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Greetings! And a question/clarification/food for thought.
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Hi There - Welcome to OA!

Fun question Smile

I'm not overly familiar with the Oracle War/Sybil and don't have time atm to refresh myself on it (will do that this evening time permitting), but a couple of thoughts that initially come to mind:

a) We don't really spend much time as a project on defensive weapons for whatever reason, but it does seem logical that they exist across multiple S-levels, including the S5/S6 level. So the S6 might have a way of detecting and intercepting metric munitions, either as they are launched/in flight or (perhaps more easily) when they are coming up on a target.

You do mention this possibility (Option 2) and correctly point out that the Sybil could potentially create munitions in vast numbers that could potentially overwhelm defenses, which is true. The flip side of that equation is that the S6 can create defenses in vast numbers. So it sort of boils down to an arms races with a fair number of variables that we've currently not quantified. So this is currently an option littered with 'black boxes'.

b) S6 retaliation - We imply/rumor/all but flat out say that the S6 can operate in 'higher dimensions' or the Bulk between branes or the like - in which case they might be able to detect and/or intercept metric weapons (easily or not). But they might also be able to follow the Sybil wherever it went and retaliate with extreme prejudice if it were to launch such a 'kick over the game board' level of attack - and it knew this when it ran. So this would either come down to a MAD scenario or one where it could hurt the archai (or at least their interests) but would pay with it's life it it carried it out.

This option is nearly as mysterious as the 'The Sybil just decided not to' option but maybe works a little better.

c) The Sybil decided not to launch doomsday weapons because it hopes/plans to return someday, either literally or via cached Copies hidden away around the Terragen Bubble and resume it's project. Frying a large portion of its potential converts and turning everyone else into utterly fanatical enemies would seem counterproductive in that regard.

d) The Sybil did launch doomsday weapons, some of which were stopped, and some of which are still in transit and may or may not be stopped. The outcome is uncertain and ongoing in Y11k. Due to lightspeed limitations and distance to targets it's unknown what the future might bring in this regard. This last option would potentially be dependent on distances and dates around the conflict which I don't have in front of me atm.

This last or a variant could potentially be worked in fairly easily since OA loves rumors/legends/conspiracy theories/conflicting theories in setting.

Some initial thoughts - more later when I have more time.

Once again - Welcome to OA!

ToddSmile
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RE: Greetings! And a question/clarification/food for thought. - by Drashner1 - 09-02-2020, 11:05 PM

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