House of Steel: The Honorverse Companion

by David Weber

  Given the population density possible with residential towers in the setting, how is the land on a planet like Manticore used?

  There are several factors to consider when looking at residential patterns and land-use on a high-tech planet in the Honorverse. First, these are incredibly productive economies, by any standard with which we are familiar. Consider how someone living in first-century Rome might regard a twenty-first-century shopping mall, for example. They are also, with the exception of planets like Old Earth herself, worlds with relatively (note that I said relatively) low population densities compared to the present day. If you can imagine an entire planetary population with a twenty-first-century American standard of living, you’ll begin getting close to visualizing Manticore. One of the consequences of this is that what is considered an acceptable amount of living space has actually increased significantly between now and then. Residential towers, with their huge height and amenities, make it possible for an “average family” to enjoy very expansive and comfortable space in an urban environment. At the same time, routine supersonic transport by air car, electronic networking, virtual workplaces, etc., mean that many of the factors driving urbanization in our own experience no longer apply. This can be seen in Stephanie Harrington’s story or the Harrington freehold in Honor’s time.

  What this means is that planets can be far more flexible about where people live, how they live, and what use is made of the land. By and large, population per square mile is very, very low compared to our standards, and even in an urban environment, population per cubic mile (bearing in mind the sheer size of the towers involved) is low compared to someplace like New York City or (far more so) someplace like Shanghai or New Delhi. Vast amounts of the planetary surface of a world like Manticore or Sphinx is left fallow, undeveloped, available for recreational use, perhaps, but not built over or farmed. Nor, given access to asteroid belts, gas giants, moons, etc., is it generally necessary to mine planetary surfaces or exploit fossil fuels, while Honorverse civilizations’ energy budgets are stupendous . . . and cheap . . . and have very little environmental impact.

  This may not have answered your question entirely, but I hope it moves in the direction of an answer. Of course, given the diversity of planets and (especially in the Verge) of the technology actually available to a given star system or world, conditions can vary greatly from star system to star system, and the lower the tech level available, the more negative impacts are likely to be felt by the local planet and its ecosystem.

  About BuNine

  BuNine is short for “Bureau Nine,” and is both a play on the Royal Manticoran Navy’s bureau structure as well as an indication of the number of founding members.

  BuNine got started in a group of science fiction fans that coalesced around Ad Astra’s Saganami Island Tactical Simulator and its designers, Tom Pope and Ken Burnside. David Weber is himself a former game designer, and was quick to recognize both the necessity for game designers to pick his brain to get the game right, and the advantage to him in having a group of people double-checking and extending his work. The so-called “Great Resizing,” for instance, came directly out of the game designers realizing that they couldn’t make the math work under the assumptions they were given.

  BuNine is not just a group of Honor Harrington fans. About half of us have some sort of connection to the US military, mostly the Navy, in either a civilian capacity or in uniform. Those who don’t are artists, lawyers, computer specialists, and the like, all accomplished experts in their fields. What sets us apart is that not only are we fans, we are fans with day jobs that directly or indirectly relate to our hobbies. If you read a BuNine article about the evolution of Manticoran law concerning treecats, for instance, you’ll discover the author is a practicing attorney. As one of our members says, “In my day job, I’m a naval analyst. My hobby is that I analyze navies that don’t actually exist.”

  Over time, BuNine went from a loose collection of people to a more formal organization, usually because of events involving other people working with the Honorverse. When a would-be motion picture developer needed help thinking about how the bridge of a starship would be organized, we adopted our current name and started having annual meetings. When Toni Weiskopf at Baen suggested to David that the twentieth anniversary of On Basilisk Station warranted a companion volume, David said “I know just the people to write it”—thereby forcing us to actually create a legal entity to go with our group identity. Along the way, we’ve designed ships, drawn blueprints, invented doctrine, asked probing questions, and done the math to fill in the elements around which David has built stories. BuNine is not a club; if anything, it’s closer to an invitation-only professional society or a technical consulting organization.

  This book is the result of many, many people, both inside BuNine and out, working long hours. None of us could have done it alone; all of us enjoyed doing it together. We hope you enjoy reading it as much as we did writing it.

  About the Authors

  Most of the authors are members of BuNine, and many of us have day jobs involving employers who are sensitive to people conflating our day jobs and our BuNine work. An incomplete set of biographies is below.

  Scott Akers

  Treasurer—Treecat name is “Keeper of the Nerds”

  Scott is the Director of Financial Operations for a bulk fluids trucking firm in Seattle, Washington. Scott has an eclectic background. He served in the Navy as an enlisted navigator, worked as a ranch foreman, sold printing supplies and products, was a Series 7 stockbroker, spent five years as an executive for the Boy Scouts of America, and worked as an instructor on Middle Eastern Culture for a defense contractor at the Army’s National Training Center on Ft. Irwin. He has spent the last seven years as a financial professional. His background provides BuNine with skillsets ranging from history to finance to naval analysis to comparative political thought.

  Scott Bell

  History Student

  Scott is a medieval historian, with a focus on warfare, who reads both fantasy and military science fiction. Scott was recruited to work on the Star Kingdom of Manticore awards, decorations and all things peerage and royal. This has expanded to include the SKM government and all awards and decorations of all the star nations.

  Ken Burnside

  Exobiologist in Residence

  Ken is a freelance writer and award-winning game designer. He co-authored, with Tom Pope, Saganami Island Tactical Simulator and both of the Jayne’s Intelligence Review volumes, which indirectly inspired this project when David said “I like these, and I think Baen Books might like something like this as well.” On this volume, he did climatology, geology, speculative biology, some factoring of orbital mechanics, stellar brightness, and energy output from stars. When not purveying recreational mathematics, he does graphic design and editing and teaches Western Sword.

  Derick Chan

  Jack-of-All-Trades

  Derick is a computer programmer working in the state of Ohio. A relative newcomer to the BuNine, he has helped with behind-the-scenes research, and contributed to a number of articles in the Honorverse Companion. Derick also is responsible for moderating David Weber’s forums on his website, www.davidweber.net. During what little free time he has left, Derick is an avid video and board gamer, particularly in the strategy and RPG genres.

  Pat Doyle

  Chief Pilot, BuNine Flight Operations

  Pat has spent the previous fifteen years as a commercial pilot, from flight instructor to airline captain. He will head up BuNine’s Flight Ops Department . . . just as soon as we can afford an Mk28 Condor. Pat has published a wargame and has a strong interest in military history, tactics and strategy. Pat’s geek superpower is starship combat. He is a four-time national champion for a popular starship combat game and is writing the Tactics Manual for that game. His contributions to the Honorverse are in helping to define the operational level of war and he is working to design a fleet starship combat game within the Honorverse.

>   Bill Edwards

  Systems Analyst, Design, and Engineering

  Bill is a systems engineer working for the US Department of Defense (DOD). He began this effort as an Electronic Warfare specialist, integrating that with various weapon, communications, and sensor systems, and serving as a naval warfare instructor, program manager, and senior systems engineer for multiple DOD programs. Bill describes his fandom superpower as being able to correlate real-world physics and technology with science fiction’s questions on “how might such a device actually work?” which he does in collaboration with his BuNine peers in support of the underlying foundations of the Honorverse.

  Rob Graham

  Concept Artist, Designer and Jack-of-All-Trades

  Rob is a trained digital artist, leaning toward 3D modelling and teaching with a lot of mostly useless knowledge picked up from reading way to many university papers and other sources. He originally joined BuNine to work on moving the Honorverse map into the 3D realm, but since has shifted gears to become a jack of all trades, tackling just about any job that’s been thrown at him, including developing new uniform concepts, the Grayson sword, and even ship designs. He hopes to one day to make the trip across the Pacific from the land of Oz to meet many of the people he’s worked with, including David.

  Mark Gutis

  Attorney (his wife makes him own up to being one)

  A praticing attorney, Mark was recruited by BuNine because, while he knows nothing about space hardware and can’t understand math, he can index and write about stuff like legal systems and governments.

  Richard Hanck

  Systems Integration and Sounding Board

  Richard is an ex-Navy Electronics Tech with experience in communications and nuclear hardware operation, troubleshooting, and repair. Currently working in physical security while attending college, he was recruited to BuNine from the wild, with a general specialization in “rough out” 3D work and 2D rough concepts. Richard mostly plays backup for the more skilled artists and techs, providing ideas and commentary on new production, research and math backup, and helping to flesh out the structure under the skin of the ships and other tech. He hopes to one day completely and accurately model an entire SD(P).

  Bryan Haven

  BuNine Chief Information Officer (Ok . . . Secretary)

  Bryan is BuNine’s Secretary. He is a retired Navy Submariner who went on to work for NASA and then Apple, Inc., before taking over as general manager for Atlantis Games & Comics in Norfolk, Virginia. His contributions include general organizational support and the pointed question now and again.

  Robb Jackson

  Retired Police Officer

  An amateur historian and historical reenactor covering three hundred years of American military history (as well as a few out-rider eras), Robb was recruited as a freelancer to BuNine to work on making the Royal Manticoran Army more than a few vague references. He also helps run The Royal Manticoran Navy: The Official Honor Harrington Fan Association, Inc., with—you guessed it—the Royal Manticoran Army.

  Arius Kaufmann

  Human Terrain Analyst

  Arius recently graduated from the University of Virginia with a degree focusing on East Asian history. A jack of all trades, he has been a defense analyst, a software engineer, a political campaign staffer, and a wargame developer for the US Navy When he’s not trying to bring about The Singularity, he’s reading Supreme Court decisions or conserving angular momentum. In the Honorverse, he’s interested in government structure and bio-sentient continua. In real life, he likes using fancy words—sometimes appropriately.

  Martin A. Lessem, J.D.

  Regulatory Attorney

  Martin is a regulatory affairs professional who has worked for a variety of pharmaceutical companies doing everything from regulatory CMC to labeling to advertising and promotions review. He is an occasional contributor to medical blogs with information on how medical regulatory agencies work. In his spare time, he runs The Royal Manticoran Navy: The Official Honor Harrington Fan Association, Inc., and tries to assist BuNine in liaising with fandom in general. His pet cat, Nimitz, is a constant source of inspiration.

  Thomas Marrone

  Illustrator

  Forged in the fires of graphic and web design, Thomas recently made the transition to user interface and concept designs for video games. He is currently working as a UI Artist for Cryptic Studios on the MMORPG Star Trek Online. Within BuNine, Thomas works with other BuNine artists and authors to create and develop concept illustrations from initial sketches all the way through print-ready art.

  Barry Messina

  Naval Analyst

  Barry is a military analyst working for a federally funded R&D center. He has recently completed twenty years of service as a civilian, following twenty years of Navy active duty as a nuclear machinist’s mate, an ELT, and a SWO (TAO-qualified on three different classes of ships no longer in service), with degrees in nuclear engineering and operations research. He is a generalist specializing in tactical development, concepts of operations, the interface between submarines and special forces, and command and control. He has an unshakable conviction that nearly everything the US Air Force believes is wrong, and a fervent unwillingness to believe that members of the Senior Executive Service and Flag and General officers are always correct by divine right. He has been reading science fiction since discovering Andre Norton and Robert Heinlein in fourth grade. He is making very slow progress in his self-imposed Honorverse tasks of translating the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea into Interplanetary Regulations for the Prevention of Collisions in Space and then rewriting Multinational Maritime Tactical Instructions and Procedures Volumes I and II into tactical doctrine for the RMN and allied forces. He is incapable of remaining within imposed limits on the number of words that may be used in any publication, including this one.

  John O’Donnell

  Virtual Builder

  A former US Air Force bomb loader now working for an entertainment provider that delivers red envelopes to their customers’ mailboxes, John does 3D modeling for BuNine. He works strictly on hardware; humans are not a factor. He has been interested in science fiction for thirty-nine of his forty-seven years, having first read Jules Verne’s A Journey to the Centre of the Earth at the ripe age of eight. John also enjoys classic progressive rock, especially with an SF angle, such as Rush and Yes.

  Tom Pope

  Ninth Space Lord

  Tom is an IT support staffer at the Institute for Software Research at Carnegie Mellon University. He has an eclectic mix of programming, graphic design, and print production skills mostly learned on-the-job either at CMU or freelance or both. Tom is the official head of BuNine, which makes him both the head cat herder and the guy who did the most work to keep the project organized and on track. His knowledge of the Honorverse is encyclopedic, and his research into areas with which he has no formal experience (e.g., naval display systems) means he can usually hang with the professional naval types as well. His one glaring weakness is an inability to write about himself, which is why he outsourced his own bio. Tom is married to Diane, the most patient woman in the world.

  Gena Robinson

  “Designated Adult”

  As David Weber’s personal assistant, schedule keeper, first reader, web master, on-line store clerk, promoter and travel planner, fixer of broken computers, and sometimes wrangler of three kids, Gena Robinson is assured that no day at work is ever boring or monotonous. As a long-time reader of the Honorverse who has worked for David for ten years, she offers a unique view on the series, focusing on characters and the histories of the nations. Away from work, Gena enjoys writing for her active blog, contributing articles to jewelry trade journals, making said jewelry, and cavorting at Cons.

  Kay Shelton

  Copy Editor

  Kay has a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in English Literature, supplemented by additional experience and professional workshop training. With a particular affini
ty for science fiction and fantasy, she describes her work for BuNine as “the comma wrangler.”

  Joelle Presby

  Geek at Large

  An accidental world traveller, Joelle has lived in France, Cameroon, California, Cameroon (again), Ohio, Maryland, California (again, but not the same part), Japan, South Carolina, New York (for a week but all her stuff came with her and got completely unpacked and repacked so it counts), South Carolina (again and the same part), and Virginia. She has been in Virginia for nearly five years and refuses to leave the state in spite of repeated hurricanes attempting to force her to decamp. Joelle also knows that France, Cameroon, and Japan are countries while the others are not, but she already used too many parentheses as is. (Besides, it is funnier to tell it this way. Just call her an American. Everyone else does.)

  David Weber

  David Mark Weber is an American science fiction and fantasy author. He was born in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1952. He started writing poetry and short fiction in the fifth grade, and a lifetime of reading, writing, and studying has given him a love of storytelling that shows in his work. In his stories, he creates a consistent and rationally explained technology and society. Even when dealing with fantasy themes, the magical powers are treated like another technology with supporting rational laws and principles. Many of his stories have military, particularly naval, themes, and fit into the military science fiction genre. He challenges current gender roles in the military by assuming that a gender-neutral military service will exist in his futures, and by frequently placing female leading characters in what have previously been seen as traditionally male roles, he has explored the challenges faced by women in the military and politics.