Honorverse ramblings and musings

Dauntless wrote:but they had warning. they had "odd" reading on the super sensitive arrays several months before the missile arrived. which were investigated but given that no knew of any way to travel that wasn't impeller it was thought a waste of time and forgotten about.

they simply cannot keep wedges at full readiness ALL the time. warships impeller nodes are complicated, expensive and like a lot of high end things likely to be somewhat fussy if left permanently on. there is a reason most ships, military and civ shut down a wedge if they are not actively using it for propulsion.

they probably have a similar system as to beowulf which I cannot go into further details without big spoilers.

About that odd reading. It reminds me of the same "odd" whispers the Peeps got on many occasions when going up against Manty stealth. And also of the latest victims, the League. Whispers don't always translate into conversations when going up against insane stealth. It also oftentimes depends on the alacrity and astuteness - amongst other things - of the technician in the hot seat at the time. In a perfect world, there are all Forakers manning all stations massaging the data.

If the MA's internal military intel is on a par with at least the GA's, it might be prudent to assume they know about the GA's recorded "whisper" of its stealth and that they may take the appropriate countermeasures to circumvent it. No one knows more about their tech than they.

At any rate, the hectic state of readiness that Oyster Bay has caused the RMN to adopt is like karma. "What goes around comes around," the galaxy says, in regards to the same strategy that Harrington utilized in Cutworm, iinm, of popping in and out of arbitrary systems to keep the Peeps honest, anxious, annoyed and exhausted. Achieved psychologically.

Do you suppose the RHN and the GSN has adopted the same state of readiness? Especially Grayson, since they were served up Oysters on a half-shell as well.

As a matter of fact, the Havenites should assume their unfortunate impingement upon a centuries long plan has been taken note of. I hope they like Oysters.

Haven't even received UC and already looking forward to book after next. Darn greedy fans. Yes I am!

I don't know what the status is regarding any repair slips in Manticoran space, or even Grayson for that matter, since Oyster Bay. The repair slips weren't destroyed with Oyster Bay were they? It seems maintaining DEFCON 3 would be even more difficult for Grayson, who may not have even the limited resources of the RMN - in available qualified manpower or infrastructure.

Also, the Graysons have the added responsibility of the People's Own to worry about. The PO probably doesn't spend too much time on maneuvers and rarely leaves the system. Which means that it's probably a given that they can usually be found shining pretty and parked in orbit like one big happy family of sitting ducks. The bright side of it is that ducks like Oysters. It's how they're served that they won't like. . .

Raw, spoilt, unscheduled and coming in hot!

Having your entire navy wiped out in a very quiet strike gives a new meaning to a very bad day. It would make what Harrington achieved in Hell a fitting betrayal by fate, and an ironic revenge for that seething Demon Murphy on the navy of religious zealots affiliated with what went down in his beloved star system. You can't raise hell in Hell and think Murphy won't come back to haunt you. Demon style. The good news is that the Demon doesn't hold onto his grudges. The bad news is that he leaves them behind in wrecked star systems.

It is obvious that no navy can constantly maintain such a hectic pace imposed on it by a malignant race, who'll kill you in your sleep. However, it is ironic that the navy of such an affluent star system - like the RMN - may be wiped out because of a cost they can ill afford.

Maybe if Harrington will simply apologize to the Demon Murphy for all the hell she raised in ... Hell.

Now, we all know . . . the annoying sound of a demon laughing.

cthia wrote:The repair slips weren't destroyed with Oyster Bay were they?

Yes they were. They were mostly in the three space stations. Any that weren't were in the dispersed building 'yards;' building yards and repair yards are essentially the same sort of facility.

Weird Harold wrote:

cthia wrote:The repair slips weren't destroyed with Oyster Bay were they?

Yes they were. They were mostly in the three space stations. Any that weren't were in the dispersed building 'yards;' building yards and repair yards are essentially the same sort of facility.

Oh craps on the dice! That increases the intensity of the annoying Waka Waka Waka sound.

Thanks Harold.

What may be overlooked and lost within the immediately obvious, is the unfortunate side effects that this hectic pace has thrust upon the innocents of visiting star systems. Since the Yawata Strike, paranoia and apprehension have become an integral part of this usually welcoming and friendly star system. Even something as nonthreatening as a school system's scheduled field trip is, sadly, subject to be ordered to "Heave to!" on any occasion. All galactic travel advisories to this section of the galaxy now come with a stern warning to everyone to be wary and prepared, before hypering into this maelstrom of hyperactivity - in a system, post Yawata Strike, which always seems to have its panties in a twist.

Apparently the strain on systems, sensors and senses has resulted in sort of a reprieve and downgrade from DEFCON 2. A fortunate turn of events whose benefit, unfortunately, has not been passed down to travelers.

cthia wrote:

Dauntless wrote:as the snippets of UH make clear (look up the one of honor and the kids at dinner)

Roul is already very gifted, enough to have his treecat nannies very interested/curious as to how he will develop.

Indeed, and good point. But was he born being all that he could/would be, if the genetic soup was just a bit more. . . concentrated? Curiosity only in the interest of science, of course.

ldwechsler wrote:Note however that his sister has certain gifts and she is NOT Meyerdahl genetically at all.

We will have to wait for the next book to find out more...and quite possibly the one after THAT since I think the next will be another Zilwicki an Cachat book.

Which may suggest that mankind has certain innate abilities that we haven't learned to unlock yet. Abilities that may become more deeply recessed as man ages. Mirroring other abilities that we actually do learn with age. Or unlearn with age.

I have an acquaintance who is friends with a couple who are just now coming to terms with the fact that their daughter may have an eidetic or photographic memory, although everyone has been telling her parents that she's odd. One teacher explained to the parents that their daughter never takes notes in class, although her method of teaching is to fill the entire two blackboards. She doesn't miss a single question on the following exam. Her mother only came to terms with it when her daughter recalled information from an important document she had inadvertently discarded. Yet her daughter only saw the document once while they were talking . . . "What's this mom?" *

Upon birth - the time when a structured brain is comparatively "empty" and is likened unto a fresh sponge awaiting all kinds of input - may be the ideal time for Treecats to interact with the mindglow, without the impediment of previously learned "bad or inefficient habits" of formerly formed structure. It is a time when the brain's structure hasn't chosen its "direction" or "area of expertise" likening it unto a college student choosing majors -- an analogy interjected only to help assuage any discomfort or impediment of following along with this train of thought.

This isn't to say that the human brain cannot learn new tricks, it can. It does. If the proper neural connections haven't already been formed, it can form them, but it becomes increasingly more difficult with age, the brain's health, and time. Time and age as it applies to " the development of the structure of the brain" are two different balls of wax. In this case, the age of the brain represents the linear passing of time which intuitively coincides with the subject's age, e.g., the subject is 20-years old. The time of the brain as it refers to development is the absolute number of moments spent truly exercising the brain with intense thought - exercising the train of thought, working the kinks out, thinking - causing neurons to profoundly fire and creating all new neural connections. Or simply as a result of natural moments of enlightenment. The more neural connections that are formed the more interconnected all of our knowledge becomes, thus the more efficient the brain becomes.

Experiences. Sounds. Fears. Likes. Loves. Ideas. Memories. Theories and other seemingly archaic information, must all be interconnected to be of use. During the process of thinking, the brain needs to call upon this vast pool of knowledge.

Can thought operate faster than the speed of light? Although it is dependent on a physical process that is bounded by that physical restraint, thought itself is a metaphysical process that may not be bounded by such restraints.

We often lose our place when we are in the middle of a thinking process — a profound thinking process, let's say something metaphysical that requires intense concentration and thought, something like "Can a sentient being think without language?" And we are calling upon all of our available resources. Think of it like a war against failure. Our mind is the RMN calling upon resources from all across the galaxy of the immense brain. The resources (data) that get to you the soonest are immediately available and utilized in the war to resolve the conundrum of "Can man think without language?" Resources that are deeply recessed throughout the galaxy of the brain or located further from thought, require more time to arrive in-system. If it is a thinking process that isn't so taxing (up against an enemy with a large fleet), the process can await the info en route. If it is a profound thinking process, quite demanding, the info may miss the train -- of thought. However, if that information - which is located in another subsystem across the galaxy - had a shortcut to get to the train depot, a wormhole, via many back roads of neural connections, then the thinking process becomes more efficient and the info needed comes over the hyper wall just in time like the cavalry. A genius' neurons do not travel on a one lane highway. These many neural connections form when we are younger, when the brain's builders are active - studious and young - at a time when we need input. There is a common saying amongst humans "If you don't use it, you lose it." If you were once a proficient speller, and then you stop reading or thinking of words, you lose the ability over time. The same with mathematics. The brain must be exercised. Exercising the brain also refreshes, repaves the already formed neural connections. Strengthening them.

As human infants, the Treecat has an unbiased brain and mind to work with. It is a time when the entire landscape is available to begin building neural connections, and none have been shut off, or cut off.

If this theory is correct, it does not negate the fact that a baby born with all the right genetic mix, and also exposed to Treecats early on in the development of the mind, may develop even more abilities.

This phenomena explains why we get better with something as we do it for so long. The brain specializes its patterns of neural connections as we exercise the "neural muscles" in a certain way.

All if the many years of listening to my psychologist of a sister, linguist of a sister, a language professor and several neurosurgeons have any merit, meaning, rhyme or profound impact on my "limited" thinking. . .

and whether that limited thinking has hit any nail. . . at all.


*Marilu Henner's amazing memory.

*More of Marilu.

I've been meaning to ask. First, I have to admit that Honor & Co.'s discussion that there are undoubtedly many more unforeseen ways to squeeze utility out of the Apollo program never left my mind.

Consider the MDMs. Will it be useful to shut down the first stage just to force the enemy to lose lock then bring them back up, even if they are well within the missile's range and needing no ballistic stage? IOW, utilizing a ballistic component solely for the sake of confusing the enemy's ECM. Could that make them more effective under certain conditions, like a certain sweet spot in distance to target that wouldn't forego too much accel?

It is a tactic I always wondered about, which this new series of snippets reminded me of. Could it be useful? Especially if an enemy, perhaps malignant in origin, developed a more stubborn ECM and point defense.

What is the minimum warship complement that can practically be considered as a "Home Fleet"? What are the qualifications? System Defense Forces would not a Home Fleet make. So what does?

This passage is responsible for my question. . .

FiE wrote:"Thank you, Commander," she said now. "To be honest, however, I'm more concerned with our local situation. What can you tell us about Home Fleet?" It felt odd to apply that label to any non-Manticoran formation, but with eleven GSN SDs added to it, it certainly merited the title.

Flag in Exile Ch. 29 wrote:Honor waited, poised and still, centered physically and mentally, her eyes watching every part of his body without focusing on any. She felt his frustration, but it was as distant and unimportant as the ache of her broken ribs. She simply waited—and then, suddenly, she moved.

She never knew, then or later, what William Fitzclarence's "crease" was. She simply knew she'd recognized it. That something deep inside her saw the moment he committed himself, the instant his arms tightened to bring his blade slashing down.

The instant in which he was entirely focused on the attack, and not on defense.

Bold mine.

Every time I come across this, I cannot understand why Nimitz' or even Honor's own ability didn't come into play in recognizing the crease, which should be a screaming emotion.