Re: David Gerrold - War with the Cthorr

Shawn Wilson wrote:
> On May 1, 3:09 pm, Dan Swartzendruber <dswa...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
>> My theory: he painted himself into a corner and has no idea where to go
>> or how to finish in a satisfactory way.
> 
> I second that.  But, really, while he makes a point that the Cthorr
> are a billion years more evolved than earth life (which is itself
> meaningless, they spent a billion years evolving against each other,
> not us) technology is faster than evolution.  Chemicals and engineered
> bacteria and nukes should be able to finish off the Chtorr.

Indeed, I've never understood the "humanity is doomed" vibe that most 
readers seem to get out of the series. Perhaps it's doomed because the 
author has decided by fiat that the Chtorr are unbeatable, but if it 
turns out to be the case my suspension of disbelief won't hold. The 
humans in that setting have fearsomely advanced biotechnology and AI 
compared to the real world, it should be relatively straightforward to 
identify enzymatic pathways and genetic vulnerabilities that Chtorr have 
but Terran life lacks, and hit those with massive poisonings to even out 
the playing field.

I recall that nuking was frowned on because Chtorran life tended to 
recolonize the burned areas faster than Terran life, but I don't see why 
it'd be worse than letting Mandalas and Enterprise Fish and other 
large-scale Chtorran structures organize themselves. Large-scale 
organization is one of humanity's key advantages, forcing the Chtorran 
ecology to remain decentralized makes sure we stay ahead in that area. 
Though I imagine using really nasty chemical poisons would be more cost 
effective than wasting plutonium.

Anyway. Perhaps one day David Gerrold's son will publish stuff based on 
whatever notes he's got.