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(SPOILERS) Rampant Speculation Based on "What If"

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Re: Rampant Speculation Based on "What If"
Post by Duckk   » Fri Aug 21, 2015 3:38 pm

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AnalystJohnny wrote:I'm not sure the whole radio thing would be a very good idea. Even without the OBS you still have the Gbaba lurking out there. Wouldn't want any stray transmissions no matter how weak bringing them in before humanity is ready to fight them again.


Thanks to the inverse square law, it's not really going to be a problem unless the Gbaba are practically next door, astronomically speaking. You'd need a big honking radio to really be noticed on the interstellar scale. For terrestrial broadcasts, it's not really a problem.
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Re: Rampant Speculation Based on "What If"
Post by Expert snuggler   » Fri Aug 21, 2015 4:19 pm

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In practice, it would have to be a directional one as well. Safehold's star will drown out weak signals.
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Re: Rampant Speculation Based on "What If"
Post by Louis R   » Fri Aug 21, 2015 5:27 pm

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Not necessarily. Many stars are radio-quiet, at least to the point where a terrestrial transmitter could be equally bright, which is all it would take for a proper search to turn it up.

However, it's not in the cards as long as the Proscriptions stand. While a crystal receiver may not obviously profane the Rakurai, transmitters do it in spades. Even in normal operation it is not hard to strike sparks from the high-power circuits; if anything goes south the failure is generally spectacular.


Expert snuggler wrote:In practice, it would have to be a directional one as well. Safehold's star will drown out weak signals.
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Re: Rampant Speculation Based on "What If"
Post by SWM   » Fri Aug 21, 2015 8:56 pm

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Getting back to the original post--

The answer is: nothing. If the Rakurai were taken out tomorrow, Merlin would not be able to promote any technology that he is not already able to do.

The Rakurai is not the limiting factor on what technology Charis can develop. The Proscriptions are the limiting factor.
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Re: Rampant Speculation Based on "What If"
Post by n7axw   » Fri Aug 21, 2015 9:07 pm

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SWM wrote:Getting back to the original post--

The answer is: nothing. If the Rakurai were taken out tomorrow, Merlin would not be able to promote any technology that he is not already able to do.

The Rakurai is not the limiting factor on what technology Charis can develop. The Proscriptions are the limiting factor.


Yep. Even if the Temple is gone and the OBS not functional, the proscriptions will be there as a limiting factor in people's minds for a long time... probably a couple of generations or so.

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Re: Rampant Speculation Based on "What If"
Post by Kakai   » Sat Aug 22, 2015 4:37 pm

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Regarding all the above mentions about the Proscriptions, if I may... taking aside people's conviction for a moment, isn't the major part of power behind the Proscriptions the threat behind them? I always thought there's a simple rule at the base of it all: If you dare do this, you'll soon become the centre of the biggest lightning strike in the world.

If Merlin/Charis do introduce eletricity, then, the people will expect the divine intervention soon. When it doesn't come... well, turns out lightning isn't as forbidden as they've thought, now is it? The Writ, then, turns out to be making threats it can't act upon, and that means it has less power than people thought. And that means that archangels, who are the guarantor of Writ's truth, are less powerful than people thought. Perhaps they are even wrong.

That's one excellent way to break Church's hold on people, I think.
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Re: Rampant Speculation Based on "What If"
Post by n7axw   » Sat Aug 22, 2015 5:57 pm

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Kakai wrote:Regarding all the above mentions about the Proscriptions, if I may... taking aside people's conviction for a moment, isn't the major part of power behind the Proscriptions the threat behind them? I always thought there's a simple rule at the base of it all: If you dare do this, you'll soon become the centre of the biggest lightning strike in the world.

If Merlin/Charis do introduce eletricity, then, the people will expect the divine intervention soon. When it doesn't come... well, turns out lightning isn't as forbidden as they've thought, now is it? The Writ, then, turns out to be making threats it can't act upon, and that means it has less power than people thought. And that means that archangels, who are the guarantor of Writ's truth, are less powerful than people thought. Perhaps they are even wrong.

That's one excellent way to break Church's hold on people, I think.


Yeah, but if the OBS smacks the power sourse and wakes up whatever is under the Temple, it turns into something that has Merlin thinking, "Golly Gee, I wish I hadn't done that!"

Don
When any group seeks political power in God's name, both religion and politics are instantly corrupted.
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Re: Rampant Speculation Based on "What If"
Post by Expert snuggler   » Sat Aug 22, 2015 6:04 pm

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Holy writ can be rationalized away. Humans are quite good at it. Limiting electricity to "sacred" use is something a lot of people could swallow. Then the nose of the camel is under the tent.
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Re: Rampant Speculation Based on "What If"
Post by Kakai   » Sat Aug 22, 2015 6:37 pm

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n7axw wrote:
Yeah, but if the OBS smacks the power sourse and wakes up whatever is under the Temple, it turns into something that has Merlin thinking, "Golly Gee, I wish I hadn't done that!"

Don


Weren't we working under assumption that there's not OBS to wake up the Temple Sleeper? I thought that's the point of the thread... :|
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Re: Rampant Speculation Based on "What If"
Post by Isilith   » Sat Aug 22, 2015 11:43 pm

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Expert snuggler wrote:Holy writ can be rationalized away. Humans are quite good at it. Limiting electricity to "sacred" use is something a lot of people could swallow. Then the nose of the camel is under the tent.


Bingo
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