SF Theorem: teleportation

[dvandom]

Theorem: In any SF setting where technological teleportation to arbitrary destinations is possible, a way to block such teleportation will become standard soon after the teleportation device is introduced, or will pre-date it. This is because unblockable teleportation means you can destroy any enemy by teleporting weapons inside the ship or installation, thus removing the drama of battle scenes.

Corollary 1: This teleportation blocker will usually be an integral part of standard defensive screens.

Corollary 1a: This will also prevent teleportation on or off your own ship when your screens are up, thus conveniently stranding crew members who are off the ship during an emergency.

Corollary 2: There will be ways around the teleportation blocker, but such methods will either be countered fairly quickly, or require unusual circumstances or resources not generally available. These methods include, but are not limited to: finding a way to tune the teleporter to bypass the defense (countered by altering the defense), the technology of advanced alien races (who will not always let you use that technology), peculiar properties of a region that negate the defense (which are quickly accounted for in the defense later on, or people simply avoid the region), or agents within the enemy ship or installation who are able to adjust the defense so it appears to be active but does not block your teleportation.

Corollary 2a: The second time a particular blocker-bypass method is used, it will almost always fail to work. Especially if the initial use placed crew aboard the target, instead of a weapon.

Corollary 2b: An exception to 2a exists for advanced aliens who are at worst annoying. It is impossible to keep them out, no matter how much you would like to sometimes. (There's probably an SF law to the effect that no truly hostile advanced alien is ever completely unstoppable, only the ones who like the protagonists or like to toy with them are ever unstoppable. At the very worst, an overwhelmingly powerful enemy is countered by a snooty allied race that keeps them in check while being terribly condescending to the protagonists.)

Corollary 3: If the antagonists develop a new way to bypass anti-teleportation defenses, they will never use it to simply send a very large bomb to the protagonists' ship or installation (although they may do this to such a place staffed by minor or unnamed characters). They will always either send a boarding party or kidnap some key member(s) of the protagonist crew. (Edit: There will only sometimes be a Good Reason they don't teleport bombs onto the protagonist ship/installation, like wanting to take it intact. Usually it's just "But that would end the story too soon" lazy writing.)

Comments

[jarodrussell.livejournal.com]

If the antagonists develop a new way to bypass anti-teleportation defenses, they will never use it to simply send a very large bomb to the protagonists' ship or installation...

You don't watch Stargate: Atlantis do you? In the second season premiere, they were beaming nukes onto Wraith hive ships. In the second season finale, they were experimenting with using the teleporters to send a biological agent onto the hive ships -- a retrovirus that turned the Wraith human. In this case it was the antogonists (seemingly) working against the antogonists, but at least the effort was made.

[dvandom.livejournal.com]

The heroes get to do that sort of stuff allatime, hence "antagonists" onto "protagonist" ships/installations caveat. Beaming onto antagonist ships is fine. :) You'll note that the Wraith don't beam bombs onto Atlantis...they beam themselves.

[jarodrussell.livejournal.com]

True enough. (And, yeah, I did miss "antagonists" the first time.)

Good theory. Sound theory.

[razorsmile.livejournal.com]

You'll note that the Wraith don't beam bombs onto Atlantis...they beam themselves.

Or beam their victims up.