Re: [SG2] [DS2] [semi OT]PA & various B.S..was Women wargamers

At 08:17 PM 9/15/98 -0500, Tom wrote:
>> How about endurance? How long can someone reasonably live
>> in PA without a break, power consumption not withstanding?
>
>Of course, this question applies very indirectly to FT too. How long 
>can you sit at GQ in your vacc suit?

If it's just the vac suit, all closed up, maybe not too long.  If you
can
get air/power connections from the ship, and/or work with your helmet
off
but attached or nearby, maybe longer.  I imagine tubes or something
would
be provided for bodily waste, since the body can do some... involuntary
reactions on occation.	Probably the same for power armor.

>>At least the
>> GZG PA suits are very short duration affairs, with the NSL suit
lasting the
>> longest at 48 hours (with unconfortable ramifications for the
wearer).
SST and
>> Steakly's ARMOR PA suits are not very long duration affairs either.

Well, Steakly's were supposed to be good for five days, under "standard"
combat conditions.  Whatever those are.  Banshee was just a bit...
unfriendly.

>In fact, one point made by someone else (can't recall the book, 
>female protagonist with ex-marine military training in combat PA) was 
>that you needed to be really good to use PA to full advantage (if you 
>weren't you'd fall over, break stuff, hurt yourself with your high 
>strength, etc.). In this series, only real pros could jack up to 400% 
>muscle and reflex boost - must be rock steady or you'll twitch and 
>knock your own head off.

Hmm.  _Butterfly and Hellflower_, by Eluki Bes Shahar, makes some of
those
points briefly, but without the numbers.  So I don't think that's what
you're thinking of.  Imperial Hoplite Battle Armor: retired from service
and made illegal because it was too dangerous for the user!  (Not to
mention those in the immediate vicinity.  Ook....)

					Aaron Teske
					ateske@HICom.net