Hey yeah! Back at it again I have a feeling they're going to ask Roger and my tomcat to build them (or help them build) a computer system based on their old design, and not get a new one. They have so much cultural pride in making tube technology work that a totally new system would be a 'stranger' that might work faster and be easier to maintain, but would never be trusted.

Believe it or not--no. Virtually every single programmer in the Empire of Smilodons know they're the last of a breed, and that a much newer computer is required to keep up with the rest of the world. That's not to say that the Thermionics Guild won't try to come up with and build their own computer designs... But the central computer in the Empire of Smilodons will be of modern design. Those who have graduated from Furriston City College (which includes Kraanor!) will see to that. Even Zaykar knows how out-of-date vacuum tubes are.