Blakes7 May 2001

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84 participants
897 discussions

Shields
by Steve Rogerson 26 May '01

26 May '01

Some thoughts on shields from a breakfast discussion at Eclectic. The question is really do shields stand up to scientific analysis? I'm afraid my science isn't good enough to answer that, so we thought we'd throw it open to the list. The first point is how do shields work? Also, different SF programmes vary on whether you can fire your own weapons when the shields are up. Could a shield be only one way in that it will stop incoming fire but allow outgoing fire to pass through? We learn from Harvest that the Liberator has overlapping shields - what's that about? Why couldn't it have just one big shield? Is there an advantage to overlapping shields? Maybe to allow weapon fire? Also from Harvest, we learn the shields can be detected, otherwise Jarvik couldn't have spotted the gap. How does that work? As you see, lots of questions but not many answers. Any thoughts? -- cheers Steve Rogerson http://homepages.poptel.org.uk/steve.rogerson "In my world, there are people in chains and you can ride them like ponies" The alternative Willow, Buffy the Vampire Slayer

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Re: [B7L] Trust
by Marian de Haan 26 May '01

26 May '01

Leia wrote... >The 'not like us' implies Vila doesn't trust easily (and usually with good reason). He doesn't seem to even trust the rest of the crew demonstrated especially in City at the Edge of the World where he seems quite willing to believe that the others would let Tarrant chuck him off the ship and later is too frightened to swallow the tracer.< I always thought Tarrant's words meant that he could pick up Vila and haul him to the airlock before the others could intervene, rather than that they would stand by and let him kill Vila. Marian

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Re: [B7L] Language (was Geography (was: Eclectic))
by Anna Simpson 26 May '01

26 May '01

At 19:51 25/05/01 -0600, you wrote: >Well, I've always (always means for at least the past five minutes when >it comes to B7 theories) figured that B7 and Star Trek spun off of the >same 'history.' At any rate, they both had more or less the same WW III >(or maybe WW Nth). After that, the histories diverged. I remember reading a suggestion from someone, somewhere that 'Star Trek' is the viscast propaganda made by the B7 Federation to demonstrate to the citizens what a wonderful job Space Command is doing out there >Ellynne love Anna

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baycon
by Julia Jones 26 May '01

26 May '01

Reporting in from Silicon Valley, only I've actually gone home for the night, seeing as I live about 20 minutes drive from the con hotel. Managed to catch up with Helen and Mr Helen, who were doing a Servalan and Avon costume number for the Regency dance. Also wandered along to the filk session, where I found Jane Mailander, late of the B7 parish. A large number of towels were in evidence, and there were several gentlemen clad in their dressing gowns. There were one or two mundanes in the hotel - I know, because I got picked on by one of them to try and explain what was going on. And I wandered into the panel on how Silicon Valley types cope when moving out of the Valley to low-tech areas, where I made myself unpopular by remarking "but we've had that in England for the last couple of years" to someone's burbling about how you'll soon be able to press a button on your cellphone, it'll work out where you are, and you'll get a listing of where the nearest pizza outlets are. -- Julia Jones "Science is not about building a body of known 'facts'. It is a method for asking awkward questions and subjecting them to a reality-check, thus avoiding the human tendency to believe whatever makes us feel good." - The Science of Discworld

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Language (was Geography (was: Eclectic))
by Ellynne G. 26 May '01

26 May '01

On Fri, 25 May 2001 17:16:09 -0600 Otis Lou Bohr <pd(a)powersurfr.com> writes: > At 10:14 AM 5/25/01 -0400, Susan Beth wrote: > > >What's worse, I don't think I'm outside the American norm in this > matter. > >Says a lot for our schooling, eh? > > On the other hand Americans' obliviousness to everything outside > their > borders is the Canadian media's primary source of humour (;-p). Oh, come on, we all know about England. It's that place, you know, kind of east of Nantucket. And weren't they, like, connected with the British somehow? And, oh yeah, Mel Gibson fought them back in the 12th century when they were trying to take over Australia beyond Thunderdome. > ObB7, um...do you suppose everyone speaks with British accents > because > North America and Australia got wiped out somehow (but English--the > language--continued taking over the world), or at some point did the > North > Americans etc. all start affecting a British accent in order to > sound cool? Well, I've always (always means for at least the past five minutes when it comes to B7 theories) figured that B7 and Star Trek spun off of the same 'history.' At any rate, they both had more or less the same WW III (or maybe WW Nth). After that, the histories diverged. Common set up: End of war, big messes everywhere. Western hemisphere (probably North America in particular) with more surface resources - higher survival of key personnel, probably more culturally intact (though possibly not politically), etc (etc meaning other stuff that might be important in this scenario that I haven't thought of yet). Eastern hemisphere had fewer surface resources but more deep ones - food production and energy resources, means to reestablish social order and keep it going for the long term (good or bad being up in the air). In Trek, North America invents warp, contacts friendly aliens, and gets access to the deep resources it needs before mass famines, local feuds, and all that other post-nuclear loveliness manages to destroy everything. A language descended from American English becomes dominant (heavily influenced by Spanish and possibly Portuguese [I also like to think that the Navajo, being one of the larger tribes and centered in a remote area (albeit kind of near certain nuclear testing grounds) came through OK and managed to leave their mark on the linguistic pie]). So, they might not _really_ be speaking English. In B7, there was either no warp or no friendly aliens. The Eastern hemisphere became dominant while the West Side fell into decline. Obviously, the British Isles were a center of light and learning, so their language became the lingua franca. I'd still like to toss in a few touches like heavy Slavic influences. Glottal inhalants make my throat sore, so I'd minimize certain African languages. If Arabic allows for sarcasm, it's in. By the same rule, there's obviously been very little language impact from the far east (besides, the one character who had an accent from around there complained that he lacked the connections for advancement. We can make a case for that not being the fashionable quarter of the planet). So, their language probably isn't really English either. But they're both similar enough for translation purposes. Ellynne ________________________________________________________________ GET INTERNET ACCESS FROM JUNO! Juno offers FREE or PREMIUM Internet access for less! Join Juno today! For your FREE software, visit: http://dl.www.juno.com/get/tagj.

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Trust
by Leia Fee 26 May '01

26 May '01

Jacqui wrote... >>It might interesting to see which characters in B7 refere to trust - Blake (in 'that' quote) >>Neebrox and who else? The time that sprang to my minf was Vila speaking of Gan "He was straightforward, wasn't always expecting to be cheated and double-crossed -- not like us. He trusted people -- he trusted Blake completely. The 'not like us' implies Vila doesn't trust easily (and usually with good reason). He doesn't seem to even trust the rest of the crew demonstrated especially in City at the Edge of the World where he seems quite willing to believe that the others would let Tarrant chuck him off the ship and later is too frightened to swallow the tracer. None of the crew are really good at trust actually but then if I was in their place I probably wouldn't be either. Leia

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Re: [B7L] Eclectic
by Pherber＠aol.com 25 May '01

25 May '01

In a message dated 5/25/01 8:15:15 AM Mountain Daylight Time, susanbeth33(a)pop.mindspring.com writes: > When I see posts by Brits who clearly know where our states are, and how > they differ in climate/industry/way of life I cringe at my ignorance. > What's worse, I don't think I'm outside the American norm in this matter. > Says a lot for our schooling, eh? <sigh> Sad, but true. I loathed geography when I was a kid, mostly because my teachers insisted we draw maps and such, and I was never any good at that. Nina

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Re: [B7L] Lurgies on the Liberator (was H&H)
by Pherber＠aol.com 25 May '01

25 May '01

In a message dated 5/24/01 1:30:51 PM Mountain Daylight Time, jacquispeel(a)netscape.net writes: > Did Orac have the 'I love you' virus in 'Sand'? (g) LOL - Snarly's response to *that* is absolutely one of my all-time favorite Avon moments! I don't think I've ever seen anyone look so absolutely aghast/appalled in my life. <giggle> Nina

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Re: [B7L] Recent Unpleasantness
by Ashton7＠aol.com 25 May '01

25 May '01

In a message dated 05/24/2001 10:06:57 AM Eastern Daylight Time, stephend999(a)yahoo.co.uk writes: << I have been advised by a friend of mine with a considerable amount of experience in the field of Law Enforcement in the UK that speculation on a public mailing list as to the identity of perpetrator(s) of the recent unpleasantness may prejudice any case that Annie wishes to bring. I suggest that as Annie has declared her intention to bring the matter to the attention of the appropriate authorities we leave the matter in their hands. >> Thank you, Stephen, you are absolutely right. I have also been advised that the absolute best thing to do would be to no longer respond to the "trolls," whomever they may really be. As soon as I return from Mediawest, I will be talking to the proper authorities and I'm certain that everything will eventually be straightened out. Big thank yous to all who expressed concern over the attacks against us and offered sympathy. It is good to know that the majority of the list members do not condone what happened. Annie

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Re: [B7L] The end of President Servalan
by Anna Simpson 25 May '01

25 May '01

At 16:55 24/05/01 +0100, you wrote: >I think her position was under threat before Terminal - hence her >desperation to secure the Liberator, or a new fleet c/o Moloch, though >these frequent away trips probably helped to weaken her power base. But >I don't think she had actually been deposed, because none of the >Liberator crew mentions it. And she seems quite firmly in postion in 'Deathwatch' at least. As usual, it's difficult to tell how much time passes between 'Deathwatch' and the next episode. Also, in Terminal, she *sounds* as though she is still firmly in control: AVON: And you have the best ship in space. SERVALAN: The pattern for a fleet. AVON: You really think you can duplicate the Liberator? SERVALAN: I've assembled a team of scientists who are sure they can. In fact, they've staked their lives on it. And with a fleet like that, I can unite and rule as nobody has ever ruled before. That certainly implies she has a lot of facilities under her control - duplicating Liberator is a *big* task. (And also that, like everyone else, she's forgotten about the cloning tech from 'Moloch'.) (Mind you, that doesn't mean she isn't lying. She has no particular need to, but that doesn't mean much with Servalan.) >Her supposed death at Geddon was evidently >public knowledge in Traitor; Avon and co would have had to be more than >usually incompetent not to have noticed that their best-known enemy had >just been overthrown. However, they apparently did because the crew are clearly surprised to find her alive in 'Traitor' *because* they thought she died on the Liberator: TARRANT: You can't afford not to believe me, Avon. AVON: How the hell did she get off the Liberator? TARRANT: I don't know. DAYNA: Look, we both saw her. It was Servalan. Leading to the suggestion that they had no prior reports of her being alive *after* the Liberator. OTOH, we have Servalan in Sand talking to Tarrant, explaining her escape: SERVALAN: The teleport. A malfunction. A power surge. Suddenly I was back on a Federation world. TARRANT: What a lucky little commissioner you are. SERVALAN: Aren't I, though? TARRANT: What happened to the presidency? SERVALAN: It was stolen in my absence. I shall take it back eventually. The absence in question could be one of several - the implication is that it's the absence during which she was at Terminal or (rather more tenuously) that there was some kind of time gap between her disappearing from Liberator and appearing on a Federation world. In 'Traitor', the explanation as to her loss of the presidency is: LEITZ: Servalan? Is Your Excellency certain? PRACTOR: Of course, I knew her well. Killed in the rear-guard action at Gedden. LEITZ: I knew she was reported dead, sir. I never heard any details. PRACTOR: There was a great deal of confusion when the High Council were restored to power. Most of the Old Guard were killed in the fighting. They remained loyal to Servalan right till the end. One point is that Practor is claiming a personal friendship with Servalan (not something to boast about at this point, so let's assume he means it). It's possible that he has information that isn't officially acknowledged or recorded by the Federation and hence is out of Orac's purview. Later, in 'Animals', Servalan is described as 'a non person', implying that a certain amount of eradication of her name and memory has been carried out (and at whose instigation, I wonder?) Or it's possible that he's claiming knowledge he doesn't have just to make an impression. It's not out of character for him. However, Leitz says that he'd heard her as reported dead which implies that she was previously reported as alive during the overthrow. >Harriet love Anna

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Blakes7 May 2001