The Maim-shredder is an example of an instance where the distinction between cybershell and weapon become unclear. Maim-shredders are deployed as area denial and anti-intruder systems at high security installations. The robot is a very flattened spheroid with contra-rotating rotors on its equator. Rotor-span is half a yard, allowing the machine to manoeuvre indoors. The […]
The restrictions on the use of anti-personnel mines have led to the development of a number of alternate means of area denial. Agma-beol uses a bioswarm of genemod insects. Agma-beol are based on Africanized honey bees, which are notorious for their aggressive defence of their territories. Modifications include a barbless sting that can be used […]
Military forces in 2100 would be bound by a number of international conventions so some of the weapons described in this blog may be restricted or unavailable to them. Some clandestine agencies would be inclined to ignore these restrictions. Many terrorist organisations would have sufficient funding and technical support that they could develop some of […]
Surveillance worms are devices described in GURPs Ultratech 4e but are a very credible device for THS. A surveillance worm resembles a very small snakebot, and functions rather like a mobile fibre-optic camera cable or endoscope. Some surveillance worms may be as small as 0.1" wide and 2" long. Like many snakebots the worm may […]
Neither GURPS Ultra-tech (4e) nor Transhuman Space (3e) give a movement rate for the surveillance dust cyberswarm. On the other hand, UT p.106 tells us: “The swarm is programmed to remain in a particular place, observe for a period of time, and then return; it can also transmit information or be ordered to go to […]
In the original 3e Transhuman Space book (p.100) we are told: “Conventional over the horizon artillery support is provided by rapid-fire. high-velocity electromagnetic cannon. as slower, indirect-lire rockets and missiles are vulnerable to point-defense weapons. Artillery rounds typically have satellite guidance or homing submunitions though dumb shells are also used in intense electronic-warfare environments.” This […]
In the last blog, I suggested some of the mechanisms that would be available to an aggressor during a conflict on THS Earth. Many of these would be termed “unconventional warfare” in modern terminology. “Unconventional warfare” is one of those phrases that is often thrown around but is often rather vague in its definition. The […]
With a population of 11 thousand million, THS Earth will be no stranger to competition and conflict. The actual nature of such conflicts may, however, be very different to that we might expect. For an illustration of a possible conflict in Transhuman Space. let us consider two hypothetical corporations that are in dispute: Corporation A […]
And so it begins… For the last few months I have been amusing myself dipping into the GURPs sourcebooks for their Transhuman Space worlds. This got me thinking about many of the aspects of the world that they describe. A number of technologies similar to those that they describe are likely to exist in real […]