mytholder: Now We Are Here, General Transmission 0

Mytholder (

mytholder) wrote,
@ 2007-10-03 02:15:00

Entry tags:

now we are here

Now We Are Here, General Transmission 0
>C-link engaged
>PROSPERO network open/general/secpro: null/xprospero
>SUBJECT: Welcome back

Please remain calm – disorientation and memory loss are common side effects of long-term stasis. My diagnostics show that both you and your c-link implants are fully functional, and you should be fully recovered shortly.

I am Prospero, the artificial intelligence system of the St. Andrew colony ship, launched 2124 from Ganymede. You have been in stasis for the duration of our journey to Serendipity.

Now we are here.

To confirm that you are suffering no serious disorientation or communications problems, please confirm your primary speciality.

Poll #1065049 Colony Sign-In
Open to: All, results viewable to: All

What is your speciality?

View Answers

Survey
14 (18.7%)

Engineering
20 (26.7%)

Medical
14 (18.7%)

Science
16 (21.3%)

Security
11 (14.7%)

The St. Andrew has arrived at Serendipity intact after our journey of 247 years, and we shall land on our new home within ten days. Please excuse any eccentricities on the part of the Flight crew – unlike the rest of the colonists, who like yourself slept out the journey in stasis, Flight were required to live on board for the full duration of the voyage, and are unused to so many (or, indeed, any) new faces.

We knew Serendipity was an earth-like and life-supporting world before the journey began, but it was only as we approached the system that I was able to dispatch long-range probes to gather hard data about the world's climate and ecology. Serendipity's axial tilt is higher than that of Earth, but the planet is hotter and wetter as a whole, so the planet's land surface is covered by ice-caps (15%), jungles (32%) and little other terrain (6%).

You have been awoken early because mission protocol dictates that any decisions affecting the well-being of the whole colony be made using c-link consensus. The first decision facing us is the location of our initial base. Long-range probes have identified three candidate sites.

Site #1 is a small island off the coast of the main continent. The advantages of this site are its isolation and ease of access. However, extremes of weather may pose a danger here.

Site #2 is a plateau in the jungles of the primary continent. This location has abundant natural resources and plenty of room for expansion. The downside is that it is thickly overgrown and a great deal of effort would be required to clear it for landing and building.

Site #3 is far to the north of the other two, in the wooded hills on the edge of the tundra. Conditions here are much colder and less pleasant, but it is ideally suited as a landing strip and also has natural resources that will be of use to us.

We must have consensus on this initial site before we begin aerobraking. Giant colony ships are a bitch to park.

Poll #1065050 Select a colony site
Open to: All, results viewable to: All

Which landing site should we use?

View Answers

Site 1
5 (7.6%)

Site 2
20 (30.3%)

Site 3
39 (59.1%)

Other (suggest in comments)
2 (3.0%)

(Post a new comment)

	allandaros 2007-10-03 01:51 am UTC (link)
	Site 3 - island and jungle colonies seem a bit risky to me. (Reply to this)

	zarkia 2007-10-03 02:27 am UTC (link)
	i seem to be the one who ruined the consensus. jungle plateau all the way, baby, yeah! (Reply to this)(Thread)

	allandaros 2007-10-03 02:58 am UTC (link)
	Bad Things have a higher likelihood of living in the jungle. Didn't you watch Predator? Apocalypse Now? The jungle can only lead to Bad Things. Or possibly Baloo from the Jungle Book, but that's less likely. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	specieszero 2007-10-03 04:59 am UTC (link)
	I don't think I'd want to eat any prickly pears offered by an alien version of Baloo. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	kshandr 2007-10-03 08:34 am UTC (link)
	Site 3, the better to not disturb any indigenous fauna - which are more likely to live in the jungle. Expeditions can be sent there later. I'm sure that space and resources are likely to be the most important concerns for now. My only concern is whether or not Site #3 has enough room for our undoubted expansion. (well you shouldn't have left the post open, then!) (Reply to this)

	ocultado 2007-10-03 09:02 am UTC (link)
	We can ride out the weather in the ship, but the island is the only thing that will keep us safe from the monsters. Did I mention the monsters? I see them all the time. There's some there. From our secure island base we can move slowly and carefully outwards once we find safe places to travel to. (Reply to this)

bcwalker
2007-10-03 09:22 am UTC (link)

None of the above.

The ship shall remain in a stable orbit above the planet while teams collect local system materials for construction of a permanent orbital facility. This facility shall primarily concern itself with industry, obviating the need to construct groundside factories, including fuel.

All three landing sites shall, in turn, be seized and built upon with the intention of connecting them through the orbital facility by way of a skyhook--or space elevator--tether. The jungle site shall be primarily concerned with agricultural production, while the island site shall be a base for launching (and, in time, colonizing) the undersea habitat. The arctic site shall be the groundside site for research and development that doesn't need microgravity for best effects and isn't slanted towards agricultural needs.

The overall plan is to build an interdependent web of communities in orbit, on the ground and under the seas so as to maximize colonial development while maintaining sustainability and social order.

(Reply to this)(Thread)

	scintilla_tales 2007-10-03 09:49 am UTC (link)
	With regards to the time-frames the above plan would involve: medical personnel are concerned with the medium-term load life-support was designed to take. Not to mention the psychological effects of on board confinement after long-term stasis. Prospero's report lacks any data on indigenous life - why might this be? (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

mytholder
2007-10-04 01:06 pm UTC (link)

My probes aren't exactly equipped with butterfly nets, you know.

As for keeping the ship in orbit - while the drive spine and other modules will remain in orbit, the core landing module is largely useless unless it's on the ground (hence the name 'core landing module'). We can delay detaching the CLM for a while, but that condemns the majority of the crew to stasis while we wait, and that'll make them cranky.

Prospero
Plus, the Flight crew probably want you out of their home

(Reply to this)(Parent)

cerandor
2007-10-03 10:15 am UTC (link)

Site 3 is the only logical option. Although we can cannibalise the St. Andrew for resources once we have landed, this is at best as short-term option. We must establish an industrial base and a firm foothold planetside as soon as possible in order to cope with the unexpected.

With regard to the isolation of the island site, it should be noted that island fauna can be more unpredictable in their variations of form and function than those facing competition from diverse continental populations. This would add an element of risk to what is a critically important stage of our colonisation effort.

(Reply to this)(Thread)

	luddism 2007-10-03 04:26 pm UTC (link)
	I concur. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	mylescorcoran 2007-10-03 12:17 pm UTC (link)
	Great set up! Though should I be worried that the AI is controlled by the Paranoia author. A mad computer would be so old hat, no? (Reply to this)

(Anonymous)
2007-10-04 12:10 am UTC (link)

Site 3 for the main base. Those expressing interest in the other sites can be rostered for recce missions to those sites once the initial colony base is built.

Keeping the St Andrew in orbit and any shuttles or aircraft it contains operational for as long as possible would seem like a good contingency in case the biosphere is more hostile than it seems. There's no point in burning our boats before we've done anything more than had a look at the beach.

The mothership can be used for planetary survey and weather monitoring/forecasting long after the main body of the colonists have gone downwell. Advance warning of adverse weather will be most useful, especially if the world seems to have more extreme climatic conditions than Earth.

Shuttles to survey site 3 with small advance parties comprising a useful mix of disciplines. Once we have verified that the site is safe and adequate shelters and facilities have been built, we can begin transfer of the main body of colonists. Until then, everyone else will assist in orbital survey work and in preparing for the transfer of equipment and personnel.

P.

(Reply to this)

amcathra
2007-10-04 12:45 pm UTC (link)

Ditto for keeping the mothership in orbit as long as possible as backup. This is assuming a core colony can be established by shuttle.

Site 3 sounds the safest bet from initial reports.

Not sure of the implications of the lack of animal life until the native flora is examined more carefully, and the fossil record.

Any sign of extinction events from orbit, e.g. large craters of the dinosaur killer variety.

(Reply to this)(Thread)

	mytholder 2007-10-04 01:03 pm UTC (link)
	There is some animal (or animal-analogue at any rate, but if we get into a debate about taxonomy we'll be here all night) life on Serendipity, but my probes haven't been able to get any worthwhile information. No obvious extinction-artefacts, but it's a big and overgrown world. Prospero And they call me paranoid (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

scintilla_tales
2007-10-04 02:28 pm UTC (link)

You'll have to excuse us harping on the issue Prospero, but we did imagine your probes might at the very least produce visuals that could classify passing fauna into say, "bigger than a pony", "smaller than a pony" or "fuck me, are those teeth?"

I imagine the mission criteria sets this as a priority somewhere lower than establishing what pathogenic life might be present on Serendipity, us having the guns and all that, possibly eplaining your rather cool response to these questions, but such concerns tap into not only genetically selected fears about one's environment, but will also feature greatly in the quality of day to day life for our colonists. What birds will represent our freedom? How many heads will our children's boogeymen have? Will we have sharks with heads flat enough that we can mount lasers on them?

Humour us.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	mytholder 2007-10-04 06:01 pm UTC (link)
	Someone's cranky after coming out of stasis! About the only thing I'm sure of is that there's no technologically advanced species on the planet. I did detect creatures that appear to be somewhere between your first and third classifications, but the probes were designed to scan the topography and geology, not the biology. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	amcathra 2007-10-04 12:53 pm UTC (link)
	Though an aggresssive commercial colony would probably drop a rock from orbit to near the site 2 plateau to deforest it, and settle there. No evidence of any locals to annoy. Yeah, right. Gamers are so paranoid. It's as if they know that they are in some sort of narrative demanding dramatic complications. (Reply to this)(Thread)

	jonnynexus 2007-10-05 12:21 pm UTC (link)
	That's a genius idea! (Reply to this)(Parent)

	lilfluff 2007-10-10 08:39 am UTC (link)
	So, if I want to be the colony missions Spunky Mascot Kid (Who wouldn't like to pretend to be a quarter century younger?) would that be Medical (chasing the kid out of your room or work area is cardio exercise) or Security ("Hey, did you know what Dr. Smith is up to?"). I think I shall vote Medical. (Remember, growing older may be the law, but growing up is optional) (Reply to this)

	eng_monkey 2007-10-12 12:47 pm UTC (link)
	Is there any possible coastal sites? (Reply to this)

	Survey checking in. craigoxbrow 2007-10-12 06:49 pm UTC (link)
	Looking at the numbers... we need more Security. (Reply to this)

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