Nuclear dampers and alien romance

1)
I recently shelled out on a copy of Hard Times (wot no virus?) and was intrigued
 by part of one of the scenarios in which the evil (boo hiss) pirate is tricked
into stealing this ship with a nuclear damper in the cargo hold,  when said
baddie stores his nukes in there this device renders them PERMENANTLY inoperable
............. comments any one?
If this is the case in the Trav' universe then surely you might be able to use
one to tidy up radioactive messes?

NB   PLEASE,  no 400 megabyte physicist raves about all this! PLEASE....
I have enough trouble staying awake long enough over the gravitics debate :)

2)
 A long while back I posted some queries about how many of you had had cross
species romance/physical liasons going on in your games and how you reckoned
soceity might view it.   I got a deafening silence..... anyone new out there
got sommat to contribute.

3)   Additional point
  Has anyone thought how dumb imperial archaeologists must be to not have
realised WHO the ancients were?