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[Kedly]

Do eldritch horrors even need kidneys?

[Xantalos]

No, but I like having a surplus in case of an economy forming around the things.

[Kedly]

I imagine kidneys would be pretty valuable. Certainly more valuable than that damn appendix

[Xantalos]

You'd be surprised what you can accomplish with an appendix and some pillow stuffing.

[Parisbre56]

Fleshy pillows for small worms?

[Beirus]

Fleshy pillows for small worms?

Heh. Double entendre.

[Parisbre56]

Fleshy pillows for small worms?

Heh. Double entendre.

Really? If it is, it was made unintentionally. I get the small worms but what are the fleshy pillows?

EDIT: Wait, I got it, never mind.

[Radio Controlled]

By the way, will try to post actual mission action and some orders tomorrow.

[sambojin]

I'd offer you one of mine pw, but it'd be like offering someone a used condom. I'm pretty sure mine are well and truly already.......

[Nikitian]

Well, now it is probably that someone else is about to find himself in a bathtub filled with ice. Guess the next person coming to the Infirmary for a free upgrade from Doc will find a curiously specific price for it.

Also, a toast to ye, Ol' Lefty, I second. We never knew you really, but your smoking hot lively wife Righty told us you were a great person. We'll take great care of her in your absence.

[PyroDesu]

Any substances that could work over a few days? Rock, metal, whatever. Separate substances can do, there isn't a need for a single substance doing everything.

Sure there are slower, safer ones, same deal though, need to know the substance.

I got good news and bad news for that plan, Cael. Good news - if the planet's geology is similar to Earth's (composed mostly of silicates), you should be able to dissolve most rock (including concrete) with salicylic acid. Yes, it works. No, it's not fast. Yes, it should be relatively safe - though I wouldn't go bathing in the stuff.

Bad news, it's going to take both a long time and a LOT of acid. Like, what are these people doing behind the bank with multiple tanker trucks of acid, lots. That's true of pretty much anything you'd use, though - it's a matter of stoichiometry, not how powerful the acid is.

[piecewise]

Any substances that could work over a few days? Rock, metal, whatever. Separate substances can do, there isn't a need for a single substance doing everything.

Sure there are slower, safer ones, same deal though, need to know the substance.

I got good news and bad news for that plan, Cael. Good news - if the planet's geology is similar to Earth's (composed mostly of silicates), you should be able to dissolve most rock (including concrete) with salicylic acid. Yes, it works. No, it's not fast. Yes, it should be relatively safe - though I wouldn't go bathing in the stuff.

Bad news, it's going to take both a long time and a LOT of acid. Like, what are these people doing behind the bank with multiple tanker trucks of acid, lots. That's true of pretty much anything you'd use, though - it's a matter of stoichiometry, not how powerful the acid is.

Well, for the speed of the reaction the strength of the acid has an effect. You might get through that rock with nothing but milk but it's not gonna be as fast as battery acid.

Though yeah, the amount is always gonna be the same, only so much can react with so much. But I was assuming they were only gonna be using the acid to bore through small sections, doors or walls or something. Not as a pure tunneling device.

[PyroDesu]

Any substances that could work over a few days? Rock, metal, whatever. Separate substances can do, there isn't a need for a single substance doing everything.

Sure there are slower, safer ones, same deal though, need to know the substance.

I got good news and bad news for that plan, Cael. Good news - if the planet's geology is similar to Earth's (composed mostly of silicates), you should be able to dissolve most rock (including concrete) with salicylic acid. Yes, it works. No, it's not fast. Yes, it should be relatively safe - though I wouldn't go bathing in the stuff.

Bad news, it's going to take both a long time and a LOT of acid. Like, what are these people doing behind the bank with multiple tanker trucks of acid, lots. That's true of pretty much anything you'd use, though - it's a matter of stoichiometry, not how powerful the acid is.

Well, for the speed of the reaction the strength of the acid has an effect. You might get through that rock with nothing but milk but it's not gonna be as fast as battery acid.

Though yeah, the amount is always gonna be the same, only so much can react with so much. But I was assuming they were only gonna be using the acid to bore through small sections, doors or walls or something. Not as a pure tunneling device.

While that's true, I wanted to find something other than, say, hydrofluoric acid. You guys already know how bad that stuff can be, but it would get the job done pretty quick. Not sure if something like hydrobromic or hydroiodic would work, but hydrofluoric and hydrochloric probably would.

[Parisbre56]

I have no idea about the chemicals involved in "ground eating", but couldn't you use a catalyst to speed up the reaction? And if the material that needs to be destroyed reacts with something naturally abundant, like oxygen, then just adding a small amount of catalyst for that reaction could be enough to do the job, since the catalyst will help many reactions complete before it is destroyed. Of course, there needs to be a known catalyst for that reaction in the first place.

But anyway, if you're eating through the ground, then why not just dig a tunnel instead? Have the guy with the cameyes watch for obstacles and then dig until you are under the vault. Then all you need to do is cut a hole quickly (since they are likely to have defences for that), either by using explosives or some sort of cutting torch or cutting laser. Or you can use chemichals for that last part, actually getting through the foundation and the floor of the bank.

Or for something really ambitious and dwarfy, you could dig under the bank's foundations, setting supports as you do so to keep it standing and then collapse the supports, causing the entire bank to sink into the ground. With all its inhabitants thoroughly rocked and/or killed and the entire bank underground, all you got to do is enter through a window and make your way to the vault. Or dig to it if sections of the building have collapsed (although I doubt it, given how armoured it seems). And since from the outside this will look like an accident (a sink-hole suddenly appearing or badly constructed foundation collapsing depending on how you do it) you won't have any police on your tail until they realize what's going on. And by that time, if everything has gone well, you'll be long gone.

[piecewise]

Any substances that could work over a few days? Rock, metal, whatever. Separate substances can do, there isn't a need for a single substance doing everything.

Sure there are slower, safer ones, same deal though, need to know the substance.

I got good news and bad news for that plan, Cael. Good news - if the planet's geology is similar to Earth's (composed mostly of silicates), you should be able to dissolve most rock (including concrete) with salicylic acid. Yes, it works. No, it's not fast. Yes, it should be relatively safe - though I wouldn't go bathing in the stuff.

Bad news, it's going to take both a long time and a LOT of acid. Like, what are these people doing behind the bank with multiple tanker trucks of acid, lots. That's true of pretty much anything you'd use, though - it's a matter of stoichiometry, not how powerful the acid is.

Well, for the speed of the reaction the strength of the acid has an effect. You might get through that rock with nothing but milk but it's not gonna be as fast as battery acid.

Though yeah, the amount is always gonna be the same, only so much can react with so much. But I was assuming they were only gonna be using the acid to bore through small sections, doors or walls or something. Not as a pure tunneling device.

While that's true, I wanted to find something other than, say, hydrofluoric acid. You guys already know how bad that stuff can be, but it would get the job done pretty quick. Not sure if something like hydrobromic or hydroiodic would work, but hydrofluoric and hydrochloric probably would.

Lets just pump ClF3 into the bank until this all resolves itself. Wanna bet how many tons we'll need?

I have no idea about the chemicals involved in "ground eating", but couldn't you use a catalyst to speed up the reaction? And if the material that needs to be destroyed reacts with something naturally abundant, like oxygen, then just adding a small amount of catalyst for that reaction could be enough to do the job, since the catalyst will help many reactions complete before it is destroyed. Of course, there needs to be a known catalyst for that reaction in the first place.

But anyway, if you're eating through the ground, then why not just dig a tunnel instead? Have the guy with the cameyes watch for obstacles and then dig until you are under the vault. Then all you need to do is cut a hole quickly (since they are likely to have defences for that), either by using explosives or some sort of cutting torch or cutting laser. Or you can use chemichals for that last part, actually getting through the foundation and the floor of the bank.

Or for something really ambitious and dwarfy, you could dig under the bank's foundations, setting supports as you do so to keep it standing and then collapse the supports, causing the entire bank to sink into the ground. With all its inhabitants thoroughly rocked and/or killed and the entire bank underground, all you got to do is enter through a window and make your way to the vault. Or dig to it if sections of the building have collapsed (although I doubt it, given how armoured it seems). And since from the outside this will look like an accident (a sink-hole suddenly appearing or badly constructed foundation collapsing depending on how you do it) you won't have any police on your tail until they realize what's going on. And by that time, if everything has gone well, you'll be long gone.

Catalysts have the property that they make nice, friendly, slow reactions into nasty, unfriendly, fast ones. So yeah, we could use some slow process, but if we throw catalysts on it then that shit speeds up and we lose that whole "Nice" part of that reaction.