Sifu Blackirish
SOC-14 1K
I remember reading some of the old 'visions of the future' magazine articles and newsreels. They are a good source of inspiration for a society out there somewhere in the interstellar deep.
I haven't looked at my references in a while, but I remember a few highlights. Gigantic highway systems without a traffic jam in sight. Bigger is better with construction equipment, structures, industrial plants. Rocket travel anywhere in the globe in hours.
There may one out there somewhere, but I do not recall one 'future vision' study that talked about moving information rather than people and physical objects. So, while working on one of my stories, I mused about how a mature interplanetary culture would handle their data. Have a seat, friend...
FROM NOVEL 'TALES OF A MAD SCIENTIST'
FROM STORY 'EXPLORATION SAGA' EPISODE 'A GRAND TOUR'
However dire future predictions are, there is a bright side to the presence of that anomaly. An opportunity that should not be squandered.
What was the 'catch phrase' used elsewherewhen? A 'Grand Tour' of the distant stellar neighborhood?
One has to admit that this person making their proposal is extremely persuasive. Here is Chief Archivist Kiiferna, a high ranking -- actually, the highest ranking database administrator in this stellar system. Word spread quickly that when she heard about the anomaly, she removed herself from ordinary management duties and took a brief sabbatical, afterward placing herself on a newly formed Archive Retrieval Team. She is showing so much excitement that it is contagious. Enthusiasm such as this is rarely seen these days.
"Relatively rich densities of interstellar dust and gas will make our ramscoop designs, barely workable in system with access to solar wind, finally feasable on an interstellar level."
Her newly acquired active sunshade had other features besides superior protection from sunlight. Along the left side, where high density plasteel curved over and down her cheek, four miniature holographic projectors were located. They produced images in a semicircle around her as she continued to speak.
"This is hard experience, not just theory. One of my ancestors was a ramscoop pilot, who retired after sustaining severe injuries and became Chief Archivist herself. She immersed
herself in the archives, never going offworld again, never so far as Lunaa. This is family history, so I know what I am talking about.
"Use it for fuel. Build up a substantial velocity. Not light speed, that impossible to breach barrier, of course. Get close. Close enough for time dilation to work its magic. Enough magic to make a manned mission feasable."
Someone wondered about the robotic fleet. Is there anything we can learn from our experience with them?
"Absolutely," she replied.
Seamlessly her holographic projectors changed to displaying new information, counterpoints to her verbal persuasion. Such were the advantages of cyberconnection to active datastreams. She wears the sunshade in honor of her ancestor, who wore it to hide her injuries and for protection.
"Long ago, when these ramscoop vehicles were purely theoretical, designers were concerned about potential effects on organics from intense magnetic fields. Their solution was to place the electromagnetic nets and fusion reactors far forward of occupied crew spaces. Keep a minimal drive with the crew for emergencies, and use the robots as towing vehicles."
I haven't looked at my references in a while, but I remember a few highlights. Gigantic highway systems without a traffic jam in sight. Bigger is better with construction equipment, structures, industrial plants. Rocket travel anywhere in the globe in hours.
There may one out there somewhere, but I do not recall one 'future vision' study that talked about moving information rather than people and physical objects. So, while working on one of my stories, I mused about how a mature interplanetary culture would handle their data. Have a seat, friend...
FROM NOVEL 'TALES OF A MAD SCIENTIST'
FROM STORY 'EXPLORATION SAGA' EPISODE 'A GRAND TOUR'
However dire future predictions are, there is a bright side to the presence of that anomaly. An opportunity that should not be squandered.
What was the 'catch phrase' used elsewherewhen? A 'Grand Tour' of the distant stellar neighborhood?
One has to admit that this person making their proposal is extremely persuasive. Here is Chief Archivist Kiiferna, a high ranking -- actually, the highest ranking database administrator in this stellar system. Word spread quickly that when she heard about the anomaly, she removed herself from ordinary management duties and took a brief sabbatical, afterward placing herself on a newly formed Archive Retrieval Team. She is showing so much excitement that it is contagious. Enthusiasm such as this is rarely seen these days.
"Relatively rich densities of interstellar dust and gas will make our ramscoop designs, barely workable in system with access to solar wind, finally feasable on an interstellar level."
Her newly acquired active sunshade had other features besides superior protection from sunlight. Along the left side, where high density plasteel curved over and down her cheek, four miniature holographic projectors were located. They produced images in a semicircle around her as she continued to speak.
"This is hard experience, not just theory. One of my ancestors was a ramscoop pilot, who retired after sustaining severe injuries and became Chief Archivist herself. She immersed
herself in the archives, never going offworld again, never so far as Lunaa. This is family history, so I know what I am talking about.
"Use it for fuel. Build up a substantial velocity. Not light speed, that impossible to breach barrier, of course. Get close. Close enough for time dilation to work its magic. Enough magic to make a manned mission feasable."
Someone wondered about the robotic fleet. Is there anything we can learn from our experience with them?
"Absolutely," she replied.
Seamlessly her holographic projectors changed to displaying new information, counterpoints to her verbal persuasion. Such were the advantages of cyberconnection to active datastreams. She wears the sunshade in honor of her ancestor, who wore it to hide her injuries and for protection.
"Long ago, when these ramscoop vehicles were purely theoretical, designers were concerned about potential effects on organics from intense magnetic fields. Their solution was to place the electromagnetic nets and fusion reactors far forward of occupied crew spaces. Keep a minimal drive with the crew for emergencies, and use the robots as towing vehicles."
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