[RFC] One year Later... (It's about time we got started)

[Black Aeronaut]

I understand that no one would really want to start writing Fenspace stories about it right after it happened... But as of Sunday, March 11th, 2012 it has been one year since an earthquake over 9.0 on the Richter scale and the subsequent 130 foot tsunami devastated the north-eastern coastal areas of Honshu, Japan.
I already know that Benjamin would have been on the scene as soon as the Bullet Boy Express could have gotten him there, pulling people from their cars and out of the water, running supplies to wherever they were needed (I can imagine the USN gratefully accepting his help as there were quite a few places the BBE could get in and out of that a helicopter couldn't hope to), and even volunteering to assist at teh site of the Fukushima reactors (a duty-rated skin-suit is ideally suited, being puncture resistant and hardened against radiation, and just about every Fen has one).
A little something that might help get you motivated to writing:
http://embed.break.com/MjMwNTM0OA==/ai/ ... 1616935985[/img]
Japan One Year Later - Watch More Funny Videos

[robkelk]

Unless anybody comes up with something better: Kohran's lab would have been co-opted as a command post and parked in a geosynchronous orbit above Honshu. Yoriko would have been one of the people handling communications and coordinating both space traffic and Fen search-and-rescue efforts from that command post. (She does have the training for that role.)
--
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

[Dartz]

SS Ciara runs freight from Japan regularly. It's either there, or Australia. They're quietly plugging away with the relief effort shipping things in and out of affected ports, generally going unnoticed by most people. In 2011, they're one of the bigger lifters available, even if they burn through tons of diesel oil doing it.

A mobile phone video of them trying to get out of before it hits appears on a few news stations, taken aboard the bridge. They crest the wave just offshore. There's also some video footage of debris out at sea, and someone being picked up after being found clinging to debris a few kilometres offshore.
________________________________
--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?

[HRogge]

Their 'problem' with the nuclear power plant at Fukushima might also be the reason why Japan dived into the Fenspace Catalog to reverse engineer the plans for fusion reactors (which will be used in the Thor Heyerdahl and similar ships in 2015.

Most likely Japan will allow Fen help as slowly as they allowed US/Europe help, especially for the nuclear plant in Fukushima...

[Bob Schroeck]

Hm. Wouldn't Fen aid/support in the wake of the tsunami, properly presented and given, shift Japan more to the "friendly" side of the official "Neutral-to-friendly" stance they have in their entry on the Fenwiki?
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[HRogge]

Hm. Wouldn't Fen aid/support in the wake of the tsunami, properly presented and given, shift Japan more to the "friendly" side of the official "Neutral-to-friendly" stance they have in their entry on the Fenwiki?

Like I said, I am not sure how much help they will accept at all... look at what they accepted from Earth in real life, they didn't even wanted the US to give them a robot to look into their nuclear reactor...

So I think the Fen can help, but I am not sure if they would play a major part. And yes, it will still influence Japan in the long run.

[Warringer]

Disaster relief perhaps, with the Blazers, but anything else, unlikely. Especially when it happens around Fukushima.

[robkelk]

Like I said, I am not sure how much help they will accept at all... look at what they accepted from Earth in real life, they didn't even wanted the US to give them a robot to look into their nuclear reactor...

So I think the Fen can help, but I am not sure if they would play a major part. And yes, it will still influence Japan in the long run.

By 2011, a small but noticeable fraction of the SMOF have Japanese passports. It might be easier for the Japanese to accept Fen help than anyone else's.
--
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

[Black Aeronaut]

Hm. Wouldn't Fen aid/support in the wake of the tsunami, properly presented and given, shift Japan more to the "friendly" side of the official "Neutral-to-friendly" stance they have in their entry on the Fenwiki?

Like I said, I am not sure how much help they will accept at all... look at what they accepted from Earth in real life, they didn't even wanted the US to give them a robot to look into their nuclear reactor...

So I think the Fen can help, but I am not sure if they would play a major part. And yes, it will still influence Japan in the long run.

Ben's whole attitude is going to be, "What're they gonna do to me for rescuing their people?  Shoot me?  If they wanna issue a indictment or whatever they do in Japan then it's gonna be their political funeral."
And that's the truth of the matter.  The political types can kick and scream all they want - the fact is people are gonna be were helpless, starving, cold, and outright dying.  The people at the site of the disasters will welcome the Fen with open arms.  The only (and I do mean ONLY) spot where the Fen would get into trouble would be if they offered people emergency biomods for the people who are on death's door.
Also, just a tidbit I can easily see happening when the Fen volunteers arrive on the scene of the Fukushima Powerplant.
"You crazy Gaijin!  You're all gonna get yourselves killed!"
"Look," Ben grunted as he hefted the sack of retardant over his shoulder.  "This suit is rated for hard stellar radiation, short of getting blasted by a CME from the sun.  I've got a fully enclosed environment and consumables for twelve hours of continuous, uninterrupted hard labor.  This thing even recycles my drinking water.  It's not the most pleasant thing to drink, but it'll keep me from dehydrating.  Now, unless you can do better then I suggest you let my friends and I get to work on killing those reactors!"

[M Fnord]

Years later, when Ben is dying from every conceivable cancer (and a few that were only theoretical before)...

Anyway. I tend to agree with HRogge and Warringer that the Japanese will at best accept disaster relief at most, and probably not much of that either. In no uncertain terms will the Japanese government accept help for Fukushima (at least not in the immediate aftermath, maybe a year or so down the road when the question of decommissioning comes up) and anybody who presses the issue - Ben - might find themselves in a sticky situation.
Mr. Fnord interdimensional man of mystery

FenWiki - Your One-Stop Shop for Fenspace Information

"I. Drink. Your. NERDRAGE!"

[LynnInDenver]

Given the amount of time it took them to actually own up to the scale of the disaster with the power plant, and that it was obvious they'd known how bad it was, I'm apt to agree that they're not going to be keen on help until it's gotten well beyond what they can handle. Which means it'll be tough for the Fen to handle when they come down.
--

"You know how parents tell you everything's going to fine, but you know they're lying to make you feel better? Everything's going to be fine." - The Doctor

[Proginoskes]

Yeah, and with radiation it's not so much the quantity as kind. The sun puts out hard gamma radiation and charged particles: damaging, but relatively easy to shield against. A fission reactor releases those, plus free neutrons, which are probably the most damaging form of radiation ever and significantly more difficult to block. Ben's gonna cook himself if he goes into a hot zone in an EVA suit.

[Black Aeronaut]

Okay, no need to get sarcastic, Mal. Instead we wave-treat some existing rad-suits and that ought to do the trick.

[Dartz]

From a meta and plot level that thing's best left where it is for a few years at least until it cools down. It's stable and contained where it is.... moving it risks destabilising things massively.

I also have an awkward feeling about the 'fen charge to the rescue' concept for every global disaster and makes it go completely away with the awesome power of handwavium. SS Ciara is involved, but they're doing nothing that couldn't be done anyway....

They're little different from Fed-Ex shipping things in. They might even be getting paid to do it depending on the circumstances and who's calling on what.
________________________________
--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?

[Black Aeronaut]

I'm not saying it would make it go away. That's utterly impossible. If I write stories for this there's going to be one or two moments where Ben breaks down because, even with everyone else helping, it just does not seem like enough.

As for the reactors, they're hardly contained at all and are still seeping radiation into the environment. Granted, they are stable at this point in time (have been considered as such since December 2011) but there is still radiation leaking from the area. In fact, during the monsoon season they had to cover the reactors to keep water from getting in and spreading radioactivity around even more. That not what I would call 'contained'.

They'll be contained once they have viable sarcophagus buildings constructed around each reactor, built in such a manner that workers can get in, perform clean up operations, and remove contained radioactive debris for proper disposal. In this, I think, the Fen can be indispensable.

Take this link provided by Waringer in the inspiration and metasites thread. Secure that to a massive scaffold/gantry crane surrounding a reactor building and feed it a regular diet of leaded concrete. Within a few months you have a viable sarcophagus, complete with service entrances, loading docks, emergency exits, and even provisions for electricity, telecom, water, drainage and ventilation. The Fen, with the help of the local heavy industry concerns for 'heavy lifting' (the locals will absolutely love that) can build something like this.

[Dartz]

I'm just saying, there's a fine line between dealing with real issues and trivialising them. Or worse.

Reed Richards is Useless for a reason.
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--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?

[robkelk]

Maybe we should go over the list of resources available to the Fen in March 2011. I know there's more than this; these are the highlights.

The Fenspace Convention: Exists, and has signed the Treaty of Kandor (which means Kandor City also exists).

The "Big Six" factions: Exist. Their resources are spread thin, and are mostly devoted to establishing their points-of-presence - Utopia Planitia, Mos Eisley, Hogsmeade, Serenity Valley, and Crystal Kyoto are still all under construction. Nobody knows what if anything the Fivers are doing.

SS Ciara: Up. Possibly the group in the best position to do anything useful in this situation - they can get supplies in and wounded out more quickly than anyone else in Fenspace at the time.

The Blue Blazers: Either exist or are about to exist (maybe this is the incident that brought them to public notice?). No Thunderbird 5. Probably no Go-Phones.

The Sammies: Exist, but are only able to take part in space rescues at this time.

The VVS: Still Ptichka and her original crew. Home base... I'm not sure (might have already moved to Kandor by now?), but not the big installations at Korolev or Black Mesa. Not really set up for S&R work, but could still help out.

StellviaCorp: Not yet called StellviaCorp, except in the articles of incorporation. Stellvia Trading has a single ring station (built from Shuttle tanks) and a core module (built at Luna), a small auxiliary station where the resident madgirl can work without putting everyone else's lives at risk (re-deployed as a command post for the search-and-rescue operations), two spacecraft (only one of which is suitable for disaster relief), and some interests in the new town of Crystal Titusville that have yet to produce anything useful. Concentrating on improving relations with the 'Danelaw and the Senshi. Burning through their capital - the hotel's still under construction. Pseudo-faction membership totals seven: Noah, Jake, Yoriko, Yayoi, Sora, Kohran, and (just-hired) Kelly.

The Roughriders: Not yet in existence. No fancy paid-for-by-OGJ base on 36 Atalantae. No Magnificent Midnight. Just Ben, Gina, and the Bullet Boy Express.

Grover's Corners: Still part of rural West Virginia.

OGJ, CGI: Not yet in existence, or even imagined.
--
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

[M Fnord]

I also have an awkward feeling about the 'fen charge to the rescue' concept for every global disaster and makes it go completely away with the awesome power of handwavium.

I don't suppose you could elaborate on the awkward feeling a bit more? I get where you're coming from, I think, but this is an argument we probably should have.
Mr. Fnord interdimensional man of mystery

FenWiki - Your One-Stop Shop for Fenspace Information

"I. Drink. Your. NERDRAGE!"

[robkelk]

This might or might not be Dartz's feeling - it's how I expressed something similar:

On the whole, the Convention takes a hands-off policy toward Earthbound nations. ... Many idealistic factions (such as the Senshi) prefer to let people solve their own problems, providing assistance only when it has been requested. Pragmatic factions (such as the Jossies) point out that the Convention does not have the resources, the ability, or the training to solve humanity's problems.

And that's my starting position in this discussion...
--
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

[Dartz]

I wish I could. It's a little more meta than that. By all means deal with the crisis. Provide support. But just handwaving away real-world problems is a bad idea. Call me silly but it feels disrespectful to real people who're battling with these problems if an author avatar just charges in and fixes it whether they like it or not.
________________________________
--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?

[HRogge]

Maybe the Convention could propose Japan to create a purpose build transporter that can take one of the wrecked reactors including their concrete ground below it into orbit to drop it into the Sun? I don't think Fenspace has a transporter that large (including its freight-door), but they could build one, which at least would solve the problem how to get rid of a part of the problem.

It would be a major effort for Fenspace to do so (and some Daneverse people would have to be involved to make sure the Fen don't try to "steal" the nuclear waste) and it doesn't handwave away the radiation in the surrounding area and the damage by the Earthquake/Tsunami, but it could help a lot in long term.

[Black Aeronaut]

This might or might not be Dartz's feeling - it's how I expressed something similar:

On
the whole, the Convention takes a hands-off policy toward Earthbound
nations. ... Many idealistic factions (such as the Senshi) prefer to let
people solve their own problems, providing assistance only when it has
been requested. Pragmatic factions (such as the Jossies) point out that
the Convention does not have the resources, the ability, or the training
to solve humanity's problems.

And that's my starting position in this discussion...

Okay, 'humanity's problems', taken in the context that is given here, doesn't preclude natural disasters.  It's more of a "You made your bed now sleep in it" deal.  We aren't haring off to resolve the issues in North Korea, Burma, Iran, and Syria.  The only way this disaster is in any way man-made is that measures taken to prevent it from getting as bad as it did were vastly overwhelmed... and the Japanese hardly do safety measures by halves.
And honestly... I can't see us not helping.  Would any one of you be so cold as to not go down there when there are people who were going about their day, and suddenly find themselves dying in a wall of water?
If you guys really don't think it's a good idea to for the Fen in general to help with the rebuilding efforts, then that's fine.  Ben himself doesn't need to speak for the Convention and will stick around for a while, doing what he's good at: working with the two hands his momma gave him.
And Rob, I knew going in that there was not going to be Roughrider's involved.  'No fancy paid-for-by-OGJ base on 36 Atalantae. No Magnificent Midnight' indeed.  'Just Ben, Gina, and the Bullet Boy Express.'  Damn straight.  In fact, I'd be willing to say he doesn't even have his biomod yet.
I can see this keeping Ben occupied for a good six months or so, just running around, lending a helping hand wherever one is needed, and (with constant drilling by Gina) becoming really fluent in Japanese.  By the way, I won't rub anyone's faces in it if they decide not to get involved.  It'll just be a foot-note that for some time in 2011 Ben was occupied with the rescue and recovery efforts in Japan, which would be part of why they love him so much down there.

Maybe
the Convention could propose Japan to create a purpose build transporter
that can take one of the wrecked reactors including their concrete
ground below it into orbit to drop it into the Sun? I don't think
Fenspace has a transporter that large (including its freight-door), but
they could build one, which at least would solve the problem how to get
rid of a part of the problem.

It would be a major effort for Fenspace to do so (and some Daneverse
people would have to be involved to make sure the Fen don't try to
"steal" the nuclear waste) and it doesn't handwave away the radiation in
the surrounding area and the damage by the Earthquake/Tsunami, but it
could help a lot in long term.

Sounds more like Unreal Estate.  Which would be very effective at solving all the immediate problems... but that presents a new problem.  Once in vacuum there isn't much matter around to slow down that neutron radiation that the Fen-tech is apparently vulnerable to.  Those reactors will still need to be contained before you can move them into space like that.  Fen tech can probably be used to do that before moving them, but it will most likely take time to do.
In fact, seeing Grover's Corners going up will probably be the inspiration needed for that operation.  It'll probably even soften the political fallout: the US would still be draconian about it and Japanese would be sympathetic, but at the same time eager to put the same techniques to use to remove God knows how many hundreds of metric tons of radioactive waste and contaminated debris from their environment - cheaply and effectively.

[HRogge]

Sounds more like Unreal Estate.  Which would be very effective at solving all the immediate problems... but that presents a new problem.  Once in vacuum there isn't much matter around to slow down that neutron radiation that the Fen-tech is apparently vulnerable to.  Those reactors will still need to be contained before you can move them into space like that.  Fen tech can probably be used to do that before moving them, but it will most likely take time to do.
In fact, seeing Grover's Corners going up will probably be the inspiration needed for that operation.  It'll probably even soften the political fallout: the US would still be draconian about it and Japanese would be sympathetic, but at the same time eager to put the same techniques to use to remove God knows how many hundreds of metric tons of radioactive waste and contaminated debris from their environment - cheaply and effectively.

Could be a "very small" unreal estate... and a "one shot" one... just get it up into orbit and bring it on a vector that drops it into the sun... after this keep distance, but make sure no one interferes.

[Proginoskes]

I never said that Fen-tech would be especially vulnerable to neutron radiation, just that Ben can't expect an ordinary (or even overkill) EVA suit to cut it. It shouldn't be too hard for him to 'wave up a specialized rad suit, though it'll probably be Apollo-era bulky.EDIT: The best 'dane materials for shielding against gamma and charged radiation do almost jack against neutrons, and the best mundane shielding materials for neutrons aren't easy to make into garments (options include large thicknesses of water, paraffin wax, or concrete) and release gamma rays and charged particles in stopping neutrons. Silly me for assuming 'wavetech has similar limitations. If I ever get around to writing anything, my own character is going to have the same problem. (If there's an established mundane way of doing something, he can use Handwavium to improve on the same method, but can't create a black box to do the same thing.)

Anyway, I think everyone would help as much as they can and the Japanese will let them. I can't claim to be an expert on the Japanese psyche, but I think that might be limited to evacuation and Search & Rescue: I have no real basis for this, but I get the feeling that they might insist on solving their reactor problem on their own, even if they accept help getting survivors out of the hot zone.

Of course, that doesn't preclude the Japanese government from using the Miracle Goo in whatever plan they use.

[M Fnord]

If you guys really don't think it's a good idea to for the Fen in general to help with the rebuilding efforts, then that's fine. Ben himself doesn't need to speak for the Convention and will stick around for a while, doing what he's good at: working with the two hands his momma gave him.

Perhaps you could address Dartz's (and mine, now that I have some more time to think it over) argument about the inherent problems in using a recent disaster as a backdrop to make your character look good? Because looking over what you've written on the subject so far, that's really the troubling part. It's not something like "the big Sendai quake happened, individual Fen help out in the relief effort," it's "the big Sendai quake happened, and ~*~Benjamin Rhodes~*~ rides in to assist, rescuing children from wrecked houses, daring to singlehandedly brave the wrecked Fukushima reactor housing and shedding a manly tear for those poor souls that he couldn't save from Nature's fury." That's the impression I'm getting here.
Mr. Fnord interdimensional man of mystery

FenWiki - Your One-Stop Shop for Fenspace Information

"I. Drink. Your. NERDRAGE!"