Re:Science Fiction vs. Science Fantasy
by FreshStart on Saturday August 05, 2023 @11:46AM
(#37013168)
Kind of like tribalism on earth prevented empires?
I've read everything. I probably read the Foundation series before you were born (assuming you're 20-something). In fact, Asimov certainly knew that FTL was fraught - but he was writing for a living, and FTL was in vogue and he used the hyperspace version of it. It's unfortunate - I would have liked to see more grounded SF from him
Re:Science Fiction vs. Science Fantasy
by throwaway60707 on Saturday August 05, 2023 @12:37PM
(#37013738)
Well the issue remains the same with Bussard ramjets. It's just simpler to make so the whole scenario is more likely (though still very unlikely, ofc).
"Is it really necessary to spell out that a civilization capable of building a FTL starship is also capable of building a sufficient defensive technology?"
We have had ICBMs for a long time, yet no sufficient defensive technology as of yet.
Beyond the fact that using them would lead to MAD, that is.
Is it really necessary to spell out that a civilization capable of building a FTL starship is also capable of building a sufficient defensive technology?
> I daresay such a civ is not doing it for conquest, but to discover and explore. If the urge is militaristic, then such a civ would turn on itself long before the project succeeds.
I think this is much more complex. Consider a civilization so advanced that this is children's toys for them - and then that civilization falls. Then, on the scraps of it, a new military dictatorship is built and they go for the conquest; they don't even need to understand the magic that powers their warships. I recommend you to read the full Foundation series in chronological order.