Cellphones as walkie-talkies really sounds like the sort of thing that would have been developed further on Earth Bet than IRL.
And we don't have Dragon serving as a major cell-phone provider.Yeah, definitely. We're not suffering the infrastructure collapse they are, after all.
They just got taken over as system specs advance, now you just make a 'call' on discord or the like.
To be cynical, I am not sure this kind of dragon is actually well suited to S9, a shadow run or d&d dragon with magic will make a impact on them, but a simple Brute force dragon can be countered with stealth, hostages, hit and run tactics, exotic durability ignoring attacks. Granted it is also worth remembering said dragon has the mind of skitter which will lead to a SNAFU, if not FUBAR moment.Brings to mind the Hogwarts motto 'Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus'. Or the ever classic "Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup."
Isn't the internet a relatively decentralized, disruption-tolerant communications structure? (A given internet service can of course be centralized, but the network infrastructure isn't, I thought.)Systems like Discord rely on network infrastructure that Earth Bet is suffering major disruptions and breakdowns in. While our Earth is moving to networked platforms, Earth Bet would be moving the other way, to decentralized protocols.
Yes, but that doesn't mean you are always connected to the internet.Isn't the internet a relatively decentralized, disruption-tolerant communications structure? (A given internet service can of course be centralized, but the network infrastructure isn't, I thought.)
I note that his beliefs don't even hold up internally. Even if one presumes he was right, his plan was a terrible one.He is soft and corporate about himself. His entire obessession with Taylor is that having such a powerful person under his control can only make him/his career look better. He says so himself, 10% of his actions are his self justification of his actions, like trying to get Taylor to incriminate herself so he can force her to work for him and the other 90% is just pure Colin bullshit.
Take an emotion-based Changer, one that his plan relied on having poor self control and a propensity for berserk rages, and possibly strong enough to stand up to an Endbringer - again, a surmise underlying/justifying his plan. Now, take that Changer and force them into a position where they are surrounded by you and your allies and their assets, and fill them with a massive amount of self-righteous rage and hatred for you and your organization. The very assumptions his plan were based on straightforwardly lead to the end result being a berserk Wyvern obliterating a good chunk of the PRT and Protectorate in a fury, sooner rather than later.
I'm reminded of a comment that somebody made in another fic where Taylor was strongarmed into the Wards; Implacable I think (which yes, turned out poorly for the PRT). Although in that case Piggot was the prime mover.This is the reason I call Idiot Ball on every story that has the PRT playing strong arm.
There's a reason literally nobody Drafts soldiers anymore.
Forcing somebody to sign up doesn't get you allies. At best it gains you reluctant cooperation to the bare minimum required, at worst it gains you an enemy waiting to fuck you over the second they can. Oh and be a disaster for morale and discipline the entire time. Which is far more of a problem than most non-military people realize.
The point made was that you are dealing with people who if ex-military joined well after the draft ended, and if not ex-military are in nominally all volunteer organizations. The result being that they have no personal experience with how corrosive a draft is to morale and cooperation, and also means that they've spent their careers largely surrounded by gung-ho types who believe in the job. So deep down they don't really get how bad an idea it is, much less how grit-in-the-gears somebody who really, really doesn't want to cooperate can be.
Likely; but the PRT & Protectorate aren't military; they're fairly new.The military loves paperwork. It runs on paperwork more than it does ammo. There are procedures and policies for everything. There should be a document somewhere in their recruiting manuals outright stating that unwilling members are liabilities rather than assets and should be avoided at all costs.
Likely; but the PRT & Protectorate aren't military; they're fairly new.
Even worse, if they wanted to Do some real damage, they stay and learn how you work, codes, and importantly identities. And then leave to do damage.....they can't force you to stay...but they hope the brainwashing and peer pressure has kicked in.This is the reason I call Idiot Ball on every story that has the PRT playing strong arm.
There's a reason literally nobody Drafts soldiers anymore.
Forcing somebody to sign up doesn't get you allies. At best it gains you reluctant cooperation to the bare minimum required, at worst it gains you an enemy waiting to fuck you over the second they can. Oh and be a disaster for morale and discipline the entire time. Which is far more of a problem than most non-military people realize.
What it will never get you is a motivated, helpful, or dedicated ally. You want somebody who'll crawl on their belly under fire to drag a buddy to safety? It won't be this person that's for fucking sure.
Grats, you just strongarmed this teenager (a demographic that is contrary and anti-authoritarian by default) into your Wards. After 2 years of utterly miserable and unproductive service they will turn 18, most assuredly not sign up for the Protectorate, hate you and your organization forever, and shit talk you to anybody who asks till the end of time.
I'm shocked Taylor just doesn't threaten to join the E88.
"So, what I'm hearing is you want me to go join the E88? After getting bullied into a trigger event by somebody you were supposed to be watching so they didn't do shit like that you want to try and bully me some more with a bunch of bullshit charges? And you expect me to be cooperative? Fuck you. Explain to me how you were incompetent enough to let one of your so called Heros torture me for two years while you didn't have a clue, how you trying to pull this shit on me doesn't make you just the same as the corrupt assholes in the school who covered it up, and how you're going to make that right. Then maybe I don't walk into a TV studio and explain why I'm going to join the lesser of two evils, and by that I mean the Neo-Nazi's. Oh and a lawyer would be great before you keep trying to threaten the minor who's a victim of the crime committed by somebody you're responsible for. Mrs Conspiracy After the Fact."
I dont think strong arming is necessarily an idiot vall situation. While i agree that it is rarely the best option, it is also rarely catastrophically bad. Usually, the worst you get out of it is someone who is unmotivated and unhelpful. Which is mostly just a nuisance and is still better than having the same person outside of your control causing trouble.This is the reason I call Idiot Ball on every story that has the PRT playing strong arm.
It's not even a little true that nobody drafts soldiers. Many countries still have outright conscription in force. And there's a long-running body of practice around how to get conscripts to fight and how to keep them under control. (And even the US during the recent Iraq-and-Afghanistan...business did force a lot of people to be there who were not active service military by choice.)This is the reason I call Idiot Ball on every story that has the PRT playing strong arm.
There's a reason literally nobody Drafts soldiers anymore.
Forcing somebody to sign up doesn't get you allies. At best it gains you reluctant cooperation to the bare minimum required, at worst it gains you an enemy waiting to fuck you over the second they can. Oh and be a disaster for morale and discipline the entire time. Which is far more of a problem than most non-military people realize.
The very assumptions his plan were based on straightforwardly lead to the end result being a berserk Wyvern obliterating a good chunk of the PRT and Protectorate in a fury, sooner rather than later.
Which is mostly just a nuisance and is still better than having the same person outside of your control causing trouble.
Admittedly, it doesn't really work that way here in Russia. There is a reason why people actively try to cripple themselves to avoid mandatory service, and why it actually became actively legally punishable to do.Nobody effective.
There's a reason its an all volunteer army, why special forces are double or triple volunteers.
People who want to be there are a million times more effective.
Please note this is different from nations with mandatory service, for two reasons. When everyone goes its not personal, its the same as school. Sure lots of of would have prefered not going to school at some point, but whatever its school and its gotta be done.
And the smart nations treat it like school. It's not 'surprise you're doing this now!' its "You've selected X branch for your required service time" and can be used to help you with your career of choice while they teach you the correct specialization. They go out of their way to make the experience as painless as possible.
They get some people who decide they like military life sticking around, and the rest get hands on training and experience for whatever their civilian career is going to be.
You overstate the severity of the issue. And again, those downsides are still better than letting someone continue to cause trouble as a vigilante or villain.Nobody effective.
There's a reason its an all volunteer army, why special forces are double or triple volunteers.
People who want to be there are a million times more effective.
Please note this is different from nations with mandatory service, for two reasons. When everyone goes its not personal, its the same as school. Sure lots of of would have prefered not going to school at some point, but whatever its school and its gotta be done.
And the smart nations treat it like school. It's not 'surprise you're doing this now!' its "You've selected X branch for your required service time" and can be used to help you with your career of choice while they teach you the correct specialization. They go out of their way to make the experience as painless as possible.
They get some people who decide they like military life sticking around, and the rest get hands on training and experience for whatever their civilian career is going to be.
There's a toxic effect on morale and discipline involved that's not very flashy, but is very much a Bad Thing. One unwilling participant is not worth a measurable drop in performance from the rest of the building. It's a real thing. Ever been in a job that would have been fine except for that one person. This is how you get that one person.
Also, this assumption you've made is exactly the bad one Tagg and (less often) Piggot make. That there's two options 'under my control' and 'causing trouble'.
That kind of attitude is how you make villains, when you could be lining up independent heros as allies.
So actually lots of countries do it, but you consider them to either not count by being ineffective or not count because they're drafting people in a way that is 'not personal'?Nobody effective.
There's a reason its an all volunteer army, why special forces are double or triple volunteers.
People who want to be there are a million times more effective.
Please note this is different from nations with mandatory service, for two reasons. When everyone goes its not personal, its the same as school. Sure lots of of would have prefered not going to school at some point, but whatever its school and its gotta be done.
And the smart nations treat it like school. It's not 'surprise you're doing this now!' its "You've selected X branch for your required service time" and can be used to help you with your career of choice while they teach you the correct specialization. They go out of their way to make the experience as painless as possible.
They get some people who decide they like military life sticking around, and the rest get hands on training and experience for whatever their civilian career is going to be.
It's not really clear that the PRT sees independent heroes as useful (except Panacea obviously), and it's not really clear whether they're wrong about that, though it's pretty clear that turning them into villains is counterproductive.There's a toxic effect on morale and discipline involved that's not very flashy, but is very much a Bad Thing. One unwilling participant is not worth a measurable drop in performance from the rest of the building. It's a real thing. Ever been in a job that would have been fine except for that one person. This is how you get that one person.
Also, this assumption you've made is exactly the bad one Tagg and (less often) Piggot make. That there's two options 'under my control' and 'causing trouble'.
That kind of attitude is how you make villains, when you could be lining up independent heros as allies.
Admittedly, it doesn't really work that way here in Russia. There is a reason why people actively try to cripple themselves to avoid mandatory service, and why it actually became actively legally punishable to do.
You overstate the severity of the issue. And again, those downsides are still better than letting someone continue to cause trouble as a vigilante or villain.
So actually lots of countries do it, but you consider them to either not count by being ineffective or not count because they're drafting people in a way that is 'not personal'?
It's not really clear that the PRT sees independent heroes as useful,
Of course I can, though your description of mandatory service seems...creative.If you can't see the difference between "Surprise you're a child solider" and "Here's a 2 year vocational post secondary education, in a field you get to pick" I really can't help you.
If only I'd said that just a little later in the paragraph?More useful than pissing people off enough to become villians by being overly aggressive.
New Wave isnt going around pinning gangbangers to walls with crossbow bolts. New Wave actively works with the PRT when they are active. New Wave is not a problem.And by 'cause trouble' you mean 'not obey my every whim'.
New Wave exists. 'not working for the PRT' doesn't immediately mean 'super villain' even if PRT policy seems to be to try as hard as possible to make it that way.