Freefall 3: Death Ray Byproducts

[Lord Raziere]

If memory serves, they homestead. So this is their home.

Which just makes them potential suspects for where the money is going. so. who do you think is the more irresponsible spender for a space station? Winston's mother or his father?

[Radar]

You can take advantage of a general liquidity crisis ...

Consulting fees!

As Dogbert once said: I like to con people and I like to insult people. If you combine 'con' and 'insult' you get 'consult'.

[lord_khaine]

Since it's the one where Winston's parents live, it's an asteroid that was foamed over and hollowed out.

We have seen this station. Its not an astroid that has been foamed and hollowed out.
This is not the homestead belonging to Winstons parents.
Its a transfer space station. Its closer to the village that they have a farm outside.

As evident by todays comic, where we hear of the station manager.

[Rogar Demonblud]

Nothing is close in space. Especially in a setting that actually acknowledges delta-v.

I think we might be missing more data than previously assumed.

[Kantaki]

Nothing is close in space. Especially in a setting that actually acknowledges delta-v.

I think we might be missing more data than previously assumed.

Of course things can be close in space.
Compared to Alpha Centauri the Moon is very close for example.

Works just like with age.
Use the right frame of reference and everything is close/young.

[Fyraltari]

Nothing lawful can come out of this.

[Rogar Demonblud]

Isn't that a given with Sam involved?

[memnarch]

Isn't that a given with Sam involved?

I would be disappointed if it wasn't.

[theangelJean]

Of course things can be close in space.
Compared to Alpha Centauri the Moon is very close for example.

Works just like with age.
Use the right frame of reference and everything is close/young.

And up until now, I had actually assumed that a Pournelle/Niven junction was a thing, and that it would be completely natural to put a transfer station there. If they're going to make use of Lagrange points, why not?

(Once upon a time, I would have recognised the "P-n junction" for the pun it was. Not in 20 years, though. It might have been pointed out in the forums here or there, though.)

Anyway, I assumed that it was somewhat like the Lagrange points, being kind of near a planet, but having some neat attribute similar to not being so far deep in a gravity well, so it would be a good place to start space travel, making useful to situate a transfer station there. I figured that was close enough to a planet for "homesteading".

Being as that was comjpletely wrong, a quick search of the Freefall archive shows that Winston's parents headed straight "out to the belt" on arriving in this system, so maybe the asteroid where they live is there, and that the space station was first described as a "station in the belt". Asteroid belt has been floated as a decent place for space transfer before, being in a stable orbit but not within the gravity well of a planet - downside being having to navigate the asteroids on the way in, I guess. So I guess "living in your own asteroid in the asteroid belt of a star system, not a planet" is what they mean by homesteading in this setting, and that makes them close enough to this space station for a visit.

Now I'm wondering why I assume there's AN asteroid belt in this system. Theoretically, there could be multiple, right? All you need is one smashed rocky planet?

[memnarch]

...

Now I'm wondering why I assume there's AN asteroid belt in this system. Theoretically, there could be multiple, right? All you need is one smashed rocky planet?

Could be multiple sure; I think one of the more recent theories for our own in Sol is that it's stuff that's been disturbed too much to turn into a planet in the first place so it just stayed as a bunch of rock. And it's not like it'd be your usual massive region of randomly moving, closely packed, enormous giant space rocks.

Actually, I think I remember listening to a sci-fi story that a system found without any asteroid belt, and it turned out that the only planet in the habitable zone was basically nothing but ocean and floating plant mats. So maybe a single detected asteroid belt would mean a better chance of a usable planet for living on/terraforming to live on whereas multiple could mean no usable planets (for humans)?

[Rogar Demonblud]

I think I know what's going on. Remember when Sam was studying embezzlements and he realized it was important to not take too much too quickly? Foreshadowing.

[theangelJean]

Reminds me of the place-before-last I worked. One of the two owners decided to start using the capital to pay his mortgage, try bringing in his wife as a manager while driving out perfectly competent staff, threatening to sue the other owner etc.

Problem was, it was a start-up, and he decided to do this when the business was barely a year old - basically as soon as the place had started to show a margin, not even a profit.

Wonder how that place is doing now.

[sihnfahl]

So maybe a single detected asteroid belt would mean a better chance of a usable planet for living on/terraforming to live on whereas multiple could mean no usable planets (for humans)?

Might as well say that the lack of the presence of a giant planet in the system will reduce the chances of a usable planet for living on / terraforming, thanks to the gravity well's effects on wayward small bodies.

Course, randomness being randomness, it could also speed things up and lob them INTO the planet...

[Rogar Demonblud]

Well, that was honest.

[Rockphed]

Is Winston's mom insane, or is she trying to stress test Florence to see what it would take to get her to go spare?

[Rogar Demonblud]

She gave herself a Bismarck mustache as a conversation starter. I'm going with insane, with a side order of embarrassing the heck out of her son for never visiting.

[Rockphed]

She gave herself a Bismarck mustache as a conversation starter. I'm going with insane, with a side order of embarrassing the heck out of her son for never visiting.

I, for one, would visit my mother less often if she decided that clothing was optional indoors. Of course she was rather involved in instilling my nudity taboo, so I doubt that will happen.

[Lord Raziere]

Is Winston's mom insane, or is she trying to stress test Florence to see what it would take to get her to go spare?

Yes.

Though if she is this crazy, one wonders how crazy Winston's dad is in other directions. they seem to be set up as opposites in their beliefs.

[Fyraltari]

Appartment gattaca? Somebody's being passive-aggressive.

[Willie the Duck]

Is Winston's mom insane, or is she trying to stress test Florence to see what it would take to get her to go spare?

Without going to Doylist on the thing, she seems to be sitcom-standard 'free spirit.' Think Dharma and Greg, except it is the parents who are in a mixed free-spirit/stuffy marriage. We'll see how ridiculous it gets.

[Rogar Demonblud]

Somebody stop ThurMom before she decides to try and vivisect Florence, please.

[sihnfahl]

Somebody stop ThurMom before she decides to try and vivisect Florence, please.

"I always learn so much from a live dissection..."
To quote a game.

Heh, ThurMom is just having the grandest time right now.

[Rogar Demonblud]

Anybody else starting to get a little annoyed with Winston's parents? One is treating her like a science experiment to critique and the other is acting like she's some kind of monster.

[Lord Raziere]

Anybody else starting to get a little annoyed with Winston's parents? One is treating her like a science experiment to critique and the other is acting like she's some kind of monster.

I mean I think your supposed to.

they're clearly written as extreme positions of the two reactions humanity has always had towards something new:

Reaction One:
aaaaah! its scary! stay away from it! we don't know what its capable of! we must be cautious! it could be dangerous

Reaction Two:
oooooh!! fascinating! I'm go up to it and poke it with a stick! we don't know what its capable of! lets find out, who knows what we can do with it!?

which is normal for Freefall's writing. Blunt and Sharp had a similar dynamic of two robots being extreme opposites agreeing on the same course of action (destroy all robots) but for entirely different reasons:Blunt is entirely selfless and thinks he is doing the best he can for humanity, while Sharp is entirely selfish and just wants to be the only robot left in existence out of paranoia, despite vastly different motivations they agree on what to do because they benefit from each others extreme logic, as Blunt figures that only one robot existing is little different from none while Sharp is all too happy to take advantage of Blunt's "selfless" cause.

similarly Thurmom and Thurdad have a dynamic of being ultra-reckless and ultra-cautious but agreeing on the same action of observing Florence, Thurmom to see if Florence can help with transhumanism to improve for a brighter future, while Thurdad wants to make sure she isn't a threat to people around her.

Florence and Sam themselves are a selfless/selfish dynamic.

basically its repeated theme in the comic that people of vastly different viewpoints can work together for the same goal, for good or for bad and that selfish and selfless people work together all the time. similarly these parents point out that people of radically different views can love each other, work together calmly and still both be uncomfortable for someone like Florence to meet because you'd think Thurmom would be the one that Florence would like more, but no, both of them struggle to see her as a person. its the classic frankenstein's monster problem: the mad scientist only sees a creation to marvel at, the villagers only see a monster to drive off, neither of them see the person underneath.

its a nice demonstration of the horseshoe effect, all things considered.

[Rogar Demonblud]

Sharp? Oh, you mean Edge. The names aren't quite that blatant.

Another example for your thesis would be Qwerty and Dvorak.

Actually, it's been a while since we've seen the local mad engineer. What's he up to now? *looks for rampaging waffle irons*

[Rockphed]

Sharp? Oh, you mean Edge. The names aren't quite that blatant.

Another example for your thesis would be Qwerty and Dvorak.

Actually, it's been a while since we've seen the local mad engineer. What's he up to now? *looks for rampaging waffle irons*

Isn't he on a whirlwind world tour with the former mayor?

[Grey_Wolf_c]

I appreciate she is likely only this blunt with people that don't comment on her moustache but, there is blunt, and there is too blunt.

Grey Wolf

[memnarch]

Isn't he on a whirlwind world tour with the former mayor?

No, that's J.J., formerly Jar Jar bot.

[Rockphed]

I appreciate she is likely only this blunt with people that don't comment on her moustache but, there is blunt, and there is too blunt.

Grey Wolf

I like thurdad's spittake.

[Rogar Demonblud]

I think she deliberately waited until he was drinking just to get that reaction.

And I'm pretty sure that at this point Winston has resolved to not come visit his parents again.