text • un: rutherford

[stubble]

Might there be someone present who could explain the concept of "nuclear warfare" to me? To my knowledge, we've nothing of the sort in my world.

Comments

[perfectdisaster]

A method used to inflict widespread damage that lasts far longer than traditional warfare, takes far too many innocent lives in the initial blast to be termed anything but mass slaughter, and endangers countless civilians for generations to come. Typically used by those who want to end something quickly but either don't realize or don't care that the aftereffects aren't worth the cost of the lives lost as a result of those actions. Soldiers belong on the battlefield, not in a room pushing a button several thousand miles away from where the actual battle is occurring.

[ He's... not terribly fond of the idea of large numbers of civilian deaths. Too much of that in his past to ever make it okay. ]

[stubble]

How would you characterize those who would use such weapons, knowing the damage they cause to the world?

[ Cullen doesn't like it either. Less so those who would use such measures. ]

[perfectdisaster]

Because it's the victor that writes the history books, they'll brand it as an act of heroism in the face of a ruthless enemy that required extreme measures to subdue, but in reality, it's nothing more than an act of cowardice.

[stubble]

I question the character of one who would use such weapons myself and I find such an individual lacking. It is good to know I am not alone in this.

[perfectdisaster]

You aren't.

I don't have first-hand experience with nuclear warfare, since that seems to have fallen into disuse at home so most of what I know of it comes from history, but I've seen the effects of a weapon that used compressed cartridges to take out an area of approximately 150 meters in diameter, as well as one that uses a fusion reactor as a power source and is capable of wiping out an entire colony in one shot. While neither would have the same long-term devastation as a nuclear warhead, the first creates damage in a fairly limited scope while the second... is a little more extreme.

[ Technobabble: the one thing that will get him talking, but usually only via text, since it exceeds his Daily Verbal Word Count. ...not that he actually has one, but verbal discussions with him are generally short and to the point. ]