Re: [NetEpic ML] Re: On Imperial armies and original fluff

From: Peter Ramos <pramos2_at_...>
Date: Fri, 26 May 2000 10:08:35 -0500

Hi!

Very well put!

Peter


>> Sorry Peter, but I couldn't disagree more.
>>
>> First of all, it's a well-known fact that technology is following an
>> hyperbole curve - very slow in the beginning, ludicrously fast right
>> now. This is due to the "self-supporting" phenomenon - the advances
>> in technology allow for the construction of advanced tools which in
>> turn help research to advance even more etc. It would take some
>> massive world-wide catastrophe to clean the slate. Considering the
>> fact that the Imperium starts from an even more advanced state and an
>> even more distributed approach, I just cannot see how this could
>> happen. While the Heresy arguably WAS a major catastrophe, they STILL
>> had trans-light speed at the end. And ten thousand years with such a
>> start is more than enough to recover.
>>
>> Second, it's not even true that progress was THAT slow in ancient
>> times. Not MILITARY progress at any rate. And historically, wartime
>> is the time in which military research gets huge boosts for obvious
>> reasons. I could imagine the Empire not devoting that much effort to
>> the welfare of its citizens, but... but... 10000 years of perpetual
>> war, and not only they didn't advance, but they couldn't even figure
>> out how to rebuild something which they already have in thousands of
>> perfectly working copies (e.g: Termie suits)??? Come on, this is
>> TOTALLY ludicrous.
>>
>> Religious mumbo-jumbo... low-level rank and file goons, maybe. But
>> when you have 100 different war fronts at any given moment, you'll
>> MOST DEFINITELY want high-level competent technicians and
>> theoreticians who're getting assigned outrageous amounts of money to
>> research new nifty weapons with which to smite your enemies.
>>
>> Sorry but I'll repeat myself: there's NO WAY than a technically
>> advanced civilization, spanning a whole galaxy, and in a situation of
>> perpetual warfare is not going to evolve in 10000 years. TEN THOUSAND
>> YEARS, for crying out loud!! Billions of planets! Uncountable
>> individuals... and not one of them comes up with something new??
>> Spare me.
>
>The Dark Ages of in Europe lasted for 700 - 1000 years. It continued for
so
>long because of the hording of knowledge by the Church, and the constant
>rivalry and conflict between various countries and kingdoms. Outside
forces
>eventually forced a change in outlook in the church and political regimes.
>In the Imperium, there has been no truly centrallized authority for 10,000
>years, just various parties acting in the "Emperor's" name. Rival factions
>such as the Ecclesiarchy, Mechanicus, Arbites, and Marine Chapters have
>argued and fought minor battles battles with eachother for the whole time,
>each having more or less power in different eras. Constant warfare with
>aliens has not united the factions, but rather kept them divided,
especially
>concerning Chaos. The Church, the Adeptus Mechanicus, consume all
technical
>information they can find, and dole out pitifully small bit of knowledge
for
>the rest of humanity. The Inquisition mercilessly persecutes anyone who
>varies from the norm, namely blindly following the precepts of the AM.
When
>a population becomes rebellious(has original ideas), the planet might be
>virus bombed or mind-wiped.
>10.000 years of stagnation is very possible, and maybe Tyranid invasion and
>the return of the Slann might be the things to reawaken the human race.
>
>Tom
>
>
>
>------------------------------------------------------------------------
>Accurate impartial advice on everything from laptops to table saws.
>http://click.egroups.com/1/4634/5/_/7255/_/959351537/
>------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>To unsubscribe send e-mail to: netepic-unsubscribe_at_egroups.com
>
>
Received on Fri May 26 2000 - 15:08:35 UTC