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[Empiricist]

((Damn, I meant to type Manipulator Brain Units >__<))

[Nikitian]

Yes, there are several suitable subjects on the list of coma patients I recovered from Q'Baja. And that's for a start, before your new laboratories are finished. I trust there is no problem with using comatose hosts?

Conversation with the Doctor and Anton!
[ADMIN OF SCIENCE][DEPUTY ADMIN OF ENGINEERING]

• I looked through the mission and could not find people turning off cameras (only comms), much less Simus specifically, so the antenna creation process should be fully filmed - and from several different angles, since Simus was in a robobody by that mission. Let's say the science team have started working on it already?
• Can I please have a report on the science teams progress? I'm talking about the one studying fleshhorror remains and the one studying soundworm data. It's almost month since those were assigned (four weeks, to be precise).
• Can the sharkmist structure be replicated with synth-flesh instead of "regular" organics?
• I recall that non-standard-effect amps/manipulators can be requested. Can there be made a very cheap (MFM or close) and highly specialized amp/manip of a power similar to organo-(possibly -dominator)line, but limited to influencing fleshknitter/human stem cells only? Yes, I am looking for a way for fleshknitter to be intelligently guided, most importantly allowing it to regenerate complex organs correctly.
• The teleporter rifle Nyartifact sent to us by Pancaek, not ARESTEVE's item. To recap: test whether it can be fired with a robosod and/or a simple "trigger-pulling" mechanism.

[syvarris]

Hephaestus management stuff:

1.Assign two construction crews to building an "apocalypse lab" on Planet #11.  The idea is that we can do our dangerous potentially planet destroying experiments here, in relative safety.  The lab should have the infrastructure to do most any experimentation we're likely to want.  Also, it should be almost entirely subterranean, so that it is very difficult to detect for anyone looking.  Taking in mind that it's about 50 AU away, and two construction crews make things take half the amount of time they normally would, when will this be finished?

The second third of the gratesplosion artifacts have been researched.  I would like to know what we have learned about:

2.The piece of staircase railing with a thin coating of moving black stuff. (warning, may cause tissue damage and massive shadowy tornadoes)

3.The metal cylinder, which resonates dangerously well.

4.The neon green humming spikes. They explode when struck

5.My bunker finished.  I want my body moved there, and then transplanted into one of the superheavy robot bodies.

Experiments with forcefields:

6.I want to create a 'bowl' made of lead that projects a forcefield inside of it, consistently an inch away from the surface.  Activate the field, then place inside the bowl a unactivated small steel sphere which will project an omnidirectional forcefield consistently a quarter inch away from its surface, when activated.  After placing the sphere inside, activate its forcefield, which should intersect with the bowl's field.  If nothing visibly happens, tip the bowl over so that the sphere would roll out, then try to pick it up.

Hypothesis: Fields from different materials are solid to each other, and all forefields will cut segments out of normal materials when activated inside them.  This will probably destroy the lead forcefield, creating an explosion.  Since forcefields aren't an actual material though, I could also see it just anchoring the two objects together.

7.How close can a projected forcefield come to the projecting material?  Can it be flush with the surface?

8.How far can a projected forcefield be from the projecting material, presumably relative to size/mass of the projector?

9.Can a projected forcefield curve back on itself?  See the below diagram

Code: [Select]

----\     /-------------
     |   |
 /--/    |   <forcefield
 |       |
 \------/
      Projecting material 
                 v
#########################

[piecewise]

((Damn, I meant to type Manipulator Brain Units >__<))

Still no.

Yes, there are several suitable subjects on the list of coma patients I recovered from Q'Baja. And that's for a start, before your new laboratories are finished. I trust there is no problem with using comatose hosts?

Conversation with the Doctor and Anton!
[ADMIN OF SCIENCE][DEPUTY ADMIN OF ENGINEERING]

• I looked through the mission and could not find people turning off cameras (only comms), much less Simus specifically, so the antenna creation process should be fully filmed - and from several different angles, since Simus was in a robobody by that mission. Let's say the science team have started working on it already?
• Can I please have a report on the science teams progress? I'm talking about the one studying fleshhorror remains and the one studying soundworm data. It's almost month since those were assigned (four weeks, to be precise).
• Can the sharkmist structure be replicated with synth-flesh instead of "regular" organics?
• I recall that non-standard-effect amps/manipulators can be requested. Can there be made a very cheap (MFM or close) and highly specialized amp/manip of a power similar to organo-(possibly -dominator)line, but limited to influencing fleshknitter/human stem cells only? Yes, I am looking for a way for fleshknitter to be intelligently guided, most importantly allowing it to regenerate complex organs correctly.
• The teleporter rifle Nyartifact sent to us by Pancaek, not ARESTEVE's item. To recap: test whether it can be fired with a robosod and/or a simple "trigger-pulling" mechanism.

Well...you can try but that thing was the result of the reality warping of a good roll, so it might not be replicable.

Flesh horror is producing nothing terribly interesting, sadly.  They've manged to set up a device which should, in theory, open the same kind of tear in reality that the soundworm team did. They haven't turned it on yet though.

No.

That...You could do it with controlled effort on the part of an amp user, MAYBE a manip user if they're really good, but a specialized system just for that? No.

Oh, that one. Should give it a different name. That one can be used by robosods and mechanisms.

Hephaestus management stuff:

1.Assign two construction crews to building an "apocalypse lab" on Planet #11.  The idea is that we can do our dangerous potentially planet destroying experiments here, in relative safety.  The lab should have the infrastructure to do most any experimentation we're likely to want.  Also, it should be almost entirely subterranean, so that it is very difficult to detect for anyone looking.  Taking in mind that it's about 50 AU away, and two construction crews make things take half the amount of time they normally would, when will this be finished?

The second third of the gratesplosion artifacts have been researched.  I would like to know what we have learned about:

2.The piece of staircase railing with a thin coating of moving black stuff. (warning, may cause tissue damage and massive shadowy tornadoes)

3.The metal cylinder, which resonates dangerously well.

4.The neon green humming spikes. They explode when struck

5.My bunker finished.  I want my body moved there, and then transplanted into one of the superheavy robot bodies.

Experiments with forcefields:

6.I want to create a 'bowl' made of lead that projects a forcefield inside of it, consistently an inch away from the surface.  Activate the field, then place inside the bowl a unactivated small steel sphere which will project an omnidirectional forcefield consistently a quarter inch away from its surface, when activated.  After placing the sphere inside, activate its forcefield, which should intersect with the bowl's field.  If nothing visibly happens, tip the bowl over so that the sphere would roll out, then try to pick it up.

Hypothesis: Fields from different materials are solid to each other, and all forefields will cut segments out of normal materials when activated inside them.  This will probably destroy the lead forcefield, creating an explosion.  Since forcefields aren't an actual material though, I could also see it just anchoring the two objects together.

7.How close can a projected forcefield come to the projecting material?  Can it be flush with the surface?

8.How far can a projected forcefield be from the projecting material, presumably relative to size/mass of the projector?

9.Can a projected forcefield curve back on itself?  See the below diagram

Code: [Select]

----\     /-------------
     |   |
 /--/    |   <forcefield
 |       |
 \------/
      Projecting material 
                 v
#########################

1.Lets say end of these missions. Or actually, beginning of next ones. We'll use the jump for time.

2. The samples appear to have degraded or died over time. They're mostly inert now, with little noticeable reaction to a variety of stimuli. Dang.

3. That one was apparently an unknown crystalline aluminum alloy. It's not very robust, but it's like a tuning fork; it can vibrate to different resonate frequencies and maintain that vibration for a long period. Not sure of the uses yet, but it can be replicated.

4.  These appear to be radioactive and unstable. We've isolated the materials and can replicate it, but it's not very useful looking. The spikes aren't sharper then standard metal and the explosions they release aren't more powerful then conventional explosives.

5. alright

6. When the second field is activated it results in the metal sphere being violently jettisoned from the bowl.

7. Flush? no. But very nearly. Milimeter or so clearance.

8. It seems that, via experimentation with spheres, that the shield can be projected, at max, 5 times the radius of the object away from the anchor.

9. Not that you've found. You can manipulate the shape to a degree, but not that much.

[syvarris]

Armor things:

1.Okay, forcefields projected from the same type of material are non-solid to each other.  I want to take two forcefield projection plates, which are designed such that their forcefields would be projected in the exact same spot, if they are set on top of each other.

2.Does the above idea work?  Can two forcefields occupy the same space, at the same time?

3.If so, is the strength of the forcefield increased at all, due to damage being split between the two fields? 

4.My next idea is more complicated.  Take two plates of forcefield projection material, one set to project at a half inch, and the other at one inch.  Then, set the half-inch one on top of the inch one, separated by springs, in such a way that the half-inch field is just slightly above the one inch field (both projectors are below both fields).  I want the springs specifically designed such that they require (60% of the energy that would break one field) before they give enough to allow the top field to retreat behind the bottom field, assuming zero friction between the two fields.

5.Shoot the top field with a shot that has 90% the energy required to break it.  What happens?  Does the top field retreat behind the bottom one?

6.Shoot the top field with a shot that has 120% the energy required to break it.  What happens?

7.That super weak material from before, which could resist a 500% strength gauss cannon, but exploded with nuclear-level power?  I'm going to call it fragplate, just so I have something to call it.

8.How much does a layer of forcefield-projecting fragplate cost, compared to a similar size layer of battlesuit plate?

9.Does the cost for forcefields change depending on the material, beyond the actual cost of the material itself?

((Fellow tinkerers: Is this post understandable?  Prior experiments have been confusingly written, to the point that PW couldn't respond, and I'd like to avoid that.))

[Nikitian]

I trust there is no problem with using comatose hosts?

Also, how many subjects do you need - in the medium run? A score? Several hundreds? Thousands to millions?
Wait for answers to questions.
[ADMIN OF SCIENCE][DEPUTY ADMIN OF ENGINEERING]

• Assign Science Teams Gamma and Delta (Q'Bajan) to studying Liquid Crystal and Gel Sack samples from Anomalous Planetoid, respectively. Additionally, can any useful research at all be done on Orange Goo (samples for which might or might not be absent) and any of the video-recorded events and places?
• How many orders of magnitude apart are the Abyss sand and the sharkmist? Essentially, can the former be infused with the later? Would that alter the basic properties of the resulting meta-material?
• Take a look at the starmap as recorded from M2 (cult bioship). Are there any additional locations mapped, unknown to us today? Furthermore, do the coordinates from M5 (serial killer) match with the map, can the source of "the coming darkness" be identified?
• Let's rephrase that and break into steps. Can specific-effect manipulators be ordered (previously indicated possible, but that was years ago)? Can that specific effect be organo-line-similar? Is it possible to selectively target (by design) the stem cells/fleshknitter, or is impossible for a variety of reasons (e.g. too general by their very nature, cannot be selectively affected without affecting all types of human cells too)?
• Pancaek's Tele-rifle experiments Cont.: Now, using the firing machine from before test the effective range of Tele-rifle (target distance: several hundred meters, several kilometers, several hundred kilometers (shot from atmosphere)) and test the teleported object radius (surround the firing mechanism by solid matter except for the firing path, repeat the experiment three times). In all cases the artifact rifle is to be sufficiently padded and generally protected from any possible collision damage.

It has come into my view that there are certain prospects worth investigation in the vicinity of Hephaestus system, most notable being the "Disappearing college" event. I have contacted Anton Chernozorov and he confirmed my judgement independently. I believe that investigation of this and similar events in future may prove highly fruitful, but it might not warrant full Paracelsus Sword detour. As such, I propose the creation of a small research ship, similar in nature and functions to the Sword sans the convict housing, military engagement capability (though at least a single cannon and a laser array should be included for emergency situations, see: 4473 Styx incident) and possibly length of autonomous run. This ship would be under direct purview of Hephaestus Administration (primarily Science branch, but possibly others depending on exact mission nature) and used for missions issued by them. Installation of advanced stealth-systems would be also desirable for covert operations in nearby UWM-controlled space.

((@syvarris Yeah, it was quite understandable. ))

[Sean Mirrsen]

It has come into my view that there are certain prospects worth investigation in the vicinity of Hephaestus system, most notable being the "Disappearing college" event. I have contacted Anton Chernozorov and he confirmed my judgement independently. I believe that investigation of this and similar events in future may prove highly fruitful, but it might not warrant full Paracelsus Sword detour. As such, I propose the creation of a small research ship, similar in nature and functions to the Sword sans the convict housing, military engagement capability (though at least a single cannon and a laser array should be included for emergency situations, see: 4473 Styx incident) and possibly length of autonomous run. This ship would be under direct purview of Hephaestus Administration (primarily Science branch, but possibly others depending on exact mission nature) and used for missions issued by them. Installation of advanced stealth-systems would be also desirable for covert operations in nearby UWM-controlled space.

I do believe I have a ship that could fit the role, fresh off the shipyard, as it were. The Gram's Scabbard, first of its class. They were going to be used as heavy-duty all-purpose transports, with highly modular and customizable internal spaces. Refitting it into a stealthed mobile operations base should be no problem. I'm attaching a general overview plan of the ship. Can begin work on the refit as soon as the order is given.

Attached are several snapshots of the design. It is a slim, elongated shape, a flattened hexagon in cross-section, narrowing gradually toward the front where it sharply ends in a blunt point. It does look remarkably like a sheath of some kind of gigantic blade, although the ship's provided dimensions indicate that it is roughly half the size of the Paracelsus' Sword. A cluster of engines and powerplants occupies the wider back portion, with a command and crew deck wedged inbetween it and the hind end of the massive layered cargobay that spans the entire rest of the ship's length. The design appears to have no weapons, but it's clear from the arrangement of heavy-duty power conduits on the plan that installing them is part of the modular aspect of the design, with several notes on the plan detailing how it could be turned into a spacecraft carrier or an effective Q-Ship with ease.

[syvarris]

Maurice, you have my full support in this idea.

Anton, I looked over your design, and... I find some elements questionable.  It is certainly well engineered, but I'm curious why you chose a mostly flat design for a spaceship?  I was under the impression that, generally, spherical designs are superior, due to more efficient armor distribution. 
More importantly, I want to know why you chose to add crew quarters for the ship.  Surely you don't plan to staff it with actual humans?  With quantum entanglement communicators, we are more than capable of piloting the ship from Hephaestus without any issue.  Designing a ship to utilize human crew causes nothing but problems, and is only advantageous to human-sized enemies.

I also wonder if the sheer size of the ship is required.  I think we could vastly reduce the bulk, and keep most of the functionality.

((Note:I took your mention of 'command and crew deck' to mean that it has a human-centric design.  Also, you said it was half the size of the P.Sword, which is a massive warship/carrier/cityship from what I understand.  I don't think we'd need much more than a basic mobile lab, space for a hundred or so unactivated robosods, and maybe a hanger with a couple of shuttles.  Probably a large laser cannon, as maurice described.  We don't need to do serious materials testing on the ship, because we can just ship back any interesting samples.  With the backlog of artifacts we have, the delay shouldn't be any issue.

If I misinterpreted something, please say so.  I'd rather not have Saint think support infrastructure for ten braincases meant the ship was human-centric.))

[Sean Mirrsen]

Maurice, you have my full support in this idea.

Anton, I looked over your design, and... I find some elements questionable.  It is certainly well engineered, but I'm curious why you chose a mostly flat design for a spaceship?  I was under the impression that, generally, spherical designs are superior, due to more efficient armor distribution. 
More importantly, I want to know why you chose to add crew quarters for the ship.  Surely you don't plan to staff it with actual humans?  With quantum entanglement communicators, we are more than capable of piloting the ship from Hephaestus without any issue.  Designing a ship to utilize human crew causes nothing but problems, and is only advantageous to human-sized enemies.

I also wonder if the sheer size of the ship is required.  I think we could vastly reduce the bulk, and keep most of the functionality.

((Note:I took your mention of 'command and crew deck' to mean that it has a human-centric design.  Also, you said it was half the size of the P.Sword, which is a massive warship/carrier/cityship from what I understand.  I don't think we'd need much more than a basic mobile lab, space for a hundred or so unactivated robosods, and maybe a hanger with a couple of shuttles.  Probably a large laser cannon, as maurice described.  We don't need to do serious materials testing on the ship, because we can just ship back any interesting samples.  With the backlog of artifacts we have, the delay shouldn't be any issue.

If I misinterpreted something, please say so.  I'd rather not have Saint think support infrastructure for ten braincases meant the ship was human-centric.))

((No, you're right, it's meant for a human - or humanoid - crew. Much like the other ships, it's old-fashioned in that regard, mostly because the matter of fully robotized ships hadn't been brought up in-character before (to my knowledge), and Anton himself is old-fashioned.

And I agree on those points, but more on that in-character.))

Now, do recall that this isn't a ship I specifically designed for this purpose. It's just a closed-hull cargo carrier with modular elements that I think could lend itself well to the task of being a mobile base.

A flatter design lends itself better to maneuvering and landing, creates more "floor space", and tends to look more aesthetically pleasing. I'm aware of more equally proportioned designs being better at armor distribution. But couple this being primarily a freighter, with how generally useless armor tends to be overall against shipborne weapons and reality warping, and the aesthetics angle wins just a few more points with me. As for humans... call me old-fashioned, but I like the notion of manned ships. A ship with its own crew is self-sufficient, it doesn't rely on the command center. Even being human-accessible it will be able to deal with intruders better than a remotely-controlled ship, that only needs its communications array overtaken or destroyed to fully fall into the enemy hands. A ship with a human crew still has that, but also has specialists on board that can deal with the issue, and make decisions on their own. It's an extra layer of redundance, that appeals to me as an engineer. I'd have added an integrated organic AI on top of that, that commands the ship and controls an onboard complement of robots like you do with your bodies, but I don't think we have the requisite training programs for the bioforge yet, to make such brains. The more effort it takes to remove a ship from its owner's control, the better - I hope you agree with me on that.

But you're right about the size. The Scabbard may be too large for this specific purpose, especially if you don't plan to have it perform missions of any appreciable duration. I could design something more fitting.

Or we could overhaul one of the armed freighters. They're smaller, already FTL-equipped, stripped of most of their smaller weapons, and have a spacious cargo hold to fit all the necessary equipment and personnel into. Plus they have that classing UWM 'flying brick' design that appeals to you.

((yes he did include a smiley face.))

[piecewise]

Armor things:

1.Okay, forcefields projected from the same type of material are non-solid to each other.  I want to take two forcefield projection plates, which are designed such that their forcefields would be projected in the exact same spot, if they are set on top of each other.

2.Does the above idea work?  Can two forcefields occupy the same space, at the same time?

3.If so, is the strength of the forcefield increased at all, due to damage being split between the two fields? 

4.My next idea is more complicated.  Take two plates of forcefield projection material, one set to project at a half inch, and the other at one inch.  Then, set the half-inch one on top of the inch one, separated by springs, in such a way that the half-inch field is just slightly above the one inch field (both projectors are below both fields).  I want the springs specifically designed such that they require (60% of the energy that would break one field) before they give enough to allow the top field to retreat behind the bottom field, assuming zero friction between the two fields.

5.Shoot the top field with a shot that has 90% the energy required to break it.  What happens?  Does the top field retreat behind the bottom one?

6.Shoot the top field with a shot that has 120% the energy required to break it.  What happens?

7.That super weak material from before, which could resist a 500% strength gauss cannon, but exploded with nuclear-level power?  I'm going to call it fragplate, just so I have something to call it.

8.How much does a layer of forcefield-projecting fragplate cost, compared to a similar size layer of battlesuit plate?

9.Does the cost for forcefields change depending on the material, beyond the actual cost of the material itself?

((Fellow tinkerers: Is this post understandable?  Prior experiments have been confusingly written, to the point that PW couldn't respond, and I'd like to avoid that.))

Oh geez.
1.Ah, that. Getting them in the exact same spot is difficult; they're invisible, extremely thin, and the distance is hard to calculate precisely. You can attempt this, but it's hard to tell if it was successful.
2. It appears they can, but it's hard to say for sure.
3. Same problem. You pound away on it and eventually one of them breaks, but it seems to be random which one breaks. Or maybe it's due to them not completely overlapping? Hard to say.
4-6. That won't work because remember, they stop kinetic energy too.
7.Ok.
8-9.That depends on the size of the plate. Different materials and different shapes of the field don't change the price, but the larger the effected surface, the more it costs.

I trust there is no problem with using comatose hosts?

Also, how many subjects do you need - in the medium run? A score? Several hundreds? Thousands to millions?
Wait for answers to questions.
[ADMIN OF SCIENCE][DEPUTY ADMIN OF ENGINEERING]

• Assign Science Teams Gamma and Delta (Q'Bajan) to studying Liquid Crystal and Gel Sack samples from Anomalous Planetoid, respectively. Additionally, can any useful research at all be done on Orange Goo (samples for which might or might not be absent) and any of the video-recorded events and places?
• How many orders of magnitude apart are the Abyss sand and the sharkmist? Essentially, can the former be infused with the later? Would that alter the basic properties of the resulting meta-material?
• Take a look at the starmap as recorded from M2 (cult bioship). Are there any additional locations mapped, unknown to us today? Furthermore, do the coordinates from M5 (serial killer) match with the map, can the source of "the coming darkness" be identified?
• Let's rephrase that and break into steps. Can specific-effect manipulators be ordered (previously indicated possible, but that was years ago)? Can that specific effect be organo-line-similar? Is it possible to selectively target (by design) the stem cells/fleshknitter, or is impossible for a variety of reasons (e.g. too general by their very nature, cannot be selectively affected without affecting all types of human cells too)?
• Pancaek's Tele-rifle experiments Cont.: Now, using the firing machine from before test the effective range of Tele-rifle (target distance: several hundred meters, several kilometers, several hundred kilometers (shot from atmosphere)) and test the teleported object radius (surround the firing mechanism by solid matter except for the firing path, repeat the experiment three times). In all cases the artifact rifle is to be sufficiently padded and generally protected from any possible collision damage.

It has come into my view that there are certain prospects worth investigation in the vicinity of Hephaestus system, most notable being the "Disappearing college" event. I have contacted Anton Chernozorov and he confirmed my judgement independently. I believe that investigation of this and similar events in future may prove highly fruitful, but it might not warrant full Paracelsus Sword detour. As such, I propose the creation of a small research ship, similar in nature and functions to the Sword sans the convict housing, military engagement capability (though at least a single cannon and a laser array should be included for emergency situations, see: 4473 Styx incident) and possibly length of autonomous run. This ship would be under direct purview of Hephaestus Administration (primarily Science branch, but possibly others depending on exact mission nature) and used for missions issued by them. Installation of advanced stealth-systems would be also desirable for covert operations in nearby UWM-controlled space.

((@syvarris Yeah, it was quite understandable. ))

1. I forget those....Remind me the circumstances of their gathering?
2. Uh...they aren't really compatible.
3. The majority of them appear to be mapped- ie they've been viewed and cataloged- but there's no real data on them. The ones that we do have data on are very out dated and pre altered war. No correlation with anything the serial killer said, then again, you can't make heads or tails of his directions.
4.Yes, but we'll need the space magic factory for that. And we don't have it yet so anything more along this line will have to wait.
5. Did you ever find a way to change the distance on that thing? Since, if I remember right, it teleports to what it is pointed at. And pointing at a target hundreds of kilometers away is a bit hard to do precisely. At least not without setting up some sort of system to aid said aiming.

[syvarris]

More Forcefields (Overlapping fields idea(s)):

1.You said that we couldn't figure out if forcefields sharing a space combine durability, because we can't be sure if they're even occupying the same space.  Let's do it this way: Make a normal platform which is as flat as we can build (considering our tech, this should be pretty darn flat).  There should be an open hole in the center of the platform.  Next, make two forcefield projectors which project a flat field at different distances.  Set them on top of the platform so that both fields are directly on it, and forced into each other by gravity.  Then, rig a small construction above the whole thing which keeps the projectors from being moved upwards.  Build a number of these contraptions, so that we can test multiple times.

2.Take a weapon below the platform, then shoot up at the forcefields with increasing power until they break.  Do this for every one of the contraptions.  Are the results consistent between different tests?

3.If so, at what point do the fields break?  100% resistance, meaning one took all the damage?  Or better, meaning they shared to some extent?

4.The second test I tried, where one forcefield would be forced behind the other by kinetic energy, failed because "they stop kinetic energy too.".  I am keenly interested in what this means--Is an omnidirectional (sphere) forcefield resistant to being pushed around because the projector itself can't be touched, only being affected by effects like gravity and magnetism?

5.As a variation on the above question, let's say I have a long plank which projects a flat forcefield upwards.  I balance it on the edge of something so that it would require, oh, two pounds of weight on the end to unbalance it and make it fall over.  What happens if I set a twenty pound weight on it instead, but on top of the forcefield?

6....If the above experiment results in the plank falling over when the weight is rested on the forcefield, I don't understand why kinetic force striking a field won't move it.  Explanation?  Can you bounce a bouncy ball off a forcefield?  Would that force move the projecting material?

Cost & properties:

7.I've been under the impression that forcefields have a minimum amount of force required to break them.  So, you could shoot a given forcefield a thousand times with a gauss rifle and it'll never break, but shoot an equally strong one with an overcharged shot and it might break in one shot.  Is this how it works, or does a forcefield just absorb x amount of energy?

8.If it does have a minimum force, then does surface area matter?  I.E, does hitting it with equal force, but ten times the area, have a different effect?

9.Last time you said that price for forcefields goes up on a different curve from battlesuit plate.  If we were going to trade some of the armor on a battlesuit, for an equal-cost covering of a single forcefield, how many layers of standard armor would we lose?

[Nikitian]

Leaving the Doctor's study, Maurice briskly and enthusiastically strided through the corridors to his new quarters. There was an expression of seriousness, of determination on his face, and while he did not smile, he wasn't quite gloomy either.



When several days later he emerged from his study, Dr. Sanctor looked like a different person.

His stare was blank and unfocused, his eyes were hollow and haunted. There was new silver in his hair, one that hadn't been there when he arrived on Hephaestus. He walked slowly and uncertainly, and seemed largely oblivious (or perhaps indifferent?) to the world around him. A bottle of HMRC Standard was gripped tightly in his hand, yet he gave it no attention.

Seemingly aimlessly he wandered through the base. Just once, passing by the armory door, he stopped in hesitation and looked at it intently - but then he sharply turned away and headed for the park.
No. There is work to be done, and no else can do it. ...Starting tomorrow, but certainly not today.
Today I drink to the memory of my sanity.

Lie in the grass, look at the stars in the sky and get drunk with extreme prejudice.
[ADMIN OF SCIENCE][DEPUTY ADMIN OF ENGINEERING]

• Nope.
• Absolutely cannot work today. At all.

[piecewise]

More Forcefields (Overlapping fields idea(s)):

1.You said that we couldn't figure out if forcefields sharing a space combine durability, because we can't be sure if they're even occupying the same space.  Let's do it this way: Make a normal platform which is as flat as we can build (considering our tech, this should be pretty darn flat).  There should be an open hole in the center of the platform.  Next, make two forcefield projectors which project a flat field at different distances.  Set them on top of the platform so that both fields are directly on it, and forced into each other by gravity.  Then, rig a small construction above the whole thing which keeps the projectors from being moved upwards.  Build a number of these contraptions, so that we can test multiple times.

2.Take a weapon below the platform, then shoot up at the forcefields with increasing power until they break.  Do this for every one of the contraptions.  Are the results consistent between different tests?

3.If so, at what point do the fields break?  100% resistance, meaning one took all the damage?  Or better, meaning they shared to some extent?

4.The second test I tried, where one forcefield would be forced behind the other by kinetic energy, failed because "they stop kinetic energy too.".  I am keenly interested in what this means--Is an omnidirectional (sphere) forcefield resistant to being pushed around because the projector itself can't be touched, only being affected by effects like gravity and magnetism?

5.As a variation on the above question, let's say I have a long plank which projects a flat forcefield upwards.  I balance it on the edge of something so that it would require, oh, two pounds of weight on the end to unbalance it and make it fall over.  What happens if I set a twenty pound weight on it instead, but on top of the forcefield?

6....If the above experiment results in the plank falling over when the weight is rested on the forcefield, I don't understand why kinetic force striking a field won't move it.  Explanation?  Can you bounce a bouncy ball off a forcefield?  Would that force move the projecting material?

Cost & properties:

7.I've been under the impression that forcefields have a minimum amount of force required to break them.  So, you could shoot a given forcefield a thousand times with a gauss rifle and it'll never break, but shoot an equally strong one with an overcharged shot and it might break in one shot.  Is this how it works, or does a forcefield just absorb x amount of energy?

8.If it does have a minimum force, then does surface area matter?  I.E, does hitting it with equal force, but ten times the area, have a different effect?

9.Last time you said that price for forcefields goes up on a different curve from battlesuit plate.  If we were going to trade some of the armor on a battlesuit, for an equal-cost covering of a single forcefield, how many layers of standard armor would we lose?

1-3. Clever. You use this method to test multiple times and the results are a bit erratic. Now, I'll assume were doing this with a laser or something, something which delivers continuous damage. Sometimes, the fields both hold longer then usual, but how much longer seems random. Sometimes they'll hold for a bit longer and then one will fail. Sometimes they'll hold for a lot longer and then one will fail. Sometimes they even hold beyond the theoretical maximum, but then one will fail. However, there are also times where one fails normally, as though the other isn't there.

4-6. The forcefield seems to prevent high levels of kinetic energy from effecting the anchoring point but doesn't do any of that physics weirdness of being completely unaffected by kinetic energy otherwise you couldn't move them around. So if you shoot a bullet at it, or even just throw that bouncy ball at it really fast (REALLY FAST) the bullet or the ball will just impact the field and have no "pushing" effect on the anchor. However, if you just pick it up, or place something atop it, then it can be moved around and effected. So, oddly, You could fire a gauss cannon shell at the field and the anchor wouldn't budge, but you could send it flying with a good kick.

7.Thats how it works. They have to receive a minimum damage within a minimum time.
8. It appears to be related to the sheer amount of energy being imparted; the location and area don't matter. 100 joules in one point is the same as 10 joules in 10 points.
9. Well, the cost of plates goes up exponentially by their surface area, because the field projected by an object is limited in size by the size of the anchor itself. How much it will cost depends upon how big the plates are and how they're used.

Leaving the Doctor's study, Maurice briskly and enthusiastically strided through the corridors to his new quarters. There was an expression of seriousness, of determination on his face, and while he did not smile, he wasn't quite gloomy either.



When several days later he emerged from his study, Dr. Sanctor looked like a different person.

His stare was blank and unfocused, his eyes were hollow and haunted. There was new silver in his hair, one that hadn't been there when he arrived on Hephaestus. He walked slowly and uncertainly, and seemed largely oblivious (or perhaps indifferent?) to the world around him. A bottle of HMRC Standard was gripped tightly in his hand, yet he gave it no attention.

Seemingly aimlessly he wandered through the base. Just once, passing by the armory door, he stopped in hesitation and looked at it intently - but then he sharply turned away and headed for the park.
No. There is work to be done, and no else can do it. ...Starting tomorrow, but certainly not today.
Today I drink to the memory of my sanity.

Lie in the grass, look at the stars in the sky and get drunk with extreme prejudice.
[ADMIN OF SCIENCE][DEPUTY ADMIN OF ENGINEERING]

• Nope.
• Absolutely cannot work today. At all.

Now you know why we give that stuff away for free. It's just another form of first aid. 

[Nikitian]

Breaking news: Hephaestus Artifact experimentation results in a dangerous (thermo)nuclear explosion in space! Nyartifact Teleporter rifle is reported missing. Search teams mobilised.


((...I am so sorry. I just had to check out what happens if something intercepts it mid-flight and then it went boom. At least now we know it could have been dangerous to use. 

Also, with Piecewise's wording it's really uncertain whether we "lost" it as "destroyed" or "threw away somewhere far, far away"; we have a list of places it could theoretically have been sent to, and a small horde of cheap sensor drones can be constructed to do the search - non-FTL-capable ones, unfortunately, but very cheap in return.))

Spoiler: Logs for the curious (click to show/hide)

01:26   Nikitian   Oh, good, our glorious GM has arrived!
01:27   Piecewise   Indeed
01:27   Piecewise   Whats up
01:27   Piecewise   I'm building a Red Wizzrobe
01:28   Nikitian   First of all, I don't know if you saw it in Tinker thread, but as the initial Tinker addict and a long-standing opponent for your Tinker-sessions-madness, I wanted to congratulate you on the overall demise of Tinkering in the forums
01:29   Nikitian   It makes me really sad to see the era end, but at least I am happy for your victory here
01:29   adwarf   PW is a penis
01:29   adwarf   This is a fact
01:30   Piecewise   Well, I am a massive boner
01:30   Piecewise   thanks nik
01:30   Piecewise   Knew I'd beat you guys sooner or later~
01:30   Piecewise   So whats up?
01:31   Piecewise   I assume you have a reason for waking me from my pit
01:31   Nikitian   Well, I've wanted to do some research on Tele-rifle nyartifact (better here than at an abyss speed in the thread, esp. since if you're open to it) and maybe tinker a tiny bit
01:32   Piecewise   ok
01:32   Piecewise   Shoot
01:32   Piecewise   If I go quiet for a bit it's because my hands are covered in glue
01:32   Piecewise   or blood
01:32   Piecewise   or both
01:32   Nikitian   Ahhh, nice!
01:33   Nikitian   So, first of all: What inputs does it have, apparently? I mean, what knobs/buttons/dials/etc. are there
01:34   Piecewise   So this is kisame's rifle right? Not the one aresteve made right?
01:34   Piecewise   Well
01:35   Nikitian   Pancaek's rifle, yes (not Aresteve's)
01:35   Piecewise   that one...hmm lets see if I can remember
01:35   Piecewise   ah, pancaek, not kisame
01:35   Piecewise   they're kinda similar in my head for some reason
01:35   Piecewise   simlar builds right?
01:35   Piecewise   Synthflesh, amps
01:35   Piecewise   etc
01:36   Piecewise   If I remember right, it doesn't have any real adjusters
01:36   Piecewise   Just a point and go
01:40   Nikitian   Hmmm, so just a trigger (I assume) and nothing else? Okay, I was largely wondering because you mentioned the other day the possibility of specifying distance travelled with some fiddling
01:41   Nikitian   Now, is there any slot for battery or "ammo" or any indication there number of uses is limited for this artifact?
01:41   Nikitian   the*
01:42   Piecewise   Hmm I dunno
01:42   Piecewise   I don't even remember
01:42   Piecewise   This is on the old system before things changed
01:42   Piecewise   I forget
01:42   Piecewise   (I think)
01:42   Piecewise   So we'll just assume infinite use but recharge based on distance traveled
01:43   Nikitian   Ah, wonderful!
01:44   Piecewise   A one time teleport across the stars! Then it has to recharge for millenia!
01:45   Nikitian   Do the notes on the old artifacts even exist anymore, btw?
01:46   Piecewise   Some do. Generally, honestly, if you buy an artifact and then don't do shit with it for like 5 months or something, I just invent something new for it to do because whatever.
<...>
01:56   Nikitian   So, experimenting
01:57   Piecewise   ok
01:57   Nikitian   Before I begin, I'd like to ensure the artifact is reasonably well protected from various hazards
01:58   Piecewise   Such as?
01:58   Nikitian   As it is propelled somewhat after 'teleportation', there is need for impact protection (padding, armor); also, for space testing there will be need for temperature and radiation insulation
01:59   Piecewise   Ok
02:00   Nikitian   (I'm using the same "firing mechanism")
02:00   Nikitian   Okay, so: In a controlled short-distance test, let's see if sensors can "see" it passing between the initial point and arrival point
02:01   Piecewise   Nope. It seems to vanish completely
02:01   Piecewise   But the transport isn't quite instantaneous
02:02   Nikitian   What's the "speed" of transportation, so to speak? Is the time lapsed correlated with distance, varying at all, or perhaps fixed?
02:03   Nikitian   I'm doing a series of short-distance tests with somewhat varying distance to check it
02:04   Piecewise   It's very VERY small, barely measurable time. So much so that you can't really measure any increase with larger distances inside the base
02:05   Nikitian   Good
02:05   Nikitian   What did those tests tell about the speed gained after teleportation? Does it vary, does it correlate with anything?
02:07   Piecewise   From the indoor tests, you can't measure any increase or decrease
02:08   Nikitian   Okay; a few finishing indoor tests
02:09   Nikitian   Does it care about any obstacles in the way? (Not in the path of "ray", so to speak, but close enough)
02:10   Piecewise   it doesn't appear to
02:12   Nikitian   Since the tests were done on the base, I presume it works in the atmosphere; can it pass through solids (if they are transparent to light, for example)? Liquids? Thick atmosphere?
02:13   Piecewise   Solids, no, even transparent ones
02:13   Piecewise   it appears to be able to pass through anything below a certain density
02:14   Piecewise   however, it appears to move slightly slower through higher density things.
02:14   Nikitian   If a solid is created with that critical density (or lower), can it pass through?
02:15   Piecewise   The density is low enough that you can't really find a solid to fit that definition
02:16   Nikitian   Ah, okay; but most liquids can be traversed, I take it?
02:17   Nikitian   Or only select few?
02:17   Piecewise   Only things below that critical density
02:17   Piecewise   water is above that density by the way
02:17   Nikitian   Yeah, that's what I wanted to know, more or less
02:18   Nikitian   Did the results yield any data about the speed gained afterwads?
02:19   Nikitian   Oh, by the way; if the mass of the test-case is varied (significantly), does that affect anything? The speed, the teleportation time?
02:19   Nikitian   (to check the later, use denser mediums)
02:20   Piecewise   The speed gain is slower as you reach nearer that density
02:20   Piecewise   Mass of the "Carried" object seems not to matter, at least not by a measurable amount with changes of about 100 lbs
02:20   Nikitian   I see
02:22   Nikitian   Okay, let's have some fun with "mirrors": do they stop the teleportation like any other object, or redirect the path? (by "mirrors" I mean anything that could work for redirecting beams, so including the pure hexplate and maybe other marvels of science)
02:24   Piecewise   They stop it, not redirect
02:27   Nikitian   Okay; oh, just to confirm: at distances available with indoor tests, does it travel "straight" so to speak?
02:27   Piecewise   yep
02:28   Nikitian   Okay; let's affix a precise laser designator to the test-case before we move on to outdoor tests (to aid in "aiming" the tele-rifle at large distances)
02:29   Piecewise   Ie test if it has "Bullet Drop"?
02:30   Nikitian   Nah, just for ease of aiming it somewhere ("bullet drop" we'll check another time)
02:30   Piecewise   it appears to go straight
02:30   Nikitian   (You mentioned that difficulty before in the Heph thread, so I wanted to address it pre-emptively)
02:31   Nikitian   Okay, so - outdoor tests! Surface-to-surface, does there appear to be any limit to travel distance? What happens to the speed?
02:32   Piecewise   Surface of what to surface of what?
02:34   Nikitian   Surface of Hephaestus to surface of Hephaestus (the next step would be atmosphere-to-surface with greater distances, thus this slightly strange designation)
02:35   Piecewise   there doesn't seem to be a limit, as far as you can see
02:35   Piecewise   there's a slight difference in speed as it gets longer, but it's still basically negligable
02:36   Nikitian   (Do you mean "travel speed" or "speed gained after teleportation"?)
02:36   Piecewise   Travel speed
02:37   Nikitian   What happens to gained speed?
02:38   Piecewise   Nothing noticable
02:39   Nikitian   Also, back to indoor experiments for a moment; let's use a denser medium for longer speed - what happens if an obstacle appears in the "beam"'s path during the transportation period?
02:41   Nikitian   (let's check with an obstacle closer to the destination, so it closes "before" the distance was "traversed", and with an obstacle closer to emitter, so it closes "after" the distance was "traversed")
02:42   Nikitian   (assuming a theoretical constant speed of the travelling teleported object)
02:44   Piecewise   Getting an obstacle in there fast enough isn't gonna be easy
02:44   Piecewise   thing is moving technically faster then light
02:44   Piecewise   even through the dense medium
02:45   Piecewise   You're gonna need some distance
02:45   Nikitian   Ah, that's it! That's important, glad you specified this about this FTL
02:48   Piecewise   Mhm
02:48   Nikitian   Let's see; if it is going through a cheaply available dense material, how much of a distance would be required to conduct this experiment? I am considering building a test chamber on the planet just to check it out, but I'd like to have rough figures first
02:49   Nikitian   Ballpark; I just want to know if it's reasonably possible at all or not
02:51   Piecewise   Geez um
02:52   Piecewise   well, to make sure, probably a good foot tall, by foot wide rectangle of material. And Lets see here
02:52   Piecewise   things "traveling" at over 200,000 miles a second
02:53   Piecewise   I'd say several hundred miles
02:53   Piecewise   At least
02:53   Piecewise   Like I said, differences in speed are small
02:54   Nikitian   Ah, I see; okay, we'll test it later
02:55   Nikitian   So, now atmosphere-to-surface tests: Does the increased distance change anything?
02:56   Piecewise   How high we goin up?
02:59   Nikitian   Hmmm, let's say stratosphere?
03:02   Piecewise   Minor slowdown, but it's not scaling
03:04   Nikitian   Still no distance limit? Okay, how about higher, from upper atmosphere/closer to open space?
03:05   Piecewise   Still going
03:06   Nikitian   Good. Now let's test it from surface of one of Hephaestus moons (aimed at Hephaestus surface).
03:07   Piecewise   Still going
03:07   Nikitian   Any interesting changes observed?
03:07   Piecewise   minor changes in time taken, speed out of it is the same
03:07   Piecewise   Nothing special
03:08   Piecewise   By the way, this is taking several days to recharge between shots now
03:08   Nikitian   Okay
03:09   Nikitian   Now, with those distances it should be possible to conduct that experiment I mentioned earlier, shouldn't it? With obstacles appearing mid-travel
03:10   Piecewise   Where and how do you want to interupt it
03:10   Piecewise   Exactly
03:15   Nikitian   Let's say the travel time is T and distance length is L; I want to interrupt it (in two different experiments) with two small, soft objects at 1/4 L and 3/4 L points, timed to arrive there at 1/2 T. Is that doable?
03:16   Piecewise   You could probably do the 3/4ths one
03:17   Piecewise   this thing is moving faster and faster at longer distances
03:17   Nikitian   Okay, let's do 3/4ths one; what are the results?
03:17   Piecewise   Are you standing anywhere near it?
03:17   Nikitian   (set sensors and all that around that point to record the event in detail)
03:18   Nikitian   Nah, it's space, I'm watching from my sensors
03:18   Piecewise   Welp
03:19   Piecewise   There was a very large explosion and now you don't know where the rifle is
03:19   Piecewise   if it's anywhere
03:19   Nikitian   Well, fuck
03:19   Piecewise   Indeed
03:19   Nikitian   What was I able to catch on that experiment?
03:20   Swordsmith04   Was that one of the artifacts that couldn't be copied?
03:20   Piecewise   Looks a lot like a fission or fusion reaction.
03:20   Piecewise   And quite a big one
03:20   Nikitian   Yep, that was one of our precious irreplaceable artifacts
03:21   Piecewise   And now the testing is done~
03:21   Nikitian   Nope!
03:21   Piecewise   Oh nooooo~
03:21   Nikitian   Okay, immediately afterwards the explosion, set all sensors we have around the system to see if anything could have be found originating from that explosion
03:23   Piecewise   Well, theres a lot of radiating energy
03:23   Piecewise   shooting off in various directions
03:25   Nikitian   Okay, does there appear anything (the rifle) at the spots the energy reaches? Specifically, let's have a good look at the intended destination spot, at the original spot, and at places where it could have been deflected after collision.
03:26   Piecewise   Nothing at the origin or destination, but the places the consolidated energy pieces went to aren't easily reached
03:26   Piecewise   You'd have to send ships after them because the majority just flew out into open space
03:27   Nikitian   Hmmm; I see.
03:30   Nikitian   Now, can we chart out the possible destinations out there it could have reached? I mean, if we were to send search ships, we'd need a list of possible places to look.
03:31   Piecewise   you can do that yes
03:33   Nikitian   So, how many and how far places are we talking about, here? And how big/expensive ships we'd need to send? I'm talking about drone-ships, fully automated, FTL-capable, as cheap and small as possible, but capable of scanning surface of possible destinations at required resolution.
03:36   Piecewise   Well, they won't be FTLing it
03:36   Piecewise   that requires jump points
03:36   Piecewise   and those energy spikes aren't nice enough to follow those
03:38   Nikitian   Ah, okay; without FTL that'd take quite some time, I presume, but should be quite cheap than otherwise?
03:40   Piecewise   Yeah
03:43   Nikitian   Well, that's it, then; *now* the testing is done, and I'm going back to my cave to wallow in self-pity and resignation, waiting for General Miyamoto to come and strip me of my job and position. Thanks, it was fun! We should try it again another time.
03:43   Piecewise   Lemme know if you need to test some more!
03:44   Nikitian   ^_^

[syvarris]

Maurice, I've looked over the logs of that incident, and... well, I don't mean to tell you how to do your job, but perhaps we should wait to experiment with our more unique artifacts?  At least try to reproduce them before putting them through extensive testing?  After all, if we can't figure out some way to reproduce the item or its effects, it has little value to us.

On a related topic, I've had plans for awhile to work on designing a device that utilizes the unique sensory abilities of space magic devices (such as those implanted in UWM amp specialists) to atomically scan items without physically deconstructing them.  Such a device would be very useful for, if nothing else, blueprinting artifacts before we experiment on them and risk inventing a new form of explosive.  I was going to suggest that we wait to experiment with unique artifacts until we can build such a device--which would likely necessitate waiting until after the SMF is complete.  However, it occurs to me that, to my knowledge, we do not have any blueprints for the device, and it might not even be possible.  I'd probably get around to designing one eventually, but I figure you might have an interest as well, and might want it sooner rather than later.  I wouldn't be at all insulted if you took the idea and ran.