Anyone ever read Footfall?

[captain queeg]

It’s a sci-fi but I think the dilemma they faced in that story could illustrate our current situation.

An advanced alien race had entered our solar system with the intent of taking over earth. Not like they were going to exterminate us, but certainly planned on displacing us as the dominant species; enslavement. Not overly harsh, as long as we cooperated. There were some battles that they easily won, due to their advanced technology. Their entire race lived on that one huge spaceship, they’d been wandering around and found earth which was similar to their home world (though the species had been in space so long none of them had actually seen it) which had been abandoned for some reason.

Here’s the part I can see a comparison. The humans scrapped together all their remaining nuclear weapons and managed to build a massive spaceship in secret which would use the remaining nuclear weapons to launch into space, basically using a series of blasts to work like a rocket. They launched that a and a couple things like modified shuttles to attack the aliens. The human ship was so massive to survive the atomic bomb propulsion that the alien weapons couldn’t stop it. The alien ship was huge and couldn’t maneuver quickly. All our smaller ships were destroyed the the massive one was on course to ram the alien ship. We had some ambassadors on board their ship and their leaders begged to surrender. They’d been honorable warriors and were generally a gentle, vegetarian species. If we spared them they would give us their technology and leave the solar system. But, the humans only had one shot, if we let this opportunity pass we’d be totally at their mercy forever. I can’t remember a lot of it but the humans could really use the alien technology.

Only had minutes to decide; in real life getting a huge space maneuvered takes awhile. I was not real sure about some of the ending but I think the humans did the right thing. We rammed their spaceship with ours, ensuring the destruction of their race but at least ensuring ours for the immediate future. Not to be overly melodramatic but I think we have one shot to take back the US government. I really worry about the 2020 election. If the republi-scums have already sunk so low to hang onto power, they won’t balk at rigging the election.

[DavidDvorkin]

1. An ironic reference given the politics of Jerry Pournelle

One of the authors.

[captain queeg]

2. Sounds like they are right wingers?

Don’t think I’d ever read anything else by them. I’d been following some references to “rods from God” or whatever that is.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

3. Lucifer's Hammer,

likewise by Niven and Pournelle is shockingly racist. Offensively racist.

[hurple]

4. Ending synopsis

Wikipedia is your friend...

The U.S. secretly builds a large, heavily armed spacecraft in the State of Washington propelled by nuclear bombs (a real concept known as Project Orion). The ship is named after the Biblical Archangel Michael, who cast Lucifer out of Heaven. The Michael launches and battles through small enemy "digit" ships in orbit. Though seriously damaged, she pursues the alien mothership. One of the space shuttles carried aboard Michael rams the Fithp ship, seriously damaging it.

On Earth, U.S. President David Coffey receives an offer of conditional surrender from the Fithp. Coffey is willing to let the Fithp withdraw into space, and is reluctant to destroy their technology and cargo of females and children. He is opposed by his advisors, who feel that by allowing the Fithp to escape and regroup, he risks the whole of humanity. When Coffey seemingly folds under the pressure, National Security Adviser Admiral Carrell stages a bloodless coup d'etat, circumventing the President and communicating the rejection of the aliens' terms. An act of sabotage by the humans aboard the alien vessel disables the Fithp engines, allowing the Michael to inflict heavy damage, which forces the Fithp to accept humanity as the stronger species and surrender themselves to become part of the human "herd". In the final scene, the Fithp leader lies down on his back in a submissive gesture, and allows former captive Congressman Wes Dawson to place his foot on his chest, this being the formal Fithp gesture of surrender

[DavidDvorkin]

5. I can very easily imagine Pournelle dreaming up that scene while seeing himself in the Carrell role.

[tblue37]

6. Yes, when it first came out. The alien invaders weren't taken seriously at first because

they looked like cute baby elephants with three trunks.

[captain queeg]

7. Thanks, my memory was rusty

Also to DD; are those the guys who wrote The Mote in Gods Eye? One of my favorites of all time.

[Johnny2X2X]

8. Baby elephants.

I read it, long ago.