Post by Robert DeVries on Jul 26, 2020 14:46:40 GMT -5
Mutually Assured Destruction and the Great Interplanetary War
Though nuclear weapons were utilized at almost every opportunity during the decades-long system-spanning war, very few were of the type we know and fear in today's world.
Development
Known for their ingenuity and creativity, the Lake Unma Authority, in 3720 HD, was the first spacefaring nation to develop the pure-fusion warhead: a weapon of mass destruction that makes even the most advanced thermonuclear weapons of modern Earth like the W76 and RDS-220 look like child's play. Pure-fusion warheads are capable of obliterating entire cities without damaging their infrastructure and avoiding the production of devastating fallout. Pure-fusion warheads rely on extremely powerful explosions to generate high-energy neutrons, capable of passing through even the thickest armor unimpeded and killing combatants without prejudice. The world knew that with the development of such a weapon, old and established concepts like Mutually Assured Destruction no longer held their sway, sparking yet another in a long line of arms races between the Lake Unma Authority and the rest of the world.
Employment in the Great Interplanetary War
At the start of the Great Interplanetary War in 3726 HD, over three hundred thousand pure-fusion weapons had been constructed, usually with yields between 50 tons and 250 kilotons. Due to the weapons easily obtainable component parts, mass-production of pure-fusion warheads became nearly as cheap as the average cruise missile, drastically increasing their economic viability This further allowed nations a much wider degree of freedom in secrecy compared to the thermonuclear weapons of old, which often required exotic materials, the production of which was often hard to conceal. Many pure-fusion weapons had variable yield strengths, allowing the yield to be set to match the desired target up to its maximum yield strength, a feature that was quite popular during the war.
During the war pure-fusion warheads saw extensive use by the major powers; the fears of the world became reality and nuclear war began. Due to the low-yield capabilities and near-zero fallout nature of the weapon, nations were less hesitant to deploy them and soon they became a staple of modern warfare. The results were gruesome, entire bases would turn into ghost towns in less than two days after an attack by a pure-fusion warhead. Immediately after the explosion, people exposed to the radiation developed nausea and vomiting, extreme headaches and fevers, tremors and seizures, and then finally death would occur. In the end the victor was left with an unoccupied but fully intact enemy base.
After the War
After the technological singularity a brief improvement and miniaturization to pure-fusion weapons occurred, resulting in the smallest model yet: the I55, followed by the complete collapse of planetary society in the wake of TSAIAs development. Every surviving state lost the ability to produce most technologies except for the most basic (paper, simple tools, clothes), and pure-fusion weapons nearly ceased to exist. Small stockpiles persisted scattered throughout the world, occasionally falling into the hands of surviving city states and less often but more terrifyingly into the hands of rogues.
Though nuclear weapons were utilized at almost every opportunity during the decades-long system-spanning war, very few were of the type we know and fear in today's world.
Development
Known for their ingenuity and creativity, the Lake Unma Authority, in 3720 HD, was the first spacefaring nation to develop the pure-fusion warhead: a weapon of mass destruction that makes even the most advanced thermonuclear weapons of modern Earth like the W76 and RDS-220 look like child's play. Pure-fusion warheads are capable of obliterating entire cities without damaging their infrastructure and avoiding the production of devastating fallout. Pure-fusion warheads rely on extremely powerful explosions to generate high-energy neutrons, capable of passing through even the thickest armor unimpeded and killing combatants without prejudice. The world knew that with the development of such a weapon, old and established concepts like Mutually Assured Destruction no longer held their sway, sparking yet another in a long line of arms races between the Lake Unma Authority and the rest of the world.
Employment in the Great Interplanetary War
At the start of the Great Interplanetary War in 3726 HD, over three hundred thousand pure-fusion weapons had been constructed, usually with yields between 50 tons and 250 kilotons. Due to the weapons easily obtainable component parts, mass-production of pure-fusion warheads became nearly as cheap as the average cruise missile, drastically increasing their economic viability This further allowed nations a much wider degree of freedom in secrecy compared to the thermonuclear weapons of old, which often required exotic materials, the production of which was often hard to conceal. Many pure-fusion weapons had variable yield strengths, allowing the yield to be set to match the desired target up to its maximum yield strength, a feature that was quite popular during the war.
During the war pure-fusion warheads saw extensive use by the major powers; the fears of the world became reality and nuclear war began. Due to the low-yield capabilities and near-zero fallout nature of the weapon, nations were less hesitant to deploy them and soon they became a staple of modern warfare. The results were gruesome, entire bases would turn into ghost towns in less than two days after an attack by a pure-fusion warhead. Immediately after the explosion, people exposed to the radiation developed nausea and vomiting, extreme headaches and fevers, tremors and seizures, and then finally death would occur. In the end the victor was left with an unoccupied but fully intact enemy base.
After the War
After the technological singularity a brief improvement and miniaturization to pure-fusion weapons occurred, resulting in the smallest model yet: the I55, followed by the complete collapse of planetary society in the wake of TSAIAs development. Every surviving state lost the ability to produce most technologies except for the most basic (paper, simple tools, clothes), and pure-fusion weapons nearly ceased to exist. Small stockpiles persisted scattered throughout the world, occasionally falling into the hands of surviving city states and less often but more terrifyingly into the hands of rogues.