Thinking about it, it seems like Amanda was able to force a surrender. Only these Shiplords' ideas of surrender are "ritual suicide". I wonder if the same thing will happen if they're overthrown from their position of galactic power. That's kind of disturbing though.
The Practice War [Complete]
- Thread starter Snowfire
- Start date
- Original Sci-Fi
- Location
- Germany
- Pronouns
- He/Him
I read it as 'mission accomplished'. Why that includes 'let's die' - aliens ...
Edit: And that of course would mean that the tribute fleet mission is beyond 'get sludge', but we already thought so.
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Shard
One and Many
- Location
- Malaysia
Seconded.
- Location
- Germany
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Hey, if the fight was a test to see if Humanity was on the path, then that might be a legit reaction.
Well, the obvious one is to learn something about these aliens in the Shiplord Resistance Front who are going to contacting us soon-ish. Knowing how they are able to see us and our battles with the Shiplords, when we were explicitly told that even a concerted effort on our part will never advance our lagless sensors to the level where we'd be able to do the same, is of utmost priority. Are they all running Practiced Insight systems too?
After that? Hmm. I think I'd like to get to know the Legislature that we're going to soon have in charge of our government. We know very little about them, other than how at the beginning of our turns they were basically completely co-opted by Shiplord infiltration programs; what are they like now, half a decade after learning that they were inadvertently working for the enemy? How many of them have been replaced? Who replaced them? Are they still focused on the extinction-level threat of the Shiplords, or are the all-too-human forces of complacency and greed moving in?
- Location
- Germany
- Pronouns
- He/Him
It was the best approximation I saw for a 'disturbing' rating.
Edit: More interludes
For the galactic society, a hint how many members there are (20 or 2000000), and how the galactic political landscape looks like (even if it's just a sentence like "86ly from home, this colony ...).
Besides that, the impact home. What does a 'Joe' normal human feel? Hopes for? Sees the future?
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- Location
- Anchorage, Alaska
There's also the entirely legitimate worry that they'll try to vote in a theocracy, with Amanda as President-Diety for Life (whether she wants to be or not!)
2711
- Location
- Germany
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Especially after that last broadcast. Talk about powerful.
It was the first thing your post made me think of.
Unless I totally miss my guess, I expect humanity will be very happy to be alive and to have fought back the Shiplords, but rather confused about how it all ended.
Baughn
Healing-type writer
- Location
- Dublin
Um, yeah. She had the best of intentions, but that was a solar-system-scale use of UMI; solars, eat your hearts out.
Amanda actually has a pretty good claim on the "goddess" title.
- Location
- Germany
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Spear
Sun-In-Rags
- Location
- North Macedonia
For the interlude either full galactic reactions or the average joe and how his life has changed and continues to change.
UMI= Unnatural Mental Influence. Refers to social magic in exalted.
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Snowfire
Polyglot of Chimera
- Location
- Wordcats
Unnatural Mental Influence. Charm Person type shit.
Which this actually wasn't. Amanda didn't use the last two Words to snuff out the anger, she simply got in its way with a broadcast showing that she was in fact alive.
*shakes fist at SV forum code*
"In the moment when I truly understand my enemy, understand him well enough to defeat him, then in that very moment I also love him. I think it's impossible to really understand somebody, what they want, what they believe, and not love them the way they love themselves. And then, in that very moment when I love them.... I destroy them."
-Ender Wiggin
- Location
- Germany
- Pronouns
- He/Him
And - she really doesn't need charm person. Look at real-world examples, look at what Amanda did in story ...
That's (also) human on so many levels ...
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- Location
- Anchorage, Alaska
And also why dehumanizing the enemy during war is such a big piece of war propaganda: if you recognize the enemy as people, it becomes a lot harder to believe that their deaths are necessary.
Honestly, I'm actually MORE worried about our upcoming war with the Shplords now: before, they were unmitigated monsters, something to be butchered with abandon and guiltless glee. Now? Now I knowthat they are MORE than that, that whatever else they may be, that they are also Martyrs who willingly die to fulfill their Greater Good.
2712
Eh, I'm not. The whole point of war is not to die for your country, but to ensure that the other sap dies for his. If the Shiplords truly want to die, then the only ethical thing to do is to grant their wish, right?
- Location
- Germany
- Pronouns
- He/Him
And there's a difference between us - if the guy opposite myself does stuff I don't like, but doesn't interfere with me (or, in moderation, with another human), okay. If he tells me it's his divine mission to pulp me? No way.
The SL needed to have a very convincing speech to make me accept that being reduced to sludge is something I should be fine with.
- Location
- madison
slave owners had entire essays on how slavery was the best thing for their slaves, Britain waxed poetic about how good they were for India as they caused famine and worked men to death on the railroads, America called itself valiant at wounded knee, that the shiplords think they are in the right means very little.
Eh. Nothing wrong with a decent Theocracy. Just a sad lack of historically good ones. I see no problems with this, let's do this.
(Why yes, I like the idea of Amanda being forced into position for life. )
Snowfire
Polyglot of Chimera
- Location
- Wordcats
Eh. Nothing wrong with a decent Theocracy. Just a sad lack of historically good ones. I see no problems with this, let's do this.
You know what? Roll me a d100.
For reasons.
...oh hell.
Snowfire
Polyglot of Chimera
- Location
- Wordcats
Thou should know better than to tempt the wrath of your most benevolent QM.
Now to leave you on tenterhooks in regards to if that d100 actually meant anything!