SDN Worlds 4 Commentary Thread IV

[MKSheppard]

That's the beauty of it!

If I tried to send something that could do acutal damage in, like explosives; nuclear devices, SIS kill teams; the chances of interception are astronomically high.

But nobody's expecting children's toys to pose a threat; and they are basically inert. So it was fairly easy to use the SIS's powers of having a nation state behind it to be able to forge and play with shipping bills to make it appear that they're gifts from the Esperletes' friends.

And once they're in, people are going. "OK. Where's the REAL shepistani attack/threat gonna come from. Certainly not with toys."

Also, it's totally deniable!

[PeZook]

Why deny it at all?

They're gifts from the mighty Shepistani people! Gifts of FRIENDSHIP!



EDIT:

But nobody's expecting children's toys to pose a threat; and they are basically inert.

Not when the Bragulans decide it's time to cleanse the young generation they're not! (Or when the temperature rises too much and the toxic plastic start giving off poisonous fumes )

[MKSheppard]

Seriously.

Imagine the fun you could have with action figures in this time period.

You'd have flash memory of 16 GB costing only probably 5 cents. Meaning you could then assemble a fairly comprehensive toy; tie it into a 5 cent BRAGFI 401.111n network, so that all the toys can "talk" together, to create realistic battles in which the toys all fall down when 'shot' with guns from other GAYSBRO toys.

Also the toys would be near-true-AIs! Just enough to appear 'sentinent' and your bestest friend to a 6 year old kid

Of course...they'd be shock, vibration, heat, fire and explosive resistant. So I guess the tiny magnetic tape decks could be seen as an aberration; hence why the line was surplus, because they kept breaking when the kids threw them across the room *BOOOOOOOOM*

And fire resistant? Becuase you know the older tykes will want realistic 'screaming man on fire' action when they use their mother's hairspray and a lighter...

[MKSheppard]

They're gifts from the mighty Shepistani people! Gifts of FRIENDSHIP!

I need to deny the initial shipment of toys, since they were labelled as coming from the friends/relatives of the PSkyers.

But I can send MORE.

[Simon_Jester]

That's the beauty of it!

If I tried to send something that could do acutal damage in, like explosives; nuclear devices, SIS kill teams; the chances of interception are astronomically high.

But nobody's expecting children's toys to pose a threat; and they are basically inert. So it was fairly easy to use the SIS's powers of having a nation state behind it to be able to forge and play with shipping bills to make it appear that they're gifts from the Esperletes' friends.

And once they're in, people are going. "OK. Where's the REAL shepistani attack/threat gonna come from. Certainly not with toys."

Also, it's totally deniable!

If you're Deepak, you just go "Hey thanks Uncle Herbert!"

Seriously, I don't want to try and dictate the outcome of the Precision Electromagnetics event, but I'm gonna be a little disappointed if he doesn't win a medal.

Seriously, Shep, which is more un-Sheply? You singing Imagine, or you singing J-pop?

[MKSheppard]

No idea. Since I use 64 bit IE8 and flash doesn't work on IE8 64 bit, due to Adobe still NOT making a 64 bit version of flash.

And remember, not everyone is as calm as Deepak. For every Deepak, there's five more idiots like RAPEWEED ROSENBERG.

[Simon_Jester]

The full lyrics to Imagine:

Imagine there's no heaven, it's easy if you try
No people below us, above it's only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today

Imagine there's no countries, it isn't hard to do
No need to kill or die for and no religions too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace

You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one

Imagine no possessions I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger a brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing for the world

You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one

You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
Take my hand and join us
And the world will live, will live as one

It is basically the hippiest song in the history of human civilization.

[PeZook]

I think the bigger threat is the paranoid security apparatus going apeshit and thus disrupting the tournament's events in search for THE REAL BOMB.

[Steve]

Out of curiosity, what's the difference between the Amplitur on the loose on Shepwoirld and the one currently in Wild Space? I'm sensing some overlap in those stories.

[PeZook]

Out of curiosity, what's the difference between the Amplitur on the loose on Shepwoirld and the one currently in Wild Space? I'm sensing some overlap in those stories.

The one on Montgomery is part of the remnant: i.e. from the civilized Amplitur who were almost but not quite genocided.

The one in Wild Space was part of a stone-age tribe.

[DarthShady]

The one in Wild Space was part of a stone-age tribe.

He better hope the Karlack do not discover his presence. Such a powerful psionic race would be quite the happy meal for them.

Speaking of which, maybe I should offer Shep some of my seekers to help hunt the one he declared war on.

[Shroom Man 777]

Your gene-eaters! Hah!

[Alyrium Denryle]

No idea. Since I use 64 bit IE8 and flash doesn't work on IE8 64 bit, due to Adobe still NOT making a 64 bit version of flash.

And remember, not everyone is as calm as Deepak. For every Deepak, there's five more idiots like RAPEWEED ROSENBERG.

Remember, you can always use other browsers like firefox or chrome...

[Simon_Jester]

And remember, not everyone is as calm as Deepak. For every Deepak, there's five more idiots like RAPEWEED ROSENBERG.

I wonder about this, I truly do. Whether espers are nutty as fruitcake or reasonably stable is going to depend heavily on circumstances.

Besides, Deepak isn't calm at all; he just thought it would be fucking hilarious to have a General Sheppard action figure that sings filthy hippie music. When he says "Do I EVER!" I actually picture him sounding kind of like, say, Freakazoid

Other guys will just get pissed and respond by folding, spindling, and/or mutilating the dolls (like HYPNOTOAD), or not open the package until tomorrow, or whatever. You're going to see a wide range of responses.

[Mayabird]

Phew. Finally caught up. Sorry I wasn't around the last few days. I blame that irritating "real life" thing.

Those were two wonderful pages of story posts. Thank you for the laughs. Now writing time.

[Shroom Man 777]

Welcome backs Mayabirdies! ^_____________________^

[Lonestar]

Out of curiosity, what's the difference between the Amplitur on the loose on Shepwoirld and the one currently in Wild Space? I'm sensing some overlap in those stories.

The Amplitur in the Badlands hide in ships within the N'sss territory. The Amplitur out past the Verge (North Off-map) have established a state. The Choir Ship at Ocracoke was from the Amplitur State past the Verge.

[Steve]

Wow, been rather quiet today.

[Alyrium Denryle]

Wow, been rather quiet today.

I chalk it up to the holiday weekend...

[Ryan Thunder]

I figure everybody else is home fucking while we wonder where they are.

[Ryan Thunder]

In case anybody's wondering, the hilarious self-insert Gary Stu-ism ends with this story arc.

[Simon_Jester]

Could people check my reasoning here?

It seems to me that given the way hyperspace works, there's a strong incentive for even an inferior force to jump out of hyper and make a fight of it- as in the ambush of USS Nantucket and the attack on the Prussian convoy.

Basically, ships can't interact in hyperspace meaningfully- can't shoot at each other. The only thing a ship in hyperspace can do to another is grapple and try to wrestle both ships out of hyper together. If you're outnumbered or out-powered, your ship won't be able to resist being grappled out of hyper, either. So we have a situation where bigger ships can force smaller ones out of hyperspace and engage them in normal space more or less at will.

So if the enemy has the speed- engine quality, superior knowledge of local conditions, whatever- to outrun you, you will be chased down and grabbed. Period.

Now imagine that you're part of a multi-ship fleet or convoy. If the enemy catches up with you, they can grab your ships out of hyper individually and destroy them, while keeping up the pursuit with the rest of their forces. The only way for you to defend yourselves as a group is to pick a spot, jump out of hyperspace there, and make your stand in normal space. Even if you're sure to lose that fight, you will inflict far more damage on the enemy and have far more chance of escaping through some fluke* that way.

So as I see it, the impossibility of mutual support by ships in hyperspace, and the impossibility of making any combat move but a mutual attempt to push each other out of hyperspace, give the weaker party in a hyperspace pursuit a strong motive to make a stand in normal space if they can't outrun their pursuer. "Running only means you die tired" and all that.

Make sense?

*You might get lucky and inflict major drive damage on some of their big bruisers early into a battle, letting you escape. Or they might screw up and drop a zero in their navigation and wind up appearing in normal space millions of kilometers away, giving you a head start when you run back to hyperspace. Or... who knows, maybe the horse will learn to sing.

In case anybody's wondering, the hilarious self-insert Gary Stu-ism ends with this story arc.

I find the self-parodic aspect amusing, speaking for myself...

[Ryan Thunder]

Oh, Ryan and Aaliyah will still be around for self-parodizing, but I promise neither of them will be pulling anything approaching the sort of nigh-omnipotent hackery I have them doing in simworld.

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

Now imagine that you're part of a multi-ship fleet or convoy. If the enemy catches up with you, they can grab your ships out of hyper individually and destroy them, while keeping up the pursuit with the rest of their forces. The only way for you to defend yourselves as a group is to pick a spot, jump out of hyperspace there, and make your stand in normal space. Even if you're sure to lose that fight, you will inflict far more damage on the enemy and have far more chance of escaping through some fluke* that way.

I didn't know that gravity well projectors have this sort of resolution in our universe.

[Darkevilme]

Now imagine that you're part of a multi-ship fleet or convoy. If the enemy catches up with you, they can grab your ships out of hyper individually and destroy them, while keeping up the pursuit with the rest of their forces. The only way for you to defend yourselves as a group is to pick a spot, jump out of hyperspace there, and make your stand in normal space. Even if you're sure to lose that fight, you will inflict far more damage on the enemy and have far more chance of escaping through some fluke* that way.

I didn't know that gravity well projectors have this sort of resolution in our universe.

They dont, or at least not in the sense you're thinking of. Grabbing in this sense is done literally by getting your ship close enough to overlap your hyperfield with their own then try and sync them so you can pull them out with you as you return to realspace, this manouver is apparently a little risky though as if you screw it up both you and they explode. I think that's how this stuff works anyway.

The actual interdictor devices that can work from distances beyond spitting distance are space station sized and have nothing resembling resolution, simply knocking out of hyperspace anyone who's in range while they're turned on. On the plus side those things have really really big ranges.

And while we're on hyperspace trivia: hyperspace sensors cannot see anything smaller than a planetoid in realspace.
So ships in hyperspace are almost blind to ships and other assets in realspace until they emerge.