Star Trek

[Green1]

Wasn't it the Dilbert guy who observed that the holodeck would be humanity's LAST invention?

Only if, what dareen and I contend is wrong and society values do not change.

Things remain as is. Yes...

But do not worry... if society stays as is, the holodeck would be used for control. You would have 15 minute tampon commercials every 5 minutes during your RL virtual porn star wife fantasy, thank you. Of course, directly imprinting the nurons in your brain so you would not be able to get rid of the tampon jingle

[Green1]

God... holodeck brain adware .......

[Buster's Uncle]

THAT'S no utopian vision of the future...

[Doc Nebula]

There is no gravity, Gene Roddenberry just sucks?

[Buster's Uncle]

Well, it starts with the plainly observable fact that everyone's artificial gravity is insanely reliable.

[Green1]

Well, it starts with the plainly observable fact that everyone's artificial gravity is insanely reliable.

Sci fi shows really should work on that. But, that, like the teleporter was all about budget.

[Buster's Uncle]

Clearly, none of this is original intent, but not only is it crazy reliable, but so cheap they put it everywhere, and every. single. species. that makes it into space has it.

[Doc Nebula]

My theory is, all pulp fiction takes place in a virtual reality.   Especially superhero fiction.  In these virtual realities, the laws of physics are just code.  You want a character/person to do extraordinary things, change the code.

[Green1]

My theory is, all pulp fiction takes place in a virtual reality.   Especially superhero fiction.  In these virtual realities, the laws of physics are just code.  You want a character/person to do extraordinary things, change the code.

But, it goes by your original point. Us sci fi folks WANT realism, not VR unless VR is called for.

But, you know, in video media I can not really think of anyone that does the gravity thing right. In fact, I can only think of these examples:

Apollo 19, PlanetES (but the Manga is annoying), Moonlight Mile, The Europa Report, Moon, 2001 and 2010. Maybe more, but sheesh.

[Buster's Uncle]

My theory is, all pulp fiction takes place in a virtual reality.   Especially superhero fiction.  In these virtual realities, the laws of physics are just code.  You want a character/person to do extraordinary things, change the code.

Yeah, but it's more fun to pretend it's real and try to make sense of it.  A game at least as old as the existence of nerds.


So I conclude this:  in the ST universe, there's stuff about how gravity works that was discovered by the mid 90's.  Khan's ship had artificial gravity, and it wasn't spinning or accelerating.  So there's a way to make, dunno, a gravity deck plating cheaply that works for a very long time with little or no power input.  Every race discovers this application of the law of gravity pretty soon after they go into space.  The same, or similar, techniques make for a nifty non-reaction gravity drive, which Starfleet calls "impulse".  A slightly more sophisticated application involving the interaction of fields from two gravity generators distorts warps space-time and makes for a nifty FTL drive.  Thus, everyone and his mother has a FTL starship with two drive pylons of some sort.  Both types of drive take a lot more juice then the deck plates because the gravity fields, by the nature of the thing, are not static, but have to expand and contract and vary in intensity.  That Warp is probably by an order of magnitude more power-hungry than Impulse naturally follows.

[Doc Nebula]

My theory is, all pulp fiction takes place in a virtual reality.   Especially superhero fiction.  In these virtual realities, the laws of physics are just code.  You want a character/person to do extraordinary things, change the code.

Yeah, but it's more fun to pretend it's real and try to make sense of it.  A game at least as old as the existence of nerds.


So I conclude this:  in the ST universe, there's stuff about how gravity works that was discovered by the mid 90's.  Khan's ship had artificial gravity, and it wasn't spinning or accelerating.  So there's a way to make, dunno, a gravity deck plating cheaply that works for a very long time with little or no power input.  Every race discovers this application of the law of gravity pretty soon after they go into space.  The same, or similar, techniques make for a nifty non-reaction gravity drive, which Starfleet calls "impulse".  A slightly more sophisticated application involving the interaction of fields from two gravity generators distorts warps space-time and makes for a nifty FTL drive.  Thus, everyone and his mother has a FTL starship with two drive pylons of some sort.  Both types of drive take a lot more juice then the deck plates because the gravity fields, by the nature of the thing, are not static, but have to expand and contract and vary in intensity.  That Warp is probably by an order of magnitude more power-hungry than Impulse naturally follows.

That works.  I'm no physicist... in fact, for a geek I'm pretty dumb... but in EARTHQUEST, I have Webster Madison discover that the entire galaxy pretty much runs on artificial microsingularities.  They use them for everything, from cheap energy to artificial gravity.   

On the other hand, they've never invented computers. They have some really huge complex mechanical calculating machines, but most ship piloting is done as in STARMAN JONES... laboriously, from books and tables, using mechanical aids.  Some of the richer organizations have genetically engineered idiot savants specifically to calculate things. 

They've never invented much in the way of TV, vcrs, or image transmission, either.  They have it, but its crude and bulky... Webster revolutionizes it pretty easily, and invents a 3D hologram projector, too, which he sells for billions... or, rather, enough to re equip his stolen spaceship so he can get on with his search for Earth.

But they do have focused energy weapons, artificial gravity, and a weird faster than light drive... they can travel from star to star at irrelevant velocities, but only by 'skating' along gravitic starpaths between stars.  You blast up out of a star's gravity well to the outer rim of the system, find the starpath leading to a neighboring star, hop onto it by manipulating your ship's EM field, and then blast along it.  In the starpaths, for some reason, Einsteinian physics is suspended, and you can build up a lot of velocity.

Then you hop out again, hopefully having calculated your departure point correctly.  Otherwise, you may end up too close to the sun at the other end of your chosen path, or to close to something planet sized, and... whoops.  From hell's heart I spit at thee.  Briefly. 

[Buster's Uncle]

I came up with that ST gravity theory about six months ago, and it kinda thrills me how well it fits the observable facts, and how much sense it makes.  I can't even think of anything in fake ST that contradicts this.  I'm amazed that it was even possible in a universe so thoroughly pawed-through by so many paws for so many years with no plan - it shouldn't be possible.  I think I win the innerwebs today -when I can get on, anyway.  The making sense game can be a lot of fun.

Of course, if someone made that much sense of something in Dr Who, I'd consider myself utterly topped...

[Doc Nebula]

DR WHO exists in a virtual reality.  I don't care how much fun that isn't.  It has to be true.

[Buster's Uncle]

Still more fun to make sense of it - if you can.

[Doc Nebula]

Make sense of DR. WHO?  That's insane troll logic, sir.