			    TRAVELLER Digest 473

Topics covered in this issue include:

  1) Exit flashes by Hans Rancke-Madsen <rancke@diku.dk>
  2) Re: TNE combat by Charles Collin <charles@hebb.psych.mcgill.ca>
  3) Time and the tides... by James Kundert <james@dumbcat.sf.ca.us>
  4) Wild Speculation - Lucan Lives !!! by Michael Bailey <pd82495@wapol.gov.au>
  5) Who Cares? (Obviously, some do) by Susan Marie Shock <34ZBTXQ@CMUVM.CSV.CMICH.EDU>
  6) Re: Time and the tides... by merrick@Rt66.com (Merrick Burkhardt)
  7) shipbuilding forum by john.bogan@asb.com
  8) RE: Jump flashes, Starship Ops Manl., etc.  by StarWolf <myhre@oslonett.no>
  9) Re: Who Cares? (Obviously, some do) by eackerma@vt.edu (Eric Ackermann)
 10) Fast & slow drugs by Alvin Plummer <alvin.plummer@sheridanc.on.ca>
 11) Alternate Imperium: Immortality by Alvin Plummer <alvin.plummer@sheridanc.on.ca>
 12) Re: Jump Drive Questions by Steven Bonneville <bonnevil@itlabs.umn.edu>
 13) Re:  Shipbuilding Forum by Derek Wildstar <wildstar@qrc.com>
 14) Re: Occupied Territories by Rob_Prior@nynet.nybe.north-york.on.ca (Rob Prior)
 15) The New Era: Faith, Imperialism, Honour, Regret by Alvin Plummer <alvin.plummer@sheridanc.on.ca>

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Thu, 2 Nov 1995 23:06:15 +0100 (MET)
From: Hans Rancke-Madsen <rancke@diku.dk>
To: traveller@MPGN.COM
Subject: Exit flashes
Message-ID: <199511022206.XAA05305@embla.diku.dk>

Mitch Schwartz writes:
> Actually, you forgot the most important comment from the xboat discussion:
> EXIT FLASHES ARE NON-CANONICAL.  They are artifacts from Jerry Pournelle's
> or CJ Cherryh's SF universes (JP:Mote in God's Eye, etc; CJC: Merchanter's Luck,
> the Chanur series, etc; I recommend both highly!).

I haven't followed this discussion, so apologies if I'm stating something
that has already been refuted. Entry and exit flashes are mentioned in DGPs
"Starship operator's Manual". DGP products are canonical unless GDW says
otherwise. AFAIK GDW haven't said anything about SOP. Have they? 



      Hans Rancke
University of Copenhagen
     rancke@diku.dk
------------
        "A  subsector  official  pompously states that the
        subsector  armed  forces  have  four Kinunir class
        ships in service,  each with enough troop strength
        to put down any military operations that threathen
        the peace of the Imperium."

                        ---Adventure 1, The Kinunir

------------------------------

Date: Thu, 2 Nov 1995 18:34:57 -0500 (EST)
From: Charles Collin <charles@hebb.psych.mcgill.ca>
To: traveller@mpgn.com
Subject: Re: TNE combat
Message-ID: <Pine.SUN.3.91.951102183123.5493B-100000@hebb.psych.mcgill.ca>

Hi.  I've traditionally been a CT referee, but now I'm trying to figure
out the TNE rules.  I think I must be reading the combat system wrong.  If
I've got it right, your average pistol does 1D of damage and a person's
chest has 36 damage points on average (CON+STR * 3).  What gives?  Does 
this mean it takes about 10 bullets to down your average joe?  I 
admit that I have not read the thing thouroughly yet, so if I'm missing
something obvious, please forgive. 

	<0>       "Perfection is not a place, but a direction."         <0>
	<0> Charles Collin (charles@hebb.psych.mcgill.ca), 		<0>
	<0> Psychology Department, McGill University.  			<0> 
	<0> 1205 Dr. Penfield, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, H3A 1B1.  	<0>



------------------------------

Date: Thu, 2 Nov 95 19:50:41 PST
From: James Kundert <james@dumbcat.sf.ca.us>
To: traveller@MPGN.COM
Subject: Time and the tides...
Message-ID: <9511030350.AA07305@dumbcat.sf.ca.us>

Here's a planetology question for the scientists out there:

  I know that, on free-water bearing worlds like Earth, tidal effects
caused by moons and/or the primary create a double high-tide. One high
tide lobe points toward the main cause of the effect, while the other
is exactly opposite.  What I don't know is whether the second lobe is
an integral part of the tidal process or merely a side-effect. If we
were to slow down the Earth's rotation to a fraction of its current
angular velocity, would the far-side tidal lobe still be there?  Would
it grow? Shrink? Vanish entirely?

  Given the SF literature I've read, I tend to think that, at some point,
the second lobe vanishes.  This certainly should happen for tidally-locked
worlds, as I use Robert Forward's "Rocheworld" as an example of this. But
what about almost locked worlds?  When does the second lobe appear?

 Any takers?

James Kundert <j.kundert@genie.geis.com>
              <james@dumbcat.sf.ca.us>

There was a young lady named Bright,
Whose speed was much faster, much faster than Light.
She departed one day in a relative way,
And returned on the previous Night.
   --Albert & the Heart of Gold

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 03 Nov 1995 12:07:59 -1600
From: Michael Bailey <pd82495@wapol.gov.au>
To: traveller@MPGN.COM
Subject: Wild Speculation - Lucan Lives !!!
Message-ID: <9511030406.AA23918@phq1002.wapol.gov.au>

This is pretty much unguided speculation, so feel free to ignore / flame the
hell out of it:

Having just managed to get hold of 'Vampire Fleets', I sat down and read it
from cover to cover.  It was a little while later (while watching Paul
Keating get interviewed on TV...I wonder if I'm making a subconscious
comparison between the PM and Lucan?), that the idea began to form in my
mind.  Lucan lives.

I can see it now...an aged, decaying figure slumped on the Iridium throne.
His body pierced with numerous tubes and implants, pumping chemicals into
his system to keep him alive long past his natural time.  Surgery removes
the growths and deformities brought on by the anagathic drugs continuously
coursing through his veins.

Lucan is kept alive by the monsters he created.  The Vampires worship their
creator, but they will not let him die.  He is completely mad now, and
completely under the control of his worshippers.  He rarely speaks, and then
only in the softest of whispers....but his orders are still obeyed.  Unable
to move, unable to die, Lucan will suffer punishment without end for the
horror that he unleashed...

Well, it's a thought, and it's got a nice sense of justice to it.  Then
again, perhaps I've been reading too much Lovecraft again.  
Michael Bailey (pd82495@wapol.gov.au)

"...the scum also rises..."
                          Hunter S. Thompson



------------------------------

Date:         Thu, 02 Nov 95 23:45:43 EST
From: Susan Marie Shock <34ZBTXQ@CMUVM.CSV.CMICH.EDU>
To: traveller@MPGN.COM
Subject: Who Cares? (Obviously, some do)
Message-ID:   <951102.234841.EST.34ZBTXQ@CMUVM.CSV.CMICH.EDU>

This discussion regarding jump grids vs. jump coils confuses me. We don't know
why GDW approved the Starship Operator's Manual; maybe they had to contract-
wise. What difference does it really make except for those who want to nitpick?
it's GDW's game; they can change it if they want. Ships still enter jump space
in TNE. I'm sorry, but I fail to see the relevance.

------------------------------

Date: Thu, 2 Nov 1995 22:00:21 -0700 (MST)
From: merrick@Rt66.com (Merrick Burkhardt)
To: traveller@MPGN.COM
Subject: Re: Time and the tides...
Message-ID: <9511030500.AA05714@Rt66.com>

Hi,
 
> Here's a planetology question for the scientists out there:
> 
>   I know that, on free-water bearing worlds like Earth, tidal effects
> caused by moons and/or the primary create a double high-tide. One high
> tide lobe points toward the main cause of the effect, while the other
> is exactly opposite.  What I don't know is whether the second lobe is
> an integral part of the tidal process or merely a side-effect. If we
> were to slow down the Earth's rotation to a fraction of its current
> angular velocity, would the far-side tidal lobe still be there?  Would
> it grow? Shrink? Vanish entirely?
 
The secons lbe is indeed an intergral part.  It's kinda hard to
visualize, but there is a horizontal component to the gravitaional force
(the earth isn't a perfect sphere).  Since water is free to move (with
the earth is fairly rigid) it will do so until the horizontal components
due to the moon and earth sum to zero.  In an idealized all water model
even, the second lobe will still be there.  Hard to say in plain ascii,
grab an astro 101 type text just to see the force diagrams, it'll be a
little clearer.  Maybe with one less Guiness in me I could do a better
job :-)

>   Given the SF literature I've read, I tend to think that, at some point,
> the second lobe vanishes.  This certainly should happen for tidally-locked
> worlds, as I use Robert Forward's "Rocheworld" as an example of this. But
> what about almost locked worlds?  When does the second lobe appear?

When close to the Roche limit things get really wierd.  The Roche limit,
BTW, is the point at which the tidal forces are greater than self
gravitation... ie:  the moon comes apart.  Close to that, fluid bodies
(like contact binary stars) will distort greatly and hve massive lobes
going towards the center of mass.  I've only seen models of this in
stars. I'd say that really close systems are more of a special case than
other tides.

I'll read up and see if I can be more lucid :-)

-Merrick

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 03 Nov 95 00:06:53 -0500
From: john.bogan@asb.com
To: traveller@MPGN.COM
Subject: shipbuilding forum
Message-ID: <9511030006.005TB09@asb.com>


Merrick quoting me:
> > To: gdw-beta@quark.qrc.com
> > Subject: Crew Levels, HAIS system
[snip]  
> > HAIS  (High Automation Integrated Systems)
[son of snip]
> > John H Bogan

Merrick himself:
> Good stuff this.  Unless there is massive support against it, I'd like to see 
> this used. 

Glad you like it. Credit Wildstar with the concept, me for testing and
embellishing.

A few notes on the GDW-Beta thread that lead to this:
     Folks were a little (understatement) annoyed with the FF&S crewing
rules for two reasons:

1) as gamemasters, having to deal with a lot more crew NPCs (for one
GM, NPC crew that he needed to keep track of on a Gazelle ballooned 
from 5 to 15);

2) the TNE background makes a big deal about how the highly integrated
and automated Imperial starships were plumb pickings for the Virus and
how New Era designs forced people into the loop for security, but never
distinguished between the high-security and low-security designs, as if
it didn't take more people to keep track of things when you're not letting
the computers do it for you.

So the HAIS thing isn't really a single system, but rather represents
the hi-capacity connectivity of the ship's systems, plus a number of
self-maintainence systems on board (dumbots to clean and maintain
conduits without having to open them up, remote servos to access hard-
to-reach systems, etc. The stuff that lets a ship almost run itself).
THIS would be the fundamental difference between the smart-ships of the 
Imperial era and the "intentionally lobotomized" ships of the New Era.
It also provided a rationale for the 3-4x difference in crew size.


Actually, I don't recommend using HAIS, at least not by itself, and here's
why:

[THE SHIP DESIGN FORUM IS NOW OPEN]

Everyone who's read the TML for a while knows many of us have 
problems with FF&S on a whole raft of issues. So many, in fact,
that coming up with individual alternate rules for each quibble 
winds up defeating the purpose of having a uniform design system --
so that each GM doesn't have to reinvent the wheel by his or herself
every time. If I make a ship using FF&S plus variant rules A, B, and C,
it cuts down on its usefulness to, say, Merrick, who may be using 
variants L, U, and Y. What makes more sense is for us either
to bite the bullet and use FF&S as is, or put our heads together
to come up with rules variant "packages" that we agree on
and can design with.

I'd like to invite the various people designing ships and other systems 
to a "shipbuilding forum" on the GDW-Beta list (gdw-beta@quark.qrc.com)
to not only come up with rules variants more to our liking, but also
integrate them into "packages" that best suit the needs of GMs
in actual play.

...that also means I'd like to hear from GMs and others on this list
about which rules in particular bug them (lurkers, pipe up!).
Suggestions can go here on the TML, the reason the forum
is on gdw-beta is because that is a better forum for arguing
nit-picking technical details without ballooning the size and
number of TML digests even further. The TML will get updates and
the packages when we've hashed out something consistent.

I use "packages" in the plural because no one group of technical
assumptions will satisfy everybody. For instance, some people
agree with GDW's assumption of the implausibility of kinetic-impact
missiles, others don't (any defense can be overloaded). Still others
(or, at least, myself) don't buy GDW's line on this but don't 
think adding another layer of measure/countermeasure to the
design sequence brings much to actual gameplay.

Or in another area, I think far too many of GDW's decisions about
how shipboard technology worked (M-drives especially) for TNE
were decided on the basis of what would make Brilliant Lances an
interesting stand-alone game rather than on their effects on 
the role-playing environment. Thus, fuel-chomping M-drives add
a "bingo fuel" element to the boardgame at the expense of making
in-system travel much more complicated and time consuming,
and gas-giant refuelling almost pointless. 

Some people will agree with me on this, others will disagree.
What I'd like to do is figure out what most people would be
interested in, and try to accomodate, rather than just burrowing
down into the hole that suits me best (and others finding their own
holes), and being nearly useless to each other.

Some issues that come to mind right off the bat:

--Kinetic-kill missiles (mentioned above)
--High-fuel-use M-drives (TNE) vs. negligible-fuel-use (CT and MT)
[the technobabble rationale is less important than the fuel-use issue]
--J-drive crew (anybody notice j-drives don't need crew?)
--Maintainence points, wear value, and crew (why don't MPs affect crew
requirements? If they did at least they would have SOME purpose!)
--Damper fields (mentioned in BL, but missing from FF&S)
--J-drive fuel use (nearly every ship has enough internal fuel for
two, somethimes even three jumps, often with enough leftover for 
a (brief) combat. This situation gets _really_ important if you switch
to low-fuel-use M-drives)
--laser limits to keep them from crowding out PAWs and MGs as
ships' main weapons.
--non-linear PAWs and MGs, which might make them worthy bay-
weapons
--some distinction between highly automated Imperial-style ships 
vs. New Era-type architectures.
--asteroid hulls
--maintainence and assorted requirements of subsidiary vehicles
(hangers make maintainence easier, but can we be a little clearer
on this?)
--Life support endurance and supplies (the New Era DOES call
for time away from highly travelled spaceways, after all)
--Shops, sickbays, etc. (any requirements? Practical effects of
having them aboard? Or just a storage room with a nifty name?)
--Long-term maintainence (just what do those Free Traders do
to keep flying?)
--Mixed tech on ship (using UNIVAC to keep your nav-computer
running)


etc., etc., etc.

Hope to hear form you,

John Bogan

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 3 Nov 1995 06:38:14 +0100
From: StarWolf <myhre@oslonett.no>
To: traveller@MPGN.COM, Multiple recipients of list <traveller@MPGN.COM>
Subject: RE: Jump flashes, Starship Ops Manl., etc. 
Message-ID: <199511030538.GAA24983@hasle.oslonett.no>


That Computer Guy <darkstar@UDel.Edu> Wrote

>:         Per the SOpM, the jump field formed about 1m from the grid, which
>: would cut most attached objects right off ...
>
>I thought that the jump grid normally formed a safety net of 1m around
>the ship, but could be expanded to include an attached craft.
In my game I have forgotten totally about the grid. I rather like the idea
that a small part of the jumpdrive is formed like miniature of the starship,
with all attachments. From this miniature the jump field is radiated
outwards. There is no need to place this miniature in the middle of the
ship. More power is diverged to the sections of the miniature that are
further from the hull than other sections. Besides the minitaure doesn't
need to be large att all. Its power couplings (or whatever) just has to
withstand the power load that goes through it.


--------------+-------------------+-----------------------------------
Roger Myhre   | myhre@oslonett.no | http://www.oslonett.no/home/myhre/
HIWGmember 142| Some people have one of those days, I got one of 
              | those lifes.
--------------+-------------------------------------------------------


------------------------------

Date: Fri, 3 Nov 1995 08:32:55 -0500
From: eackerma@vt.edu (Eric Ackermann)
To: traveller@MPGN.COM
Subject: Re: Who Cares? (Obviously, some do)
Message-ID: <199511031332.IAA15713@Mithril.MPGN.COM>

Susan Marie Shock wrote:
>This discussion regarding jump grids vs. jump coils confuses me. We don't know
>why GDW approved the Starship Operator's Manual; maybe they had to contract-
>wise. What difference does it really make except for those who want to nitpick?
>it's GDW's game; they can change it if they want. Ships still enter jump space
>in TNE. I'm sorry, but I fail to see the relevance.

Beats me. Sort of like the argument over jump flashes. First, hyperspace
"jumps" do not exist (that we know of). It is a science fiction construct.
So if GDW says there are jump flashes, well, there are jump flashes. Or if
one hates the idea, simply ignore it. What's the big deal? It's just a game.
Unless one is playing in a tournament or other formal competition setting,
play it anyway you want, as long as the players know up front how its being
done.


------------------------------

Date: Fri, 03 Nov 1995 09:09:37 -0500 (EST)
From: Alvin Plummer <alvin.plummer@sheridanc.on.ca>
To: traveller@MPGN.COM
Subject: Fast & slow drugs
Message-ID: <Pine.OSF.3.91.951103090412.27754A-100000@hubble.sheridanc.on.ca>


First: sorry, when GDW talked about a "Slow Drug" in Treaveller, they 
really meant anagathics.

A Fast Drug, (Survival Margin, p. 94) "Speeds the passage of time 
subjective to the PC at the rate of 60-1.  Players with a large supple of 
this drug [426 60-day doses for 70 years] could rig a system to 
automatically dispense it to them for years at a time, or periodically 
wake up and re-administer it to themselves."

Note: time sppeded up to 60-1 would make a minute feel like a second, and 
an hour feel like a minute.  70 years would feel like about 11 years of time.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alvin Plummer
"Preserve what we created, Norris, and remember what we stood for."
                               - Strephon, 179-1126

Reply to: alvin.plummer@SHERIDANC.ON.CA
------------------------------------------------------------------------------


------------------------------

Date: Fri, 03 Nov 1995 10:11:17 -0500 (EST)
From: Alvin Plummer <alvin.plummer@sheridanc.on.ca>
To: traveller@MPGN.COM
Subject: Alternate Imperium: Immortality
Message-ID: <Pine.OSF.3.91.951103092033.27754B-100000@hubble.sheridanc.on.ca>


The following assumes that:
  - Current (1990s) genetic tech is actually at TL 9, including the 
    Genome Project
  - We obtain the ability to disable our aging gene by TL A
  - A serious population explosion occurs - aided and abeted by jump 
drives and terraforming capasity. (I believe that GDW serouisly 
underestimates high-tech terraforming ability, via nanites, bacteria, and 
even brute force)
  - Population stabilizes.
  - Since the immortals don't want to do certain jobs which risk their 
lives (They don't age, but bullets and radiation still do the job), 
mortals are soon recreated.
  - Mortals, like lower class peoples everywhere, soon vastly outnumbers 
their masters.  Their access to genetic modifications is very limited, 
and must be earned by service to the immortals (now, the Nobility).
  - The Nobility, of course, extensively modify themselves for beauty, 
strength and brains, becoming the very definition of The Beautiful People.

[Well, except for moral fibre.  An entire culture who think of themselves as 
gods -- and are built as such, at least in the traditional pagan view -- are 
likely to be far more deeply corrupt than anything we've ever seen in 
history.  The sophisticated, racist, slave-owning Draka in Stirling's (?) 
books would be a good starting point.  His latest book, due to be 
published in January 1996 (of which the first three chapters are 
available on the web) starts off in about 2400, where immortal Draka 
(decendants of Afrikanerrs) rule over intelligent, mortal inferiors with 
a built-in slave mentality.]

In effect, the Third Imperium would be a Genetic Empire, much as the Zho's 
are a Psionic Empire. [And the RC promises to be a Human/AI combo]

Some changes would be severe: for example, Cleon I may still be 
ruling in 1116.  Others would be trivial: the Rebellion could have 
followed a very similar course to what it actually did. Still others 
would be quite unexpected: any society that can make manipulate genes 
to make itself immortal can probably grow ships, rather then have to 
build them the old-fashioned way.
  
There's several new avenues for PC's in this more realistic future.  They 
can be endlessly rebelling against the Nobility (almost every one of 
which has centuries of experience handling such rebellions). They can be 
High Nobles, trying to push mortal rights through various Moots.  Or Low 
Nobles, with some genetic modifications, but still forced to put 
themselves in life-threatening situations. (Nobles would only really trust 
Nobles to do certain things...)  They can be illegal genetic engineer's, 
doing modifications without a license (and on the run from the Ministry 
of Justice for the last 3 centuries).  They can be studying the Ancients: 
true, Imperials can control genetics perfectly, but the Ancients still 
have better control over physics and other "Hard sciences".

And yes, I feel that this is more realistic than the current Imperium, 
where Norris dies at age 96.  I mean, come on! Afer 3700 years of genetic 
research?!?  Even in the 20th century, American lifespans have grown 
form 60 to 90 years. (if for admittedly different reasons)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alvin Plummer
"   Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the feld which the 
LORD God had made.  And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye 
shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
    And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the 
trees of the garden:
    But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God 
hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
    And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
    For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then ye shall be 
as gods, knowing good and evil."
                                     Genesis 3:1-5
 
Reply to: alvin.plummer@SHERIDANC.ON.CA
------------------------------------------------------------------------------


------------------------------

Date: Fri, 3 Nov 1995 10:05:03 -0600
From: Steven Bonneville <bonnevil@itlabs.umn.edu>
To: traveller@MPGN.COM, xboat@MPGN.COM
Subject: Re: Jump Drive Questions
Message-ID: <199511031605.KAA10226@natasha.itlabs.umn.edu>

I went back to the definitive classic Traveller source to get some
answers to the questions about jump-drives.  The TNE offical line
seems to be closer to the Miller JTAS article than DGP's Starship
Operator's Manual.   

All quotes are Marc Miller, "Jumpspace", JTAS 24.

ON LANTHANUM COILS AND HULL WIRES:

"Starship hulls contain as an integral part of their structure a 
 network of wiring which maintains the jump field around the ship.  
 Without this field, the natural physics of jump space would invade 
 the ship's interior. [...] Breaks in the protective network within 
 a starship hull are a primary cause of the loss of ships in jump."
 
"The jump coils that channel the jump energy within the drive are 
 constructed of lanthanum, a rare earth which has exactly the right 
 properties for the purpose. [...] Other materials have been used or 
 substituted, but none function with enough reliability or efficiency
 to make them practical."
 
Depicted as two separate systems, but both exist.  He doesn't say how
far the field extends *above* the wires, if any distance at all.  We
do know that some ships can carry small craft on the outside of the
hull, though (the Fat Trader and Azhanti come to mind).  I suspect the
"one meter" figure comes from a certain Travelleresque Star Wars novel
by Brian Daley, but I don't know for sure. 

ON TIME SPENT IN JUMPSPACE:

"...jump drive is accurate to less than one part in ten billion.
 [...] the arrival point of a ship can be predicted to within 
 perhaps 3000 kilometers."

"The duration of a jump is fixed at the instant jump begins, and 
 depends on the jump space entered, the energy input into the system, 
 and other factors."

"The exact time of emergence is usually predicted by the ship's 
 computer and the bridge is well-manned for the event."
 
To me, this suggests that the time a jump will take is an integral
part of the jump solution; the crew should be able to figure out
how long the jump will take to their chosen emergence point, given
their entrance point and vector.  This will also allow accurate
placement of the exit point so that the ship's outbound vector can
be used as an inbound vector on arrival, as Miller mentions is 
possible for military ships and high-speed couriers.

Incidentally, Book 2 implies that jumps can be pre-computed if you
know what your vector and jump-point will be -- pre-recorded, one-
use tapes are available for ships on the xboat routes that lack the 
jump-course Generate program.

COURSE PREDICTION BY OBSERVERS:

"...a ship's jump destination cannot be predicted."

But he also says that the entry vector and energy expenditure are
crucial to making a correct jump.  This is probably the Regency
Sourcebook's justification for mentioning that ships may be able
to guess destination if they have a hard target lock on the ship
entering jump.

EXIT/ENTRANCE "FLASH":

Miller mentions nothing, except that a lot of power is generated
at jump.  Regency Sourcebook mentions some gravitic disturbances
that are generated beginning several minutes before exit, but it
also says that they're short range and that the sensor operator
will need to be watching the right place to see them coming.  It
doesn't mention a visual light flash.  Most of the adventures I've
seen seem to imply that you can tell the difference between an
unseen ship going active and a ship stepping out of jump.

BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS:

"The biological effects of jump on travellers is negligible."

However, he does mention the nausea in some that gets worse if the
ship misjumps, and at least one alien race had been established in
a previous JTAS article that was thought to be jump-intolerant.

  Steve Bonneville
  <bonn0015@tc.umn.edu>


------------------------------

Date: Fri, 3 Nov 95 11:14:45 -0500
From: Derek Wildstar <wildstar@qrc.com>
To: traveller@MPGN.COM
Subject: Re:  Shipbuilding Forum
Message-ID: <9511031614.AA24865@qrc.com>

john.bogan@asb.com (John Bogan) wrote:
> [THE SHIP DESIGN FORUM IS NOW OPEN]
> I'd like to invite the various people designing ships and other systems 
> to a "shipbuilding forum" on the GDW-Beta list (gdw-beta@quark.qrc.com)
> [...]
> Suggestions can go here on the TML, the reason the forum is on gdw-beta
> is because that is a better forum for arguing nit-picking technical details
> without ballooning the size and number of TML digests even further.

I'd just like to add that this does NOT mean that we're trying to restrict
participation in the forum itself.  The GDW-Beta list is open to anyone
who wants to join in the discussion.  Just drop me a line by sending mail
to gdw-beta-request@qrc.com (or simply wildstar@qrc.com) and ask to be
added to the GDW-Beta list.

Even if you're not a member of GDW-Beta, you are still welcome drop us a
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wildstar@qrc.com
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                "Oh, you fools!  Dance to your heart's content
                                 in that small world of yours.  Our world is
                                 the whole of space!"   --- Phantom F. Harlock


------------------------------

Date: 03 Nov 1995 10:39:28 GMT
From: Rob_Prior@nynet.nybe.north-york.on.ca (Rob Prior)
To: xboat@MPGN.COM, traveller@MPGN.COM
Subject: Re: Occupied Territories
Message-ID: <3331391486.50780396@nynet.nybe.north-york.on.ca>

>> What about removing trouble makers and bringing in tame
>> colonists from other parts of the Imperium (a la Israel and the occupied
>> territories)?
> 
> The Regency is doing this with the Sword Worlders: it has not proven to 
> be a success, as mutual loathing has risen between settlers and locals.

This episode is not part of the CT/MT universe (which is why I'm
cross-posting to the TML).

However, it does leave room for some interesting socio-ethical conflicts in
what looked like a simple mercenary ticket.  Imagine this:

The players are hired for a cadre ticket: training the 'settlers' in
self-defense and small-unit tactics.  Equipment is high quality, their
students are motivated, the pay is good, and the mainstream media calls them
'heroes'.  This seems like a dream ticket, until they begin noticing that:

1) The wants of a few hundred settlers take precidence over the needs of a
few hundred thousand locals, which seems strangely non-democratic.

2) The settlers seem to have nothing but contempt for the locals and treat
them poorly, provoking responses that are then brutally suppressed.  Settler
provokation goes unpunished, indeed unrestrained.

Let the players see a few starving children, possibly meet a young girl
willing to do literally anything to feed her younger siblings (both parents
killed in riot, which the players know was provoked by extremist settlers). 
Then have the players called out in defense of a unit of settlers that has
been surrounded while demolishing native homes and fields.  Do they honour
their contract, or prevent the settler militia from machine-gunning children?
 Can they do both at the same time?

(This final action could even make an interesting Striker II game, with the
veteran mercenaries switching sides if they witness too many settler
atrocities.  Hm, the settler player must keep the mercenaries away from the
bloodiest fighting, so they don't switch sides, while tha native player must
try to have some units wiped out in front of the mercenaries so they will
switch sides.)

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 03 Nov 1995 11:36:05 -0500 (EST)
From: Alvin Plummer <alvin.plummer@sheridanc.on.ca>
To: traveller@MPGN.COM
Subject: The New Era: Faith, Imperialism, Honour, Regret
Message-ID: <Pine.OSF.3.91.951103101348.5914A-100000@hubble.sheridanc.on.ca>


***Age of Faith?***

It would seem so, up to a point.  Of course, if there are no atheists in 
foxholes, then the Collapse would turn one to a raving fanatic, so it 
wouldn't be truly unexpected to any competent historian or sociologist.

Sign's of such a more spirtual attitude can be found in several New Era 
documents, ranging from the Ikthur (sp!) to the very intro to the main 
New Era rulebook, to "Faith" class cutters.

However, unlike other Ages of Faith, this era is not dominated by a 
single religion, or even a single metareligion (a la the Abrahamic faiths 
of the Middle Ages).  It does seem to be related to a grim realization of 
how valuable sentient life is, and how fragile the ties of civilization 
are.  It's also related to basic hope, and even love (note the new 
"nurturing" philosophy of the Regency, vs. the "hands off" attitude of 
the classic Imperium.)  Finally, it's related to the concept of 
self-sacrifice for the sake of others, and for the future. 

And God/Christianity?  Well, His name does show up now and again (just 
try to find it in the Imperial Era!  I dare you!), and Christianity 
has been heard of, at least.  However, it isn't usually tied to a 
particular doctrine (there are exceptions).  And some folk do believe in 
the afterlife, including Norris (Surprise!).

One very interesting varient of this "Age of Faith" is it's lack of 
tolerance for permitting it to become tyrranic.  Both the RC and 
the Regency are willing to play with local doctrine to obtain beneficial 
results (and undermine tyrranical theocracies).  This is in contrast to 
the Imperium, who didn't care what you believed or did to your citizens 
as long as the taxes kept coming in.  Which attitude is more respectful to 
religious beliefs?  Which is more contemptous?

Both the Regency and RC are willing to "interfere" to promote a 
particular ideology.  Well, maybe not "ideology", maybe it should be 
called a universal goal, or a belief: ideology is basically a perjogative 
(sp!) word in English, and both beliefs seem basically good, 
compassionate, and brave. (Although the RC, being in a more harsher 
environment, tends to act in a harsher fashion)

***Imperialistic flavours***

Boththe Regency and RC  are expansionistic: the RC because it must, for 
psychological/economic reasons; the Regency, due to the economy/military 
security (and population, thanks to Zho immigration).  The Regency is 
closer to  "European Imperialism" in it's willingness to annex small 
independent nations: geopolitics is a major factor in it's behaviour.

The RC is more "American Imperialistic" in it's drive to annex everything 
in sight, due to economic reasons and local version of Manifest Destiny.

Technology supremacy also flavours each nation's economic drive: The RC 
usually has immense tech supremacy, but has very few people to waste.  
The Regency is also technologically dominant, but not to such an extent 
as RC vs. TEDs.  The Regency also has a much larger population, and can 
afford to have more Unfortunate Incidents then the RC can.

Both versions of imperialism is shaped by anti-virus attitudes: however, 
the RC is soon going to make certain forms of Virus it's friend, while 
the Regency sees the AI Virus as a fiend to be completely eradicated.

Both versions of imperialism will have to deal with unhappy locals: they 
will initally loathe both RC's emphasis on technology, and the Imperial 
Sunburst on Regency helmets.  The loathing of RC tech may or may not 
weaken with time: I have already dealt with possible Regency responses in 
a previous post.

A major factor in Regency expansion - and the 'flavour' of a reborn of the 
Third Imperium - is the primary tool of Regency expansion. Basically, 
will the Regency deal with antiImperial systems by
 - drowning their worlds with Regency populations 
 - use economic and technological supremacy to buy off opposition
 - use Zho "though police" methods, as well as Imperial psychohistory 
   techniques (and good old propaganda) to gut opposition
 - simply insure that no anti-Imperial world get's past TL 8
 - give up and go home

[Note: it's quite likely that the fourth imperium will be actually called 
the Third Imperium, as Regency folk consider's themselves Third Imperium 
citizens.]

***Honour***

"Keeping the Flame" is viewed as comprising of courage, stewardship, 
selfless service, and inclusiveness.  Honour is implicitly included (in 
"Courage"), but isn't as dominant as it used to be.

...and yet.  Honour can be defined as "speaking the truth when it hurts": 
the new Regency policy of governmental openess can certainly be considered 
more honourable than the classic Imperium's secrecy.  Moreover, the Zho's
truthfulness may revolutionize Imperial notions of honour, as would an 
increase of Aslan influence, thanks to our new Aslan citizens.

***Regret***

It seem's that the Zho's are in deep trouble, and may not last to 1300.  
They have been a worthy advesary, and are worth a salute.

If the Consulate falls to whatever is destroying it internally, it would 
be a likely site for the first major interstellar theocracy... 
 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alvin Plummer
"Preserve what we created, Norris, and remember what we stood for."
                               - Strephon, 179-1126

...Strephon, could you guess how hard this would be?

Reply to: alvin.plummer@SHERIDANC.ON.CA
------------------------------------------------------------------------------


------------------------------

End of TRAVELLER Digest 473
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