thoughts about interstellar conventions on war (fictional)
#sciencefiction geekery #worldbuilding
In a few settings, there is a treaty of some kind that prohibits the use of relativistic kinetic kill weapons against planetary targets, because it destroys ecosystems for so long that the planet is not recoverable in centuries -- not mere genocide but ecocide.
It strikes me that similar weapon limitation conventions might arise to prevent excessive space hazards.
E.g. only barbarians use unguided missile weapons in an inhabited solar system.
Civilized folk never use explosive or kinetic weapons against targets in orbit.
Weapons inside a pressurized habitat can't use any method with a plausible chance of depressurizing it. (Blades and maces are back in style.)
The fictional advantage of such rules, of course, is that you can set up your villains as really villainous by breaking them, or you can depict your rebels as particularly clever or daring by exploiting loopholes.
thoughts about interstellar conventions on war (fictional)
I salute the concept.
But it seems to me that the specific case of unguided missile weapons in an inhabited solar system is very unlikely.
Such weapons probably will be traveling in excess of the local system escape velocity, so they won't be back.
And the probability of accidentally hitting a civilian target is close to nil.
thoughts about interstellar conventions on war (fictional)
Ah, I hadn't even considered that!
I'm too used to thinking in terms of chemically powered weapons, where the delta-v and/or muzzle velocities are well below local star system escape velocity, and often below escape velocity of the nearby planet.
thoughts about interstellar conventions on war (fictional)
@isaackuo @nyrath @dashdsrdash
In that particular case, I think the relevant convention would be "please do the needful to keep your missiles and other expended munitions from turning into accidental mines".
thoughts about interstellar conventions on war (fictional)
@cerebrate @nyrath @dashdsrdash
Depending on the technology available, ice bullets and missiles could be used - they melt in sunlight, so the duration of them being debris hazards is limited.
For example, an ice missile could be propelled and guided using a laser or electron beam vaporizing bits of it for thrust.
Of course, this doesn't solve the problem of debris created by impact with the enemy so ...
thoughts about interstellar conventions on war (fictional)
@isaackuo @cerebrate @dashdsrdash
Though if the ice bullets and missiles were fired at velocities that were a substantial fraction of the speed of light, they would do the same damage regardless of being solid or liquid.
thoughts about interstellar conventions on war (fictional)
@nyrath @isaackuo @dashdsrdash
Take it to the limit. Metallic hydrogen projectiles which will conveniently sublime away, even in space.
thoughts about interstellar conventions on war (fictional)
@cerebrate @nyrath @dashdsrdash
Metallic hydrogen? Lasts too long. Go with a beam of pi mesons, which decay precisely when inside the target (okay not really in real life, but if you sufficiently misunderstand physics sure).
thoughts about interstellar conventions on war (fictional)
@isaackuo @nyrath @dashdsrdash
Ah, but those aren't meson guns, they're Meson guns. (Named after their inventor, Robert Q. Meson III.)
