Any fiction featuring Space Empires banning FTL's and weaponry on ships

[Batman's Superior Cousin]

Seem to recall reading an article on the 'Net where a space Empire or planet (possibly Earth) forcing either the other planets (led by a Lord) or the Lords themselves to dismantle FTL technology and weaponry. Only the Military are allowed them.
Any suggestions???

[Banners]

This is like some bizarre form of charades...

Is this a comic, book, film, game or Battlestar Galactica? How many syllables?

M@

[TordelBack]

Batson keeps us on our toes!  Could it be the Qax, first conquerers of Earth, in Stephen Baxter's earlier more readable Xeelee stories?

[Dark Jimbo]

I know I may never be able to hold my head up as a self-respecting geek again, but what exactly is FTL?

[TordelBack]

Faster than Light.  Superluminal, as the cool kids say.  Warp Speed.  Not to be confused with Hyperspace (which ain't like dustung crops) or Embracing the Bitch.

[Emperor]

I know I may never be able to hold my head up as a self-respecting geek again, but what exactly is FTL?

Faster-That-Light drives.

edit: Ironically I was clearly too slow in my reply

[Batman's Superior Cousin]

Forgot to mention it's either Literature or Video Game series (my moneys on the former) & its only got Humans in as well.

[SamuelAWilkinson]

You're not misremebering Dune are you, in which all FTL travel is done only by the Guild of Navigators, who thereby have massive political clout? There's also a big load of nobility involved, which ticks off your lords requirement, though the other people never had FTL in the first place.

[Dandontdare]

Darnit, that does sound vaguely familiar - it's the dismantling of ships once a large network of planets has been established, rather than an empire without FTL, that rings a bell. Unfortunately 20+ years of brain-cell abuse means I can't actually remember anything more, but I'll put it to the back of my mind and may leap up during the night with a sudden brainstorm*!



EDIT: Apologies, we're apparently not allowed to use this phrase any more as it may offend people with epilepsy, even though I've NEVER heard it refer to an epileptic fit, only to a sudden idea, or a pooling of random suggestions to come up with ideas. I learned this at a corporate brainstorming session once, at least half of which was taken up by trying to come up with an acceptable alternative to 'brainstorming'

[Kerrin]

You're not misremebering Dune are you, in which all FTL travel is done only by the Guild of Navigators, who thereby have massive political clout? There's also a big load of nobility involved, which ticks off your lords requirement, though the other people never had FTL in the first place.

Dune is what I immediately thought of, and atomic weaponry is banned as well.

[Zarjazzer]

The only thing that even remotely resembles it that I can think of is the Battletech series of books, RPG games and video games. I think in the various succession wars there was a stop put on FTL tech.

[House of Usher]

Apologies, we're apparently not allowed to use this phrase any more as it may offend people with epilepsy, even though I've NEVER heard it refer to an epileptic fit, only to a sudden idea, or a pooling of random suggestions to come up with ideas. I learned this at a corporate brainstorming session once, at least half of which was taken up by trying to come up with an acceptable alternative to 'brainstorming'

Hilarious! I encountered this nonsense on my PGCE course, where we were told a more acceptable term was 'golden shower'. Or was it 'ideas shower'? I can't remember. Anyway, most of us decided we would never embrace any kind of shower as an anodyne term for brainstorming, and if we used this technique in our teaching we probably wouldn't call it anything.

[Banners]

Video game series... Freespace? Space Empires?

M@

[Emperor]

You're not misremebering Dune are you, in which all FTL travel is done only by the Guild of Navigators, who thereby have massive political clout? There's also a big load of nobility involved, which ticks off your lords requirement, though the other people never had FTL in the first place.

Dune is what I immediately thought of, and atomic weaponry is banned as well.

I also thought it might be Dune, although it is hyperspace technology not, strictly speaking, FTL but that might be splitting hairs.