Escape Artists
Escape Pod => Science Fiction Discussion => Topic started by: GreenDude on August 06, 2009, 01:34:34 PM
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I'm hoping this twigs someone's memory. I've been beating my head against Google all day to no effect.
I read a sci-fi book some time back and only remember scant details, not including author or title.
Historical footage :- Two armadas face off in space, the evil aliens, and the outnumbered, outgunned humans. All seems lost for the humans when suddenly all the alien ships seem to suddenly lose control. Video images are shown of human boarding parties cutting their way into the alien ships without resistance. Dead aliens everywhere. What happened? C.I.R.C.E.
C.I.R.C.E. was our secret super weapon, developed late in the war and deployed just in time to prevent our extinction. With C.I.R.C.E., we are now safe against alien attack, and the implcit threat of C.I.R.C.E. is enough that we haven't needed to use it since.
C.I.R.C.E. is a lie, though. As the aliens stooped out of the glare of the sun to attack the humans in that last battle, a freak solar flare bathed the ships with significant doses of radiation. This normally would have presented no problem, save that the ships were stern-on to the sun, and they had no aft shielding. (technobable about engine design). The aliens are microwaved, and the human military thereafter runs a giant bluff about a super-weapon they don't have.
Well, that's all I remember. Any words from the wise?
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It's the conquerer's pride trilogy by Tim Zahn.
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Ah! Beat me to it. I thought it was Zahn's.
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Thanks! ;D Now I gotta go track me down a copy...
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It must be a remarkable sort of book to have historical video footage. ???