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[SeriousConcentrate]

(No further description of the top of it, D? )

"Hmm. If they are that weak, perhaps merely turning the box over would cause them all to fall into the released position." She still wasn't touching it. She wasn't going to until she was confident she could solve it in the required five minutes or until she had to admit defeat, which she wasn't prepared to do just yet.

[Draignean]

(No further description of the top of it, D? )

The top face of the box is plain plastic, the pins themselves look to be steel. The extended pin you'd guess to be an inch in visible length, with the rest of the body still inside the box. As noted earlier, the pin is nail shaped, with a cylindrical core and a flat head. You note that the area at the base of the extended pin has a matching coin shaped cutout, so that if the extended pin were to retract, its flat head would be flush against the surface of the cube just as the others are.

[Draignean]

((Well that was a misfire. Sorry About that. Nothing to see here.))

[SeriousConcentrate]

Elizabeth placed her elbows on the table and looked at Blackjack over her steepled fingers. "Allow me to be blunt, Captain Raker. I see no way to solve this without... cheating." The word sounded like she thought it an extremely vile epithet. "I've gone over this problem sixteen times since you placed it before me, and no matter where I start or what order I raise and lower the pins afterward, I am always left with one remaining down."

She held a gloved metal finger just over the cube. "I believe if I were to place my finger in that depression and stop the first pin from lowering, then it might be possible to solve this in as little as two moves. However, I feel that is against the spirit of this problem." Elizabeth removed her finger and looked up at Blackjack. "Am I correct? Is this box truly only solvable by not playing its game?"

[Draignean]

Blackjack nodded. "You have it exactly. As for going against the spirit of the problem... there is no such thing. Blackjack picked up the box, holding it lightly. "The point is to separate academic ability from practical ability. If you play by the rules, this problem is impossible. There is no physical way to manipulate the four buttons to raise all four pins, none. However, if you know when to break the rules..." Blackjack smiled and pressed a pair of buttons, curling two fingers around the already upraised pin to prevent it from slipping back into the box. He set the box back on the table, all four pins upright. "The problem is trivial. There are times when, in the real world, there are no neat solutions. I can't promise everything on this ship will go smoothly, and I definitely can't predict the future. There may come a time when I will ask you for something impossible, and I need to know that when you tell me that it's impossible, you mean impossible. Not 'impossible if we play by the rules', not 'impossible if we do things right', but genuinely impossible. Do you understand?"

[SeriousConcentrate]

"Perhaps, but you and I deal in different fields. When it comes to programming, there is no cheating. There is only doing things the correct and proper way. If you were to try to... fudge..." - again the disgusted tone - "...certain lines of code, you could very well end up with a medical robot that views a minor ankle sprain as worthy of amputation, or a lifter that registers lifeforms as objects it can and should knock aside as it goes about its routines."

"Regardless, I understand your meaning." Ten minutes of the thirty she had allotted for the interview had gone by - even if she wasn't counting, the timer on the augmented reality her prosthetic eye overlaid on her vision told her it was exactly 4:10:12. "You asked before why I was never hired. Allow me to tell you another reason I was not, since it is now relevant."

Elizabeth folded her hands on the table, right over left. "If I am to be given a space on the Wilhelmina, it is to be completely mine to control and organize as I see fit. I need things to be orderly and scheduled in order to fulfill my functions most efficiently. Previous employers-to-be weren't willing to grant this request." She turned her right hand up slightly, as if to shrug. "I'll respect your authority concerning the rest of the ship and the crew."

[Draignean]

Blackjack nodded again, stowing the little trick box back in his desk. "Yet, I imagine that it's quite a bit easier to program a loader to knock people aside rather to skirt around or request that they move, and if I happen to need a robot rush programmed to remove shrapnel from a man's chest, I may be okay with it improperly diagnosing a sprained ankle if it can appropriately treat the more serious injuries." Blackjack shrugged. "Sometimes things go wrong, and the only right thing to do when things get FUBAR is another wrong thing. It's upside down, but it happens."

Raker listened to Dr. Marello's conditions on her working conditions, his expression betraying no hint of surprise or chagrin. "Done, but under one condition," Blackjack said, raising a single finger. "If I ever, at any time, tell you that 'I need you', you come running. If you're in the middle of a book, put it down. If you're talking to your family, disconnect them. If you're in the shower, you come wet and nude." At no point during his speech did Blackjack smile. Marello, for all her experience, was still green, and green people could do stupid things. There were some situations when wasting time, for the best of reasons, was unforgivable. "Now, if I say something like, 'at your earliest convenience' or 'when you have a moment', feel free to finish what you're doing and work it into your schedule. But if I use the word 'need' in a sentence, particularly if I combine it with 'now', you damn well better not waste time with a towel. Is that clear?" 

[Pencil_Art]

((Ah well. I'll just wait then.))

[SeriousConcentrate]

Elizabeth closed her eyes for a moment, suppressing a shudder. She didn't like such disorder... but at the same time, she needed the opportunity. This was the closest she'd gotten to being able to do what she wanted. She would just have to make a... compromise. Even if the very idea of schedules being thrown aside at a moment's notice for utter chaos made her want to retch.

"I agree. Is it possible for me to look around your vessel?"

[Draignean]

"Of course, I think we're done here," Blackjack said, standing. "You're the last one aboard, and we launch in a little more than a week's time. If you'll send me a link with an opening in your schedule, I'll have a shuttle flight arranged for you. I'll also have our ship schedule forwarded to you as soon as possible."


((I think that's the last hire.

So, now it's destination system and cargo time, right?))

[SeriousConcentrate]

Elizabeth raised her left hand to near her left eye and cycled through her AR until she got to her daily planner. "I had another interview in two days, but as that will no longer be necessary I will set the schedule instead for the shuttle ride, ship tour, and preparing my quarters. Tomorrow will packing."

She stood, lowered her left hand and held out her right hand to Blackjack. "In two days then, Captain Raker. Thank you for the opportunity."

[Parsely]

Planning the Voyage
Players should decide amongst themselves what system they are in. Everyone has an equal say in which system the game takes place in so there must be a consensus. If the group can't come to a decision I'll arrange a compromise. If there are any kinds of questions about the systems, please ask and I'll answer.

Spoiler: Systems (click to show/hide)

New London
World Population: 540,000 ± 2,000^†
Year Settled: 2XXX
Districts: Greenwich, Camden, Islington
Total Land Area (km²): 100
Atmosphere: No
Star Name, Planet Count (Including the colony world): Tarf, 7

New Hope
World Population: 320,000 ± 1,000^†
Year Settled: 2XXX
Districts: Langent, Capellan, Altus, Briom, Pennagendo
Total Land Area (km²): 250
Atmosphere: Yes
Star Name, Planet Count (Including the colony world): Gomeisa, 6

Marlowe
World Population: 145,000 ± 500^†
Year Settled: 2XXX
Districts: Victoria, Phillip, Henry
Total Land Area (km²): 100
Atmosphere: Yes
Star Name, Planet Count (Including the colony world): Mothallah, 10

Kulan
World Population: 110,000 ± 500^†
Year Settled: 2XXX
Districts: Renickendorf, Treptow-Köpenick, Marzahn-Hellersdorf
Total Land Area (km²): 90
Atmosphere: Yes
Star Name, Planet Count (Including the colony world): Sirrah, 6

Shotel
World Population: 90,000 ± 500^†
Population: 540,000
Year Settled: 2XXX
Districts: Bastakiya, Saharanpur, Moradabad
Total Land Area (km²): 75
Atmosphere: No
Star Name, Planet Count (Including the colony world): Phact, 8

†   (1000 * planet count including the colony world) + world pop. = est. system pop., to allow for station and starship personnel

Once that's done, the Captain should allocate all 300,000 tons of his payload, not including essentials like fuel, food and personal belongings. To do this, pick one type of commodity for each of your sub-holds. You can be as specific or as general as you like. So for example: 3.1 and 3.2 can be devoted to military supplies, 2.6 can be reserved for liquid hydrogen containers and cash crops, 1.2 can contain asteroid minerals. It's ultimately up to the Captain but the rest of the crew should get involved in the decision making as well.

Spoiler: Tug Merchant Vessel Wilhelmina (click to show/hide)

[Parsely]

To be 100% clear: Draignean, Tiruin, Cheesecake, Dutrius, Mastahcheese, SeriousConcentrate are the starting players, since SerCon passed Draig's interview more quickly than Pencil_Art did. For anyone who didn't make it but had a character I approved, just say the word and I'll put you on the waitlist.

Once the system is picked, I can give you guys a map of it.

[SeriousConcentrate]

(I suppose I'll start off the voting by saying New London.)

[Cheesecake]

My vote is for New Hope.