RESTRICTED DISTRIBUTION
To: JAC Members
From: Admiral Stipes CINCSEVEN
Subject: MASS DRIVERS
Not really being interested in the morality debates that politicians feel they must indulge in in order to justify their continued term of office, I am concerned simply with practical details. Either we will use a Mass Driver attack, or we won't, and the decision isn't up to me. If, however we suffer from a spontaneous attack of sanity, and we are to use a mass driver attack - how do we make it as effective as possible?
I propose the "ECLIPSE ATTACK".
In this attack mode we select 3 asteroids.
The first being the smallest mass, nickel-iron asteroid that is likely to destroy, or substantially damage, the target. This asteroid we will call the "PANCAKE", as we want this asteroid to have a large cross section. It is started on its way to the target, with a suitable escort.
This is followed by another asteroid, preferably nickel-iron, but we're not really fussy, with enough mass to destroy the entire target site. This asteroid we will call the "EGG". We set this on its way to the target along exactly the same trajectory so that it is eclipsed by the preceeding "PANCAKE".
Lastly, we follow this up with the final asteroid, made of nickel-iron, having the smallest cross-section and the largest mass that we can practically use within the time available, with enough mass to destroy at least half the planet. This asteroid we will call the "SPEAR". We set this on its way to the target along exactly the same trajectory so that it is eclipsed by the preceeding "EGG".
This way we get to hit the enemy with hammer blows of increasing intensity, rather than risking everything on a single lump of rock. The enemy is likely to use up his defences on the "PANCAKE", or at least the "EGG". We can also, in the unlikely event that the "PANCAKE" achieves the destruction we need, divert the following asteroids to miss.
H Stipes
CINCSEVEN