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"Is this the best you can do?" The Admiral was displeased.
"We have been doing some computer enhancing," Onyegin said. He did not add
that most of the enhancing had been done by letting the computer see a
photograph of the flagship. The three dimensional image blurred, changed and
cleared. An apparently solid image now floated there.
"Better," the Admiral condescended. He walked over and stabbed his finger into
it.
"I have you Skougaard, you and your precious Dannebrog. You shall not escape.
Now, let me have a display of our converging courses."
The image changed again-with the symbols of the enemy fleet at one side of the
Tank, the Earth forces on the other. First a broken line sprang across the
~Thnk from the invaders, then one from the defenders. Where the two lines
intersected sets of number appeared, one green, one yellow. The last digits
flickering and changing
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Harrison, Harry - To the Stars Trilogy.txt constantly. Green represented the
distance in kilometers to the intersection from their present position, yellow
the time to get there at their present speed. The
Admiral studied the figures closely. Still too far.
"Show mc ten and ninety:'
The computer made the complex calculation in microseconds and two arcs of
light cut across their future course, less than a quarter of the way to the
enemy fleet. The arc closest to the fleet was the ninety, a range at which
ninety percent of their missiles could be expected to strike the enemy-if no
evasive or screening action was taken. The ten was further out and represented
ten percent of the missiles. There were hours to go before even this
impractical range would be closed. Space warfare, like ancient naval warfare,
consisted of long journeys punctuated by brief encounters. The Admiral sucked
happily on his cigarette and waited. He had always been a man of. infinite
patience.
Skougaard's flagship, the Dannebrog, did not have an overly sophisticated War
Room like its. opposite number, the Stalin. Skougaard liked it that way. All
of the information he needed was visible on the screens, and if he wanted a
larger image a projection apparatus threw a picture that could cover the
entire wall. It was all solid state, with multiple parallel circuitry, so
there was very little that could go wrong. Any force strong enough to
incapacitate the circuits would undoubtedly destroy the ship as well. The
Admiral always felt that a complex hologram display, with its intricate
circuitry, was just wasted effort and unnecessary complication.
Since the machines did all the work they only needed to show what was
happening in the simplest manner, then obey his instructions the instant they
were given. He looked at the displays of the converging fleets and rubbed his
large jaw in thought.
He finally turned to Jan who waited quietly at his side.
"Then my heavy weapons are in perfect working order, ready for operation at
any time. Good. I have a feeling of some reassurance now.
"The problem was not too complex a one," Jan said. "If the truth be known I
applied some of the work I had done on automated production lines where we
have had to speed up repetitive work. It is a matter of thinking mechanical
and not electronic.
Feedback cycles are fine in circuitry because the various operations happen so
fast that they appear instantaneous in real time. But with mechanics you are
moving physical objects that have both weight and mass. You can't stop and
start them as easily, and when you do it takes measurable amounts of time. So
I rewrote the cannonball loading program in units, so that each one of the
cannonballs was constantly in motion and controlled by a file in the~program
all on its own.
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Therefore if there should be a mishap or a slowdown, that particular
cannonball is shunted aside and the next one takes its place. There will be no
complete shutdown and restart as you had in the past. It also means that the
cannonballs can be fired at much shorter intervals, which will allow the
interval between firings to be exactly regulated"
The Admiral nodded appreciatively. "Wonderful. And since time means distance
in an orbit we can space them out exactly. How~close together can they be
fired?"
"The best we can do is one about every three meters."
"Your best is incredible. That means I can fire across the line of approach of
a ship or a fleet and they will run into a solid wall of those things."
"Ideally. This will simplify the range function, leaving only aim to worry
about."
"I have some surprises in store for my old friend, Kapustin," the Admiral
said, turning back to the screens. I know him very well, his tactics and his
armaments-and his stupidity. While he has no idea what I am going to hit him
with. This is going to be an interesting encounter. I think you will find it
something worth watching."
"I don't imagine that I'll have much time to be a spectator. I thought I would
be with the gunners.
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Harrison, Harry - To the Stars Trilogy.txt
"No. You will be more valuable here with me. If Thurgood-Smythe contacts us,
or if there is any situation involving his presence, I want you here to
evaluate it instantly. He is the only unknown factor in my calculations.
Everything else has been allowed for. The computations made, the program
written."
As though to drive home the point the numbers on the course screen began to
flash and a horn sounded. Course change," the computer announced aloud at the
same time.
The vibrations of the engines could be felt through the soles of their feet.
Now we will see how fast Kapustin's computer is," Skougaard said. 'Also, how
fast he is himself. A machine can only supply information. He will have to
make up his mind what to do with it."
What's happening?" Jan asked.
"I am splitting my forces. For two very important reasons This ship, and the
Sverige over there, are the only ones that have sophisticated anti-missile
missile~for the simple reason that they are both deserters from the Earth
Space Forces. Old
Lundwall, who commands the Sverige, should have retired a decade ago, but he
is still the best there is. He and I worked out this operation together. We [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]