blackaeronaut Wrote:OOC: Ooooooh! I'm gonna have fun with this! Too bad we aren't going to really crank things to eleven by getting Nanoha-verse TSAB involved plus their 'alternates' of us.OOC: We aren't?
From: Noah Scott (bigcheese@stellvia.lib)
To: Bob Schroeck (rms@ourtown.fen)
Date: November 29, 2016
Subj: Re: Information which may be useful in the current situation
>> The basics of the Burroughs drive are simple enough -- force a gyroscope
>> to precess in a direction outside of 3-space. But precisely-controlling
>> that precession to the degree that's needed for navigation, yeah, I can
>> see how that would be a bit hard to accomplish with SOTA technology and
>> techniques in a space smaller than a barn. No cheating with waved
>> support systems is possible?
>
>Kohran says "at least ten years, and that's *with* handwavium assist".
>
>I think we're out of luck with a tech solution, but I'm not dismissing
>any possibilities right now. This one will need more brainpower than we
>can spare until Featherston's brought to heel, though, so let's hope the
>fighters work fast.
I cannot believe I completely missed the hint you gave me, Bob - "in a
space smaller than a barn". (I'll blame it on being busy with 191-Con.)
Ever read "Doc" Smith's Skylark stories? Seaton had the same problem we
have here - an inability to miniaturize needed controls - and he solved
it by building bigger ships. Kohran thinks something the size of
Grover's Corners would just barely be big enough to hold the kludge we'd
need for the controls. (Yes, that's with 'wave assist.) It'll take at
least three months to build, but *we can do it*.
Now the problem is getting hold of parachronics maps. I don't see any in
the Whole Fenspace Catalog. But I might have a solution there as well.
(You're familiar with the Infinite Worlds setting SJGames released a few
years ago, I assume...)
--
Noah Scott, of station Stellvia
"In any confrontation, your goal must be to win. There is no sense in
pursuing a confrontation in a way that will leave you or your cause
worse off than when it began." - J.D Salinger, March 1999
From: Noah Scott (bigcheese@stellvia.lib)
To: Operation FIREFALL Mailing List (firefall@sovietairforce.fen)
Date: November 29, 2016
Subj: Good news, bad news, and worse news
Good news: I started developing an android three days ago in order to
jump-start the mage-training program that might get our people back.
She's already showing signs of waking up. This may be because I hired
the character's voice actress, Kana Ueda, to take part in the process,
rather than relying solely on published material about the character.
Kohran and A.C. think she'll be awake within a week.
Bad news: She appears to be becoming a cross between at least four of
Ueda-san's characters, one of whom A.C. has already awakened as a
Fenspace citizen. I was hoping for Honami Takase Ambler; pre-awakening
scans show that's her main personality and skillset, but she's also
developing traits from Hayama Shizuka (the person we've already
awakened), Rin Tosaka... and Hayate Yagami. If she get's Hayate's power
level, this stops being completely bad news, but she's likely to have a
bad case of MPD no matter what she gets from the other characters.
Good news: We've figured out a way to build a cross-world transport.
Bad news: In order to be at all useful, its controls will be the size of
Grver's Corners, so the ship itself will approach the size of Greenwood.
Worse news: We have no idea where to point it... unless the cross-world
agent I discovered today can help us. (I'll say nothing more about that
bombshell over comms channels. See me face-to-face if you want details.)
Question: Do we want to build the cross-world ship?
--
Noah Scott, of station Stellvia
"In any confrontation, your goal must be to win. There is no sense in
pursuing a confrontation in a way that will leave you or your cause
worse off than when it began." - J.D Salinger, March 1999
Owner's Office
Stellvia
21:51 GMT 29 November 2016
Noah clicked on "Send", then picked up the phone on his desk and dialed a five-digit number. "Kelly? It's Noah. That order I gave you today about not accepting any new reservations is rescinded with regard to the SMOFs. I think a lot of them are about to want to talk with me..."
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."
- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012