Thanks, Richard.
Yes, you're right. The Vampire Highway was indeed that pilgrimage to
birthplaces. I'd forgotten about that. Getting rusty in me noggin'. So
if I were to come up with some other vampire highways for MTU, I'd have
to have an equally compelling reason. That will require some thought.
Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on one's POV) Martin didn't
give any indication that Virus altered Vargr society in a positive
manner (increased stability). It appears to have remained just as
volatile as it ever was. However, that very adaptation to chaos enabled
them to accept Virus as just part of life. Martin likened the attitude
as a dealing with "a dangerous carnivore" rather than say the Regency's
fear of everything outside the Quarantine as instant death.
\_/
DED
===================
Richard Perks wrote:
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
Yes, you're right. The Vampire Highway was indeed that pilgrimage to
birthplaces. I'd forgotten about that. Getting rusty in me noggin'. So
if I were to come up with some other vampire highways for MTU, I'd have
to have an equally compelling reason. That will require some thought.
Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on one's POV) Martin didn't
give any indication that Virus altered Vargr society in a positive
manner (increased stability). It appears to have remained just as
volatile as it ever was. However, that very adaptation to chaos enabled
them to accept Virus as just part of life. Martin likened the attitude
as a dealing with "a dangerous carnivore" rather than say the Regency's
fear of everything outside the Quarantine as instant death.
\_/
DED
===================
Richard Perks wrote:
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