I'm planning a little solo trip. I'm thinking of traveling from Tokyo to San Fransisco, to meet up with a Nova pen-pal who is going to be attending school here in Japan starting this fall semester as an exchange student. She'll be living with me and my folks during her time here.
But that's beside the point. I'd like to know what I should outfit myself with for this long trip. I'm nowhere near Mach 1 with my flight powers. I assume it'd take roughly 7 days with opportunities to rest between "hops". But how should I go about things to make sure I arrive in the US in one piece?
-Just Curious
-Endeavor

[ 06-17-2002: Message edited by: Endeavor ]

Whoa. So your mom actually okayed that plan of yours? SWEET! Hopefully some of these fellas here would be friendly enough actually help you out.
-Debugger
-Keeping your CPU happy, the NOVA way.
P.S.: That whole "Lovely Nova Senshi" thing, not your style, girlfriend.

Hey, long time no see, girl.
Yeah, that was a big mistake on my part. Musta been watching too much anime back there. We should talk like this more often over a private connection.

I would be delighted to be of assistance.

From where and to where exactly are you planning to travel?

Ryan, long time-no hear. I take it that Hazzard is no longer with us, then.

I politely suggest that you leave Endeavor be. This isn't a threat...or a promise. I am just asking you to leave the little lady alone.

Hey, our old pal Ryan shows his proverbial face on the N!Prime yet again. What´s up, father - got your groove back since your little one-on-one with Hazzard?

Oh, and girlie-formerly-known-as-Lovely-something-or-other: stay away from dirty old men in dog collars.

So, Father Ryan. You think I'm going to tell you. I MAY be going to San Fransisco, I may be heading to Seattle, hmm... Maybe I'll be heading half past the monkey's ass and a boot to your nuts. Thanks for the warning about this guy, fellas. I may have to re-assess my security profile. Although I shouldn't be scared of a baseline, they have a nasty habit of getting... lucky...
The Houston Tornado found that out the hard way... May she rest in peace...

First, plan all your stops in advance. Then find places you can stop in an emergency. Carry more food than you need. Check the weather reports starting now, and keep a weather radio and a GPS with you. Make sure you have the ability to call for help if you need it. Do not expect the trip to go smoothly - plan for problems. Make sure someone you trust has a copy of your flight plan, but nobody else.

I am assuming that you will be working your way through either the Pacific Islands or you will go north and cross via the Aleutians. If you go the southern route, make sure you avoid any islands that are in political turmoil or are heavily industrialized (unless they are major nations).

Your best route would be by going North, through the Aleutians. You would be safe over Japan and South Korea, however, you would have to swing out to sea to avoid any entanglements with the North Koreans (I would recommend staying at least 30 miles out to sea). Once you pass North Korea, you only have to deal with Eastern Russia. That is fairly easy. The Eastern Steppes are not well patrolled militarily and the radar installations there are fairly old. Stay below radar level, or again, out about 30miles, and you should be safe. Once you reach the Aleutian Islands, you should have no problems, and you'll always have land in range if you have any problems. You won't have to fly over nearly the amount of empty water this way. And you get to see Alaska in its glory. Then you can just follow the highway south through Canada, Washington, and Oregon - a very scenic trip, I'm told.

Finally, to avoid any legal entanglements, make sure your passport is up to date and you have a valid tourist's visa.

Good luck.

Actually I'm taking an open pacific route.
Mostly over international water, or in US protected territories. I do plan on notifying T2M on my flight path, although I'll probably only use them if I need them. The reason why I even want to do this is to see what I can achieve.
My mom is already figuring what gear to order for me, and designing what is not available. I guess this'll also be a PR boost for HinoCorp. I appreciate all the help I can get though.
Jager: I hope we can have a partnership sometime. You've earned my respect.

Okay, here is what I've been told so far:
I'll need:
A good GPS
Some communication hardware
A good and up to date passport
Some nice grub
And a good flight plan.

Now, what else? I gotta make sure I keep safe.

Contrary to popular belief and the common wisdom in this place, we're neither a law enforcement agency or the stormtroopers for the new world order. Your courtesy in contacting T2M is appreciated but not strictly necessary.

Here's a couple of tips for you though;

1. Attend a survival training course. You're not taking the youth trail through Europe and can reasonably expect to be on your own if trouble arises.

2. Attend a pilot training program. You are not legally an aircraft but this will give you a working familiarity with the expectations and some basic knowledge of weather, aerodynamics, etc. If you can find a group that will teach you HALO technique then do it as well.

3. Don't bother with opnet hardware or the related comm gear. A mobile terminal hand held will serve a purpose... when you're within 15 miles of civilization. Otherwise its just a paperweight. Where you're spending the majority of your time is going to be out of range of the transceivers and a body in flight is too unstable for a satellite link even if you're carrying the gear and paying for direct access.

3. Visit your local dive shop and get yourself certified for deep water scuba. Again, not strictly necessary but you'll learn something new about water and weather conditions plus get yourself checked on safety equipment. A flashing light, whistle, dye marker, knife, water proof, map and compass, etc... will be more valuable than any of the super tech if you get into serious trouble.

4. Make sure any equipment you bring (GPS, comm gear, etc) is rated for the both the environmental conditions you expect and the ones that may occur. Just because you don't planning on doing a HALO splash doesn't mean it's not going to happen.

5. Plan a place and a time to check in then stick to it. If you end up doing a HALO splash you want people to know you have a problem as soon as possible. A day, even an hour, doesn't sound like much until you're floating in the ocean hoping someone knows you have a problem.

Now pay attention because this is the important part. Before you leave find yourself a big table and then lay out all the gear you consider vital on this trip. Take a good look at it because you're going to leave 90% of it sitting on that table as the dead weight that it is.

If you're carrying more than fifteen pounds of gear you're carrying too much.

Babylon
T2M-E

I'm going to suprise you guys on a few things...
1: It may not seem like it, but I have taken water survival courses (pretty useful when you spend 2 months out of the year on the water.) Also I don't plan on flying any higher than 150ft. So that when I start getting too tired, I can make a slow entry splash-down and rest up.
2: I am getting the basics, and ONLY the basics, first. I know the opnet is no option, so I'll save a few pounds on transmitters and what not. But I will have to consider my tech choices. I've got some people looking at how to get some of the gear I have up to the rugged standards needed.
3: I'll be trying to do a "hop-skip-jump" travel technique. But with this flight route, I'll have about 2/3rds of the flight over open water. I won't be able to park on freighters and what not because I may LOSE some of the gains I make, may end up back-tracking, and to me that's sort of cheating.
4: Safety aside, I sort of know what to expect on my course. I'll have to re-consider some minor aspects of things, and possibly improvise a bit along my flight path.
5: My only concern is the 12 hours of down time I'll have to rest. Floating is no problem, I'll probably have that licked. But the 2 problems are food and water. Food can be rations, but even the high-calorie ones made just for novas can get heavy. As for water, there are desalinization pumps that they have for survival equipment, and water purification is all covered.
6: It'll be interesting to see just what I'll have with on this trip. Hopefully I won't be too buried under equipment. I am flying with weights to get used to what I'll be carrying and to stregnthen a bit before this trip.
7: In case you're wondering, I can fly roughly 2400km before needing to take a long rest.
8: I can scuba dive, but I'm no big fan of it. But if those skills can help, that's a good thing.

[ 06-18-2002: Message edited by: Endeavor ]

Addendum: I just notified T2M so there aren't any suprises. I don't expect you guys to be my "knights in shining eufiber" or anything. I just let you guys know so that you don't think I'm doing some high-seas nova style piracy or something. It's just a sight-seeing tour for yours truely.

[ 06-18-2002: Message edited by: Endeavor ]

Have you considered the open ocean freighters and/or cruise lines flying
under Japanese flag?

The crews/passengers might be quite excited to have a hometown girl and a
real live nova stop by for dinner and chatting. If you look into it though
please be careful to make the rendezvous'. It can be very disappointing to
be looking forward to something exciting and then have it fall through
without warning.

The water survival course is definitely a plus for what you're planning but
I was actually talking about a real multi-terrain survival course. Its
rarely the problem you see coming that gets you. I can recommend several
and the we've stood up a training program you might be interested in. It's
for novas that are under the legal age of decision and consent but are
interested in the T2M organization. If you're interested I can give you
some contact numbers including a field office in Narita.

Babylon
T2M-E

*grins* You know, that's an interesting idea. Actually, I have a secondary mission in this. I will be "hopping" off a few oceanic research vessels from Tokyo University. They were more than happy to let me "park" for a rest stop. There's also a couple of bouys that the US Oceanographic Institute uses that I can land and sit on if things get desperate. If all else fails, I'll probably have a plan for that too. As for other survival training, lets just say for a year I lived with my uncle in Montana who's a real wilderness expert. He's a wolf researcher who also dabbled in Native American studies. Nothing like hands on training huh?
As for your training sessions, I think I'll pass. I'm 18 and know more than I let off. I can see most of you guys are rather nice. You guys wouldn't give me the time of day otherwise. So thanks for the offer.
Oh great... you guys should hear a sound file of the background noise at the moment. Mom's on an invention spree again... Ever since I got this idea in my head she's been in a flutter. The noise and all the peole running around at the mansion is incredible.
One more thing, I'll probably be off the boards once I get underway, only posting when I reach an island or ship. So things will get quieter. But it'll feel so empty without me. *big stOOpid grin*
I'll let you guys know when I have a set date.
Hopefully this won't be too big of a media event... -_-; I just wanted to shake my fear of the ocean.

[ 06-19-2002: Message edited by: Endeavor ]
PS: Oh, forgot to tell the secondary purpose of this little trip. The Tokyo University leased ships are using a new type of scanner they're developing. Think of it as a "geiger" for quantum energy. MY zipping around the pacific should leave a lot of residuals for them to analyze. Oh, as for cruise ships, I will be stopping on the Shiokaze Maru, a large yacht owned by a tech firm out of Osaka. HinoCorp works with them on matters of national security. (It's on the National Budgets that We're with them so that's no big secret.) I was invited for dinner and a rest there. It's not like me to refuse. I will be checking into this though. I know you guys like checking your arses before you do something, and It's rubbing off on me.

[ 06-19-2002: Message edited by: Endeavor ]

Babylon, two things:
One, if you can bounce a signal off a GPS, you can piggy-back an Opnet signal as well. Just add a satellite relay to your handheld. Those little GPS's talk to themselves, don't ya know.
Two; actually, in international waters, the UN can claim juristiction (UN General Directive 09-575). That dates back to 1958, when no one ever thought they would have the ability to back it up. Now, with PU on board, they can and do police the world's waterways. That's one reason they have been keeping the South China Sea from becoming a war zone between China, Vietnam, Malaysia, and the Phillipines. Their anti-piracy efforts have been exceptionally successful in the region as well. Not that it's flashy or given alot of press, but it does make 'slipping' into HK a whole lot safer these days. Thanks guys.

You're not a flyer, I take it?

1-A: We're talking about comms not GPS tracking. There are a dozen ways and schemes to do what you're suggesting and none of them work very well with a human body moving along an erratic X/Y/Z axis. Unstable platform. With that in mind, picture trying to maintain comms while having an actual reason to be erratic.

1-B: There's a reason why true interconnectivity wasn't possible without eufiber. I imagine her mom's going to try to pull a rabbit out of her tech hat but I'm less than optimistic about success. It's not a question of what tricks she can pull off with the mobile unit, rather how to interface with the existing satellite infrastructure which she's going to be using radio frequencies to do. And mom is going to be limited on the frequencies allowed as well as available, side bands and power output.

2. T2M, as in Team Tomorrow, not the UN or even Utopia in general. We (T2M) are neither law enforcement officers or storm troopers.

We're a department within Project Utopia that operates under sanction of the UN Security Council as a private agency to assist recognized law enforcement officials and civil authorities at their request.

For that reason her courtesy in contacting T2M is appreciated but not strictly necessary.

Nope. I don't fly. Likewise, unless she is unable to hover for about 30 seconds, the system works. Experience working with others, and all that.
Now, if she wanted real-time, combat-capable communications on a secure channel, I guess she would have to go for a dedicated high-altitude sattelite with mesor sequencing, but that is a bit extreme and very expensive.
My suggestion related to available tech, limited size, and a minimal budget, because not all of us are multi-billionaires, or work for one of the leading R&D firms on the planet.

Thought so. It's a mindset thing, like playing six degrees of seperation.

Non-flyers think of flying as transportation and think in terms of how they would go about doing things while being transported. Gotta go to the bathroom? You stop. Gotta make a phone call? You stop. Gotta eat? You stop. Born flyers, or rather erupted flyers, are people that live for the movement and don't see going from place to place as transportation. We have problems understanding people that think living only occurs at point A and B,

Flying is freedom. That's why people that desire freedom dream of flying and flyers dream of constant freedom. You don't carry 10 kilos of metal and steel when you're moving because it's dead weight. And if it's no good when the entire situation goes south then why are you carrying it to begin with? Are you really going to feel the need to call for a pizza at 2:00 am in the middle of the pacific ocean?

I was serious with Endeavor about dumping 90% of what she thinks she's going to need before her feet ever leave Japan. Because if she doesn't do it there she's probably going to do it over the middle of the Oceana Pacifica when she starts asking herself why she's lugging that big old box that keeps banging into her hip. Or holding onto the device with the corner that keeps digging into her back through the pack.

I bet when I say something like that last bit you think, "Well, you just have to pack it carefully and then you won't have those problems."

See? You don't get it.

Haven't you ever noticed that, natural erupted flyers wear the skimpiest outfits. Its not about payload or thrust to them. Its about the wind in your hair, movement in three dimensions and living in the sky. Its about freedom.

Don't sweat it though. Those flyers you inferred working with that carried the gear; they had a very specific need in mind and a high probability it was going to be required? And I bet everyone of them bitched about it being too bulky, too heavy or too awkward. Even the quiet professional ones sighed when they picked it up or eyed it like you'd eye a dead fly in your Chardonet? Like I said, different mindset.

To a natural flyer there is sky and there's the ground. If something isn't part of the sky then its part of the ground.

[ 06-21-2002: Message edited by: Babylon ]

I've been bouncing ideas for equipment off my mom, and she holds the same consensus as you guys. Simpler is better. I already have a body-form wetsuit and some safety equipment, all of it either conforms with the body or weighs less than a few grams. As for food and water, I may have to rough it a bit. I should show you guys just what I'll be taking all total, just so that an Idea can be reached.
Oh, as for the backpack, I'm limiting it to 50pds at worst. Plus it has to be waterproof, and be able to keep itself afloat. So I don't have to lug it's mass as well. Most likely I'll have to eat bland rations. It's suprising how I can get my 9000 calorie daily requirements out of 1 bar the size of a jumbo granola bar. O_O;
I just got the water filter/desalinization unit today. It's the size of a large pop can. Not too shabby in my opinion. As for opnet, I won't use that. I'll have to piggy back a signal via satellites to the old internet, then bounce the messages here. It takes some routing, and has a delay of roughly 15 minutes.
I do have ways of signaling in disrtress though. And I've requisitioned a personal com-channel for the trip in case I have to do just that. I'm probably over compensating due to my... dislike of the ocean, but if I play my cards right, I should make it.
Oh, that little pit stop on that yach I was talking about earlier, It's scrapped. I do have permission to land on the USS Enterprise for a 1.5 day rest stop. They're out on routine maneuvers and they thought having a Nova stop by would be a morale boost. (I won't tell you just where though. That my friends, is classified.)
Now, I gotta go, I'm going to train with my full load of equipment for a bit. I think you guys would agree that it's a good idea to get more familiar with it.

Howdy Miss E,

A survival course is a MUST, that way if something bad happens you don't panic, you have options to deal with it. Don't rely on your equipment too much, usefull though it is, being properly mentally prepared is even more important. For me, a knife, a watterbottle and a flint and steel are pretty much all I need to go and survive anywhere.

Now there is a man that gets the point of being self sufficient.

Babylon

Wow! You were reading my mind!

Don't mean to disappoint you, Babs, but your wrong on this one. Endeavor is realitively new to this and from previous conversations I still percieved her to be in the 'Hey, I've got cool powers' stage. I may have been wrong. This trip may very well help her get intouch with her 'novaness', though.
Yes, I was aware of the 'Flyers View of the World', but I thought it could take some time to develop. If Endeavor still finds flight fatiguing, she may need some back-up options...for now.

The Teleporters and Warpers go through the same thing, from a mindset point of view. Its neat to see them acclimate themselves to different time zones so easily, especially as movement becomes less draining and more 'second thought'. Their 'sensing' of their destination is mind-boggling, for me anyway.

Alas, I am just a simple groundpounder so I can just relate what others have told me. The closest I come to flight is skyscrapper diving.

Relax cowboy. We're not on opposing sides and it's not a zero sum game.

Endeavor will take the advice, filter it through her own beliefs and arrive at her own conclusions.

Well, let me put it this way. If there was a Kami for tricksters, he gave me the most unconnected powers around. He made me hyper-smart, nimbler than a gymnast, but gave me a PINK energy blast that leaves trails of glowing cherry blossom petals behind it, and a flight power that's only good for commuting. Trust me, for a young nova like me, flying the pacific is like going across Italy by foot for a baseline. As for not relying on my equipment, I don't. I expect things to fail, so I plan around it. It's just the way I do things.
Oh, got to wear my wet-suit for the first time. Has about as many logos as a race car. Nice and tight fitting though. And suprisingly not to warm when wearing it. Still making out the list, then I'll put it up for you guys to look at.

That was my perception as well. In regards to packing - I have always found it better to be overprepared than underprepared. On the other hand, I had to go back and remember my pre-eruption days. It's quite possible I overcompensated.

Babylon:
Your depiction of flyers was quite evocative; almost poetic. Thank you for sharing that experience.


I think it's almost easier to adjust to. It's just like opening a door to another room - but that room could be anywhere. It's like living in a tesseract.

The true shock is the full comprehension of your freedom - when you realize that you can go anywhere. It is a liberating, yet awesome feeling. I was not hit by it until I first opened a gateway to Mars. Then I was literally floored by shock. Seeing Olympus Mons from the great plains . . . the realization that you are there and you can go further if you try. . . it is difficult for words to express.

WHOA. You've been to mars, Mr.N.?
Man, maybe I should grab a spacesuit and ask you for a little excursion! *laughs* That's SOOOO cool! I wish I could do that!

Come out with me sometime.

You catch the air, feel the earth drop away beneath you while you climb into what seems like an ever lasting field of blue. The air turns cold yet the sun shines more brightly than can be imagined and still you climb. When all is silent except for the sound of your heart beating furiously and the gasp for that next breath of frigid thin air then you're almost there.

When the body burns, the chest feels ready to burst, only a little more effort required. Focus all that you have left then you're there. Floating on the very edge of infinity in a place where the stars shine brightly like the distant suns they are. A place where the pale blue of sky gives way to the blue black of space. That's what fliers live for. That moment of dancing on the sharp edge of the infinite.

Even the fall is worth living there for a few moments.

Babylon

I can tell you one thing, It's a rush when you're "threading the needle" through the grand canyon at top speed. One of my favorite hobbies is trying to bullseye a 1.5 meter target at one end of it, while weaving and dodging baloons. I know, I've seen Star Wars too much. I just like trying to see if I could hit a small target at high speed.
Another is using your flight to reach an altitude and parachuting back down. At least if the 'chute dosen't open, you can just start flying again after you cut it loose.

Come out sometime and I'll show the edge. When you're high enough you don't need a 'chute.

...yes, but you all miss the heart-rending terror of freefalling from near orbit and hoping somebody remembers to come get you before you hit the ground. Ahhhhh...the advantages of falling nearly six miles. Plenty of time to study the physics of it all. Somehow I just couldn't come up with the proper angle for the earth to miss me. I've got to try harder, I guess.

On the bright side, I now know I can survive terminal velocity. Thirty minutes later, I walked away from it all, though I would have paid good money to see the person's facial expression when they found the impact I made.

Not everyone enjoys HALO jumping. Though I don't understand why.

Babylon

Well, here's that list of equipment I'm taking. Just like I promised.

1 Wetsuit - 1.75 pds
Has a air layer trapped between 2 memory hino-polymer membranes for temperature regulation
and flotation.
1 Life Vest - 1.5 pds
Inflatable life vest, made of soft hino-polymer. Nothing more, Nothing less.
1 Waterproofed w/ air bladder backpack - 2 pds empty
A waterproof and air-tight backpack equipped with air bladders for it's own floation.
Stored within Backpack:
10 Nova-grade ration bars (1 per day) - 8 pds
First aid kit - 5 pds
Suit & Pack patch kits - 5 pds
Survival knife - 3 pds
With:
Compass
20 ft. of wire
flint
1 spare suit and vest - 3.25 pds
Desalinization and Filtration hand pumped unit. - 3 pds
3 changes of clothing - 2 pds
GPS Reciever - 5 pds
Emergency Radio Beacon - .5 pd
Spare break away wiring for visor .1 pd
Hand operated hand pump - 1 pd
Fight Visor Goggles - 5 pds
A pair of hard hino-polymer goggles with a built in LCD matrix.
With:
Video & Sattelite Reciever (Strapped to backpack)
1 GB memory (Inside backpack pocket)
Personal Data Unit (Inside backpack pocket)
GPS/Compass Reciever (Inside visor)
Keypad (worn on left arm)
Break-Away wiring
Total Equipment Weight: 46.1 pds

Well, what'cha think? ^_^ This is what I'm flying around with lately, to get used to the weight when flying. Easily carried by me.
(OOC: what's 46.1 pds in kg?)

[ 06-22-2002: Message edited by: Endeavor ]

I hope the formatting came out right. I think I was having a problem with the translator software that I use.

[ 06-22-2002: Message edited by: Endeavor ]

More interesting is how much of this you're going to manage to keep all the way to San Fransisco. You'll see what I mean about the third day or so.

If you want comment... get eufiber. You'll be able to dump about half of this stuff with some creativity and practice.

1: I'll lose some of this load as I eat rations. Second, I plan on taking just some normal goggles.
2: E