Where's the body armor?

POSTED BY: shambleau
UPDATED: Wednesday, March 24, 2004 03:51
VIEWED: 10268
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HOTPOINT

Friday, March 19, 2004 12:24 PM

Slightly Off-Topic but Body Armour should be both cheap and widely available in the future since the easiest type would be woven monomolecular fibre which is certainly far less than 500 years away

Wouldn't do much for impact but it would stop low-velocity penetration pretty easily. It would be practically untearable

You could introduce the same stuff to laminate spaceship hulls to make them very resistant to meteorites (or projectile weapons for that matter)

Just a thought.

...................................
Hurrah, hurrah, when things are at their worst
With cries of “Death or Glory” comes the mighty Twenty-First

KALIMEERI

Friday, March 19, 2004 12:58 PM

I'd always thought Mal probably had some money put away, soldier pay that nobody could spend because there was nowhere to shop and no time anyway. It might not have been enough, though. There was some time lapse between the end of the war and his buying the ship, so either he didn't get the idea right away or he was busy engaging in gambling or "petty" thievery to get the rest. I get the feeling that he bought the ship, but Zoe might have contributed to getting her running and hiring the crew once Mal convinced her. As in "WE have a genius mechanic, it's about time we hired somebody, etc." So maybe it isn't so much of a partnership as a cooperative venture that she went along with because she didn't have family except for Mal.

Jen dao mei.

DAVEY

Friday, March 19, 2004 1:02 PM

didnt mals mother own a ranch? this could be where he got the money for serenity.after all cattle must have been pretty valuable if you are going to smuggle them, also wasnt she a wreck when we first saw her so she probably wouldnt have cost much comparatively

BROWNCOAT1

Friday, March 19, 2004 1:30 PM

Here are my thoughts.

I think that most of the firearms used in the future may use ammo that is better than that commonly available to non military types. This ammo may be able to penetrate standard body armor, so a more expensive, better type of armor had to be made to stop these rounds. This armor is very hard to come by, and like most things on the black market, is far more expensive than most can afford.

Badger, Niska, and other crime lords would not purchase such expensive armor for their goons because it is far cheaper to replace goons than to purchase such armor. Just like you don't see every gang banger and thug on the streets today w/ body armor, why would they necessarily have it in the Firefly setting?

Zoe's armor might be something left over from the war, something she got while fighting for the Independants or some battlefield loot from an Alliance soldier.

"May have been the losing side. Still not convinced it was the wrong one."

KALIMEERI

Friday, March 19, 2004 2:23 PM

She might've owned a ranch, but she obviously isn't there any more, or he'd talk about it or at least have an inclination to visit. It's likely that the government was responsible for something bad happening to it, forcing it out of business or simply appropriating it. That Independence loyalty is personal to Mal.

Jen dao mei.

DAVEY

Friday, March 19, 2004 2:38 PM

mal doesnt like talking about the past, im thinking i rememer him saying that in our mrs reynolds.she might well not be there any more which would leave him the owner(i dont think there has been any mention of any siblings)im not saying that he still runs the ranch but could have sold it and bought serenity from the proceeds

STATIC

Friday, March 19, 2004 2:58 PM

Voice of experience:

Mal most likely paid for Serenity with money saved during the war, because I can tell you. . .during war, you make an assload of money without anywhere to really spend it. . .or ample opportunity either.

==================================================
"Wash. . .we got some local color happening. A grand entrance would not go amiss."

KALIMEERI

Friday, March 19, 2004 3:11 PM

Providing you actually get paid, if you were on the losing side. LOL.

Jen dao mei.

KURUKAMI

Friday, March 19, 2004 4:42 PM

The only possible hitch with that is... would the Independents have paid in Alliance-friendly currency, or in their own minted currency? Perhaps that's where the divide between platinum and credits sprang up.

As for Zoe, I always presumed that it was something she and Mal had left over from the war -- form-fitting torso-only body armor, that can be easily worn concealed beneath clothing. The rest of the crew don't have that because they were never in the war with the Independents.

"Sir, I would like to gingerly point out that it is difficult for someone to be gently reassuring when they're holding three and a half feet of sharpened steel."

BROWNCOAT1

Friday, March 19, 2004 4:49 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Kurukami:
The only possible hitch with that is... would the Independents have paid in Alliance-friendly currency, or in their own minted currency? Perhaps that's where the divide between platinum and credits sprang up.

Good point.

After the Civil War, many Confederates found themselves impoverished because their money was in Confederate currency, a gov't that no longer existed, so the money was worthless. Many also lost property because the Federal gov't had not received taxes on the property for the duration of the war and they accessed interest. Much real estate was lost to carpet baggers who bought the property up for the balance of the back taxes.

Quote:
As for Zoe, I always presumed that it was something she and Mal had left over from the war -- form-fitting torso-only body armor, that can be easily worn concealed beneath clothing. The rest of the crew don't have that because they were never in the war with the Independents.

This is a good possibility, and makes as much sense as anything else.

"May have been the losing side. Still not convinced it was the wrong one."

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