opnet [OpNet] General Question: Skills Mystery

[David 'Dr. Troll' Smith]

Hey there,

David Smith here again (now from the bowels of DeVries, Africa) and I have an "eruption" question for some of you more experienced novas, specifically "Prodigy" or Professor Holland.

The question is: "Where do skills come from during eruption?"

Some background; As some of you know, I'm currently receiving quantum, and more "physical", training from DeVries. I'm doing well. No, I'm doing *too* well. Sometime in the last few weeks (presumably during my eruption) I picked up several new skill sets.

I first noticed this phenomenon at Project Utopia, and their doctors said that it was pretty common for the Mega-Intelligent. OK, fine. I can buy enhanced intelligence giving me better understanding (or even total "remembering") of Chemistry, Bio-Chemistry, and even Biology. I was a Chemical Engineer (although I was more towards the bio-engineering end of that) and I've been exposed to that sort of thing.

But I now know how to fight. I'd call it martial arts, but it doesn't seem that formal. I got beat up a lot during high school, with that as my experience, somehow I'm now an expert brawler. I was barely competent with a gun, now I'm expert. I know how to clean them, how many parts the various guns should have etc. I know how to handle a scalpel. I know the various stitches, what they are called, and how to use them to stitch up wounds. I know how many bones are in a human body and what they are called. I understand how all the various biological systems interact. I probably could do surgery. ("Doctor" Smith indeed).

On the other hand, I *still* can't tie a tie, or jump with a jump rope.

Guys, "it's pretty common" and/or "we have seen this before" aren't explanations. What is going on?

[Jordan]

While I can't give you any answers Dave, I remember there used to be a guy who posted here who might be able to help you. I think he called himself "The Adept," and he claimed to know a little bit of everything. I think he also said he could become an expert on any topic if he needed to.

I don't really remember how he said he did it, maybe someone else here can tell you that. Still, it might be worthwhile to look this guy up.

[Hugin]

Dr. Smith (I will use that address as a mode of respect to you as a Nova, not as acknowledgment of the supposed importance of that title.)

You will not like my own personal explanation. It is personal because it is how my own eruption occurred. Each eruption is unique, so this situation might never be duplicated.

When I erupted I was panicked, I was convinced that I did not know enough about anything to handle what was going on and a second later, I knew everything, or at the very least, quite a bit.

Some time later, when I was in Utopia, I was publishing papers under a number of pseudonyms. These papers were on a wide number of topics and as a result I was doing research in a wide academic area. I noticed that many of the theories that I was expounding could be supported with previous work done by some learned individuals. When investigating these people's histories I found that they were all deceased. Lo and behold, they all shared the same cause of death, “brain seizure of undetermined origin”, and the same time of death, the time and date of my eruption.

Of course, my curiosity was piqued and I started exploring for other deaths on that day. I found 126 in all. All were experts in their field. Chefs, linguists, professors of science and humanities, martial arts champions, even on world-class cat burglar. I do have to admit, at the time I did experience some initial guilt. I was young and the common explanation that I couldn't control my own eruption rung a little hollow. However, in the fullness of time I began to accept that truly, I had not done anything malicious or hateful and had no reason to feel guilty.

This became even more true as I began to explore the wonders of Taint and found that these people were still alive, just in a different form. I had within me, not only their knowledge and skill, but also their personalities. As time passed and I continued to let the Taint shape me I was able to more appreciate their presence. I speak to them quite often now and am able to appreciate their different points of view.

Now, I don't want you to feel that I am simply some garden-variety schizophrenic, hearing voices and ranting. Just as I let the Taint progress I did make sure to progress my control over the Taint. I am sure that had I not done this that yes, I would be subject to this curious legion of souls rather than in command.

I still experience odd flashes and the occasional change in speech patterns, but I like to think of that a only a mild eccentricity.

[Prof. Sydney 'Photon' Holland]

Quote:

Originally posted by Dr. David Smith:
Hey there,

David Smith here again (now from the bowels of DeVries, Africa) and I have an "eruption" question for some of you more experienced novas, specifically "Prodigy" or Professor Holland.

The question is: "Where do skills come from during eruption?"

Well, I can't give you "real" answers, I had no experience with this (My capabilities were mainly constant between Baseline and Nova life, but even before my eruption, it was a truism that you could give me a week and a library and I could understand the basics of most subjects). I can give you a few of the common theories running about, as well as a few of my own:

<OL TYPE=1>
[*]There was a theory going around for quite some time that everything you ever saw, heard or experienced is all in your brain somewhere, even if you weren't paying attention to it at the time (this was an extension of the now-disproved classical subliminal advertising theory). A few scientists in other fields took this theory on board, and speculated that perhaps all that knowledge that we've accumulated is "released" into the conscious mind for some individuals when they erupted.

While this is a fairly simplistic explanation, it does have a few flaws, the least of which being the primary mechanism for which it's supposed to work was disproved in the 1970s!

[*]Another one, which applies to significantly less of the erupting population is the "mental osmosis" theory. The idea of this theory was that erupting novas who gained new skillsets "absorbed" the knowledge of the people around them when they erupted. The general mechanism was believed to be some sort of telepathic facility.

Again, there are problems with this theory. For one thing, you'd expect a high percentage of Telepaths who erupted to follow this theory, and thus gain multitudes of skills. While the population is relatively small in this case, (and as such, it's not conclusive) only one or two Telepaths gained excessive amounts of knowledge after eruption. Also, of the Hyperintelligent nova community, damn few have even the slightest amount of telepathic facility. The correlation is too low for me to consider this theory, although I admit that for us to rigorously test this theory, the Eruption rate has to increase somewhat.

[*]The other one is more related to Hyperintelligence, and is the one I generally subscribe to. This theory indicates that the "ampping" of intelligence allows an erupting nova to figure out new skill sets, simply based on logic and mental trial/error.

Now, this has a few potential flaws, that I'm yet to see, but are likely to come out eventually. First up, many fields of knowledge are highly counter-intuitive, Quantum Theory being among the most. Someone using common sense to "figure out" Quantum Theory would get nowhere pretty fast, unless that common sense was somewhat different from the original. The same is in effect for many others.

[*]Another that I heard from another Nova was a little too "magical" for my tastes, but I'll post it up as well. Essentially, The idea was that all knowledge is, in effect, information. Now, what is generally not considered about Quantum Physics is that for the most part, it's the information in particles that differentiates them (otherwise they're completely identical). His theory was that in the moment of eruption, a nova's perfect grasp of Quantum allows him to "rewrite" his knowledge, considering most Quantum manipulations are really just rewriting information.

This has it's appeal, but he was never able to fully explain where the nova got all this new information. That's the biggest flaw in my opinion.</OL>

So, those are the 4 most common theories floating around. As you can see, they all have flaws. The biggest problem we have with determining these kinds of things is that eruption doesn't follow a schedule. We can't hook a latent up to a machine, ensure he erupts, and see where the data leads. Out of all the eruptions on Utopia's record, we've had maybe 10 where their eruption occured in a lab setting, and where instruments were able to take some sort of reading. Of those, only 5 incidents left the equipment capable of telling it's tale, and all of those were only able to give readings on a single variable. Who/whatever's up there seems to want to keep how eruption works a secret from the rest of the world.

I'm sorry I can't give you a definite answer, but we simply don't have one. As James above shows, even if we had definite answers, there's always going to be someone who doesn't follow the rule. Eruptions are rather annoying that way. I've been told that it frustrates Utopian Scientists to no end.

[Fortune's Son]

Consider as well that there may not be a single one of a kind method or principle underlying the effect.

Considering what we do, finessing reality itself to give in to our will, that's not really so very surprising is it?

[Sakurako Hino]

Maybe, it's a "will to power" thing. It may be that our brains reach out to WHEREVER or WHATEVER sort of mental impulses it needs to improve itself, when our node calls. I could also be our will exerting itself on reality. Of course there I go sounding all mystical again. But, the is something wonderful about what we have been given. It's how we use it that matters.

[Hugin]

Quote:

Originally posted by Fortune:


Considering what we do, finessing reality itself to give in to our will, that's not really so very surprising is it?

Actually, the most surprising aspect of it all is the commonalities that we can find. Eruption is a deeply personally driven experience. The exact situation, the mindset of the erupting Nova and the personal history of that Nova all come into play in that short moment. With all of these widely variable influences you would think each and every instance could be unique. But, even with the limited numbers of us about we do find Novas whose quantum expressions are nearly identical. Not only in appearence, but in the actual quantum mechanic involved.

Now, this isn't common but it does happen. It is something that I was asked to investigate back when I worked at Utopia. As a result I was able to peruse a much wider selection of Nova profiles than I would normally expect to. Of course, common explanations abound; cultural stereotypes influencing the Nova (stand up please Endeavor), common themes of the need for survival, etc.

I have a small theory, that perhaps there simply are certain, more efficient modes of quantum expression, and these are the ones most likely to come into being. Energy being used with the least effort to produce the most work. This being the case, would these 'powers' not be some of the easiest to develop and the ones risking the least taint?

Just a thought. My research is nowhere near complete.

[Fortune's Son]

Here's a thought for you that bridges the gap between culturation stereotypes, or what I prefer to call archetypes, and quantum efficiency theories.

Pick any day after the big boom in space, say one year after the fact, and catalogue the known expressions of juice use. Divide it all up into neat little catagories, subdivisions, what have you.

Now fast forward ten years and do the very same thing again. Look over the results very carefully. One would think that if it were a simple matter of quantum efficiency then each of the catagories would have specific percentages that would tend to remain constant. Unfortunately they don't seem to.

So at this stage you go back and start mapping the very same thing year by year to establsih the trends that lead the current day. At this point something interesting starts to come out of all that intricate spreadsheet work. Trends but not necessarily in the manner one would expect.

There are categories of quantum manipulation that do show up under trend analysis. And if you cross reference them to a decent cultural database you start to see erupting novas have not only a higher percentage of erupting in a known pattern but quantum expression has a statistically higher probablity of being influenced by the perceived quantum abilities of popular novas.

Even so there are is a niggling anomoly in the trend pattern. A statistical grouping of eruptions that seems to vary between 1.5 and 4 percent in any given year that are not in line with the trends. These are the weird ones. The really of the cuff and over-the-top expressions of quantum usage that don't seem to make any sense at all from a scientific viewpoint. At least in the year the express themselves.

However, over a period of three years they become part of the trends of newly erupting novas whether the original novas were popular and publically known or not. The 1.4 - 4 percent in those later years is comprised of other newer expressions of quantum usage.

I wish I could take credit for seeing this one but it was BB McKay that brought it to my attention a few months back.

What? Oh, sorry. Yeah there is a point to this. quantum efficiency and cultural bias does play a part obviously. But it won't explode the weirdies. That less than 5 percent that seem to just break all the rules.

[ 08-10-2002: Message edited by: Fortune ]

[Guest]

So does that mean in 'bout 3 years there's gonna be more novas who can do what I do? I mean, from the way you guys reacted to my, how'd you put it, expression, that I'm one of those less than 5% this year. I ain't too sure I like that thought.

[Fortune's Son]

Shit happens.

Take heart though. You'll be three years further along the learning and power curve while the newbies are still practicing in front of a mirror trying to pose the way you did after whatever job makes you famous.

[Prof. Sydney 'Photon' Holland]

BB McKay, huh? I've read the abstract of his work, It was certainly impressive, although I was a little... concerned about the somewhat arbitrary divisions he made.

Also, and he did point this out himself, the amount of people erupting in any given year is low enough that any statistical analysis will have a very high error bar. Not high enough to render the study invalid, but it is high enough to be a concern.

I do look forward to his follow-up study that he's planning to do in a few years time. Considering the accelerating rate of eruptions, that study should be a little more accurate.

Omni, I wouldn't worry. Honestly. You're in a job that's well suited to ensure anyone with your QE stays "in line"...

[Sakurako Hino]

Will the real Endeavor please stand up, please stand up, please stand up... *grins and bows*

Now, all kidding beside, yeah, there is something to the stereotype theory. Ever since I "blipped" on a nova's radar, I have noticed I had backslided into the ruts. Thus the pink hair and eyes. Not to mention a few of my abilites I've picked up over time even makes me shake my head. Sometimes it is tough to look in the mirror. I could dye my hair and put colored contacts in my eyes, but I can't hide the inner "programming" that I had, unintentionally, given myself. Let this be a lesson to you otaku humans out there. You actually MAY become the very obsession you enjoy now. Sleep well. Oh, and don't get into anything you can't get out of.

Too bad I wasn't thinking about bricks at the time, I could have become some sort of statue. *sigh* It my suck to be me, but I'm having fun along the way.

[ 08-11-2002: Message edited by: Endeavor ]

[Jager]

Dr. Smith, I believe that the eruption process and our resulting evolution fine tunes our forms. As a result, we often develop martial and acrobatic prowess that we haven't 'worked for'.

How some novas spontaneously develop scientific knowledge is another question, though I have seen it happen as well. Some attribute it to a 'Universal Conciousness', but I haven't heard any scientific explanation for it.

Me, I study and practice.

[David 'Dr. Troll' Smith]

...So basically we have a number of theories (each of which my personal situation both supports and disproves) and very little (Prodigy excluded) in the nature of specifics. Sigh. At least I'm not alone in confusion.

OK, different question. Can I expect to enjoy this kind of skills increase latter (i.e. post eruption)?

Specifically, I used to have the athletic ability of a slug. Now, I am much more physical person but I still don't have the related skills.

[Violette 'V' D'Aronique]

Quote:

Originally posted by Dr. David Smith:

OK, different question. Can I expect to enjoy this kind of skills increase latter (i.e. post eruption)?

Specifically, I used to have the athletic ability of a slug. Now, I am much more physical person but I still don't have the related skills.

Well, don't take this the wrong way, but aren't you rushing things? I mean, now that your eruption has given you the physical potential you didn't use to have, wouldn't part of the joy be developing that? You know, seeing and feeling the changes?

I'd rather have that happen that suddenly just be "good" at something because of my eruption.

Then again, I work out all the time. Part of the T2M regiment, but I enjoy it. I like being active physically and getting a proverbial "runner's high."

[David 'Dr. Troll' Smith]

Ms. D'Aronique, you missed the point (and didn't answer the question).

Right now, I don't know how to swim, or run well, or climb, etc. In my future lifestyle, I expect that this will cause problems. What was a limitation has now become a weakness.

I was hoping for a "quick fix". Yes, I know that is shallow of me, but I never enjoyed getting wet when I was baseline. More to the point, there are things I enjoy (fighting, thinking, etc) and other things I don't (swimming). One of the points to life it to try to max one and min the other.

I have changed (and am still changing). It is true that I might now enjoy swimming. But rocks don't float.

[Violette 'V' D'Aronique]

Quote:

Originally posted by Dr. David Smith:
Ms. D'Aronique, you missed the point (and didn't answer the question).

Right now, I don't know how to swim, or run well, or climb, etc. In my future lifestyle, I expect that this will cause problems. What was a limitation has now become a weakness.

I was hoping for a "quick fix". Yes, I know that is shallow of me, but I never enjoyed getting wet when I was baseline. More to the point, there are things I enjoy (fighting, thinking, etc) and other things I don't (swimming). One of the points to life it to try to max one and min the other.

I have changed (and am still changing). It is true that I might now enjoy swimming. But rocks don't float.

Oh. I'm sorry. I'm not really in expert in eruption or how our abilities develop. I was just making an observation. I'm sorry!

I still think you'll enjoy becoming a physical person, though. Doesn't DeVries offer you any kind of training in that sort of thing before they'd expect you to do it?

[Guest]

Damn straight they do. I swear, I've spent more time in DeVries trainin' rooms in the last few months then I spent in gyms all through school!

Hey Doc, I'm good at all that physical stuff, maybe we can hit the gym or the swimmin' pool together. Which base they got you stationed at?

[Prof. Sydney 'Photon' Holland]

Quote:

Originally posted by Dr. David Smith:
OK, different question. Can I expect to enjoy this kind of skills increase latter (i.e. post eruption)?

Well, while I'm not discounting it completely, the kind of skill acquisition that occurs at many eruptions is pretty much unheard of post-eruption. Looking through what literature I have on it, I don't think I've heard of any incidence at all.

But, on the other hand, you've stated that you have a hyperintelligent mind, yes? Try putting that mind to work on learning the basics of swimming. Learn basic techniques, advanced techniques, etc. You'll likely find that "prepping" your mind like this will make your first on-hand experience much easier.

It's not an "instant learn" thing, but it can drastically decrease the amount of time required to learn. And considering your alter-state, it may be worth your while to look at some of the physics and techniques on swimming. If you are indeed a "rock", finding techniques more suited to your physique will likely help the learning process dramatically.

[David 'Dr. Troll' Smith]

Sigh. So that means I need to work at it. Or put another way, we only get one wish from the quantum genie.

Well, thank you for being informative. (Especially you, Prof. Holland.) I've been off line for the last few days because I keep breaking my keyboard.

Sentinal, I'm at the main compound for warior types in South Africa. (You know, I've never asked if this place has a formal name!?) I only sleep Sunday night, so come on by. For that matter, I start sparing tomorrow so come by to watch.

Say, what do you do/look like? Have we met? I've noticed that some people around here only use their stage names, some only use their real names, and some alternate. What is the etiquette for that?

[Fortune's Son]

Etiquette?

Remember that, not unlike those that served in the French Foreign Legion, everybody use to be someone else. Being a nova puts a different emphasis on that but its no less true. Stick with using whatever name they give you to refer to them and don't assume anything without proof positive. Your training is going on both in the classroom and out, on the training field and off.

Don't worry about people being stand-offish at first. They're not going to invest much into getting to know you until they're comfortable with what they can depend on you for. At the same time they're going to keep interaction to the minimum required for your training and telling you, in the most simple of terms, what you can depend on them for. This won't change until you've been through an op or two.

Speaking of which; don't underestimate the ops you get in training either. Don't assume that they're onlytraining ops or somehow less important because they're willing to give them to you while you're in training. Like I said, your training is happening in ways that don't even seem like training at the time.

Trust me on this.

[Teknokat]

Don't tell me, you're using Utopia's "Quantum-strength keyboard"? Don't bother. They're not particularly well put together, as you've probably noted.

On the other hand, I sell keyboards that are extremely durable (I think our top-of-the-line keyboard survived 3000 degrees Kelvin under 45 Atmospheres). If you're needing a more durable keyboard, contact me. We specialise in this sort of thing

[David 'Dr. Troll' Smith]

I don't think we can blame the keyboard on this one.

The problem is that I can litterally crush stone with my pinky. While I've gotten better at not doing that, sometimes I make a mistake or (especially) transform without quite meaning to.

The relative strength needed to type in my pink body is much less than my green one. To compound matters, my pink body is much stronger than it used to be. Typing is good practice for very fine strength control, and I am getting better, but we ran out.

[Teknokat]

Well, usually if you're crushing your keyboard, you get a more durable one, and I can help you with that. At the very least, I could loan you my spare keyboard. I'm quite proud of it - The keys and frame are made entirely of a Vitrium/Bucky Ball Compound. I've yet to find someone strong enough to crush it within five minutes. Plus, it has a kind of Retro-90s feel, with the Translucency of the compound.

At the very least, you could buy one of the Coloured Vitrium Keyboards from us. Actually, I think we delivered a shipment of them to De Vries about a month ago, so you may be able to acquire one from your requisitions facility. (From what I can tell, when you're super-strong, Flame Wars are horror on computer hardware...)

[David 'Dr. Troll' Smith]

I think other super strong types took all of yours. I also think they had a hard time finding an oversized one.

My handler offered me a hands free one. You know, the kind they give to the paralyzed? It's a head attachment that beams a laser at your eye. You kind of look and blink at the letters you want. I may eventually take him up on it.

I turned him down, mainly because I really need the practice. Replacing cheap keyboards is easy; a crushed hand is something else. Also, it isn't like I lack things to do.

[Jordan]

Dr. Smith, I have just the thing for you. Solar Solutions makes its money by catering to the...Unusual...physical needs of Novas. I can have an incredibly durable, oversized, top of the line computer system delivered to you within about 4 hours, free of charge.

I happen to have several extra systems from a previous order. Let me know if you want it and where to send it.

[David 'Dr. Troll' Smith]

Quote:

Originally posted by Jordan Rossi:
Dr. Smith, I have just the thing for you. Solar Solutions makes its money by catering to the...Unusual...physical needs of Novas. I can have an incredibly durable, oversized, top of the line computer system delivered to you within about 4 hours, free of charge.

I happen to have several extra systems from a previous order. Let me know if you want it and where to send it.

Sounds ideal... and I'd love it... but I have no money. Until I get my first (couple?) contracts (September?) I'm on charity here. Yes, Anna does spot us some money (although it's mostly in the form of script) but she also charges us for gear, and I really need to save up.

I have no doubt I'll bring this up again in late September.

[Jordan]

When I said free of charge Doc. I meant free of all charges. You don't have to pay a cent. I have already made all the arangements and contacted DeVries about where to send it, so you should have the system in your possession sometime today or tomorrow.

[Fortune's Son]

Quote:

Doc Smith sez:
Yes, Anna does spot us some money (although it's mostly in the form of script) but she also charges us for gear, and I really need to save up.

Ah... the days of scripts and coupons. Sweet austerity I recall thee well.

Rossi's got this one covered but in the future, if you need something, bring it up. Especially if it falls under the headings of either "training requirement" or "minimal subsistence" category. You're right, it's going to be paid for by you eventually but DeVries will foot the bill for anything you reasonably require and have you pay them back outta contract payment. By the by; bonuses always belong to the contractor (us) regardless of the tab unless you've screwed up badly and found out what "sanction" means.

You gotta remember also that the "handlers" are little more than a cross between messengers and waiters. None of them have the final say on anything. They are your personal everyday liaison to the company who want to see you become an educated, skilled and otherwise productive member of the team.

Translation; their job is to get you what you need so you can focus on the training or mission. If that means a titanium keyboard with quartz key pads then they're on the phone 30 seconds after you've told them what you want and are verifying overnight shipping rates. You need to study engineering principles with some fascist uber engineer in Austria? They're prepping your submission papers that evening. You gotta make the entrance qualifications but the company will smooth the way. The flip side is that they aren't novas and don't (usually) have a clues as to what you really need if you don't tell them.

And Doc?

One word of advice here. Do not, as in never, make a decision that affects your training or mission accomplishment for monetary reasons. You have access to resources beyond the ken of mortal men here and if you were to end up in the lowest level of hell we've got three rescue scenarios already prepped and waiting on approval. If Annie finds out you low balled probabilities without coming to her for assistance though...

[David 'Dr. Troll' Smith]

Quote:

Originally posted by Fortune:
...You have access to resources beyond the ken of mortal men here...

Meaning my training/experience as a penniless student working for a miserly university isn't serving me well.

Sound advice. Actually, very sound advice. Thanks you both.

[Vile Bill]

Quote:

Originally posted by Dr. David Smith:
Meaning my training/experience as a penniless student working for a miserly university isn't serving me well.

Sound advice. Actually, very sound advice. Thanks you both.

Since it's advice chucking time I got one for ya.

Handlers only buy the 'My node says I gotta get regular poontang' only so many times.

Bastards.

[Walker]

Quote:

Originally posted by Jordan Rossi:
Solar Solutions makes its money by catering to the...Unusual...physical needs of Novas. I can have an incredibly durable, oversized, top of the line computer system delivered to you within about 4 hours, free of charge.

Out of interest... how much would you charge for a backpack computer, with low voltage screen, thats hardened to extreme environments (I'm talking from vaccum to Venus here), with adapters for a solar panel or trickle charged battery?

On the subject of skill mastery Dr Smith, you might still have hidden talents that you haven't uncovered yet, it took me a while to realise I was adaptable to extreme conditions had telekinetic force fields and an ability to communicate with animals. Even today my intuitive and pretercognition abilities can be a little sketchy. It might be that my mental powers were focused in a life saving way by the circumstances of my eruption, it happening at sea, and that I only used what I needed to get out of that situation. Having said that why the hell didn't I get the ability to modify the weather in the first place?

So there might still be some suprises in store for you, especially when you're in the field and under stress.

[Sakurako Hino]

Walker: Save that laptop. If I take a trip with ya somewhere outside our atmosphere, I'd like something that can take the abuse. *wink*

[ 08-18-2002: Message edited by: Endeavor ]

[Fortune's Son]

Quote:

Vile Bill thundered:
Handlers only buy the 'My node says I gotta get regular poontang' only so many times. Bastards.

Here's a little known fact you may find useful. The reason for handlers taking a "personal" interest in their contractors is that they get a percentage paid in bonus out of the percentage that's going to DV from payment for services rendered.

So here's what you do to remind the little tick that keeping you happy is his job description. Write a two sentence memo from you to the DeVries Group Human Resource Office and give it to him for delivery. In it say something like this;

"Having noticed a lack of personal commitment to my success, I officially request a liaison with a greater degree of involvement. Please insure the new personnel are assigned immediately to fill this vacancy as several contracts are under my review."

When the next handler is assigned within a day or so, at the usual grip and grin meeting between you, makes sure you mention how pleased you are that they were assigned so quickly for a "temporary position" and that you hope their personal commitment is of a higher caliber than the previous trash. This should solve your problem.

I wouldn't recommend doing it more than once or twice a year though. It's just a question of knowing the rules. Think of it like one of our poker games only you're holding a full house and raising.

[ 08-18-2002: Message edited by: Fortune ]

[Teknokat]

Quote:

Originally posted by Walker:
Out of interest... how much would you charge for a backpack computer, with low voltage screen, thats hardened to extreme environments (I'm talking from vaccum to Venus here), with adapters for a solar panel or trickle charged battery?

Depends. I have a couple on stock that could probably survive Hard Space up to Mars (but would be a little delicate), or I could build a top-of-the-line laptop to your specification for the price of materials plus around US$1000 labour, depending on the scope of the job. This is assuming you're capable of using standard computer peripherals.

If you're physiology requires non-standard parts, they have to be made from scratch, and you have to come in for measurements and testing, and all that increases the price to, well, nova proportions.

Multi-pressurising isn't that much of a problem, that can be done fairly easily, but the cooling systems for such a laptop to stay cool not only in a freezer like Hard space, but an easy-bake oven like Venus, would again have to be built from scratch. Also, if you're using a Laptop in Hard Space, it'll need to be Tempest Hardened to protect against radiation, and that brings it up again.

Oh, and there's the problem of finding storage medium that'll survive that sort of punishment . If you can't, I could try making modifications to a few Data-chips.

I couldn't calculate the price exactly, but base estimates already put you above the US$100,000 mark, and that's assuming all things go to plan. That may seem a lot, but it's actually less than NASA's usual price for space-worthy computers, and the best part is that the price of any replacements get decreased because most of the designing was done the first time.

Admittedly, I work on a premium, and negotiation can reduce price. Hell, if you can test from Hard Space to Venus, doing some quick QA testing while your down there would decrease your price considerably.

Jordan: Solar Solutions? That's your company? I still remember that little bidding war for the Nordlysene contract. No hard feelings, right? I remember getting a little vindictive after you won...

[Vile Bill]

Quote:

Originally posted by Fortune:


So here's what you do to remind the little tick that keeping you happy is his job description. Write a two sentence memo from you to the DeVries Group Human Resource Office and give it to him for delivery. In it say something like this;

"Having noticed a lack of personal commitment to my success, I officially request a liaison with a greater degree of involvement. Please insure the new personnel are assigned immediately to fill this vacancy as several contracts are under my review."

[ 08-18-2002: Message edited by: Fortune ]

Hmmf, well I guess that leaves me out. My handler, little twerp by the name of Gunter Kraalsson, says since I got an exclusive contract with the Lady that I am SOL, he's it. Crap.

Well, it ain't like he's too much a pain in the ass. I take the jobs, get the pay, and he tends to stay out of my way. I mean, yeah, I know most handlers are more of a help, but hell, I got respect for the Lady and Carrington, so that's enough I guess.

[Fortune's Son]

Quote:

Vile Bill said unhappily:
Hmmf, well I guess that leaves me out. My handler, little twerp by the name of Gunter Kraalsson, says since I got an exclusive contract with the Lady that I am SOL, he's it. Crap.

There's a reason I call'em ticks. Pulling the body off is easy but sometimes it takes a little effort to get the head out. He's jerking you around invoking Annie's good name but I can tell you how to send Gunter running scared.

Alternately a friend of mine suggested you consider investing some cash in your own private business. You can't set it up inside the compound but DV has private suites and residences all over the world.

[Walker]

Quote:

Originally posted by Teknokat:
[QB]Depends. I have a couple on stock that could probably survive Hard Space up to Mars (but would be a little delicate). This is assuming you're capable of using standard computer peripherals ...

I couldn't calculate the price exactly, but base estimates already put you above the US$100,000 mark, and that's assuming all things go to plan. That may seem a lot, but it's actually less than NASA's usual price for space-worthy computers, and the best part is that the price of any replacements get decreased because most of the designing was done the first time.

[QB]

Standard peripherals are fine, though a big keyboard would come in handy, my adpation can sometimes effect the thickness of my hands and anyway I hate fiddly keyboards. I could try out the computer you have in stock, any chance you can make a case that would withstand very strong acids? (H2SO4,HCl, HFl and acidity due to reactive elements in combination with very high O2 partial pressures) I don't neccessarily need to use it in space or on Venus but it needs to survive data unwiped and unmelted.

As to the price I think I'll take the stock one unless the testing discount is considerable?

By the way I could never be an elite, must be something about the shoot me orange glow in the dark aura

[ 08-18-2002: Message edited by: Walker ]

[Fortune's Son]

Quote:

Originally posted by Walker:
Standard peripherals are fine, though a big keyboard would come in handy, my adpation can sometimes effect the thickness of my hands and anyway I hate fiddly keyboards.

Not to poke fun at the techies trying to get a guinea pig for their new ideas but have you ever considered a cranial comp? No keyboards, direct stim or HUD display based on user preference, etc. I know Nimrod uses one seems happy with it. Several Elites even carry'em into combat either as full inter-cranial implants or in helmets with viser HUD setups.

Either approach has the advantage of (1) giving you hands free operations; and (2) a display without requiring you to look away your object of interest. With the new high density chips you could pack a lot of information or entertainment into a pretty small area.

If you want a fully resistant rig I'd recommend the inter-cranial approach but maybe some bright nova can figure out a eufiber based exterior for a helmet approach.

[Sakurako Hino]

You rang?

I have been fiddling around with a design idea recently. It involves a visor HUD, with a voice command interface. The computer CPU is actually interwoven and compartmentalized in a bodysuit. With the main processor in a small back pack unit. It uses 3 types of power: Ni-MH batteries, kinetic motion (it uses the motions of the body to flex kineto-electric fibers that generate a charge when flexed,) and solar power (solar cells are interwoven in the suit's membrane with the electric generating fibers). The data that the computer uses is stored on mem-chips that are tested to 1000 degrees farenheit. I could make more mods for such rigors. Of course, I'd have to attach a helmet so that sufficient air would be in it so that the user could speak. Unless Walker needs such pressurization, which I doubt.

I wish I didn't need a space suit if I went into space. bummer.