Dragon Technology

[alondor]

If dragons were to return to earth tomorrow, assuming as much time has passed for them as for us, what technologies would they bring with them, and would we have anything that they hadn't though of?

[Falconer]

Context.

Is this the space dragons theory, the ascendant dragons theory, the extinct dragon theory? Shapeshifting dragons non-shapeshifting dragons, big dragons, human-sized dragons?

[alondor]

Shadowrun, that should answer everything I think..

[Falconer]

Actually had to Google that. ^-^

My initial guess would be "not much more than they left with". That kind of social and geographical displacement tends (I think) towards technological stagnation.

Although, necessity IS the mother of invention; if there was a serious issue at wherever they left, they may have adapted or generated new technology to deal with it.

[Corva]

I've only perused the wiki, but didn't the dragons sleep through the 5th world, so they didn't make anything new?

[alondor]

Remove the world specification; we've had more entertaining and enlightening discussions with much less information to go on

[Sivert3]

They would bring jetpacks that actually works.

Lazy dragons are lazy after all.

[Corva]

They already have jetpacks. The fire comes out of, uh, the other end.

[Falconer]

There was a book where dragons fly backwards by spewing fire jets from their mouths. I have it somewhere, don't remember the title. Unsure how the steering works without wings.

[Sivert3]

That's crazy talk for the both of you. Basic physics dictates that the external combustion of whatever chemical that dragons use to make the fire, can't make any tangible thrust. Internal combustion could, but with the amount of fire involved it would leave a very sore mouth, or worse as in DragonRider's case.

On another note, they probably wouldn't call them jetpacks. Perhaps something like infiniglider or flightmobile. And you'd most certainly need wings to use one.

[Corva]

It was a Discworld reference...

Most depictions I've seen or heard of Dragons don't suggest opposable thumbs, so it's hard to see what sort of technology they could make. I guess if their tails are prehensile...

[Falconer]

One word: psionics.

[Corva]

But if they had psionics, what would they need technology for? It would, I suppose, lend itself to Magitek...

[Falconer]

Well because while the ability to move things with your mind is useful, what if it turns out there's a weight cap? Or that it's really draining if you move bigger things? For example in the Inheritance series, Most magic users can perform telekinesis, but they still all use mounts and boats of various types, because it's far more expedient and less taxing.

[Sivert3]

Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.

~Author C. Clark

Maybe these technologically advance dragons aren't really dragons, but rather alien brains in vats, controlling dragon robots.

[Corva]

From Malatora.

[Falconer]

Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.

~Author C. Clark

Maybe these technologically advance dragons aren't really dragons, but rather alien brains in vats, controlling dragon robots.

Occam's Razor would suggest they're actually dragons. Though the latter would make a really great sci-fi plot twist.