We have some general understanding of war abroad, but what about across the stars? Science fiction is teeming with armies from space bent on conquest or prepared to mount a defense. In part I of this feature, we looked at the makeup and disposition of a few armies from science fiction. It was almost immediately apparent that war against the Romulans isn’t such a good idea. Likewise the Flying Monkeys. But it was also clear that human history is rife with parallels to the circumstances and technology of our enemies from space and the Emerald City. Here is a look at few more fictional armies, and how they’re not so different from us.
The Klingons (Star Trek)
Here’s what we know about the Klingons: They are a warrior race par excellence, subdued only by a strict code of honor and discipline. There is no greater glory than to die in combat, and “death before dishonor” is a guiding principle. The list of dishonors is quite extensive, spanning everything from being captured on the battlefield to being crippled in combat. (If your Klingon dad is captured, not only is he dishonored, but so too are you and your children and so on down the line. Do not let your dad get captured in combat.) As for sustaining a disability, the general course of action for Klingons is ritual suicide.
Humans should be quite familiar with the concept of honor-based warrior codes. For 700 years, Feudal Japan was governed by the samurai and led by warlords called the shogun. The samurai followed a creed called the “Way of the Warrior,” which dictated absolute adherence to rules of honor, loyalty, and bravery. Dishonoring oneself meant ritual suicide by way of self-disembowelment. Likewise, in battle a samurai was to welcome death should all options be expended. There may have been no lower form of dishonor cowardice.
The Borg (Star Trek)
The Borg are an example of a military with a singular purpose: to conquer others so as to expand the Borg’s military ranks. This is achieved by sending zombie-like hordes of “drones” to overwhelm opposing forces through sheer numbers. Conquered soldiers are brought into control of the Borg by way of injected nanotechnology, and later, through cybernetic implants.
The good news is that forty-five years of zombie movies have prepared us for a Borg invasion. And though the Borg are largely immune to energy weapons, they seem highly susceptive to a trusty .556 round. We are in no short supply of such ammunition.
Wars of attrition are nothing new for us. The Western front in World War I is the obvious example. The best plan at the time seemed to be for each side to kill and kill and kill until one side of the other simply ran out of men. (2,500 years earlier, Sun Tzu had described the fundamental problems of such warfare, so it’s not like military officers weren’t warned.)
Nanotechnology is slowly finding a way onto the battlefield as well. MIT researchers have long studied the potential of nanotechnology in combat uniforms. The mechanics work something like this: Extremely thin uniform shirts—think Under Armor—are woven from nano-enhanced material. When excited by, say, an incoming bullet, the material can harden into impenetrable armor and deflect the round. Other inventive designs include the uniforms hardening around broken bones, creating an instantaneous cast, or even hardening on command to create, in essence, rock-solid karate gloves.
Imperial Navy (Star Wars)
Based on what we know about the Imperial Navy, a minimum of three Imperial-class Star Destroyers and an accompaniment of ninety other ships are assigned to any given system. (This massive show of force was especially important following the dissolution of the Senate—Fear kept the local systems in line.) Six Star Destroyers and an armada of 400 ships patrolled sectors. This massive military presence doesn’t even take into consideration the possible mobilization of a giant sphere-shaped battle station called the “Death Star,” which is capable of destroying entire planets. Rare is the system unwilling to come to the bargaining table after a member planet is reduced to tumbling rocks in space.
The good news about being conscripted into the Imperial Navy is that there’s plenty of room for promotion. Every time a senior officer makes a mistake, it seems, some Dark Lord of the Sith is there to execute him. (A tip of the hat here to the late Captain Needa and Fleet Admiral Ozzel.)
On Earth, such unforgiving military justice was common during the Civil War. Violations as egregious as desertion or as mundane as falling asleep at one’s post had the same punishment: death. President Lincoln issued a rule stating that no one under the age of 18 was to meet such a fate. As the New York Times wrote of one notable incident, “Gen. Joseph Hooker once sent an envelope to the president containing the cases of 55 convicted and doomed deserters; Lincoln merely wrote ‘Pardoned’ on the envelope and returned it to Hooker.”
In the present day, the obvious parallel to the Death Star is the atomic bomb. Unlike like in the galaxy a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, however, Death Star proliferation is a real problem for us. Every time another country achieves status as a nuclear power, the element of fear is added to the equation. Gone are the days of Red Phones to the Kremlin. When the thermonuclear Armageddon comes, it’s as likely to have been initiated by a rogue state as it is to be initiated by a terrorist cell that’s finally acquired its own apocalyptic weapon. Sleep well!
Space Marines
Science fiction is rife with hard charging, battle-hardened Space Marines ready for any battle, no matter the odds, and very likely to win, no matter the cost. Whether it’s a lone Marine on a space station on Mars or battalions of Marines on Battlestars from the Twelve Colonies, when a war needs to be fought, Marines are up for the challenge.
From Iwo Jima to outer space, some things never change. Oorah.
