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Re: Faster Than Light Travel - Reply

From: Phillip Atcliffe <P-ATCLIFFE@w...>
Date: Mon, 29 Sep 1997 10:51:39 +0000
Subject: Re: Faster Than Light Travel - Reply

After Jon T. mentioned the multiple FTL drives of the Hooded Swan series
(for
those interested, the Swan itself used "mass relaxation", which I took
to involve
tachyonic conversion and energy dumping), Niall wrote:

>> Check out Vernor Vinge's "A Fire on the Deep". In this there are 3
different
areas of the galaxy broken into the transcendent, the beyond, and the
slowness. In each area the way actual technologies work are different.
In the
slowness for instance you can't travel faster thal light. In the
transcend just
about anything is possible. Dependent on which area your civilisation is
in, you
can be more or less technologically advanced. The only problem is that
high
tech stuff doesn't work in the lower areas of space. Therefore no
transcend
techs in the slowness, etc. This creates some interesting possibilities.
<<

This sounds all too like the city of Cynosure from the comics Warp and
GrimJack (especially the latter). "Sweet, cynical Cynosure" is located
at
something like the centre of time and space, and all sorts of dimensions
phase
in and out of the place (don't get me started on the "snowballs" <g>).
Plus, the
city itself is made up of a variety of "realities". Magic works here,
science there.
Makes life interesting, especially if you're a cop; there has been at
least one
wonderful scene in which a high-tech assassin didn't watch where he was
going
(actually, he couldn't read), and flew straight into a no-tech zone. So
much for
him after his jetpack stopped working at a thousand feet..!

More to the point, Cynosure Starbase is a fun place to visit. Set up in
an
"everything works" part of town, the flight line can contain all sorts
of things from
"conventional" starships to dragon/pteranodon airliners (think "The
Flintstones")
to DC-10s to sail barges to dirigibles -- if it flies, you're likely to
find it there at
some time.

As someone who has been known to teach people air games by flying
fighters
against a dragon or UFO, I _love_ Cynosure -- and aren't there 10^nth
possibilities for games, particuarly if you're prepared to be a bit
silly..!

Phil
------------------------------------------------------------
"If you let a smile be your umbrella... you'll get wet teeth!"
   -- a forgotten comedian, quoted by me: Phil Atcliffe
				      (p-atclif@uwe.ac.uk)

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