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Honor Harrington/Headscratchers: Difference between revisions
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** My understanding is that the missiles don't have live warheads so much as live drives- that is, the missile fire and PD isn't simulated by computers, but you actually fire the missiles, shoot real PD at them, and then simulate any damage. As to the sudden shift from live fire to real, there's two possibilities that come to mind: 1) The missile warheads are deactivated in an exercise but still there, or 2) the magazines have both exercise and live warheads. Tac officers swap between contact nukes and laser heads as the situation requires, as I recall.
** IIRC ''Storm from the Shadows'' states that warheads are attached when loaded into the tubes.
** It's
* Is there any distinction whatsoever between Liberals and Progressives, or between Centrists and Crown Loyalists?
** There are lots. Liberals in Manticore are, in fact, radical socialists, who believe that isolationism and welfare state are the things to go for. True, they are indeed quite liberal ''socially'', but not in the economics or matters of state. After Montaigne takeover of the party, they shifted towards the etatism and expansionism in their foreign policy (a move that was brewing inside the party for a long time, but was checked by New Kiev and her cronies), but still remained pretty much socialist. Progressives, on the other hand, are essentially opportunists (though not to the New Men extent). They don't really have any strong political conviction except some vague left-leaning sympathies, and thus usually side with Liberals, but mostly they care about power and influence. Centrists are [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin]], and Crown Loyalists hold dear the belief that whatever is good for the Crown is good for Manticore. Given that Elizabeth and her inner circle are, in fact, Centrist to the last man (and woman), this makes then Centrist too.
** The Centrist and Crown Loyalists have not always gotten along, but much of the current set of politics is the result of the Lord's coliaition's to keep power being opposed by the Crown. Gryphon, for instance, is a hotbed of Crown Loyalists rather than centralist interests because they traditionally oppose the power of the Lords, leading to the one internal armed conflict within Manticore's history, and the Crown Loyalists had the support of the Army and the crown against the Lords.
** There are also hints of change now as the Lords lose power to the Commons where the static influences keeping the same power blocs in control for years are now dying out.
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** Honorverse ships are ''big''. So they just have really big cellars. It's also entirely possible that enviro dept keeps hydroponic gardens on a bigger ones.
** The HMAMC ''Wayfarer'' in ''Honor Among Enemies'' has a hydroponics garden where Nimitz and Samantha rendezvous that grows tomatoes. Honor also complains (as a narrator) about the tedium of having to sign off on hydroponics inventories. However, it's pretty clear from some of the things eaten on ships (including meats, cheeses, and wines) that they ships probably carry some food in storage.
** Even then most ships have crews in the range of what Aircraft carriers have today, and similar logistic arrangements.
* One of the constantly recurring themes is that Silesia is so messed up because nobody has the small ships required to police it. Then, after that situation is resolved finally, the authors ''finally'' mention that there is are hyper capable combatants that are smaller than destroyers, just nobody has built them in 50+ years.
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* Why doesn't Paul just say 'oops, no thanks' when Summervale challenges him? Or at least, when he finds out he's a paid duelist, cancel the duel? Does Manticore really force people to go through with their duels even if it's likely one side was paid?
** [[Honor Before Reason]] (pun intended). If he found out after accepting what kind of man Allen Summervale was, it most likely wouldn't serve as an excuse to bow of the current duel without solid proof that he'd been hired for ''that'' duel. At which point, it would be tantamount to admitting publicly that Summervale's accusations that Honor sacrificed her command for him and that she was just desperate for ''any'' man to love her were right. It would probably destroy his career (since accepting and then backing down from duels is considered an act of cowardice) and send her reputation down in flames.
*** ''Allen'' Summervale was a totally swell guy, please-and-thank-you. It's not good to put libel on one of the highest [[The Kingdom|Kingdom]] nobles and Her Majesty's PM (and unofficial uncle) at that. ;) His distant cousin ''[[Complete Monster|Denver]]'' [[Psycho for Hire|Summervale]], on the other hand....
** Also, if he hadn't accepted the duel in the first place, he might have been subject to discipline and charges for striking Summervale in anger, which might have been true if he broke off the duel as well. "Fighting words" is rarely a defense when Paul could have challenged him to a duel ''himself'' for his insults to Honor. Duels are meant to be a more "civil" alternative to just waling on someone who insults you. Given the ''results'', it looks like just saying, "Fuck you," and continuing the beat down might've been smarter, but hindsight's 20/20.
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