[gurps] Space Transport Costs at TL10

[Knapp]

On Thu, Mar 12, 2009 at 7:11 PM, Onno Meyer <Onno.Meyer at gmx.de> wrote:
> Travis wrote:
>> Why not just go with the easy solutions?
>
> * Destroying a (legally emplaced) camera would be considered a
>  crime (or at least a misdemeanor, if the system has concepts
>  like 'petty' and 'grand' vandalism along the lines of 'grand
>  theft'). It is the principle that matters, not the amount. A
>  legal system might be overwhelmed by the caseload, but that
>  might not stop them from setting a few examples ...
>
> * Recording others without their consent might be considered a
>  violation of their civil rights (or their IP rights of their
>  own likeness). Again the numbers might limit countermeasures,
>  but owners of illegal cameras have to fear that someone will
>  bring a lawsuit just against them, or class action suits.
>
>  Surveillance may still be possible, but anybody with big
>  money has to weigh the risk of being targeted by a lawsuit.
>
> * A legal system might ban gadgets which are used only/mostly
>  for illegal purposes, similar to radar speed trap detectors
>  today.
>
> * Operators of shopping malls, apartment buildings, and gated
>  communities may require all visitors/customers to sign away
>  their privacy rights. The only safe places would be houses
>  fully owned by the tenants and (ironically) government
>  offices.
>
> * Countermeasures against microscopic/nanoscale surveillance
>  could be other micro/nano gadgets, fighting an ongoing war
>  in the atmosphere. There is a scene like that in Neal
>  Stephenson's The Diamond Age.
>
> * Hackers could target the data transmission, inserting false
>  data packets into broadcasts from 'surveillance dust'.

Like all such warfare it is a matter of cost of defense VS cost of
offense and the amount of manpower that can be used.

There is very good evidence that a clocking device could be made by TL
10 that works on all frequencies by bending light around the hidden
object.

-- 
Douglas E Knapp

Why do we live?