A Science Fiction Text Adventure

>Miniature FTL engine first. After that, everything can be made to fit, rather than trying to fit it into the hull.

Now everyone pat me on the back and tell me how clever I am!

Again, will update tomorrow. (This time, regardless of if there are any other responses).

Post 110

>Miniature FTL engine first. After that, everything can be made to fit, rather than trying to fit it into the hull.

You decide to focus on miniaturizing the FTL engine first. You want to understand some of what the Bintanni know about miniaturization first, so Aaron, Lucie, and Ruby all want to read the reference material the Bintanni have provided, and then brainstorm. Even though Ruby's specialty isn't physics or engineering, she does point out that proteins can act a lot like miniature machines, and she knows a lot about them.

You can do all that later, though. You have some Bintanni experts in front of you now. So you all ask some questions. Aaron begins with a question about whether the nanotech swarms they've seen (and modified for their own camoflage!) are linked by quantum coupling (no), and asks where they get their energy (the kinetic energy of molecules around them in the air. This could be a problem in space.)

If there are other questions, this is the time to ask it. This includes Captain Waverton, who is with the Intelligence people. Or maybe you have an idea about what to do next...

>Waverton, start hacking the government network.

If we're commanding multiple characters, are we allowed to make a suggestion for each one in a single post?

Edited by dvorak on Nov 5th 2020 at 1:53:37 PM

Now everyone pat me on the back and tell me how clever I am!

Sure, I'll allow that

> Science people, ask about possible energy sources and hull materials for the communication mini-ship. Also, how small does it reasonably have to be? If nano scale turns out to be impractical, would it be worth sending messages on a machine the size of, for example, a basketball?

Post 111

>Waverton, start hacking the government network.

[As Waverton] You ask G'etch what they know about the Bintanni government network. Maybe with what they know and the help of your AI and human techniques, you can hack it! Hopefully without leaving signs that it was hacked, either.

Essentially, there's a central database in Remiska that receives information from around the planet. It's heavily guarded, day and night, both by Bintanni standing guard and nanotech defenses like the entry curtain. When data is requested, it's connected to a particular person by a system of biomarkers, and the whereabouts of anyone with an authorization are constantly tracked. If they appear to be accessing data from somewhere they're not, or they appear in more than one place at a time, the access is denied. Any discrepancies or addition of authorized people must be okayed by high level military specifically assigned to that duty.

> Science people, ask about possible energy sources and hull materials for the communication mini-ship. Also, how small does it reasonably have to be? If nano scale turns out to be impractical, would it be worth sending messages on a machine the size of, for example, a basketball?

For hull materials, the Bintanni say they actually do use doped carbon materials quite a lot and have plenty of precision with it, so it should be perfectly possible to use. As for energy sources, you might be able to use a small amount of radioactive material if you can get hold of it, or better yet any material if you can make a miniature fusion reactor. Blu agrees that, while making it very small is helpful (not needing the materials or systems to make an entire ship where humans can live), it doesn't need to be literally nanoscale. It could be the size of a fingernail, or, yes, a basketball. You have to spread your hands apart about the diameter of a basketball for them to understand what that means, though.

Any more questions, or what would you like to do NEXT?

>(Ruby) Less mass=less Delta-V needed to push it. Small as we can please.

>(Waverton) Ask about launching a Direct Denial Of Service Attack on their network (basically, mainlining junk data/phony login attempts into it at several MB/s until it crashes).

Edited by dvorak on Nov 6th 2020 at 10:36:57 AM

Now everyone pat me on the back and tell me how clever I am!

> Unless it's too soon, maybe start programming the AI for the navigation system. (Maybe an AI could also help you make decisions, such as the best shape and size for the message carrier?)

Post 112

>(Ruby) Less mass=less Delta-V needed to push it. Small as we can please.

Ruby points out that even she knows that a smaller mass is easier to accelerate to high speed or turn if needed, and she's not the physicist here. Force equals mass times acceleration. They really should keep it small.

Aaron and Lucie give a look like, 'yes, of course we know that', but nod. As small as they can feasibly make it. The Bintanni fabrication technology should really help there. Perhaps the size of the head of a pin.

> Unless it's too soon, maybe start programming the AI for the navigation system. (Maybe an AI could also help you make decisions, such as the best shape and size for the message carrier?)

You begin programming the AI for the navigation system. It'll have to be in a high-level language since you haven't nailed the hardware/operating system architecture down. That's fine, it's much, much easier to write anyway.

You ask your ship AI what it thinks the best shape would be. It says it should look like a miniature version of itself, with the crew area carrying information instead. Er, scaled in certain areas to avoid square-cube law issues. The ship AI may either be full of itself or developing a sense of humor.

>(Waverton) Ask about launching a Direct Denial of Service on their network (basically, mainlining junk data/doomed-to-fail login attempts into it at several MB/s until it crashes).

Waverton describes a DDoS attack on the Government network to crash it, and asks G'etch if they think it's doable and useful. After all, if they can't get information from the network, they could still crash it and deny the vital information to the government operatives. They'd be in chaos!

G'etch says there are some important things there, vital to agents and departments that are actually needed. Infrastructure and direct aid to the poor, for example. But if it's only a temporary block on access, as Waverton says… if used at the right time, it could help blind the government to F.f.E.C. action that they would otherwise be able to pick up on and stop. And they think it's feasible to do.

Any ideas on an action the F.f.E.C. should take that a DDoS attack could create cover for that Waverton might suggest? Any more ideas on the mini-communication-ship concept? After this, you'll have to break up your meetings and head back to Feer's, but you can still contact Ro, G'al, Blu, G'etch and Phenn and work on your projects.

> You could time the DDoS to coincide with any rescue missions done by the F.f.E.C., such as the rescues you were initially hoping to help with yourselves. (If the government can't stop them as easily, whoever's sent might not have to be as stealthy, and could rescue more people at once than might be feasible otherwise.) But also ask the F.f.E.C if they have anything big planned that would be a better use of the distraction.

>Take the ship's advice. It's probably been designed by people way smarter than us for maximum efficiency in the first place. We can discard what we don't need from it.

Now everyone pat me on the back and tell me how clever I am!

Post 113

> You could time the D Do S to coincide with any rescue missions done by the F.f.E.C., such as the rescues you were initially hoping to help with yourselves. (If the government can't stop them as easily, whoever's sent might not have to be as stealthy, and could rescue more people at once than might be feasible otherwise.) But also ask the F.f.E.C if they have anything big planned that would be a better use of the distraction.

Waverton mentions the rescue missions that you were hoping to help with, and G'etch agrees that's a possibility. Does the F.f.E.C. have anything more important you could use the distraction for? G'etch thinks for a moment. Possibly. But it's need to know. You'd have to ask Feer if you'll be let in on the project.

>Take the ship's advice. It's probably been designed by people way smarter than us for maximum efficiency in the first place. We can discard what we don't need from it.

You decide to take the ship's advice about the hull shape. For now, anyway.

---

You leave your meetings and meet back up with Feer. They ask how it went, and was it helpful? You also have an opportunity to talk among yourselves, now. You can also send messages to your contacts through Tunnel Net.

> Update about the whole situation to Feer

artsy geek | any pronouns | "well, if you're hearing this, then chances are you've made a very poor career choice."

> Update our log, but don't blog about it just yet. "They"'ll try to stop us if we show our hand too soon.

Edited by dvorak on Nov 8th 2020 at 6:33:38 AM

Now everyone pat me on the back and tell me how clever I am!

> Waverton, tell Feer about what you discussed with G'etch, and ask what the best use of the DDoS would be.

Post 114

> Update about the whole situation to Feer

> Waverton, tell Feer about what you discussed with G'etch, and ask what the best use of the D Do S would be.

You tell Feer about your idea for a tiny communication ship and how you've already done some planning, and the idea for a Denial of Service attack on the government network that could provide cover for an important F.f.E.C. plan. They seem pleased at the progress you've made in so little time.

Waverton asks Feer what they think would be the best use of the D Do S attack? And G'etch seemed reluctant to discuss it, but it definitely appeared like something was in the works.

Feer pauses a moment, then says that they won't give you any details until and unless you've passed a high level background check, and extracts a severe promise not to blog about it, or let anyone else not in the car know anything you're about to hear. If you do spill anything, they will likely know and there will be consequences. But they suppose you've done enough for the cause and have enough reason to want it to succeed that they'll let you in on a secret. There's a project going on that would take over Government Headquarters in Remiska for the F.f.E.C.

> Update our log, but don't blog about it just yet. "They"'ll try to stop us if we show our hand too soon.

Yes, you update your log but you don't blog about it this time. This includes some many things that the government could disrupt if they knew what you were planning.

What's your response to Feer? What do you intend to do once you get back to their place?

>Eat dinner and take a shower, just like any other day after work.

Now everyone pat me on the back and tell me how clever I am!

> Agree to do the background check. (But you're all from another planet, so ask how the check would work in your case.)

> After all that, take the rest we deserve

artsy geek | any pronouns | "well, if you're hearing this, then chances are you've made a very poor career choice."

Post 115

> Agree to do the background check. (But you're all from another planet, so ask how the check would work in your case.)

That's true. They will have to work with what is available. But they can interview each of you, and those you've interacted with since you've arrived at the planet. The transcripts of what was sent and received from Earth are available, as those of necessity had to be sent in the open, and there are no Bintanni on Earth that you might have run into to recruit you there.

>Eat dinner and take a shower, just like any other day after work.

> After all that, take the rest we deserve

You help make some dinner – after checking all the ingredients to make sure they're ok for everyone, you improvise something like a homemade pasta with marinara sauce with the native grains and vegetables. You and Lucie take point on the pasta, and Aaron and Captain Waverton work on the sauce. They have to get tips about which spices are closest to what they're looking for. It tastes a bit different, but you can't quite put your finger on it, and everyone seems to enjoy it. The Bintanni are both intrigued and like it, especially Kif's kid, and you do explain that it's not quite like what you would have at home. Then you clean up, take turns taking showers, and rest.

What will your first order of business be in the morning?

> Have breakfast and discuss what to do that day.

> Seconding have breakfast. It is the most important meal of the day, after all.

Now everyone pat me on the back and tell me how clever I am!

Post 116

> Have breakfast and discuss what to do that day.

> Seconding have breakfast. It is the most important meal of the day, after all.

When you wake up, there is some fruit, nuts, and that hot, thick, sweet drink that you've been served before for breakfast.

You begin to discuss what you're going to do for the day. Ruby, Aaron, and Lucie discuss getting back to work designing the mini communication ship. Waverton is trying to decide between practicing some of the martial arts moves he was shown as exercise (he offers to teach the others, too), and getting his interview out of the way, if possible, so he can have high level clearance faster and help with what they're cooking up. Feer says they can schedule interviews for all of them later in the day, if that's what they want.

So, is that what you want? Or, what do you want to do?

> Agree with what Feer said

artsy geek | any pronouns | "well, if you're hearing this, then chances are you've made a very poor career choice."