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Thread: Freefall 3: Death Ray Byproducts
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2022-12-13, 08:49 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Nov 2006
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- Watching the world go by
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Re: Freefall 3: Death Ray Byproducts
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2022-12-13, 10:51 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Dec 2004
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- The Land of Angles
Re: Freefall 3: Death Ray Byproducts
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2022-12-14, 07:03 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Jun 2011
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2022-12-14, 12:12 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Jun 2007
Re: Freefall 3: Death Ray Byproducts
We can further refine it by restricting it to class G stars (similar to our own). Otherwise, there would have to be a bit of genetic modification for photosynthesis, and blue light + UV exposure for humans.
And we only know of 2. Alpha Centauri A, 4.4 LY away, and Tau Ceti, 11.9 LY away. The third, Sigma Draconis, is 18.8LY.May you get EXACTLY what you wish for.
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2022-12-14, 03:40 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Feb 2006
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Re: Freefall 3: Death Ray Byproducts
I could have sworn that at some point the FTL tech in Freefall was clarified to be warp-bubble-type space manipulation that ran in the reverse of what we normally expect out of relativity. Essentially, from the ship's perspective it is traveling at sublight speed and takes hundreds of years to travel between the stars, but from an outside frame of reference it is traveling at FTL speeds. So the ship has to be equipped with cryo and built to operate on autopilot for centuries but also makes the actual trip far faster.
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2022-12-14, 03:56 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Jun 2013
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- Bristol, UK
Re: Freefall 3: Death Ray Byproducts
The end of what Son? The story? There is no end. There's just the point where the storytellers stop talking.
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2022-12-14, 04:06 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Feb 2006
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Re: Freefall 3: Death Ray Byproducts
For the travellers, no; for the people on the planets on either end of the trip, it allows for supplies, culture, and new colonists to be moved around in a timeframe that's meaningfully useful.
And to be clear, this is completely an IIRC situation; I remember having this broken down at some point but I might be mistaken.
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2022-12-14, 04:08 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Mar 2007
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- Oregon, USA
Re: Freefall 3: Death Ray Byproducts
And manipulating space/time density, apparently.
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2022-12-15, 12:04 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Jun 2018
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- Maupertuis
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Re: Freefall 3: Death Ray Byproducts
Would someone link the comics that have information about Jean's star? My attempts at using Freefall's search function haven't been fruitful.
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2022-12-15, 09:28 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Nov 2006
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- Watching the world go by
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Re: Freefall 3: Death Ray Byproducts
I'm not sure Jean's Star ever gets mentioned. I know Jean was pretty barren before the humans colonized but I don't remember anything about the star.
Edit: and I found where she mentions the laser and I was wrong: she expects an answer in fifteen years, so wherever she expects an answer from is 7.5 light years away. It might be the distance to the research station she was intended to go to before Sam stole her.
Also, the Asimov is expected back in a year in the same comic.
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2022-12-16, 12:01 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Jun 2018
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- Maupertuis
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Re: Freefall 3: Death Ray Byproducts
Thanks for the info! I doubt the 7.5 ly is to Earth, since there's nothing but red/brown dwarves at that distance from Earth. Sirius is about 8.7 ly away, and has the bonus of being part of the "Alpha Canis Majoris" system, which you could translate as the first big doggy system. However, the joke about the name "Jean" was that planets are so common that naming them has become humdrum, so I doubt we're anywhere close to Earth.
Vaguely related, I recently learned that the RMS velocity of nearby stars is about 10^(-4) c relative to the Sun, which sounds slow, but is still twice as fast as any of the probes produced to date.
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2022-12-16, 02:37 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Jun 2007
Re: Freefall 3: Death Ray Byproducts
It's really only mentioned in passing. Florence talks about it when Sam asks about the radiation exposure starships get.
And I doubt it'd be Alpha Centauri, because ... well, it's closer, and as you said, there's so many inhabited planets that naming them got humdrum. And AC would pretty much be #1 on the list of systems to try to colonize.
So we're really so far out that we can just call it 'Generic G Sequence Star System' and leave it at that.Last edited by sihnfahl; 2022-12-16 at 02:38 PM.
May you get EXACTLY what you wish for.
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2023-01-25, 12:48 AM (ISO 8601)
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- May 2015
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- Germany
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Re: Freefall 3: Death Ray Byproducts
New comic
I really don't like agreeing with Sam, but not blowing up solar systems sounds like a good idea."If it lives it can be killed.
If it is dead it can be eaten."
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2023-01-25, 08:29 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Nov 2006
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- Watching the world go by
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Re: Freefall 3: Death Ray Byproducts
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2023-01-25, 12:10 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Nov 2005
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- Sydney, Australia
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Re: Freefall 3: Death Ray Byproducts
Hmm. I wonder how much power robots would have as "potential consumers" - i.e. "rich" - as compared to actual consumers?
I'm pretty much the opposite of concise. If I fail to get to the point, please ask me and I'm happy to (attempt to) clarify.
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2023-01-25, 12:26 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Nov 2006
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- Watching the world go by
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Re: Freefall 3: Death Ray Byproducts
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2023-01-26, 10:15 AM (ISO 8601)
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- May 2007
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- S.E. USA
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Re: Freefall 3: Death Ray Byproducts
Is it me or is Sam being unusually generous?
He has a direct financial incentive to save the station money, but is telling the robots to charge as much as they can for their work. I suppose "teaching robots to be greedy" might be a civic service to him, but I'm still waiting for his payout. Maybe he is about to suggest they invest their money in his idea of converting the station into a cycler?
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2023-01-26, 10:44 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Dec 2015
Re: Freefall 3: Death Ray Byproducts
I suspect there's a bit of Sam being the mouthpiece for the author ('s exposition). Also that Stanley realizes that robots (given the existing framing) would do X in this situation, needs them to instead do Y, and is using Sam (perhaps unusually, but I'm sure we'll see a justification) to get them moving in that direction.
As for Watsonian explanation -- I suspect the logic is that Sam can't profit from the station manager winning (making the robots do the work for free), but can profit from a station full of gainfully employed and compensated human and robotic citizens with plenty of spending cash (made possible by whatever deus ex machina the author decides will make the station profitable again, telegraphed to likely be the cycler).
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2023-01-26, 12:32 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Jan 2007
Re: Freefall 3: Death Ray Byproducts
Might be the case, but his behavior is not that different from how he was before. He is a self-centered thief, but he is all about sustainable theft, which requires other people to prosper as otherwise there is nothing worth stealing.
Keep also in mind he was responsible for teaching robots how to be thieves and was extremely active in teaching Florence how to broaden her freedom and use various tricks to interact with humans more efficiently. I am not sure what his altruism is motivated with, but maybe he simply is a decent person trying to teach others values that in his mind will make them prosper.In a war it doesn't matter who's right, only who's left.
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2023-01-26, 03:08 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Aug 2017
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- France
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Re: Freefall 3: Death Ray Byproducts
Sam just isn't as selfish as he likes to claim. He seems to really dislike people being exploited and will often encourage people to stand up for themselves and not let themselves be abused.
He does what he can to profit from his own actions, but he's also genuinely a helpful guy at heart.Forum Wisdom
Mage avatar by smutmulch & linklele.
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2023-01-26, 10:11 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Aug 2007
Re: Freefall 3: Death Ray Byproducts
Nope. I think the latest strip hints at what Sam is trying to achieve/avoid: chaos/boredom. A universe in which the robots are just perfect little slaves would be a universe of boredom, stagnation and order. And Sam thrives on chaos, change and fun, so he is pushing robots towards his point of view.
GWLast edited by Grey_Wolf_c; 2023-01-26 at 10:11 PM.
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2023-01-27, 06:09 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Aug 2020
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2023-01-27, 07:55 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Nov 2005
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- Sydney, Australia
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Re: Freefall 3: Death Ray Byproducts
Isn't that what Sam has been saying this whole time? He wants to teach everyone the way of the Sqid. He's never claimed to want to keep anyone in the dark. He's an honest Sqid, too (this is my gut feeling, but I think he tricks rather than lies). And he's previously expressed gratitude for all he has learnt from humans, so why wouldn't he want to return the favour?
I'm pretty much the opposite of concise. If I fail to get to the point, please ask me and I'm happy to (attempt to) clarify.
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2023-01-27, 08:56 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Jun 2007
Re: Freefall 3: Death Ray Byproducts
May you get EXACTLY what you wish for.
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2023-01-27, 05:12 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Jun 2018
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- Maupertuis
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Re: Freefall 3: Death Ray Byproducts
My take is that selfishness and selflessness are concepts that don't map onto Sqid ethics. So when Sam offers good advice without requiring anything in return, he doesn't view this as an ethical conflict.
To put it another way, we've seen that sqids value theft. That doesn't stop them from also valuing gift-giving and generosity. I could see Robin Hood being a sqid hero.
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2023-01-27, 06:01 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Aug 2020
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2023-01-27, 07:03 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Jan 2007
Re: Freefall 3: Death Ray Byproducts
Sam likes to be challenged and pulling off a crazy scheme means often more to him than earning loads of money. He does a lot of illegal things for the fun of it. I'd say that sqids perceive theft a bit like a sport (aside from direct profits) and that comes with a healthy dose of sportsmanship, so in order to be fair (and foster a more interesting environment) he helps out the people around.
In a war it doesn't matter who's right, only who's left.
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2023-01-27, 09:38 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Jun 2018
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- Maupertuis
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2023-01-28, 12:14 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Nov 2006
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- Watching the world go by
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Re: Freefall 3: Death Ray Byproducts
Locked up? No, money in Sam's mitts would flow freely and quickly away from him. He understands money gives power, but (aside from some Scrooge McDucking) he would quickly find uses for any vast sum of money that he acquired. The universe is probably better off that he doesn't have the funds to build monuments to his own greatness since seeing him too clearly tends to make humans blind.
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2023-01-28, 06:24 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Jan 2007