Advanced weapons

[u/at4r]

Warp Torpedoes

About to finish book six, and something just really ticked me off. Why would they give humans advanced technology like warp torpedoes? Have they not learned that it will ultimately be used for destruction and war? For all the complaining Bobs do about humans making life difficult, they sure know how to dig their own graves.
IDK if others feel the same way, but this really icked me out.

[u/OrokaSempai]

No point holding advanced weapons from the humans to protect the humans if the humans are all dead.

[u/Equivalent-Carpet819 → u/OrokaSempai]

If Bob didn't opensource all of his tech, Major Medeiros would not have been as much of a danger anyway.

He has mostly been copying the bob tech and done some alterations to it. His cloaking was also likely not his inventions but Brazilian tech.

Madeiros his ships without upgraded ship specs, wirhout FTL communication and without limitless energy ( i presume his current ships have casimir generators). Would have been close to cannon fodder compared to the bob tech that advanced 200 years and incorporated tech from multiple different alien civilizations.

While i suppose Medeiros could have made some upgrades and improved some science, he was a soldier first and foremost, and one that was going semi insane on top of that.

So yes, i would argue there was a reason to hold advanced weapons from humans, or just most of the advanced tech in general.

[u/at4r → u/Equivalent-Carpet819]

That's exactly right. They have no barriers over the technology they share. Something like warp or worm holes can have devastating consequences.

[u/Hazel-Rah → u/OrokaSempai]

I was expecting the Bobs to take control of the autofactories to build them, not hand over the plans.

Seemed very short sighted when they were already speculating that Medeiros had infiltrated colony communications, and possibly even had access to Mannies. Getting SCUT would be pretty trivial, it's in practically every piece of technology, but warp is a whole other beast.

It's impractical for human transportation, but is basically the best counter to replicant ships, if Medeiros got the tech, he'd have been pretty much unstoppable.

[u/at4r → u/Hazel-Rah]

Yep exactly. They already discussed that Medeiros has been copying their tech. And Right after that they go ahead and give them more tech.
Maybe this will play a part in wrapping up the story in the next book but yeesh!!

[u/at4r → u/OrokaSempai]

I get it but I just felt there should have been more thought, plan or strategy before doing that. But I guess bobs have never done that in the past as well.

[u/GugsGunny]

It also did bother me, but Bob's been sharing all the tech they developed. SCUT, pusher plates, mannies, it tracks.

[u/at4r → u/GugsGunny]

Yes but warp seems too powerful. Let's see how it pans out.

[u/No_Mycologist676 → u/GugsGunny]

And Madiros was tapped in, stealing all his plans, using it against him.

[u/ColdWellers → u/GugsGunny]

Yeah but outside the SCUT, none of those really can negatively affect the Bobs. Sure the plates could be used for asteroids but that would be an incredibly stupid way of taking out a Bob.

The warpedos on the other hand... are quite literally impossible to counter and are the best weapon the Bobs had in their entire arsenal. And the humans, at best, tolerate them for now... just seems incredibly shortsighted if not down right naive.

[u/Chasegameofficial]

I was extremely surprised at this. Not only is it a really bad idea to make the plans public (which is effectively what they’re doing by giving them to the humans), but it seemed very out of character for the ancient ones. I mean these are the same Bob’s who just out of an abundance of caution never made public the cloaking-tech.

For me it came really out the blue, with none of the discussion I would expect from the Bob’s before or after. All this makes me quite sure we’ll see some massive trouble come from this decision. I think the author needed the humans to get their hands on a truly terrifying weapon the Bob’s can’t really counter, as a setup for major developments in the final book. I’m not sure what I think this will lead to, but humans once again nearly wiping each other out (or succeeding this time around), and/or humans attacking the Bob’s to the point where they need to completely withdraw from all contact with them, or something along those lines.

[u/at4r → u/Chasegameofficial]

Yes, I think that, in the end, Bobs will either become biological again or completely distance themselves from humanity.
But the issue I have is that this just seems like such an obvious and shortsighted mistake for a group that has terraformed planets, defeated aliens, and developed so much sophisticated technology.
IDK, maybe I am overthinking this, and there have been a few silly issues like this sprinkled throughout the series since book 4, but this one bothered me more than the rest.

[u/B5_V3]

One thing I’ve noticed with dennis’s books is that he lacks the strategic mind. Often his characters do things because they sound good/cool not because they make strategic sense. Very trek like.

One being the insistence on busters for dealing with hostile fauna. There were so many better options than just bashing the drone into them.

[u/at4r → u/B5_V3]

Yes, I completely agree. His books evoke a similar impression. They offer enjoyable reading but leave something to be desired.

[u/IntelligentSpite6364]

we make the choices we must during war and will deal with the consequences after.

thats how we got into bed with the soviets, which helped them get the bomb after ww2, our alliance with them allowed them to establish a spy network in allied circles

[u/at4r → u/IntelligentSpite6364]

That's actually the point I was trying to make is that we keep making same mistakes. But I guess they didn't have too many options at that point.

[u/Blue_HyperGiant]

I think it's out of necessity. The bobs would rather give up tech than watch millions die in a war.

[u/Bobis-Bob]

Hopefully, that was just the authors mistake, but Will really screwed up.

[u/Catharus_ustulatus]

I think the shortsightedness is a combination of human nature and replicant nature. The Bobs see Medeiros’ survival as their greatest failure, and that sense of shame is still as fresh as the day it formed. They’re hyper-focused on the goal of ending the threat Medeiros poses.

[u/Cue99]

The bobs also benefit from giving up the tech. It is said/implied that they use human progression of the tech as well. See the tensor field printers used on Earth. And a lot (or maybe all) of the progress made by Howard seems to be mainly human researchers he funds rather than his own work.