@RUTGERS.ARPA:TIGQC356%CUNYVM.BITNET@WISCVM.ARPA (05/02/85)
From: Mark F. Rand <TIGQC356%CUNYVM.BITNET@WISCVM.ARPA>
I forget who wrote the letter I'm replying to(I left my printout at home),
but here are the reasons why the Russians didn't build another Machine
and why the Americans didn't just cut the power off..
1)The Machine was set to destroy any other Genesis machine the instant
the other machine was turned on. The machines effective range as a weopon
was about the distance from the Earth to the Moon, so if a machine was
built anywhere within the effective range and turned on, Kablooie!!!
2)The Machine had an internal power source that would give it just
enough "juice" to explode the capitals of the U.S. and Russia if outside
power were to be cut. And the Machine was in a bunker that was "safe" from
being bombed(the Machine would not be damaged enough to keep it from exploding
a city or two). Also if the machine detected anyone trying to force their
way into its innards, another Kablooie!!!
So, in effect, the Genesis Machine was "invulnerable"(or at least couldn't
be put out of operation without a lot of people being put "out of opertion").
And of course since ICBM's(Inter-continental Ballistic Missles) would not be
of any use(because they couldn't reach their targets), and the "defensive"
missles had been left alone, attacking another country would be very "un-
economical"(ground-to-air missles would get most enemy planes before those
planes could do any damage). So what do we have??? An enforced peace, that
apparently after 200 yrs gives everyone a chance to forget any hatred to
one another...(thought seems to me, we are a very innovative race; we would
find someway of fighting one another. But, there's always hope).
See ya
Mark Rand (Queens College, New York City) Bitnet- Tigqc356@Cunyvm
Compuserve I.D. - 75615,1712
Acknowledge-To: Mark F. Rand <TIGQC356@CUNYVM>mercury@ut-ngp.UUCP (Larry E. Baker) (05/03/85)
[boom] > 2)The Machine had an internal power source that would give it just > enough "juice" to explode the capitals of the U.S. and Russia if outside > power were to be cut. And the Machine was in a bunker that was "safe" from > being bombed(the Machine would not be damaged enough to keep it from exploding > a city or two). Also if the machine detected anyone trying to force their > way into its innards, another Kablooie!!! Naaah. The Government had full access to the insides of the machine; they had to keep it completely maintained or, if there were too many failures, the thing would assume that it was being systemticlly deactivated and start vaporizing cities. Also, the offensive use of the machine was limited to an area within defined boundaries, but they could still use it, albiet in a limited area. It seems to me that a small thermonuclear warhead placed juciciously within the machine itself would have shut it down effectivey. -- - Larry Baker @ The University of Texas at Austin - ... {seismo!ut-sally | decvax!allegra | tektronix!ihnp4}!ut-ngp!mercury - ... mercury@ut-ngp.ARPA