The Temple—How might it be taken?

C. O. Thompson wrote:Don... fun? Remind me not to put you on the committee that is planing my next party




Actually, on your team you would need at least one person capable of hacking a computer or perhaps infiltrating a computer with a specially designed virus or worm.

Merlin and Nimue can't do it because of their PICA power packs.

That would mean taking the brightest, most qualified person you can come up with to the cave for extensive training.

Everybody else on the ops team would be there for the purpose of tending to the security of that individual...

Don


OK Don, I agree that there needs to be someone with the abilities to "hack' into the system.

Maybe a variation of the VR suit that Owl made after s/he and Narmhan did some research into the old files would provide a basic model NEAT to train up a member of the team.

Only God and David Weber know and they ain't telling me.
I think we all agree that this tough nut must be cracked... it may be easier said than done but, if you can state your problem in logical terms, you can solve the problem. We don't always get the results we expected and the cost is sometimes higher than we wanted it to be but--

I will be surprised if we see it done in this book or if it is, it will be in the last chapter.

13 days and the odd number of hours and counting down.

Just my two cents

One further thought... We don't know that the computer in question is even in the basement of the Temple. It could be that all that's there is a terminal accessing another computer squirreled away in a cave like Owl is. Wouldn't that be fun?

Don

shaeun wrote:
We have no idea what happened after he left, and his body still being intact after all these years raises a couple of questions and implies some interesting possibilities.

n7axw wrote:Actually, on your team you would need at least one person capable of hacking a computer or perhaps infiltrating a computer with a specially designed virus or worm.

Merlin and Nimue can't do it because of their PICA power packs.

That would mean taking the brightest, most qualified person you can come up with to the cave for extensive training.

Everybody else on the ops team would be there for the purpose of tending to the security of that individual...

Don

evilauthor wrote:

SWM wrote:There is no evidence that the Temple require high-tech keys or credentials to enter the building. As far as we know, the entrances are currently protected by contemporary defenses. It's not getting into the Temple that poses a problem for Charis--it is getting into Zion.

There's no evidence against either, especially when the Temple has an "Open Door" policy when it comes to pilgrims. When you have a constant flow of traffic going in and out of the Temple, it's simply easier to keep the door open all the time than to shut it when no one's going through at the moment.

But if I were designing the Temple, and if I were as paranoid as the original designers seemed to be, then I'd put lockable doors on the main entrance. If the right emergency came up (a beseiging Charisian army for example), then the only thing needed to close and lock the front doors would be the door guard pressing a few "God Lights" in a panel just inside the doors.

Heck, it wouldn't surprise me if the Temple Guard has actual procedures for how to defend the Temple from attack handed down from the Archangels themselves. They just never expect to actually need to USE them, but they'd be on the books all the same.

And of course, we don't know if they have any of this stuff because the Temple has NEVER come under attack. Yet. So there's been no need so far to do an exposition dump on it.

C. O. Thompson wrote:I am rereading Like a Mighty Army to get a running speed start on Hell's Foundations Quiver and reading more in these forums than I have in a while. Here is a possible twist on the locks... it comes from chapter 17 when Staynir is speaking with Garlyng...
He said the Grand Vicar is infallible when he spoke from Langhorn's own throne in accordance with the writ and Gods will.

So what if 'Langhorn's throne is the commanders chair and interface and the "password" is combination of the jeweled scepter and key phrases that activate or shut off what is under the temple. Just like the relics that Paiter has, they significance has been lost.

Of course, even if I am right on this... the allies still have to get to the command chair and say the right things so, maybe this is just an exercise in futility.

Just my two cents

noblehunter wrote:They'd never have gotten gunpowder past the Inquisition if that were true.

It's probably just that the COGA stole the doctrine of papal infallibility from the Catholics. Like the Grand Vicar, the Pope is only infallible when speaking ex cathedra.

rrw wrote:An orbital bombardment system (OBS) takes time to arrive at its strike point. Merlin is experiencing grief and world weariness.

If Merlin were to infiltrate the temple, he would probably be detected but probably too late to prevent his entrance. He could deactivate his cloaking, stealth system to ensure he is detected as a forbidden power source once inside the temple. The OBS would destroy the temple and show evidence of the wrath of God.

Precede his infiltration by rumours that cause the local population to flee (those stink bombs in the air vents I read about earlier would also be a nice touch) and loss of innocent live is minimized.

Merlin would of course be destroyed as well, or at least the PICA that is currently active as Merlin.