Jacqui pondered There would have to be some sort of 'agreed upon' means of dating to avoid confusion (eg in the Solar System Mercury's year is 88 Earth days, Pluto's 240 Earth Years) - but what about galactic positioning - there would have to be some agreed upon zero 'longitude'. Perhaps one of the functions of Star One was to be the equivalent of 'Greenich Zero' - especially as it handled a certain amount of Galactic communications.

David writes A military dictatorship that does not trust its own staff to maintain the central computer, and yet is expanding throughout the galaxy, would naturally position the computer away from settled areas and where all planets came within its scope. In the same way as you are looking at the letters in this message, so an all-powerful computer should view the planets of the Milky Way, an expansionist Federation would say.

The following message was heard on a ship travelling along the Galactic longtitudes

from Gold Keiller: Good morning, good morning, Keiller the Purser speaking. In a few minutes I shall be giving you the day's itinerary, but first, please tune all chronometers to frequency 7 for synchronisation with Federation Standard Time.

David Since a Fed. Stan. Time obtained after the destruction of Star One, it is all the more likely an F.S.T. obtained before the destruction, and with it, some zero hour or meridian.

Jacqui Also - as the Andromeda Galaxy would serve as a 'neutral zero' (if the invasionary tendencies of some of its inhabitants was ignored)- both the Federation and the System could agree to use it without politicising it. Any comments?

David Not a comment, more a feeling through some approaching idea.

from Pressure Point Travis: Of course. We have never concealed it. On the contrary, we broadcast the fact. We used it as a challenge to our enemies. We invited them to attack Control. Blake: It was never here? Travis: It was moved thirty years ago.

David Presumably, the mine-field was thirty years old when Avon directed the detectors towards it. If the Federation and the System posited Andromeda as neutral zero, they did it about thirty years ago. Just where this leads, I cannot say.

DC