Need to be encased in a super secure safe fault if they are the last to go to sleep after all the passengers and the pods were supposed to be fail proof [unless there are space pirates]
....but even then why put all your 'eggs' in one basket: if that big asteroid had hit right where the crew was entombed then by-bye crew
It is probably ( like an airliner ) in case of suicide hijackers, who would be passengers either deliberately waking early, or as planned. Imagine Homestead getting a phone call a couple of years out, saying, "Put a quadrillion dollars in this Swiss bank account, or I'll run the ship into a star".
The ship was never designed to withstand an asteroid impact ; although perhaps the shield has to be switched off in orbit. At 0.5c, things will only hit it from the front ; but when moving slowly, they could hit it from the sides or rear.
It is probably ( like an airliner ) in case of suicide hijackers, who would be passengers either deliberately waking early, or as planned. Imagine Homestead getting a phone call a couple of years out, saying, "Put a quadrillion dollars in this Swiss bank account, or I'll run the ship into a star".And the hijacker has to wait 55 years for the grand-daughter of his Swiss banker to assure him or her that the $1,000,000,000,000 has been deposited?
Maybe political reasons to make a statement of maybe someone who's really pissed at Homestead.
sharea couple of years out,Jim had to wait 55 years for a reply, only because the Avalon was 30 years out.
(3) How are you going to spend that $1,000,000,000,000?
"suicide hijackers"That could be "I'll kill us all unless you deposit $1,000,000,000,000 to my account.
Someone else spends the money.
As rgklapp suggests, the hijacking might be for political reasons ( many terrestrial examples ). It might, ( like 9/11 ) come with no demand at all, or be for personal reasons...Consider the UK government and the IRA. They were at loggerheads for decades. But, the old generation of leaders retired, and a younger generation of leaders made peace. If you are a bomber, wanting to strike a blow, you might send a message, your message
Ha ha ha UN, my group is getting even! By the time you get this message I will already have plunged Avalon into a nearby star!Well, for all you know your confederates may have made peace with your enemies! Your confederates may have been elected to be the world's leaders!
a couple of years out
Didn't I say that clearly enough ?Um, sorry, I guess not.
The 9/11 hijackers acted soon after take-off, in their case to maximise the fuel in the tanks.So, they plunge into the first star Avalon passes near?
I'll concede ; the only feasible star for a ransom / political statement, is our own sun. Anything past that, would probably be personal. I'm sure the future will have its fair share of lunatics.
shareDarn, I read a pretty good science fiction story where terrorists did destroy humanity's first or second starship, together with its crew, which included some of humanity's very finest minds. Now what was that novel's name?
Yes, lunacy will always be with us -- stupidity too.
Cheers!
Union regulations. The crew can't get bothered to share room with the plebes.
We don't know how long it takes to start the hibernation process. There might be security concerns during departure.
I just watched the movie. This pissed me off big time as well. WTF were they in there protected for?
share