PeterZ wrote:Those systems are described in context to what has existed in Charis in the story, not as some sort of preening by the author. All of the features are technical and are not militarily dominating. The guns and armour are not overwhelming. A simpler ship with bigger guns and heavier armour can still defeat Thuderbolt. All the technical periferals are usefull, but not decisive. Their utility is also if not more useful in other applications.
Dilandu wrote:
They are absolutely decisive. I'm afraid, you just didn't knew naval history well enough to realize, how tremendously overwhelming is the advantage of steel armored cruiser of early XX century design over the wooden screw frigate of mid-XIX century design. To put it simply, its absolute. It would took more wooden warships that Safehold have at all to represent any kind of threat to single Charisian battleship.
So basically, we saw Charisian battleship in details - which is absolutely not interesting, because we did not doubt the Owl's ability to design a battleship. And what about the REALLY interesting ship, the first steam warship actually designed & build outside Charis? The only mention we have, is that she have fire in her coal storage.
I repeat: the technological theme of TFT is "look how awesome the new Charisians toys are". All other nations are specifically mentioned as just being able to copy Charisian, and less effectively.
You recognize the decisive nature of those periferals. How many on safehold do? Not many if at all. Also, Charis let Dohlar see those innovations. They let people with inside knowledge of production meathods escape to their enemies. They have the knowledge to replicate Charisian innovations, because Charis gave it to them. If the nations of Safehold accept the foundations necessary to implement those innovations, they can replicate Charisian tech. Charis hasn't asserted their dominance to prohibit those nations developing their tech. So long as they don't, then those nations CAN progress. The story describes nations doing just that.