quote:Originally posted by Timo: Still, for all we know, something like the superconvoys may in fact be at work in Trek. The transports we've seen are laughably small for hauling low-buck-per-pound bulk stuff such as "ore", which nevertheless is being hauled somehow. Few of the TNG or DS9 storylines would have touched upon the superconvoys, really.
The problem with that is if you are hauling bulk you're going to haul it in the bulkiest way possible... thus the reason why supertankers haul oil instead of smaller vessels. It's economical. When you come up with this explanation you have to take that into account that such things should normally be hauled in the largest vessel possible.
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posted
Since the Kelvans are now our friends, why not ask them to turn everyone into those little dodecahedrons? That would save a lot of space and cut way down on life support requirements.
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Registered: Oct 1999
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Yeah, but would YOU want to be turned into an elaborate sugar cube?
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posted
If I had to choose between cube-dom and getting flash-fried by my sun, I'd choose the cube.
You know, I think the Kelvans could go into business transporting people in cube form at low cost. if I could be Fedex'ed in cube form from the US to Japan for $30 rather than having to spend 14 hours and $1000 for a trip in economy class, I'd do it!
-------------------- When you're in the Sol system, come visit the Starfleet Museum
Registered: Oct 1999
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quote:Originally posted by Masao: Since the Kelvans are now our friends, why not ask them to turn everyone into those little dodecahedrons? That would save a lot of space and cut way down on life support requirements.
Another example of tech that just sort of disappears after its single use.
-------------------- "Well, I mean, it's generally understood that, of all of the people in the world, Mike Nelson is the best." -- ULTRA MAGNUS, steadfast in curmudgeon
Registered: Feb 2001
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quote:Originally posted by Masao: Since the Kelvans are now our friends, why not ask them to turn everyone into those little dodecahedrons? That would save a lot of space and cut way down on life support requirements.
So, your on the Federation transport hauling little dodecahedron passengers, and all of a sudden you feel tired and sit down on one of the boxes your hauling. You crushed Ensign Jones damn you! Now sweep her salty remains under the other boxes and move along like nothing happened.
-------------------- "You must talk to him; tell him that he is a good cat, and a pretty cat, and..." -- Data "I will feed him" -- Worf (Phantasms)
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posted
Despite occassional, extremely unfortunate, mishaps, dodecahedrons are statistically the safest form of transportation! In fact, the most dangerous part of the journey is driving down to the (conveniently located) dodecahedronization center!
--This message brought to you by the Milky Way Kelvan Dodecahedron Industry Council (MWKDIC)
-------------------- When you're in the Sol system, come visit the Starfleet Museum
Registered: Oct 1999
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quote:Originally posted by Masao: If I had to choose between cube-dom and getting flash-fried by my sun, I'd choose the cube.
You know, I think the Kelvans could go into business transporting people in cube form at low cost. if I could be Fedex'ed in cube form from the US to Japan for $30 rather than having to spend 14 hours and $1000 for a trip in economy class, I'd do it!
I've seen over a DOZEN packages lost and/or crushed by Fed-Ex over the past year but have never known someone that dies on a airplane. You go ahead: I'll enjoy overpriced booze and flirting with the stewardess from business class.
-------------------- Justice inclines her scales so that wisdom comes at the price of suffering. -Aeschylus, Agamemnon
Registered: Aug 2002
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quote:Originally posted by Masao: Despite occassional, extremely unfortunate, mishaps, dodecahedrons are statistically the safest form of transportation! In fact, the most dangerous part of the journey is driving down to the (conveniently located) dodecahedronization center!
--This message brought to you by the Milky Way Kelvan Dodecahedron Industry Council (MWKDIC)
Oh, they've got a great lobbying team. Right up there with the Regional Organization for Acceptance of the Safety of Transporters (ROAST) and the Holodeck Entrapment is a Lie Project (HELP).
-------------------- "You must talk to him; tell him that he is a good cat, and a pretty cat, and..." -- Data "I will feed him" -- Worf (Phantasms)
Registered: Sep 2003
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posted
Interesting tidbit here... I'm watching the rerun of "Half a Life," and Lwaxana Troi asks Dr. Timicin why they never just decided to evacuate the planet.
Now granted, Lwaxana isn't exactly the most technically knowledgeable person in the Star Trek universe...
However, even Dr. Timicin seemed to take the suggestion seriously, at least as a practical option; he did reject it, though, because no one wanted to leave their homeworld.
Assuming that the Kaelons had respectable spaceflight capability (and they did have warships that could offer a minor threat to the Enterprise), then they could probably manage such an evacuation, after all.
-------------------- “Those people who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do.” — Isaac Asimov Star Trek Minutiae | Memory Alpha
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posted
I think a Galaxy saucer modified with landing legs and with most of it's scientific compliment and crew quarters removed would make an ideal evacuation platform.
-------------------- "You must talk to him; tell him that he is a good cat, and a pretty cat, and..." -- Data "I will feed him" -- Worf (Phantasms)
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posted
They were looking at some serious timescales with that Kaelon star, though, no? With disaster near when you measured time like glaciers do. I mean, it wasn't at risk of going out during the episode, as I recall.
But even with some temporal space to stretch in, I don't think you can move the population of any planet with Earthlike numbers without resorting to some wormhole-esque transportation scheme. Or even with one. The original post overlooks the fact that the planet's inhabitants aren't just sitting on their hands while all this is going on. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, our population gets a net gain of one person every nine seconds. And that's just in the United States. The total number of humans worldwide goes up by 2.3 every second.
So, anyway, I think Operation: Cheese It! will probably need to start with saturation bombing the planet with long-lasting airborne birth control drugs and possibly abortifactants, depending on how patient we are and whether or not we're space fascists with little regard for reproductive rights. Ah, details.
(For those worried about the opinions of angry libertarians with too much time on their hands, consider their review of The Phantom Menace, which includes the credibility-smashing line: "The Phantom Menace is a splendid, triumphant, inspiring movie".)
[ October 26, 2003, 12:45 AM: Message edited by: Sol System ]
Registered: Mar 1999
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quote:Originally posted by Sol System: (For those worried about the opinions of angry libertarians with too much time on their hands, consider their review of The Phantom Menace, which includes the credibility-smashing line: "The Phantom Menace is a splendid, triumphant, inspiring movie".)
No way. That's like saying "Voyager's attention to plausable technical details is flawless." "Howard The Duck is George Lucas' best production" "Hayden Christensen is a great actor." "Mountain Man is sorely missed." 'Armageddon was a plausable story."
-------------------- Justice inclines her scales so that wisdom comes at the price of suffering. -Aeschylus, Agamemnon
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