Schlock Mercenary VIII: insAIne in the mAInfrAIme

[HouseRules]

3 Trillion Kilometer > 2 Million Light Years

so it should be the long scale?

[Max_Killjoy]

I'm certain that Howard is using the system familiar to Americans.

Ones
Tens
Hundreds
Thousands
Millions
Billions
Trillions
Quadrillions

Etc.

[halfeye]

I'm certain that Howard is using the system familiar to Americans.

Ones
Tens
Hundreds
Thousands
Millions
Billions
Trillions
Quadrillions

Etc.

Sure, but what do they mean?

Ones = 1
Tens = 10
Hundreds = 100
Thousands = 1,000
Millions = 1,000,000
Billions = 1.000,000,000 or 1,000,000,000,000 (Million ^ 2)?
Trillions = Billions ^ 2 or Millions ^ 3 (which with the short billions turn out to be the same, as it happens, but it's nice to know how you got there)
Quadrillions = Millions ^ 4 or ?

[Willie the Duck]

Sure, but what do they mean?

1 One
10 Ten
100 Hundred
1,000 Thousand
1,000,000 Million (1,000×1,000^1)
1,000,000,000 Billion (1,000×1,000^2)
1,000,000,000,000 Trillion (1,000×1,000^3)
1,000,000,000,000,000 Quadrillion (1,000×1,000^4)
1,000,000,000,000,000,000 Quintillion (1,000×1,000^5)
1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 Sextillion (1,000×1,000^)6
1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 Septillion (etc.)

[Max_Killjoy]

Sure, but what do they mean?

Ones = 1
Tens = 10
Hundreds = 100
Thousands = 1,000
Millions = 1,000,000
Billions = 1.000,000,000 or 1,000,000,000,000 (Million ^ 2)?
Trillions = Billions ^ 2 or Millions ^ 3 (which with the short billions turn out to be the same, as it happens, but it's nice to know how you got there)
Quadrillions = Millions ^ 4 or ?

Really?

Having skipped "Milliard" and "Billiard", I think that's dead obvious.

Ones = 1s
Tens =10s
Hundreds = 100s
Thousands = 1,000s
Millions = 1,000,000s
Billions = 1,000,000,000s
Trillions = 1,000,000,000,000s
Quadrillions = 1,000,000,000,000,000s
Etc.

[HouseRules]

Million comes from

• mill = 1000
• ion = 1000

Billion

• bi = 2
• mill = 1000
• ion = 1000

Edit: "Add 2", "Times 2", "Raise to Power of 2".
dou- = addition
vi- = multiplication
bi- = exponentiation

How do we know the bi- in billion is an exponent on mill (short scale) or million (long scale) ?

million, billion, trillion, etc.
milliard, billiard, trilliard, etc.

[Onyavar]

According to Donald Duck, there is still the Fantastillion somewhere. His uncle has a few of them in duck Dollars.

Seriously, we're still debating distances of intergalactic neighborhood here. It's the (American) short scale at work, here, and the ambassadors are embarrassingly close, because of Petey's precision.

Three trillions on the long scale would equal "a million times three trillions of the short scale", so --> 300K Lj. Which is NOT 'precise' of any kind of definition, and neither a "warming gun" range unless we're talking galaxy-centered Pa'anuri long guns. Which I hope we aren't.

[factotum]

Yeah, I agree with Onyavar. The error the characters are talking about may be a little on the small side if they're using the short trillion, but if they're using the long trillion then we're talking an error wider than a galaxy, which is ridiculous.

About today's strip: when they're saying the giant Cecil is a "person", do they mean he's a dead person like everyone else there? If so, why does he get to have a giant's body when nobody else does?

[HorizonWalker]

No, Cecil is very likely just an AI. Which, y'know. Still a person, just not a biological one.

[Doran]

Why would Petey create a sentient AI and cast it in the role of an NPC for the initial purpose of being digitally beaten death.

Unless it's all just Petey playing a role and he is trolling them.

[Onyavar]

My thought was that he (it?) is a onboard AI that has developed in the simulation because Thurl let it.

I guess we'll find out over the course of the week.

[HorizonWalker]

Why would Petey create a sentient AI and cast it in the role of an NPC for the initial purpose of being digitally beaten death.

Unless it's all just Petey playing a role and he is trolling them.

I don't think Cecil is meant to be beaten up. He's meant to be a person you have to figure out and cooperate with to stop a volcanic eruption, which is why he's useful for a training exercise to teach all these people how to be diplomatic together.

You're probably getting him mixed up with the fire giant Thurl created in the PD infosphere for the Ragnarok game, where said giant absolutely existed for the purpose of getting beaten up.

[HandofShadows]

Hmm I think I know what Cecile figured out.

Spoiler

Show

The things that destroy galactic civilization can't be stopped. If it's not one things it's another or something else. This Page is the clue. You can't stop a volcano. But I think that Cecile may be looking it wrong. While you can't stop a volcano, you can learn to live with it and even use it to your benefit. Look at Iceland.

[Grey_Wolf_c]

Look at Iceland.

I must have taken a wrong turn while looking for Iceland, and instead ended up looking at this. It doesn't seem to have worked out that well for them.

Grey Wolf

[factotum]

Not all volcanic eruptions are as violent as Krakatoa was, and in fact there are definite advantages to living near a volcano--the stuff the volcano spews out when it erupts is extremely high in nutrients and makes for very fertile growing soil once it's weathered down. Depending how often eruptions happen the trade-off might be worth it.

[sleepy hedgehog]

I finally figured out what's been bothering me about tagon's faical hair.
It uses his dark hair color.
But is often surrounded, on multiple sides, by his light skin tone.

[Grey_Wolf_c]

Not all volcanic eruptions are as violent as Krakatoa was, and in fact there are definite advantages to living near a volcano--the stuff the volcano spews out when it erupts is extremely high in nutrients and makes for very fertile growing soil once it's weathered down. Depending how often eruptions happen the trade-off might be worth it.

And those that thought so in the Krakatoa are not around to tell us that. Sort of how if this cyclical crisis is like a volcano, those who though "the trade-off might be worth it" or "[we] can learn to live with it and even use it to [our] benefit" are gone, while the ones that loaded themselves into big spaceballs of one kind or another are still around millions of years later, and are about to get a visit from Petey's mind-copies.

Grey Wolf

[HandofShadows]

And those that thought so in the Krakatoa are not around to tell us that. Sort of how if this cyclical crisis is like a volcano, those who though "the trade-off might be worth it" or "[we] can learn to live with it and even use it to [our] benefit" are gone, while the ones that loaded themselves into big spaceballs of one kind or another are still around millions of years later, and are about to get a visit from Petey's mind-copies.

Grey Wolf

And how many volcano's are like Krakatoa? Yes, volcanos are dangerous, but to focus on one or two volcano types) and ignore the rest is not a smart or logical way to look at all volcanos.

[Max_Killjoy]

And how many volcano's are like Krakatoa? Yes, volcanos are dangerous, but to focus on one or two volcano types) and ignore the rest is not a smart or logical way to look at all volcanos.

The sets "non-extinct volcano" and "safe place to live" do not overlap.

Non-extinct volcanoes are all dangerous, the details just vary. We just saw that in Hawaii recently --even those "safe" and "sedate" types of volcanoes are not actually safe to live near.

[halfeye]

The sets "non-extinct volcano" and "safe place to live" do not overlap.

Non-extinct volcanoes are all dangerous, the details just vary. We just saw that in Hawaii recently --even those "safe" and "sedate" types of volcanoes are not actually safe to live near.

Hawaii did something? I haven't seen news related to that.

Krakatoa was probably the most dangerous erruption in history, basing reactions to all volcanoes on Krakatoa is probably over-reacting. We can afford a few deaths, though it'd be a lot better to not be one of them, there are profits to be made near volcanoes.

[Max_Killjoy]

Hawaii did something? I haven't seen news related to that.

Krakatoa was probably the most dangerous erruption in history, basing reactions to all volcanoes on Krakatoa is probably over-reacting. We can afford a few deaths, though it'd be a lot better to not be one of them, there are profits to be made near volcanoes.

For three months last summer, destroying towns and roads and farmland, cutting communities off from the rest of the island, etc.

https://www.npr.org/2018/08/07/63641...-long-eruption

[halfeye]

For three months last summer, destroying towns and roads and farmland, cutting communities off from the rest of the island, etc.

https://www.npr.org/2018/08/07/63641...-long-eruption

That site is cookie gated. I don't volunteer for cookies.

[Max_Killjoy]

That site is cookie gated. I don't volunteer for cookies.

It's NPR, as in National Public Radio... not a phishing site.

Maybe Wikipedia? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_lower_Puna_eruption

[Grey_Wolf_c]

And how many volcano's are like Krakatoa? Yes, volcanos are dangerous, but to focus on one or two volcano types) and ignore the rest is not a smart or logical way to look at all volcanos.

The cyclical crisis that has wiped out civilizations in the galaxy is clearly more like Krakatoa than like Eyjafjallajökull.

Grey Wolf

[halfeye]

Maybe Wikipedia? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_lower_Puna_eruption

Wikipedia is good for me at the moment.

As I read it, nobody died. Which is pretty good.

The cyclical crisis that has wiped out civilizations in the galaxy is clearly more like Krakatoa than like Eyjafjallajökull.

Grey Wolf

If nobody died, I'm not sure I can agree with that.

[Grey_Wolf_c]

If nobody died, I'm not sure I can agree with that.

What on Earth are you talking about? At least 30000 people died, and probably an order of magnitude more.

Grey Wolf

[halfeye]

What on Earth are you talking about? At least 30000 people died, and probably an order of magnitude more.

Grey Wolf

When Krakatoa errupted, but I don't remember reading about that many deaths in the cartoon, apart from the wars about the All Star, which isn't one of the fleets fleeing the galaxy.

[HouseRules]

What on Earth are you talking about? At least 30000 people died, and probably an order of magnitude more.

So the upper bound estimation is at least 300,000.

[Max_Killjoy]

Wikipedia is good for me at the moment.

As I read it, nobody died. Which is pretty good.

The property destruction was still quite extensive.

Of course, if Vesuvius went off tomorrow, the loss of life would likely be at least as bad as the Indian Ocean tsunami from several years back, in the 100s of 1000s range.

[HorizonWalker]

The thing about living near volcanoes is that it's great, up until the volcano erupts and destroys your house along with everything in it, possibly including you.

Does the volcano erupt often? No, of course not!

But it doesn't need to. Any eruption at all is dangerous and destructive. And the longer you live, the more likely it is that you're going to get unlucky at least once and get killed by an eruption. So the safest course of action is to live where there's nothing around to kill you.