Traveller-digest       Friday, August 13 1999       Volume 1999 : Number 954



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

The following topics are covered in this digest:

RE: Ethically-challenged civilians
Re: Iron Chef
RE: Physics photon question/ Solar Sails
A Question to the list
The Sunbeard Declaration
Bring Me The Head Of Bill Malone!!!!
FW: What's the News on T5?
Re: Relief for Newbies
Re: Skill Resolution (was: Re: MT Task Varients)
Re: Oops... Off Topic...
Re: Fast Food (was Re: PRB)...
Re: Natural Disasters
Re: Oops... Off Topic...
Re: Explain to me how radios work
Re: <no comment>
Re: Oops... Off Topic...
Re: Oops... Off Topic...

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

Date: Fri, 13 Aug 1999 09:07:31 +0100
From: Phil Kitching <postmark.design@btinternet.com>
Subject: RE: Ethically-challenged civilians

At 09:54 12/08/1999 -0400, Thomas Jones-Low <tjoneslo@softstart.com> wrote:
>[LURK MODE OFF]
>	To drag a real life example into this argument; there was an article in
>Time/Newsweek about about a month or so ago describing the modern day
>pirates on the south seas around singapore, and how there have been more
>than 50 (?) attacks this year alone.  Sorry this is from fading memory.
>But is is apparently a serious problem. 

<snip>

I meant to post this sometime ago ...

In the UK we have resumed arming civilian shipping to prevent piracy.

The ships in question are intended to transport nuclear waste between
Japan and UK for reprocessing. They have ben fitted with 30mm cannon
so that the company doesn't have to pay for a Royal Navy escort.

Phil Kitching
- --
  http://www.btinternet.com/~salvo/
  Postmark Design Bureau, Emerging Technologies Division.
 "Microwaving half-baked ideas from across the Galaxy"

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

Date: Fri, 13 Aug 1999 04:12:07 EDT
From: GypsyComet@aol.com
Subject: Re: Iron Chef

>Are you talking about the Japanese TV show _Iron Chef_???
>
>::snicker snicker::
>

 Ayup. Now showing in dubbed format on the Food Channel (for those of you 
with Cable Everything), and in its original form on Japanese language 
stations (in the SFBA at least).

I'm just not sure which way to go with the ship exterior: a "castle" (as the 
show is supposedly in one), or something resembling a Pokeball (hmmm, a 
converted Tigress...)

GC

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

Date: Fri, 13 Aug 1999 09:18:51 +0100
From: Phil Kitching <postmark.design@btinternet.com>
Subject: RE: Physics photon question/ Solar Sails

At 09:58 12/08/1999 -0700, "Thing" <gduke@orca.esd114.wednet.edu> wrote:
>On Thursday, August 12, 1999 9:09 AM
>Anthony Jackson said,
>
>> The 'mass' of a photon is all kinetic energy.
>
>> As I understand it, its because light can't actually go in a
>> perfectly straight line in a non-vacuum -- a refractor
>> effectively increases the length of the path for
>> electromagnetic radiation.
>
>So the light is still travelling at C, but the route it takes causes it to
>cross a much shorter linear distance in a given time, effectively making it
>appear slower when measured linearly?

That's my understanding too. The propagation of light through something
other than a perfect vacuum involves each photon interacting with the
atoms in the medium, whilst it's interacting, it isn't moving at "c".
It still moves at "c" in the periods between interactions.
In Bose Einstein Condensates, I think the photons are almost permanently
interacting.

Phil Kitching
- --
  http://www.btinternet.com/~salvo/
  Postmark Design Bureau, Emerging Technologies Division.
 "Microwaving half-baked ideas from across the Galaxy"

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

Date: Thu, 12 Aug 1999 23:06:04 +0100
From: Ewan Quibell <E.D.Quibell@bton.ac.uk>
Subject: A Question to the list

G'day Y'all

I was going through my collection and I came apon a little something I
had completely forgotten about. A while back I wrote to Seeker to ask
for a catalogue and a sample. They sent me this :-

	Salurian Industries Orbital Service Module

which was to be included in the Gateway module which got brought out
by DGP and turned into the Mega Traveller Journal 4. The Service
Module never made it to the DGP product.

It's a single A4 sheet with deck plans on one side and an original MT
design by Philip Athans on the other.

My question is, has anyone else got one ?

Thanks

Ewan
- -- 

   Ewan Quibell                       Their's not to make reply,
   Senior Communications Engineer     Their's not to reason why,
   Computer Centre                    Their's but to do and die:
   University of Brighton             Into the valley of Death
                                      Rode the six hundred.
   E.D.Quibell@brighton.ac.uk              Alfred, Lord Tennyson

   #include<stddisclaimer.h>

   My spelling is entirerly due to dyslexia, typos, and poetic license

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

Date: Thu, 12 Aug 1999 20:38:44 +1100
From: Ian or Katts <ianw@orac.net.au>
Subject: The Sunbeard Declaration

I wrote two more P-word posts, but then decided 'fuck it', and just hunted
out this.

Walt, will you do the honours if anyone on your side breaks the truce ?

Ian


>Date: Tue, 27 Oct 1998 06:14:46 +1100
>To: traveller@mpgn.com
>From: Ian or Katts <ianw@orac.net.au>
>Subject: The Sunbeard Declaration
>
>
>I posted this when the TML was spamming itself. I'd be interested if
anyone disagrees with any of it.
>
>***************************************************************************
*******
>
>I think we have the framework of a deal on the Great TML Piracy debate of
1997-8.
>
>#1 : Mainworlds with either signifigant trade or signifigant economies can
and will defend their space out to about their 100 diameter limits.
>
>#2 : These defenses will make piracy in and around mainworlds unprofitable.
>
>#3 : These defenses do not extend to the entire system.
>
>#4 : Most career pirates concentrate on the unsafe outsystems.
>
>#5 : Shippers apply risk premiums to trade with either unsafe systems or
outsystems.
>
>#6 : Merchant ships specialising in trading in unsafe areas tend to be
heavily armed
>
>#7 : Merchant ships specialising in trading in safe areas tend to be
lightly armed or unarmed
>
>#8 : The best markets for stolen starships and cargos are in other states,
however unsafe areas will buy commodities they know to be stolen at heavily
discounted rates
>
>#9 : Pirate ships will tend to be converted merchants, as unsafe areas
tend not to be profitable enough to justify custom-built warships. Safe
areas tend to be too dangerous for even custom built warships to operate in
for long enough to defray their build costs. Pirate warships may exist from
mutinous or rebel crews.
>
>A corrollory of #4 and #5 is that Outsystems will tend to remain
underdeveloped, as they cannot develop until they are secure, and they are
not worth securing until they are developed.
>
>Now, are all the principals of the GPD happy with this so we can put this
in the FAQ ?
>
>Ian Whitchurch

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

Date: Fri, 13 Aug 1999 05:00:57 -0400
From: "Keven R. Pittsinger" <jamstar@accesstoledo.com>
Subject: Bring Me The Head Of Bill Malone!!!!

Anybody know of an email address for Bill Malone *other* than 
wmbenmalone@yahoo.com?  I've been waiting to hear from this guy for like a 
*month* now...

Keven

- -- 
tc++ tm+ tn t4- to ru++ ge+ 3i c+ jt au st- ls pi+ ta+ he+ so- vi zh sy
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                     Science-Fiction Adventure
                                                     In Reavers' Deep

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

Date: Fri, 13 Aug 1999 17:57:27 +0800
From: "Antony Farrell" <Skaran@bigpond.com>
Subject: FW: What's the News on T5?

- -----Original Message-----
From: owner-traveller@lists.imagiconline.com
[mailto:owner-traveller@lists.imagiconline.com] On Behalf Of
trentfs@ix.netcom.com
Sent: Friday, 13 August 1999 12:18
To: traveller@mpgn.com
Subject: Re: What's the News on T5?


SD Mooney wrote:

> Well, the T4.1 / T5 playtest draft I have seems to be very much a fixed
and
> updated T4.

Alas.  As I implied before, this makes me none too happy.

> I disagree with your opinion on T4; I believe the execution was flawed,
> rather than the concept. The manuals were badly playtested, poorly laid
out
> but it did have the distinction of having one of the fastest and most
> effective combat systems in a Traveller game, plus a skill system that
> works with the T4.1 fixes (which are actually on the T4 refs screen).

Whern I speak of game mechanics I'm talking four things: 1) character
generation, 2) task resolution, 3) personal combat, 4) vehicle (in this
case space) combat.
	The T4 character generation system I rather liked, as it made
characters from various careers more balanced skill-wise than CT/MT.  Plus,
I know that this is one of the areas Marc has put a lot of effort into, so
I'm confident it will be good in T5.
	The T4 task resolution system I hated.  The UTF as per the Ref Screen
I like (simplified MT), and it is the basis of the format I currently use,
but the actual mechanics I always hated, and still do.  I think it is too
heavily weighted in favor of attributes (someone else mentioned the "It's
Harder Than I Thought" rule which I don't know -- what is it?).  I hate the
stupid half-die (especially since it shows up on Difficult Tasks -- the
most frequent ones!).  Last I knew there was no effective system for
Spectacular Successes and Failures.  If some variation of this system is
presented in T5 I won't use it -- I'll substitute my house system.
	The Personal Combat system is quick, but I don't like some of the
specifics such as Melee Combat not being an Opposed Task, the Range rule
(counting range bands to make a + DM), the Autofire rule (it's harder to
hit, but you do more damage -- this doesn't feel right to me at all), etc.
I also don't like the fact that the rules are never clearly written out in
a flowsheet format -- I have to dig through the text to find each rule.  I
much prefer the AHL system, which I think is just as fast, and as of now
that's what I'll continue to use (slightly updated).
	The Space Combat system in T4 was ridiculous, obviously tacked on at
the last minute, and I doubt anyone out there actually uses it.  And I
don't recall there even being a Vehicle Combat system (possibly in CSC?).

Thus IMO the T4 system comes up drastically short in 3 out of 4 major
areas.  Presumably at least one of these (Space Combat) will be fixed, but
that still leaves 2 major systems that I dislike enough that, without major
changes,  I already know I won't use them as written.  What's more, I'll
replace them essentially with rules from previous editions of the same
game.  Does it make sense that as the game system grows and evolves that I
find it worse and less usable?  The goal of T5 should be to bring everyone
together under one set of rules, and the way to do this is to create rules
that are really good from the ground up, not to slap quick-fixes over a
flawed and unpopular rules system, which will just lead to everyone
continuing to use their own house rules (and spell doom for the game
commercially, as well).
	We have to assume that T5 will be the last chance for Traveller as a
rules system, and if it's to stand a chance of success it has to be the
best possible set of rules -- not only to appeal to fans but to draw new
interest as well (did Anyone play T4 who wasn't already a fan?).  That
means intuitive rules that work right out of the box and aren't going to
require fixes and revisions for years to come, if ever.  I'm not sure if
this is possible (at least while maintaining a semblance of the original
game), but I am sure that some tweaked revision of the clunky flaw-ridden
T4 system isn't going to cut it.

That's the end of my little rant.  I allowed myself to be so strident and
dramatic because I'm leaving town tomorrow for about a week, and therefore
won't have to deal with any aftermath of my post.

Later,

Trent

Well I've run and played every edition of Traveller up to TNE, then came T4
and in our part of the Universe all the Traveller games came to a crashing
halt. I am now back to running a TNE game. Our group found T4 badly put
together, and rather than being a resurrection of a classic game it seemed
to bring back all the old inconsistancies together with a task system that
made my players ill.

I have looked at GT but don't really like the system, and as my TNE game is
set in the Banners sector the information supplied was largely unusable.

Perhaps the new edition Dark Conspiracy could be used as this seems to have
been derived from the old GDW house rules system?

AF

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

Date: Fri, 13 Aug 1999 10:02:12 +1000
From: "The Roc" <roc@kewl.com.au>
Subject: Re: Relief for Newbies

- ----- Original Message -----
From: Charles Collin <charles@hebb.psych.mcgill.ca>
To: <traveller@lists.imagiconline.com>
Sent: Thursday, August 12, 1999 4:59 AM
Subject: Re: Relief for Newbies


> <Doug>
> >5. I have no idea at all about the Lesbian Aslan (aka female Aslan in
> >comfy shoes).  Some folks around here are just strange...
>
> That one arose from the 3:1 ratio of femal to male Aslan.  Some of us
> wonderered is bisexuality might be the norm for female Aslan, and off it
> went...
> </Doug>
>
> Ah, thanks Doug.  I always wondered about that one.

Same here, it was before my time on the list too.  Thanks for answering that
one.  By the way, do they lick pussy???

- -- The Roc

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

Date: Fri, 13 Aug 1999 15:28:08 +1000
From: "The Roc" <roc@kewl.com.au>
Subject: Re: Skill Resolution (was: Re: MT Task Varients)

- ----- Original Message -----
From: Matthew Bond <mgb@akira.swinternet.co.uk>
To: <traveller@lists.imagiconline.com>
Sent: Thursday, August 12, 1999 3:25 PM
Subject: Re: Skill Resolution (was: Re: MT Task Varients)


> Just a couple of thoughts from my day's of reffing CT when it was simply
> T...
>
> 1. Determining random skill level for a one-off encountered
'professional':
>
> Roll d10 (heresy, I know, but they're in my dice bag). I called this type
of
> roll a d4(10)
>
> Roll   Skill Level
> 1-4 = 1
> 5-7 = 2
> 8-9 = 3
> 10  = 4
>
> 2. Player want's to do something unexpected that you feel is 'difficult'
in
> the normal sense of the word:
>
> Roll 2D + Skill DM (or Att/3,round down), target is 10
>
> A couple of quick and dirty rules of thumb I used, as my games were fairly
> freeform (ie I was making it up as I went along)
>
> Matt
>

d10 heresy?  Never!  I had some youngsters (okay, I was the oldest in my
20's when they were in their late teens - early twenties) in my campaign who
were typical males of the time... whenever there were encounters in bars
with members of the opposite sex, they always needed to know what they
looked like ("Is this chick a babe?"), so what easier way to determine than
with the oldest scale in the world for such things, the old "scale of 1 to
10 with 10 being the best" and what better tool to use than a good old d10?
:^)

However, with the establishment of the scale, it was only fair that they had
such a rating, but who wanted to be fair anyway... it was an NPC rule ;^)

- -- The Roc

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

Date: Fri, 13 Aug 1999 15:55:02 +1000
From: "The Roc" <roc@kewl.com.au>
Subject: Re: Oops... Off Topic...

- ----- Original Message -----
From: Legate Legion <legate@futureone.com>
To: <traveller@listsimagiconline.com>
Sent: Thursday, August 12, 1999 5:50 PM
Subject: Re: Oops... Off Topic...



>
>
>     I would have to say that not all BDSMers are into Goth, but alot of
them
> are into RPGs.  At least that is how it seems from a couple of gamming
> groups I am in.  *weg*  And, before you ask, yes, I am in to BDSM, as a
Dom,
> Amber, my wife, is a sub.
>     BDSM is not just a modern fad, but something that has been going on
for
> a while.  And, as for many of the Goths into BDSM, they are not safe &
sane,
> as I have seen a couple tie up their subs with barbed wire.  Now, that is
> not safe, as it can draw blood & leave marks, or sane, as who really wants
> to be tied up with barbed wire.
>     And, if you think I have said too much, ignore this post.
>
> Thank you,
> Legate Legion
> ICQ # 8973001

Nope.  I don't think you said to much, I appreciate your openness and
honesty on the subject.  It is rather off-topic for this sort of list I
suppose, but I still appreciate the reply, though yours and my info tallies
differently on Goths into BDSM/RPG's, but I suspect regional/scene
differences at play here?

- -- The Roc

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

Date: Fri, 13 Aug 1999 20:46:58 +1000
From: "The Roc" <roc@kewl.com.au>
Subject: Re: Fast Food (was Re: PRB)...

- ----- Original Message -----
From: cos 90 <cos90@powersurfr.com>
To: <traveller@lists.imagiconline.com>
Sent: Thursday, August 12, 1999 11:43 PM
Subject: Fast Food (was Re: PRB)



>
> GURPS Traveller mentions a fast-food chain that supposedly has a location
> in each and every starport in the Imperium -- and some outside it as well:
> Astroburger. Its menu and general style resembles that of a certain chain
> found on late 20th-century Terra that is represented by a pair of golden
> arches... I of course use it in my own G:T campaign, and the players are
> starting to get the idea that Astroburger is everywhere... (latest
adventure,
> total planetary population is just over 600, and even there, they found an
> Astroburger...)
>
>

ObTrav:  Is there as many references to "late 20th-century Vland" or even
"mid 25th-century Rhylanor" or whatever in all of the T-variations as there
are to "late 20th-century Terra" or even "pre-20th century Terra?"  Just
that I tend to recall things (people/places/locations/equipment) in
adventures/magazines/library data (the scout's "poni" springing quickly to
mind) being named or modelled mostly on "late-20th century" Terran
people/places/locations/equipment or even on "pre-20th century" Terran
people/places/locations/equipment.  I do recall some non-Terran references,
but the alleged (remember, I still haven't gotten my old stuff back, so I
can't confirm) Terran references just seem to out number them??

Okay, I had Pepsi being the favoured taste to non-Terran Imperials in my old
campaign (even created an advertisement flier) which caused it to take off
in the Imperium leaving Coke-Cola in the wayside... but in game, no-one knew
the origin of the drink and most believed (due to it's popularity) that it
was a pre-Terran invention.

- -- The Roc

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

Date: Fri, 13 Aug 1999 03:06:59 PST
From: shadow@krypton.rain.com (Leonard Erickson)
Subject: Re: Natural Disasters

In mail you write:

> Leonard warns us :
> -----
> Grab a copy of Scientific American (the one with OXYGEN on the cover).
> Read the article about Pfisteria(sp?). 
>
> *That* is one damn scary microrganism. Picture a strain that can invade
> starship life support systems. 
>
> -------
>
> I just read Popular Mechanics, and it had an article about that too.

Did it mention that this stuff releases *airborne* neurotoxins? After
learning the hard way, researchers are now studying it with stronger
precautions than AIDS labs use. Not *quite* up to "Ebola" standards. 

But unlike AIDS, ebola, and other well known "scare" diseases, this
stuff is *hardy*. The spores survive things like 30 minute immersions
in bleach!

The more paranoid part of my mind wantsto know if this is the way
things started in "The War Against the Chtorr"....

- -- 
Leonard Erickson (aka Shadow)
 shadow@krypton.rain.com        <--preferred
leonard@qiclab.scn.rain.com     <--last resort

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

Date: Fri, 13 Aug 1999 03:15:53 PST
From: shadow@krypton.rain.com (Leonard Erickson)
Subject: Re: Oops... Off Topic...

In mail you write:

> Many crossovers. This is why it is silly for "spokespeople" to say they
> speak for such & such group. Generalizations are just that. And you might be
> surprised how many RPGers are into B, D, S, and/or M. Though they may not be
> a large portion of the Travellers. I imagine AD&D, Paranoia, Storyteller,
> etc. would be more in that area.
>
> ObTrav: What "scenes" are in the 3I, SW, etc.? I suppose the Z. Cons. have
> none of that, and the Aslan may find the idea quite alien.

Well, considering how some *other* cultures have "channeled" such
desires, the Zho could quite easily have it in their culture. After
all, for one thing they'd be able to tell the difference between the
sickos and the "normal" freaks. 

I'm not sure what could be done with the S&M side of things other than
being an odd pastime. But D&S has interesting possibilities in a
telepathic society. Sub-ordinates that you *know* are 100% loyal, and
you also know where their limits are. And if they are telepathic, it
gets even more interesting. 

All the advantages of the typical "brainwashed slave", but with *none*
of the disadvantages. 

For the Aslan, I can see the males channeling things into the
equivalent of the "manhood tests" and the like of various Terran
cultures. 

The Vargr won't even notice. After all, their culture pretty much
incorporates a lot of the dominance and submission stuff found in
packs. So anything even *remotely* related would just be considered a
"minor quirk". :-)

I'll refrain from mentioning some of the more "interesting" things you
can do with high tech. 

- -- 
Leonard Erickson (aka Shadow)
 shadow@krypton.rain.com        <--preferred
leonard@qiclab.scn.rain.com     <--last resort

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

Date: Fri, 13 Aug 1999 03:26:06 PST
From: shadow@krypton.rain.com (Leonard Erickson)
Subject: Re: Explain to me how radios work

In mail you write:

> Are you telling me that the cruddy little handset Tx/Rx units you can
> buy are going to get a signal through a hill? We've already had one
> poster with experience of the US Army's set (PRC-77, IIRC) which drops
> out if you go into a fold in the ground.

True. But a listener 20 miles *up* may be able to.

>>CG-lifted, chamelion skinned, with COMM-4 and SENSOR-4.   Sit and listen,
>>pick up a signal, move a few times to triangulate, home in on transmitter,
>>designate with a laser and call in an MRL strike.  Repeat.  Put a dozen of
>>them out in the FEB and you'll have LOS on somebody's transmitter.  =)
>
> In the meantime, the enemy COMSEC team with it's neutrino sensor and
> maser commo hunts down and kills the drones...

Actually, we are just about ready to deploy some drones that will do
this sort of job and *not* be detectable via CG or neutrino emissions.
They are basicly a small solar powered sailplane. 

They don't move very fast, but the entire upper surface is solar cells.
They are intended to climb to some ridiculous altitude (50-100k feet?)
and just laze around. They'll be so high that they won't have dropped
dangerously overnight, and then they can climb back to peak altitude
during the day. 

They should make *excellent platforms for various sorts of passive
sensors, including COM-INT gear. They relay their readings to
satellites or to ground stations. Either way, they are *so* far up that
they can use line of sight signals with little fear of interception. 

Also, due to their very construction, they wind up being *very*
stealthy. Much of the structure is either transparent to radar, absorbs
radar, or just doesn't return a decent signal. 

So you deploy a bunch of these over an area and get to listen to
tactical comms in real time. 

- -- 
Leonard Erickson (aka Shadow)
 shadow@krypton.rain.com        <--preferred
leonard@qiclab.scn.rain.com     <--last resort

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

Date: Fri, 13 Aug 1999 03:40:40 PST
From: shadow@krypton.rain.com (Leonard Erickson)
Subject: Re: <no comment>

In mail you write:

>> On Wednesday, 11 August 1999 01:56, Black ICE [SMTP:wombat@premier.net]
>> wrote:
>> > Keven, while I agree with you that this is a _highly_ implausible means
>> > of Virus propagation (even in comparison with all the canonical
>> > highly-implausible means of propagation), I must salute a referee who
>> > could sell this method to the group's players.
>> 
>> There was a scene in one of the TSR Buck Rogers books where an 'computer
>> personality'  (someone who had his personality digitized and ran as a
>> program) decided to make a more permanent backup of himself.
>> 
>> He used a laser drill to carve a binary representation of his code into a
>> slab of bedrock.  The idea was that if in the future someone scanned the
>> carvings into a computer, his program would be brought 'back to life'. 
>
> Now *THAT'S* hardcore.

Much as I hate to say it, the Raw chip described as part of the OXYGEN
project in Scientific American looks like it could make Virus a lot
more plausible. I still don't buy most of the methods of infection
given in the rules, but this sort of architecture *could be more easily
subverted than most. 

On the other hand, what system crackers, virus wriers and the like will
do with hardware like this, system security will *have* to get a lot
better. 

OXYGEN looks like a good model to steal for Traveller personal
"computers". I especially like the way the hardware is *so*
generalized, and rather than "configure" it, you "program" it. 

Example: The Handy21 hand unit is a computer, a tv, a radio, a pager, a
cell phone, etc. The receiver stage is essentially a wideband
"scanner". It looks at 10 MHz "slices" of spectrum and you run programs
that extract the relevant signals. 

Can you *imagine* what PCs could *do* with that sort of tech on a low
tech world? Just change the program a little and your "legal to posses"
"cell phone" is monitoring the local miltary and police bands. :-)

- -- 
Leonard Erickson (aka Shadow)
 shadow@krypton.rain.com        <--preferred
leonard@qiclab.scn.rain.com     <--last resort

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

Date: Fri, 13 Aug 1999 04:27:22 -0700
From: "Legate Legion" <legate@futureone.com>
Subject: Re: Oops... Off Topic...

From: The Roc <roc@kewl.com.au>
Subject: Re: Oops... Off Topic...


>Nope.  I don't think you said to much, I appreciate your openness and
>honesty on the subject.  It is rather off-topic for this sort of list I
>suppose, but I still appreciate the reply, though yours and my info tallies
>differently on Goths into BDSM/RPG's, but I suspect regional/scene
>differences at play here?

    Could be, & thank you, I am very open about my sexual orientation.
    To bring it back on-topic for this list.  *weg*  What types of "toys"
would be around for BDSM'ers in the 3I?  I can see Grav Restraints, & maybe
touchwands that induce pain, but are there anything else?

Legate Legion
ICQ # 8973001
legate@futureone.com
http://www.futureone.com/~legate/index.htm

"A man may fight for many things; his country, his principles, his friends,
the glistening tear on the cheek of a golden child. But personally, I'd
mudwrestle my own mother for a ton of cash, an amusing clock, and a stack of
French porn." - Edmund Blackadder

"I am ready man, check it out, I am the ULTIMATE bad ass.
State-of-the-bad-ass-art.  You do not want to f*** with me.  Check it out!
Hey Ripley, don't worry. Me and my squad of ultimate bad-asses will protect
you. Check it out! Independently targeting particle beam phalanx...FWAP! Fry
half a city with this puppy.  We got tactical smart missiles, phase plasma
pulse rifles, RPGs, we got sonic, electronic, BALL breakers!  We got nukes,
we got knives, sharpsticks..." -Hudson, Aliens (1986)

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

Date: Fri, 13 Aug 1999 04:34:04 -0700
From: "Legate Legion" <legate@futureone.com>
Subject: Re: Oops... Off Topic...

From: Leonard Erickson <shadow@krypton.rain.com>
Subject: Re: Oops... Off Topic...


>Well, considering how some *other* cultures have "channeled" such
>desires, the Zho could quite easily have it in their culture. After
>all, for one thing they'd be able to tell the difference between the
>sickos and the "normal" freaks.


    Hey, we are not freaks, it is the rest of you weirdos who are freaks.
You don't even use whips or chains.  <j/k>
    I can see the Zhos as being big into BDSM, they do wear a lot of black
leather.  *weg*

>I'm not sure what could be done with the S&M side of things other than
>being an odd pastime. But D&S has interesting possibilities in a
>telepathic society. Sub-ordinates that you *know* are 100% loyal, and
>you also know where their limits are. And if they are telepathic, it
>gets even more interesting.


    Well, if you can feel what your partner is feeling, sex would take on a
whole new dimension.  It would also give the doms way more control ove the
submissive.

>All the advantages of the typical "brainwashed slave", but with *none*
>of the disadvantages.


    Oh?  And what would that be?

>For the Aslan, I can see the males channeling things into the
>equivalent of the "manhood tests" and the like of various Terran
>cultures.


    I can also see the female Aslan doing this as well.  But, then again we
have talked about this before have we not?

>The Vargr won't even notice. After all, their culture pretty much
>incorporates a lot of the dominance and submission stuff found in
>packs. So anything even *remotely* related would just be considered a
>"minor quirk". :-)


    Yeppers.
    As for the Hivers, well we all know they do not enjoy sex, but they
might be interested in this aspect of sexuality.  And, what about the
K'Kree?

>I'll refrain from mentioning some of the more "interesting" things you
>can do with high tech.


    You know you do not have to.  *weg*  I didn't.  One thing I would like
to add is the idea of an orgasm inducer, would make the subbies life quite
interesting, would it not?

Legate Legion
ICQ # 8973001
legate@futureone.com
http://www.futureone.com/~legate/index.htm

"A man may fight for many things; his country, his principles, his friends,
the glistening tear on the cheek of a golden child. But personally, I'd
mudwrestle my own mother for a ton of cash, an amusing clock, and a stack of
French porn." - Edmund Blackadder

"I am ready man, check it out, I am the ULTIMATE bad ass.
State-of-the-bad-ass-art.  You do not want to f*** with me.  Check it out!
Hey Ripley, don't worry. Me and my squad of ultimate bad-asses will protect
you. Check it out! Independently targeting particle beam phalanx...FWAP! Fry
half a city with this puppy.  We got tactical smart missiles, phase plasma
pulse rifles, RPGs, we got sonic, electronic, BALL breakers!  We got nukes,
we got knives, sharpsticks..." -Hudson, Aliens (1986)

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

End of Traveller-digest V1999 #954
**********************************

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