Re: Is this too Sci-Fi? (Supersoldiers)

[Robert "J." Hansen <rjhansen@xxxxxxxx>]

>       Weather you use the game world from the book, or our current world, the
> human genome and cloning have been dealt with, some form of "perfect

The problem with this is that the genome is still mostly uncharted
territory.  More than that, I don't think genetically engineered
soldiers would (a) be tactically useful or (b) strategically
advantageous.

There is no gene-complex which determines the human will.  There's no
shortage of troopers who apply for Ranger, Special Forces and whatnot.
The reason why the courses are so fearsome is they are psychologically
brutal.  Very few people die in BUD/S, even though it's physically
grueling; but damn near everyone's /certain/ they're going to die in
BUD/S, because it's so psychologically grueling.

Having better genes won't create better soldiers.  Having a better
caliber of troops, and training those troops to a higher standard, will
give better results.

Now, superior equipment can make a decisive difference on a battlefield,
and that's where I see the best, most fertile field for SF-style
troopers.  For an example, read the book _The Tin Man_, where a single
invention--an electrically-reactive polymer--is used in several creative
ways.  The way _Tin Man_ presents one of its heroes as being a bionic
creation is pretty farfetched, but the Tin Man suit itself really
doesn't require too much suspension of disbelief.  There's only one
glaring breach of the laws of physics involving it, which is pretty
good, all things considered.