Re: [GZG] More advanced screens

It is mentioned in "The Mote In God's Eye" (cf. Ch.14) that the  
*normal-space* engines of MacArthur made use of some features of the  
Langston Field, but it is explicitly stated that the interstellar  
Alderson Drive and the protective Langston field around a ship are  
quite separate (cf. Ch. 24). The book describes how the Moties had  
discovered and rediscovered the drive many times, but never seen  
field before the arrival of MacArthur and Lenin, and this is a major  
plot point.

In the sequel "The Moat Around Murcheson's Eye" Horace Bury's  
personal ship Sinbad has an Alderson Drive, but is not fitted with a  
Langston Field generator until after Bury's visit to Sparta. The book  
makes clear (cf. Ch 5) that private ownership of Langston generators  
is tightly controlled in the empire generally, and *banned* within  
the Sparta system.

It's the old story. Any sizeable interplanetary spacecraft would  
potentially be an extremely dangerous weapon (We have already seen  
what mere airliners can do...). One cannot imagine any government,  
let alone a moderately authoritarian one like the Empire Of Man,  
letting starships wander around populated areas without reserving the  
capability to blow them instantly into tiny little pieces if their  
trajectory even *began* to look funny.

Best regards, Robert Bryett.

On 01/06/2008, at 17:17 , Richard Bell wrote:

> Langston fields were very peculiar pieces of kit. <SNIP> As the  
> field was a side effect of the hyperdrive, piracy was difficult and  
> may have been extremely rare.

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