E-Chan & Twist.

Doc Troll and I have just finished completeing the tests on the base camp and the new space suit, were sending this message from Luna, if it gets through OK, then we're pretty much all set. Doc's got some time off for R&R.

Just a couple of things...

E-Chan, you managed to stay out of trouble today? You ready to go?

Twist, hope you've got over that nasty 'Flu. No wonder the Rio-B strain has been killing lots of baselines.

To everyone else, myself and a few friends, are off on a little sojurn this week, to the moon system of Jupiter, specifically Europa. We'll be posting our findings back from our basecamp habitat so sit back and enjoy the show! Has anyone got any burning questions that we might be able to answer while we're there? We'll be undertaking a few scientific experiments as well as sight seeing, so if you got any suggestions then fire away.

Shhh. I told our PR guys that the purpose of this was to raise my currently less than intellectual image.

Definitely something to which I want to bring a camera, the view should be breathtaking.

I'm ready. Been planning for over a month. Although some prying family matters called me out at the last minute. But, now I'm game.
Hopefully the equipment I bring is rough and ready for action. Doc, one quick thing. If you're able to adapt to vacuum, cool, but if not, I'd reccomend not "trolling" out if you need a space suit. Even I don't have anything that can take TAHT much abuse and keep 1 atmosphere.
See you guys soon! Oh, to the 'porters. I reccomend meeting here at the manor. That way, we can load up our wheels. I think you guys'll like what I pulled out of the lab.

Definately an issue. Actually, it is kind of an open question as to how much of a suit I need. Walker put me in touch with this guy over at the Daedalus (sp?) League. For a baseline he knows an lot about how novas interact with space. The general thought is that all I'll need is a facemask to protect the lungs and perhaps the eyes. My EuFiber should be tough enough to be able to form a spacesuit. I've been practicing making it form a suit, but it still needs an acid test.

Or at least that is the theory. Assuming the EuFiber works for vacuum (albeit with a few external additions like air tanks), then I think that turning Troll would work as well. And he (I? We?) would probably also be immune to the extreme heat and cold. I think I'm going to insist on an equipment & power check someplace closer than Jupiter, specifically the Moon. That would also be a good first exposure to reduced gravity.

Looking back and rereading this, it sounds pretty hair brained. Well, it isn't. Even in the worst case, i.e. it doesn't work at all, I'll heal. And as mister "cannon fodder" I can have clones try these little stunts before I do. I think that is one of the reasons Walker asked me along, there aren't that many willingly expendable space worthy novas.

Originally posted by Walker:
Twist, hope you've got over that nasty 'Flu. No wonder the Rio-B strain has been killing lots of baselines.

Well I haven't been told to keep quiet about this so I'll tell you. Whatever it was it that was wrong with me wasn't Rio-B. I'm tough enough that even that shouldn't even make me sneeze... and no one else here got it. Anyway there wasn't a trace the virus in my system. My boss is suspicious too. We now think I was exposed to some sort of anti-nova toxin on my last mission. Utopia seems to think so too. I never knew their Scientific Oversight people could get a warrant to take blood and tissue samples. Said samples are currently going through half a dozen toxin screens. But yeah I'm fine and I have time off to recuperate. I'd forgotten what being ill was like.

Doctor Troll then added:
Shhh. I told our PR guys that the purpose of this was to raise my currently less than intellectual image

Well this little venture should do that hopefully. Do you want to meet on Luna or near Jupiter?

Twist

[ 10-07-2002: Message edited by: Twist ]

Dr. Smith, I am sending you some schematics of a eufibre design that you may find helpful. Also included are some devices of my own creation that might be of some small assistance to you in your journey. If you would be willing to provide feedback to me on their performance I would very much appreciate it. I haven't had a chance to field test them, though my projections state with a high degree of certainty that they should work flawlessly.

Enjoy your trip, I am envious of your opportunity.

well as long as you're better and clear of it now, whatever it was, then me and Doc will meet you at the manor for decontamination. Sorry the tablets will be neccessary. To take care of intestinal bacteria, I know the side effects can be pretty... embarresing, but we don't wanna take a dump and contaminate what could be a sensitive environment with novel organisms.

I can't wait to see what the moving vehicle for the base camp looks like! The prototype me and Doc took to the moon looked pretty impressive. I just hope E-Chan didn't make it too big to fit through my gate Our next post should be in a few hours via a satlink from the base camp.

Thanx for the input Prodigy, got any other ideas, experiments or the like that you want us to try out? We got a couple of hours before we go.

The LOV (Lunar Operations Vehicle) I designed is sorta based on the lunar buggy used in the Alollo missions of the 60's, with a nova age twist. It's a erm.. excuse... me... hrrr... ...
Sorry, had to take the laptop to the erm, lavoratory. Anyways, the design I used is a modified SUV. I have two seperate sections in it, a pressurized foreward cabin, and a non-pressurized one. Don't worry, you can jack in any O2 hose into a recepticle located in the front of the non-pressurized cabin section.
The vehicle also has enough power to lug around what we're carrying to the base camp. It's small enough to accomidate the warp capabilities of our team. It is also a modular design, so that muldiple members can have a vehcle.
Doc Troll: I took a look at your body specs in "troll mode" and I designed a memory hinopolymer version of a spacesuit design I have for myself. It's base mode fits your "dormed" mode and when activated, it loosens to the "troll" mode's form. That is, if there is a need. I'll take it along just incase. Don't worry, it's a neutral white color. no markings.
You guys can ID me on Europa by my pink/wite suit design. Perhaps sometime I'll have to post the design sketches.

Anyways, as soon as I shake the montezumas... herrrrr... *Inaudible* We should be ready to roll out.
Too bad the Exo-Frame I was coming up with was too large and incomplete for this mission...

Only the ones I had delivered to Dr. Smith. Those three are the only ones I cobbled together in the time since I heard about your little trip.

Again, any feedback any of you could provide would be more than welcome. Nothing like a little field testing to find any bugs. Though, I'm sure any lifethreatening kinks have already been worked out. So, no need to worry.

The items are as follow and instructions are included.

1. The good Dr.'s suit schematics.

2. An astrolocator of my making, it has enough data in it so that you should be able to navigate your position from nearly anywhere within recorded space. Fairly simple, but it does need a test.

3. A programable gravity lense. While it cannot completely reduce or magnify gravity if the local gravity is either too low or too high, it can make enough alterations so that travel on spheres of much larger or smaller size than that of Earth is comfortable.

heh. This should be a romp.
I might take the opportunity of taking a few group snap-shots on the Europan surface. That is, if I can get my friggin' camera to work. :p
Oh well, I'm sure everyone is going to have at least 1 camera! And as well, I might be looking for ice boulders to take samples from. It'll also be an excuse for me to let off a few blasts. Don't worry, it'll be my more focussed and controlled ones. I need the practice.

[ 10-07-2002: Message edited by: Sakurako 'Endeavor' Hino ]

Right now we’re back at base camp we’ve got a few results in from our tests already, let me tell you a bit about our day first.

The gate from earth opened up on one of the outer moons of Jupiter well outside the fierce radiation belts the gas giant generates, Doc and I set up the oxygen cracker near some water ice Endeavors sensors had found and we set up the base camp we moved the excursion vehicle (We started calling it The Caterpillar) down to the surface of Europa. I picked a smooth plain to set down on, we drove through the gate onto the surface the ice crackled somewhat alarmingly beneath us but held our weight without shifting an inch. The terrain was stark and bare, the distances deceptive, everything much closer than you realized, Jupiter hanging huge and almost malevolently overhead. We stopped the Caterpillar and got out to take a look around, I noticed the surface, bare and featureless at first glance was pitted with tiny holes and what looked like small hail stones, next thing I noticed was Endeavor staring at me, probably something to do with the fact that my mouth and nostrils had closed up, fat layers were building up and moving in ripples over my muscles, nictating membranes covered my eyes and my skin had taken on a silvery sheen, Guess I should have warned her first, the silvery sheen reminded me to check the Rad meter, which was already starting to move, ‘OK don’t spend too long’ I mumbled, the mike at my throat picking up the subvocalisation and transmitting it to the rest of the travelers. We chipped up some samples and moved quickly outwards about a hundred metres or so, setting up small seismic charges we pushed into holes we dug in the ice, more difficult than it seemed the ice was almost as hard as grantie. The sensors set up, we retired to a safe distance and set them off sensors recording the results for further analysis. The next site was the Manannan crater, pretty standard crater formation the sort of thing you could see anywhere but Doc got some good pics of what looked like frozen ripples a couple of feet high, more seismic readings and samples were taken. The next site Tyre crater proved to be a surprise, the crater looked like a lake reddish brown in colour, the frozen ripple effect was even more pronounced we found a whole series of them several metres apart, gently arcing into the distance like rows of carefully raked gravel in some giant Japanese garden. Twist trried to blast some off but it just bubbled nastily. A bit of careful chipping secured a sample, we’re still analyzing the results of that one.

Speaking of results, we have a positive on the existence of the ocean from the seismic and radar tests, its an average of four and a half kilometres under the ice just beneath a slushy layer. It's approximately 20KM deep, we think. The bottom of the ocean floor did display some anomalies and we haven’t quite figured out what they mean. Europa’s fluctuating magnetic field does definitely seem to be a product of the salty oceans and it’s interaction with Jupiter's magnetosphere. Most of the ice seems to have both quite a lot of sodium chloride, and a quite high ammonia content, which could be significant in keeping the sub-surface ocean liquid. Though some samples we recovered near the Manannan crater were nearly pure water ice.

Teknokat my laptops working like a charm so far, thanks a million for making it.

Prodigy, you’ll be pleased to know the Astrolocator placed us with an accuracy we’re still trying to verify as soon as we get the beam back from earth. The space suit has worked perfectly after a little re-calibration. The gravity lens, well, it works, don’t ask me how, but it works. If the explanation won’t shatter my sanity, I’d like to know how it’s done.

[ 10-07-2002: Message edited by: Walker ]

Well, The first trip was fun. I got to do a 5 mile trench run, sniping falling boulders. That happened when I had to start jetting after I took a wrong step avout 2 miles from the landing point. It was fun though. Almost checked myself out of this dimension from the stunt though when the crevass I was in almost crushed me after it re-closed! :p Man, I didn't know how fast I could bail!!

I did get to see the "Zen Garden" as I call it. It was strangely surreal. It was as if it was carved. I did a little art myself. As a landmark, I made a carved sculpture, sorta more of an abstract form of a human, out of a boulder roughly 50m from the landing point.

Seeing Jupiter hanging though, in the sky, was indeed unnerving. Just think, that if Jupiter was just 10 times more massive, it would have ignited as another star... I can see why it's so volitile. I could see lightning streaks on occaision. The biggest freak-out was seeing the great red spot for the first time with my own eyes. It felt like a demon staring me down... I had to recconoiter for a few minutes after witnessing this sight. Never been so frightened.

[ 10-07-2002: Message edited by: Sakurako 'Endeavor' Hino ]

So it's not overheating? Good to hear. I did a lot of work on improving the electrical efficiency, but it does still throw out heat, and you can't ditch that heat easily in space.

I'm glad I looked through those old NASA records a few years back. It was actually rather easy to adapt the cooling system from the old Apollo missions to the laptop. Water-Depressurisation works just about everywhere it seems...

No "almost" about it. Jupiter is malevolent around here. I would even use the word "oppressive". It is so close that you think you could reach out and touch it. (I tried, it doesn't work.) I know that escape velocity is more than 2 km/s, but I still can't bring myself to leap very high. This is one heck of an optical illusion. One heck of a view as well.

Walker changed into something from a bad movie (like I can talk about that) with good special effects. He really looks at home out here.

Equipment wise; I can verify that cheapy cameras do break out here (the cold makes the plastic brittle) but Endeavor's expensive ones seem to be fine. I guess we will see when the footage is downloaded. Prodigy's gear seems to work better than the "D" League's, it also is simpler and has fewer moving parts. BTW Prodigy, That tube on the right shoulder was rubbing on me, I suspect that my shoulder muscles have gotten more developed since those spec's were taken, it wasn't a problem considering the mutability of EuFiber, but fyi.

The cold here is oppressive. There is a slight atmosphere (from subliming ice) around here and it just sucks the heat out of you. I can even feel it in Troll form, and it is definitely something to plan for in the future. It could cause problems with some of our equipment. As was mentioned earlier, there is an ocean under all this ice. It's funny, in Troll form I think smashing my way down to it would be a good idea, but when pink I don't like it. Food for thought later. The others didn't like that idea either so we will forbear.

It really feels good to be away from the world's troubles. Being out here really puts a different perspective on things. I wouldn't want to do this forever, but this really demonstrates that life as a nova is good.

Originally posted by David 'Dr. Troll' Smith:
No "almost" about it. Jupiter is malevolent around here. I would even use the word "oppressive". It is so close that you think you could reach out and touch it. (I tried, it doesn't work.) I know that escape velocity is more than 2 km/s, but I still can't bring myself to leap very high. This is one heck of an optical illusion. One heck of a view as well.

He's right about the view it is amazing but you'll have to excuse the melodrama. It's a gas giant. It looks like it's about to fall on on our heads. The moons of a gas giant are about the only places you could get agrophobia and claustrophobia triggered all at once. But to ascribe malice to it... nah.

Walker changed into something from a bad movie (like I can talk about that) with good special effects. He really looks at home out here.

Isn't amazing how to Novas with the same capabilities can manifest so differently. Walker transformed to cope with the enviroment. I didn't -- at least not noticibly so.


The cold here is oppressive. There is a slight atmosphere (from subliming ice) around here and it just sucks the heat out of you. I can even feel it in Troll form, and it is definitely something to plan for in the future. It could cause problems with some of our equipment. As was mentioned earlier, there is an ocean under all this ice. It's funny, in Troll form I think smashing my way down to it would be a good idea, but when pink I don't like it. Food for thought later. The others didn't like that idea either so we will forbear.

That was definately not a good idea. I'm only baseline smart and I knew that. Are you sure your intelligence is enhanced when you're green? :P


It really feels good to be away from the world's troubles. Being out here really puts a different perspective on things. I wouldn't want to do this forever, but this really demonstrates that life as a nova is good.

It's certainly a cool holiday destination (pun intended). Like Doctor Smith says. Nice place to visit but I wouldn't want to live here.

Twist

::grumble:: Philistine. ::grumble:: Have you no poetry?

It is, but I had two clones running around when I came up with that one. My aggression goes up a lot when I'm green too. I'm green at the moment (but cloneless) and I think it is a defensiveable idea. You want to know if there is life under this rock? Turn it over and see.

If there were intelligent life I wouldn't suggest it, but the best we might hope for here would be a fish, crab, or worm. I'm pretty sure that Endeavor's boxes were designed to double as specimen containment. With Jupiter's presence I would think that this moon gets earthquakes (from the tides) and (at the vary least) meteors. If it is already prone to large natural disasters, staging a small one wouldn't be that bad.

Just an idea.

Originally posted by David 'Dr. Troll' Smith:
::grumble:: Philistine. ::grumble:: Have you no poetry?

Well, yes, but someone had to bring the party back down to... well Europa I guess. Erm didn't we discuss this already back at base camp?


It is, but I had two clones running around when I came up with that one. My aggression goes up a lot when I'm green too. I'm green at the moment (but cloneless) and I think it is a defensiveable idea. You want to know if there is life under this rock? Turn it over and see.

If there were intelligent life I wouldn't suggest it, but the best we might hope for here would be a fish, crab, or worm. I'm pretty sure that Endeavor's boxes were designed to double as specimen containment. With Jupiter's presence I would think that this moon gets earthquakes (from the tides) and (at the vary least) meteors. If it is already prone to large natural disasters, staging a small one wouldn't be that bad.

Just an idea.


well
a: you'd probably scare off anything mobile that could sense the disturbance.

b: don't be so damn terrocentric. Something small could be highly intelligent if it had a large enough brain to size ratio. Assuming they have a brain as we know it.

c: you mean life... anything with functional sensory organs is sentient. Sorry the use of sentient to mean intelligent is one of my pet hates.

d: why risk a disturbance of that level when Walker and I can just warp under the Ice.

Twist

Hey, don't volunteer me to be a diver. I hate deep water.
Besides, I'm just as happy collecting samples of this strange crystalline matter I found 3 clicks from a vent. Can't wait to get these puppies in a spectrum analyser. Not to mention I'm now getting used to seeing that big gas-bag in the sky. The great red spot ain't so tough. I think I made it blink!
Oh, Troll, next time you feel like going into demolish mode, don't do it near a fissure. The spot I'm at rose 75 feet! I really don't feel like being crushed Nova on ice. The splat wouldn't be photogenic.

True. But where there is mobile there is immobile. If there is so much around that I can scare some off, then the point will have been made. Iffy unless you assume that group minds are possible. Not only is relative size important but absolute size is also important. I said intelligent didn't I? If this kills some starfish or worms... well... so what? Best argument yet.
1)It looks pretty dark down there. Can either/both of you sense real good in the dark?
2)Are you willing to do that? If something goes real wrong the worst that could happen is you could die.
3)The worst that could happen to me is the same thing, but killing me doesn't kill me if you know what I mean.

The best argument against this sort of thing is the environmental damage. But we don't know if there is an environment to damage. When I'm green (like now) I think it is worth the risk, but I also tend to think with my muscles.

Forgive me for interrupting, and being the naysayer in this, but importance does not prove criticality or even relative worth. My own quantum expression proves the so-called "cube square law" of biology to be less a "law" than an axiom; valid only until exception is noted and in this case there are several exceptions. While you could rightly point out that what I do is possible only by virtue of conscious manipulation of quantum I would counter that the assumptions regarding homo sapiens novus in general and MR tissue specifically as the only means of manipulating quantum are merely... assumptions. Assumptions based on terrestrial observations.

I would also draw your attention to the high level of radiation from the planet overhead that your group has remarked on several times. Such levels would increase the probability of mutation by several factors which mean life may have taken any number of avenues different from that found on Earth.

Tread carefully, Doctor. There are those that would consider you, or I, to be little more than "starfish".

Amen to that. I wouldn't be suprised that there's some big-@$$ worm thing chilling out down below waiting for us to get stupid. I bet we'd be mighty tasty to one of the predatory creatures in that water. I'm more than satisfied to stay at the surface, looking at the ice.

you did say intelligent. Sorry. I must have had sentience on the mind for some reason.

anyway yes it's dark down there. So dark it's a fair bet nothing down there can see. Ergo they won't see light so we can use lights if necessary.

Also what we don't know is the energy levels down there. If there are deep sea vents... and as you noted Europa has seismic activity then that's fine. But what about the radition... just because these levels of this type of radition would be inimical to most forms of terrestrial life doesn't mean that life here might not be able to use it as an energy source and much of it probably goes straight through the ice. If there's enough energy down there there could be things as intelligent as dolphins down there. Who knows what we'll find. One things for sure they won't be starfish or worms as we know them. Alien is... well... Alien. That's what makes it so exciting.

Twist

[ 10-08-2002: Message edited by: Twist ]

Just pointing out, they may not be able to see light, but they may just be able to sense heat. It's even more likely, considering conditions down there, that any macro-life would be able to sense pressure from a good distance. Predators need some way to sense their prey, and I'm still thinking in 5-sense mode. Who knows what adaptions any lifeform may create?

Not that it's that likely that there's life under the Ice, but it's worth noting.Even if there is, it could be that predators aren't very common, or at least very small. The most likely base for life is likely thermatrophic bacteria, after all.

We've just spent another day on Europa, taking in a variety of terrain types from regular, rows of ice cliffs stacked up like fallen over dominoes, to chaotic, fractured blocks of ice the size of city blocks sticking up out of the ground like an adventure playground for the children of giants or maybe a tray of ice cubes. The thing you can't get over is the sheer alienness and variety of the ice formations, many different processess have been at work on the landscape, turning it into what we can see today. As well as Jupiters gravity flexing and cracking the surface (the trenches that Endeavor has mentioned) it also flex's the interior resulting in a slow but constant churning of material from the deeper depths towards the surface and then being plowed under again by fresh eruptions. Our analysis of these darker materials has shown lots of carbonates and sulphates, some familar but others completely novel. The more interesting and jumbled terrain seems to be occuring over hotspots in the crust/mantle below the ice and water layers.

Although we've seen some dramatic movements and changes on the surface close up, from a global standpoint the surface changes quite slowly. Our tests on the ice crystals from the surface layers, using a kind of radiodating method, are showing that the icy crust of Europa is completely replenished every 40 to 50 million years. Of course that assumes that Jupiters radiation output has been more or less constant, a not unreasonable assumption, I think, at this stage in it's evolution.

Doutor Reducao, you make some interesting points, I've raised similar questions in regard to whether science can hold all the answers in another thread. Twist and Doc are continuing to argue (scientifically) offline about intelligent life and how you define it, but with my talents at quantum manipulation I can hold an intelligent conversation with anything that is alive.

Still, soon we should be able to say for definite what is going on under the ice, we're preparing for the next venture to and below the Europan surface as I type this, in fact I best go and help get the ULF radio ready.

O_o; That's odd, The geological formation I found about 120 clicks out liiks like some sort of tectonic plate activity... with ice!
One ice "plate" is subducting another here. Out about 30 miles from my location, there is an Ice vent blowing ejecta, landing material even out as far as 5 miles from me. I placed a transmitter beacon at the location I'm at as sort of a warning. I'm heading back for base.

Guys, if you plan on taking a dip, I reccomend staying away from that vent, unless you feel like getting shot up a kilometer or two.

A thread I have read with some interest in light of my own "impossible" abilities. Good luck with your newest effort, Senhor Walker. When you have time we can perhaps continue the discussion of scientific principles vs quantum expression.

A good point. Hmm. Other than ourselves, I don't sense quantum energies around here. Anyone?

I think I'll give up on the arguement now. I'm fairly sure he's wrong but I'm no where near intelligent enough to get a handle on the flaws in his arguement. Anyway I agree that it's highly unlikely we'll find any sort of macro life down there but it's entirely possible that we'll find microbial life. On earth life exists anywhere there's water and a source of energy. This makes it likely that life could be here.

Anyway I'm going to try and get samples of the stuff that vented from Endeavor's subduction site. If it came up from the ocean we can analyse it and see if there is any sign of life even before we venture under the ice.

Twist

Microbes? You mean like bacteria?!? Ewwwww... Gross. :p

Found another crystal. It's a real beauty. This one reacts to light. I shine a flashlight into it, and it has a spectral pattern. Could that be something important? Like photo-electric bacteria or something?

WAAAGGGHHH!!!
Almost got crushed by a ice-rock!
I was taking a shortcut through a cravass to a location I was going to take some quality snapshots of the landing point, and I got whacked across the back with a large ice chunk! :p
No suit damage, but I'm peeved!
Wugghhh... Why do I feel so hot lately?

Endeavor;
If I may be so bold as to ask; why would one of the race capable of flying prefer to walk?

You may wish exercise caution in regards to that sensation of heat. Indeed, assuming your suit instrumentation allows you may wish to ascertain whether the sensation is subjective or objective. Many of the race radiate or bleed excess quamtum into the environment in a number of ways and as a budding engineer you are certainly aware that many forms of energy s