Where's the body armor?

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

Sunday, March 21, 2004 11:25 AM

Well, I remember Mal telling Jayne that the bullets are soft tipped (most bullets that would be anyways, since I do know there are Cop-Killers out there... armor piercing). That might be why Zoe's armor (and I do think Jayne was wearing some in War Stories, cause of the shot he took) could deflect it so. I also think she must have gotten it during the war. She was the point man(woman :P) and since she perfered stealth over ... well Mal's tatics, she must have gotten a lighter, more flexible armor. Now since they wear it under their shirts, we can never really tell if they are wearing it or not.

Plus, going by the face that Zoe got it during the war (and asumming Mal has one, and they had another for Jayne) it would be hard, but not unimaginable for the underworld to get it. It all depends on if the Indepents (if they are the ones that made it) made so many, and if those so many weren't... collected after the war by the alliance. If Zoe got it off a dead Alliance trooper then... it would be even harder for people like Badger and Niska to have them.

Thats just my thoughts, I could be wrong.

ECMORGAN69

Sunday, March 21, 2004 2:42 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Fremdfirma:
Most folks, well... non-badass-military folks, do not wear armor every day, all day, it's heavy, hot, uncomfortable and restrictive of movement, no matter HOW good it is.

What Zoe wears is likely a light metal/fibre-mesh (futuristic, but plausible) vest capable of stopping ordinary small arms fire - but not sufficient to stop actual assault rifle rounds.

Wearing even the lightest body armor as an all day, every day thing takes a LOT of getting used to, and there's a very high annoyance factor (I call it the "F--- it!" factor myself) since a great deal of the time, you don't need it...

Most folks just don't get on with wearing it all the time for that one chance in a hundred, it's not worth the hassle to em - thus, only a real hardcore like Zoe would continuosly wear a set.

-frem
diefuxdie

Wouldn't body armor and/or trauma plates become more advanced/more wearable/lighter/stronger/etc./etc. in 500 years? Just in the past 25 years, we've gone from way expensive and heavy kevlar vests to relatively light vests that can be had for $200 that will protect you from most small arms. Wouldn't it stand to reason that that technology would advance farther? Anyway, just my two cents.

Also, Jayne took one in the arm in "War Stories". Left one, if memory serves.

They can have my "Firefly" DVDs when they pry them from my cold, dead fingers....

Oh yeah,

you, FOX TV!!

LODRIL

Tuesday, March 23, 2004 9:29 PM

True... armor would probably advance, but don't get caught in the trap of thinking that therefore it will have universally more convenient characteristics. As defenses advance, so do methods of attack; and so while everyone might even have fibers built into their everyday clothes that could stop our modern weaponry, they wouldn't often be facing 'modern' weaponry.

With a single autocratic and invasive government, I'd imagine you don't see much body armor because the Feds keep tight controls on its distribution.

FORRESTWOLF

Tuesday, March 23, 2004 9:41 PM

In regards to the chainmail posts: I agree - I've been fascinated by the use of chainmail by the Independents for a while. Both big flashback war scenes mentioned (Serenity and The Message) clearly show cuff-length chainmail worn by Independent troops. My understanding was that Zoe was indeed just wearing the VEST part of her old armor from the war - it looks like chain under her shirt in Serenity when she gets hit.

As for the technology involved, the concept dates back a ways - Star Trek Next Gen. has chainmail on the Earth trooper brought in by Q in the pilot episode - also, the Traveller roleplaying game has chainmail ('mesh') armor as an option for stopping bullets.

That being said, where did Star Trek, Traveller, and our boy Joss get the idea? I'm sure there's a common sci-fi source, but I'm not sure who.

So, what classic sci-fi author used chainmail for futuristic body armor?

LEMAT

Tuesday, March 23, 2004 10:22 PM

It looked like a synthetic/nylonish wife-beater that Zoe was wearing, not a chain mail wife-beater. And if it was mail, then it was basicly something that we have never seen, because a bullet or piece of buckshot would have gone right through the links of any metal that we could form mail out of today.

Maybe it was just a shirt that was supporting small ceramic or plastic or light weight alloy plates underneath. That would explain why Zoe says "Armor's dented" (my emphasis).

THEFOP

Wednesday, March 24, 2004 3:51 AM

I'm thinking that the real expenses from Serenity wouldn't have come from the purchase, but from getting her up and running. She was kind of a shitheap at first, and much though I want one, continued to be throughout what there was of the series.

once the snow got so deep you almost couldn't hear margaret atwood

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