this post was submitted on 16 Apr 2025
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Its probably for the best.
If humans are able to get to another planet with life on it we would probably do horrific unspeakable things to the aliens.
You mean civilize and liberate the aliens from their barbarism? /s
Dispensing freedom you mean.
*Aliens pulling out literal fireswords*
"Okay."
I feel like I would treat my Togruta wife very well ;-;
Real talk tho, humans will eventually reach the stars, being negative/nihilist about it and saying it's better if it doesn't happen is dangerous because people like Elon/Donald will definitely do horrible things if people with remorse and morals aren't involved/ already established there / the one's initiating
Not saying you're nihilist, but I go to Uni in SF and everyone is so anti-imperialism that they think any form of colonization (even on a dead planet like Mars) is bad and it's pretty grating.
Elon should not be the one who decides how the land/living conditions are set up
It's not nihilist to recognize historical precedent combined with current human conditions and come to a logical prediction.
I wouldn't have any problem with a completely dead planet being colonized by humanity but I absolutely do not trust humanity as a whole when it comes to a planet with life on it we don't even respect our own species much less other ones history has shown this over and over again.
even if it is an inevitability doesn't mean that it is positive just because it was inevitable that nuclear weapons got invented doesn't mean that It's a good idea for us to have that technology I would rather nukes not exist.
The fact is that any manned vehicle capable of interplanetary travel is by the nature of the energies involved, also a weapon of mass destruction. A spaceship is a weapon in the same way a car can be a weapon.
So either you massively restrict access to this technology, or you create a system of surveillance and defense that is so pervasive and effective that it makes 1984 look benign, OR you just say fuck everyone else and use that weapon to remove yourself from range of everybody else's weapons.
Proliferation is an existential problem for anyone in range.
The usefulness of a fusion engine as a weapon is directly correlated to its efficiency.
It doesn't really matter what kind of engine it is if it's going fast enough.
Anything with enough mass and acceleration to move a human being from planet to planet in a reasonable timeframe has the kinetic energy required to wipe out a city. Once you start reaching relativistic speeds, you can take out entire planets by simply not slowing down on approach.
Although you are correct, this destroys the engine.
A good, efficient fusion engine just needs to point the exhaust end towards the enemy and the hyper-accelerated particles will punch a hole through the target for you. And then you point at the next target, etc. etc.
Also, it's a butchered quote from Larry Niven's Known Space books, referred to as the "Kzinti Lesson" - because the Kzinti thought humanity was unarmed and helpless until they discovered that humans are really good at improvising weapons.
https://military-history.fandom.com/wiki/Relativistic_kill_vehicle
Yup! Totally plausible - just more expensive and less repeatable. And harder to use against moving targets.