Science Fiction Trivia

[Nite Owl]

Went through all of the (#5) Gerry Anderson shows in memory but #2 escapes me.

[ffutures]

Pretty sure #2 is either the Eagle Transporter from Space 1999

https://www.deviantart.com/tenement01/a ... -757874775

or the Hawk Interceptor variant which appeared in one episode

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_Games_(Space:_1999)

[spud42]

we have a winner... yes all Gerry Anderson related so niteowl gets $5 and #2 is the Eagle transporter... that should have been easy seeing as i did a model ( with a lot of help from forum members) for oolite.

the prize goes to ffutures. your turn Commander

[ffutures]

Damn - I didn't notice that Nite Owl's comment was an answer, leaving me to be the 5th.

OK, let's have five SF examples of military WEAPONS being adapted for non-military purposes. Meaningless Bonus points for really weird non-obvious adaptations. I am NOT going to accept military spaceships converted to civilian use, and will be very dubious about other military vehicles.

For example, I'm pretty sure that there's a BOLO story that has one of the supertanks used as a bulldozer. This is obvious enough that it wouldn't get an MBP, and since I've just given it as an example it isn't going to be accepted as an answer anyway!

No two from the same universe / author, and please only enter one per answer!

[spud42]

not sure if this would count but...
the nuclear missile in planet of the apes used as a religeous object, i.e. it was worshipped.

[Nite Owl]

In Star Trek the Original Series there was an episode titled Friday's Child with guest star Julie Newmar as a the very pregnant wife of a dead tribal leader. She and her tribe live on a planet rich in Dilithum crystals so naturally the Federation and the Klingons want the mining rights. She Kirk, Spock, and McCoy are hiding from the Klingons in a cold cave. Kirk uses his Phasor to heat up a rock so that they can stay warm.

[ffutures]

not sure if this would count but...
the nuclear missile in planet of the apes used as a religeous object, i.e. it was worshipped.

It's a non-military use, works for me (and have an MBP for a really silly use!).

Four to go, but no more religious objects please - I forgot to say that I want DIFFERENT examples, not e.g. five different weapons adapted for the same or very similar functions.

In Star Trek the Original Series there was an episode titled Friday's Child with guest star Julie Newmar as a the very pregnant wife of a dead tribal leader. She and her tribe live on a planet rich in Dilithum crystals so naturally the Federation and the Klingons want the mining rights. She Kirk, Spock, and McCoy are hiding from the Klingons in a cold cave. Kirk uses his Phasor to heat up a rock so that they can stay warm.

Bit dubious about this - it's being USED for a non-weapon purpose, but it isn't actually modified to do it and would still work as a weapon. But since I didn't say that in advance I'll accept this one too. Three to go!

[ffutures]

OK - a couple of clues, some short stories:

TRUOC - Construction

TPOF - Art

MJ - Humour

[RockDoctor]

OK, let's have five SF examples of military WEAPONS being adapted for non-military purposes. Meaningless Bonus points for really weird non-obvious adaptations.

OK, since there is the sound of splinters going into fingernail beds, I'm going to try a bidirectional example from Pournelle's "CoDominium" universe - with Niven playing in the sand pit too.
In "The Mote in God's Eye", the Moties used some of their nuclear weapons to move asteroids around in their star's "asteroid belt" (not a given, but one was supplied by the authors) and in the Lagrange clouds (misleadingly "Trojan" in the book ; it should be Trojans in the leading point and Greeks following). I don't recall specific mention of the weapons having significant modifications, but they'd have to have had changes to the detonation mechanisms (you want them to explode at the mid-point of the forming "propulsion bowl", not in near contact with a target's surface), the launching mechanisms (lob them over the rim of a km-scale crater, not hurl them through the screaming void), and strip off some of the coatings/ "extras" (you don't want to use neutron bombs on an inhabited asteroid ; you probably don't want the cobalt casing (because Co-90 is a not-nice bioaccumulating toxin) So lots of changes necessary for turning those weapon bombs to a non-military use.
Of course, towards the end of that "cycle" of civilisation some Motie realised that they could accelerate some of the asteroid cities into a Mote Prime crossing orbit, turning them back into weapons. "The landscape is made of circles" to paraphrase one of the characters.

[ffutures]

OK, let's have five SF examples of military WEAPONS being adapted for non-military purposes. Meaningless Bonus points for really weird non-obvious adaptations.

OK, since there is the sound of splinters going into fingernail beds, I'm going to try a bidirectional example from Pournelle's "CoDominium" universe - with Niven playing in the sand pit too.
In "The Mote in God's Eye", the Moties used some of their nuclear weapons to move asteroids around in their star's "asteroid belt" (not a given, but one was supplied by the authors) and in the Lagrange clouds (misleadingly "Trojan" in the book ; it should be Trojans in the leading point and Greeks following). I don't recall specific mention of the weapons having significant modifications, but they'd have to have had changes to the detonation mechanisms (you want them to explode at the mid-point of the forming "propulsion bowl", not in near contact with a target's surface), the launching mechanisms (lob them over the rim of a km-scale crater, not hurl them through the screaming void), and strip off some of the coatings/ "extras" (you don't want to use neutron bombs on an inhabited asteroid ; you probably don't want the cobalt casing (because Co-90 is a not-nice bioaccumulating toxin) So lots of changes necessary for turning those weapon bombs to a non-military use.
Of course, towards the end of that "cycle" of civilisation some Motie realised that they could accelerate some of the asteroid cities into a Mote Prime crossing orbit, turning them back into weapons. "The landscape is made of circles" to paraphrase one of the characters.

OK, I was waiting for someone to come up with some variation on Orion, that's a good one. Motie technology has a long history of multipurpose designs, of course. Have a meaningless bonus point for getting things moving again.

Two to go!

[ffutures]

OK - a couple of clues, some short stories:

TRUOC - Construction

TPOF - Art

MJ - Humour

Authors for the above, in no particular order

FS
CK
JV

[RockDoctor]

OK, I was waiting for someone to come up with some variation on Orion, that's a good one. Motie technology has a long history of multipurpose designs, of course. Have a meaningless bonus point for getting things moving again.

Two to go!

From a different universe inhabited (visited) by the same author (or both - I forget which) I considered their Orion-a-like from "Footfall" (with it's memorable image of pink elephants hang-gliding in high-heeled boots), but it was a bit too obviously unmodified military nukes. Pournelle, with his ties to the military probably knew how pondorous such re-tooling would have been. Moties, on the third hand ...

[Disembodied]

TRUOC is, I think, "The Railways Up On Cannis", by Colin Kapp (CK) - one of the Unorthodox Engineers stories. If I remember it correctly, the problem was how to construct a railway on a planet where volcanoes could spring up almost anywhere. The Unorthodox Engineers used bombs to create volcanoes where they wanted them, which would then cool and solidify and act as eruption-proof piers on which the railway could run.

[ffutures]

TRUOC is, I think, "The Railways Up On Cannis", by Colin Kapp (CK) - one of the Unorthodox Engineers stories. If I remember it correctly, the problem was how to construct a railway on a planet where volcanoes could spring up almost anywhere. The Unorthodox Engineers used bombs to create volcanoes where they wanted them, which would then cool and solidify and act as eruption-proof piers on which the railway could run.

Exactly right! Have a MBP for a very good summary. Only thing I would add is that they stole the bombs from military supplies, hence it's a definite "swords into ploughshares" deal.

One to go!

[ffutures]

OK - a couple of clues, some short stories:

TRUOC - Construction done

TPOF - Art

MJ - Humour

Authors for the above, in no particular order

FS
CK done
JV

Slightly more on this

TPOF is by JV
MJ is by FS