Lonesome Road - Dr Soylent

[Walsingham]

Something's been bugging me for days about the nuclear missiles in the new DLC Lonesome Road. I just worked out what it was.

 

We all know that in the Fallout universe they never developed integrated circuits. However, you need integrated circuits to make guided missiles work properly. In fact it was arguably guided missiles which drove the serious development OF integrated circuits.

 

The problem is: if those nukes aren't being controlled by integrated circuits (don't exist) and they aren't being controlled by valve tubes etc (too big), then what the hell is guiding them?

 

The answer, horrifyingly enough, must be brains. Probably human brains as in the Robobrain series of security robots.

 

Spoilers:

 

 

Presumably the peace protesters one hears about in game would be good candidates for inclusion in the old nose cones. Although what sense madness or combat drugs you'd need to make them hurtle down on inhabited cities... *shudder*

 

 

 

Further, every time you set one of the nukes off it must incinerating some poor deranged soul inside.

 

Edited September 25, 2011 by Walsingham

[WorstUsernameEver]

While your explanation is fascinating I think you're looking too hard into it, especially considering the Fallout setting hasn't been consistent with the reinforcement of "only vacuum tubes" during the years and that much of the technology that supposedly runs on vacuum tubes really shouldn't be able to (and in many cases, shouldn't exist at all).

 

EDIT: Also, uh, why a new topic and in this section?

Edited September 25, 2011 by WorstUsernameEver

[Walsingham]

Why? WHY?!

 

Because, that's why.

 

~~

 

Other examples?

[sorophx]

I approve, we should petition Bethesda to add it to the lore in FO4

[Purkake]

Duuude

[Walsingham]

You've also got the K9000 robogun. That uses a brain.

 

Maybe the nukes have raptor brains inside them. Glinting yellow-eyed eagle souls screaming for ash and blood.

 

OK. I really need to check my temperature. I think this fever's getting to me.

[Lexx]

Reminds me of the "Magierd

[Walsingham]

Where was it that hippies put flowers in the gun barrels of the national guard? That could be the project name.

 

EDIT:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flower_power

 

Apparently it would be either GINSBERG or BERKELEY

Edited September 26, 2011 by Walsingham

[Walsingham]

IF raptors in missiles, why not insects in micromissiles? Have a gun which fires little plasma packets guided by a mosquito intelligence. 'Glowworm'

[Walsingham]

Supplemental:

 

Did you know that the Royal Navy slang for Nuclear weapons is "buckets of sunshine"?

 

Rather apposite, I thought.

[Purkake]

What if the whole post-apocalyptic wasteland is a shared coma dream between the survivors of a train crash? Each of their stories is just an allegorical way for them to deal with their personal problems?

[Alvin Nelson]

Woah.

[Gromnir]

something sounds wrong with walsh history. first true integrated circuit were a private innovation from some guy at texas instruments, right? the first silicon chip were developed independent o' the texas instruments circuit by the folks at fairchild semiconductor... and the only reason we know any o' this is 'cause o' some research we did regarding william shockley. in any event, the early atlas icbms were developed and and operational before the first integrated circuit, and am honest not certain what were needed for guidance of early icbms... an analog computer and a couple gyroscopes such as the old v-2's used?

 

HA! Good Fun!

[Gorth]

German inventor Werner Jacobi first patented an integrated circuit in 1949. It might have been plausible to expand on his 5 transistor circuit over the next decade to become usable in a Fallout setting.

 

Early history

 

Edit to add: Come to think of it, just remembering that the game is full of hackable computers. Must have some kind of logic circuitry in there.

[Walsingham]

something sounds wrong with walsh history. first true integrated circuit were a private innovation from some guy at texas instruments, right? the first silicon chip were developed independent o' the texas instruments circuit by the folks at fairchild semiconductor... and the only reason we know any o' this is 'cause o' some research we did regarding william shockley. in any event, the early atlas icbms were developed and and operational before the first integrated circuit, and am honest not certain what were needed for guidance of early icbms... an analog computer and a couple gyroscopes such as the old v-2's used?

 

HA! Good Fun!

 

Fair point. The main source I'm relying on is the book The Nearly Men, by Mike Green. A quick wikiblast reveals that the original ATLAS rockets were radio guided from a ground station. The MINUTEMAN series were onboard guided, and they were in the 1970s.

 

EDIT: Gorth, you fool, they're clearly valve computers. You can SEE the bloody valves when they get broken. Plus they're very simple.

Edited September 30, 2011 by Walsingham