Official "Discuss the latest page" thread

[macnut]

If there are no planets build Dyson swarms. Why are they still even using planets in the first place? Artificial habitats are safer and can house trillions around a single star.

A Dyson swarm won't be able to hold atmosphere on its own. Having to construct so much pressurized free floating habitats might be too inefficient to support a massive, growing civilisation.

I am of the opposite opinion, that building artificial habitats is the only way to sustain a massive, growing civilization when there isn't enough planet space to go around. You can build habs out of asteriods, comets and even small moons which means you can use raw material already existing in a system with a habitable planet. You use that material for radiation shielding and even devote some of the hab's power systems towards a radiation-deflecting magnetic field. Since large space stations are already a thing in this universe, no reason to not make them even larger and devote more of their space to habitation.

The alternative is declaring war on your neighbors to take their habitable planets, and risking ending up on the losing side and therefore losing your planets...

[skythorn]

I'm enjoying this plot story pathway so far

[Sarone]

So, in order to stave off an impending catastrophe, the Collective decide to instigate a war between their neighbors in order to come in and "save them". Yeah, the Collective can go get bent with a chainsaw.

[bobismeisbob]

If there are no planets build Dyson swarms. Why are they still even using planets in the first place? Artificial habitats are safer and can house trillions around a single star.

A Dyson swarm won't be able to hold atmosphere on its own. Having to construct so much pressurized free floating habitats might be too inefficient to support a massive, growing civilisation.

Effectively, to support life, you need an efficient shield against galactic and stellar radiation. Usually this is provided by a suitable planets magnetic field and/or atmosphere.

Gas giants have a habit of creating too much radiation on their own, while small rocky worlds typically have no atmosphere or enough magnetism. If you also require the planet to be far enough from its star to not have unsurvivable temperatures and close enough to get enough energy, guess what: you have a habitable (or at least terraformable) planet anyway.

Planets are actually really inefficient ways of holding people. They get used because they come pre-built but space stations with artificial gravity would be way more efficient use of materials. The iron in just Earth's core is enough to build heavily shielded space stations for trillions of people.

[Sarone]

The more exposition gets produced, the less I like the Collective. I am getting the feeling the four people who were killed that set off the war became enlightened and then sacrificed in order for the Collective to start the war. In which case, they just lost all claim to being "wise" and deserve a bullet to the brain pan.

[CygnusX1]

They needed one of our planets

Past tense. They don't need it anymore. They already have one? Farhaven?

[Sarone]

They needed one of our planets

Past tense. They don't need it anymore. They already have one? Farhaven?

That's what it sounds like . They also have a refugee fleet with a cutting edge medical technology that can be a massive boost to their grand plan.

[Sarone]

The more exposition gets produced, the less I like the Collective. I am getting the feeling the four people who were killed that set off the war became enlightened and then sacrificed in order for the Collective to start the war. In which case, they just lost all claim to being "wise" and deserve a bullet to the brain pan.

I hate it when my speculation becomes accurate.

[Miz]

Finally registered on these boards, after a quite decent stint as a fan. Since 2011 I believe? I just wanted to say how much I love this webcomic, but this latest Whisper briefing arc has been absolutely stellar. She's a great character on her own, and this new storyline really showcases her nicely, but somehow this art/briefing by her really ticked all my boxes.

I wasn't really going to mention it, but when I realized how much I loved what is essentially an exposition dump, I knew I had to say something because that's unprecedented. For me at least.

[CygnusX1]

I wasn't really going to mention it, but when I realized how much I loved what is essentially an exposition dump, I knew I had to say something because that's unprecedented. For me at least.

Because it is not just any exposition dump. It is also raising a lot of interesting questions in- and out-of-story along the way.