Honorverse ramblings and musings

WLBjork wrote:[quote="cthia" Last night my English wife was discussing England with some of her American friends. She mentioned the net worth of the Queen to be upwards of half a billion dollars — apart from the numerous benefits she enjoys from the Crown. I had no idea. She also stated that she receives a government stipend of ~ $13M yearly. What!?

Has textev given the net worth of Elizabeth Winton? And what she receives as a stipend? I wonder if she forgoes the allotment in time of war. Or disaster, like now.

About Queen Elizabeth II
Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, 86, has a personal net worth of $550 million. The queen’s wealth comes from property holdings including Balmoral Castle in the Scottish Highlands, stud farms, a fruit farm and marine land throughout the U.K.; extensive art and fine jewelry; and one of the world’s largest stamp collections built by her grandfather. Not included are those assets belonging to the Crown Estate, which she gets to enjoy as Queen, such as $10 billion worth of real estate, Buckingham Palace (estimated to be worth another $5 billion), the Royal Art collection, and unmarked swans on stretches of the Thames. The Crown has claimed ownership of these birds since the 12th century when swan meat was considered a delicacy; they are no longer eaten.

The Queen also receives an annual government stipend of $12.9 million. Because most of her wealth is tied to her position and not hers personally – in otherwords, she could never sell the royal assets. The queen’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012 marks her 60 years on the throne, with celebrations throughout her realms.

I researched it because I couldn't believe it.

That $13m? Comes from the profits on enterprises once owned by the Crown, and used for the running of Government. As such the royal family only get a relatively small percentage of this value back.

Further more, I suspect you'd be surprised how frugal Her Majesty is - in some ways anyway. My personal favourite story is the one where she had a Crown Prince (of Saudi Arabia) nervous as *she* drove him around her estate.

There's a lot of complaint that Prince Charles doesn't pay corporation tax on some of his businesses. What the complainants tend not to realise is that he pays (voluntarily) the amount of tax that would be charged if this was personal income, which means he effectively contributes more to the Government than he needs to.[/quote]

It wasn't so much that the Saudi Prince was nervous about a female driving him around it was her driving technique which was influenced heavily by her training as a ambulance driver during WWII. It was rumored that a SAS sergeant who was trained in escape and evasive driving said she drove like a off-road rally driver with personal sense of invincibility.

cthia wrote: Last night my English wife was discussing England with some of her American friends. She mentioned the net worth of the Queen to be upwards of half a billion dollars — apart from the numerous benefits she enjoys from the Crown. I had no idea. She also stated that she receives a government stipend of ~ $13M yearly. What!?

Has textev given the net worth of Elizabeth Winton? And what she receives as a stipend? I wonder if she forgoes the allotment in time of war. Or disaster, like now.

About Queen Elizabeth II
Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, 86, has a personal net worth of $550 million. The queen’s wealth comes from property holdings including Balmoral Castle in the Scottish Highlands, stud farms, a fruit farm and marine land throughout the U.K.; extensive art and fine jewelry; and one of the world’s largest stamp collections built by her grandfather. Not included are those assets belonging to the Crown Estate, which she gets to enjoy as Queen, such as $10 billion worth of real estate, Buckingham Palace (estimated to be worth another $5 billion), the Royal Art collection, and unmarked swans on stretches of the Thames. The Crown has claimed ownership of these birds since the 12th century when swan meat was considered a delicacy; they are no longer eaten.

The Queen also receives an annual government stipend of $12.9 million. Because most of her wealth is tied to her position and not hers personally – in otherwords, she could never sell the royal assets. The queen’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012 marks her 60 years on the throne, with celebrations throughout her realms.

cthia wrote:I researched it because I couldn't believe it.

WLBjork wrote:That $13m? Comes from the profits on enterprises once owned by the Crown, and used for the running of Government. As such the royal family only get a relatively small percentage of this value back.

Further more, I suspect you'd be surprised how frugal Her Majesty is - in some ways anyway. My personal favourite story is the one where she had a Crown Prince (of Saudi Arabia) nervous as *she* drove him around her estate.

There's a lot of complaint that Prince Charles doesn't pay corporation tax on some of his businesses. What the complainants tend not to realise is that he pays (voluntarily) the amount of tax that would be charged if this was personal income, which means he effectively contributes more to the Government than he needs to.

saber964 wrote:It wasn't so much that the Saudi Prince was nervous about a female driving him around it was her driving technique which was influenced heavily by her training as a ambulance driver during WWII. It was rumored that a SAS sergeant who was trained in escape and evasive driving said she drove like a off-road rally driver with personal sense of invincibility.

Being above the law really is a sort of invincibility I suppose. Can you imagine an officer stopping the Queen and giving her a speeding ticket? Or a "Your Highness, you didn't come to a complete stop."

If one does, he should be beheaded for wasting the Crown's precious time.

My niece insists that she cannot believe the MAlign wouldn't have the equivalent of a 10+ year nanite. Like the implant for the pill. Just renew the prescription. "I would imagine that the MAlign would need everyone under compulsion at all times," she says. "You really cannot afford a single momentary lapse in coverage. This is the one time the MAlign absolutely has to choose the right ensurance plan. To ensure success in their brand of hide-n-no-seek for centuries."

cthia wrote:My niece insists that she cannot believe the MAlign wouldn't have the equivalent of a 10+ year nanite. Like the implant for the pill. Just renew the prescription. "I would imagine that the MAlign would need everyone under compulsion at all times," she says. "You really cannot afford a single momentary lapse in coverage. This is the one time the MAlign absolutely has to choose the right ensurance plan. To ensure success in their brand of hide-n-no-seek for centuries."

Counting on people blowing up a streak drive ship at the appropriate time you're probably better off counting on indoctrinated fanatical and motivated people than you are on "assassin" nanites.

The nanites are too specialized, if the ship got grabbed in a way that wasn't forseen, or the key person wasn't at their duty station, the nanites don't have enough programming flexibility (that we've seen) to overcome that problem. A person or two devoted to preserving the secret at all costs can improvise if battle damage blocks the primary self-destruct, or if they were in the infirmary getting patched up, or off duty in their bunk, instead of at the reactor control system...

Or at least that's how I see it. (We know they have nanites with long embedded intervals; though possibly not 10 years. But the assassin programming is just too brittle to rely on in this scenario.

Jonathan_S wrote:Counting on people blowing up a streak drive ship at the appropriate time you're probably better off counting on indoctrinated fanatical and motivated people than you are on "assassin" nanites.

The nanites are too specialized, if the ship got grabbed in a way that wasn't forseen, or the key person wasn't at their duty station, the nanites don't have enough programming flexibility (that we've seen) to overcome that problem. A person or two devoted to preserving the secret at all costs can improvise if battle damage blocks the primary self-destruct, or if they were in the infirmary getting patched up, or off duty in their bunk, instead of at the reactor control system...

Or at least that's how I see it. (We know they have nanites with long embedded intervals; though possibly not 10 years. But the assassin programming is just too brittle to rely on in this scenario.

Let us not forget the great and powerful god Murphy can cause even the best laid plans to go off the rails.

Jonathan_S wrote:

cthia wrote:My niece insists that she cannot believe the MAlign wouldn't have the equivalent of a 10+ year nanite. Like the implant for the pill. Just renew the prescription. "I would imagine that the MAlign would need everyone under compulsion at all times," she says. "You really cannot afford a single momentary lapse in coverage. This is the one time the MAlign absolutely has to choose the right ensurance plan. To ensure success in their brand of hide-n-no-seek for centuries."

Counting on people blowing up a streak drive ship at the appropriate time you're probably better off counting on indoctrinated fanatical and motivated people than you are on "assassin" nanites.

The nanites are too specialized, if the ship got grabbed in a way that wasn't forseen, or the key person wasn't at their duty station, the nanites don't have enough programming flexibility (that we've seen) to overcome that problem. A person or two devoted to preserving the secret at all costs can improvise if battle damage blocks the primary self-destruct, or if they were in the infirmary getting patched up, or off duty in their bunk, instead of at the reactor control system...

Or at least that's how I see it. (We know they have nanites with long embedded intervals; though possibly not 10 years. But the assassin programming is just too brittle to rely on in this scenario.

There really should be a discussion regarding nanites. Such discussions happen off screen in my social circles. Which is where and when I came up with the subtle uses of MAlign tech.

And where and when my niece came up with a 10+ year general nanite contingency.

Jonathan, she is referring to a general use of the tech to prevent loose lips from sinking ships. Not to carry out as specialized a function as self destructing ships. She says, paraphrasing, humorously, "Booster shots can be effected for that. The military treats its officers as pin cushions anyways," she says. "There's a shot for every month of the year, color of a tear, and country of origin or destination." LOL

What we have failed to consider, is that the MAlign's introduction of the nanite into unsuspecting victims is introduced very quickly and haphazardly via aerosol. They would enjoy a much more practical access to their own people. Aerosols as a vector probably aren't used on their own people, where they are lying on a bed in a lab. Direct injection is probably a better and more effective and efficient method of introduction. Not always, but usually. IOO (In our opinion.)

cthia wrote:

Jonathan_S wrote:Counting on people blowing up a streak drive ship at the appropriate time you're probably better off counting on indoctrinated fanatical and motivated people than you are on "assassin" nanites.

The nanites are too specialized, if the ship got grabbed in a way that wasn't forseen, or the key person wasn't at their duty station, the nanites don't have enough programming flexibility (that we've seen) to overcome that problem. A person or two devoted to preserving the secret at all costs can improvise if battle damage blocks the primary self-destruct, or if they were in the infirmary getting patched up, or off duty in their bunk, instead of at the reactor control system...

Or at least that's how I see it. (We know they have nanites with long embedded intervals; though possibly not 10 years. But the assassin programming is just too brittle to rely on in this scenario.

There really should be a discussion regarding nanites. Such discussions happen off screen in my social circles. Which is where and when I came up with the subtle uses of MAlign tech.

And where and when my niece came up with a 10+ year general nanite contingency.

Jonathan, she is referring to a general use of the tech to prevent loose lips from sinking ships. Not to carry out as specialized a function as self destructing ships. She says, paraphrasing, humorously, "Booster shots can be effected for that. The military treats its officers as pin cushions anyways," she says. "There's a shot for every month of the year, color of a tear, and country of origin or destination." LOL

What we have failed to consider, is that the MAlign's introduction of the nanite into unsuspecting victims is introduced very quickly and haphazardly via aerosol. They would enjoy a much more practical access to their own people. Aerosols as a vector probably aren't used on their own people, where they are lying on a bed in a lab. Direct injection is probably a better and more effective and efficient method of introduction. Not always, but usually. IOO (In our opinion.)

Oh, sorry, I misunderstood. I assumed you were talking about them to blow up the ship because we already knew from the last couple books (Cauldron of Ghosts and Shadow of Victory) that they do have long lasting nanites they stick into their high risk people - tuned to make them die under questioning or if they go too long without checking in.


They might not be literally 10 year nanites, but they're certainly intended for routine long endurance security use. So since they have those I assumed you were suggesting they have something else - and the only else that seemed to be play was blowing up the ship.


Now maybe they should have deployed them more widely since, for example, Simones doesn't appear to have them. But he wasn't an agent out where you might plausibly suspect he'd get nabbed. And even with routine medical access to the people it still takes time (somewhere between a couple days and a week it seems) to build the custom nanites compatible with that person. You still need to pull their DNA profile before you can build nanites that their body will accept. So it's length enough (and probably expensive enough) that even setting aside the risk of a false positive killing a valuable asset that the MAlign isn't going for anything near full coverage with them. (Which arguably has been a mistake on their part)

cthia wrote:What we have failed to consider, is that the MAlign's introduction of the nanite into unsuspecting victims is introduced very quickly and haphazardly via aerosol. They would enjoy a much more practical access to their own people. Aerosols as a vector probably aren't used on their own people, where they are lying on a bed in a lab. Direct injection is probably a better and more effective and efficient method of introduction. Not always, but usually. IOO (In our opinion.)

Aerosal vector's would be a nightmare to design, and based on the description that the assassin nanites have to be tailored using a sample of the target specifically. That would indicate that either you're using an aerosal vector blanketing hundreds of people to actually 'infect' a single target, or you're having to obtain samples of hundreds of people, whipping up the nanites and releasing hundreds of slightly different nanite variants for each person, which may actually become visible at initial release.

Now somewhere like Grayson would be far easier to achieve proper aerosal infection, given each and every home is, for all intents a self-contained orbital station. So you could infect the entirety of Grayson, one home at a time, and nobody would notice until suddenly the nanites activated.


Circling back around, an aerosal vector of the suicide protocals may not need to be specifically tailored to its target, but you'd also get the statistical clumping that the MAlign avoided when they were leaving Mesa. Unless you managed to write some form of program so the nanites inside a person essentially use a lottery to determine how they'll kill a person. However you'd still get some form of statistical clumping not to mention unusual causes of death where someone that has no history of X condition [say heart disease] suddenly drops dead from a heart attack, when they'd just had a physical and pronounced perfectly healthy.

cthia wrote:

Jonathan_S wrote:Counting on people blowing up a streak drive ship at the appropriate time you're probably better off counting on indoctrinated fanatical and motivated people than you are on "assassin" nanites.

The nanites are too specialized, if the ship got grabbed in a way that wasn't forseen, or the key person wasn't at their duty station, the nanites don't have enough programming flexibility (that we've seen) to overcome that problem. A person or two devoted to preserving the secret at all costs can improvise if battle damage blocks the primary self-destruct, or if they were in the infirmary getting patched up, or off duty in their bunk, instead of at the reactor control system...

Or at least that's how I see it. (We know they have nanites with long embedded intervals; though possibly not 10 years. But the assassin programming is just too brittle to rely on in this scenario.

There really should be a discussion regarding nanites. Such discussions happen off screen in my social circles. Which is where and when I came up with the subtle uses of MAlign tech.

And where and when my niece came up with a 10+ year general nanite contingency.

Jonathan, she is referring to a general use of the tech to prevent loose lips from sinking ships. Not to carry out as specialized a function as self destructing ships. She says, paraphrasing, humorously, "Booster shots can be effected for that. The military treats its officers as pin cushions anyways," she says. "There's a shot for every month of the year, color of a tear, and country of origin or destination." LOL

What we have failed to consider, is that the MAlign's introduction of the nanite into unsuspecting victims is introduced very quickly and haphazardly via aerosol. They would enjoy a much more practical access to their own people. Aerosols as a vector probably aren't used on their own people, where they are lying on a bed in a lab. Direct injection is probably a better and more effective and efficient method of introduction. Not always, but usually. IOO (In our opinion.)

Jonathan_S wrote:Oh, sorry, I misunderstood. I assumed you were talking about them to blow up the ship because we already knew from the last couple books (Cauldron of Ghosts and Shadow of Victory) that they do have long lasting nanites they stick into their high risk people - tuned to make them die under questioning or if they go too long without checking in.


They might not be literally 10 year nanites, but they're certainly intended for routine long endurance security use. So since they have those I assumed you were suggesting they have something else - and the only else that seemed to be play was blowing up the ship.


Now maybe they should have deployed them more widely since, for example, Simones doesn't appear to have them. But he wasn't an agent out where you might plausibly suspect he'd get nabbed. And even with routine medical access to the people it still takes time (somewhere between a couple days and a week it seems) to build the custom nanites compatible with that person. You still need to pull their DNA profile before you can build nanites that their body will accept. So it's length enough (and probably expensive enough) that even setting aside the risk of a false positive killing a valuable asset that the MAlign isn't going for anything near full coverage with them. (Which arguably has been a mistake on their part)

Completely my bad. It was meant as a non sequitur. Oftentimes my lack of time or my ADD is the source of much misunderstandings as anything.

Incidentally, your bringing up Simoes is what started her down that rabbit hole. He doesn't seem to have it. Or rather, her theory is that it has expired.

Somtaaw wrote:

cthia wrote:What we have failed to consider, is that the MAlign's introduction of the nanite into unsuspecting victims is introduced very quickly and haphazardly via aerosol. They would enjoy a much more practical access to their own people. Aerosols as a vector probably aren't used on their own people, where they are lying on a bed in a lab. Direct injection is probably a better and more effective and efficient method of introduction. Not always, but usually. IOO (In our opinion.)

Aerosal vector's would be a nightmare to design, and based on the description that the assassin nanites have to be tailored using a sample of the target specifically. That would indicate that either you're using an aerosal vector blanketing hundreds of people to actually 'infect' a single target, or you're having to obtain samples of hundreds of people, whipping up the nanites and releasing hundreds of slightly different nanite variants for each person, which may actually become visible at initial release.

Now somewhere like Grayson would be far easier to achieve proper aerosal infection, given each and every home is, for all intents a self-contained orbital station. So you could infect the entirety of Grayson, one home at a time, and nobody would notice until suddenly the nanites activated.


Circling back around, an aerosal vector of the suicide protocals may not need to be specifically tailored to its target, but you'd also get the statistical clumping that the MAlign avoided when they were leaving Mesa. Unless you managed to write some form of program so the nanites inside a person essentially use a lottery to determine how they'll kill a person. However you'd still get some form of statistical clumping not to mention unusual causes of death where someone that has no history of X condition [say heart disease] suddenly drops dead from a heart attack, when they'd just had a physical and pronounced perfectly healthy.

Indeed, aerosol vectors would be a nightmare to design. As dramatized on "The Last Ship" tv series. And discussed amongst the MDs in my group.

Obtaining a DNA sample of an intended target is easy peasy. (Law enforcement and the like just kindly offer you the hospitality of a soft drink. Then send the expended can to the lab.)

Obtaining the sample, working with the sample, then getting access to the target again, as would have had to occur with Lt. Meares, a military target, raises questions. Especially if the DNA sample has to be streaked all the way back to Darius.

This discussion also comes full circle to whether a select target group can be targeted en masse if their DNA is similar. Like the entire Winton line.

I also suspect that ventilation systems could be utilized to achieve the same goals. Or tainted water supplies.

Which would move it closer to the perfect crime. Since tracing the vector of infection would be thwarted by the fact that most of everyone who drank from the "source" are not affected.