Cost might be a bigger issue than mass. Heavily mechanically reinforced superconducting structures capable of carrying massive currents under high field strengths while withstanding the forces of being shot out a railgun or other sort of mass driver, all without failing in any way that significantly changes their exit velocity or trajectory...and of course, without exploding inside the gun.javcs wrote:Actually, I'd expect driver round mass to be a less important factor than driver round volume.
Sure, the mass is important (technically), but at the scale of the drives, even Terran drives, mass is probably less of a limiting factor on storage than the volume required for that storage. How much does a round mass? Maybe a hundred kilograms or so? How much does a ship mass? Maybe 75 thousand or more tons (empty) for a Terran scout? A significant amount more when the consumables (food, air, water, fuel) are all loaded. The relative mass increase for more rounds is almost certainly going to negligible when compared to the amount of force the propulsion systems are putting out, but the relative volume increase is going to be noticeable.
Given their lifespans, how common would it be for someone to change caste (or undertake the trials and duties of another caste) simply due to boredom/desire for something new/to extend their abilities further, rather than lack of ability?Arioch wrote:The trials are a form of extended basic training, and are uniformly tough, so a warrior candidate who can't handle Teidar trials won't find the Soroin version any easier (and the Soroin would chafe at being referred to as a "lower" caste). However, if a candidate in a specialty caste is having troubles with skills or abilities that are specific to the specialty, then she may be passed through the trials and subsequently transferred to a more appropriate specialty.
Might individuals who started out as another caste be sought after for certain positions? Someone who didn't work out as a Teidar ending up as a Soroin engineer/technician working on the front lines alongside them, for example...