[Mission of Honor] Thoughts from left field on Mesa

Post by Loren Pechtel
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I just had a strange thought here.
Is Manticore going to go after the Mesan Alignment?
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I mean, is there going to be a Mesan Alignment to go after by the time
they get around to it? Or will the 'cats deal with it before
Manticore is in a position to? The 'cats would be absolutely
devastating assassins and they could identify the bad guys with ease.
We know they tend to favor direct action.

Well, how are the Treecats going to know that a certain person is a member
of the Alignment?

So far we have no idea if there is a difference in 'mind glow' that the
Treecats can detect.

Remember, Treecats can not read human thoughts. They only feel human
emotions.

Also, even if Treecats could know that somebody was a member of the
Alignment, they can only discover them on planets the Treecats are on.

The last I heard, Treecats can't 'jump' to other worlds without a spaceship
and they don't appear to 'detect' thoughts over extreme distances.

The Alignment can cause plenty of trouble for Manticore and never get within
range of Treecat detection or Treecat attack range.

--
Paul Howard (Alias Drak Bibliophile), AIM id DrakeBookLover
*
Sometimes The Dragon Wins! [Polite Dragon Smile]
*

Loren Pechtel

2010-03-15 04:23:24 UTC

On Sun, 14 Mar 2010 20:59:12 -0500, "Drak Bibliophile"

Well, how are the Treecats going to know that a certain person is a member
of the Alignment?
So far we have no idea if there is a difference in 'mind glow' that the
Treecats can detect.
Remember, Treecats can not read human thoughts. They only feel human
emotions.
Also, even if Treecats could know that somebody was a member of the
Alignment, they can only discover them on planets the Treecats are on.
The last I heard, Treecats can't 'jump' to other worlds without a spaceship
and they don't appear to 'detect' thoughts over extreme distances.
The Alignment can cause plenty of trouble for Manticore and never get within
range of Treecat detection or Treecat attack range.

I'm thinking of the treecats doing a raid on Mesa. They don't *NEED*
a starship, they can travel by merchant ship.

I think the cats can identify evil people even if they can't identify
those from the Alignment directly.

Don Sample

2010-03-15 06:13:04 UTC

Post by Loren Pechtel
On Sun, 14 Mar 2010 20:59:12 -0500, "Drak Bibliophile"

Post by Drak Bibliophile
Well, how are the Treecats going to know that a certain person is a member
of the Alignment?
So far we have no idea if there is a difference in 'mind glow' that the
Treecats can detect.
Remember, Treecats can not read human thoughts. They only feel human
emotions.
Also, even if Treecats could know that somebody was a member of the
Alignment, they can only discover them on planets the Treecats are on.
The last I heard, Treecats can't 'jump' to other worlds without a spaceship
and they don't appear to 'detect' thoughts over extreme distances.
The Alignment can cause plenty of trouble for Manticore and never get within
range of Treecat detection or Treecat attack range.

I'm thinking of the treecats doing a raid on Mesa. They don't *NEED*
a starship, they can travel by merchant ship.

Merchant ships are starships.

Post by Loren Pechtel
I think the cats can identify evil people even if they can't identify
those from the Alignment directly.

Yeah, but there are probably a lot of "evil" people about on Mesa,
who've got nothing to do with the alignment.

--
Quando omni flunkus moritati
Visit the Buffy Body Count at <http://homepage.mac.com/dsample/>

Loren Pechtel

2010-03-15 17:15:49 UTC

Post by Loren Pechtel
On Sun, 14 Mar 2010 20:59:12 -0500, "Drak Bibliophile"

I'm thinking of the treecats doing a raid on Mesa. They don't *NEED*
a starship, they can travel by merchant ship.

Merchant ships are starships.

I mean that they don't need their own starships. Their lack of
starships doesn't preclude their arranging passage on existing
starships.

Post by Loren Pechtel
I think the cats can identify evil people even if they can't identify
those from the Alignment directly.

Yeah, but there are probably a lot of "evil" people about on Mesa,
who've got nothing to do with the alignment.

I suspect there's something in common they could detect about the
Alignment.

Drak Bibliophile

2010-03-15 15:13:53 UTC

Post by Loren Pechtel
On Sun, 14 Mar 2010 20:59:12 -0500, "Drak Bibliophile"

Well, how are the Treecats going to know that a certain person is a member
of the Alignment?
So far we have no idea if there is a difference in 'mind glow' that the
Treecats can detect.
Remember, Treecats can not read human thoughts. They only feel human
emotions.
Also, even if Treecats could know that somebody was a member of the
Alignment, they can only discover them on planets the Treecats are on.
The last I heard, Treecats can't 'jump' to other worlds without a spaceship
and they don't appear to 'detect' thoughts over extreme distances.
The Alignment can cause plenty of trouble for Manticore and never get within
range of Treecat detection or Treecat attack range.

I'm thinking of the treecats doing a raid on Mesa. They don't *NEED*
a starship, they can travel by merchant ship.
I think the cats can identify evil people even if they can't identify
those from the Alignment directly.

How do "evil people" feel?

As has been mentioned, getting to Mesa on any type of ship won't be easy and
Treecats surviving in an urban setting won't be easy.

Getting to the "evil people" won't be easy.

Finally, the Alignment isn't based only on Mesa. Treecats couldn't get all
of the Alignment even on Mesa and they don't know where else the Alignment
is. Remember, a very large part of the Alignment 'firepower' is based where
*nobody* outside the Alignment knows about.

--
Paul Howard (Alias Drak Bibliophile), AIM id DrakeBookLover
*
Sometimes The Dragon Wins! [Polite Dragon Smile]
*

deowll

2010-03-16 04:48:14 UTC

Post by Loren Pechtel
On Sun, 14 Mar 2010 20:59:12 -0500, "Drak Bibliophile"

Well, how are the Treecats going to know that a certain person is a member
of the Alignment?
So far we have no idea if there is a difference in 'mind glow' that the
Treecats can detect.
Remember, Treecats can not read human thoughts. They only feel human
emotions.
Also, even if Treecats could know that somebody was a member of the
Alignment, they can only discover them on planets the Treecats are on.
The last I heard, Treecats can't 'jump' to other worlds without a spaceship
and they don't appear to 'detect' thoughts over extreme distances.
The Alignment can cause plenty of trouble for Manticore and never get within
range of Treecat detection or Treecat attack range.

I'm thinking of the treecats doing a raid on Mesa. They don't *NEED*
a starship, they can travel by merchant ship.
I think the cats can identify evil people even if they can't identify
those from the Alignment directly.

Whatever was left of them should prove useful research subjects.

deowll

2010-03-15 03:08:42 UTC

What part of being a half way decent mind reader makes you think the cats
could travel the space lanes without being noticed or needing passports?
They'd get grabbed the first time they tried to change ships without getting
an all clear through customs. Everybody would know what they are on sight. A
member of one of the very few senitient species known and the only one that
also has mind reading abilities who live on a reserve in the Manticore star
system! Anything they did would be blamed on the Star Empire. I wouldn't
want to stack one up against a Mesan body guard either. Even unarmed, which
most likely isn't even possible, if they got their hands on one the cat
would be a bag of broken bones in an instant.

A tiny insect sized drone that could fire a microscopic bullet a few inches
containing an ultra strong toxin has some attractions but then those should
be off the shelf tech by this point for even a poverty striken government.

The plan is for the future main part of the Mesan Alignment to become the
Renisance Factor with no connections what so ever to the Mesan Alignment.
The leaders are on record as being hostile to the visible par of the
Alignment. I'm not sure how that is going to work because it should be very
easy to prove the individual leaders are high end highly modified humans and
the Ballroom might even be able to determine which lines they belong to. All
it would take is a simple genetic work up that we could do for a reasonible
price using a hair, swab, used paper tissue, glass, or soiled garment.

The cats are also a major threat to these people because the cats aren't
going to be fooled about the kind of people they are for a minute.

This begs the question of exactly what happens to the allies that have been
more openly supporting the Alignment in the League, etc. and what their
future role is.

It looks like the D family is willing to let the known part of Mesan
Alignment go under if that is what it takes to get the Factor going. However
it does allow for the awkward situation developing in which the Factor is
lined up against the known parts of the the Alignment and helping to
terminate it. I don't consider that to be an optimal use of resources.

There are way to many questions about how the D family has managed to keep
control of the Alignment for many generations while passing on power within
the family and how it expects to keep control of the Factor that don't bare
looking at. I'd say that in large part they rule by fear but there is more
to it than that. Considering the time frame some people should have simply
flown the coop and for all I know maybe they have.

Loren Pechtel

2010-03-15 04:23:24 UTC

But how strict are customs controls? We've seen plenty of smuggling
in the past.

The only hard part would be getting down to Mesa itself.

We've seen the cats are pretty good killers and they have the luxury
of striking from the shadows. The guards would have an awfully hard
time finding them, especially as they can detect the hunters.

Don Sample

2010-03-15 06:18:48 UTC

Post by Loren Pechtel
I mean, is there going to be a Mesan Alignment to go after by the time
they get around to it? Or will the 'cats deal with it before
Manticore is in a position to? The 'cats would be absolutely
devastating assassins and they could identify the bad guys with ease.
We know they tend to favor direct action.

But how strict are customs controls? We've seen plenty of smuggling
in the past.
The only hard part would be getting down to Mesa itself.
We've seen the cats are pretty good killers and they have the luxury
of striking from the shadows. The guards would have an awfully hard
time finding them, especially as they can detect the hunters.

The cats might do well in an arboreal setting, but they wouldn't do so
well in an urban one. They can hide in the bushes, but they would tend
to stick out, trying to sneak down a hallway.

They also would have trouble with the logistics of it. Human spies can
blend in with the local population, rent apartments, buy groceries.
Where would the cats live while looking for their targets? How would
they get food?

--
Quando omni flunkus moritati
Visit the Buffy Body Count at <http://homepage.mac.com/dsample/>

Loren Pechtel

2010-03-15 17:15:49 UTC

Post by Loren Pechtel
We've seen the cats are pretty good killers and they have the luxury
of striking from the shadows. The guards would have an awfully hard
time finding them, especially as they can detect the hunters.

The cats might do well in an arboreal setting, but they wouldn't do so
well in an urban one. They can hide in the bushes, but they would tend
to stick out, trying to sneak down a hallway.

But they can use their mind sense to know if there's someone around to
see them.

Post by Don Sample
They also would have trouble with the logistics of it. Human spies can
blend in with the local population, rent apartments, buy groceries.
Where would the cats live while looking for their targets? How would
they get food?

They would live in parks and eat the local wildlife.

Drak Bibliophile

2010-03-15 18:22:27 UTC

The cats might do well in an arboreal setting, but they wouldn't do so
well in an urban one. They can hide in the bushes, but they would tend
to stick out, trying to sneak down a hallway.

But they can use their mind sense to know if there's someone around to
see them.

They would live in parks and eat the local wildlife.

I think your over-estimating the Treecats mind powers and forgetting that
with few exceptions the Treecats are Stone-Age hunters.

They will be at an extreme disadvantage when dealing with high-tech
obstacles.

They may easily spot watchers on the scene but watchers who are miles away
from them watching an area by way of hidden cameras?

We hear so much about not finding Treecats in the wild unless they want to
be found that people think Treecats can't be found anywhere.

In the wild, they may be just one more warm body. In a large city, they
would be a warm body that doesn't belong there.

--
Paul Howard (Alias Drak Bibliophile), AIM id DrakeBookLover
*
Sometimes The Dragon Wins! [Polite Dragon Smile]
*

Loren Pechtel

2010-03-16 00:49:23 UTC

On Mon, 15 Mar 2010 13:22:27 -0500, "Drak Bibliophile"

Post by Drak Bibliophile
They may easily spot watchers on the scene but watchers who are miles away
from them watching an area by way of hidden cameras?
We hear so much about not finding Treecats in the wild unless they want to
be found that people think Treecats can't be found anywhere.
In the wild, they may be just one more warm body. In a large city, they
would be a warm body that doesn't belong there.

Yeah, cameras could be a problem.

I think they could defeat any human guards but they can't sense a
camera.

r***@gmail.com

2010-03-15 20:38:58 UTC

The cats might do well in an arboreal setting, but they wouldn't do so
well in an urban one. They can hide in the bushes, but they would tend
to stick out, trying to sneak down a hallway.

But they can use their mind sense to know if there's someone around to
see them.

They would live in parks and eat the local wildlife.

What if the local wildlife is inedible or, more importantly, the
locals do not cultivate celery. Without celery, the 'cats' empathic
sense does not work properly. Someone will notice a new, unseen
agricultural pest that specifically eats celery, potentially blowing
the whole operation, before it gets going.

Don Sample

2010-03-15 23:41:14 UTC

In article

The cats might do well in an arboreal setting, but they wouldn't do so
well in an urban one. They can hide in the bushes, but they would tend
to stick out, trying to sneak down a hallway.

But they can use their mind sense to know if there's someone around to
see them.

They would live in parks and eat the local wildlife.

Actually, it's only Sphinxian celery that has the right vitamin. It was
accidentally added when the Sphinxians genetically engineered their
celery to be resistant to Spinxian plant diseases.

(How often do treecats need there fix? Nimitz went nearly two T-years
without getting any proper celery when Honor was captured by the Peeps.)

--
Quando omni flunkus moritati
Visit the Buffy Body Count at <http://homepage.mac.com/dsample/>

Loren Pechtel

2010-03-16 00:49:23 UTC

Post by Loren Pechtel
They would live in parks and eat the local wildlife.

I would expect there to be wildlife that could be eaten.

Celery is highly desired but not essential--they didn't know about it
until humans came.

Drak Bibliophile

2010-03-16 21:14:43 UTC

Post by Loren Pechtel
They would live in parks and eat the local wildlife.

I would expect there to be wildlife that could be eaten.
Celery is highly desired but not essential--they didn't know about it
until humans came.

Celery is used in place of a plant native to Sphinx called IIRC purple
thorn. Purple thorn won't be found on Mesa.

--
Paul Howard (Alias Drak Bibliophile), AIM id DrakeBookLover
*
Sometimes The Dragon Wins! [Polite Dragon Smile]
*

JohnFair

2010-03-19 11:20:04 UTC

The cats might do well in an arboreal setting, but they wouldn't do so
well in an urban one. They can hide in the bushes, but they would tend
to stick out, trying to sneak down a hallway.

But they can use their mind sense to know if there's someone around to
see them.

They would live in parks and eat the local wildlife.

With celery the empathic sense is STRONGER, not non-existant - celery
was an import from Earth and the 'cats had their empathic sense before
that.

Regards

Don Sample

2010-03-19 20:47:26 UTC

In article

Post by JohnFair

The cats might do well in an arboreal setting, but they wouldn't do so
well in an urban one. They can hide in the bushes, but they would tend
to stick out, trying to sneak down a hallway.

But they can use their mind sense to know if there's someone around to
see them.

They would live in parks and eat the local wildlife.

With celery the empathic sense is STRONGER, not non-existant - celery
was an import from Earth and the 'cats had their empathic sense before
that.
Regards

But the stuff they ate before the celery to get their telepathy vitamin
is going to be even harder to find off Sphinx. (Though it is only the
celery that's been genetically modified to grow on Sphinx that has the
vitamin. It's possible that someone has exported the seeds, so that
variety is grown on other planets.)

--
Quando omni flunkus moritati
Visit the Buffy Body Count at <http://homepage.mac.com/dsample/>

Don Sample

2010-03-15 23:37:33 UTC

The cats might do well in an arboreal setting, but they wouldn't do so
well in an urban one. They can hide in the bushes, but they would tend
to stick out, trying to sneak down a hallway.

But they can use their mind sense to know if there's someone around to
see them.

Doesn't work too well against security cameras.

They would live in parks and eat the local wildlife.

Is the local wildlife edible for treecats?

--
Quando omni flunkus moritati
Visit the Buffy Body Count at <http://homepage.mac.com/dsample/>

deowll

2010-03-16 04:46:35 UTC

The cats might do well in an arboreal setting, but they wouldn't do so
well in an urban one. They can hide in the bushes, but they would tend
to stick out, trying to sneak down a hallway.

But they can use their mind sense to know if there's someone around to
see them.

Doesn't work too well against security cameras.

They would live in parks and eat the local wildlife.

Is the local wildlife edible for treecats?

The humans from Mesa can be detected because they were modified for their
planet.

That suggests a strictly local diet might cause problems. The other thing is
some of the local critters might eat cats.
A pit bull might be easy for tree cat to detect but it had still better be
able to find a tree fast.

Post by Don Sample
--
Quando omni flunkus moritati
Visit the Buffy Body Count at <http://homepage.mac.com/dsample/>

Don Sample

2010-03-16 17:26:29 UTC

The cats might do well in an arboreal setting, but they wouldn't do so
well in an urban one. They can hide in the bushes, but they would tend
to stick out, trying to sneak down a hallway.

But they can use their mind sense to know if there's someone around to
see them.

Doesn't work too well against security cameras.

They would live in parks and eat the local wildlife.

Is the local wildlife edible for treecats?

The humans from Mesa can be detected because they were modified for their
planet.

But the proposal was to send the Treecats *to* Mesa, where any
modifications the Mesans have done to themselves get lost in the crowd.

--
Quando omni flunkus moritati
Visit the Buffy Body Count at <http://homepage.mac.com/dsample/>

deowll

2010-03-17 04:36:11 UTC

The cats might do well in an arboreal setting, but they wouldn't do so
well in an urban one. They can hide in the bushes, but they would tend
to stick out, trying to sneak down a hallway.

But they can use their mind sense to know if there's someone around to
see them.

Doesn't work too well against security cameras.

They would live in parks and eat the local wildlife.

Is the local wildlife edible for treecats?

The humans from Mesa can be detected because they were modified for their
planet.

But the proposal was to send the Treecats *to* Mesa, where any
modifications the Mesans have done to themselves get lost in the crowd.

Not my point. My point was that modifications needed to be made. Lacking
those modifications it is not likely that Treecats could survive on the
local wildlife without something extra in their diet.

Post by Don Sample
--
Quando omni flunkus moritati
Visit the Buffy Body Count at <http://homepage.mac.com/dsample/>

Loren Pechtel

2010-03-17 05:18:12 UTC

Post by Don Sample
But the proposal was to send the Treecats *to* Mesa, where any
modifications the Mesans have done to themselves get lost in the crowd.

I wasn't saying to *SEND* them. I was saying the treecats might
decide to do this on their own after what happened to Black Rock clan.

deowll

2010-03-17 06:33:02 UTC

Post by Don Sample
But the proposal was to send the Treecats *to* Mesa, where any
modifications the Mesans have done to themselves get lost in the crowd.

I wasn't saying to *SEND* them. I was saying the treecats might
decide to do this on their own after what happened to Black Rock clan.

I don't think their legal statues would permit that.

Loren Pechtel

2010-03-17 21:16:41 UTC

Post by Don Sample
But the proposal was to send the Treecats *to* Mesa, where any
modifications the Mesans have done to themselves get lost in the crowd.

I wasn't saying to *SEND* them. I was saying the treecats might
decide to do this on their own after what happened to Black Rock clan.

I don't think their legal statues would permit that.

Aren't they legally now individuals with all the rights of anyone
else?

Drak Bibliophile

2010-03-18 02:25:38 UTC

Post by Don Sample
But the proposal was to send the Treecats *to* Mesa, where any
modifications the Mesans have done to themselves get lost in the crowd.

I wasn't saying to *SEND* them. I was saying the treecats might
decide to do this on their own after what happened to Black Rock clan.

I don't think their legal statues would permit that.

Aren't they legally now individuals with all the rights of anyone
else?

No text evidence (that I remember) for their status having been changed.

One thing to remember however, even though their true intelligence is known,
Treecat society is still a stone-age society.

Treecats straight out of the reserves would need some legal protection or
they could get themselves in big legal trouble.

I suspect there will be some way established to determine if individual
Treecats know enough about human society that they can be considered legal
adults instead of their current status as legal minors.

--
Paul Howard (Alias Drak Bibliophile), AIM id DrakeBookLover
*
Sometimes The Dragon Wins! [Polite Dragon Smile]
*

Don Sample

2010-03-18 05:19:19 UTC

Post by Loren Pechtel
I wasn't saying to *SEND* them. I was saying the treecats might
decide to do this on their own after what happened to Black Rock clan.

I don't think their legal statues would permit that.

Aren't they legally now individuals with all the rights of anyone
else?

No text evidence (that I remember) for their status having been changed.
One thing to remember however, even though their true intelligence is known,
Treecat society is still a stone-age society.
Treecats straight out of the reserves would need some legal protection or
they could get themselves in big legal trouble.
I suspect there will be some way established to determine if individual
Treecats know enough about human society that they can be considered legal
adults instead of their current status as legal minors.

And then there's the problem of where do they come up with the money to
buy themselves passage. (Or, since this is supposed to be a covert op,
pay someone to smuggle them in, which costs even more.)

--
Quando omni flunkus moritati
Visit the Buffy Body Count at <http://homepage.mac.com/dsample/>

deowll

2010-03-18 05:19:24 UTC

Post by Loren Pechtel
I wasn't saying to *SEND* them. I was saying the treecats might
decide to do this on their own after what happened to Black Rock clan.

I don't think their legal statues would permit that.

Aren't they legally now individuals with all the rights of anyone
else?

No text evidence (that I remember) for their status having been changed.
One thing to remember however, even though their true intelligence is known,
Treecat society is still a stone-age society.
Treecats straight out of the reserves would need some legal protection or
they could get themselves in big legal trouble.
I suspect there will be some way established to determine if individual
Treecats know enough about human society that they can be considered legal
adults instead of their current status as legal minors.

And then there's the problem of where do they come up with the money to
buy themselves passage. (Or, since this is supposed to be a covert op,
pay someone to smuggle them in, which costs even more.)
--
Quando omni flunkus moritati
Visit the Buffy Body Count at <http://homepage.mac.com/dsample/>

And of course if you are going to an entirely different planet with a unique
biosphere it might be a good idea to know something about it before you show
up. It might even be useful to be able to speak/understand the language and
had the tech to detect spy equipment, etc.

Loren Pechtel

2010-03-19 01:13:00 UTC

Post by Drak Bibliophile
I suspect there will be some way established to determine if individual
Treecats know enough about human society that they can be considered legal
adults instead of their current status as legal minors.

And then there's the problem of where do they come up with the money to
buy themselves passage. (Or, since this is supposed to be a covert op,
pay someone to smuggle them in, which costs even more.)

Aren't the cats making money on their own these days? Their empath
skills would be very valuable at times.

deowll

2010-03-20 03:21:51 UTC

And then there's the problem of where do they come up with the money to
buy themselves passage. (Or, since this is supposed to be a covert op,
pay someone to smuggle them in, which costs even more.)

Aren't the cats making money on their own these days? Their empath
skills would be very valuable at times.

The ones living in the reserve most likely aren't based on limited evidence.

Don Sample

2010-03-20 07:19:03 UTC

And then there's the problem of where do they come up with the money to
buy themselves passage. (Or, since this is supposed to be a covert op,
pay someone to smuggle them in, which costs even more.)

Aren't the cats making money on their own these days? Their empath
skills would be very valuable at times.

The ones living in the reserve most likely aren't based on limited evidence.

There haven't been any mentions of 'cats renting their services out to
anyone.

--
Quando omni flunkus moritati
Visit the Buffy Body Count at <http://homepage.mac.com/dsample/>

joem256

2010-03-20 17:48:06 UTC

And then there's the problem of where do they come up with the money to
buy themselves passage. �(Or, since this is supposed to be a covert op,
pay someone to smuggle them in, which costs even more.)

Aren't the cats making money on their own these days? �Their empath
skills would be very valuable at times.

The ones living in the reserve most likely aren't based on limited evidence.

There haven't been any mentions of 'cats renting their services out to
anyone.
--
Quando omni flunkus moritati
Visit the Buffy Body Count at <http://homepage.mac.com/dsample/>- Hide quoted text -
- Show quoted text -

I think a more logical approach would be 'cats volenteering for the
intellegence services. That way the humans would be supplying the
logistical end of operation, while the treecats would be supplying
their unique services.

A couple of things on using Treecats as assisins. They have things
going for them and against them. There size becomes a real big
advantage, most security systems are probably set to ignore stuff
their size to prevent security teams from becomeing dull by responding
to false alerts caused by planets racoon equivalents. Once it becomes
known that the cats are active, then this will be somewhat mitigated
because the bad guys will set it up rather safe than sorry.

The downside of this, as many people have pointed out is that treecats
are largely at stone age development, that means they are going to
need a large amount of training before they can be sent out. On the
plus side, they could train a memory singer and she can pass out the
lessons en mass.

deowll

2010-03-20 18:47:58 UTC

Aren't the cats making money on their own these days? �Their empath
skills would be very valuable at times.

The ones living in the reserve most likely aren't based on limited evidence.

I think a more logical approach would be 'cats volenteering for the
intellegence services. That way the humans would be supplying the
logistical end of operation, while the treecats would be supplying
their unique services.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++==
According to himself they are already trying to spread out or at least some
of them are thus you might get a lot of volunteers and this wish is getting
stronger. He even stated their malice is not to be taken lightly. deowll
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++==

A couple of things on using Treecats as assisins. They have things
going for them and against them. There size becomes a real big
advantage, most security systems are probably set to ignore stuff
their size to prevent security teams from becomeing dull by responding
to false alerts caused by planets racoon equivalents. Once it becomes
known that the cats are active, then this will be somewhat mitigated
because the bad guys will set it up rather safe than sorry.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The HH universe should have small robotic units and trained/mind controlled
animals to contend with. Ours aren't completely ready for prime time yet but
they are in the prototype phase. deowll

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++==

The downside of this, as many people have pointed out is that treecats
are largely at stone age development, that means they are going to
need a large amount of training before they can be sent out. On the
plus side, they could train a memory singer and she can pass out the
lessons en mass.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++=
Not to mention that they are conspicuously _not local_ and they should be
famous enough that every grade school kid who got a clear look at one alive
or on video should know what it is. You would expect most educated people to
have a fairly clear idea of what the very limited number of non human
sentients look like and as the only known mind readers the tree cats should
get special notice. To be more realistic the computers should identify a
tree cat the first time it is picked up is by a sensor and bring it to the
attention of the humans. No I don't think the computers would be
specifically looking for tree cats but tree cats should be in the data base
along with everything else. deowll

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Loren Pechtel

2010-03-21 03:10:56 UTC

Post by deowll
According to himself they are already trying to spread out or at least some
of them are thus you might get a lot of volunteers and this wish is getting
stronger. He even stated their malice is not to be taken lightly. deowll

Which is why I'm thinking they might go after Mesa.

deowll

2010-03-21 21:05:58 UTC

Which is why I'm thinking they might go after Mesa.

I think they will, but not as commandos in the short run. One of the things
that seems to be true of tree cats is that through their singers they can
pass on their beliefs and right now the tree cats think the beings that
killed the clan need to die. This is going to be an objective on their part
for as long as the singers pass on the song. They will if possible influence
everyone they come in contact to regard their enemies as people who need to
die sooner rather than later. Given any opportunity they will act against
Mesa/manpower/RF, whatever. I'm sorry is not going to cut it.

Terry FitzSimons

2010-03-23 23:29:42 UTC

On Sat, 20 Mar 2010 20:10:56 -0700, Loren Pechtel

Which is why I'm thinking they might go after Mesa.

There is a big difference in spreading out for species protection and
committing suicide. Don't forget that Manpower is still trying to get
their hands on some samples to take apart.
--

Terry FitzSimons
***@mintel.net

deowll

2010-03-24 03:04:15 UTC

Post by Terry FitzSimons
On Sat, 20 Mar 2010 20:10:56 -0700, Loren Pechtel

Which is why I'm thinking they might go after Mesa.

There is a big difference in spreading out for species protection and
committing suicide. Don't forget that Manpower is still trying to get
their hands on some samples to take apart.

There is also more than one way to go after Mesa. The cats can't read minds
exactly but they can certainly read moods starting with fear and
insincerity. I doubt if Mesan operatives are going to prosper with them
around. Of course we have tech in the developement stage that can just about
do what the cats are supposed to be able to do. Another case of DWs SF
running behind current tech.

H.G. Wells made fanstastic predictions of future tech advances and D. W.
predicts tech that is in some ways already obsolete. They are both great
authors.

Post by Terry FitzSimons
--
Terry FitzSimons

deowll

2010-03-18 05:15:50 UTC

Post by Don Sample
But the proposal was to send the Treecats *to* Mesa, where any
modifications the Mesans have done to themselves get lost in the crowd.

I wasn't saying to *SEND* them. I was saying the treecats might
decide to do this on their own after what happened to Black Rock clan.

I don't think their legal statues would permit that.

Aren't they legally now individuals with all the rights of anyone
else?

The last I heard minors who are wards of the state.

r***@gmail.com

2010-03-15 20:30:58 UTC

But how strict are customs controls? We've seen plenty of smuggling
in the past.
The only hard part would be getting down to Mesa itself.
We've seen the cats are pretty good killers and they have the luxury
of striking from the shadows. The guards would have an awfully hard
time finding them, especially as they can detect the hunters.

A good killer does not a good assassin make. While a 'cat can detect
a mindglow, it cannot detect a security cam. The other problem for
the 'cats is that, unless mesan fauna includes a lot of hexapodal
mammaloids, they will stick like a six-legged cat would on Earth. Off
of Sphinx, they are poor choices as assassins.

deowll

2010-03-16 04:41:35 UTC