Page 205: What does kKt mean?

[Bamax]

Because it would be a standard feature of TL10 military helmet faceplates to restrict brightness exceeding a certain level (as the shuttle cockpit canopy is, which is why Alex and Beryl are not currently blind).

Are even the helmet visors poweful enough not to be overloaded or is that a property of the material itself?

I also recall an idea for a "vision-impairing" bomb for such a situation from a sci-fi story I've read. A container releasing compressed and now rapidly expanding (due to a memory effect or a chemical reaction) ultra-low density "fluff" particles made from something like aerogels, quickly filling up the field of vision, yet still being transparent for radar. Or do the Loroi helmets have additional sensors?

My thought is that the "glass" material would automatically dim in response to off-limit light sources, but would "fail" when overloaded by becoming permanently opaque, which is what happened to the shuttle canopy. Which is why there are no stars visible in pp.195-199. Which might result in the wearer being blinded anyway, but at least not permanently blind (or dead).

Anyhow, I try to proceed from the assumption that tactical "tricks" in use today probably have technological countermeasures, where feasible.

So flash bangs are still useful then?

Too bad poor buggy did not think to use any...for him. But good for the team....unless the Umiak put him as bait for the team and a whole bunch are watching and waiting behind him?

A flash bang would at the very least blind their helmet visors, which would at least somewhat impair Teidar and Mizol, and definitely the rest if all their helmets blacked out.

That said, you could always say that a light source powerful enough to blacken the helmet is powerful enough to destroy the whole room!

Which the missile blast that blinded the shuttle surely was.

Then you have a perfect excuse why the Umiak is not using flash bangs....because any flash bang powerful enough to blind Loroi visors is a bomb that will blow up that part of the shuttle...and they want the shuttle intact.

[Overkill Engine]

True, wetware is somewhat more difficult to hack than software too. Meat-drones also self repair and self supply to an extent too "out of the box" compared to mechanical ones. Fewer issues with EMP, etc.

But we are seeing wetware being "hacked" right on this page!? Assuming Fireblade is bending minds and not light.

I am assuming Fireblade is using telekinesis, not telepathy. And if the former can be considered hacking, then so can any other manifestation of physical force lol. I am also assuming the darkness is something and mundane and low effort as simply cutting the lights.

[Arioch]

I think that in order to bend light, you'd need black hole levels of spacetime distortion, the tidal forces from which would tear everyone and everything in the vicinity apart.

[icekatze]

hi hi

Can you imagine trying to operate camera controls over the entirety of the Death Star, using their tech level of interface controls? Just how many kilometers of corridor are there in a small moon of that size? I suppose a droid could do it.

[Mango Mel]

I think that in order to bend light, you'd need black hole levels of spacetime distortion, the tidal forces from which would tear everyone and everything in the vicinity apart.

Well, if you could pull that off, that would count as distracting.

So it appears they're going to fight with the boarding party? Despite having Fireblade, Tempo, etc., I don't think they can handle an entire ship (https://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider199.html) filled with more umiak that can be used to board the shuttle. Even if they fend off the boarding party, I just imagine the umiak blowing the ship up just to make sure the Loroi don't get their hands on whatever is on it.

I'm totally looking forward to seeing how they get out of this.

[Jagged]

hi hi

Can you imagine trying to operate camera controls over the entirety of the Death Star, using their tech level of interface controls? Just how many kilometers of corridor are there in a small moon of that size? I suppose a droid could do it.

Well ... you would only respond to changes/movement. So the size of the base is less important than the number of people in it.

[GeoModder]

hi hi

Can you imagine trying to operate camera controls over the entirety of the Death Star, using their tech level of interface controls? Just how many kilometers of corridor are there in a small moon of that size? I suppose a droid could do it.

Well ... you would only respond to changes/movement. So the size of the base is less important than the number of people in it.

There's alot of movement onboard a station the size of a small moon. Just sayin'...

[Ithekro]

Weren't Luke, Han, and Chewie blowing up cameras and weapons around the room when they stormed the detention block?

[CrimsonFALKE]

Seriously though, what does kKt mean?

My guess - "Oooff!", "Damn" or "WTF", or any similar sound one makes when tripping or getting shoved

urk!

What about the rest of what was said by the umaki before it got thrown.

[Bamax]

I think that in order to bend light, you'd need black hole levels of spacetime distortion, the tidal forces from which would tear everyone and everything in the vicinity apart.

Well, if you could pull that off, that would count as distracting.

So it appears they're going to fight with the boarding party? Despite having Fireblade, Tempo, etc., I don't think they can handle an entire ship (https://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider199.html) filled with more umiak that can be used to board the shuttle. Even if they fend off the boarding party, I just imagine the umiak blowing the ship up just to make sure the Loroi don't get their hands on whatever is on it.

I'm totally looking forward to seeing how they get out of this.

Problem resolution by it's very nature offers finite options.

Two well known options are deus ex machina and taking opportunities as they come.

Deus ex machina: Unless done well it can seem like cheating. I do not think it cheating when deus ex machina had a reason to show up, or their showing up at all is at least due in part to character effort...assuming that was shown beforehand. Totally surprise ex deus machina? Seems cheap and unearned to me.

Taking Opportunies As They Come: Essentially making the most of opportunities as they come. This may even involve risks, which may or may not payoff, or may even make things worse.

A fanfic that showed this well was For Want Of A Voxel.

It is an alternative version of Tron Legacy that is more interesting than the movies was. Mote suspense. More danger. It essentially totally earns a PG-13 rating, since Sam Flynn is worse for wear.

In it characters admit several times that they either don't know what to do, have an option but don't want to take it because it's risky, take blind risks not even knowing what will happen next, or finally take the risk they did not want to take if they see no better alternative.

In the end deus ex machina hardly plays a role at all, since even potential enemies who become allies do so in part because Flynn is no fool when it comes to being diplomatic.


Obviiously I prefer taking opportunties to ex deus machina, since in adulthood it is kind of rare if at all that deus ex machina totally solves a particular problem for you. In real life problem resolution involves taking opportunities, making the most of them, some risk, and maybe, just maybe, also a little deus ex machina if you are very fortunate.

Real life is complicated, and fiction reflects that in many ways.

[Arioch]

Constructing problem resolution in fiction that is the most satisfying to the reader is a precarious balancing act, because the resolution is most satisfying when it is surprising, but the tools for achieving the solution need to be shown to (or at least strongly hinted at) the reader beforehand. It's the corollary to the Chekov's Gun principle; if you see a gun on the wall, you know there's a good chance that it's going to be used, but the audience needs to know the gun is there before it is used, because if a gun suddenly appears where it is not expected, that feels like cheating. So the artful challenge is to let the audience see the gun but misdirect its context as much as you can.

The simplest example of bad writing in both problem construction and resolution that I can think of is the ST:TNG episode "Final Mission," in which Wesley and Picard crashland on a desert planet. Picard is injured and in desperate need of water; they find a water source, but it is defended by some kind of very high tech mechanism. The origin of this guardian is not hinted at beforehand or even asked about afterward, and Wesley's solution to this problem is to do some quick button-pushing on his tricorder, and poof, the problem disappears as quickly and inexplicably as it had appeared. Episode over. No explanation for either the problem or the solution.

Writing speculative fiction adds the burden of exposition to this challenge, because you not only have to show the gun, but explain what it is. Ideally you want to show rather than tell whenever possible, so that means sometimes you'll need to bend or even break the above principle, and introduce an alien property or ability by showing it in use, preferably in the solution of a minor problem. The example that pops into my mind is the first time we see Obi-Wan use his Force abilities in Star Wars to "Jedi Mind Trick" the stormtroopers in Mos Eisley. We aren't told that Jedi can do this, but instead shown it in action. But I think that the possibility of such powers is strongly hinted at in the mentions of Jedi in the movie leading up to that point.

There's an additional balancing act in fictional world with a lot of secondary background information; ideally, bonus information should be able to give readers in the know an additional wink or expectation of what may happen, but it should never be required reading for the normal audience to understand what's going on.

In the current situation in Outsider, Fireblade's telekinetic shove was the Chekov's Gun; everyone should already know what Fireblade's psionic ability is (even though the normal audience may not know to what degree). We are about to learn by seeing what Tempo's abilities are through demonstration. Though readers of the background info know exactly what Fireblade's and Tempo's abilities are, the normal audience haven't had any concrete description of what Tempo can do. I have have been deficient in this regard, but I hope that as with Obi-Wan's first Jedi Mind Trick, I hope that there has been sufficient subtle foreshadowing that it doesn't feel like it comes out of thin air... the normal reader knows the Loroi are telepathic, and I think most probably sense that there's more to Tempo that is evident on the surface. I guess we'll find out.

Sorry for the essay.

[Bamax]

Constructing problem resolution in fiction that is the most satisfying to the reader is a precarious balancing act, because the resolution is most satisfying when it is surprising, but the tools for achieving the solution need to be shown to (or at least strongly hinted at) the reader beforehand. It's the corollary to the Chekov's Gun principle; if you see a gun on the wall, you know there's a good chance that it's going to be used, but the audience needs to know the gun is there before it is used, because if a gun suddenly appears where it is not expected, that feels like cheating. So the artful challenge is to let the audience see the gun but misdirect its context as much as you can.

The simplest example of bad writing in both problem construction and resolution that I can think of is the ST:TNG episode "Final Mission," in which Wesley and Picard crashland on a desert planet. Picard is injured and in desperate need of water; they find a water source, but it is defended by some kind of very high tech mechanism. The origin of this guardian is not hinted at beforehand or even asked about afterward, and Wesley's solution to this problem is to do some quick button-pushing on his tricorder, and poof, the problem disappears as quickly and inexplicably as it had appeared. Episode over. No explanation for either the problem or the solution.

Writing speculative fiction adds the burden of exposition to this challenge, because you not only have to show the gun, but explain what it is. Ideally you want to show rather than tell whenever possible, so that means sometimes you'll need to bend or even break the above principle, and introduce an alien property or ability by showing it in use, preferably in the solution of a minor problem. The example that pops into my mind is the first time we see Obi-Wan use his Force abilities in Star Wars to "Jedi Mind Trick" the stormtroopers in Mos Eisley. We aren't told that Jedi can do this, but instead shown it in action. But I think that the possibility of such powers is strongly hinted at in the mentions of Jedi in the movie leading up to that point.

There's an additional balancing act in fictional world with a lot of secondary background information; ideally, bonus information should be able to give readers in the know an additional wink or expectation of what may happen, but it should never be required reading for the normal audience to understand what's going on.

In the current situation in Outsider, Fireblade's telekinetic shove was the Chekov's Gun; everyone should already know what Fireblade's psionic ability is (even though the normal audience may not know to what degree). We are about to learn by seeing what Tempo's abilities are through demonstration. Though readers of the background info know exactly what Fireblade's and Tempo's abilities are, the normal audience haven't had any concrete description of what Tempo can do. I have have been deficient in this regard, but I hope that as with Obi-Wan's first Jedi Mind Trick, I hope that there has been sufficient subtle foreshadowing that it doesn't feel like it comes out of thin air... the normal reader knows the Loroi are telepathic, and I think most probably sense that there's more to Tempo that is evident on the surface. I guess we'll find out.

Sorry for the essay.

No need to be sorry. If I was not interested would I be here?

Tempo? Honestly I never saw ANY clues in the comic that she had any powers.

But if you already know she does from the codex then one expression she makes while Alex is holding the bone knife makes plenty of sense.

Nonetheless if I knew nothing I would just assume she thought it a safety hazard to give someone they don't trust a potential weapon.

Not 'I have powers and will stop you, even if I have to break that Seii knife into pieces.'

Fireblade has been obvious from the beginning.

I do not think you have been deficient with the codex, just not all read it and it clearly states that those selected as Teidar or Mizol all have psonic powers.

Mizol trade power for precision, whereas Teidar trade precision for power.

Together they can be a rather formidable force.

But I actually like that Tempo, sly politician she is, has not told or implied to Alex in ANY way that she is uber in ways Fireblade is not.

Fortunately Tempo is not as ill-tempered as Fireblade either. Fireblade's temper would make her a poor choice for a Mizol anyway.

Even powerless Stillstorm would make a better Mizol LOL.

[Krin]

I think there is a lot going on in terms of the Loroi trying to use their powers on Alex and it not working, both shown and hinted at.

Does Fireblade need to use her arms when using more telekinetic force than normal? Or is that kind of "The motion helps" sort of thing.

[Bamax]

I think there is a lot going on in terms of the Loroi trying to use their powers on Alex and it not working, both shown and hinted at.

Does Fireblade need to use her arms when using more telekinetic force than normal? Or is that kind of "The motion helps" sort of thing.

Oh I would not doubt that at all. Must be frustrating to face a lifeform that is immune to what you tend to dominate everyone else with.


I dunno...could be as simple as, 'readers associate that with superpowers so it's a visual cue'.

Makes it really obvious and looks somewhat more action-like than 'watch my glare as this bot moves across the room.'

At any rate, given Tempo is all about precision, I doubt she would have to move her hands at all.

Of course if Tempo's eyes light up all red she will likely give Alex a scare LOL.

"What? You're a nice one?"

"I like you enough. That's all you need to know for now." would probably be the most honest thing Tempo has said thus far.

Who knows if she has presided over the genocide of an entire world before...but I would not doubt that she likely knows Mizol who have.

Perhaps she has not, but surely being a Mizol she is privy to quite a lot of Loroi political 'dirty laundry'.