Q4 2051 Results
The GDI Thaw
James Hunter
Alright everyone, with elections coming up, and the requisite flame wars, welcome to the containment thread. Whether you are Hawk, Developmentalist, Free Market, or something else, time to gather round and yell about your beliefs until you are blue in the face.
While I already know it is a lost cause lets try and lay some ground rules.
- No calling people NOD sympathizers, unless they actually are of course.
- Please try to be constructive. Focus on the positions, not the people.
Henry Olvier (ZOCOM)
So, nice new thread smell. Guess that won't last long.
Anyway. Time to lay out the Hawk position given that I called Dr. Granger "a stereotype of limp wristed dove" not too long ago.
- NOD is anywhere but gone. In the last year they have already substantially ramped up activity, and have staged attacks around the globe.
- GDI needs more military spending, and far more technology. While we can't beat NOD in numbers, especially not in any particular location, we can beat pound for pound using our more advanced projects.
- More aggression is needed against NOD assets both formal and informal. Put the boot to the head of the confessors and street preachers, stop them from getting the word out, and keep hitting NOD bases. With Kane's head down for who knows how long, keeping the momentum going will stop a sucker punch later.
Melanie Beck
Right, then let me lay out the Developmentalist Position, since I'm pretty Developmentalist this election.
- NOD wouldn't be such a huge problem if they weren't getting loads and loads of recruits from all the Yellow Zones. A lot of Yellow Zoners go to NOD because they're desperate, have nothing to lose, and have been exposed to a lot of NOD propaganda about how GDI has abandoned them. If the Yellow Zones were cleaned up and were less toxic to live in, that would eat heavily into NOD's recruitment and overturn their propaganda.
- No amount of "advanced military projects" will cover for a lack of the infrastructure and education needed to support it. Even up until a couple months ago, there were still rolling blackouts in effect. Can't run a factory without power. Can't get your bullets, beans, and bandages up to the front lines without roads or airports or ports to ship them with. Can't march an army on an empty stomach. Can't design a new tank without an engineer or four.
- We can fight until we're blue in the face, but a constant fight without anything to fight for is not a battle worth winning.
K4N3 L1V35! (Banned)
[POST DELETED: NOD SPAMBOT]
Michael "Mack" McNeil (Central Command)(Ret.)
Right, first NODposter. Won't be the last.
I kicked my fair share of NOD ass back in the 2030s. And the key problem that has kept them in the field has been the fact that we did not share our wealth back after the 2030s. We concentrated it in Blue Zones, leaving the majority of Humanity out in the cold. Jackasses like our former Treasury Secretary decided that it was more important to make sure that their asses were safe behind sonics and comfortable in their padded thrones.
Now I have heard all the arguments about spending, and all the arguments about needing better military assets, and all the arguments about every other reason why we need to deal with blue zones and not give a flying flip about everyone else. Because that is what it boils down to. Fuck You, Got Mine.
Well, we have to be better than that. We have to be a Global Defense Initiative, not a Blue Zone Defense Initiative.
Havok (SpecOps)(Scary Bastard, Ret.)
Right you lily livered milk drinkers. Listen up. When you were at most crying to your mommies, I was kicking NOD ass. Now we have been damn lucky that the bean counters managed to be off by enough to keep NOD from winning. Now instead of letting some bureaucrat decide how much they can afford to spend to keep good kids from dying, let us make the question of how many of their poor bastards we can kill before they get any of our own.
McNeil was good twenty years ago, and did a damn good job shooting Kane, too bad it didn't take. But he has somehow hung his balls up with his stars since. If his credentials were not as good as they are, I would be calling him a traitor.
Michael "Mack" McNeil (Central Command)(Ret.)
I know you think I "hung my balls up" but you must have hung your brain up if you think we can win by shooting people harder. If you can find a bullet to do that, let me know, otherwise, we need hearts and minds, not corpses.
The Community Team
Now, normally we'd ban people for this sort of abuse, but we're not going to for two main reasons:
1. Micheal McNeil is a high ranking war hero who shot Kane hard enough to put him away for decades, so none of us want to deal with the fallout of actually banning him
2. As the entire GDI commando program can be fairly described as 'people trying to be Havoc and failing' we're just legitimately too scared of the man to ban him.
GDIRulesNodDrools (Banned)
[USER WAS BANNED FOR THIS POST]
Havok (SpecOps)(Scary Bastard, Ret.)
Let me make something clear to you, Civilian. Umagon fought for GDI, and she fought damned well. She died for GDI and every one of you soft, blue zone pampered asses. Anyone who suggests anything else is worthy of nothing but scorn.
Ormond2020
Okay, so, the problem I have with this election is a bit of a weird one. Mainly in that I kind of agree with every party, but with a big caveat. We need houses, and we need a military buildup, and I don't know about any of you lads, but if I ever have to eat another god damn fungus bar again in my life I'm going to puke. Which is unfortunate, since it's like, 30% of my goddamn food supply, but I digress.
ANYWAY. The problem is we need all of these things, desperately, but also, there's the huge god damn glaciers of Tiberium? I mean, literally continental slabs of death crystal? We can fight off NOD, and have nice food, and a pair of undies that isn't scratchy military surplus, but you know, there are still those big slabs of stuff that are going to kill us all? I remember a thread a while back where people were complaining about fusion rockets and all that, but I would very much like off this rock? I mean, it's great if we can save Earth, cradle of humanity, home, lovely place to live if you're in a blue zone, but, I mean, I can honestly say I don't know if having kids is worth it in a world where they might end up choking on Tiberium thirty or forty years from now, you know?
AccomplishingProvidence
My my, and here we were thinking that GDI's military forces were united in cause and conviction? I suppose it just shows us that everyone is human.
Still, General McNeil makes some extremely valid points. When GDI simply sat and hoarded their resources, bided their time, and ignored something like
80% of the world, what did it get them? Another conflict. Regardless of your opinions on the existence of NOD as an organization, the fact remains that GDI's
stated intention is to safeguard the planet. To protect the people. Yet for at least half of its existence, which people did it protect? Mostly the Blue Zones.
There were barely even speeches about using the Blue Zones as "beachheads", a valid tactic in the seemingly never-ending battle against Tiberium. And the Brotherhood, of course.
Mister Havok's record in that battle speaks for itself, but I do question focusing entirely on that.
Military power alone is somewhat lacking in achieving a lasting peace.
I do have to wonder how effective GDI can be, with all these parties working at cross-purposes? Would it not be more beneficial to have those calling for military build up to support those calling for development of infrastructure, and vice-versa? A house divided cannot stand, after all. It bodes ill for the future of the less-fortunate people of the world if GDI cannot stop bickering within itself. It worries me to see GDI struggling so. One can only hope that unity can be achieved, for the sake of everyone in the Yellow Zones, and beyond.
With all of those things said, I do feel that Director Granger is doing the best that he can. It's difficult to acknowledge because of the sheer
scope, but he
does seem to be working toward the dual goals of improving the lives of the citizens as a whole,
and building enough of a defense force to keep them safe from more mundane threats. Time will tell his success, but intent matters.
Stralyan1998
Quite frankly I think that the free market party has some good points. The entire point of the GDI was to defend our rights and freedoms, and as much as I support the boys and girls in blue, the bureaucrats can't run everything forever. If I'm going to be paying so much taxes, I'd rather it go towards something actually useful like fighting NOD or pushing back Tiberium, not towards padding the pockets of lazy bureaucrats. The free market is fully capable of handling the simpler stuff. Toothbrushes for example, there's no reason that has to be made by the GDI directly instead of a company. Still probably going to vote for whoever promises to kick the most NOD ass though.
TrotskyWasRight
And maybe I don't want to spend 200 dollars on a toothbrush, thanks
Stralyan1998
Lmao get new material already.
KropotkinsGhost
We have recently managed to clean up the earth's oceans, and get the power running again. If the military needs some funds to defend against NOD and Tiberium I say go for it, things here on earth have obviously been getting slightly better the last few years, staying on this track seems to be a proven option. So forget about space, forget about the free markets, just build us some homes, stop NOD and get us some more toothbrushes *somehow*. If there was a way to balance the Militarist and Developmentalist approach, that should be strived for. The recent direction of helping out the yellow zones should be enshrined as a cornerstone in any strategy we develop moving forward also, as its benefits are too great to ignore on any time scale, regardless of which route is prioritized. I hope in time the forgotten people of the yellow and red zones can forgive us for scrambling without a plan for so long.
Cim Turry
If anyone attempts to open up the markets again before everything is stable, I'm evacuating to the only place not corrupted by Tiberium. SPACE!
Doctor Acidic
I'm willing to admit that I was wrong about NOD being shattered completely and understand why some military spending is necessary, but I'm still more on team Development/Socialist since everyone on Earth has suffered some negative consequences from tiberium one way or another. I just wish for more cooperation and abating tiberium focus to improve everyone's lives.
What I don't understand here is why NOD sees themselves as heroes while doing terrorism and similarly heinous acts, instead of trying to help GDI expunging tiberium out of the earth. Heck, I'm not afraid to admit that NOD's understanding of that cursed material is more advanced than us! With that level of knowledge, I can't fathom why they don't help people in yellow and red zones and improve the livelihood of people there, instead they conscripted those poor souls to throw legendary temper tantrums against GDI? Did someone kick Kane in the balls while he was a weenie kid?
Stralyan1998
I really wish that rule about accusing people of being NOD lovers wasn't there because hoo boy do some of you bloody deserve it. Enough with making excuses. I struggled like hell for a while too, we all did, but did I become a damn terrorist? No, and neither do the decent people in the Yellow and Red zones. Those people who willingly join up with a maniac like Kane aren't victims, they are threats.
@Havok keep fighting the good fight, and thank you for your service!
YourFateCalls989
None of the larger political parties are...
comprehensively appealing. They
mean well, I'm sure, but global politics as a whole are too tied up with nostalgia for the pre-tiberium days. It's understandable, but it keeps us from reaching for the truly
advanced solutions. The only ones I've seen advocate for
anything worthwhile is the Ascendance party in Blue Zone 2 and they got shouted down almost instantly by cries of being NOD puppets despite that being
blatantly false. It has honestly gotten a bit tiresome to see such knee-jerk reactions to ideas that are in any way "different" from the standard party lines.
Resources: 310 + 0 in reserve
Political Support: 20
Free Dice: 5
Tiberium Spread
14.13 Blue Zone
33.31 Yellow Zone
52.56 Red Zone
Current Economic Issues:
Housing: Sufficient but low quality (=) (+++++ in refugee camps)
Energy: Massive Surpluses (++++ +++)
Logistics: Significant Surpluses (+++)
Food: Sufficient production, significant inefficiencies in distribution (++)
Health: Substantially improved (++++)
Capital Goods: Massive Shortfalls (-----)
Consumer Goods: Titanic Shortages (------)
Labor: Practically unlimited
[X] Yellow Zone Reconstruction (Phase 1)
Although heavily ravaged by Tiberium, the Yellow Zones are home to some of the largest proportions of the world population, and are also the main recruitment grounds for NOD forces. By building new housing blocks near remaining Blue Zones, and establishing sonic barriers, the worst of the Tiberium encroachment can be prevented. The new construction will also have significant health benefits, as improved shelter and reduced Tiberium exposure will reduce the pressure on available critical care units. (Progress 400/400: 15 Resources per die) (-- Labor, +++ Housing, ++ Health)
In completing phase 1, a series of terminus cities, the endpoints of the roads leading into the blue zones, have been constructed. Mostly consisting of cheaply built prefabricated housing, and a central logistical hub, these terminus cities are not capable of being self sustaining, and still require food shipped in from Blue Zones. However, these prefabricated housing units are also a substantial improvement over even the best of the refugee camps. At this point, while there are still streams of refugees looking for shelter, the immediate housing crisis has been resolved. While many are still without proper housing, stuck in refugee camps, they are also at least under shelter in some form.
At this point, the primary thing needed is more broad reconstruction, building perimeter extensions, and then infilling them with more housing, shops, and at some point soon industries and service sector jobs. These will begin moving people from being passive acceptors of GDI's largess to being part of a larger system, with a purpose and a schedule, good for both them and GDI's economic fortunes. While there will always be those unable or unwilling to work, having opportunities to work is good policy.
Politically, the resolution of the immediate housing crisis has proved popular, however the anger in the refugee camps is palpable, against both the blue zones and "Those lucky SoBs getting actual houses instead of this tent." In Blue Zones the effects are more muted. While some celebrate the immediate resolution of the housing crisis, many don't particularly care, a result of their relative isolation from the problems of the refugee camps.
[X] Monument Restoration Program
While many monuments around the world from the Pyramids to the White House have suffered damages or been destroyed in the decades that Tiberium has been ravaging the world, the restoration of surviving monuments will serve well to memorialize why we fight. Not just for the sake of destroying Tiberium, or the Brotherhood of NOD, but also for preserving a history and a way of life. While not the most functional of projects, it is likely to be popular, and one that will not require much investment, especially in comparison to the mass building programs (Progress 75/100: 10 resources per die) (+5 Political Support)
The first really visible sign of the monument restoration program was fairly small. While locations like Edinburgh Castle, the White House, or others have damages that need repairs, smaller constructions, like Nelson's Column or the Statue of Liberty can be repaired on a much shorter timeframe. In Blue Zones around the world, the smaller historical markers and war memorials have been cleaned, and if need be refaced. However, this does not mean that the larger projects have been neglected. Prioritizing monuments that have been closed to the public, reconstruction work has been slow but steady, primarily limited by the number of skilled stoneworkers and masons, rather than resource problems. While all of the capstone projects have been initiated, few have been stabilized, let alone completed, certainly not enough to call the project to a close. A further investment of funds and manpower will finish the project to broad satisfaction, and it is likely to be a long lasting impact.
[X] Manchester Silicon Chip Fabrication
A silicon chip is one of the most critical pieces of technology across GDI's entire system. Computer systems reliant on these appear in everything from recreation, to heavy manufacturing, to nearly every piece of military equipment more advanced than the GD2, and even the GD2 requires a small number of these for its peripherals. The war sharply constricted chip fabrication, with most extant systems either falling to NOD control or being destroyed. By setting up new facilities in secure blue zones, GDI can begin filling vital supply chains again. (Progress 122/150: 15 resources per die) (- Labor, + Capital Goods, +++ Consumer Goods, ++ Logistics, + Health)
Construction has nearly finished on the first new chip fabricator since the Third Tiberium War. What remains to be completed however is the most critical element, the series of clean rooms and automated production lines that make the entire system work. While fabricating sheets of pure silicon from Tiberium is relatively simple, turning that silicon into computing chips is anything but. Some of the most precise work on the planet is done in fabricators, sometimes down below ten nanometers. While the Manchester plant is working on the 14 nanometer transistor scale, meaning that the electronics produced are decades out of date before they even leave the factory, any production is better than no production.
[X]Blue Zone Perimeter Fencing (Phase 1)
Around the limits of the Blue Zones there are now thousands of redoubts, and tens of thousands of outposts. However, these are not enough. Even with all of the effort of harvesting operations, Tiberium can still encroach on the limits of the Blue Zones. By deploying long lines of sonic fencing, backed by Shatterer QRFs, Blue Zones around the world can be further secured by a thin backing line. While it will not be enough to stop substantial incursions, the small leaks left by redoubts and outposts can be more easily handled, and deposits that are too large can be subsumed rather than having to be harvested first. (Progress 369/400: 15 resources per die) (Contributes to plan goal)
Massive stretches of the perimeter fence are now prepared. With thousands of kilometers of perimeter to cover, the biggest hurdle still lies ahead. Linking up even something as simple as a curtain across such a distance is a technical marvel. Linking up a defensive line is substantially harder. With the QRFs in place, and constant Shatterer patrols, the line is already stiffening, although not enough to halt the massive incursions of Tiberium in the last three months. Even so, we expect that one more push should create a substantive perimeter, one that can be hardened against attack and increasingly reenforced with additional manpower and equipment.
[X] Primary Schooling
The war created a significant hole in standard educational practices. While not the highest priority, returning kids to school frees up parents to work, and is an ongoing investment in our future. Schooling will also increase security against the Brotherhood of Nod in the long term, as more children will be raised under standard GDI curricula and away from terrorist indoctrination. (Progress 25/300: 5 Resources per die) (---- Labor) (5 Political Support)
Establishment of Blue Zone schools has been a substantial slog. While finding buildings to teach in has been relatively easy, finding teachers has not. All of the technological support in the world does not make it so that a teacher has the time to properly educate all that many more kids. This makes schooling a fundamentally hard task, and one where qualified staff is scarce on the ground due to the sheer magnitude of the need. However, if the establishment of Blue Zone schooling has been somewhat slow and steady, the establishment of Yellow Zone Schools has been anything but. Even without a severe lack of teachers, the schools have become targets for NOD supporters, an element of GDI control that they can lash out at without immediately provoking a response, or impacting the local quality of life. While attacks so far have not been serious, seemingly the work of disconnected locals rather than a wide spread organization, they do suggest a worrying trend.
[X] ASAT Defense System (Phase 1)
The ASAT Defense systems were bypassed in the early days of the Third Tiberium War. While the Brotherhood of Nod does not currently appear to have a nuclear weapons stockpile, the reconstruction of the ASAT network will re-establish GDI orbital dominance. (Progress 5/50: 10 resources per die)
Work on the ASAT system has continued to be extremely slow. While there is nobody to blame at this point, the continued chronic problems suggest some form of interference, either with the system as a whole or with the specific project. As Kane is still missing in action, and the Brotherhood of NOD's systems are in chronic breakdown, it is likely that some actor or group of actors within the Brotherhood are targeting the ASAT system specifically in order to keep it down. However, this is all speculation, with few hard facts, beyond a systematic intrusion found into the military side of GDI's Treasury to support it.
[X] Boron Carbide Composite Suits
Body armor has been a part of military development for millenia. A constant struggle between arms and armor has continued from the emergence of civilization in the fertile crescent to the modern day. Ever harder, ever tougher armor against ever higher velocity and penetration ammunition. Boron Carbide is the third hardest option available, just short of Boron Nitride and Diamond. While deployed in limited quantities before the Third Tiberium War, more production will allow them to phase out previous metallo-ceramic suits entirely. (Progress 175/100: 10 Resources per die)
While the previous quarter had severe issues, the increased application of time and resources has resulted in production starting, and the first several batches of armor being fielded. At current estimated production rates, first line units will be fully equipped with the new armors in six months to a year. In two to three years second line units will be equipped. In five to seven, the last of the metallo-ceramic suits will have left inventory.
GDI typically classifies infantry body armor into a series of zones. Zone 1 is the area of most protection, typically the head and torso, followed by increasingly light protections towards the extremities in sequentially lighter zones. In general it goes something like chest/head, feet, thighs, calves, crotch, arms , hands, and joints, in order of decreasing protection. Boron Carbide armor expands zone 1 coverage out to the thighs and feet, cutting two zones off the standard, mainly by not substantially increasing armor protection elsewhere.
[X] Apollo Fighter Factories
While the Apollo was developed before the Third Tiberium War, and was in testing at Valparaiso Spaceport, much of the initial run was destroyed in a Black Hand raid that also seized Dr. Alphonse Giraud, the project lead of Apollo. The remaining units were, for the most part, destroyed over the course of the Third Tiberium War. Resume construction of Apollo Factories.
-[X] Reykjavik (Progress 72/70: 15 resources per die) (-- Labor, --- Energy)
In three months, a field outside Reykjavik has gone from being an empty plot to being a fully equipped fighter factory. The Apollo carries a mix of missiles and autocannons, its most lethal tool is its speed. At this time, it is the fastest thing in the air.
While the factory has currently only entered low rate initial production, and no production units have yet reached front line service, they are expected to reach Initial Operational Capability by the midpoint of next year, and be fully capable of defending Blue Zone Airpsace by the end of next year.
[X] Zone Suit Factories
With a new generation of Zone Suit armors designed, a series of new factories around the world need to be constructed. While existing armors can be refitted using on base manufacturing capabilities, in order to provide anywhere near the number of suits required to completely replace ZOCOM's infantry complement mass centralized factories need to be constructed. With six planned sites, in Newark, Glasgow, New Moscow, Christchurch, Oslo, and Helsinki, the project will be anything but small, a testament to just how many suits are needed.
-[X] Helsinki (Progress 104/75: 15 resources per die) (-- Labor, -- Energy)
The Helsinki Zone Suit Factory refitted existing and abandoned industrial areas, a result of the collapse of private industry during the Third Tiberium War. Requiring hundreds of individuals to do manual tasks, the Helsinki factory is far less efficient than it could be, due to a lack of automation tooling, and the chronic shortages in electronics. However, despite being forced back to using methods that were obsoleted in the late 20th century, it has begun to produce suits, mostly the stripped down Defender design, as the current factory cannot produce the highly precise jump pack required of the other models in anywhere near sufficient numbers. While production has been slowed substantially, it has begun being able to equip local first line units to a higher standard, and the first shipments elsewhere have already begun.
[X] Security Reviews
GDI has often faced problems with infiltration by the Brotherhood of Nod. A full security review of one department of operations can mitigate or discover infiltration, however it will take a significant amount of effort. (DC 60 + 1 operations die) (124)
To call the military department the military department is to overstate it's martial nature. Rather than being an actual part of the military, the military department oversees the production of military assets from medical packs to bullets, to main battle tanks. Staffed with civilians, the military department answers to the treasury, a concession to the need to supply it with Tiberium derivatives and manage it as part of a coherent workforce system.
The security reviews of the military department have found it to be riddled with NOD covert surveillance and tampering measures. The largest result has been these programs slipping in extra orders for material, ranging from the prosaic to the experimental. While these avenues have been, to the best of our knowledge, closed off, it is likely that NOD is still siphoning off resources that should have been delivered to our troops. Additionally, there are the surveillance measures. While they are not particularly unified, likely a result of multiple NOD sects slipping into the system, as a whole they represent an unacceptable level of penetration into our systems.
At this time, there is little that can be done about either problem. While there has been some cleaning of the code, many machines need to be replaced, and there are simply not enough replacement parts to make that viable.
