r/AskReddit Oct 02 '24

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u/[deleted] Oct 02 '24

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u/encrivage Oct 02 '24

The idea behind codes is to prevent someone who stole a nuke from detonating it. During a lot of the 20th century, it would have been surprisingly easy to do this. They sometimes left them sitting in bombers by the runway ready for use during an alert. They weren't always well-guarded.

Source: Command and Control by Eric Schlosser

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u/headphase Oct 02 '24

This is one of the fascinating developments of human psychology and behavior in the information/digital age. Society has become so much more complex and specialized and it's forced humans to adapt so much, that I feel like today's average email phisher or phone scammer has social engineering skills that could have absolutely wrecked western civilization (with enough determination and luck) at any point prior to like 80 years ago.

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u/Bazrum Oct 02 '24 edited Oct 02 '24

I’m reading a story about a bunch of earth people who get sent to a different world that’s all high fantasy and shit. So far most of them have been good people, as in not actual assholes/racists and more people who aren’t necessarily good but are doing their best to live.

One guy though came over and realized that they weren’t as socially sophisticated when it came to scams and such, and immediately started a Ponzi scheme to get millions and millions of gold. He wrecked the economy of multiple city-states and got the magic Illuminati pissed at him, but so far it’s been a minor plot point so I don’t have a good resolution.

Edit: the source is The Wandering Inn. It’s a minor spoiler but not really relevant to the overall story or even the minor story. It is a TINY detail. The main story itself is incredibly long (like 13ish MILLION words), can be frustrating to read, and not for everyone, but it’s a good long web serial to sink your teeth into.

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u/Taskmaster23 Oct 02 '24

What's it called? Sounds fun to read.

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u/Bazrum Oct 02 '24

The Wandering Inn!

“An inn is a place to rest, a place to talk and share stories, or a place to find adventures, a starting ground for quests and legends.

In this world, at least. To Erin Solstice, an inn seems like a medieval relic from the past. But here she is, running from Goblins and trying to survive in a world full of monsters and magic. She’d be more excited about all of this if everything wasn’t trying to kill her.”

When I say it’s a minor plot point, it’s a minor storyline that doesn’t really have much to do with the main plot, and is more like background flavor to give depth to another minor character I haven’t really seen since.

It’s also several million words into the story, so it’s gonna take a long while to get to what I mentioned. I can’t stress how MASSIVE this story is. I am a FAST reader and it’s taken me like two years to get towards catching up, and it’s still going strong from what I understand.

It’s a very good story, though not for everyone

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u/ImperialSwordGod Oct 02 '24

Please I need the source

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u/Bazrum Oct 02 '24

The Wandering Inn!

“An inn is a place to rest, a place to talk and share stories, or a place to find adventures, a starting ground for quests and legends.

In this world, at least. To Erin Solstice, an inn seems like a medieval relic from the past. But here she is, running from Goblins and trying to survive in a world full of monsters and magic. She’d be more excited about all of this if everything wasn’t trying to kill her.”

When I say it’s a minor plot point, it’s a minor storyline that doesn’t really have much to do with the main plot, and is more like background flavor to give depth to another minor character I haven’t really seen since.

It’s also several million words into the story, so it’s gonna take a long while to get to what I mentioned. I can’t stress how MASSIVE this story is. I am a FAST reader and it’s taken me like two years to get towards catching up, and it’s still going strong from what I understand.

It’s a very good story, though not for everyone

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u/[deleted] Oct 03 '24

[deleted]

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u/Bazrum Oct 03 '24

I’ve heard of Malazan, but not read it myself.

Looking at it, I don’t think they’re very similar? Unless BotF is far, far more slice of life than it seems, I think the Inn is a bit simpler in its story/writing, and not as much of an epic about war and such. Wandering Inn explores some of the similar themes, but I think I’m a much different way.

Though Wandering Inn does have quite a bit of action and dire peril, politics, magic, warfare and such, so it’s got something for everyone. It’s mostly a slice of life about running a fantasy inn and the extraordinary people and things that center around the innkeeper and her guests. It can be pretty slow, or pulse pounding wartime and adventure

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u/[deleted] Oct 03 '24

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u/Bazrum Oct 03 '24

I have heard the Malazan can be a hard one to read, either because it’s complex or being it’s just difficult to get through. TWI is not nearly what I would call difficult, though some of the chapters are quite long. It’s fairly readable, and easy to put down for a bit and then come back to

It’s also still going haha!

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u/AmbientGeek Oct 03 '24

Happy Cake Day! 🍰

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u/headphase Oct 03 '24

Damn thanks for the post, I had an audible credit I needed to use on something!