2011-05-12: Going Out

[Slamlander]

Meji's apparently going to do whatever she's going to do, without warning anyone on the ships first. The power of a god, the IQ of a glass of water...

Actually, Meji's not that dumb and she has just been enhanced by Senilis. However, she is a major ditz and self-centered as all teenagers are.

Consequences; what consequences? Everything will go perfectly, as intended ... no problem ... Oopsie!

Yes, she hasn't learned better yet.

*Sitting in a lounger with a bucket of CrackerJack and waiting for the "Ooops!" *

[Hornet]

I don't think either a wormhole or foldspace would be a good idea in atmosphere.
Probably just going to pick them up and move them through normal space with her mind.

[Forrest]

I don't think either a wormhole or foldspace would be a good idea in atmosphere.

I've never understood why this is a trope in scifi. The only downside that I can think of to weird spacetime geometries inside an atmosphere vs in a vacuum are pressure differentials between your start and ends points, particularly if you're jumping from inside an atmosphere to outside of one, and don't want to suck a big chunk of the atmosphere out into space with you. But jumping from inside an atmosphere to somewhere else in the same atmosphere is going to, at worst, make your ears pop like driving up or down a steep mountain; nothing catastrophic.

Of course since any technology for doing the spatiotemporal manipulation is made-up hand-waving anyway, I guess they can always make up some downside to using that inside an atmosphere. But I still don't understand why every seems to feel it should "naturally" be a problem.

[Anthony]

Unexpected masses might be an issue. However, given the conversation that led up to this activity, I'm going to bet on a time or speed tweak rather than a teleport.

[eee]

eee, no, Meji's always pretty smart when she wants to be (emphasis upon the "wants to be"). Impulse control of a ferret on meth, though.

Yes, you're right. I should have said something along the lines of 'common sense of a glass of water." Or maybe "She doesn't have the sense God gave a goose. And God knows God didn't give a goose much sense..."

Although she's getting better. Becoming a god is improving her, while it's driven Ian emo and psycho. Maybe when the two of them come into proximity they'll start stabilizing.

[Imp-Chan]

eee, no, Meji's always pretty smart when she wants to be (emphasis upon the "wants to be"). Impulse control of a ferret on meth, though.

Yes, you're right. I should have said something along the lines of 'common sense of a glass of water." Or maybe "She doesn't have the sense God gave a goose. And God knows God didn't give a goose much sense..."

Although she's getting better. Becoming a god is improving her, while it's driven Ian emo and psycho. Maybe when the two of them come into proximity they'll start stabilizing.

Actually, I think if you reread Chapter 18 you'll see he was pretty emo and douchey even before the godhood. Or at least I consider him a judgmental reactionary prick even back then.

^-^'

[Graybeard]

Actually, I think if you reread Chapter 18 you'll see he was pretty emo and douchey even before the godhood. Or at least I consider him a judgmental reactionary prick even back then.

I assume you were referring to Ian here, right? You've expressed this sentiment before, and I have to say, I just don't see it. The Ian who set out from Santuariel was a naive, idealistic -- I would almost say "innocent" -- kid who:

• Loved his sickly older sister very much, so much that he was willing to take on a quest that he assessed (correctly) as very dangerous on her behalf;
• Had little use for a mother who'd ceased mothering because of a mental state that he (or anyone else) couldn't drag her out of, but just moved on;
• Versed himself in folk magic as a way to address his family's problems, and it surely wasn't his fault that that magic didn't work on half elves;
• Wrote an articulate and loving letter to his sister laying out both a plan that was sensible (if ... ambitious ...) under the circumstances and his reasons for thinking that was the only way to go;
• Dealt with Leah and Riley in a congenial and reassuring way and tried to put them (and their greater experience of the world beyond Santuariel) at ease;
• Was about as kind and gentle as could be imagined in dealing with Kawaii, in circumstances that the most jaded adventurer would have found weird;
• Even when he couldn't find a way to solve a problem on his quest other than mugging someone, was at least polite and regretful about it.

If that's being "emo and douchey," I take the liberty of claiming the world could use a few more emo douches. So exactly what's your problem with the pre-Anilis version of Ian?

[Imp-Chan]

I see him skipping straight to shouting at his sister when he finds out how serious her condition is, being negative even when she requests him not to be and failing to even acknowledge her opinions about the bright side of life, and then being absolutely and unremittingly scathing towards a mother who cannot help her condition (even addressing it in similarly dismissive terms to Riley and Leah, which is a whole extra realm of douchebaggery). He also mugs old men instead of even asking them for help, and he wouldn't have been fighting that elf to the death if he'd had the sense to run away with Jon and Meji, but he was already crazy enough to keep blasting away even back then. So yes, I think Ian was on the road to crazy town long before he got high on godjuice.

Maybe I see him as such a douche primarily because of how he speaks of his mother. I have a condition like hers. I walk a fine line between "can't help it" and "won't help it." Sometimes it's one, sometimes the other, sometimes it's even both. You know what doesn't help you to fight a condition like that? Judgement, dismissal, and scorn from your loved ones. In fact, the wrong dynamic can aggravate the condition a LOT, especially when you aren't medicated for it. I just barely lived through a time when I wasn't diagnosed or medicated, and my family had no clue how to respond to me or my behavior, and that left some pretty deep scars (both psychic and physical, and not only on myself). Is his mom right to behave the way she does? No, probably not, and I know it isn't easy to live with, but that doesn't make Ian any less of a dick for how he responds to it.

Though, honestly, I've distrusted and disliked Ian from this moment on: http://www.errantstory.com/2003-09-24/150 He's never even met an elf, but he has no hesitation at all about labeling them all as monsters and spreading that view to others. Once again, he has the opportunity to behave with grace towards his fellow living beings, to give them the benefit of the doubt, and it doesn't even occur to him. He chooses hate without ever stopping to consider the alternative.

I find that very hard to admire or excuse, and I certainly can't blame it on power he didn't have yet.

-_-'

[Ori Klein]

Is his mom right to behave the way she does? No, probably not, and I know it isn't easy to live with, but that doesn't make Ian any less of a dick for how he responds to it.

The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good.
The true test of character is not how much we know how to do, but how we behave when we don't know what to do.

I don't think either a wormhole or foldspace would be a good idea in atmosphere.

I've never understood why this is a trope in scifi. The only downside that I can think of to weird spacetime geometries inside an atmosphere vs in a vacuum are pressure differentials between your start and ends points, particularly if you're jumping from inside an atmosphere to outside of one, and don't want to suck a big chunk of the atmosphere out into space with you. But jumping from inside an atmosphere to somewhere else in the same atmosphere is going to, at worst, make your ears pop like driving up or down a steep mountain; nothing catastrophic.

Of course since any technology for doing the spatiotemporal manipulation is made-up hand-waving anyway, I guess they can always make up some downside to using that inside an atmosphere. But I still don't understand why every seems to feel it should "naturally" be a problem.

I have absolutely no technical background to have any sort of understanding on the subject matter. Having said that, I would think that inside the Earth you are subjected to and have to deal with the immense magnetic fields that roam about the planet and which can complicate calculations quite a bit as any space-time action is highly affected by anything-gravity (or gravitons for that matter). Thus, outer space provides a much 'cleaner' environment. The less hassle the better, no?

[Slamlander]

I don't think either a wormhole or foldspace would be a good idea in atmosphere.

I've never understood why this is a trope in scifi. The only downside that I can think of to weird spacetime geometries inside an atmosphere vs in a vacuum are pressure differentials between your start and ends points, particularly if you're jumping from inside an atmosphere to outside of one, and don't want to suck a big chunk of the atmosphere out into space with you. But jumping from inside an atmosphere to somewhere else in the same atmosphere is going to, at worst, make your ears pop like driving up or down a steep mountain; nothing catastrophic.

Actually, it isn't atmosphere that is the hinderance; It is the gravity well (aka, a rather deep subspace hole). Many writers don't bother learning the physics involved (it is indeed real physics). SciFi isn't Fantasy. Although many current authors mix the two, SciFi is supposed to be extrapolative. Basically, if it isn't extrapolative from real science then it is Fantasy and not SciFi (Star Trek, Star Wars, Avatar, Battlestar Galactica). For examples; we will have artificial gravity some day. The basic math is already extant. There are just a few minor details conspicuously absent. Also, Alcubierre warp drive was seriously studied at NASA and subspace really exists. There is the minor detail of actually building the ship. BTW, we will have to understand and implement artificial gravity before we can actually build a warp drive.

As with many things, we know what needs to be done but implementation details still elude us.