The Space Opera Working Thread

Originally posted by prof-rabbit


To paraphrase what the age old answer is likely to be, "I can only afford a fixer-upper son"

Meanwhile I like the look of your "lightning bug" :>

It's a well known fact in spacefaring circles that ALL Firefly class spaceships come out of the factory as "fixer-uppers".

reply to post by Studious

Then the new Captain ToTheTenth disappeared

ToTheTenth was never a Captain.

He was a lot of things, but, he was never the Captain.

EDIT:

In case there is any confusion here - I could care less what ToTheTenth did or did not do in the Opera.
My point being - if he was not the Captain - and he was not - then he does not fit into your plan.
I’m sure you’ll work it out, only saying, if loose ends are going to get tied up it would seem to me remaining true to the story line already in place would be an important factor to keep in mind.


SECOND EDIT:

Also.

There should be four. One for Loam, Scurvy, ToTheTenthPower and TheMythLives.)

No, Scurvy is in the Recovery Bay in some kind of hibernation pod. Antar chose to put him there as her solution to where he went. She chose to present the working Captain Scurvy as a traitorous chicken hearted dog that fled at the first sign of battle, abandoned his Ship and crew and put himself in stasis.

[edit on 30-8-2009 by silo13]

reply to post by silo13

Originally posted by silo13
ToTheTenth was never a Captain.

Well self proclaimed Captain then.

EDIT: Anyway what do you think of the new plan? (I hope it doesn't interfere with your original Delia storylines.)

[edit on 30-8-2009 by Studious]

reply to post by Studious


Hey, talk to CindyMars, see what she thinks, run it by Antar and go for it.

Just remember please CindyMars won't be back until Monday - that issue she's got with her home computer.

As for Delia? Delia who?

Please see EDITS above. I'm trying to save space here by combining posts.

[edit on 30-8-2009 by silo13]

Originally posted by silo13
As for Delia? Delia who?

Have I entered the Twilight Zone?

The new plan eliminates the necessity for Delia to have autonomy from Ship. (Thus hopefully not interfering with your plans at all.)

The old plan I removed because it would interfere too heavily with what you had prepared.

[edit on 30-8-2009 by Studious]

It all sounds great - (You ust might want to read a couple of points I put in as edits in the posts above).

Question

Plus it consolidates the threat into a singular person, the one who just shot Studious.....The Shapeshifter.

So Ship, who talks to all of us all the time, just decided to *save* the Captains by sticking them in cocoons and not telling anyone?
Considering the close relationship she’s formed with a couple of the crew that’s going to be hard to swallow, but, hey, it’s the best we got at the moment.

And the Shapeshifter? Who or what is it?
What significance is there to this thing and why should the readers care?
I mean is it just another rabbit pulled out of the hat - or does this thing have some consequence - other than being the fall guy?

Hey, I’m all for fall guys, don’t get me wrong, I’m asking if this ShapeShifter is going to become part of the *master plot*.

Thanks

[edit on 30-8-2009 by silo13]

Originally posted by silo13
My point being - if he was not the Captain - and he was not - then he does not fit into your plan.
I’m sure you’ll work it out, only saying, if loose ends are going to get tied up it would seem to me remaining true to the story line already in place would be an important factor to keep in mind.

He declared himself Captain and began acting in that capacity. Though he wasn't chosen to be Captain by the writers of the story, that is the role he filled within it.

Originally posted by silo13
So Ship, who talks to all of us all the time, just decided to *save* the Captains by sticking them in cocoons and not telling anyone?
Considering the close relationship she’s formed with a couple of the crew that’s going to be hard to swallow, but, hey, it’s the best we got at the moment.

The explanation would be that if she tried to tell anyone it would get back to the "rulers" Questioningall talked about in her posts.

(After all, no one can be trusted to be who they appear to be when you have a shapeshifter aboard.) In other words if it wasn't made to look like mysterious disappearances then the "rulers" would find out and as QA said they would kill everyone.



Those taken were taken as groups or alone. Meaning that there was never a witness who saw them disappear. We could use this to explain that Ship feared that if there was any witness to the disappearances, the possibility the information would get back to the "rulers" would become too great.

If abducting these people has to be done very secretly it would have been difficult to cocoon Silo or Cindymars. This is because they were away on Earth for part of the time, and were also with entities like Carpet for long durations of time.

Since Carpet can't really be cocooned this would make Ship unable to seize anyone who was with Carpet. This is because it would leave a witness to the abduction.

Originally posted by silo13
And the Shapeshifter? Who or what is it?
What significance is there to this thing and why should the readers care?
I mean is it just another rabbit pulled out of the hat - or does this thing have some consequence - other than being the fall guy?

Well Questioningall introduced him as her handler, forcing her to do the mind control. So he works for the "rulers" which is a group of people QA talked about. She didn't develop the character or the "rulers" too much so we don't have that much to go on.

With the new plan I introduced the shapeshifter would have punished Loam for violating the "rulers" orders and would have made the duplicate NI-7 under their orders as well.

But I'm thinking about giving him more personality. Such as making him fear being punished for QA's escape and perhaps giving him some ambition of his own.

With that in mind I introduced his ambition into the Story Thread with the "was a pawn, now I am the master of the mind control" line.

[edit on 30-8-2009 by Studious]

reply to post by Studious

He declared himself Captain and began acting in that capacity. Though he wasn't chosen to be Captain by the writers of the story, that is the role he filled within it.

He did nothing, I repeat NOTHING in that capacity, and he recanted his *Captain* bs within the next post telling Myth he though it would have been easier for Myth to accept him so, blah blah freaking blah.

If abducting these people has to be done very secretly it would have been difficult to cocoon Silo or CindyMars because they were away on Earth for part of the time and were also with entities like Carpet for long durations of time.

As CindyMars has stated before, when she moves us through time travel we are only gone from Ship for moments - Ship time.
Do I understand this?
No.
But, she wrote it so I stick by it.

Question.

How long are you planning on staying aboard the Yydryl?

I ask, because, it’s our Ship.
We’ve been on her, groomed her, went through all the ups and downs with her, she’s our home, our friend, where we Live.]

I’ve got her pendant around my neck, and I can tell you this - if she’s a part of putting beings into cocoons, to *save* them, and if Ship is true to her nature - she would have let me or Carpet know.
You forget (maybe) Carpet and Ship are more *one* than Delia and Ship.
Anyway, from my characters standpoint?
If Ship didn’t let me know she was placing people in cocoons against their will?
I’d be through with her.

I will not be a part of a *Nanny State* Ship, or her turning into a Nanny-State type being in any manner shape or form.

But back to my original honest question here.
Do you plan on sticking around after you supply us with the master blue-print for our existence, or, are you going to just re-write and write our history and very being, and then split and go back to the Penelope?

??? Here you write:

But I'm thinking about giving him more personality. Such as making him fear being punished for QA's escape and perhaps giving him some ambition of his own.
With that in mind I introduced his ambition into the Story Thread with the "was a pawn, now I am the master of the mind control" line.

So, you’ll be staying aboard the Yydryl to continue this NPC?

Anyway, you’ve got CindyMars to pass this by, and I can’t speak for her, and I wont so we’ll have to wait for Monday.

And Antar of course, who, even though she’s not on Ship and we’ve no idea where she is or what she’s up to she’ll probably will just love it and be gushing all over the idea.

Asher? He had plans for using the cocoons last I knew. I wonder how he fits in to all of this? Have you asked him?

The new writer? She’s out. Her whole character has been corrupted.

Oh well. All in all, it’s all good.

I hope it works out.

Why do you think I've been asking for approval before I post anything in the Story thread recently?

If you have a problem with any ideas I suggest, I encourage you to speak up. I will then alter, change or delete the post entirely. Depending on what is asked of me.

I post in the Working thread first so that everything I write can be scrutinized and corrected before it is added to the Story thread where it is more difficult to remove and alter.

If you have an objection then I want to hear it. That's the reason I'm putting these ideas, and that's all they are ideas, into the Working thread first.

Originally posted by silo13
The new writer? She’s out. Her whole character has been corrupted.

Oh well. All in all, it’s all good.

Why was I not informed of this earlier! I can easily rewrite or eliminate any of my ideas that conflict with this potential writer's character.

If the new writer feels that their character has been corrupted please inform them, or give me the potential writer's ATS username so that I may contact this individual and inform them...

That anything I have written in the Working thread is NOT part of the Story and would have NO effect on their character at all.

[edit on 30-8-2009 by Studious]

reply to post by Studious

Don't be upset.
I'm not ragging on you.

Let me ask you again.

Do you plan on staying aboard the Yydryl or not?

Maybe I can make this short and sweet.

I do NOT want a *Nanny State* Ship.
We have ENOUGH of that BS in real life.

I also, do not want someone else to come aboard Ship - try their hand at creation - only to send the crew back into hell to clean up the messes.

Like I said before - do what you want.
Talk to the other crew members and do what you want.
If your part is instrumental in *fixing* Ship - great - you’ll have my undying gratitude.
But don't expect me to carry on with your *fixes* if you're not going to remain aboard.
If you’re not staying then I hope you make sure someone who is, will clean up where you leave off when you go.

Again, for the record, let me state, this had NOTHING to do with you or Asher coming aboard.
This is purely my reaction - to - those who have come before you, and that I just don’t want to be a part of any more of the BS again.

Sorry you’re taking the flack for wannabes.
You’re not and you don't deserve it.
But neither does the Yydryl deserve another *hero* who does a wham-bam-thank-you-Ship, and then leaves.

Please, understand.

reply to post by silo13


So the only issue is whether I'm going to stay or not?

I'm really confused but maybe it's just my age.

All I want to do is help wrap up the cocoon and shapeshifter storylines. I'll stay on the Yydryl at least until that is completed.


The way I see it, I presented one possible solution but changed it because it conflicted with what you had planned.

When I came up with another possible solution I initially got good feedback such as the fact that Scurvy shouldn't be in a cocoon etc...

But then, when I tried to explain my reasoning behind some parts of the second solution, I was somehow destroying a new writer's character and was turning Ship into a "nanny state."

I still don't understand how that's true because it's all still in the Working thread. None of this has become Story yet and all you need to do is tell me what to change and why.



In order to prevent something like this from happening again I'll need specific objections to understand what I'm doing wrong.

So instead of just saying that I've destroyed a new writer's character. Perhaps you could say how the idea causes a consequence like destroying a new writer's character.

That way I'll be able to understand what part of my idea is causing the problem and what it's consequences are. Then it will be easier for me to change my ideas to make them work in the Story thread.

[edit on 30-8-2009 by Studious]

reply to post by Studious
IMO you should present your ideas to the other crew members.
Then - move on it.
It will all sort itself out in the process.

No, I don’t want Ship being a nanny State - which I feel having her put Captains in cocoons to *save them* (and without telling the other crew members and Carpet) will be doing.

But - so what - no big deal. I don’t have to be a part of it and I’ll deal with Ship on my own as I need to.

As for the new writer - I will not take up the time and space here in the working thread to explain something that isn’t going to happen. No big deal, really.



Thanks for fighting (not in a bad way) to pull the ends together.

Originally posted by silo13
As for the new writer - I will not take up the time and space here in the working thread to explain something that isn’t going to happen. No big deal, really.

I really, really, really hope it isn't my fault that it didn't work out.

Originally posted by silo13
No, I don’t want Ship being a nanny State - which I feel having her put Captains in cocoons to *save them* (and without telling the other crew members and Carpet) will be doing.

Alright now we're getting somewhere. I think I understand what you mean now.

It's Ship that is the nanny state coming to protect people who don't need saving, and worse yet doing it without telling them or anyone else.

I see that it sends the wrong message especially considering what ATS stands for.

I don't want to go ahead with a solution you and now I'm uncomfortable with, so I'll come up with another new solution.

There has to be a really good one out there I just know it.

[edit on 30-8-2009 by Studious]

reply to post by Studious


Nope - not your fault. Maybe we'll still hear from her.

As for that *perfect plan* out there?
I agree.
It's there, right there at your fingertips somewhere.





hehehe

I must say a thank you to Slayer69 for passing the Engineering/Operations "tag" to me, I appreciate the honor.

Silo13 there are always some "loose ends" in stories such as this, sometimes they can be left to the imagination of the reader, however your own imagination is a great part of your character.

I love "carpet" :>

reply to post by prof-rabbit

Silo13 there are always some "loose ends" in stories such as this, sometimes they can be left to the imagination of the reader, however your own imagination is a great part of your character.

Yeah, that's true - it's the *Alfred Hitchcock* thing. Sometimes leaving more to the imagination is better (like the shower scene in Psycho).

BUT on the other hand - the Yydryl has soooooo many loose ends it's just insane, really. When I think of the band width I'd use up just listing them lol.

And Carpet, yeah, he's just one of those *Beings* that *happened*. Something that came into being of it’s own volition.

Unreal stuff that.

A clarification on interstellar ships time.

100 secs to a minute
100 minutes to one hour
20 hours to a day
20 days to a month
20 months to a year
10 years to a decade
100 years to a century

Something I thought up quite a few years ago. :>

reply to post by prof-rabbit


YIKES.

So that's roughly 55 Earth hours to a day!? Man that puts a whole new spin on the 9-5 job... I hope everyone gets a nap somewhere in there.



Honestly though, mandating an "interstellar time" is something that would indeed have to be done. Not a bad idea to include it, Rabbit.

Originally posted by SeekerOfAUTMN
reply to post by prof-rabbit

 

YIKES.

So that's roughly 55 Earth hours to a day!? Man that puts a whole new spin on the 9-5 job... I hope everyone gets a nap somewhere in there.

Honestly though, mandating an "interstellar time" is something that would indeed have to be done. Not a bad idea to include it, Rabbit.

No, IS Time uses a shorter "second" to keep within the human biological clock that is roughly 24 to 25 earth hours long. Vis.

The myth of the 25-hour day

Early investigators determined the human circadian period to be 25 hours or more. They went to great lengths to shield subjects from time cues and daylight, but they were not aware of the effects of indoor electric lights. The subjects were allowed to turn on light when they were awake and to turn it off when they wanted to sleep. Electric light in the evening delayed their circadian phase.

The human circadian period

Modern research under very controlled conditions has shown the human period for adults to be just slightly longer than 24 hours on average. Czeisler et al at Harvard found the range for normal, healthy adults of all ages to be quite narrow: 24 hours and 11 minutes ± 16 minutes. The "clock" resets itself daily to the 24-hour cycle of the earth's rotation.

The following is just an idea, so if anyone sees a problem with it let me know what it is and how it conflicts so I can change it.




I think this idea is best described as a sequence of events. So here it is...

1. Loam pulls out the wires connecting QA to the mind control machine. This would get the shapeshifter in trouble with his bosses the "rulers."


2. The shapeshifter cocoons Loam to prevent him from pulling out the wires again and getting the shapeshifter further into trouble.


3. QA leaves the ship and the shapeshifter realizes he's failed to do his job. Knowing that once the "rulers" find out he'll be punished, he is desperate to find another way to regain their favor.


4. When NI-7 comes aboard he sees his chance to redeem himself. The shapeshifter cocoons the real NI-7 and makes duplicates to infiltrate the UEF. So when the rulers find out QA escaped and the mind control is no longer occurring, he'll at least be able to tell them that he has found another way to carry out their (the "rulers") wishes. The shapeshifter hopes that this will spare him from punishment.


5. Next the shapeshifter's duplicate NI-7 is killed. Now the shapeshifter has nothing he can show the "rulers" that will mitigate their anger at his failures. He's back at square one and he's desperate again.


6. The arrival of ToTheTenthPower would have scared the shapeshifter, since after arriving he seemed to be taking over. The shapeshifter may have assumed that ToTheTenth was working for the "rulers" and may have even have assumed ToTheTenth had arrived to punish the shapeshifter for his failures. Since ToTheTenth let TheMythLives aboard the shapeshifter would have been suspicious of him as well.


7. To try and save his own skin, and escape from the punishment for his failures, the shapeshifter cocoons both ToTheTenth and TheMythLives.


8. When Studious comes back and frees NI-7, the shapeshifter realizes that the Yydryl crew will eventually begin to ask questions about where NI-7 appeared from. If the Yydryl crew finds out that NI-7 were in cocoons the shapeshifter knows that he may be discovered. To prevent these questions from ever being properly answered the shapeshifter tries to kill Studious and the team.


So this plan explains the cocoons and would prevent the shapeshifter from being just another "rabbit pulled out of the hat."

Again, if there are any errors or conflicts caused by this idea, let me know what they are so I can fix them.

[edit on 30-8-2009 by Studious]