EFFECTS OF OPENNESS / CH. 6:BORIS
MARS, MONSOL 22ND AUGUST
“James, Margaret,” Alice said, “First question. Could you confirm to me please that this has a chance of being real?”
“What is 'this'?” Margaret asked.
“'A feasibility study of a forcefield based launch system for Earth-Mars transfer orbit insertion and recovery.'” James read. “Interesting application.”
“So would that be the opposite of the comet-sucker that Ruth wants someone to build her?” Margaret asked.
“I guess so, yes.” James agreed.
“That's not possible either is it?” Alice protested.
“Possible yes. Safe for passing satellites and spacecraft, possibly not," James said.
“You're telling me you routinely move things around with forcefields?”
“No. It's much easier to get a winch, normally. But yes, with a big field generator and the right design, you ought to be able to push something for a few kilometres. Who wrote the paper?”
“Simon's got a post-grad student at the university who thinks orbital mechanics is fun. Simon doesn't like it himself, of course.”
“I don't blame him.”
“According to this paper, 'the potential for lateral correction provided by a narrow focus force cone overcomes drawbacks with hypothetical laser-based launch systems' Which I think means that if you're not on target you can nudge the ship sideways,” Margaret quoted.
“I guess so,” James didn't sound convinced.
“So, Margaret.” Alice said, “As I understand it, a cargo pod is going to be coming for Ruth, with various things that it has been decided she needs, but that's purely one way. Is that right?”
“Yes.” James agreed “And when we say cargo pod, what we're actually talking about is a supply of hydrogen, and a rather clever fusion-powered field generator, with inbuilt self-destruct, just in case.”
“In case what?” Alice asked.
“In case someone decides to take it apart to get a two generation head-start on Simon's work.”
“Two generations?”
“Maybe more, maybe less. That's my just my personal guess.”
“OK. And the reason for doing it that way is to save on the weight?”
“It's supposed to make other things easier too. I think, like slowing down when it gets here.” James said.
“It's going to sprout wings or something?” Alice asked.
“Yes,” Margaret replied.
“That was supposed to be a joke,” Alice protested.
“You must have heard of Amos's flying submarine,” Margaret asked.
“Zero weight, programmable wings, yes. I hear that they are strictly on the 'not good for us' list, given what some militaries would do with them if they could.”
“Start world-war four, you mean?” Margaret asked.
“Hopefully not,” Alice said, “But do I take it that you don't think this paper is full of rubbish?”
“Sadly not, except the bit about course corrections in flight. Tell him to think about a bit about levers for that one.”
“I think he proposes a kilometre deep anchor field for stability. But why sadly?”
“Alice,” Margaret said “It's bad enough Atlantis planning to demonstrate they can deliver a tonne of stuff to Mars if they want to, but can you imagine what would happen to the currency if that toy actually got built?”
“Oh great. Currency collapse, again. So should Simon tell him not to publish?”
“I think as a theoretical paper it's a great concept,” James said, “But I think he ought to talk up the difficulties of steering something that accurately without course corrections, at so on.”
“How's Atlantis going to send Ruth's cargo pod then?”
“If necessary it's going to do some course correcting en-route, the normal way, I'm not sure if they'd be using fusion products or a bit of antimatter, which would be even more efficient, of course.”
“Err.. right. You think Karella might send antimatter on an experimental ship to Mars?”
“I don't know.”
“Let's hope it all works perfectly if she does.”
“It should. But this paper doesn't need to talk about that side of things at all. Oh! The other thing he ought to think about is the radiation burst that Simon knows all about.”
“You mean, you'd have a great big forcefield, pushing a spaceship to Mars, which would make a massive collecting area for high energy particles?”
“Yes. What do you call those radiation belts around Earth? Van something?”
“Van-Allen belts. Yes.”
“Plus of course there's the little problem of aiming right given the weather.”
“It's not going to work, is it? Not at all?”
“I expect all these things will be solvable... eventually.”
“Thanks, James. Does all that mean Ruth won't get her crater-sized swimming pool?”
“I've not spoken to her recently. I personally expect some cheating to make sure it happens.”
“Cheating?”
“The last I heard was that hmm, what shall I call it? Let's call it 'the inter-guild academy of Atlantis' have accepted it as a challenge. I expect there'll be a mixed solution involving stripping out the oxygen and hydrogen from rocks and if necessary a bit of atom smashing to processes something of what's left into say, iron, since that's useful, and hydrogen. I expect that's possible, but its ages since I looked at the periodic table in anger.”
“And you can do that at the sort of industrial speeds she wants?”
“We do like forcefields. They're so very very useful.”
“Hmm. That probably brings me to question two. I've had a message from our friend Harry, who after I'd dropped some appropriate words in their majestys' ears is in Atlantis negotiating for the affections of your friend and in his spare time, no that's wrong of me, anyway, he's also investigating mer culture, and seeing if there is anything at all we could do that would make trade work, other than for beach-front properties, of course. I'll let you see his letter, it's quite long but other than the personal stuff, the summary is, from your position of having grown up in Atlantis and knowing us well if you could think of anything that doesn't break any secrets but is hard for Mer to get, or your designers find tedious, and so on, that he could be making enquiries about. And also, the perennial question: any bright ideas on setting exchange rates?”
“Wood is hard to get. Mass production, as long as you don't try to sell us stuff designed to fail — that'd be offensive, and heavy metals are always useful.”
“Really?”
“It's pretty hard to get hold of most of them from sea water, and a right pain to try and make them by fusion, since they'd rather split than join. But tell Harry to have a chat to the medical profession.”
“The medical profession?”
“Yes. Merfolk might have had fusion technology for a thousand years, but landfolk had antibiotics before merfolk. Medicine might keep people alive, but unfortunately it didn't keep us hidden.”
“That's hardly a justifiable trade, surely? We're not going embargo medicines.”
“Karella probably has not thought of it, but if Harry could offer medical training, access to hospitals, supplies and equipment for a landfolk-style hospital on Atlantis with medical staff, I expect that Karella would leap at it. I'm quite sure the merfolk are fifty years or more behind what landfolk have.”
“Sounds like an interesting possibility. Medical techniques in exchange for construction techniques, perhaps?”
“Sounds like a very possible trade, yes,” James agreed.
“And Harry's really met Lara?” Margaret asked.
“Happy reading,” Alice said.
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HARRY'S LETTER
Dear Alice, do I detect your hand in getting me here so soon? If so, thank you. I certainly saw God's at work as Lara was almost the first person I met here, having been met by Commander Sue Reynolds and Amos Tuna-speed. Lara lived up to her name and I met her knife as well as her tongue in that meeting. Please tell James (or let him and Margaret read this), 'Lara says she hasn't cut anyone's throat since yours, and apologises once more for your wounds.'
My work here is, I suppose, a little like James', I am to learn the culture and find out what I can to help negotiations. Lara is of course a great help in learning the culture, and I guess we've already earned some marks for diplomacy in the commander's book for my part in diffusing what seemed to be growing tension between the sailors and the Merfolk. Apparently every tavern is like the Fiddler's Arms, except the rules of hospitality means guests have to sing first. Lara demanded I sing Amazing Grace if she got a bullseye, which of course she did, and then she caused consternation among the sailors by getting out her blowpipe/flute. She'd already told the sailors it was loaded with a warning dart, which she described as 'a world of pain', as opposed to the normal muscle relaxant. I must say, she plays beautifully. Several of the sailors knew the words and joined in for the second verse, and then the Mer did too.
Sorting out my emotions with regard to Lara is going to take some time, I think. She didn't become a lawyer, as James predicted — I'm not sure her argumentation style as I've met it would fit in a courtroom — although with a little more self control she might do well. As well as this, I see a fragility in her that I think her arguments have been an attempt to hide. Alice, any advice? She knows I expect us to marry, eventually, but what would be best? Merely to wait until we know each other a lot better than we do, or should I also wait until she is more certain of herself? I find comfort in God's words to me, which I have not yet shared with her, but they do not really help me know what to do. I do not really know what to do in my work either. It seemed so simple when His Majesty described it to me, but here I am, in a city of almost a million, told to 'find out what tasks trade or outsourcing would make less onerous, and what resources are hard for the Mer to get hold of.' It seems a daunting task. Could you ask James for advice please, Alice? It strikes me he's in a far more knowledgeable position to ask than either me or Lara. I've just noticed that I've hardly written two consecutive sentences that don't include her somewhere. I'm not sure that's healthy. Or is it simply a reflection of my joy in meeting her, after all these years?
Harry
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LETTER TO HARRY YORK, ATLANTIS. WEDSOL, 24TH AUGUST.
Dear Harry,
Alice tells me I ought to write to you about what 'history' there is between Lara and me, and set the record straight, from my point of view. Feel free to share this with Lara as appropriate. When I was ten and he was seven, Lara's brother Boris loved talking about his wild ideas — I guess you could say he was an ideas person, and they were probably OK ideas for a seven year old, and I found them fun. His ideas were pretty brilliant by the time I left home. It seems from what Ruth said he picked her as his confidant once I'd left. Boris' big sister didn't think much of them when I was in hearing range. So, I liked spending time with him, and she decided that I needed protecting from his ideas, or something. He'd just get going, then she'd come in and start an argument, he'd roll his eyes, I'd shrug and try to argue back, but it seemed to me she spent far too long preparing for them, and I was more interested in her getting frustrated and walking away, so Boris and I could finish talking. I admit to male hormones and she was a pretty girl, but from my perspective it was only ever a case of 'I could like her if she wasn't so annoying.' So, did she ruin our friendship and drive me away? Not really, I don't really see us as having had much of one. She might raise the fact that I asked her to a dance once, when I was 13 or so. That was mainly because the girl I'd really wanted to go with — to the extent that I'd stood in queue for ages to get hold of tickets — turned me down, and my sister said something like dancing with her little brother wasn't her idea of a good time, and I didn't speak to many other girls at the time. Of course, I didn't want to earn another cut on my throat, so I probably didn't tell her she was my last choice, and I'd seriously considered returning the tickets rather than ask her. I do remember that she's a good dancer, by the way. Another thing to point out to her is that if she ever compared her family tree with mine, then it was either so early that I don't remember it or she did it with my sister, not me.
This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
We saw each other a lot, because of being almost neighbours and the draw of Boris' wild plans for space flight — which are, I believe, taking shape to get Ruth's cargo pod here — but I don't think I ever really considered her much more than an annoying part of my world. I write this, knowing it might be painful for her to read it. But, from what Alice has said, she's got a deeper pain that she feels she drives friends away when they get to know her better. In contrast to myself (never considering her a friend and wanting to explore more of the world) I point out another sadness in her life — Zara knew her well, and in no way did Lara drive her away. A tumor that kills within a few weeks of discovery is not a thing anyone should claim as their fault.
I probably could have fallen in love with Zara, indeed I asked her to swap family trees a few times, but she didn't want to risk her friendship with Lara, who by then had taken to making pronouncements about our future, which I denied whenever possible.
Do greet Boris from me if/when you see him. I'm sure he'll be able to introduce you to people on the manufacturing side of things. Oh, he might like to see the attached paper, from a student of Simon's.
James
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MESSAGE TO LARA KNIFETONGUE, ATLANTIS. FRISOL, 26TH AUGUST
Lara,
Harry wants me to write to you directly, rather than showing you what I told him. He thinks I was a bit too blunt, I expect. So do I, in retrospect. So, I want you to think and ponder these things:
1. Zara was your best friend. She knew, I expect, your every secret thought, and you never drove her away.
2. As far as I remember, we never swapped family trees, or if we did it was when I was too ignorant to know what it meant. You did teach me a lot, I admit, but I wasn't a willing student; I didn't really appreciate the distraction from talking to Boris.
3. I asked Zara on numerous occasions — roughly once a term, I think — to swap family trees. She refused, because she thought it would hurt you. Sorry, I probably thought that was a plus point.
4. You said when I left Atlantis that you'd marry my best friend. I probably smiled, thinking really? You thought you'd marry Boris? I commend to you instead the man who was my best male friend on Mars. You can't have my best friend, she's called Margaret.
5. You dance excellently. I might have said that, but I'm not sure I ever admitted to you that I got those dance tickets planning to invite Tina, who rejected me, and then my big sister turned me down too. I almost retuned them, but the office was closed. I remember it as a fun evening and so unusual being near you without much risk of bloodshed, but I don't think I ever had any thought that we'd do it again — I didn't want you to think I was hiding any feelings for you. Make sure you get Harry to take you dancing, but you'll have to explain a lot of things to him first. Have you pondered those things? I have, and looking back on it, I guess we were friends of a disputing sort, and that means we probably still are friends, because we share memories and I certainly don't wish you ill. I just knew we'd be a disaster as a couple and you wouldn't admit defeat on any point, would you? Please admit defeat on that point and accept you haven't driven away any real friends I can think of, certainly not ones you weren't trying to re-make in your image. distinctly not yours, except in the politeness sense,
James Montgomery
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MESSAGE TO JAMES MONTGOMERY, MARS FRIDAY 31ST AUGUST
James, Ruth says you two delayed swapping family trees until it was almost too late. Your oath covers such things as well? Sorry to be blunt and self-centred, but does that affect me and Harry too? Pondering things you asked me to, you meant it, didn't you? When you repeatedly told me you'd rather fall on my knife than marry me? We must have compared trees, surely? Surely it would have occurred to you to compare them as ammunition against my unswerving conviction that I was right?
Oh. I've just asked Boris. He says the two of you did discuss trees, and you decided that being fourth cousins wouldn't be enough to shut me up. It should have been. But.... urm, maybe not, and yes, he's right, you discussing it might have encouraged me. Moving on to another subject, I'm glad you never told me about asking Zara to swap trees. I might have reacted badly, and thank you for the example of a lasting friend.
Does Harry ever react badly? I've probably got a schoolgirl crush on him, considering him perfect in every way. But please don't tell him that. It scares me. I don't want to put my knife to his neck so much as my fingertips or my lips. How can I write such things? I'm shocking myself. Fortunately I'm in control of myself enough not to give in. Let me rephrase that. So far I have been. He has a fine singing voice too. Please, tell me he has some faults. I want to love the man as a human, not worship him in the place of God. I named him my suitor, but eventually he needs a better name. Can you think of one? If I can't think of one does that mean I don't know him well enough to answer the question I imagine I see in his eyes every time we meet?
your old nemesis,
Lara
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MESSAGE TO LARA KNIFETONGUE, ATANTIS. 9AM THURSOL 1ST SEPTEMBER
Lara! Precision! In no way do I accept you attaching the label 'nemesis' to yourself. You weren't out to destroy me, just... correct my slovenly ways. You probably succeeded fairly well, too. Anyway... you asked about Harry's faults? Yes, be assured he has them.
And yes, I can think of a name, but surely the name should come from you?
I seem to remember that's a tradition, isn't it?
James
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MESSAGE TO LARA KNIFETONGUE, ATANTIS. 10AM THURSOL 1ST SEPTEMBER
Hello Lara!
In case you're wondering, yes, I did mean to annoy you in my first non-answer about Harry's flaws. Have you introduced him to the medical staff yet? Not to mention told him about the relative values of things, as illustrated by your mother's necklace?
Hey, isn't it Saturday there? There must be a dance sometime.
James.
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LETTER TO JAMES MONTGOMERY, MARS SUNDAY 2ND SEPTEMBER
James, Lara told me your last message to her was really trying to make her annoyed, but that then you made up for it by making her get me onto a dance floor. I agree, she's an excellent dancer. I just wish I was half as good.
You once told me that different people had different ideas of what conservative meant. Were you thinking of Lara, by any chance?
Thank you for reminding her to introduce me to the medics... Alice had mentioned it. I see what you mean. Your old friend Boris is amazing. You totally failed to mention him being wheel-chair bound. Or whatever you call that thing. I presume that it's all forcefields? Lara's just peered over my shoulder and told me Boris invented it himself, after you'd gone. She's very proud of her little brother by the way, justifiably so. Did you know that the thing Atlantis is going to send to Mars soon is almost entirely his design? I thought Amos' flying submarine was impressive, but... wow!
He read the paper from Simon's student, grinned and declared the student a kindred spirit. The attached letters are a reply to him and a covering letter to you.
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ATTACHMENT: MESSAGE TO ROBERT YOUNG, RESEARCH STUDENT, MARS.
Dear Robert,
I really like your thinking, but I'd like to point out some practical downsides of your design.
Firstly, and possibly even most importantly, there is the issue of what it might do to your economy and culture on Mars. Cheap transport isn't good when transport cost defines your currency, after all. This is a similar issue that we face in Atlantis, that the tourists on planet Earth who'd like to visit our home outnumber our population by orders of magnitude. Also, on Mars you, as we, have limited accommodation. You might see what we're doing with Atlantis-2, and think that building accommodation is the least of our problems, but since we have no desire to be outnumbered in our own homes we've no plans to build Atlantis-3,4,5 etc. any time soon. Also, due to our strange cultural outlook, the main reason the builders are getting it all done so quickly is so they can go back to working on what they like doing.
Secondly, as you've rightly noted, the radiation collected from it staying in the Van-Allen belts is going to be nasty. For our package to Mars we're going to be accelerating it at about 20G and making sure the field doesn't get to the radiation belts.
Thirdly, something you've not thought of, I think, is what trapping a large proportion of all the particles from the belts would do to the belts themselves. The physics of space-plasma isn't exactly my field but by gut instinct is that you really don't want to deplete those belts. My general attitude when messing with forces I don't understand is ask a lot of experts before breaking the planet.
I mentioned that we work hard on government stuff so we can spend time on what we like doing. Personally, what I like doing is playing with forcefields for space exploration, as it seems you do, and I've done some calculations based what I think is your (as in h.sap.terrestrialis) force-field technological ability. If it is then you'll get a copy. This is in line with something my cousin Ruth asked me about. It needs a bit of refining, but I think (assuming it gets passed on to you) you'll see the correlation with what you present in your paper.
Do feel free to discuss it with Ruth (our Mars ambassador) and eventually with the Mars Council. As I'm sure you learned when young, if you ask first then instead of being 'a mad scientist playing with things you barely understand and putting all our lives at risk', then you're 'a bold and intrepid researcher pushing back the frontiers of science'.
As well as keeping you out of deep deep trouble when you drastically alter the geopolitics forever, my sister assures me that the latter label is a lot better for meeting pretty girls. Maybe my Mars delivery will do it for me... I still live in hope.
Boris
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ATTACHMENT FOR JAMES, MARS.
Hi James,
Hey, you got there and found a girl, and found someone for Lara! Wow, talk about progress! Now it's just me and Ruth you need to match-make for. Know anyone suitable? If so, I'd love to try out the manned version of Ruth's little care package, and if it's in the name of love then I might even be able to twist Karella's arm — look what Amos managed to get permission for!
Could you have a look at the design I've attached to send to Robert, and make sure it's not giving away any secrets of the deep? Then if it's OK, translate it for the guy. They've got slippery fields, field-confined fusion, and I know they did some stuff with flanged fields for Restoration. Was that from multiple emitters, or were they actually bending the field? Is there anything in this that they don't have?
I'm attaching a yes/no questionnaire that it'd be good to have the answers to. Hopefully that doesn't give anything away. In case it does, I've added in some plausible-sounding science fiction in there too. Warn whoever answers about that, so they don't go thinking that just because I've asked about it then it's really possible.
If you think it is OK for Robert to get the plans, then it'd go quite a way to provide the comet eater / pool filler for Ruth, and then all we'd need to do is provide some nice big comets to fill her pool. She talks about two km diameter comets, but really, bigger ones are far better, if you ask me. After all, the attached design can cope with 15km ones, and three of those a year sounds much easier to cope with than two or three 2km ones per day. Keep thinking big!
Boris.
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FINDHORN-BUNTING RESIDENCE, SATURSOL, 3RD SEPTEMBER
“Hi, Simon.” James said, “Did Alice tell you what this is about?”
“Only something about possible misuse of governmental encrypted channels and you needing to check something with me.”
“Urm, yes. Well since I was on the receiving end, I probably don't get in trouble. You know I sent a copy of that paper to a friend in Atlantis?”
“Yes. Robert said it made him feel like a fourteen year old being told his aircraft design had made it's way to a top airline manufacturer — embarrassed and proud and not sure what to expect next.”
“Well, my friend Boris, also known as Harry's almost-certainly-future-wife's brother, has replied. For the record, he's about Ruth's age and is chief designer for Ruth's cargo delivery.”
“Urm, OK.”
“But he doesn't want to give away any secrets, so he'd like me to get a questionnaire filled out. Would you be willing to answer some yes-no questions about the current state of knowledge in forcefields?”
“Urm, sure.”
“Oh, before I ask, I need to state that some of what I'm asking about are purely science fiction, so don't take a question as in any way indicating that it's worth investigating.”
“Right.”
“So question one: More than two types of artificial forcefields are known.”
“No.”
“If type one force-fields are flat and slippery, and type two forcefields start as spiky balls, type two forcefields push but do not burn things out of their way.”
“Yes.”
“Type one forcefields cut and burn things in their way, but do not push things as they grow.”
“Yes.”
“Mixing forcefields is possible.”
“What? How?”
“Can I put that as no?”
“OK.”
“Making a type one forcefield with a curve or angle at the end is possible.”
“Apparently so. No idea how though. Write it as no.”
“Making a type two forcefield with a curve or angle at the end is possible.”
“Oh hold on, what does your rock-cutter use? Well, does it matter? No to both questions.”
“Making a type 1 forcefield sit still on another type 1 forcefield is possible.”
“I think they did that in Restoration, yes.”
“Making a type 1 forcefield visible is possible.”
“I doubt it.”
“Making a type 2 forcefield visible is possible.”
“I've seen pictures of Amos's flying fish. No idea how, though.”
“Crushing something contained within a type one forcefield dome by adjusting the power or drive signals is possible.”
“Urm. Slippery sort? It might be, I don't know. Can you record a pass, and I'll ask someone?”
“Of course. Crushing something contained within a type two forcefield dome by adjusting the power or drive signals of is possible.”
“Yes, hold on, a type two dome? I can't make one of those.”
“It might be fiction remember. Crushing something contained within a type two forcefield cone by adjusting the power or drive signals of is possible.”
“Yes.”
“Making a hole in a hard type one forcefield by adjusting drive parameters is possible.”
“Pass, but I'll ask.”
“Making a penetrable patch in a type one forcefield for another forcefield by adjusting drive parameters is possible.”
“Interesting idea. I'll ask.”
“Might be sci-fi, remember. That's it. If you can get those answers soonish then maybe I'll know if your student can make Ruth happy.”
“Pardon? What's Robert done?”
“With all questions answered, then I can maybe translate an attachment for him, in which case Ruth's swimming pool filling comet catcher takes a step closer to reality.”
“Oh, well, why don't I just make a quick call or three then?"