[DL][OT-ish] Interesting Thought: World without Gunpowder

["Wangenstein " <wangenstein@mad.scientist.com>]

Hi all,

Earlier today, a friend and I were discussing history, and I brought up the notion of a world where gunpowder was never discovered/simply didn't work/etc.

Then we started thinking about not just what would be different (no guns, no cannons, no artillery, advances in blade/bow/other non-gunpowder based weapons, etc.), but what would be the same (indoor plumbing, computers, automobiles, etc.). We thought that tanks and such would be armored, motorized siege engines, and cities like New York, San Francisco and Washington D.C. would be based around old castles, which would have been built for far longer if cannon didn't exist.

It wasn't a case of Middle Ages meets modern day, just advancing technology along its logical line, with gunpowder removed. For example, troops today might use swords made from an automated process based upon Japanese swordmaking techniques, perhaps with titanium edges sharpened using a laser. The world's armies might still have archer corps, or use crossbows fed with spring loaded bolt-clips and a bowstring pulled back automatically by a wound spring. Of course, flamethrowers would still work, and perhaps technology would advance to the point where military 'paint-ball' guns would carry chemical agents like napalm, pepper spray, etc. (Imagine gelatin capsules filled with mustard gas being used during WWI!)

Anyhow, this was just a conversation I thought might be an interesting creative exercise for you. Think about how the lack of gunpowder would affect the Civil War and the development of the Weird West. Think about how weapons and warfare might have developed if swords/bows/etc. had continued as Man's primary weapons, and a new sword- or armor-making technique was a vital military secret.

Derek D. Bass
Etheric Musings - The Science of the Sons of Ether
http://www.steamenginechaos.com/mage/ether.htm
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