Re-Reading the series: Pregnancy and alcohol.

Alcohol and pregnancy do not mix at all. Having said that,, one might propose that the Empress's nanites protect the kid while she is hard at work pickling her own brain...but they may protect her, too.

ryndieum wrote:So I am going to point out three things:

First, if you are trying to keep this series as an "escapist indulgence", I highly suggest you avoid this forum. For years, people have been asking questions about the "reality" of this or that in regards to the universe RFC created.

Actually, I come by quite often, and have been for years, if for no other reason than to get a good laugh at the nitpickers who seem to enjoy gnawing over the least of plot minutiae (usually to a point long past death) more than the overall story.

They are almost as fun to watch as the ones that seem to think that they know the writer's intentions better than the writer himself.

Then there's the pontificators that declare silly things like you need smokeless powder to make automatic weapons or black powder rifles can't be shot accurately at long range because they don't now any better.

As I said in my previous post, Sci-fi is escapism. A place (or time, or whatever) where we can get away from all the nasty parts of life- like fetal alcohol syndrome.

With that being said, is it really necessary to fixate on a tiny bit of plot minutiae- one short scene- just to drag one of the worst parts of real life into what's meant to be escapist fantasy?

If it is, I await your post in the Honorverse Forum about Lester Tourville, cigars and throat cancer. (Don't forget the historical references to Grant if you can fit them in.)

I admit people smoking like chimneys tends to get my back up - even though it is accurate. Like most people in highly stressful jobs, military people have a much higher percentage of smokers.

But I presume that Havenite tobacco is probably gengineered to not cause cancer, and that Shan Wei did the same for whatever Safehold smokes.

The official UK advice is that, yes, it's safest not to drink at all - because we do not know how much alcohol is safe. I'm happy to assume that, by the time of Safehold, OWL can advise Sharleyann on precisely how much alcohol she can have, how often.

Especially since she is loaded with nanites and may possibly be descended from people who've had some genetic engineering to protect them against alcohol abuse. We do know that Nynian is the descendent of people genetically engineered to have eidetic memory, so it's possible that Sharleyann is able to metabolise alcohol well enough that it won't harm any foetus.

Bluesqueak wrote:But I presume that Havenite tobacco is probably gengineered to not cause cancer, and that Shan Wei did the same for whatever Safehold smokes.

In the Haven case, that is a universe with an available cancer cure specifically mentioned in connection with the smoking.

In the Safehold case, yeah probably some sort of genemod - probably one that was old/existing Terran Fed tech.

It's a good story! In real life, and of course, off topic. Does anyone trust the CDC? "We own scores of vaccine patents and make profit while at the same time pushing mandatory vaccinations." Or the FDA with their revolving door to Monsanto and their approval of pesticides banned in Europe, Japan and even Russia? It's the anti democratic nature of US politics, corporate control of government. Please do your own research. Follow the money. You sure as hell can't trust government agencies.

jtg452 wrote:

ryndieum wrote:So I am going to point out three things:

First, if you are trying to keep this series as an "escapist indulgence", I highly suggest you avoid this forum. For years, people have been asking questions about the "reality" of this or that in regards to the universe RFC created.

Actually, I come by quite often, and have been for years, if for no other reason than to get a good laugh at the nitpickers who seem to enjoy gnawing over the least of plot minutiae (usually to a point long past death) more than the overall story.

They are almost as fun to watch as the ones that seem to think that they know the writer's intentions better than the writer himself.

Then there's the pontificators that declare silly things like you need smokeless powder to make automatic weapons or black powder rifles can't be shot accurately at long range because they don't now any better.

As I said in my previous post, Sci-fi is escapism. A place (or time, or whatever) where we can get away from all the nasty parts of life- like fetal alcohol syndrome.

With that being said, is it really necessary to fixate on a tiny bit of plot minutiae- one short scene- just to drag one of the worst parts of real life into what's meant to be escapist fantasy?

If it is, I await your post in the Honorverse Forum about Lester Tourville, cigars and throat cancer. (Don't forget the historical references to Grant if you can fit them in.)

Well said!!!

phillies wrote:Alcohol and pregnancy do not mix at all. Having said that,, one might propose that the Empress's nanites protect the kid while she is hard at work pickling her own brain...but they may protect her, too.

Seconded.
Merlin gave Sharleyan special nanites to protect her from illness and boost her healing. The alcohol probably didn't even last long enough to reach the placenta before the nanites pounced on it.