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Subject:   Traveller-digest V1996 #245
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Traveller-digest           Saturday, 13 July 1996       Volume 1996 : Number 245

(R)1996. Traveller is a registered trademark of FarFuture Enterprises.
All rights reserved.

The following topics are covered in this digest:

         1. Re: Starships
         2. Re: This is the company we're dealing with.
         3. Re: Jump space theory
         4. Re: Corn Dogs
         5. Re: Fighters and Missiles
         6. Re: Traveller-digest V1996 #226
         7. INS Prefix calling ISS Suggestive
         8. Re: Jump space theory
         9. Re: Traveller-digest V1996 #241

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

From: Derek Stanley <dstanley@direct.ca>
Date: Fri, 12 Jul 1996 22:15:25 -0700
Subject: Re: Starships

Paul Walker wrote:
> 
>>From: cyhiggin@usa.pipeline.com (Dragoness Eclectic)
>>Subject: Re: Starship construction (VERY LONG!!!)
>>
> 
>>Man-hours is probably best.  Remember Liberty ships?  Check the
>>speed records in churning those out--but it was with the yards
>>working all three shifts and extra workers and war-time
>>mobilization.

Having just watched a program on the U-boat war in the atlantic the 
record for producing a Liberty ship is around 3.5 days.  The American 
ship yards were generally producing 40 or something like that a month.

Derek Stanley


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

From: Derek Stanley <dstanley@direct.ca>
Date: Fri, 12 Jul 1996 16:15:59 -0700
Subject: Re: This is the company we're dealing with.

Charles Pratt wrote:
> 
> On Wed, 10 Jul 1996, Douglas E. Berry wrote:
> 
> > I just had the most amazing call from Imperium Games.
> >
> > Quick Backround:  I had mailed off my check for the hardback set of rules..
> > a few days later my wife goes shopping with the ATM card.  That sound you
> > heard was my $35 check entering the atmosphere at .1c on its way to a bounce.
> 
> Fine, Fine, but the real question is (running for cover): What's the
> kinetic energy of a check at .1c?

I think a better question is, can Virus infect this cheque or has it 
already?  8)

Already I begin to see the pots and pans flying.

Derek Stanley



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

From: Derek Stanley <dstanley@direct.ca>
Date: Fri, 12 Jul 1996 22:01:41 -0700
Subject: Re: Jump space theory

Daniel Taylor wrote:
> 
>   N-space objects leave J-space unpredictably. There may be a generally
> higher density of hydrogen along jump routes using this method, but
> it would not be possible to trace a ship by them.
> 
>  I still prefer the original explanation, where the fuel is burned
> all at once, and the regular power supplns the jump field integrity.

If it works this way, with all the fuel consumed at once, why not include 
all your jump fuel in external collapsable bladders,  By the time the 
field is formed the fuel is consumed and the ships volume is exactly what 
it was before.  On a Midu Agasham this would give 10,500 cubic meters in 
which to place weapons, power plants, etc.

I still have a problem with the instantanious consumption of 10,500 cubic 
meters of hydrogen, well unless of course you simply explode it in place, 
if you've got to feed it into an engine through constrictive valves this 
is completely impossible.

Derek Stanley



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

From: Derek Stanley <dstanley@direct.ca>
Date: Fri, 12 Jul 1996 21:21:07 -0700
Subject: Re: Corn Dogs

Wes Payne wrote:

> BZZZZT!  I'm afraid that you've hit one of my Hot Buttons.  Sorry!

Ooops!!!  Lets change the subject then.  How about Corndogs travelling at 
0.1 of C?  KIDDING!!  KIDDING!!
 
>The TNE novels can hardly be considered an adequate source of Traveller
>canon.  In fact, one of the things I found most offensive about them
>besides the author's writing style (Addicted to the Subordinate Clause)
>were the frequent "facts" presented that were contrary to established
>canon.  Among them:
> 
>Firing 'warning shots across the bow' with a laser.  Stop giggling!

Ya well I never claimed it was Tolken or Hemmingway.
 
> The continuous operation of a jump drive while in J-space.  No, I don't
> think he ever read DGP's "Starship Operator's Manual," either.

This I have to question you on.  You mean in DGP's "SOM", I've never seen 
it, you activated the Jump Drive, established a Jump Feild then shut the 
sucker off?  Personally, if this is what it says it strikes me as 
strange, if the Drive is off it can't consume fuel and wouldn't need 
anykind of coolant thus upon activating a Jump Drive for a Jump 4 trip a 
Midu Agasham Class Destroyer consumes 10,500 cubic meters of fuel 
instantly???  Does this strike anyone else as strange?  Please clarify if 
I'm missing something important here.

Personally, although Its a bit of creative licence I'm sure, I like the 
idea of "jump fire."  It gives you something to stare at while in 
J-Space.

Derek Stanley



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

From: Derek Stanley <dstanley@direct.ca>
Date: Fri, 12 Jul 1996 17:02:13 -0700
Subject: Re: Fighters and Missiles

Charles Pratt wrote:
> 
> On Thu, 11 Jul 1996, Leonard Erickson wrote:
> 
>>A few fighters could ruin your whole day. They'd have to be able to sit
>>there quietly, concealed by something (I have a few ideas :-), and then
>>do a quick run in, fire, and get the hell out of there.
> 
>Or concealed by nothing...a fighter with minimal power systems running
>(e.g. life support and a passive sensor array) has got to be a near
>impossible target to detect at an distance greater than "next-door".
> A thought has been occuring reading all this talk on Missles and 
Fighters.  How many people remember the old 2300AD game put out by GDW?  
Many of you I'm sure.  I'm in the process of desiging a ship in FF&S 
using the basic layout of the ship on the cover of "Fighting Ships of the 
Shattered Imperium"  Its a modular component jobbie, A 10 ton detachable 
bridge section, basically a 10 ton shuttle and a 95 ton PAW engineering 
module.  At TL10 I'm pretty cramped for weapon space so I placed 10 
magnetic slings on the exterior of the PAW module to support standard 0.5 
displacement ton missles.  

Now here's what I'm wondering and how it relates to 2300.  A number of 
you have been designing HEPlaR Missles, with an incredible duration.  I 
want to know if sticking with 0.5 displacement tons if anyone has thought 
about magnetically slinging a pair of smaller warheads to the hull of an 
undersized missle with an extensive passive sensor array?  And having a 
single large warhead built into the missle.

With this system the missle acts both as a sensor drone, a missle and a 
sub-munitions delivery vehicle.  See the whole point is if you didn't 
want to waste a missle on the target you'd simply let go of one of the 
sub-munitions alter the missles course slightly and detonate the 
munition.  The nuclear white-out would give the missle enough cover that 
it could excape the scene relatively unharmed.  By incorporating multiple 
warheads on the missle suddenly you never know what to expect.  Will it 
let you have it with all three, just one, or is is just passively 
scanning you.

If anyone has done work on this kind of system, please send me a copy.  
If this inspires anyone to make one of these beasties in FF&S please send 
it too.  I don't have time right now as I'm in the process of developing 
four seperate starships for a pocket empire I'm developing.

Derek Stanley



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

From: Derek Stanley <dstanley@direct.ca>
Date: Fri, 12 Jul 1996 17:34:42 -0700
Subject: Re: Traveller-digest V1996 #226

gsw@aloft.att.com wrote:

> I'll buy that, as long as by "probably" you mean because 99.9% of the
> technology *happens* to be vulnerable in some way or another. In other
> words, future engineers continued down the path of thinking that their
> puny attempts at adding security into basically unsafe systems actually
> did any good. This is believable because its happening now.
> 
> But...
> 
> Suppose there is a culture that does not trust computers to make their
> decisions for them. Computers that did exist would only *recommend*
> actions to be taken. High-tech equipment can still exist, but it would
> not be programmable, nor controllable from other than the console or
> other manual controls. Sure, Virus-infected machines might be able to
> physically modify the equipment (each one individually!), but they
> should otherwise not be vulnerable to infection. Nor could Virus "lay
> an egg" in them other than by physically modifying them.

Here I agree if you don't trust your systems, or your systems are 
mechanical you really don't have anything to worry about.  Conversely if 
your computer's are tied into every aspect of your life, controlling 
everything that there is that surrounds you, you're screwed in the 
biggest sence of the word.  

Virus can't spontaniously cause a computer to grow an egg.  It has to be 
in contact with that computer somehow, either, physically, through phone 
lines, or via radio waves and Virus can only affect things with silicon 
components, if it doesn't have silicon you've got nothing to worry about, 
unless it's contolled by a computer.

As far as the transponder is concerned.  Well I don't think that the 
Imp's would let you wire the thing in and if it's tampered with it' 
starts screaming.  For 99.9% of the traffic this is not a problem, 
however for those of us engaged in extralegal activities we'd be thinking 
twice about the alternatives.  Of course when the alternative is you 
can't land and repair at any legitimate Imperal facilities you'd better 
have a good solid system of contacts already worked out and you'd better 
bloody well know where every black port is in the sector.  Of course if 
you run into an Imperial ship, remember ships without transponders were 
routinely shot first and asked questions later.  The only people who 
didn't have transponders were the people who didn't want to get into any, 
"Imperial Entanglements."

> This is illogical. I would buy that they have not been able to
> build a Virus-safe starship computer, perhaps. But they certainly
> can build safe hand computers. I'm certain (but don't intend to
> prove) that we have these now. I could certainly *design* one and
> *prove* that it is safe if I had to. 
See I don't think a hand computer would be safe.  The problem is, as long 
as you didn't attach it to any infected system's it'd be safe.  THis is 
the same with modern computers, as long as you don't access unknown 
computers you're safe, but even accessing supposedly safe computers 
you're assuming that they're not interacting with unsafe computers.  It's 
kinda that, "when you sleep with someone not only are you sleeping with 
them you're sleeping with everyone they've ever slept with," thing.  Sure 
you're being 100% safe, but is everyone else?  If it's got silicon in it 
it's suceptible to Viral infection.  It may never get infected, but you 
never know.

Anyway the Virus Safe computers of the Regency are actually already 
infected in the first place.  They're just infected with a domesticated 
strain of Virus that sit's there quietly waiting for another strain to 
enter the computer.

Derek Stanley



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

From: sudet@well.com (Glenn M. Goffin)
Date: Sat, 13 Jul 1996 01:00:26 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: INS Prefix calling ISS Suggestive

>From: Wes Payne <n9548326@cc.wwu.edu>

>Them poor Aslan.  They probably have designators based on the owning 
>clan.  Otherwise, well... fill in the blank...  The Beavis or Butthead in 

No, I don't think so.  Each clan would have its own prefix, which might be
followed by SS for starship, or might not.  

- --Glenn


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

From: Bri <bri@teleport.com>
Date: Sat, 13 Jul 1996 01:23:13 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: Re: Jump space theory

On Fri, 12 Jul 1996, Derek Stanley wrote:

> all your jump fuel in external collapsable bladders,  By the time the
> field is formed the fuel is consumed and the ships volume is exactly what
> it was before.  On a Midu Agasham this would give 10,500 cubic meters in
> which to place weapons, power plants, etc.
 This is cannon, just look at the Gazelle close escort. It operates on
exactley the same principle.
 And if I recall correctley, even FFnS states it.

bri <bri@teleport.com>
The Law, in its majestic equality, forbids the rich, as well as the
poor, to sleep under the bridges, to beg in the streets, and to steal
bread.      -- Anatole France


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

From: Idiot/Savant <idiot@sans.vuw.ac.nz>
Date: Sat, 13 Jul 1996 20:44:57 +1200 (NZST)
Subject: Re: Traveller-digest V1996 #241

eris@pen.net (Eris Reddoch) said:
> Now let's say you hear that Megacorp Mining has struck the
> motherlode here in the Aster belt, and you hop aboard your Jump 4
> ship and hop over to Sucker III 4 parsecs away.  Arriving there you
> notice that Megacorp Mining is trading at 8cr/share, so you buy
> 50,000 shares.  A couple of weeks later the news of MM's good
> fortune reaches Sucker and the share price goes up to 12cr.  You
> sell out clearing a cool 200,000!  Was this illegal?  Unethical?
> Maybe.  I'm sure the current US government would say it was, but
> I'm not so sure.  Personally, I think it's just plain smart
> trading. <g> I'm positive local exchanges (and governments) would
> find ways to blunt this type of thing though. 

 One way of solving this problem is to make all ships (electronicly) carry
mail and news, much like the free-trader network in TNE (I think). OTOH,
undeveloped worlds with crappy starports and/or low tech levels might not
be able to read this news - but how many of them will have stock exchanges
that deal interstellar?

 Problems of people tampering with the news can probably be delt with by
use of public-key cryptography, but again this depends on a certain
minimum TL at the receiving end.

 OTOH, the Imperial government might be perfectly happy with the situation
above, and may even take advantage of it. After all, those type TJ
frontier transports have to have _something_ to do, and it's already been
noted that the Imperial family owns an awful lot of stock... I can easily
imagine a situation where the Imperium is partly funded by taking
advantage of secret government communications channels. OTOH, this
situation probably wouldn't last for long, as traders would soon notice
that the Imperial stock agent is phenomenally successful, and start
following hir leads...
 
- --
Idiot/Savant			idiot@sans.vuw.ac.nz
Betray your friends; Crush your enemies; 
Control the world; Drink some coffee


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

End of Traveller-digest V1996 #245
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