Most "powerful" sci-fi weapon possible?

[Hannu2]

23 hours ago, DDE said:

The crazy dictator cliche is problematic: you have to assume that someone devoid of pragmatism and self-preservation instinct has made it in the hyper-competitive environment of an authoritarian state, and is functional enough to run said state in a way that supports the program for the development and manufacture of nuclear weapons and delivery systems.

Simply put, from carpet-munching failed Austrian painters to Papa Doc himself, these guys are a lot saner than most give them credit for. There is at least a method to their madness - assuming it's not just you dismissing a different ideology as deviant thinking. In turn, one does wonder how democratically elected leaders would act under the effect of extreme mortality salience.

Importantly, this assumes that the above-mentioned barriers to entry remain high. One of the problems common in sci-fi is that complete misfits have access to spacecraft that can ram continents out of existence.

Of course barrier to activate massive destruction is high. But the larger number of people able to do so the higher probability is that worst happens. On Earth there are very few individuals who can begin massive nuclear attack from own initiative. Probably no one can, because all presidents have their inner circle who probably prevent such operation in case of psychosis.

But if that artificial triggering of field collapse is possible, there will be more and more civilizations which can begin it. Every new increases probability and eventually, during billions of years, it happens. But it is very fictive speculation. I do not think it is ever possible if natural high energy phenomena, like black hole collisions or supernovae, have not enough bang for triggering.

[MKI]

8 hours ago, FleshJeb said:

So, when it comes to societal defense, the most dangerous weapon in the universe might just be comedy.

Meme warfare confirmed.

[kerbiloid]

Just take an anti-universe and attach to the universe. They will annihilate.

[MKI]

2 hours ago, kerbiloid said:

Just take an anti-universe and attach to the universe. They will annihilate.

Isn't this already the current assumption for where all the anti-matter went? There was an imbalance between matter and anti-matter in the early universe, it all destroyed each other, leaving only normal-matter left over.

[kerbiloid]

20 minutes ago, MKI said:

Isn't this already the current assumption for where all the anti-matter went?

But what puzzles me, is: when two universes annihilate, where the gamma photons should go to?

[Arugela]

The previous most powerful sci fi weapon +1.

[DDE]

19 minutes ago, Arugela said:

The previous most powerful sci fi weapon +1.

The previous most powerful weapon times ten thousand.

[kerbiloid]

The transurfing.

You just re-exist in the version of the Universe with no your foe.