You do realise that what you've written here is utter bullshit ... otherwise known as fiction - which is fine in fiction, but shouldn't be stated as fact
Since those are an author invention the author could just invent a flaw. I have little time for Authors saying "I can't because..." Dude you're god in your universe, you can do what you want
"Honey Smeet?" "Yes carbon bear?" "Your idiot alcoholic brother ruined our lawn again." "Just let him sleep it off." "Wish the jackass would use the driveway next time! To be honest they should take his Frisbee license, until he lays off the sauce."
True - but in a situation like this you have to ask which runs the greater risk of breaking suspension of disbelief a) creating a flaw in the command ship armour , or b) destroying an entire galaxy with a super nerfalator device
Personally, I'd put my money on having a weakness. It's a trope that hangs out in stories as far back as The Iliad, with Achilles' heel. Villains having big dumb video game weakness that the heroes take advantage of is if not expected, then at least less story breaking as playing too fast and too loose with the laws of physics. I'd say that most of the people that read science fiction are a bit more savvy when it comes to these types of sciences than the average soul, so putting a bit too much hand waving and techno jibberish in a story is going to be more of a distraction than an errant exhaust port, or killing the queen kills the army, type of thing. Not saying either are great, but lesser of two evils and all that.
Its also a bit of a hole that they can't destroy the command ship because its got armor, but they have the tech to destroy the whole galaxy
People often mistake my statements for facts because of Aspergers which makes me sound more objective than intended.
Some sort of device that created a SUPER MASSIVE black hole at the center of the galaxy could be possible. Although I believe it would take some time to consume the entire galaxy.
I mean, I know some scientists say there are already SMBH's in the center of galaxies, but I'd be talking about something even bigger I guess. It's just an idea.
The problem with this is that if the SuperMassive Black Hole at the center of the galaxy spontaneously disappeared, then the Sun (26,000 light-years from the SMBH) would spend the next 26,000 years orbiting the gravitational ghost of where the SMBH used to be. If you detonated a superweapon at the center of the galaxy, and if the destruction spread at the speed of light, then it would still take 50,000 years for the destruction to spread to the outer edges.
What about a giant jump gate with mechanical arms in the fourth dimension of direction that could fold up space-time like a newspaper.
Yeah and if for some reason that wasn't convincing enough you could just have John de Lancie at the controls to make it more credible.
Increasing the size of the SMBH At the center of the galaxy won’t do much. The one there is already billions of times the mass of or sun. Even if you suddebly tenfold increase the mass, it’s take 50,000 years to have any effect. The black hole is also tiny compared to the rest of the galaxy. Most people think that the galaxy orbits the black hole like the planets around the sun when in actuality, the galaxy is way more massive than the hole itself so it’s more like it’s simply sunk to the middle.
Best way in my mind to destroy a galaxy to would be with entropy. It takes like no effort, it's already happening, and it can't be stopped. Down side is it will take literally all the years to happen, but it's also super realistic and nothing can survive it.
Happens in real life too .... such as the wonderful design decision in the building of the soviet BRDM which put the fuel tanks in the rear doors, making them very vulnerable to RPG fire and a hit tended to burn the soldiers travelling inside it..... if you invented that in a book the readers would probably say nah bollocks... but it happens
I knew this sounded familiar, it's the Silastic Armorfiends' Ultimate Weapon from Life, The Universe, And Everything:
It would be worth mentioning that somehow making all of the stars go supernova would not have much effect on creatures that are already in interstellar space. Once you get a few light hours from the star, the effect of the supernova will be somewhat limited to a properly shielded spacecraft.
I LIKE IT! If you can make it work. I think most of the responders are right, it couldn't be done with the current understanding of science. But, reach should exceed grasp. I'd like to see a draft.
Just to put things into perspective, the Earth is so far away from the sun that it takes light 8 minutes or so to go from the surface of the sun to that of the Earth. So as you've stated, in subspace which is part of the destruction mechanism - as in this fictional universe (and many others which use subspace) - the upper speed limit is much higher. The most plausible mechanism I can think of under these circumstances for causing an interstellar destruction cascade might involve destroying the subspace in or parallel to the target galaxy. If you establish the physics of the space and subspace of your universe to be tied together somehow, then the destruction of subspace would cause a disruption to regular space. A big enough chunk of destroyed subspace could upset the balance of a star (energy released from fusion vs the force of gravity) such that the star would either explode or collapse. Pick one and be consistent with it. And since the destruction is subspace-based, its effects could impact regular space on a galaxy-wide scale in the time you want it to. Technically that wouldn't be an interstellar destruction cascade, but it might look like one to an outside observer. To answer your original question, the destruction of every star / gas giant / plasma cloud would be more than enough to destroy a galaxy, rendering any surviving planets too cold to be inhabitable. But it has to be plausible. Establish the physics of your universe in a subtle way (without presenting it like a science lesson) and you'll do fine. Just don't cross the line Star Trek Voyager crossed, or you'll end up with a load of technobabble interspersed with things that happen to people. Unless Voyager fans are your target audience. Assuming your aliens are able to force a black hole into subspace, and the presence of a black hole in subspace destroys, damages or greatly distorts it, then a supermassive black hole theorized to exist at the centre of a galaxy just might have the destructive power you're looking for. Now all I need is a detonator...
