[extropy-chat] Re: Surviving ELEs (was Re: Hybrids)

[Mike Lorrey]

--- David Lubkin <extropy at unreasonable.com> wrote:
> Robert J. Bradbury wrote:
>          :
> >The above discussion suggests that there would possibly be three
> >potential civilization cores -- those centered around nuclear
> >vessels, those centered around nuclear power reactors and those
> >centered around hydroelectric power centers.
>          :
> 
> You seem to be focusing on a restricted class of extinction-level
> events. I am more concerned about a more virulent version of the
> so-called Spanish Flu pandemic, either natural or engineered, than
> something like an asteroid impact.

Don't know about this. The recently discovered 13 km dia subsea crater
south of New Zealand is less than 1000 years old. However, given how
few KBO's being discovered to date, the incidence rate may be lower
than predicted. The NZ strike may be the one we were overdue for.

> 
> With the right pathogen, nuclear sub crews will die as well either
> due to exposure once they surface or because it was designed to
> stay dormant until everyone was infected and they were exposed
> before the cruise began.

Given the lengths of time that cruises last, and the fact that there
are always subs at sea, you will never achieve such 100% infection.

> 
> Still, for the discussion at hand, you are right. If the ELE doesn't
> kill the sub crews, they will be able to leverage their technology.
> However, we don't allow women to serve on submarines. Locating
> any women survivors on the surface may be difficult. (Do any other
> submariner nations allow women?)

Actually, the US Navy has been debating the issue. Given that women
tend to muster out via pregnancy at a 33-66% rate at the start of any
hostilities, I doubt that the USN would be willing to scuttle their
fleet so badly. They'd likely require that women submariners have
norplants. This might be an argument, though, for lesbian submariners...

=====
Mike Lorrey
"Live Free or Die, Death is not the Worst of Evils."
                                       - Gen. John Stark
"Fascists are objectively pro-pacifist..."
                                       - Mike Lorrey
Do not label me, I am an ism of one...
Sado-Mikeyism: http://mikeysoft.zblogger.com

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