The_LED_Museum
*Retired*
Thought I'd throw in a fun diversion here.
Picture this.
It's February 2003. NASA has unveiled its warp program more than 60 years ahead of schedule, and you get to fly the first manned mission to another star system.
Scientists at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory have detected some unusual events occurring in the Vega system. Your job is to fly the new warp ship to that system, take some measurements, and fly back with the data.
FYI, Vega is a hot little bluish-white star, probably a type A2 star on the Stellar Classification System. For the purposes of these scenarios, assume it has a number of planets orbiting it; and at least one may harbor a warp-capable species.
Scene 1: You climb in the much smaller than expected "pod", achieve and then break out of Earth's orbit, and it's off to the races. Once you pass the orbit of Mars, your autopilot locks onto the Vega system, and the warp drive kicks in. Within moments, you're clear of Earth's star system. NASA expects it will take you just under a week to reach the Vega system. But three days into your trip, the warp drive shuts down, taking main power and most of the cabin lighting with it. You reach behind the seat, and in the quickly-fading glow of your dome light, see a red Infinity, a white Arc-LS, and a Lambda Hydra in a pouch on your seatback. Being in interstellar space, the light levels are very low, so you can't make the repair without a flashlight. Your job is to open an access panel (equipped with a safety interlock), dump in a new jar of Folger's Dilithium Crystals to restart your warp drive, and then affix the access panel back over the port to close the safety interlock and allow power to resume. Which flashlight do you choose, and why did you choose it?
Scene 2: You've reached the Vega system, and your automatic pilot automatically drops your ship out of warp. It'll take the better part of a day to coast in the rest of the way. After about six hours, you hear a buzzing, popping kind of sound, your cabin & panel lights all extinguish, and the blast shutters on your windshield begin to extend. You have only a few seconds to choose a flashlight and replace that pesky fuse that just blew. Who knows what kind of "welcoming committee" is at this very moment sitting right off your bow. Again, which flashlight do you choose, and why?
Last scene: After almost two weeks, you return home. You found no life, but collected a ton of data on the star itself and took some nice pictures of several of its inner planets. Before contacting NASA, you feel a strong need to go sit on the john. But oh oh, the light in the potty just done gone out on you. Still in Earth orbit, you look down and see city lights over North America. That means the Sun is on the other side, and your cabin is fairly dim. But you need that potty. Again, which flashlight do you grab, and why?
BTW: This is a zero-gravity environment, and size / weight is not to be an issue in your choice.
I'll offer my choices and my reasonings behind them after I see a few of yours.
Picture this.
It's February 2003. NASA has unveiled its warp program more than 60 years ahead of schedule, and you get to fly the first manned mission to another star system.
Scientists at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory have detected some unusual events occurring in the Vega system. Your job is to fly the new warp ship to that system, take some measurements, and fly back with the data.
FYI, Vega is a hot little bluish-white star, probably a type A2 star on the Stellar Classification System. For the purposes of these scenarios, assume it has a number of planets orbiting it; and at least one may harbor a warp-capable species.
Scene 1: You climb in the much smaller than expected "pod", achieve and then break out of Earth's orbit, and it's off to the races. Once you pass the orbit of Mars, your autopilot locks onto the Vega system, and the warp drive kicks in. Within moments, you're clear of Earth's star system. NASA expects it will take you just under a week to reach the Vega system. But three days into your trip, the warp drive shuts down, taking main power and most of the cabin lighting with it. You reach behind the seat, and in the quickly-fading glow of your dome light, see a red Infinity, a white Arc-LS, and a Lambda Hydra in a pouch on your seatback. Being in interstellar space, the light levels are very low, so you can't make the repair without a flashlight. Your job is to open an access panel (equipped with a safety interlock), dump in a new jar of Folger's Dilithium Crystals to restart your warp drive, and then affix the access panel back over the port to close the safety interlock and allow power to resume. Which flashlight do you choose, and why did you choose it?
Scene 2: You've reached the Vega system, and your automatic pilot automatically drops your ship out of warp. It'll take the better part of a day to coast in the rest of the way. After about six hours, you hear a buzzing, popping kind of sound, your cabin & panel lights all extinguish, and the blast shutters on your windshield begin to extend. You have only a few seconds to choose a flashlight and replace that pesky fuse that just blew. Who knows what kind of "welcoming committee" is at this very moment sitting right off your bow. Again, which flashlight do you choose, and why?
Last scene: After almost two weeks, you return home. You found no life, but collected a ton of data on the star itself and took some nice pictures of several of its inner planets. Before contacting NASA, you feel a strong need to go sit on the john. But oh oh, the light in the potty just done gone out on you. Still in Earth orbit, you look down and see city lights over North America. That means the Sun is on the other side, and your cabin is fairly dim. But you need that potty. Again, which flashlight do you grab, and why?
BTW: This is a zero-gravity environment, and size / weight is not to be an issue in your choice.
I'll offer my choices and my reasonings behind them after I see a few of yours.
