History Fridge / QuentynQuinnSpaceRanger

* As noted elsewhere, both the Fedorks and the Parodians are ''incredibly'' screwed-up societies. What's interesting is that both of them got that way for the same reason: Neither is held responsible for the consequences of their actions. If it weren't for the influence of Cue, the Fedorks would ''have'' to come up with at least a vaguely functional social structure or they'd all blow up and/or starve to death. And Quentin himself notes that if Galacti-Transit had had to deal with market realities (like a proper business) rather than being an un-elected, unaccountable government bureaucracy, then the screwed-up mess of ''The Coldest Equation'' could never have happened...Which in itself is a bit of a Broken Aesop since it is said outright that the members of said bureaucracy is on trial for corruption as their negligence was not born from being unaccountable but actual intentionnal criminal negligence. It is sttrongly implyed that they accepted bribes from the companies that would suffer from the competition of zero-point power and such technologies. The aesop is more "watch for corruption and get the money of businesses out of politics" rather than "governement service will always screw up". The fact it is another governement institution who impose the changes praised by the issues doesn't help

* As noted elsewhere, both the Fedorks and the Parodians are ''incredibly'' screwed-up societies. What's interesting is that both of them got that way for the same reason: Neither is held responsible for the consequences of their actions. If it weren't for the influence of Cue, the Fedorks would ''have'' to come up with at least a vaguely functional social structure or they'd all blow up and/or starve to death. And Quentin himself notes that if Galacti-Transit had had to deal with market realities (like a proper business) rather than being an un-elected, unaccountable government bureaucracy, then the screwed-up mess of ''The Coldest Equation'' could never have happened.

* The Coldest Equations chapter takes all of the fridge horror of TheColdEquations story, and turns it into a court case: What kind of a society would impose a death sentence penalty for stowing away on shuttles with zero security, allows literally no margin of error for said shuttles, and cut the shuttle's operating parameters to the point that there literally wasn't even room for a co-pilot? The space shuttles used by the Parodians would not, by 20th century standards, be cleared for flight about 1,000 feet!

* As noted elsewhere, both the Fedorks and the Parodians are ''incredibly'' screwed-up societies. What's interesting is that both of them got that way for the same reason: Neither is held responsible for the consequences of their actions. If it weren't for the influence of Cue, the Fedorks would ''have'' to come up with at least a vaguely functional social structure or they'd all blow up and/or starve to death. And Quentin himself notes that if Galacti-Transit had had to deal either with market realities (like a proper business) or some level of true public direction (like a proper government department), then the screwed-up mess of ''The Coldest Equation'' could never have happened.

* As noted elsewhere, both the Fedorks and the Parodians are ''incredibly'' screwed-up societies. What's interesting is that both of them got that way for the same reason: Neither is held responsible for the consequences of their actions. If it weren't for the influence of Cue, the Fedorks would ''have'' to come up with at least a vaguely functional social structure or they'd all blow up and/or starve to death. And Quentin himself notes that if GalactiTransit had had to deal either with market realities (like a proper business) or some level of true public direction (like a proper government department), then the screwed-up mess of ''The Coldest Equation'' could never have happened.

*** To the contrary, however (and as pointed out by the AI prosecuting attorney), the point is not malice, but incompetence. Galacti-Transit is a private company being operated by the government, and governments tend to be ''very, very bad'' at running private companies. The "safety regulations" in question, for example, were part environmental (the stripped-to-nothing shuttles were very eco-friendly) and part technological (could not use any technology not thoroughly approved by the government). The government's ''intent'' was to run a good emergency shuttle service; they were simply incapable of doing so within the regulations they enacted. (For a real-life comparison, ambulances in England are government-run; it was found that [[https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/ambulance-service-in-england government regulations were actually lowering chances of survival]] by allowing only one minute for the paramedics to evaluate a patient.)

* As noted elsewhere, both the Fedorks and the Parodians are ''incredibly'' screwed-up societies. What's interesting is that both of them got that way for the same reason: Neither is held responsible for the consequences of their actions. If it weren't for the influence of Cue, the Fedorks would ''have'' to come up with at least a vaguely functional social structure or they'd all blow up and/or starve to death. And Quentin himself notes that if GalactiTransit had to deal with market realities (like a proper business) instead of being coddled by the government as yet another bureaucracy, then the screwed-up mess of ''The Coldest Equation'' could never have happened.

** More worrying is this: they've been part of the empire for 50 years, at least, and the Empire has been exercising a hands off policy regarding the running of their world... which, as we can see, has meant that they've had the opportunity to improve, but have willingly chosen not to. This isn't incompetence, it's intentional obstruction of progress: Zero Point Energy would put a lot of fuel producers (such as the ones who fabricate Decimite crystals) out of business. It is, in a way, like how modern society has plentiful energy options such as nuclear, coal oil, shale oil, natural gas, etc. but various special interests coerce society into chasing after energy sources or rubbish "green" technologies which are insufficient, sporadic, or more harmful to the economy and environment than the current ones.

** It's finally revealed that the reason for all of this is due to a runaway government bureaucracy that is so divorced from the consequences of it's actions that it can get away with reckless disregard for the lives of the individuals they are supposed to be helping... up until a much higher authority decides that the situation is so bad the only sane response is to shut down the entire agency, lock, stock, and barrel. (WordOfGod is that it should be inferred that the majority of the Empire of the Seven Systems uses [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvxT7fryE3Q voluntary private certification]], akin to real-life services like Underwriter's Laboratory.)

* As noted elsewhere, both the Fedorks and the Parodians are ''incredibly'' screwed-up societies. What's interesting is that both of them got that way for the same reason: Neither is held responsible for the consequences of their actions. If it weren't for the influence of Cue, the Fedorks would ''have'' to come up with at least a vaguely functional social structure or they'd all blow up and/or starve to death. And Quentin himself notes that if GalactiTransit had had to deal either with market realities (like a proper business) or some level of true public direction (like a proper government department), then the screwed-up mess of ''The Coldest Equation'' could never have happened.

* As noted elsewhere, both the Fedorks and the Parodians are ''incredibly'' screwed-up societies. What's interesting is that both of them got that way for the same reason: Neither is held responsible for the consequences of their actions. If it weren't for the influence of Cue, the Fedorks would ''have'' to come up with at least a vaguely functional social structure or they'd all blow up and/or starve to death. And Quentin himself notes that if the Parodians had had to deal either with market realities or some level of true public direction, then the screwed-up mess of ''The Coldest Equation'' could never have happened.

** It's finally revealed that the reason for all of this is due to a runaway government bureaucracy that is so divorced from the consequences of it's actions that it can get away with reckless disregard for the lives of the individuals they are supposed to be helping... up until a much higher authority decides that the situation is so bad the only sane response is to shut down the entire agency, lock, stock, and barrel.

** Unsurprisingly, considering his biases, the author has it exactly backwards - safety regulations ''exist'' because, unless made to do otherwise by some higher authority, private companies in real life will and ''have'' failed to implement even basic safety measures in favor of reducing operating costs and increasing profit. Some have even been found to have considered the matter and decided it's less expensive overall to let a certain number of people die every year, and only to pay to clean up the "messes" when they happen (and someone sues), rather than prevent them in the first place. Just as the original story being criticized bends over backwards to create an improbable no-win situation to deliver its Anvilicious moral, so does this one contrive to have a government bureaucracy act exactly like unregulated private industry has shown, time and again, it will when allowed.

** Unsurprisingly, considering his biases, the author has it exactly backwards - safety regulations ''exist'' because, unless made to do otherwise by some higher authority, private companies in real life will and ''have'' often failed to implement even basic safety measures in favor of reducing operating costs and increasing profit. Some have even been found to have considered the matter and decided it's less expensive overall to let a certain number of people die every year, and only to pay to clean up the "messes" when they happen (and someone sues), rather than prevent them in the first place. Just as the original story being criticized bends over backwards to create an improbable no-win situation to deliver its Anvilicious moral, so does this one contrive to have a government bureaucracy act exactly like unregulated private industry has shown, time and again, it will when allowed.

** Unsurprisingly, considering his biases, the author has it exactly backwards - safety regulations ''exist'' because, unless made to do otherwise by some higher authority, private companies in real life will and ''have'' often failed to implement even basic safety measures in favor of reducing operating costs and increasing profit. Some have even been found to have considered the matter and decided it's more profitable overall to let a certain number of people die every year, and only to pay to clean up the "messes" when they happen (and someone sues), rather than prevent them in the first place. Just as the original story being criticized bends over backwards to create an improbable no-win situation to deliver its Anvilicious moral, so does this one contrive to have a government bureaucracy act exactly like unregulated private industry has shown, time and again, it will when allowed.

** Conveniently (and predictably, given the author's biases) ignored is that ''many'' private companies in our own history will and ''have'' failed to implement any and all safety measures, killing both workers and bystanders in industrial accidents large and small, simply to ''save a buck'' ... unless someone, typically the government, ''makes'' them. Some have even been found to have weighed the relative costs and found it's more profitable overall to let a certain number of people die every year, and only to pay to clean up the "messes" when they happen (and someone sues), rather than prevent them in the first place. In real life, this is the sort of thing that government regulation exists to ''stop''.

** Conveniently (and predictably, given the author's biases) ignored is that ''many'' private companies in our own history will and ''have'' failed to implement any and all safety measures, killing both workers and bystanders in industrial accidents large and small, simply to ''save a buck'' ... unless someone, typically the government, ''makes'' them. Some have even been found to have weighed the relative costs and found it's more profitable overall to let a certain number of people die every year. In real life, this is the sort of thing that government regulation exists to ''stop''.

** Conveniently (and predictably, given the author's biases) ignored is that ''many'' private companies in our own history will and ''have'' failed to install any and all safety measures, killing both workers and bystanders in industrial accidents large and small, simply to ''save a buck'' ... unless someone, typically the government, ''makes'' them. Some have even been found to have weighed the relative costs and found it's more profitable overall to let a certain number of people die every year. In real life, this is the sort of thing that government regulation exists to ''stop''.

** Conveniently (and predictably, given the author's biases) ignored is that ''many'' private companies in our own history will and ''have'' failed to install any and all safety procedures, killing both workers and bystanders in industrial accidents large and small, simply to ''save a buck'' ... unless someone, typically the government, ''makes'' them. Some have even been found to have weighed the relative costs and found it's more profitable overall to let a certain number of people die every year. In real life, this is the sort of thing that government regulation exists to ''stop''.

** Conveniently (and predictably, given the author's biases) ignored is that ''many'' private companies in our own history will and ''have'' failed to install any and all safety procedures, killing both workers and bystanders in industrial accidents large and small, simply to ''save a buck'' ... unless someone, typically the government, ''makes'' them. Some have even been found to have weighed the relative costs and found it's more profitable overall to let a certain number of people die every year. In real life, this is (one of) the sort of things that government regulation exists to ''stop''.

** Conveniently (and predictably, given the author's biases) ignored is that ''many'' private companies in our own history will and ''have'' failed to install any and all safety procedures, killing both workers and bystanders in industrial accidents large and small, simply to ''save a buck'' ... unless someone, typically the government, ''makes'' them. Some have even been found to have weighed the relative costs and found it's more profitable overall to let a certain number of people die every year.

** It's finally revealed that the reason for all of this is due to a runaway government bureaucracy that is so divorced from the consequences of it's actions that it can get away with reckless disregard for the lives of the individuals they are supposed to be helping... up until a much higher authority decides that the situation is so bad the only sane response is to shut down the entire agency, lock, stock, and barrel.

** More worrying is this: they've been part of the empire for 50 years, at least, and the Empire has been exercising a hands off policy regarding the running of their world... which, as we can see, has meant that they've had the opportunity to improve, but have willingly chosen not to. This isn't incompetence, it's intentional obstruction of progress: Zero Point Energy would put a lot of fuel producers (such as the ones who mine Decimite crystals) out of business. It is, in a way, like how modern society has access to vast numbers of alternative fuel sources, yet the current fuel companies (big oil, coal, etc) will continue to hinder the use of these alternatives, even though the majority of those alternatives are cheap and limitless, and the current versions are costly and severely limited. Long story short, the ones in charge have been staying the course in order to keep lining their pockets with wealth, while the average citizen is oppressed by laws made specifically to hold the status quo.

** And it gets worse: there are, on top of everything else, [[http://www.rhjunior.com/QQSR/QQSR0000.html#Comic=134 2,134 "safety regulations"]] on the shuttles in question, meaning that any violation would, in fact, be considered "Operator Error". As one character puts it, it is physically impossible for anyone outside of a dedicated artificial intelligence to obey all of those regulations at any given time, let alone remember all of them. And it is also pointed out that those regulations are the exact reason why the shuttles are a screaming metal death trap.

** More worrying is this: they've been part of the empire for 50 years, at least, and the Empire has been exercising a hands off policy regarding the running of their world... which, as we can see, has meant that they've had the opportunity to improve, but have willingly chosen not to. This isn't incompetence, it's intentional obstruction of progress: Zero Point Energy would put a lot of fuel producers (such as the ones who mine Decimite crystals) out of business. It is, in a way, like how modern society has access to vast numbers of alternative fuel sources, yet the current fuel companies (big oil, coal, etc) will continue to hinder the use of these alternatives, even though the majority of those alternatives are cheap and limitless, and the current versions are costly and severely limited. Long story short, the ones in charge have been staying the course in order to keep lining their pockets with wealth, while the average citizen is oppressed by laws made specifically to hold the status quo.

** More worrying is this: they've been part of the empire for 50 years, at least, and the Empire has been exercising a hands off policy regarding the running of their world... which, as we can see, has meant that they've had the opportunity to improve, but have willingly chosen not to. This isn't incompetence, it's intentional obstruction of progress: Zero Point Energy would put a lot of fuel producers (such as the ones who mine Decimite crystals) out of business. It is, in a way, like how modern society has access to vast numbers of alternative fuel sources, yet the current fuel companies (big oil, coal, etc) will continue to hinder the use of these alternatives, even though the majority of those alternatives are cheap and limitless, and the current versions are costly and severely limited.

** More worrying is this: they've been part of the empire for 50 years, at least, and the Empire has been exercising a hands off policy regarding the running of their world... which, as we can see, has meant that they've had the opportunity to improve, but have willingly chosen not to. This isn't incompetence, it's intentional obstruction of progress: Zero Point Energy would put a lot of fuel producers (such as the ones who mine Decimite crystals) out of business. It is, in a way, like how modern society has access to vast numbers of alternative fuel sources, yet the current fuel companies (big oil, coal, etc) will continue to hinder the use of these alternatives, even though the majority of those alternatives are cheap and limitless, and the current versions are cheap and severely limited.

** The fact that Galacti-Transit is Federalized means the Parodian Government itself is the Dilbert Company which just makes it even worse.

* More on the What kind of company would make such a Death trap in The Coldest Equations? Dilbert's company would make such a death trap. Take a close look at the [[http://rhjunior.com/QQSR/QQSR0000.html#Comic=124 Transit.]][[http://dilbert.com/strips/comic/2011-01-15/ General.]], Doesn't he look like the Pointy-haired boss? It also shows just what kind of damage a company like Dilbert's could do for money.

** The fact that Galacti-Transit is Federalized means the Parodian Government itself is the Dilbert Company which just makes it even worse