message 0133

• Drafting and pressganging by the fleet

>From: Onno Meyer <Onno.Meyer@arbi.informatik.uni-oldenburg.de>
>Subject: cherryhlist
>Date: Fri, 14 May 1993 15:21:32 +0200 (MET DST)

> 	CHERRYH MAILING LISt
> 
> 	Bet didn't join the _Africa_ in 2320, though. She was pressganged
> much later in the War, along with lots of other youngsters. Can anyone
> remember if a date is given for this? I think it would bring the time
> compression ratio up sharply. And how is Bet calculating that 20 years? If
> she's counting subjective time, she'd never get off the _Africa_ by 2352,
> (assuming she is taken around 2335-40). A warship would simply jump too often
> with each jump being 'really' 3-4 months. Her 20 years would last at least an
> objective century. She must be counting 20 'real' years, which would knock the
> date of her 'volunteering' back to 2332. This date, however, may be a little
> too early for the Fleet to need such tactics (only 12 years after _Hellburners_
> -- would the EC still have been supportive at this time?). Another option, of
> course, is that warships jump 'faster' than normal ships, with less time
> lost. This would allow her a longer subjective time on board. Or perhaps the
> numbers just don't add up -- Bet 'appears' to be using a subjective timescale
> (she's 37, looks 37, claims 20 years experience, and was taken at 16), but
> such a timescale just doesn't fit into 'real' time, and would actaully extend
> far past the entire duration of the War. 
> 
> 			Lesley
> 
Didn't Dekker go to the belt to escape the draft? In my translation of
_Rimrunner_, Bet was not about to be pressganged but drafted (no difference,
but the draft was probably a little more formal). What term is used in
the english text?
_Heavy time_ mentions "draft riots" at sol station in 2322. _Hellburner_ said
that Porey's carrier had the full marine complement. BTW, Graff's carrier
spend a lot of time at sol two, doing system defense. If _Africa_ did 
their share of defensive operations, this could make up for a lot of time.
One book (_DS_?) said that _Africa_ and _Norway_ were especially
infamous among the civilians, and they wouldn't have such a reputation if
they had spend the war attacking union carriers.