Our avatars are posting on a forum thread.

[1] not really. i flew over last night, and the whole area was being patrolled with steampunky bots who almost shot me down. saw a really bright light at the top of madman savant's tower, and I SWEAR vario was there. you know, that jump n run character from those arcade booths?

tldr idk what's up, but it's chaos

Oh, welcome back Narnia! Gimme a minute to scratch a post together.

I think I've sent the cores into their target verses a while ago. Should I bring some bacterial colonies near them?

[2] Right now they're all in deep space running their measuring routines. Beyond that, I don't know much

Hey, I've seen Adam Something's channel! Haven't watched that video yet, but thanks for the link.
Edit: I've already linked Adam Something myself first, haven't I?

[3] Right now it's called "lunatic-run asylum", as per your own request.

My justification would be that in Girl Genius physics gets outright defied, while in Emma's novel, there... are some restrictions? Then again, thermodynamics as we know it is busted in Emma's novel. Should I change the degree?

[4] Alright... I can come over sometime and stress-test your machine, if you want to. If it works, I might have it put to use in higher-degree universes!

[5] You know, this one's a bit strange. I remember that Gil and Tarvek both came to visit Stefan's homeworld one day, and they had no issues whatsoever. No inter-universal messing around necessary.
Have you considered that a universe's inhabitants don't necessarily have a degree as high as their homeworld? For Gil and Tarvek, for example, I've measured a degree of around... well, by current standards it would be 4.72, but I don't think there was anything decaying until around 1.9.

Edited by StepexNo2 on Mar 31st 2023 at 12:25:13 PM

Interesting... Would that be because the Spark's physicality is different from the Gems in that they're more grounded in reality with no supernatural traits? If that's the case, I'll have to revise my model to focus more on supernatural being adaptability than just simple universe compatibility.

Well so much for my mana decay resistance project. Sigh... Also, I can't understand that. I'm no physicist or mathematician.

Edited by VintageEmma on Mar 31st 2023 at 9:01:18 AM

Define "supernatural".
From what I could tell, humans in, say, Morgan's homeworld are indistinguishable from Gil or Tarvek, at least physically. Mentally, they do have the Spark, but that's a genetic trait, which... I guess must've appeared by chance, because it doesn't appear in a lot of lower universes.

Speaking of the degree model, it's getting a revision, because it produces some wonky results when you apply statistics to it and the old degree measuring method is absolutely impractical when compared to the new one. I had an explanation for that planned here, but it took a bit too long for me to write it, so ig I'm saving it for another day.
EDIT: not a complete revision! The "old" degree scale still makes sense and still is usable, and the polynomial that converts the "old" degree to the "new" one is strictly monotonously rising. Besides that, changes between the old degrees and the new ones are all smaller than 0.0001 O, so we literally don't need to change anything about the values I've given already!

Edit: asked on Discord and found a class!

Edited by StepexNo2 on Mar 31st 2023 at 3:21:18 PM

This seems interesting. What's (or was) the mana decay resistance project?

Edited by CardboardBot on Mar 31st 2023 at 3:07:11 PM

It was a project intended to measure mana decay resistance rates for characters from higher-degree universes based on Stepex's degree model, but since they decided to just remake that model from scratch, I had to scrap it entirely since the new model will involve advanced calculus that I cannot do. It honestly feels like Stepex is trying to modification-proof their own models as a response to my project, but I digress.

Sorry about that. I have some ideas about how to give the theory more detail, but if it's making it harder to implement your own ideas, I'll stop
Just to clarify, the model is not getting a complete rework. With what I had in mind, the degrees would still be usable and practical

Edited by StepexNo2 on Mar 31st 2023 at 2:53:10 PM

x4 Man, the math involved in those calculations is quite difficult. By the way, was there ever a time you encountered a branch of mathematics or science that was too difficult to understand for you? I'm sure everyone has something that they cannot comprehend no matter how hard they try.

(x8)

OK! But I should let you know that it's currently still in England where we built it, and it's kind of too big to haul over here to Paris. I'm not sure if the weather is good enough for us to go back to England, so I'll have to consult the aerocorp about this.

It's also worth noting that the machine took four Sparks to manage: Agatha, Dr. Rakethorn, and the two of us. But that was it's first run, so maybe it'll be easier now that we've done it before.

(Honestly, I've always seen the "defying physics" line thrown around in the story to be hyperbolic since it's inspired by a lot of old Mad Scientist tropes. From looking at the lore, it'd appear to me that the setting does have a kind of consistent system of physical laws, but it's just that nobody in the setting really understands how it all works. Plus, to at least some extent, higher dimensions are sort of implied to be involved.)
(I should also note that some of the characters'◊ dialogue◊ and imagery◊ hint that the Spark's power has something to do with being able to perceive and/or sense things in the universe that others can't detect, however that's right on the border between canon and fanon.)

(x1)

You're ... Not in a universe? How's that supposed to work?

Edited by m-95 on Mar 31st 2023 at 11:16:58 AM

[1]

...No? With enough time and processing power anything can be comprehended... or destroyed!

Ain't that the truth.

Oui but truly some subjects in that category takes more of that than others depending on who's working with it.

Edited by MkayRose on Mar 31st 2023 at 12:06:56 PM

(x6)

Occasionally, yes, I have. Mostly it's the theoretical that's hard for me, since I'm more "hands on" with my work.

I'm in a similar boat as Wulfenbach. Though the only applied and/or natural science that ever confused me was Lucrezia's summoning engine, which is leagues ahead of us.

Yes, Other tech can be tough. Though as Uirst said, figuring it out is only a matter of time + power.

Oooo! So much universe talk. That must mean that my hunch is correct. This thread belongs to the real world of my previous life!

Lady Anis... I don't quite get what you mean. What is a "universe"?

Oh... Uh, ahahaha... That's going to be a bit tricky to explain since the concept of a universe is one I heard from one of my "previous life" daydreams... Hmm, just give me a moment, um...

(Can anyone on the thread explain what a universe is to Euphie, please? I'm no astronomer or physicist, and it's gonna be tough to explain to someone with a geocentric worldview.)

(x1)

Hmm . . .
Well, Lady Euphilia, a "universe" is like a version of the world. You live in your universe, which has all that you know of and then some; what you'd call "everything." I have my universe, which includes all that I call "everything," but my set of "everything" isn't the same as your set of "everything." Like I said, it can be thought of as a "version" of the world.

Confusing? I know, but maybe it's less confusing now.

So... The universe is a dimension like this thread?

Ahahaha... Not quite, but you're getting there.

Let me put this in another way that will be easier to understand. A universe is a cradle that nurses the very world you walk on. Think of the universe as like a house, and the world you walk on is the person living in that house.

Ah... I see now. So a universe is a home to the world, if I'm getting this correctly?

That is correct.

Nice! Your analogy really helped. Thank you mysterious dark lady.

You're welcome. Ufufufu!

[1] Probably - the thing is that these kinds of branches typically aren't seen as something that's completely inaccessible due to a lack of wits, but something to extensively engage with and spend time on meaningfully. For example, I kinda struggle with sociology, and I might start studying the subject if I'm still interested next year.

[2] Alright. How about a degree of 4.3?

No problem. If you want to, I can come over and help with the move.

[3] A universe, from what I understand, is a self-contained version of the world. Not all universes are the same - some have Earth, some have other planets, some have exotic superstructures that span far beyond where planets would end in other universes, and some don't have any kind of solid matter. Though Tarvek's explanation is solid, too; a lot of universes share a strangely similar Earth.

Also, Narnia, how are the results coming along?

As I said above already, I am not planning to ever have the degree model deprecated, unless it becomes more inconvenient to not deprecate it. And that's probably not gonna happen soon

The analysis is going smoothly. There's just one question I have to ask. What are the dangers that higher-degree universes present to people from lower-degree universes? My info on Phos and the Gems is still not complete, and I don't know what effects of, say, Teyvat and Gensokyo can do to the Gems.

Theoretically, that shouldn't be problematic, but practically, we've noticed two problems:

• Air containing particles of high degree which can decay and irradiate the traveller's lungs when they return,
• Payloads decaying anyways in the high-degree universe due to causes unknown.

For the second one, a popular theory so far was that some force only present in the target universe was destroying the payload. Maybe a new model can give some more insights into those cases, but for now, EV tests on a case-by-case basis.

Very well. Here is the updated analysis on the Gems.

Subject: Gems

• Known Inhabitants: Phos, Cinnabar (Cinn), Rutile
• Maximum Mana Adjuvant Decay Resistance Rate: 150%
• Gem's Homeworld (5.8 O): 0% - Ground zero for the Gems. No mana adjuvant required.
• Spark's Earth (4.72 O): 108%
• Florentia (4.6 O): 120%
•    FATAL LIMIT: 4.3 O    - In universes equal and below this, the decay rate exceeds mana adjuvant's maximum threshold.
• Rui's Homeworld (4.1 O): 170%
• Emma's Earth (3.51 O): 229%
• T-Doll's Earth (3.4 O): 240%
• Icarus' Universe (2.8 O): 300%
• Morgan's Earth (2.5 O): 330%
• Stefan's Earth (2.3 O): 350%

(x4)

Having talked with the aerocorps, it appears that today is safe for airship travel, as is Sunday, but there are too many storms on Saturday. How would that work with your schedule, Icarus? I'd assume you're planning to come over to our world, correct?

(OOC: If you think that rating works with the info I supplied, sure.
Also, how about In-Universe, Icarus decides to change Spark!Earth's rating after visiting?)

Sunday would work for me. Today, I still have some portal testing on schedule, as well as preparing some proper graphics for a presentation. Can postpone that though

Sure!

(x1)

Great!
Now, I'm temporarily barred from England (I didn't do anything wrong; the Queen just wants me leading the army), which means it'll just be Sturmvoraus working with you.

Yes, he's right, but I'm still allowed to travel there.
Assuming we're meeting on Sunday instead of today, on that day I'll be avaliable after 3:30 PM Greenwich Mean Time; feel free to convert that to whichever timezone you're using.
Also, I assume we'll be meeting in England? If so, I'll point you to the Royal Observatory that the machine is stored in.

Edited by m-95 on Mar 31st 2023 at 3:03:12 PM

Alright, I'll try my best to find it.

How was your day so far guys? Today I've been studying and exercising. Uneventful for me, but otherwise pleasant.