Quote:But dogfights at a significant fraction of c are fun! It also doesn't get much more imediate than closing in on each other at a relative .9c or so and see who chikens out first. it also makes munane weapons nearly useless and most weapon ideas. Which would hopefully stop the arms race currently occuring, yes the Reavers have weapons, but that's why they are reavers. Why does anyone else have them?
The problem with dogfighting at significant fractions of c is that humans just don't see fast enough. Any weapon has to be aimed by a high-end AI somehow or other or it'll never hit. Any visual of the situation has to be the zoom-out view. It's maybe an interesting idea, but you totally lose the immediacy of it.
Pretty much the only viable non-ambush weapon I can think of is ramming speed and considering that the smaler vehicles are faster than the larger ones it's pretty damn unlikly unless someone chooses to go kamikaze.
As to whatever the Professor 'knows', keep in mind it might not be correct and it's certainly not internaly consistent.
EDIT: Oh and as for the handwavium blowing up. It is possible, but rare. One of the major reasons that the Prof is rumored to have weapons grade handwavium is because stuff around him keeps blowing up (well that and his sensetionalized death rays. Esspecially the one on the eifel towwer.) but what people don't notice is that no-one gets hurt by more than a slapstick effect. People tennd not to notice such things when their system is flooded with adrenalin and they have some light bruises after narowly dodgin an explosion. They think it's luck.
E: "Did they... did they just endorse the combination of the JSDF and US Army by showing them as two lesbian lolicons moving in together and holding hands and talking about how 'intimate' they were?"
B: "Have you forgotten so soon? They're phasing out Don't Ask, Don't Tell."