Re the vampire highway, that was specifically between core where Lucan created the virus and Cymbeline, where the deyo chips originated. Its effectively a pilgrimage to birth places. Not sure there is anything similar out towards the extents. Two other places the vamps may visit - site of the omicron research station but that's in the core sector, and the original labs that developed the deyo transponder. Don't remember anything said about where that was.
As for virus infection of meshan. There would be enough deyo equipped vargr merchants and cross border raiders + captured imperial merchant shipping (don't forget Lishun fell to the vargr with very little fight after the fleet was recalled, and the league of antares was very friendly with the Julians for a while) for the virus to cross the border, after that the books say it slows as it works out the new alien systems and then spreads again. How much vargr infrastructure is stolen imperial equipment or copied from imperial designs - the 101 robots book has vargr knockoffs of imperial robots.
Given the vargr pack mentality, their defenses would be insufficient, no warning from Strephon here. Some local pack leader would either run away or attempt a heroic strike and generate a fatal hole in the defense line, same with electronic quarantine. Pocket empire after pocket empire would fall.
This might even be the catastrophic event that starts a slow change in vargr culture and makes them a bit more stable / willing to follow orders. Only new PE that have some internal discipline are likely to withstand repeated infection attempts.
Cheers
Richard
----- Original Message -----
From: DED
To:
Sent: Friday, October 19, 2012 8:05 PM
Subject: [Traveller_TNE] Re: Opposition Alliance
Thanks, Eamon.
I got the impression from /The Flaming Eye/ adventure that even vargr
ships along the Imperial border carried the Deyo transponders. Many just
chose to operate with them turned off when it suited them. IIRC, the
Deyo was a requirement for foreign ships in order to operate within
Imperial space. As cross border commerce was common up until 1120, I
would think that there would still be enough ships out there by 1130
that they'd get infected.
More importantly, the transponders were just the /initial /means of
infection, not the sole means. Allow any infected ship dataport access
and you're toast. I know you know this so I'm confused as to why you'd
drag starports and bases and their possible lack of transponders into
this. The ships were just the vector for transmission, not Virus' only
host. Once a ship was able to transmit data to other computers, they too
were infected, no matter their function. The only criteria was that the
computer have enough memory and processing power. Infection and
destruction in Meshan would've been thorough.
After infection, what they did next would obviously depend on what they
were infected with. Anything suicidal would likely stay relatively close
to it's infection point, depending on what sort of incubation period was
required for the virus to compromise these slightly different vessels.
But once those suicidal impulses were abandoned for "destroy everyone
else" urges (doomslayers, et al), then their range expands greatly. I
don't know if there's a timeline for the mutations. I know that the main
TNE book says that by 1140 almost all vampire ships are Puppeteers.
Anyway, at some point that outward flow of ships is going to reverse
direction. I think Meshan gets hit with lots of Doomslayers. I don't
know if you have a copy, but MJD's /Out of Darkness/ talks about the
Vargr Extents being hit hard (Meshan included). It states that "by 1140
most of the old Extents was deep Wilds with the odd island of
civilization..."
While Meshan's stellar density is less than its rimward neighbor,
Lishun, it still looks dense enough to me that the whole sector
collapses. While there are some gaps that require jump-4, these worlds
have enough closer neighbors that ruin the effectiveness of these
astrographic buffers. They just require Virus to take a longer route to
its victim (unless it's in a J4+ ship). I believe a small PE could arise
from the *rubble*, but not that a fragment of an old state survives.
Whatever's there, it's going to be weak. Unlike Vland, there aren't any
buried Ancient war machines to come to their rescue. ;-)
On a separate note, we know about the Vampire Highway that ran from Core
to near the RC. Could there be others, perhaps one that runs coreward
through Lishun and Meshan?
\_/
DED
================
Eamon Watters wrote:
A general reply here.
On the effects of Virus on Meshan, one of the factor favouring the
Domain of Deneb will apply, I think. That is that there will be a net
flow of raiding ships outward, though it may be less focused on the
Coreward direction, going spinward toward the Villani periphery. That
said, there may be rich picking all around.
There's also probably going to be a lack of Deyo transponders on raiding
ships, and probably on a majority of ships in Meshan. It's also arguable
if facilities like starports, bases, and small craft are going to have
the transponder.
States in Meshan may also have had to subsidize shipping to cover
traders going raider and leaving a deficit in transportation. Will this
subsidized shipping have Deyo transponders? Are they still being
exported from the factions of the Imperium?
I'd say given these factors that there's a chance of some state or
states in Meshan surviving in some reduced form, especially if advanced
warning is received, or the astrography is favourable to it.
As for virus infection of meshan. There would be enough deyo equipped vargr merchants and cross border raiders + captured imperial merchant shipping (don't forget Lishun fell to the vargr with very little fight after the fleet was recalled, and the league of antares was very friendly with the Julians for a while) for the virus to cross the border, after that the books say it slows as it works out the new alien systems and then spreads again. How much vargr infrastructure is stolen imperial equipment or copied from imperial designs - the 101 robots book has vargr knockoffs of imperial robots.
Given the vargr pack mentality, their defenses would be insufficient, no warning from Strephon here. Some local pack leader would either run away or attempt a heroic strike and generate a fatal hole in the defense line, same with electronic quarantine. Pocket empire after pocket empire would fall.
This might even be the catastrophic event that starts a slow change in vargr culture and makes them a bit more stable / willing to follow orders. Only new PE that have some internal discipline are likely to withstand repeated infection attempts.
Cheers
Richard
----- Original Message -----
From: DED
To:
Sent: Friday, October 19, 2012 8:05 PM
Subject: [Traveller_TNE] Re: Opposition Alliance
Thanks, Eamon.
I got the impression from /The Flaming Eye/ adventure that even vargr
ships along the Imperial border carried the Deyo transponders. Many just
chose to operate with them turned off when it suited them. IIRC, the
Deyo was a requirement for foreign ships in order to operate within
Imperial space. As cross border commerce was common up until 1120, I
would think that there would still be enough ships out there by 1130
that they'd get infected.
More importantly, the transponders were just the /initial /means of
infection, not the sole means. Allow any infected ship dataport access
and you're toast. I know you know this so I'm confused as to why you'd
drag starports and bases and their possible lack of transponders into
this. The ships were just the vector for transmission, not Virus' only
host. Once a ship was able to transmit data to other computers, they too
were infected, no matter their function. The only criteria was that the
computer have enough memory and processing power. Infection and
destruction in Meshan would've been thorough.
After infection, what they did next would obviously depend on what they
were infected with. Anything suicidal would likely stay relatively close
to it's infection point, depending on what sort of incubation period was
required for the virus to compromise these slightly different vessels.
But once those suicidal impulses were abandoned for "destroy everyone
else" urges (doomslayers, et al), then their range expands greatly. I
don't know if there's a timeline for the mutations. I know that the main
TNE book says that by 1140 almost all vampire ships are Puppeteers.
Anyway, at some point that outward flow of ships is going to reverse
direction. I think Meshan gets hit with lots of Doomslayers. I don't
know if you have a copy, but MJD's /Out of Darkness/ talks about the
Vargr Extents being hit hard (Meshan included). It states that "by 1140
most of the old Extents was deep Wilds with the odd island of
civilization..."
While Meshan's stellar density is less than its rimward neighbor,
Lishun, it still looks dense enough to me that the whole sector
collapses. While there are some gaps that require jump-4, these worlds
have enough closer neighbors that ruin the effectiveness of these
astrographic buffers. They just require Virus to take a longer route to
its victim (unless it's in a J4+ ship). I believe a small PE could arise
from the *rubble*, but not that a fragment of an old state survives.
Whatever's there, it's going to be weak. Unlike Vland, there aren't any
buried Ancient war machines to come to their rescue. ;-)
On a separate note, we know about the Vampire Highway that ran from Core
to near the RC. Could there be others, perhaps one that runs coreward
through Lishun and Meshan?
\_/
DED
================
Eamon Watters wrote:
A general reply here.
On the effects of Virus on Meshan, one of the factor favouring the
Domain of Deneb will apply, I think. That is that there will be a net
flow of raiding ships outward, though it may be less focused on the
Coreward direction, going spinward toward the Villani periphery. That
said, there may be rich picking all around.
There's also probably going to be a lack of Deyo transponders on raiding
ships, and probably on a majority of ships in Meshan. It's also arguable
if facilities like starports, bases, and small craft are going to have
the transponder.
States in Meshan may also have had to subsidize shipping to cover
traders going raider and leaving a deficit in transportation. Will this
subsidized shipping have Deyo transponders? Are they still being
exported from the factions of the Imperium?
I'd say given these factors that there's a chance of some state or
states in Meshan surviving in some reduced form, especially if advanced
warning is received, or the astrography is favourable to it.