[General Battuta]

And native americans didn't live "close" to nature? C'mon.
There was no biological superiority. It was just good/bad luck that a germ they weren't ready for jumped. It might as well gone the other way around.

Sorry, friend. Time to bone up on your history. I recommend 'Guns, Germs, and Steel' by Jared Diamond. The Native Americans barely had any domesticated livestock, whereas the Eurasians lived close to pigs and cattle - disease incubators. It wasn't luck.

Interesting vision of a future space battle. However, that creature you're describing?
I wonder what freaky evolution would ever come up with sonmething like that..I consider bumping into my time traveling evil twin more likely.

Nothing hugely implausible about it. It's got a functioning ecosystem, an energy differential to exploit, and easy envisioned precursors.

Oh, and my rant was more directed to large-scale implications (battles) rather than a single marine. In some universe you have races that travel from planet to planet in organic, living ships and wage war (like Zerg, the Tyranids) Now THAT is bull****.

Fair enough, I guess, though odds are that the best spacefarers in real life will mimic organic methods (von Neumann probes and so on). There are already organisms on Earth that survive in the vacuum of space.

Not to mention that coming up with a silly creature doesn't prove anything. I can come up with rifles that fire miniature black holes, and as such can devour any creature you can come up with. This really is going nowhere.

Was it supposed to go somewhere? I thought the idea was to show that it's not always a case of TECHNOLOGY PWNZ BIOLOGY as you so boldly asserted.

[Polpolion]

There are already organisms on Earth that survive in the vacuum of space.

wat

[General Battuta]

Google 'tardigrades'. I guess 'from Earth' would be a better way to say that.

[deathfun]

Aha...because an imaginary fictionaly creature that makes no sense is somehow the ultimate proof?

Well, isn't fiction what we are talking about here?
Last I checked, there are no Space Marines in 2009. Nor are there railguns, huge laser beam canons, plasma rifles, concentrated particle rifle.

We KNOW humans can build railguns that can cut trough tank armor if needed.

Oh really now? Been to the Secret Level of the Pentagon or maybe a top secret CIA installation on the moon coming up with crazy technological advances unheard of?

How do you know that we can? Do you have the blueprints in your house?

This is fiction. When we talk fiction, we use fiction to support fiction.

[Thaeris]

You are aware the USN is currently putting much time, energy, and money into research pertaining to railguns, don't you?

And you're never going to find a secret lab under the Pentagon. Only scheming generals. Research is what the desert's for. 

[Topgun]

Railguns have been invented and tested, but they draw way to much power to be worth it right now.

[Thaeris]

Railguns have been invented and tested, but they draw way to much power to be worth it right now.

^ This.

In fact, the concept of the mass driver is nothing new. Heck... there were conceptualizations of mass drivers back before the Twenties! Until an efficient method of producing/powering the mass driver is devised, however, you're not going to see Ted the Infantryman shooting someone with a 10mm round going at Mach 8. Which is a good thing.

Interesting article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Railgun

[MR_T3D]

Railguns have been invented and tested, but they draw way to much power to be worth it right now.

^ This.

In fact, the concept of the mass driver is nothing new. Heck... there were conceptualizations of mass drivers back before the Twenties! Until an efficient method of producing/powering the mass driver is devised, however, you're not going to see Ted the Infantryman shooting someone with a 10mm round going at Mach 8. Which is a good thing.

Interesting article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Railgun

DUH! I'm rolling Air force!

[Thaeris]

DUH! I'm rolling Air force!

 

What the hell is that supposed to mean?

[MR_T3D]

DUH! I'm rolling Air force!

 

What the hell is that supposed to mean?

i bolded the Ted part, which is my name, and saying you were correct that

...you're not going to see Ted the Infantryman shooting someone with a 10mm round going at Mach 8. Which is a good thing.

Interesting article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Railgun

but not because of feasibility of railguns, instead for the fact that the instant a draft appeared which could force me into military service, that i would join the aiforce, not the army.
'twas a joke

[Thaeris]

All good. 

Being a Cadet of the Air Force for about two years prodded me to ask what you meant. I've never encountered a more honorable organization of officers, enlisted, or civilians, than in the Air Force. There's no other branch I'd personally want to serve in.

Medical disqualifications can deny you of such things, though...

[Akalabeth Angel]

We KNOW humans can build railguns that can cut trough tank armor if needed.

Oh really now? Been to the Secret Level of the Pentagon or maybe a top secret CIA installation on the moon coming up with crazy technological advances unheard of?

How do you know that we can? Do you have the blueprints in your house?

This is fiction. When we talk fiction, we use fiction to support fiction.

He knows because he watched transformers 

[deathfun]

You are aware the USN is currently putting much time, energy, and money into research pertaining to railguns, don't you?

Consider me out of the loop

Source?

[Thaeris]

There's actually sparse info on that subject in the link I posted above.

Here's a more official link:

http://www.onr.navy.mil/emrg/electromagnetic-railgun.asp

Just a quick search of "USN railguns" will pull up a great many links. Try it! 

Just a thought: An A-10 with a railgun would be sheer overkill...

[carbine7]

An A-10, meh compared to an Iowa outfitted with 3 tri-barreled railgun turets. That would pwn pretty much everything except subs and fighter-bomber swarms

[Aardwolf]

Awww, the cute wittle ultwawisk...

[General Battuta]

An A-10, meh compared to an Iowa outfitted with 3 tri-barreled railgun turets. That would pwn pretty much everything except subs and fighter-bomber swarms

Or cruise missiles. And it wouldn't work without a whole ****-ton of support for spotting.

[carbine7]

true. by adding the fighter-bomber comment, I was referring to virtually all aircraft. But no fleet would be operating without at least one E-2 airborne, unless the carrier is gone which=screwed

[General Battuta]

It'd make for lovely fire support.

[deathfun]

Just a thought: An A-10 with a railgun would be sheer overkill...

Indeed it would be, but not as overkill as making a giant mirror that makes the energy obtained from the sun into one solid beam of sheer heat (reference to Die Another Day)

Awww, the cute wittle ultwawisk...

If you actually look at it's face, the big beady eyes can possibly remind you of your household pet


Let's not stray too far from topic now shall we