quote: How do we know they had to? Maybe the guns have been in boxes for seventy years, they spied the away team and whipped them out, as they've been instructed by the elders to do when the evil humans return.
Interesting. So, when you're dying of radiation poisoning and so on, you're going to take time out to teach your 5 year old how to maintain and shoot a machine gun. Makes sense to me.
Seriously, though, the machine guns do raise a problem, in that there didn't seem anything down in the caves that indicated the level of technology needed to maintain the guns in working order. The Novans were similar to the kids in Mad Max 3 in terms of technical sophistication. Given the appearance of the colony, I had the impression that the final collapse of the society happened relatively quickly, and there simply wouldnt have been enough time to teach the kids how to do such a complicated task, to say nothing of manufacturing ammunition to the tolerances necessary for an automatic weapon.
-------------------- The difference between genius and idiocy? Genius has its limits.
posted
What about how to clean it after you use it? Or how to clear it if it jams? Or how to keep it in working order in a dirty, damp environment (like a cave)?
Besides, ever try firing a machine gun on full automatic? Unless you've been trained, it's damned hard to keep your aim on target. I don't think the kids and grandkids of the survivors would be able to hit a bull in the ass with a barn door unless they'd been practicing, and then you're back with the maintenance question again.
-------------------- The difference between genius and idiocy? Genius has its limits.
posted
I'd be willing to bet that the Novans' weapons were kept locked up for until the Enterprise crew came down. The one that Reed was initially chasing didn't seem to be armed. In fact, it took a good while for an armed Novan to appear. Reed and Archer come into the big chamber, and they are distracted by the two Novans hiding on the ledge. Then the armed Novan comes out and is stunned by Archer. Look back to the ledge and the two that were there are gone. This looks to me like it was a setup to give the Novans time to get their weapons.
It looks to me that the Novans weren't all that experienced with their weapons. They were just sorta aiming in the general direction they wanted to shoot in and pressed the trigger. Looking at the impact of the bullets against the cavern walls makes it seem to me that they were struggling with some kickback or that they weren't used to keeping the gun steady while running. And I agree with Jeff. It looks like Reed was only taken out by luck (or ricochet).
[ October 28, 2001: Message edited by: Siegfried ]
posted
Oops... Sorry about that Jeff. I was just quickly skimming through the thread and misread "Malnurtured Snay" for "Mark Nguyen." You are correct, it was you who said that and not Mark.
Just a little starving for recognition, are you?
-------------------- The philosopher's stone. Those who possess it are no longer bound by the laws of equivalent exchange in alchemy. They gain without sacrifice and create without equal exchange. We searched for it, and we found it.
posted
"Well, first Omega thinks I'm Red Admiral, then you think I'm Mark Nguyen. I'm going to have to smack some people around here, methinks."
A bit rich coming from the man who spent several months insisting that I was gay.
-------------------- Yes, you're despicable, and... and picable... and... and you're definitely, definitely despicable. How a person can get so despicable in one lifetime is beyond me. It isn't as though I haven't met a lot of people. Goodness knows it isn't that. It isn't just that... it isn't... it's... it's despicable.
posted
I didn't insist on it. And, yes, I was under that impression ... but as I recall, I was under that impression because of something you said. Like, "I'm gay".
Besides, it's not like there's a box that shows up "Gay/Straight" when someone posts. I mean, my fucking name shows up on every post I make. Much harder to mistake one person for someone else.
posted
Wait a second, Liam's not gay? Damn it! My entire world has now collapsed!
-------------------- The philosopher's stone. Those who possess it are no longer bound by the laws of equivalent exchange in alchemy. They gain without sacrifice and create without equal exchange. We searched for it, and we found it.
Registered: Mar 1999
| IP: Logged
Ducks, runs, and hides to avoid the onslaught of groans and thrown objects at the bad pun.
-------------------- The philosopher's stone. Those who possess it are no longer bound by the laws of equivalent exchange in alchemy. They gain without sacrifice and create without equal exchange. We searched for it, and we found it.
Printer-friendly view of this topic
