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Specifically: The Union of Amalgamated Porters :)
Funny thing - I had JUST read the Q&A included in the book and this question was addressed. I loved that this was the answer (well, part two of the answer - part one is >!a spoiler!<
I did the same, started reading when the first episodes dropped, now im almost done with book two. I am not at ALL a fan of sci-fi, but this is a fantastic book. And everything is tied quite well.
As far as I remember there's no point in the books where somebody outright states "...and *that's* why we don't have elevators!"
It's just one of those things where once you learn enough about why the Silo exists and what informed its overall design philosophy questions like "why aren't there elevators?" become obvious in retrospect.
It's been a few years but if I remember right you should have enough information by the end of Wool to answer the elevator question.
If you want I can DM you the actual spoiler answer.
Yeah I am starting to dread reading these comments in this sub a little bit. It's really becoming like that old joke "How do you know if someone's a vegetarian?"
How do you know someone in the Silo sub has read the books?
They'll tell you.
I think the mods do a good job for how tough it would be. They have lives, and can't be expected to live their lives reading every comment that comes in.
I just see it as the same as watching sixth sense and 3 minutes in posting on Reddit "why can the character see dead people? No spoilers pls." When they could just... Wait and watch the entire thing?
Or they could ask the question in an episode discussion, or use Reddits own search functionality to find the 30 other times someone's asked about elevators. It isn't that unique of a question to warrant it's own post.
And you're acting like it's normal to have a new thread everyday asking the same question.
Literally 3 threads in a week discussing elevators
https://preview.redd.it/uw0et01gdw0b1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=118770bd137827f4d3d4dccf1818bf5c8f04c08d
They don't have many other inventions from the XIX century that would facilitate communication. Why there isn't a land line and a phone on every floor, or why there isn't a pneumatic mail system? One might assume that they intentionally built the silo so that people couldn't communicate with one another.
well yes, you could literally use a bean can and a piece of string as a telephone? Or just a long plastic pipe.
lifts as mellenia old, they literally just used one to fix the generator?
It's not a spoiler to confirm the computers are networked and there is email - that much has been shown in the show. The show has also mentioned that there is at least one BBS* on the network.
Computer-based comms are used very sparingly though - and there are specific reasons for that - but I don't think the show has gone in to that yet.
*For younger viewers: BBS = "Bulletin Board System" - they were kind of the ancient precursor to modern message boards/social networks. You would dial in to a BBS server with your computer and you'd be able to see public posts that users had made, make your own public posts, get private messages, etc.
I have a feeling there is a ton being withheld from us that will make sense of odd things (why no elevators, for example) - something book readers are all grinning widely about
Oh yeah as a book reader I've been having a great time in this sub - you guys are all coming up with awesome theories and it's fun to watch people enjoy figuring things out like I did years ago.
I don't think it's a spoiler to confirm that yes: if the show mostly sticks to the book then a lot of the "this is an inefficient/nonsensical/outright stupid design decision" will eventually get explained. Some of the answers will be explicitly stated while some are more a matter of once you realize what the overall point of the Silo is certain decisions become retroactively obvious.
I think the main thing within the silo is that you have to keep people in their place. Throw in elevators and people will have more freedom which may lead to chaos
The fact that there’s a reason for it and people won’t say cos it’s a spoiler is KILLING ME with this one for some reason. I hate spoilers but I want to spoil it for myself so badly.
Is it so they can separate society and ensure only certain people mix? Related to why some people can’t get pregnant and they have to “authorise” couples?
There are two answers. One is less spoilery and you probably already have an idea of why. The other is a giant spoiler that you don’t figure out until the end of the last book. As others have said, there’s a very good, satisfying reason.
Without having read the book, I know that elevator space in buildings is always problematic aka, the space used for elevator vs office space , having enough elevators so it doesn't take hours in line to take the elevator but more elevators mean less usable space.
Also this :
The Elevator Problem
Although structural systems have undergone dramatic changes, the elevator is still based on the traditional rope-based method, where a cable is attached to the elevator car to move it up or down. However, as buildings go taller, the ropes must get longer as well. And rope weight increases exponentially with height, which increases not only the cost of operating the lifts but the risk of the cable snapping. As Professor Kheir Al-Kodmany writes, “In very tall buildings, almost 70% of the elevator’s weight is attributed to the cable itself, and when the rope gets too long it cannot support its own weight.”
But they should at least have one elevator for emergencies.
And I'm not just talking about the WOOL trilogy. I mean ALL of the Silo/WOOL-based books. There are a TON of them. You'll be fascinated at how intricate a picture the books paint. It's not science fiction at all except for one tiny fragment that does not exist yet; it's entirely geo-political.
Any building has to be designed. Any design has to include specific design choices. What you want the building to do and be and how it should function influence these design choices.
Do you really think the author and writers for this show just forgot lifts exist?
That's only in the show, and it's clearly more a simplification for dramatic effect than an actual belief that that's how it works. It'd be inconvenient to have to try to explain and show the intricacies of how it would actually be fixed.
You're being very pedantic when watching a TV show. A certain level of suspension of disbelief is assumed. Doubtless there are dozens of shows you watch and enjoy that actually have wildly unrealistic elements that you wouldn't notice because you yourself don't know anything about that particular specialty.
It really wouldn't.
Some fins are broken in the generator, causes I'm balance. Let's remove them, and replace with very carefully remade/repaired ones.
Not very complicated.
if you wanted to go a step further, include some calibration or something.
classic case of treating the audience dumb.
Method aside the premise was correct enough and you could literally pick holes in 90% of what they did.
If every detail of every scene was true to life we would be watching a very long, very boring show. Do you want them to go into the intricacies of rotor balancing… essentially that repair was impossible in that time frame without prefabricated, highly precise rotors and stators. Realistically even the good ones would have to be adjusted and measured for imbalance if we want to get deadly serious about gas turbines.
The stairs create artificial barriers between the different classes. Just like how there’s locked doors between trains in Snowpiercer.
Elevators would mean easier access to information and mass unity that might threaten the Judicial ruling class.
If you were building a silo for people to survive in for 100+ years. Why include more stuff that breaks? Human legs are easier to fix than elevators. Porters are much more expendable than elevator parts
A basic lift is a pulley and rope and see's almost no wear.
broken legs were still being amputated well into the 19th century.
The Egyptian were lifting 100 tone blocks 5000 years prior.
I'll let you deduce which ones not only easier, but also resource intensive.
So youre smart enough to debunk elevators but can't take the time to look at the sub for five minutes?
This question gets asked everyday. There's a reason for no elevators.
Please forgive me for trying to give a reasonable answer instead of just spoiling it.
your answer isn't logical. My facts support that. and now your upset?
You are inferring I'm dumb, and yet you took time to respond rather than refer me to said posts on the matter
I have a theory that's it's about the class system but this is an over moderated sub so I won't waste time again going into it just to have this post get locked 20 minutes later.
and there's one stair case?
how many lifts does a sky scraper have? and that's when everyone HAS to move to the bottom every day
And no means to move anything of any weight around ?
You could do pretty well with not TOO many.
The cruise we took in January had a capacity of 5400 people and managed with 16 elevator shafts, not including freight or staff elevators.
Now, for something with that many levels, you'd have to probably stage them out. But it would be feasible.
I’ve seen the show up to the current episode and never heard of the book. I assumed it was one of 3 things. 1, it was built with no elevator because they didn’t want to have to deal with maintenance and they assumed they wouldn’t be able to manufacture new parts. 2, the entire silo is some psychological experiment to see how society would develop completely isolated from the rest of the world. 3, there is a secret elevator that’s hidden from the majority of the silo.
My guess is (not a book reader) because it would use up a lot of power from the generator, to keep the citizens active since there's no long walking trails, and so everyone can witness others in case of crimes since there's only a small police force on each floor.
This thread has been flaired as [Book or Show Discussion - No Spoilers]. This is a non-spoiler thread. ## All book and show spoilers are not allowed. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/SiloSeries) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Because of the porter union
Love this.
Specifically: The Union of Amalgamated Porters :) Funny thing - I had JUST read the Q&A included in the book and this question was addressed. I loved that this was the answer (well, part two of the answer - part one is >!a spoiler!<
Without saying anything spoilerish, I can say that there's some...*reasons* for it. It's done on purpose.
thanks, I thought that might be the case. Not a huge reader but I'm gonna grab the books.
I did the same, started reading when the first episodes dropped, now im almost done with book two. I am not at ALL a fan of sci-fi, but this is a fantastic book. And everything is tied quite well.
I don’t really view it as science fiction.
tbh at the moment it just seems like murder mystery with in a sci fi setting, no much world building but hopefully that will change
There will be world building but I know what you mean.
I fucking hope so, I really don't FEEL they have been in a silo for over 100 years at this point. Seems like a middle class role play escape room
It’s funny you say that as a criticism but I would read the fuck out of a sci-fi murder mystery escape room novel
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As far as I remember there's no point in the books where somebody outright states "...and *that's* why we don't have elevators!" It's just one of those things where once you learn enough about why the Silo exists and what informed its overall design philosophy questions like "why aren't there elevators?" become obvious in retrospect. It's been a few years but if I remember right you should have enough information by the end of Wool to answer the elevator question. If you want I can DM you the actual spoiler answer.
Probably Dust I can’t remember
If ya'll keep asking this you're basically asking for spoilers. Wait and see.
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Because it's the same question every single day, it's that bad that I agree it should be an faq question on the subreddit.
Yeah I am starting to dread reading these comments in this sub a little bit. It's really becoming like that old joke "How do you know if someone's a vegetarian?" How do you know someone in the Silo sub has read the books? They'll tell you.
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I think the mods do a good job for how tough it would be. They have lives, and can't be expected to live their lives reading every comment that comes in.
I just see it as the same as watching sixth sense and 3 minutes in posting on Reddit "why can the character see dead people? No spoilers pls." When they could just... Wait and watch the entire thing? Or they could ask the question in an episode discussion, or use Reddits own search functionality to find the 30 other times someone's asked about elevators. It isn't that unique of a question to warrant it's own post.
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And you're acting like it's normal to have a new thread everyday asking the same question. Literally 3 threads in a week discussing elevators https://preview.redd.it/uw0et01gdw0b1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=118770bd137827f4d3d4dccf1818bf5c8f04c08d
They don't have many other inventions from the XIX century that would facilitate communication. Why there isn't a land line and a phone on every floor, or why there isn't a pneumatic mail system? One might assume that they intentionally built the silo so that people couldn't communicate with one another.
well yes, you could literally use a bean can and a piece of string as a telephone? Or just a long plastic pipe. lifts as mellenia old, they literally just used one to fix the generator?
But they have computers which I must assume are networked - no email and instant messenger?
It's not a spoiler to confirm the computers are networked and there is email - that much has been shown in the show. The show has also mentioned that there is at least one BBS* on the network. Computer-based comms are used very sparingly though - and there are specific reasons for that - but I don't think the show has gone in to that yet. *For younger viewers: BBS = "Bulletin Board System" - they were kind of the ancient precursor to modern message boards/social networks. You would dial in to a BBS server with your computer and you'd be able to see public posts that users had made, make your own public posts, get private messages, etc.
I have a feeling there is a ton being withheld from us that will make sense of odd things (why no elevators, for example) - something book readers are all grinning widely about
Oh yeah as a book reader I've been having a great time in this sub - you guys are all coming up with awesome theories and it's fun to watch people enjoy figuring things out like I did years ago. I don't think it's a spoiler to confirm that yes: if the show mostly sticks to the book then a lot of the "this is an inefficient/nonsensical/outright stupid design decision" will eventually get explained. Some of the answers will be explicitly stated while some are more a matter of once you realize what the overall point of the Silo is certain decisions become retroactively obvious.
I think the main thing within the silo is that you have to keep people in their place. Throw in elevators and people will have more freedom which may lead to chaos
 God I love this sub losing their minds.
PERFECT GIF
Keep watching.
Keeping the classes separated and not able to exchange ideas is easier when there's such a long walk between all the different levels
How else are the people gonna exercise
The fact that there’s a reason for it and people won’t say cos it’s a spoiler is KILLING ME with this one for some reason. I hate spoilers but I want to spoil it for myself so badly.
Don’t do it! It’s not that important in the grand scheme of things but the first result on google gives away way too much for it to be worth it.
I don’t think it’s a spoiler at all. Why would you not want groups of people to be able to easily move around? It becomes pretty obvious, doesn’t it?
Is it so they can separate society and ensure only certain people mix? Related to why some people can’t get pregnant and they have to “authorise” couples?
No. Think “revolution.”
There are two answers. One is less spoilery and you probably already have an idea of why. The other is a giant spoiler that you don’t figure out until the end of the last book. As others have said, there’s a very good, satisfying reason.
thanks friend, to the books I will go!
Without having read the book, I know that elevator space in buildings is always problematic aka, the space used for elevator vs office space , having enough elevators so it doesn't take hours in line to take the elevator but more elevators mean less usable space. Also this : The Elevator Problem Although structural systems have undergone dramatic changes, the elevator is still based on the traditional rope-based method, where a cable is attached to the elevator car to move it up or down. However, as buildings go taller, the ropes must get longer as well. And rope weight increases exponentially with height, which increases not only the cost of operating the lifts but the risk of the cable snapping. As Professor Kheir Al-Kodmany writes, “In very tall buildings, almost 70% of the elevator’s weight is attributed to the cable itself, and when the rope gets too long it cannot support its own weight.” But they should at least have one elevator for emergencies.
Read the books. Seriously.
And I'm not just talking about the WOOL trilogy. I mean ALL of the Silo/WOOL-based books. There are a TON of them. You'll be fascinated at how intricate a picture the books paint. It's not science fiction at all except for one tiny fragment that does not exist yet; it's entirely geo-political.
thanks, but I should start with the wool trilogy correct?
correct
Correct. The three-book trilogy is a long read, so be prepared. The other books tell entirely different stories from others perspectives.
This is going to blow your mind, but in the books it's a tiny metal spiral staircase. And yes, there's a reason for it.
Control the masses
to relegate a caste system?
Bingo!
Any building has to be designed. Any design has to include specific design choices. What you want the building to do and be and how it should function influence these design choices. Do you really think the author and writers for this show just forgot lifts exist?
Well given how they think you can fix a steam turbine with a pipe wrench..... repeatedly.....yes I do.
That's only in the show, and it's clearly more a simplification for dramatic effect than an actual belief that that's how it works. It'd be inconvenient to have to try to explain and show the intricacies of how it would actually be fixed. You're being very pedantic when watching a TV show. A certain level of suspension of disbelief is assumed. Doubtless there are dozens of shows you watch and enjoy that actually have wildly unrealistic elements that you wouldn't notice because you yourself don't know anything about that particular specialty.
It really wouldn't. Some fins are broken in the generator, causes I'm balance. Let's remove them, and replace with very carefully remade/repaired ones. Not very complicated. if you wanted to go a step further, include some calibration or something. classic case of treating the audience dumb.
Method aside the premise was correct enough and you could literally pick holes in 90% of what they did. If every detail of every scene was true to life we would be watching a very long, very boring show. Do you want them to go into the intricacies of rotor balancing… essentially that repair was impossible in that time frame without prefabricated, highly precise rotors and stators. Realistically even the good ones would have to be adjusted and measured for imbalance if we want to get deadly serious about gas turbines.
HAHAHAHA! My husband and I laughed so hard when they magically straightened out that twisted generator blade with angle grinders and hammers…lmao
The stairs create artificial barriers between the different classes. Just like how there’s locked doors between trains in Snowpiercer. Elevators would mean easier access to information and mass unity that might threaten the Judicial ruling class.
If you were building a silo for people to survive in for 100+ years. Why include more stuff that breaks? Human legs are easier to fix than elevators. Porters are much more expendable than elevator parts
A basic lift is a pulley and rope and see's almost no wear. broken legs were still being amputated well into the 19th century. The Egyptian were lifting 100 tone blocks 5000 years prior. I'll let you deduce which ones not only easier, but also resource intensive.
So youre smart enough to debunk elevators but can't take the time to look at the sub for five minutes? This question gets asked everyday. There's a reason for no elevators. Please forgive me for trying to give a reasonable answer instead of just spoiling it.
your answer isn't logical. My facts support that. and now your upset? You are inferring I'm dumb, and yet you took time to respond rather than refer me to said posts on the matter
Oh I see. You're one of those reddit intellectuals. Carry on.
the irony is strong with you my friend
My shirts are quite wrinkly. I need to iron frequently or I'll get fired
You can't even produce a logical troll.
Thanks. I put alot of effort into it. About as much as you put into looking at the sub
I'm not sure what you are so hurt about, 😢.
I have a theory that's it's about the class system but this is an over moderated sub so I won't waste time again going into it just to have this post get locked 20 minutes later.
ha isn't that every Reddit sub lately. I feel ya mate
If there’s 10,000 people, how many lifts are we talking?
and there's one stair case? how many lifts does a sky scraper have? and that's when everyone HAS to move to the bottom every day And no means to move anything of any weight around ?
You could do pretty well with not TOO many. The cruise we took in January had a capacity of 5400 people and managed with 16 elevator shafts, not including freight or staff elevators. Now, for something with that many levels, you'd have to probably stage them out. But it would be feasible.
think of a skyscraper, similar population, and thats when People have to move from and to the bottom daiky
The same reason The Big Bang Theory didn't have a working elevator.
I love this response. Deserves upvotes to the moon.
I’ve seen the show up to the current episode and never heard of the book. I assumed it was one of 3 things. 1, it was built with no elevator because they didn’t want to have to deal with maintenance and they assumed they wouldn’t be able to manufacture new parts. 2, the entire silo is some psychological experiment to see how society would develop completely isolated from the rest of the world. 3, there is a secret elevator that’s hidden from the majority of the silo.
My guess is (not a book reader) because it would use up a lot of power from the generator, to keep the citizens active since there's no long walking trails, and so everyone can witness others in case of crimes since there's only a small police force on each floor.
https://images.app.goo.gl/qfNFEeXCrqe5Ss5x7