I have asked myself of late where and why globanomics came to me and here is my initial conclusion.
The embryo of my globanomics theory can be found somewhere in the four-year period of my submarine service. I served on the USS Nathanael Greene (SSBN 636). I served as a nuclear trained officer, who became qualified in submarines--meaning at one time or another i also served as The Officer on Deck in charge of the entire ships operations.
Our nuclear submarine (during the Cold War period 1971-1973) carried sixteen missiles. Each missile carried ten nuclear warheads. Each warhead was about 3 times stronger than the bombs dropped on Nagasaki and Hiroshima. In total, therefore we carried 160 large nuclear bombs.
We knew on our submarine that the war was lost if we ever shot our missiles off. If we shot all our missiles off, the world would be very much different than it is today. Did I ever think we were going to shoot our missiles off when on patrol? The answer is: No. But i will tell you this, i did give some thought to what would happen if we did shoot those missiles off.
And that is globanomic's embryo. When you know you can "blow up" the world, you have to think about what "the world" meant.
I can relate to that. We had conversations relating to that subject during a few dinners in the officer wardroom.
But what really brought it home for me was the day i was standing the Officer of the Deck watch, when a test message came to tell us to "go to battle stations missile, battle stations missile" and it was up to me to hit the alarm and pass the word.
I just some how lucked into the Navy, as i tried to avoid Vietnam. I wouldn't have probably in the Navy if it wasn't for the Vietnam war, let alone on a fleet ballistic missile submarine. Hell, i wasn't even that smart at he time.
Anyway, it is that one moment in time, that i have had to live with all of my life afterwards and something like that really makes one think of what one's own role in the world was.
I'm sure. I bet you have some amazing stories to share.
I have given a little more thought to your sci-fi thing. Here is the answer i have come up with the delima you set, looking at it through aged adjusted eyes: You shoot the goddamn missiles off." I know that is what we would have done at the time. And i still think that is what should be done: just the thought of that scenario would make just about anyone say "human Kind might not be worth saving, either that it needs to start up from the beginning again.
Rickover used to say that we did not actually need our missiles, we just needed the enemy to think we had the missiles in our missile tubes. And he was right. The U.S. Submarine Force in those days then and now always thought of themselves as a "Deterrent Force", not an "aggressive one."
I hate to think i would have blown up the world myself back in those not so olden days that i served in the nuclear navy, but i think even back then I would have participated or watched without interrupting an authorized shoot.
I wrote a memoir last year that i intend to self-publish about my four-years in the Navy. I called it, The Submariner. It is a really good book, with both serious and humorous thought. I have tried to get a literary agent to publish it with no luck.
I have no problem with that. I have written a couple other very good books that i self-published. It's my writings that i consider my legacy.
Ever since Amazon broke the mold, self publishing has become pretty common. You try should that route. Even if just an ebook.
Yes, i agree. I have and am using that avenue already. And that is the plan for The Submariner once things settle down and i get some time to get back on it. The book, itself, is complete and fully professionally edited, so it is ready to go. I just need to go through the technical issues with Amazon.
I remember reading a sci-fi story once about how the "evil" side (communists, etc.) unleashed a nuclear rocket attack against the good side (I assume the US, or a country like it). The attack would wipe out half the planet. The soldier on duty was instructed to follow suite and return fire destroying the other half the planet. Then he had to decide, is it better to follow orders and destroy the entire world, or to do nothing and simply let the other side win, but at least have humanity survive.