse, I know that systems tend to be self sufficient. Yet it would seem that basic hyper capability would be as common as toaster ovens.

What disadvantages would a system suffer w/o hyper travel?

Of course, this all hinges on whether I've assimilated certain passages correctly.

Most systems don't have shipyards. They're a gigantic chunk of capital, with huge operating expenses. Without a shipyard, each ship is also a huge capital expense, and an ongoing expense as you have to pay somebody else for maintenance. So a lot of systems don't own a lot of ships either. They buy a few LACs for defense and rely on somebody else, like the Manticoran cargo companies, to carry their trade.

If they're part of the Solarian League, they just leave system defense to the ISLN and might not own anything except a few in-system shuttles.

I'd guess that less than half of all star systems own even one hyper-capable starship.
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Governments can only print money; they can't make it worth anything.

Imaginos1892 wrote:Most systems don't have shipyards. They're a gigantic chunk of capital, with huge operating expenses. Without a shipyard, each ship is also a huge capital expense, and an ongoing expense as you have to pay somebody else for maintenance. So a lot of systems don't own a lot of ships either. They buy a few LACs for defense and rely on somebody else, like the Manticoran cargo companies, to carry their trade.

If they're part of the Solarian League, they just leave system defense to the ISLN and might not own anything except a few in-system shuttles.

I'd guess that less than half of all star systems own even one hyper-capable starship.

Which isn't to say that they aren't (at least occasionally) visited by other people's merchant ships.

Most countries on Earth, even ones with coastlines, don't have a real "blue water" navy. They've mostly got gunboats or other short ranged coastal defense craft. And most don't build or own merchant ships. It's enough that they can attract trade carried on other people's hulls. They don't want to, or can't afford the massive capital investments to build/buy, maintain, and operate freighters of their own (much less blue ocean warships). And of those that do own and operate freighters they're often foreign built - because South Korea (for example) does enough freighter construction that they've got significant efficiencies of scale and can sell you a ship for significantly less than it'd cost you to build it (even if you already had the shipyard)

Even fairly large and prosperous countries like Australia struggle to keep a naval shipbuilding / ship refit industry afloat - they just don't have the critical mass of work to keep the yards employed and the skills sharp.

Jonathan_S wrote:

Imaginos1892 wrote:Most systems don't have shipyards. They're a gigantic chunk of capital, with huge operating expenses. Without a shipyard, each ship is also a huge capital expense, and an ongoing expense as you have to pay somebody else for maintenance. So a lot of systems don't own a lot of ships either. They buy a few LACs for defense and rely on somebody else, like the Manticoran cargo companies, to carry their trade.

If they're part of the Solarian League, they just leave system defense to the ISLN and might not own anything except a few in-system shuttles.

I'd guess that less than half of all star systems own even one hyper-capable starship.

Which isn't to say that they aren't (at least occasionally) visited by other people's merchant ships.

Most countries on Earth, even ones with coastlines, don't have a real "blue water" navy. They've mostly got gunboats or other short ranged coastal defense craft. And most don't build or own merchant ships. It's enough that they can attract trade carried on other people's hulls. They don't want to, or can't afford the massive capital investments to build/buy, maintain, and operate freighters of their own (much less blue ocean warships). And of those that do own and operate freighters they're often foreign built - because South Korea (for example) does enough freighter construction that they've got significant efficiencies of scale and can sell you a ship for significantly less than it'd cost you to build it (even if you already had the shipyard)

Even fairly large and prosperous countries like Australia struggle to keep a naval shipbuilding / ship refit industry afloat - they just don't have the critical mass of work to keep the yards employed and the skills sharp.

Noted. But Earth is a poor example. Countries here are not separated by astronomical non-traversable distances or cut off from locations that they may need to get to, like yesterday…

“Madam President. We have got to send someone to the League and discuss this matter! Immediately!”

Here on Earth there are planes, ships, trains, sailboats and the almighty transatlantic phone call.

There must be a galactic mail carrier, or Western Union services would leave loved ones high and dry. There are still people trying to get home from the mess caused by Lacoon.

Planets that have no hyper travel must make the days of the stagecoach or the Pony Express seem like Earth's 21st Century jet travel.