An Academic Visit

This one probably doesn't need a signal boost. . . .

But if you haven't noticed it somehow, I'd urge you to check out An Academic Visit, by RustPony. I've had the privilege of pre-reading it, and I can assure you, it's a good read.

Comments

[Shachza]

Humans are superior to blah blah blah.
Nukes are better than blah blah blah.
Maglevs are better than blah blah blah.

Actually, it is a pretty good read. Once again, high tech humans meet low tech Equestria. Though it is really cool that all this is going down in Gryphon-land and not Pony-land.

I'm curious to see what's done with the story.

[Canary In The Coal Mine]

While it hasn't been explored yet, I'm guessing that magic was actually really effective against the humans (against conventional weapons anyway) and made them assume the invaders were significantly more advanced than they actually ended up being, hence the implied nuking.

[Admiral Biscuit]

2759949

Though it is really cool that all this is going down in Gryphon-land and not Pony-land.

Yeah, I like that, too. Not enough fics (my own included) explore much outside of what we've seen in show canon.

I'm curious to see what's done with the story.

I'm also looking forward to it. I've got some ideas what he's thinking, thanks to brainstorming sessions via PM, but I don't know what his ultimate plan is.

2760054

While it hasn't been explored yet, I'm guessing that magic was actually really effective against the humans ...

That's one possibility. Two others that I think would be plausible (and I don't know where he's going with the story) is that magic was reasonably effective, and the griffons claimed that they could do more--let's say that they've got the magic equivalent of some horrid poison gas, which has a limited range, but they claim they could poison all of New York City if the humans didn't surrender . . . that might justify a nuclear strike.

The other possibility is that the griffons somehow got their talons on a nuke (how would be an interesting story), and used it against another nuclear state, like Russia, let's say. I could see the Russians retaliating in kind.

[Forderz]

We also don't know the geo-political state of earth at the moment of invasion, nor can we assume it is our Earth. Who's to say they didn't walk into Syria/North Korea and piss of an unstable regime enough to walk a dirty bomb into a portal?

[Gae Assail]

Great story so far. I must admit I believe that the mathematician is being called in to explain the core mechanics of magic in exchange for the advanced technological secretes that the Earth has accumulated over the years.

[MrZJunior]

I hate to break it to you, but fallout dissipates fairly rapidly. It's safe to come out of your shelter after two weeks, so the Griffons should be able to rebuild their city no problem.

[Admiral Biscuit]

2762993
Is that true of all nukes, or only modern ones? I seem to recall that there were some kinds of nukes which were meant to have extra radioactive fallout, but I don't know if any such thing was ever built.

[MrZJunior]

2763019
Extra fallout sure, but it will still have the same half life. I guess since there's more of the stuff it would take longer to degrade, but not years. This is how Wikipedia describes the radiation present at the site of the Trinity nuclear test:

More than sixty years after the test, residual radiation at the site is about ten times higher than normal background radiation in the area. The amount of radioactive exposure received during a one-hour visit to the site is about half of the total radiation exposure which a U.S. adult receives on an average day from natural and medical sources.

[Admiral Biscuit]

2763121
Okay, I can buy that. I know that there are some elements which are lot nastier than others, and have a much longer half-life, but I suppose they'd be pretty widely scattered after the explosion.

Still, assuming that the griffons didn't know anything about radiation, their experience might have been that the city vanished in a gigantic fireball, and nearly everyone they sent in immediately after the explosion got sick and died--it might not be much of a leap for them to assume that the effects would persist for a long time, especially if there are spells which do something similar.

[MSPiper]

I also suspect that the "initial bad experiences" idea is the most likely reason. Most of the really nasty stuff decays pretty quickly, but depending on the specifics of the blast, much of the area could pose a significant radiation sickness threat for several weeks. Once the short-lived material has decayed, any illnesses are more likely to manifest as longer term things like cancers, but after seeing their first responders fall ill the connection should be apparent.

2763147
While the danger per decay varies with the isotope, it's worth noting that radioactivity tends to be inversely correlated with half-life. After all, the total number of decays remains the same either way - only the time they're spread across changes. A substance that decays quickly will be worse in the short term, but once that short term is over, it's gone and won't bother you anymore. The nastiest isotopes are those that decay at a moderate pace and can be absorbed by the body; they're not as radioactive as most of the fallout, but they pack enough punch to remain a threat if you don't avoid them, and once they're inside you....