Niall turned over and pulled his covers back. He smiled slightly to himself recalling the events of the previous day. He sat up and turned to his left. As predicted the pale face of Naskia looked peacefully down on him. She was sound asleep though, and judging from the time she probably had been for an hour or two. The hint of alcohol on her breath had probably helped her off rather quickly. Niall was surprised she hadn’t woken him when she came to bed. She wasn’t exactly light on her feet at the best of time.
He stretched and eased himself out of bed and pulled on his comfortable evening clothes. There was no Naskia, no Sorcha, no students or anyone else around for that matter. He was on his own for almost the next Earth day. He could barely remember what an Earth day was anymore.
After making his way down the bedside table Niall stretched himself out a bit more and broke into a jog towards the door. He was old. Nearing two hundred but he didn’t feel a day over fifty. Well maybe fifty five on some days. In actuality he was likely around sixty physically but he liked keeping fit. He hated having to employ student aides to ferry him around at work, or to have his wife carry him to social events. When he was at home he got himself around. And that involved a lot of running. One day he’d need Naskia to help him around the house but he was determined to put that off for as long as he could.
Besides, a run could help to burn off the sense of ill-ease that was growing in his stomach.
Ten minutes saw him to the kitchen which he ran through towards the sitting room. The thunderous rumblings coming from the sofa let him know that Sorcha was out cold and not getting up any time soon. Given the volume of her snoring Niall surmised she’d been on something stronger than kapavi and made a mental note to check in on his whiskey.
Another twenty or so minutes and he had completed his lap of the house and made his way to the study. Niall made his way to the top of Naskia’s desk via the spiral staircase that had been there for well over a century now and sat in his own chair and activated his personal pad. Happy he was alone and wouldn’t be disturbed he tapped through its contents and opened a secure transmission. It was time to get this out of the way.
Naskia was the brains behind the Empire’s newest communications system but she’d bounced enough ideas, theories and problems off Niall for him to get an idea of how to keep certain transmissions from being easily located.
“Doc…” came the response from the other end.
“Mr Secretary.” Niall responded, looking over his shoulder once more for safety.
“Given how late it is there and how early it is here I assume this ain’t a personal call?”
Niall gave a deliberate half smile. “We don’t do personal calls Darren.”
“Speak for yourself! I call n’ speak to great grandnieces n’ nephews pretty regular.” Darren leaned back in his chair and smiled.
Niall shook his head. “WE don’t do personal calls.” Niall gestured between himself and the screen. “You’re a good man to drink with but it’s not like we call each other up for a gossip.”
“Part of me wants to be insulted but I can’t help but take that as a compliment.” Darren said leaning forward and showing he was now firmly paying attention. “Now given that you seem less cheerful than your normal, jolly self I assume you want to make this conversation brief?”
“Naskia and Sorcha are asleep but I don’t want to take the risk.”
“They’re gonna find out sooner or later…” Darren replied.
“I’d rather it be later. Much later. When it no longer matters and I’m too old for Naskia to get mad at.” Niall said rather snappily.
“Suit yourself Doc.” Darren tapped at his desktop and glanced at his notes. “The prototype is up and the Avalonian test pilots are beyond happy. They’re chomping at the bit to take them out of orbit of Herakleos and give it the beans…”
“Not a chance! A passing ship could spot it!” Niall interrupted.
“I know that! Which is why they’re limited to low power manoeuvres and atmospheric flight only. You let me worry about the military side, I’ll let you worry about all the geek stuff.” Darren replied gruffly.
Darren waited for Niall to say something but he just continued to look at him unconvinced.
“Acolyte one is a beaut. Two through nine and eleven are coming on fine but there’s problems with ten and twelve. The engineers have checked the power distribution manifolds three times over and can’t find an issue. I’m gonna need you to take a look at the reactor.” Darren said.
Niall nodded. “Are they hooked up?”
“Normal channel.”
“Ok. I’ll get a diagnostic run to find out the problem. Just tell your engineers…”
“I told my engineers to hook them up to the diagnostic stations and to seal the hangars. The Avalonians are smart fellas. As smart as anyone on Earth or Archavia but when it comes to these magic boxes of yours I want no one else looking at them.” Darren quickly adopted a serious air. He liked to be informal and he hated stuffiness but he was Secretary of Defence for a reason.
Niall shifted uncomfortably but felt reassured. “Good. But you should have notified me sooner that there was problem.”
“Your daughter is home, and I know better than to interrupt buttercup’s family time.”
Niall smiled. “I see your point. Wise man.”
“One more thing Doc.”
“Yes?”
“With the Zeramblin Act being passed Avalon officially becomes an independent Titan province. While we’ve been working closely with Earth there’s going to have to be some cooperation with the Imperial Navy.”
Niall looked concerned.
“I just want you to know the day comes when questions are asked over the Acolytes, your name won’t come up.”
“Why would it?” Niall frowned “It’s an agreement between Earth and Avalon. Nothing to do with me.”
Darren smiled. “Exactly. But I just wanted you to know I appreciate you helping us out.”
“It’s not for Avalon. Or Earth. But for all of us. Things look nice now, but if Forna Qorni gets her way then we’re all in trouble.”
“Sometimes I forget you can be real world smart as well as book smart Doc.” Darren said.
“You don’t get to be a billionaire without it.” Niall joked.
“A smarter man would have taken the money.”
Niall smiled and then it faded away. “This is the last I’ll be doing on this project Darren. With the Zeramblin act passing…”
“You’re a citizen now. And could potentially be convicted.” Darren cut in.
“I’ve too much to lose Darren.”
“I understand Doc. If I was in your shoes I’d do the same. I’d be real happy if you can get those last two birds in the air.” Darren said. “We can take it from there.”
“I can’t see it being something too wrong if the rest are working ok.” Niall replied.
“Glad to hear it. Take care of yourself Doc. And thanks for all your work this this project. You’ve done our people a great service.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Niall smiled warmly. “All the best Darren.”
The screen went blank and Niall’s smile went with it. He tapped on his pad and then examined some notes on his Human scale pad and connected into the diagnostic system for Acolyte ten on Avalon. The read outs showed wildly varying levels of energy being produced. It went as low as the reactor output of the TSS Miguel Alcubierre and as high as the one on Pryvani’s personal yacht.
“That’s the problem with this equation. Beautifully simple. But as a delicate as someone who’s spent the last four days drinking hustain…”
****
“Boss,” Inna said, poking a mop of red curls into Loona’s office, “you need to see this.”
“What’s that?”
Inna didn’t say anything, she simply brought in her pad, and handed it to Loona. She glanced down at the data on the screen; it was the omnibus Interior budget, nothing unexpected, except….
Loona leapt from her seat. “No. You’re frakking – when?”
“Just now. They moved to strip it right before the final vote. Emoro tried to move to recess, but Ules ignored him. Passed by two votes.”
“She has to know I’m going to move to recommit, and she knows the south side of the chamber is going to hold firm against this. She’d lose supply. This could bring down the government before it’s even started,” Loona fumed.
“Take our chances with new elections?”
“I don’t know,” Loona said. “Polls are all over the place. If we go to the voters, we could win a majority – or Qorni could get full control and undo everything we’ve accomplished. She has to know that too.”
Loona drummed her fingers on her desk. “All right, call Cethje, Kriole, and Zimm. We need to get on the same page. Tell them we’ll meet in an hour.”
“Not going to call the Floor Leader?”
“Qorni meant to blindside us. I’m not going to beg. I’m going to see if she’s bluffing, and the only way to do that is a motion to recommit. Test the waters, see if she has the votes. Which reminds me, when you talk to Cethje’s chief, tell her we need this whipped starting yesterday.”
“Yes, boss.”
Loona turned, and looked out the window. She didn’t want to bring down the government, not until the training centres were established and operating, not before humans were getting educated. Once that was happening, it would be difficult for Qorni to undo it, not without a lot of pain. Qorni knew that, of course.
Loona shook her head. She wasn’t worried about bringing down the government if she had to. What concerned her was that she might not be able to, that Qorni might not be bluffing.
She’d know by tomorrow.
* * *
The chess match had gone exactly as scripted. The omnibus interior bill had come up, they’d debated the required two hours, and now motions were going to be in order.
Loona had her side locked in, and had all the liberal-leaning true independents. There was only one way that Qorni could win this, and Loona had been watching carefully. If she was right, Qorni would play her card right away.
“The Representative from Federation Province is recognized.”
Shaka.
“Madam President,” Hab Lemescu drawled, “I rise in support of this legislation.”
It didn’t matter what he said next. The Titan Party had not backed a funding bill in thirty-five years. They refused to, so long as they were shut out of the government. If Hab could deliver his votes to Qorni, without her coalition splintering….
Loona waited until Lemescu finished speaking – he said nothing of substance – and rose. “Madam President,” she said, showing outward calm, “I move for a half-hour recess.”
The motion carried; Loona knew Qorni would give her this. If only to get the chance to gloat. The Floor Leader waited patiently for Loona by the exit doors, a grin on her face.
“Surprise!” Qorni said.
Loona said nothing, just gestured to a huddle room. Qorni opened the door, and waved Loona in with an exaggerated bow. Loona stormed in, and turned to Qorni, fire in her eyes. But she waited for the door to close before she said a word.
When they closed, and only when, Loona said, “So how long do you think you can hold your side together with the Titan Party backstopping you?”
“That’s a good question,” Qorni said. “A very good question, Loona. The answer, of course, is that I don’t know, and neither do you. I can hold it together through this vote, though, and it’s the vote I need.”
“This was our only policy demand,” Loona said. “The only one. Do you think I won’t move loss of confidence?”
“If you do, you exit the coalition, and if I’m able to hold a majority, it will be with the Titan Party in government. You may have the votes in the legislature to keep me from reversing the Zeramblin Act, but with the Titan Party backing me, I have the votes to keep funding at zero. And that suits my needs just fine, Loona.”
Loona glared at Qorni. “You just admitted you don’t know if you can hold a majority.”
“I don’t. But are you willing to risk having the Titan Party join the government?”
“It depends,” Loona said. “If you were sure you were going to be able to hold the government together, you would have already moved to oust me, but you aren’t. You might be able to get this bill through…or my motion to recommit might succeed anyway, now that the Titan Party is backing it. You’re willing to deal, so tell me your offer.”
“No training centres. No money for Titan mentors for humans. But I will fund a transfer of humans to another world for re-education and colonization. Let them establish their own home, rather than upset ours.”
Loona blinked. “You’re really terrified of having to face them as constituents, aren’t you?”
“You’ll never find out, because I never will have to. Loona, there’s a human saying I came across – I like it quite a bit. Out of sight, out of mind. Let the little creatures have a planet, play at being big, grown-up sentient beings. And leave the rest of the Empire alone.”
“The census found two hundred and twenty five million humans, and the estimate is that we’re off by at least ten percent. We can’t move two hundred and fifty million people to a new world and dump them. That doesn’t work.”
Qorni gave an exaggerated sigh. “You won’t have to move them all, and they won’t all have to move – just the ones who want to be citizens someday. Of course, we could also just pass the bill on the floor, and give you nothing. Your choice, Loona.”
Loona stared at the floor. She had no idea how Avalon would absorb two hundred and fifty million humans. But they didn’t have a choice. Qorni was right – allowing the Titan Party into the government, even for a couple of days, would be disastrous. Loona couldn’t risk it. Not just for the humans, but for the Dunnermac, Ler, Avartle, and Jotnar.
“You move to recommit,” Loona said. “And if you ever blindside me like that again, my caucus will pull out, risk of the Titan Party or not.”
“As for the deal?”
“I will have to talk to a few people,” Loona said. “I don’t know what they’ll think. But frak, what choice do I have?”
“Well, those are beautiful words, Loona,” Qorni purred. “Beautiful indeed.”
(Author’s note – Thanks to DX for his contribution here.)
Can I just say ? Qorni’s plan of “deporting” all humans out of the Empire not only makes sense for her, it’s good for Humanity in long run (if it’s allowed to happen of course).
That means, despite huge difficulties, these humans and their descendants will live on human worlds, where they belong, without fear for their lives from… well, anything in a titan environment. Avalon and/or Earth will have to support their training but they should : it should be a purely human affair in human hands, titans have done “enough”.
And the second generation, well educated, will reinforce humanity. Not to mention the fact that, removing humans from the Empire makes things so much simpler diplomatically, both for the Empire and for Earth. Don’t have to worry about a huge diaspora living in a foreign state whose friend status (let alone “allied”) is quite dubious to say the least.
In that regard, Avalon is enough of a diplomatic red button issue.
You know, after thousands of years, countless generations born, raised, and died, and hundreds of millions of individuals spread out across virtually every planet, I’d say this empire is as much the humans as it is the titans.
That’s a nice thing to say. Too bad it doesn’t have any basis in reality. One could even argue it’s not even the empire of the Ler, Dunnermac and Avartle. It’s still the Titan Empire.
As things stand, saying humans belong in the Empire, that it’s theirs as much as titans is nothing but poetry.
Perhaps. However, these humans are very much Archavian, having lived on Archavia for generations. I’m sure even adjusting to the higher gravity will be beyond all but the most athletic and young among them.
If they want to migrate to a world made for humans, more power to them. But I don’t see how deporting them can ever be justified, nor can I see most of them wanting to migrate to a strange world.
Is the Titan Empire still the Titan Empire when the majority of citizens aren’t Titans? A lot of the drama is centered on people like the Federation and Qorni thinking it won’t be.
I think most Titans would disagree. Humans did not settle and populate the Titan worlds that make up the empire, Titans did. For the vast majority of their co-existence humanity were just nice ‘things’ to them. They don’t see them as partners.
I agree and disagree with this stance. Colonization and the foundation of more human worlds would certainly strengthen humanity eventually, however it should be done in a slow and steady manner. By doing it Qorni’s way in one mass deportation would economically ruin Avalon and set back the one standing human colony decades if not centuries.
If there were already human colonies established that could absorb the 250 million then that would be different, and would be a matter on the individual, but as it stands putting the entire burden on Avalon (with the current Earth government I can’t see them taking many or any) would do far more harm than eventual good.
Interesting idea. Feasibility and logistics would be a nightmare..Or maybe not, they are itty bitty things so gathering them up and putting them on big ole’ (Titan) spacecraft would not be a big deal….The question would be where would you put them? Avalon and Earth are out. New Earth type planets would most likely work but who will foot the bill for colonization and resettlement? Pryvani? is she really that altruistic? Then you have the issue of hard feelings on the part of former owners as well as former pets who may not want to leave….
___
Then with the new settlements you would have to protect them from raiders; ala the space bugs, bats (drazari) bears, kangaroos etc….
The more I think about this the more I think Los Titanos bit off more than they can chew..
Except she’s not pushing them out of the Empire, she just wants them all in one place where they can’t reasonably affect polling or voting. Force them out of everything they’ve ever known, put them on their own land, or “reservations”, and then just ignore them.
Even the new earth type planets will still be part of the empire..Reservations? Hmm the analogy you are proposing doesn’t apply..(think about it) If humans are forcibly resettled and then ignored as citizens then that would create resentment and cause the humans to join with fellow citizens who feel the same… leading to strife and potential military clashes. I’m projecting out 2 – 3 generations into the future
Another problem is the vast bulk of the 200 million have little to no skill surviving on their own, pretty much the worst possible candidates to start a new colony.
I think Pryvani and Avalon would try to help, but I feel that would stretch them past the limit.
Another problem is the vast bulk of the 200 million have little to no skill surviving on their own, pretty much the worst possible candidates to start a new colony.
Avalon’s population…I think is around 8 million on a moon that should be able to easily accommodate several billion. The problem isn’t where they ultimately go but how to care for them till someone is available to teach them. Given what we know of the Titanverse tech, I believe we are talking about a large scale deployment of cryostorage. I’m not sure how many humans could be safely frozen in a titan croytube but it’s likely hundreds if not thousands. This is the sort of thing that Pryvanni’s corporate empire should be able to assist with.
They would need education and training. Specific training for planetary settlers. Furthermore going to either Earth or Avalon would be a big problem. Logistically both could handle the load but politically it would be poison for both. Then you would have the unforeseen complications and fallout
Actually sounds about right. We are talking non citizen humans from the shops and breeders. They can’t vote, and a “reservation” set up on a random super mu planet would not add votes to the host district nor, arguably, deserve their own rep.
Out of sight out of mind, until 5 years later when the sunset hits, and Qorni’s side argues against their citizenship because they haven’t actually spent a generation in the education system. Truly a scumbag proposal. It would be better to tell her to eat dirt, and try to get private donations for tutors or something.
Nobody has accused Qorni of having an abundance of foresight. Her plans all seem to focus on her short term gains, all while either ignoring or being completely oblivious to the long term repercussions.
Not about the story : a game called “Jotun” was released on Steam today. Looks good too.
http://store.steampowered.com/app/323580/
So Qorni is threathening Loona to bring in Titan Party in govt because she won’t face human citizens in Elections. LOL we know She secret deal with titan party to create trouble in law and order. But Loona as Minister of Interior Qorni risk to be caught !
Ve have dis here;…
“No training centres. No money for Titan mentors for humans. But I will fund a transfer of humans to another world for re-education and colonization. Let them establish their own home, rather than upset ours.”
Loona blinked. “You’re really terrified of having to face them as constituents, aren’t you?”
______
Logic escapes Ms Corny..Even if they are transferred to another world they will still be part of the empire and still be constituents. In fact in doing so she would (inadvertently) expand human’s power and influence, that could possibly be a factor in her (future) ouster from power……Karma can be a tricky bitch eh?
Und ve chav….
“He stretched and eased himself out of bed and pulled on his comfortable evening clothes. There was no Naskia, no Sorcha, no students or anyone else around for that matter. He was on his own for almost the next Earth day. He could barely remember what an Earth day was anymore.”
______
I gotta give Niall credit (no cash, sorry) here. I don;t know if I could go through life being a tiny person in a giant’s society. Even if some of the fringe bennies is getting to play with a massive pair of titties every night..
While humans transported to Avalon would be constituents, it wouldn’t change the fact that right now Avalon has only got one representative in the House. And look how much trouble the other non-titans are having with getting the Empire to redefine its districts.
Besides, I doubt Avalon could absorb 250 million humans even in the best of circumstances. Factor in that these humans will mostly have zero education and possessions, and that Avalon won’t receive even a single credit of support (at least not from the Empire’s government), and it should be obvious that letting Avalon handle all the human nationals is never going to work. Of course, Qorni no doubt intends to use that failure to convince the Empire that humans can’t handle being citizens.
Even if all of that happened and they all became citizens, 250 million is less than one percent of the population of the empire. Even if re-districting worked fairly they’d get what? 5 seats in a legislature of a thousand? That’s nothing to worry about.
Besides, for all the reasons you’ve mentioned a mass migrations would probably be to Earth, not to Avalon, or to new colonies. And Earth is not part of the Empire.
This was based on the empire having a total population of 50 billion, a figure that I remember from somewhere, but can’t find now.
250 million unhoused humans. There’s definitely going to be large numbers out there staying with their families or potentially living semi independently.
I wasn’t thinking about Earth or Avalon. The humans would probably be transferred to districts that would be either open or at least not hostile to them. The politics could come into play in districts where there is a tight balance between the parties and human voters could tip the scale..towards…….*hallooo Loona you listening?*
250M humans seems to be a low figure to me. I was thinking at least 10% of the population or more
Qorni isn’t intending to reimburse travel to just anywhere, only transfer to a human homeworld (so either Avalon or Earth), specifically so that those humans won’t affect elections anywhere else in the Empire. She may not have said it in so many words, but that’s obviously the only reason she’s offering the funding in the first place.
Now, perhaps the travel funding can be worded in such a way that traveling to other destinations gets reimbursed too, but I’m pretty sure that Qorni will be on her guard against funding travel to places that she doesn’t approve of.
So, the spaceship on the title render is human. What I’m wondering is if Niall helped only Avalon create a war fleet or did he do the same for Earth. I sure hope so.
Technically, is it even legal for an autonomous province to have its own fleet outside of the Imperial Navy ? Darren implied it may not be, which makes sense.
I think we know now what was on that flash drive.
If I was in charge of Earth’s military research and development, every secret test hanger on Earth, and as many subterranean shipyards as could be built on Luna and Mars in the past 30 years would be churning these crafts out like Model Ts.
Like one every 9 hours. That was Henry Ford’s innovation……Light speed as far as Los Titanos are concerned. The Terrans are soon going to further surprise people very soon
Earth and Mars are being watched closely likely by several different sides in the coming conflict. Tarsus system too. However I wouldn’t put it past Momma Warbucks to be in on this scheme too. Keep in mind this little excerpt from the Wiki on Antrova Shipyards:
The shipyards are located in Vorsha and Azatlia province near the border with Seretana Province. While somewhat distant from the center of the Empire, the shipyards benefit from nearby mining operations in Sol Tarsuss, as well as a number of other Tarsuss mining operations in the sector. The cost of raw materials at Antrova is significantly lower at Antrova than at Senedj Shipyards in the Sol Grelau system.
A shipyard for Avalonian & Terran warships would be much easier to hide anywhere along routes plied frequently by Tarsuss Corp freighters. I’d suggest looking in the restricted zones around Sol Sperikos or Betelguese or around any super-Mu planet scouted by Ted & friends in the last few years.
Too far for supply lines and personal. Also you’re going to want you’re secret defenses near what they’re defending without having to show your hand too early.
A spike in construction on Mars and Luna would not be seen as unusual. Hell, they already know Earth is engaged in military buildup, that’s not a secret. It’s what’s under the hood, and that it’s more advanced than what is expected of humans at this point, that’s the secret.
Lets think about this; Since Terrans are now citizens, building secret warships could be construed as umm treasonous? or at least acting against the interests of the empire. Would also give the opposition massive ammunition against humans and their sympathizers. Pryvani is a smart cookie but she is not immune to false pride and ego. If things go the wrong way at the wrong time, being involve in such a scheme could backfire on her. She could be brought up on treason charges – like her mother…and don;t think that Syon would just looooove to dispense some revenge on her wayward daughter, given this opportunity
Terrans are not citizens. Avalonians are citizens. While Niall has to disassociate himself from this point forward since his equation was an unrealized idea developed by a non-citizen it’s debatable that anyone has committed a treasonable offense by passing that idea along to the Terrans or even developing it on Avalon. If the technology is deployed by Avalon against the empire that would be treason. If done so by the Terrans it’s possibly an act of war. As the title says this is a backup plan. The intent would be not to deploy against the empire but in fact to ultimately use the tech to save the empire from civil war and help repel invasion. That’s how Privani and the Avalonians can do this, probably with knowledge of certain high ranking titans.
Locutus of Boar: Passing technology with military applications to a foreign power without authorization is treason or at least espionage. Building weapons for your own private military or a foreign military without authorization is definitely treason.
Imagine Northern Ireland passing British military technology to Ireland.
Actually we did try to sell it to South Africa. Blowpipe and Javelin missiles built in Belfast.
“The intent would be not to deploy against the empire but in fact to ultimately use the tech to save the empire from civil war and help repel invasion. ”
_______
Really? You sure bout’ dat?…… The Earthers still are not too keen on being chums with de la Titanos (given the absurdly mild reaction the news got) Avalonians have refugees still streaming into the planet with fresh memories of pethood…
Darren and Niall need to think this through a lot more carefully, the consequences would be worse than they imagine..
btw why the Frak hasn’t Los Terranos deployed an army of spies into the empire? Hard military and political data is whats needed
Qorni has no idea how dangerous the game she’s playing actually is. I am definitely looking forward to when this all blows up in her face and the Empire starts falling apart before her eyes, and she realizes that the moment she legitimized the Titan Party was when she became the Empire’s most infamous political failure. She’s going to go down in history as a reviled racist and possibly even a traitor.
Yeah, she should really have listened to Zeramblin when he told her that unlike the other representatives, the Titan Party aren’t working for the good of the Empire, and that if the Titan Party is on your side, you’re probably wrong.
What I’m really curious about though isn’t how Qorni will react, but how Loona will react. Loona is likely going to regret her compromises once she finds out what road they’ve put the Empire on.
I’m still not so sure Qorni knows exactly what she’s getting into. She is playing with napalm, is what she’s doing. And she’s doing what was one of Lincoln’s early suggestions–move all the (former) slaves back to Africa or to the Caribbean. But that didn’t work. So now it’s a waiting game to see how well Qorni’s version will work.
Ooh intrigue, just what have Earth and Avalon been up to. Some sort of joint defense? Something big enough Niall was worried about criminal charges.
Guessing Qorni, moved to remove the defense funding for Earth. Would certainly fit with insectoid/ federation goals.
I’m guessing Niall gave them the antimatter equation that his father in law asked him to hold back on. It’s going to super-fast track Earth and Avalon’s development.
His personal Ultron? I like where this is going, haven’t felt so excited since Exile to read an update.
Qorni might start be the one to start the first full scale intergalactic war but Niall risks being the one they’ll remember for it…that is if anyone is left to remember.
I’m guessing Niall gave them the antimatter equation that his father in law asked him to hold back on. It’s going to super-fast track Earth and Avalon’s development…
“I’ve seen this formula before. 30 or so years ago before I published my findings. This was the original formula. You are right when you say it is amazingly simple, beautiful even. I was a young man. Excited by the possibilities of what you could do with such knowledge. An almost unlimited energy source built in to every device. Every person could wear a power supply in their clothes that could provide a personal shield in an emergency, tiny antimatter energy cells would be in almost every device. It would quite literally change The Empire forever.” Hussel said standing and pacing with his arms behind his back.
“So why didn’t you publish it?” Niall enquired now puzzled.
“Because whatever good can come of it, an equal amount of evil could also come from it. For every action in the universe there is an equal, opposite reaction. With this equation you could design a bomb, undetectable if surrounded by other antimatter cell devices that could blow a hole in the side of a planet the size of a continent. Billions could be killed in seconds without any way to prevent it. The only way I could find around it was to limit the minimum size of the reactors to fit inside a ship. The risk still exists but is greatly reduced due to the monitoring of space craft.” Hussel said continuing his pacing.
I’ve always though the next logical step for humans living in the empire would be to carry around personal forcefield generators to prevent unwitting (or cruel) titans from crushing them.
Given they have hardlight projection tech, that is a feasible possibility. As are prosthetic mechs (if you can make a prosthetic limb for a Titan why not go the rest of the way?) and the possibility of any race just hiding inside a portable holographic projection of anything else.
I don’t think Qorni is out to start any kind of war. I think the plan is to withdraw support from Earth and let the Insectoids do as they please with Earth and possibly Avalon.
That would definitely topple the government and require a narrow coalition with the Titan party. I don’t think she has thought through how that would tear apart the empire. The non-titans and even the Jotunn are not going to like it.
Ergo forcing Earth to deploy nanoweapons or even nastier stuff Niall gives them through Darren as well as starting a civil war in the empire, both coinciding with an insectoid invasion triggering an all out war. Not that Hussel Bass’ approach of suppressing knowledge could ever work long term either. Now it will be up to everyone to establish a new balance of terror to avoid disaster. Qorni manages to enable all sorts of things she didn’t intend. Starting an unwinnable war isn’t all that difficult.
Unless Darren has a way to hide these new ships and new technology, this is not going to end well….Even with a new stack of cards humans will be on the short end of the stick in this verse..
It is possible they could pull it off via the methods employed in the novel by Asimov “The Stars Like Dust” or even going by old human history, the Bar Kochba (sp) revolt against the Roman empire in ancient Judea – They still need to be ultra careful and would require the help of a outside patron (galactic) in order to be successful..
btw in both cases the revolting society eventually lost…….