Thomas R Jefferys <wyrm@mail.utexas.edu> wrote:
TJ> Y'know, the story is good. It's engaging, and the McCarthy character was a
TJ> good arch-villan while he lasted. Unfortunately, and this is soly my humbl
TJ> opinion about this, it's the underlying premise that I have trouble with.
TJ> 
TJ> I like to point out that giving plans to advanced technology to a society
TJ> that doesn't have that tech level yet...well, lets just say that it is one
TJ> of the most ridiculous themes of science fiction/time travel.
TJ> 
TJ> The reason is because having the plans to an advanced device is only a
TJ> quarter of the story. Before you can use a thing like a transporter, you
TJ> have to build the sucker. Building the sucker takes the right tools, the
TJ> right materials and the right knowhow. Most of the time, the
TJ> state-of-the-art for any given society is simply not up to snuff to build
TJ> anything but technology a bit more advanced than itself and everything
TJ> below.

Actually, it isn't. If you are talking about building the tech from scrach
then you would be right, but you're not doing so in this case. The science
the BGC universe is in some ways more advanced than that of the ST:TNG
universe for example. Take Boomers for example. There's nothing like this
kind of tech in the ST:TNG universe. Data and the Borg are a joke. Largo
could've mopped the floor with them without breaking out into a sweat
(if he could sweat, that is).

A society that could build Sexaroid/Doberman/Largo class boomers could
quite easily have the resources to emulate the technology used in
transporters and the like once they are pointed in the right direction.

In fact, the emulated tech could be an improvement over the original tech
because it isn't as "advanced". Remember how the Enterprise-D's computer
consols and other harware blew out evey time the ship took a hit from
incoming fire....