Action, Adventure, Excitement, Part 6h The Loom of Space - ch. 1 Subject: Re: AAE 6c: Judgement in Refuge 0 Date: Thu, 5 Oct 2000 02:06:19 -0700 (PDT) On 10-05-2000 at 01:49:44 FailSafe Said As CAoL Message # 00008787 [Ed. Note: Snip of stuff that's in AAE6e.] *If we understand the nature of the artifacts Correctly, The Object which made the Collapse Generator Functional, Controlled the Functions of the precise definitions of, Position and Energy... This Object was beyond the Power of The Blue Horizon to Destroy. We left it at These {} Coordinates, Normal Motion should have carried it to here {} at this time. Unless it has been found by Others...* The Senior Master of The Guardians of IF interjects " This is likely to be a Major Problem, That is right in the Path of, The Offensive arm of the Plooran Grand Fleet, They have managed to protect their Command channels from Paradox, Now this..." " They seek to Enslave the Most Powerful race of Line-Walker Mages In the Matrix, The Titans themselves. Having found them while searching that Realm and Galaxy, For Lady Zia and The Sextant of Time..." " There are only three native Military Forces which could stop them. If the Civilization of The Lens commits their mobile forces, They could stop the Plooran's For Now, But the Price would be, The Eventual Triumph of Ploor in their Galaxies. The Fleet which Guards The Eye of Heaven, Will not leave its Post. This Ship is the Third and Last of native Military Forces Capable of Stopping The Plooran Fleet..." The Elders Respond * We do not wish to see this ship used so again, Is there No Other Option?* TBC ================================= Subject: Re: AAE 6c: Judgement in Refuge 0 Date: Thu, 5 Oct 2000 19:42:36 -0700 (PDT) On Thu, 05 Oct 2000 19:14:15 -0700 Roland X Said As CAoL Message # 00008795 >On 10-05-2000 at 01:49:44 >FailSafe Said As CAoL Message # 00008787 > >Writing for the Assembled Elders of Refuge 0 >*If we understand the nature of the artifacts Correctly, > The Object which made the Collapse Generator Functional, > Controlled the Functions of the precise definitions of, > Position and Energy... > This Object was beyond the Power of The Blue Horizon to Destroy. > We left it at These {} Coordinates, > Normal Motion should have carried it to here {} at this time. > Unless it has been found by Others...* Roland nods. [Middle of nowhere. This should be--] >The Senior Master of The Guardians of IF interjects >" This is likely to be a Major Problem, > That is right in the Path of, > The Offensive arm of the Plooran Grand Fleet, > They have managed to protect their Command channels from Paradox, > Now this..." Roland almost _jumps._ /*"The Plooran _fleet?!_ Bloody sprocking nass!"*/ Roland blushes (tm), chagrined. /*"Sorry."*/ >" They seek to Enslave the Most Powerful race of Line-Walker Mages > In the Matrix, The Titans themselves. > Having found them while searching that Realm and Galaxy, > For Lady Zia and The Sextant of Time..." >" There are only three native Military Forces which could stop them. > If the Civilization of The Lens commits their mobile forces, > They could stop the Plooran's For Now, But the Price would be, > The Eventual Triumph of Ploor in their Galaxies. > The Fleet which Guards The Eye of Heaven, > Will not leave its Post. > This Ship is the Third and Last of native Military Forces Capable > of Stopping The Plooran Fleet..." > >The Elders Respond >* We do not wish to see this ship used so again, > Is there No Other Option?* Roland looks grim. /*"There's one."* NEMO, Aurora, time to call in the Big Guns. This is gonna be ugly. *"Our force has beings of...great power. A few even have power equaling...even exceeding...that of the Blue Horizon. I am not one of them, obviously, but they--we--should be enough to at least stall the Plooran fleet. /*"Might the Cosmic Engineer be of use?*"/ OOC-R: Ignore the last line if the artifact that powered the Big Weapon _is_ the Cosmic Engineer. ================================= Subject: Re: AAE 6c: Judgement in Refuge 0 Date: Thu, 5 Oct 2000 22:36:29 -0700 (PDT) On 10-05-2000 at 22:22:39 FailSafe Said As CAoL Message # 00008800 >On Thu, 05 Oct 2000 19:14:15 -0700 >Roland X Said As CAoL Message # 00008795 > >>On 10-05-2000 at 01:49:44 >>FailSafe Said As CAoL Message # 00008787 >> > Roland almost _jumps._ /*"The Plooran _fleet?!_ Bloody sprocking >nass!"*/ Roland blushes (tm), chagrined. /*"Sorry."*/ "* By the Description this Artifact should be, The Loom of Space, This Artifact's power is related to, Resolution of Heisenberg Uncertainty Conflicts. The most recent Public knowledge of this artifact was, Perhaps 2 Billion years ago...*" > Roland looks grim. /*"There's one."* NEMO, Aurora, time to call in >the Big Guns. This is gonna be ugly. *"Our force has beings of... >great power. A few even have power equaling...even exceeding...that >of the Blue Horizon. I am not one of them, obviously, but they--we >should be enough to at least stall the Plooran fleet. > /*"Might the Cosmic Engineer be of use?*"/ "* The Cosmic Engineer Acts directly only on Singularities, and Their Defining Parameters, Unless there is a Black Hole where it would be of Use, or You wish to make another Singularity Powered Weapon, It is not likely to be directly useful...*" ... "* I perceive {10,000 formations, averaging 15,000 Ships Each}, This is the Kind of Fleet that could Conquer and Hold, A Galaxy against anything short of, The Galactic Patrol's combination of Fixed and Mobile Defenses...*" ================================= Subject: Re: AAE 6c: Judgement in Refuge 0 Date: Thu, 5 Oct 2000 23:48:00 -0700 (PDT) On Thu, 05 Oct 2000 23:50:13 -0700 Dane Said As CAoL Message # 00008801 >FailSafe Said As CAoL Message # 00008787 > >The Elders Respond >* We do not wish to see this ship used so again, > Is there No Other Option?* /*"There exists in the CAoL and their allies MORE than sufficient power to thwart the Ploorans. Nemo, you have such power, DC if he is available has such power, I have access to forces that they will be unable to resist. I suggest that those of us with Cosmic Powers take on, and take out the Ploorans. My visualization shows them to be a serious danger to all that live in the Macro Cosmos. Additionally, NOTHING short of racial annihilation, either by extermination or by genetic alteration and mental wiping, will do more than slow them down. It will not be necessary to use this ship to stop them. Elders, call on me if you need my assistance."*/ Aurora offers. /*"Polaris, I need three alpha strike teams here {} immediately. Please summon them. Hydra, I may want your assistance on a moments notice. Dragon's Bane I want you here {}. These are the equations of the local space {}. Adjust your weaponry, sensors, and drives to accomodate."*/ Aurora calls across the Macroverse. A microsecond later, the Plooran Grand fleet is confronted by 12 tiny sparks of light. The Fleet is immediately challenged. "*Stop where you are, turn around, return to your bases, and you will be permitted to live.*" a gravely "voice" orders them. *Who dares give orders to the Plooran Grand Fleet* a lowly captain asks? "*I am Carnage. Stop now or die.*" The voice replies. *Kill them,* a Plooran admiral orders. 10,000 primaries flare momentarily, generating a zone of force that no matter could exist in. When the primaries wink out, the 12 sparks are still there. The Captain has just enough time to sputter, *How...* before his ship, with its duereum hull is crushed like an egg shell, along with 100 other super maulers. Another hundred are vaporized in a millisecond. 200 more are simply shattered. In the next second, a quarter of the Grand Fleet is destroyed. *RETREAT* the admiral shouts just before his flag ship is reduced to its component atoms. The Grand Fleet scatters in all directions EXCEPT forward (any ship traveling in the forward direction is vaporized). The Fleet is reduced by two thirds of all of its ships before the 12 Greater Starspawn stop pursuing them. *"Aurora, the Plooran Grand Fleet has been turned back for now. I project that they will be back. We will remain on station until you release us."* Carnage sends. ================================= Subject: AAE 6: Plooran hunt (was Re: AAE 6c: Judgement in Refuge 0) Date: Fri, 6 Oct 2000 01:18:54 -0700 (PDT) On Fri, 06 Oct 2000 00:13:37 -0700 Roland X Said As CAoL Message # 00008804 >On 10-05-2000 at 22:22:39 >FailSafe Said As CAoL Message # 00008800 > >> On Thu, 05 Oct 2000 19:14:15 -0700 >> Roland X Said As CAoL Message # 00008795 >> >>>On 10-05-2000 at 01:49:44 >>>FailSafe Said As CAoL Message # 00008787 >>> >>>The Senior Master of The Guardians of IF interjects > >>>" They seek to Enslave the Most Powerful race of Line-Walker Mages >>> In the Matrix, The Titans themselves. [Ploorans. With magic. That would be Bad.] >>> Having found them while searching that Realm and Galaxy, >>> For Lady Zia and The Sextant of Time..." [Ploorans...with the Pattern? Oboy.] >"* The Cosmic Engineer Acts directly only on Singularities, and > Their Defining Parameters, > Unless there is a Black Hole where it would be of Use, or > You wish to make another Singularity Powered Weapon, > It is not likely to be directly useful...*" Roland nods. /*"I suspected as much. Thank you."*/ He turns. /*"Nemo, would you send one of your selves to pick up the Loom of Space? The sooner it's out of the Ploorans' way, the better."*/ >"* I perceive {10,000 formations, averaging 15,000 Ships Each}, > This is the Kind of Fleet that could Conquer and Hold, > A Galaxy against anything short of, > The Galactic Patrol's combination of Fixed and Mobile > Defenses...*" OOC-R: To quote Dylan Hunt, captain of the Andromeda: "WHAT?!" Roland swallows. Hard. /Ten thousand fleets. Fifteen thousand ships each. All Third Stage minds. Now I know how an ant feels when it sees a tidal wave./ But he knows his duty. His face calms. /"Eric, Joe, I think this one's a little outside your fields of expertise."/ Eric nods. "I'll join the group that's going to look for the Flask thing." As Eric walks off calmly, Mew floating after him, Roland turns to Stranger. /"Stranger, I think you're the only Lensed entity present. Unless you're going after one of the other artifacts, you'd probably be our best bet to coordinate with the local Civilization."/ He concentrates. /Aurora, I don't think this is a Stardragon-level matter. But you might want to see which Starspawn are available...just in case. NEMO, whatever extent you can intervene in this would be appreciated./ He pauses. /*"If anyone can think of a solution that doesn't involve a huge sprocking conflagration, I'm listening."*/ OOC-R: This is probably it until Monday--we're off to Great Western War IV. Though it's no longer scheduled on the week of our anniversary, we tend to be a bit nostalgic about this one. We might check e-mail one more time in the morning, but other than that, have fun storming the castle and don't give away the homeworld. 8^) ================================= Subject: Re: AAE 6c: Judgement in Refuge 0 Date: Fri, 6 Oct 2000 03:59:02 -0700 (PDT) On Thu, 5 Oct 2000 23:13:29 PST Nemo Said As CAoL Message # 00008805 >On Thu, 05 Oct 2000 19:14:15 -0700 >Roland X Said As CAoL Message # 00008795 > >>On 10-05-2000 at 01:49:44 >>FailSafe Said As CAoL Message # 00008787 >> >>The Elders Respond >>* We do not wish to see this ship used so again, >> Is there No Other Option?* > > Roland looks grim. /*"There's one."* NEMO, Aurora, time to call in >the Big Guns. This is gonna be ugly. *"Our force has beings of... >great power. A few even have power equaling...even exceeding...that >of the Blue Horizon. I am not one of them, obviously, but they--we >should be enough to at least stall the Plooran fleet. *Ploorans. If ever a race was _designed_ for evil, they are a strong contender for the honor. And in universe after universe it eventually becomes necessary to destroy them to protect the other races.* *When they fail to listen to reason, I can supply weapons starting with negaspheres and mobile planets, and working up thru neutron stars fron the nearest equivalent of Nth space. It will not be safe for the universe in which the battle takes place to escalate matters beyond that level.* Or Nemo can just remove the Ploorans from the universe and dump them elsewhere. But that might generate an inferiority complex in the races of the universe's Civilization. ================================= Subject: Re: AAE 6: Plooran hunt (was Re: AAE 6c: Judgement in Refuge 0) Date: Fri, 6 Oct 2000 07:19:47 -0700 (PDT) On Fri, 6 Oct 2000 09:59:13 -0400 Mike Knight Said As CAoL Message # 00008806 >On Fri, 06 Oct 2000 00:13:37 -0700 >Roland X Said As CAoL Message # 00008804 > > [Ploorans...with the Pattern? Oboy.] "Yipe," Michael remarks to himself, "Glad Zia missed hearing that." "Accidents happen," Tink whispers to him. >>>>" There are only three native Military Forces which could stop >>>> them. >>>> If the Civilization of The Lens commits their mobile forces, >>>> They could stop the Plooran's For Now, But the Price would be, >>>> The Eventual Triumph of Ploor in their Galaxies. /Not an option, then,/ Michael remarks over the Lens-Link, mostly to himself. >>>> The Fleet which Guards The Eye of Heaven, >>>> Will not leave its Post. Michael mentally notes that for future reference. >>"* The Cosmic Engineer Acts directly only on Singularities, and >> Their Defining Parameters, >> Unless there is a Black Hole where it would be of Use, or >> You wish to make another Singularity Powered Weapon, >> It is not likely to be directly useful...*" Michael perks up a bit at that. / Sounds vaguely like the Hand of Omega [1]. / [1] There's an accompanying image of a glowing lightsource, labeled as a remote stellar manipulator, with the footnote "used to create the original powersource for Time Lord time travel experiments as well as turning Skaro's sun supernova before destroying the Imperial Dalek faction (hopefully)." Tinkerbell smirks, "No offense, Grumpa, but I like your idea better." [2] [2] OOC: No, you didn't miss a post, it's something we haven't seen yet, coming up in AAE7. -- Mike "Memories of Marvel" Knight > Roland swallows. Hard. /Ten thousand fleets. Fifteen thousand >ships each. All Third Stage minds. Now I know how an ant feels when >it sees a tidal wave./ Mike concentrates for a moment, "150 million ships, one tenth of a second to open a dimentional gate to a black hole, 8/tenths to completely collapse the ship, another tenth of a second to close it, two years to design and build it, a day to locate the exact spacial temporal location of each ship..." Tink interjects, "410,961 years. Roughly." "Yowza, well out of my life expectancy." "If what I've read for book reports is true for the real thing, Grumpa, our shields couldn't withstand a single supermauler. They've got toys that'd make the Borg's weapons look like firecrackers." "Okay, on with our own quest, then..." > As Eric walks off calmly, Mew floating after him, Roland turns to >Stranger. /"Stranger, I think you're the only Lensed entity present. >Unless you're going after one of the other artifacts, you'd probably >be our best bet to coordinate with the local Civilization."/ He >concentrates. /Aurora, I don't think this is a Stardragon-level >matter. But you might want to see which Starspawn are available... >just in case. NEMO, whatever extent you can intervene in this would >be appreciated./ > He pauses. /*"If anyone can think of a solution that doesn't >involve a huge sprocking conflagration, I'm listening."*/ Tinkerbell sends, /Uncle Roland, if life holds true to books, they're too stupid to take the intelligent route. We show up with a few Starspawn, offer to let them go if they return to their own portion of the universe peaceful-like. They'll be all like "What? You can't defeat the might of the Ploor battle fleet! Fire at wi-" then boom, no more Ploor./ then adds as an aside, /(One of the annoying aspects of the books, IMO. Both sides were powerful, and both sides weren't too terribly bright, no matter how often the Doc said otherwise. I still loved the stories, but if there was any character who I'd honestly respect and admire in those universes, it'd be Virgil Samms and maybe the Kimball children. At least they seemed to have some ability to think critically. Well, and Virgil was just plain cool, in a guy's guy sort of way. Maybe because those books were written later in the Doc's life.)/ Michael smirks, /Hope you got an A on that book report./ ================================= Subject: Re: AAE 6: Plooran hunt (was Re: AAE 6c: Judgement in Refuge 0) Date: Fri, 6 Oct 2000 20:20:08 -0700 (PDT) On Fri, 6 Oct 2000 19:18:26 PST Nemo Said As CAoL Message # 00008810 >On Fri, 6 Oct 2000 09:59:13 -0400 >Mike Knight Said As CAoL Message # 00008806 > > Tinkerbell sends, /Uncle Roland, if life holds true to books, >they're too stupid to take the intelligent route. We show up with a >few Starspawn, offer to let them go if they return to their own >portion of the universe peaceful-like. They'll be all like "What? You >can't defeat the might of the Ploor battle fleet! Fire at wi-" then >boom, no more Ploor./ then adds as an aside, /(One of the annoying >aspects of the books, IMO. Both sides were powerful, and both sides >weren't too terribly bright, no matter how often the Doc said >otherwise. I still loved the stories, but if there was any character >who I'd honestly respect and admire in those universes, it'd be >Virgil Samms and maybe the Kimball children. At least they seemed to >have some ability to think critically. Well, and Virgil was just >plain cool, in a guy's guy sort of way. Maybe because those books >were written later in the Doc's life.)/ > Michael smirks, /Hope you got an A on that book report./ Nemo chimes in... *Not stupid. The Boskonian culture was founded on principles and assumptions that tended to result in thought patterns very different than ours. The base assumptions in their culture were different. Which means that the "logical" thing to do isn't necessarily what _you_ would consider logical.* *Of course, since their assumptions are flawed in several places, until they change them, they will have a markedly low survival rate in certain situations. So low that the "lessons" rarely if ever get transmitted to the culture.* ================================= Subject: Re: AAE 6: Plooran hunt (was Re: AAE 6c: Judgement in Refuge 0) Date: Fri, 6 Oct 2000 20:20:19 -0700 (PDT) On Fri, 6 Oct 2000 18:04:23 PST Nemo Said As CAoL Message # 00008812 >On Fri, 06 Oct 2000 00:13:37 -0700 >Roland X Said As CAoL Message # 00008804 > > Roland nods. /*"I suspected as much. Thank you."*/ He turns. >/*"Nemo, would you send one of your selves to pick up the Loom of >Space? The sooner it's out of the Ploorans' way, the better."*/ *On way way.* > As Eric walks off calmly, Mew floating after him, Roland turns to >Stranger. /"Stranger, I think you're the only Lensed entity present. >Unless you're going after one of the other artifacts, you'd probably >be our best bet to coordinate with the local Civilization."/ He >concentrates. /Aurora, I don't think this is a Stardragon-level >matter. But you might want to see which Starspawn are available... >just in case. NEMO, whatever extent you can intervene in this would >be appreciated./ *It will require what you would consider a "large" extent. But it will not be a problem.* > He pauses. /*"If anyone can think of a solution that doesn't >involve a huge sprocking conflagration, I'm listening."*/ *It is *necessary* that there be a war between the Ploorans and the 'Civilization of the Lens' in this universe. But not here, and not now.* *Still it will be necessary to convince the Ploorans. This will involve considerable use of force. And result in substantial Plooran losses.* Nemo in the castle "reaches" in a direction that doesn't exist. Nemo appears at the co-ordinates for the Loom of Space. He grasps it and the hand grasping disappears in that same direction. Nemo in the castle accepts the Loom, and starts off to place it in storage. The other Nemo then proceeds to the Plooran home system. *{# Attention Ploorans. #}* *{# You are meddling in matters that are none of your concern. Your fleet failed to heed a warning and has taken severe losses because of it. Do not make the same mistake. #}* Nemo's broadcast covered the system, blanketing normal communication. As Nemo expected, the Ploorans fired upon his location as soon they determined the source of the transmission. And due to the overwhelming power of the broadcast, they hit the spot with everything they had. Their sensors had shown nothing more than a 2 meter long piece of organic material at the location, so the source *had* to be shielded from their sensors in some manner. Thus, their reasoning went that it was best to use overwhelming force and then worry about studying the piece (if any) afterwards. The first weapon to reach Nemo was a Sunbeam. The total power output of their star, focused and converted into a ravening beam of annihilation. It reached Nemo and vanished. No cascades of deflected energy. No glow of shields. A similar fate befel the negaspheres launched at his location. Mobile planets, inerted so as to collide at his location directly opposed intrinsic velocities, instead assumed an orbit about it, with each added pair causing the others to shift into new relative positions to maintain the stabilty of the formation. Eventually, it became obvious to the Ploorans that their efforts were wasted. *{# I permitted that, as a demonstration of futility, but I will permit no more such foolishness.[1] #}* Certain CAoL members monitoring the "feed" Nemo is providing, almost choke upon hearing this phrase. *{# You will abandon your pursuit of this being [image of Zia], and of the artifact she removed from your possesion. You will also stay away from the beings known as Titans. #}* *{# Do this and you will be permitted continue with your other activities without my interference. Fail to comply and your race will be extinguished as easily as I extinguish your star. #}* As Nemo "speaks" the Plooran sun goes out. It is now a white dwarf, but at absolute zero. Completely black, and at the lowest possible energy level for its size and mass. Since its mass is unchanged, the planets don't even twitch. But one by one, they go dark as the last light emitted by the star reaches them. *{# There is another variable star suitable for your species at these coordinates [a location with no intelligent species nearby or between current Plooran territory and it. Possibly in another galaxy] #}* To the CaOL Nemo sends *That should keep even _them_ busy for a while.* [1] Nemo is quoting Gharlane of Eddore. A statement made while Gharlane was energizing the form of Gray Roger during the period just before the formation of the Galatic Patrol. ================================= Subject: Re: AAE 6c: Judgement in Refuge 0 Date: Fri, 6 Oct 2000 21:16:14 -0700 (PDT) On Sat, 07 Oct 2000 03:32:19 GMT Tech Tonic Said As CAoL Message # 00008813 >10,000 primaries flare momentarily, generating a zone of force that >no matter could exist in. When the primaries wink out, the 12 sparks >are still there. The Captain has just enough time to sputter, >*How...* before his ship, with its duereum hull is crushed like an >egg shell, along with 100 other super maulers. Another hundred are >vaporized in a millisecond. 200 more are simply shattered. In the >next second, a quarter of the Grand Fleet is destroyed. *RETREAT* the >admiral shouts just before his flag ship is reduced to its component >atoms. The Grand Fleet scatters in all directions EXCEPT forward (any >ship traveling in the forward direction is vaporized). The Fleet is >reduced by two thirds of all of its ships before the 12 Greater >Starspawn stop pursuing them. OneEye awakens from his breifing room nap with a start, his good eye blazing a bright blue, shedding enough light to temporairly blind anyone who looks towards him. "Spraking gods of light! What the frak was that?" The light dims from his eye, and he blinks. "It felt as if a major plot device cried out in pain, and was silenced....." Stops a moment, shaking his head. "I'm way too old for this stuff.... Frogface, what was that?" The little imp crawls off the brim of oneeyes hat, looking dazed. "ummmm, hold on a minute boss, Nexus is going over the figures now...." The creatures eyes roll back in it's head, so what is seen is white and pupiless. A voice, femine yet powerful, issues forth. "Power levels Alpha-Omega released, from beyond diety level beings. Designate: Starspawn only known match for exact power levels. Destruction of Two-thirds Enemy Fleet destroyed. Power usage far exceeds nessacry usage. Decision: Effigites were Showing off, Wished to use thier power to scare as well as Destroy. They are not involved in Your current mission, you may ignore. Designate: Douglas Brightglade will investigate. Carry on." Oneye snaps off a one fingered salute as his imp shakes itself and crawls back to the hat. He looks around the room. "Were't we'all supposed to be looking for something?" ================================= Subject: Re: AAE 6: Plooran hunt (was Re: AAE 6c: Judgement in Refuge 0) Date: Sat, 7 Oct 2000 13:37:59 -0700 (PDT) On Sat, 07 Oct 2000 12:59:09 -0700 Dane Said As CAoL Message # 00008814 >Roland X Said As CAoL Message # 00008804 > As Eric walks off calmly, Mew floating after him, Roland turns to >Stranger. /"Stranger, I think you're the only Lensed entity present. >Unless you're going after one of the other artifacts, you'd probably >be our best bet to coordinate with the local Civilization."/ He >concentrates. /Aurora, I don't think this is a Stardragon-level >matter. But you might want to see which Starspawn are available... >just in case. NEMO, whatever extent you can intervene in this would >be appreciated./ > He pauses. /*"If anyone can think of a solution that doesn't >involve a huge sprocking conflagration, I'm listening."*/ /*"I have already dispatched three Alpha Strike teams to turn back the Plooran Grand fleet. That will put 12 Greater Starspawn, each with at least the brute power to completely destroy a planet with a single blow, in the fleet's path. The 3 strike teams will have no problem with the fleet itself. However the Ploorans are presently attempting to raise a team of 3rd stage minds. THOSE may become a problem. The Loom of Space must be recovered, ASAP, and for the safety of the other residents of the Matrix Cosm, the Ploorans must be dealt with. The Plooran mind, while weaker, is no less rapacious than that of the Eddorians, and simply talking to them will not stop them from seeking their current ultimate goal. Universal domination. They will not be reasoned with, they will not be convinced of the error of their ways. They must be destroyed."*/ Aurora answers. ================================= Subject: Re: AAE 6: Plooran hunt (was Re: AAE 6c: Judgement in Refuge 0) Date: Sat, 7 Oct 2000 16:45:29 -0700 (PDT) On Sat, 7 Oct 2000 14:21:50 PST Nemo Said As CAoL Message # 00008815 >On Sat, 07 Oct 2000 12:59:09 -0700 >Dane Said As CAoL Message # 00008814 > >/*"I have already dispatched three Alpha Strike teams to turn back >the Plooran Grand fleet. That will put 12 Greater Starspawn, each >with at least the brute power to completely destroy a planet with a >single blow, in the fleet's path. The 3 strike teams will have no >problem with the fleet itself. However the Ploorans are presently >attempting to raise a team of 3rd stage minds. THOSE may become a >problem. The Loom of Space must be recovered, ASAP, and for the >safety of the other residents of the Matrix Cosm, the Ploorans must >be dealt with. The Plooran mind, while weaker, is no less rapacious >than that of the Eddorians, and simply talking to them will not stop >them from seeking their current ultimate goal. Universal domination. >They will not be reasoned with, they will not be convinced of the >error of their ways. They must be destroyed."*/ Aurora answers. *The Loom is being handled. So is the Plooran homeworld. But you have neglected to consider the effects of elimination of the Ploorans at our hands on the Civilization of therse galaxies.* *The locals _must_ destroy the Ploorans _themselves_. But the time has not yet come for that. Merely stopping the current thrust, and causing the Ploorans to pursue 'more important' concerns for a time will be quite sufficient.* *What I am doing in their home system will keep them busy for some time. Especially since the data I have allowed them to record regarding my defenses and methods will have them investigating a number of blind alleys in search of the means to duplicate and defend against such occurences. They will not discover that they are wasting effort for a timespan sufficient to allow Civilization toi progress to the extent needed.* Nemo continues on a private, tightly beamed link to Aurora. ^Do not mention the Eddorians again. Many of the CAoL are not ready for such information, and even those who are do not 'need to know' about that race or are already familiar with them and know better than to mention them on an open link.^ Remember, in the Lensman universe *only* the Arisians, Ploorans, and the Children of the Lens *ever* knew of the Eddorians. ================================= Subject: Re: AAE 6: Plooran hunt Date: Fri, 27 Oct 2000 10:52:07 -0700 (PDT) On 10-27-2000 at 10:44:04 FailSafe Said As CAoL Message # 00008909 >On Fri, 6 Oct 2000 18:04:23 PST >Nemo Said As CAoL Message # 00008812 > >>On Fri, 06 Oct 2000 00:13:37 -0700 >>Roland X Said As CAoL Message # 00008804 >> >> He pauses. /*"If anyone can think of a solution that doesn't >>involve a huge sprocking conflagration, I'm listening."*/ > >*It is *necessary* that there be a war between the Ploorans and the > 'Civilization of the Lens' in this universe. But not here, and not > now.* >*Still it will be necessary to convince the Ploorans. This will > involve considerable use of force. And result in substantial Plooran > losses.* > >Nemo in the castle "reaches" in a direction that doesn't exist. > >Nemo appears at the co-ordinates for the Loom of Space. He grasps it >and the hand grasping disappears in that same direction. It is wrapped in a Synthetic element with a Inertial mass of about, 1 kg per cubic centimeter, and A Gravitational mass of about, -(10^16) kg per cubic centimeter... There is enough here to form an Event horizon, That Light can not enter... >Eventually, it became obvious to the Ploorans that their efforts were >wasted. I am assuming that he is hanging in space... >As Nemo "speaks" the Plooran sun goes out. It is now a white dwarf, >but at absolute zero. Completely black, and at the lowest possible >energy level for its size and mass. > >Since its mass is unchanged, the planets don't even twitch. But one >by one, they go dark as the last light emitted by the star reaches >them. > >*{# There is another variable star suitable for your species at these > coordinates [a location with no intelligent species nearby or > between current Plooran territory and it. Possibly in another > galaxy] #}* > >To the CaOL Nemo sends *That should keep even _them_ busy for a >while.* *We will consider your Words/Actions, However we can not simply accept them without testing.* Carefully hiding the Effort that it takes, By a Fusion of 53 of their strongest... They Re-Warm and Re-Ignite their Star. *In the Interests of Simplicity, We will Dispense with the Purely Physical.* The circling weapons are steered away, And teams of scientists begin studying, Any effects on them by Nemo's Defenses... Ploor ================================= Subject: Re: AAE 6: Plooran hunt Date: Fri, 27 Oct 2000 23:38:09 -0700 (PDT) On Fri, 27 Oct 2000 23:24:24 -0700 Dane Said As CAoL Message # 00008913 >FailSafe Said As CAoL Message # 00008909 > >They Re-Warm and Re-Ignite their Star. > >*In the Interests of Simplicity, > We will Dispense with the Purely Physical.* > >The circling weapons are steered away, >And teams of scientists begin studying, >Any effects on them by Nemo's Defenses... *"You're not helping your selves."* Aurora's "voice" can be heard to say, almost in a sing-song way. A moment later, the Plooran sun is -gone-. Not snuffed out. Just gone. The Plooran's with their 4d extensions, can feel it -go away- at a 90 degree angle to all 4 of the spacial dimensions that they can sense. The voice seemed to come from ALL directions, including that -impossible- 90 degrees to everything one. ================================= Subject: Re: AAE 6: Plooran hunt Date: Sat, 28 Oct 2000 03:46:08 -0700 (PDT) On Sat, 28 Oct 2000 00:14:49 PST Nemo Said As CAoL Message # 00008914 >On 10-27-2000 at 10:44:04 >FailSafe Said As CAoL Message # 00008909 > >>On Fri, 6 Oct 2000 18:04:23 PST >>Nemo Said As CAoL Message # 00008812 >> >>> He pauses. /*"If anyone can think of a solution that doesn't >>>involve a huge sprocking conflagration, I'm listening."*/ >> >>*It is *necessary* that there be a war between the Ploorans and the >> 'Civilization of the Lens' in this universe. But not here, and not >> now.* > > >It is wrapped in a Synthetic element with a Inertial mass of about, > 1 kg per cubic centimeter, and > A Gravitational mass of about, > -(10^16) kg per cubic centimeter... > There is enough here to form an Event horizon, > That Light can not enter... > > and that he left the Shell Behind.> >>Eventually, it became obvious to the Ploorans that their efforts >>were wasted. > >I am assuming that he is hanging in space... Yep, a "normal human" as far as any sense or instrument the Ploorans can bring to bear on him. Floating naked in space. And completely unaffected by lack of pressure and by heat loss. >Carefully hiding the Effort that it takes, >By a Fusion of 53 of their strongest... > >They Re-Warm and Re-Ignite their Star. And the star promptly returns to its "dead" state. With no apparent effort on Nemo's part. *{# I can keep extinguishing it far longer than you can keep reviving it. After all, to revive it takes energy. To extinguish it supplies energy. #}* Their instruments register a slight distortion of the sub-ether. As if all the energy released was somehow travelling *below* the level of the sub-ether. And it appears to have moved instantaneously from the star to Nemo. Yet other than the slight traces of its passage, there is no indication that Nemo has changed. >*In the Interests of Simplicity, > We will Dispense with the Purely Physical.* >The circling weapons are steered away, >And teams of scientists begin studying, >Any effects on them by Nemo's Defenses... The scientists will find similarly faint traces suggesting forces acting below the level of the sub-ether[1]. The planets seem to have been affected by gravititaional forces with no source. And with no decrement. The scientists assume that the "sub-subetheric" forces hinted at by the traces were the source of the forces that moved the planets. [1] This universe doesn't *have* a "sub-subether". But it'll take them a *long* time to figure that out, withh all this "evidence" staring them in the face. If anyone cares, the methods Nemo used are similar to those of the Markovians[2] to the extent that the laws of this universe allow. [2] See Jack Chalker's "Well World" series :-) ================================= Subject: Re: AAE 6: Plooran hunt Date: Mon, 30 Oct 2000 05:22:18 -0800 (PST) On Mon, 30 Oct 2000 02:55:10 PST Nemo Said As CAoL Message # 00008924 >On Fri, 27 Oct 2000 23:24:24 -0700 >Dane Said As CAoL Message # 00008913 > >*"You're not helping your selves."* Aurora's "voice" can be heard to >say, almost in a sing-song way. A moment later, the Plooran sun is >-gone-. Not snuffed out. Just gone. The Plooran's with their 4d >extensions, can feel it -go away- at a 90 degree angle to all 4 of >the spacial dimensions that they can sense. The voice seemed to come >from ALL directions, including that -impossible- 90 degrees to >everything one. *Tsk, tsk. We don't want their planets just wandering off.* And with that comment the gravity of the star is replaced. Except that there's no star... Nemo just removed a "slice" of local spacetime. Sort of like taking a "wedge" out of a sheet of paper and sealing the edges of the cut together. You wind up with a conical surface. Which, except at the very point *looks* like curved surface. You can do the same in higher dimensions. Nemo has created a "point defect" in spacetime. Other types are lines (aka "cosmic strings") of either infinite length or as closed loops. And then there are "domain walls" which are either infinite and unbounded or closed surfaces. All act as if they have incredible mass, but there's nothing at all there. Just some "missing" spacetime. Well, technically, domain walls seperate volumes of spacetime where the rules are different. If the gravity *hadn't* been replaced, the gravity wave as the local spacetime "rebounded" would have been strong enough to damage the inner planets. As it is, they'll still get a jolt. Just note enough of one to do *serious* damage, just enough to make them consider what *might* have happened. There were several reasons Nemo didn't just remove the star. *That* they know how to do in theory (hyperspatail tube), even if their engineeering isn't up to it. But while they can think of several ways of extinguinshing a star (for example, by using souped up "cosmic energy" screens around it), those would merely cause the star to collapse, which would result in a (tiny) supernova. And the process would take hours. But removing not merely the fusion energy, but also the thermal AND POTENTIAL energy, is a far different matter. It requires the ability to manipulate every subatomic particle in or near the star *simultaneously* and individually. That is, you can't just set up a simple "program" to move and combine the particles. At best you could do "groups" of particles at similar distance from the center and moving at similar velocities. But the number of such groups is only one or two orders of magnitude smaller than the total number of particles. The job should have required the full attention of millions of third level intellects. And taken at least minutes. Instead, the evidence points to a single entity doing so in as near to no time as their sensors could measure (eg, the emmissions from the star cut off all at once) And by leaving it there, the planets are undisturbed by the change. Finally, consider that since it's obvious to the Ploorans that anyone who could extinguish the star in this manner could have easily removed it as Aurora did, or destroyed their planets, they have to wonder *why* they were spared. It's unlikely that they'll consider the concept of "mercy" for more than a moment. But trying to figure out what Nemo's intentions are will tie up even more brainpower that they could be using on other things. ================================= Subject: Re: AAE 6: Plooran hunt Date: Tue, 31 Oct 2000 03:31:49 -0800 (PST) On 10-31-2000 at 03:21:36 FailSafe Said As CAoL Message # 00008928 >On Mon, 30 Oct 2000 02:55:10 PST >Nemo Said As CAoL Message # 00008924 > >*Tsk, tsk. We don't want their planets just wandering off.* > >And with that comment the gravity of the star is replaced. Except >that there's no star... *Very well, It s Obvious that it would, at this time, be futile, To pursue any Goal of Dominance. That you see some Purpose in our being allowed to do so, Within a Scope of Your Choosing, Indicates that you believe that Your Goals would Benefit From such Efforts. As we can see that you can enforce your Restrictions, and Since we see no purpose in Aiding you, to Our Detriment, Boskone will be shutdown, All of Our related assets will be recalled, Any other of our related Interests will be Liquidated.* They mean it. All of the Fleets Turn Back, The Evacuation of Boskone is Begun, Various Individuals and Facilities of the Boskonian Organization, Are Destroyed in Large Explosions. The Council of Ploor ================================= Subject: Re: AAE 6: Plooran hunt Date: Wed, 01 Nov 2000 20:06:30 +0000 On Tue, 31 Oct 2000 16:36:34 PST Nemo Said As CAoL Message # 00008935 >On 10-31-2000 at 03:21:36 >FailSafe Said As CAoL Message # 00008928 > >All of the Fleets Turn Back, > The Evacuation of Boskone is Begun, > Various Individuals and Facilities of the Boskonian Organization, > Are Destroyed in Large Explosions. *{# As you wish, so be it. #}* [1] As Nemo departs, the best Plooran adepts are able to reconstruct a thought that Nemo had apparently tightbeamed to some other entity from the "fringes" and slight leakages. *It worked!* Now the Ploorans have to decide if *that* was disinformation or real. [1] Check John Bruner's "The Traveller in Black" for the connotations of this remark. =================================