I don’t know how many of you are fans of military sci-fi, or alternative history. I am.
One that has been knocking around in my brain a great deal lately is Harry Turtledove’s In the Balance. It’s been bouncing in my head since sitting down with
for East Meets West #11, as I meant to talk about it. Sadly, I’m a conversationalist and didn’t stick to my notes, so I’ll write my thoughts instead.If you don’t want some spoilers on the book, stop here.
In the book, Turtledove has an alien race invade Earth in the middle of WW2. Expecting bronze age tech, they find us much advanced, because they’re aliens that develop slower than we do.
Basically, Turtledove sets up not just a generational, but a multiple thousand year, galactic star spanning Bias of “This just is how it’s done” with aliens involved.
He makes them somewhat cosmopolitan and authoritarian.
He, obviously, give them long supply chains.
He makes them reliant upon high tech gadgets instead of good soldiering, inventive thought, and ‘can do’ attitude.
He also give them an addiction to a common spice found on Earth - Cinnamon or Ginger - I don’t recall which.
These aliens come in and, at first, overwhelm the natives of Earth. Typical of a Hollywood movie.
But, just as I’ve argued in The Polis Perspective, the people have something to fight for, so they do.
Turtledove has them at just the right technology gap that the Aliens have a hard time fighting off certain weapons. For instance, one group of humans make a giant cannon that shoots miles away at an enemy ship that landed on earth. Unlike missiles that could be shot down, a giant ball of iron has enough mass that it couldn’t be directed away, couldn’t be blown up, and took out the ship in the few shots it got before being destroyed.
And, because of the supply lines, the Aliens couldn’t get a new ship.
There were many things like this.
Weaponized food with the drug addictions
Animals as IEDs, people, everything.
The US is the Alien Empire
The Empire’s supply lines are too long. They’re in the hands of the enemy and can be disrupted at any time.
The Empire stopped creating battle hardened soldiers that were innovative and cunning. Instead, we rely on high tech toys, built for the purpose of the MIC’s padded budget rather than winning.
Thanks to the CIA, we have drug issues within our forces and our populace.
To Survive Collapse, Build Barbaric
Go down a few notches on the technological totem pole. We have all the technology to survive in this country, and we have the materials to do it. What we lack is the infrastructure and the skills. Those are important, direly, so get on it. And do so now, as it takes time - lots of it - to get to where you want to be on some of this stuff.
If you can, focus on one or two skills, and make friends with those that have others.
As far as weapons to defend yourself - you already see this being done on the side of the enemies defeating the empire - the trend in weapons is to make them as dumb as possible, as cheap as possible, with intelligent systems of delivery only if needed. So, drones and missiles that turn off for part of their run time to avoid detection is how the ‘boys with toys’ are doing it. I predict more on that side of development, possibly with AI drones just doing giant number crunching on trajectory even more and really going back to dumb systems in the end.
But on many there’s no need. There’s a reason mines (land and sea), home made traps, and caltrops are still a thing in all wars today.
But, in terms of building, buy and build things that can be rebuilt in a machine shop.
Engines that can be rebuilt locally.
Cars that don’t need chips from over seas.
Machines for your shop that are engine/belt ran.
Things that can be touched up by a welder that you can buy on the cheap, learn how to use, and good to go.
You can buy the basics of things you need to do things like timber framing.
Or learn how to build things out of cob, stone, or other materials local to you. Think of what you would do to affect repairs or build an out building for some of the basic things like animal shelter, if needed.
Again, just start thinking about these things. If you don’t learn them, find PDFs of them, print them, and have a physical copy of how to do things on hand if needed.
In the mean time, the more you build yourself, the less you buy, the less they tax, and the more fragile the system while you grow stronger.
Sturdy,
Hardy,
Good to go.
Nothing wrong with that.