# Enemy with vast tech superiority tells the US to pay tribute (in PEOPLE) or else. What would we do? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 20, 2012, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enemy-with-vast-tech-superiority-tells-the-us-to-pay-tribute-in-people-or-else-what-would-we-do/641620 "2012-11-20T15:36:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enemy-with-vast-tech-superiority-tells-the-us-to-pay-tribute-in-people-or-else-what-would-we-do/641620/21 "2012-11-20T17:49:46Z")
> [@Gagundathar](#): > > **Skald** , while I usually enjoy your scenarios, you seemed to have forgotten the Minotaur and the labyrinth part of this saga. > Perhaps you meant to add it in next season, but still… Medea, being named what she’s named, is obviously aware of the precedent. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enemy-with-vast-tech-superiority-tells-the-us-to-pay-tribute-in-people-or-else-what-would-we-do/641620/22 "2012-11-20T17:51:57Z")
Only 144 per year? You might be able to find enough Anglophile families willing to volunteer, especially if you could talk Medea into sending them to Oxford. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enemy-with-vast-tech-superiority-tells-the-us-to-pay-tribute-in-people-or-else-what-would-we-do/641620/23 "2012-11-20T17:53:52Z")
I’d try making this deal. We give them the Duggars, Jon & Kate, plus the Octomom and a couple of breeding males, and let them establish a breeding population. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enemy-with-vast-tech-superiority-tells-the-us-to-pay-tribute-in-people-or-else-what-would-we-do/641620/24 "2012-11-20T17:55:21Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > Only 144 per year? You might be able to find enough Anglophile families willing to volunteer, especially if you could talk Medea into sending them to Oxford. I’m not getting people who trust Medea to do anything that is good for the kids. She just tacyhon-blasted Moscow, after all. There were probably kids there; the whole city couldn’t be on Yaz. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enemy-with-vast-tech-superiority-tells-the-us-to-pay-tribute-in-people-or-else-what-would-we-do/641620/25 "2012-11-20T17:57:33Z")
Or, how about we give them all the kids they want, and then nuke England? “Yeah, go ahead and try building a population there _now_, you bitch!” ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enemy-with-vast-tech-superiority-tells-the-us-to-pay-tribute-in-people-or-else-what-would-we-do/641620/26 "2012-11-20T17:58:43Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > I’m not getting people who trust Medea to do anything that is good for the kids. She just tacyhon-blasted Moscow, after all. There were probably kids there; the whole city couldn’t be on Yaz. Remember when someone asked, “Won’t someone think of the children?” No. ---
**Author:** ![MegaBee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f0a364/32.png) [@MegaBee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MegaBee)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enemy-with-vast-tech-superiority-tells-the-us-to-pay-tribute-in-people-or-else-what-would-we-do/641620/27 "2012-11-20T18:06:26Z")
Give her the population of Alabama, then Mississippi, then Ohio. That should suffice. ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enemy-with-vast-tech-superiority-tells-the-us-to-pay-tribute-in-people-or-else-what-would-we-do/641620/28 "2012-11-20T18:11:36Z")
we can always make more teenagers - maybe we can hold a lottery from each of the states, and they can compete for the privelege. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enemy-with-vast-tech-superiority-tells-the-us-to-pay-tribute-in-people-or-else-what-would-we-do/641620/29 "2012-11-20T18:13:47Z")
I’d leave it up to the kids. I don’t think Celtling would go for anything in the world, but my 8-year-old self would have jumped at the chance. As thoroughly as the people of the United States are failing our at-risk children, I’m betting we’d need a lottery to select only 144 abused or neglected or poverty-stricken kids from among those miserable enough to volunteer for a change of any kind - even knowing it might turn out badly. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enemy-with-vast-tech-superiority-tells-the-us-to-pay-tribute-in-people-or-else-what-would-we-do/641620/30 "2012-11-20T18:31:54Z")
> [@MegaBee](#): > > Give her the population of Alabama, then Mississippi, then Ohio. That should suffice. Well shit, if you’re going that route, take Florida and Oklahoma while you’re at it. Oh, and Texas – no extra charge. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enemy-with-vast-tech-superiority-tells-the-us-to-pay-tribute-in-people-or-else-what-would-we-do/641620/31 "2012-11-20T18:34:45Z")
We could pull a Keyser Soze and kill all of our kids. We’re just going to get wiped out anyway, we might as well deny her the pleasure of forcing our hand. ---
**Author:** ![MegaBee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f0a364/32.png) [@MegaBee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MegaBee)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enemy-with-vast-tech-superiority-tells-the-us-to-pay-tribute-in-people-or-else-what-would-we-do/641620/32 "2012-11-20T19:12:16Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > Well shit, if you’re going that route, take Florida and Oklahoma while you’re at it. > > Oh, and Texas – no extra charge. In fact, if she doesn’t take Texas, then no deal! ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enemy-with-vast-tech-superiority-tells-the-us-to-pay-tribute-in-people-or-else-what-would-we-do/641620/33 "2012-11-20T19:14:45Z")
> [@MegaBee](#): > > In fact, if she doesn’t take Texas, then no deal! If Medea wanted Texas, she’d have already taken it. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enemy-with-vast-tech-superiority-tells-the-us-to-pay-tribute-in-people-or-else-what-would-we-do/641620/34 "2012-11-20T19:25:03Z")
I’m sending my neighbor’s kids over now. Ooooops, another hypothetical. :o ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enemy-with-vast-tech-superiority-tells-the-us-to-pay-tribute-in-people-or-else-what-would-we-do/641620/35 "2012-11-20T19:37:12Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > If Medea wanted Texas, she’d have already taken it. Just explain to her that EVERYONE in Texas is basically a child. A brat , maybe, but her criteria didn’t have any particulars about behavior. She’s getting a bargain. If she is too intransigent, then just tell her she can have a one time deal of all the children in Texas, but she has to take the adults too. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enemy-with-vast-tech-superiority-tells-the-us-to-pay-tribute-in-people-or-else-what-would-we-do/641620/36 "2012-11-20T19:39:35Z")
Millions for defense. Not a penny for tribute. Now or ever. We fight. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enemy-with-vast-tech-superiority-tells-the-us-to-pay-tribute-in-people-or-else-what-would-we-do/641620/37 "2012-11-20T19:44:17Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > Millions for defense. Not a penny for tribute. Now or ever. > > We fight. You, my friend, are the seventh most predictable of our little band. 😉 ETA: But anyway, that’s what President Oak (or Speaker of the House Minster) would say. What do you think our leaders would do? ---
**Author:** ![G0sp3l](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c68b51/32.png) [@G0sp3l](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/G0sp3l)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enemy-with-vast-tech-superiority-tells-the-us-to-pay-tribute-in-people-or-else-what-would-we-do/641620/38 "2012-11-20T19:48:23Z")
It didn’t occur to me to consider what she wanted the kiddies for (does that make me a bad person?) I assumed meat pies or guttersnipes or fuel for that matter. Still doesn’t effect my answer, though. Anti-Nuke Shield, Wave Motion Gun and no qualms about using it pretty much trumps everything else. The Heroic Last stand might make for epic poems and movies and whatnot but I’ve got a feeling the people on the receiving end aren’t very happy. ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enemy-with-vast-tech-superiority-tells-the-us-to-pay-tribute-in-people-or-else-what-would-we-do/641620/39 "2012-11-20T19:56:39Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > Or, how about we give them all the kids they want, and then nuke England? “Yeah, go ahead and try building a population there _now_, you bitch!” The Soviets tried nuking England. No effect. If she could take 144 children per year by force, she probably would without bothering to ask first. I wonder how many parents (especially single parents) would commit suicide with a note to hand their children over, for the greater good. I don’t see a _Dragonslayer_ scenario developing. (For those of you who missed that movie: a dragon threatens a kingdom, and the king selects a young girl at random to be sacrificed to it - conveniently leaving his own daughter out of the draw (at least until said daughter finds out about it and replaces all of the names with her own).) ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enemy-with-vast-tech-superiority-tells-the-us-to-pay-tribute-in-people-or-else-what-would-we-do/641620/40 "2012-11-20T19:58:52Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > You, my friend, are the seventh most predictable of our little band. 😉 > > ETA: But anyway, that’s what President Oak (or Speaker of the House Minster) would say. What do you think our leaders would do? Obama’s a pretty rational dude, even if we differ on many issues. On the other hand, he’s got a pair of brass ones, too. I say it would be an even money bet as to whether he goes Baltar on us, or goes with my approach. (That’s actually a compliment, coming from me.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enemy-with-vast-tech-superiority-tells-the-us-to-pay-tribute-in-people-or-else-what-would-we-do/641620.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enemy-with-vast-tech-superiority-tells-the-us-to-pay-tribute-in-people-or-else-what-would-we-do/641620.md?page=3)