Space Voyage #1 Chatter

[Edella]

Just a note to tell you guys that you you are doing a great job with the story.With so many people working on it,it is amazing that its as coherent as it is.I look forward to every new "installment."

 

Can anyone say Philip K. Dick Award?:shrug:

[TheBigDog]

For those playing along, we are heading back to the earth to drop off our guests who came with us too the moon (at least some of them), and to replenish propellent in the main reserve tank to make up for what we used during the moon missions. Then we leave for the moon to recoup all of our stuff and head off to....

 

Bill

[TheFaithfulStone]

Is it just me, or does it seem that all this cloak and dagger "Spy vs.Spy" stuff is just dragging us further and further away from what this whole project was supposed to be about, space voyage and exploration?

 

I disagree. I've already had enough flowery prose about how cool space is and what a great moment and blah, blah, blah. And technical descriptions about interesting things about the spaceship are cool, but kinda dry.

 

I have zero interest in reading a story without any conflict, and only slightly more in reading a story where the conflict is with technical problems. I don't want to get into a soap opera in outer space, where all of our conflicts are internal (Battlestar Galactica already does that so well...) I think we need an external threat to make it an interesting story.

 

Since I doubt we want to fight aliens or rouge AIs, we've got to have something.

 

I mean, we could couple technical mishaps with major interpersonal conflict, but who wants to be the jackass who accidentally crashes the main computer, and dooms us all to a violent crash into something?

 

I guess it depends on whether we're trying to write an interesting story, or fill in every detail about a "real" space mission. If the latter, then yeah, I guess it should be boring. ;)

 

TFS

[Jay-qu]

I agree, the story cant just be the trip, its not like we can draw any conclusions from our made up results from any experiments we do..

[IDMclean]

I don't want to get into a soap opera in outer space, where all of our conflicts are internal (Battlestar Galactica already does that so well...) I think we need an external threat to make it an interesting story.

 

The term is Space Opera. Excellent examples of Space Opera are:

Star Trek, Star Wars, Dune and Battlestar Galatica.

 

And yes we could have a story completely about internal conflict. However external influences are likely. However not nessessarily directly. There are a few stories out there that are based on our particular idea. Admittedly, without complications a story is dry, and when a plot device is developed to suddenly solve a problem, then the problem is solved and that plot thread is resolved.

 

So the question is:

Are we telling a Sci-FI story here?

Or

Are we telling a Non-fiction fiction story?

[Jay-qu]

So the question is:

Are we telling a Sci-FI story here?

Or

Are we telling a Non-fiction fiction story?

 

;) I like that, although I know the difference your talking about, semantically there is no real difference

[TheFaithfulStone]

We have an orbiting interplanetary spinning space ship with nuclear pulse propulsion.

 

I think it's safe to say we're telling a science fiction story.

 

TFS

[TheBigDog]

What kind of story is this? I am telling the story of the trip from the perspective of my character. I am taking some literary liberties in driving the overall journey into a particular direction, but I am doing that so that the journey does not get lost for the intreague. What I did in my last post was to puch the journey forward, and to draw some conclusions about what had led to the previous uncheduled events - all from the perspective of my character. While that may have delayed some of the plot twists that others had envisioned, it is not an attempt to stop their input, only to keep the journey moving forward. In the end I want the ship as a central character and the crew as a whole to be a hopeful thing, and not a story of their constant flaws. As the captain I am making moves to keep those things hidden from public view. That does not mean that they just have to stop. Let me give some examples.

 

I have concluded that the press was behind the plot, but notice that it is the idea of my character and not supported by the data given to me by my sources. And they are confident that we don't have a bad guy on the ship, but again, we could be wrong.

 

Other things going on include the strange reaction of Pyro to the initial threat. What other things are at play with him phycologically? And there is the bullet holes in the one bugger that I didn't accout for in my explanation at all. There is more afoot here that I may be aware of. I have just put it on a bit of a low burneer to let us get past the space trials and off to the outer planets. The earth presents a dynamic to the story that can get it very complicated.

 

And there is still the need to take the journey. Here too there is ripe fruit for drama. Deep space. Planetary exploration. Landing on far off and strange worlds in all sorts of unpleasant conditions. Invention of new methods of exploration as we move forward. Discussion of our "series of explorations". Opportunities to profiteer. Captain going crazy and losing the confidence of the crew. Crew going crazy and losing the confidence of the captain.

 

This is a marathon, not a sprint. We are in the first week of the journey. Take some time to enjoy the ride along the way!

 

Bill

[TheBigDog]

We have an orbiting interplanetary spinning space ship with nuclear pulse propulsion.

 

I think it's safe to say we're telling a science fiction story.

 

TFS

It is indeed science fiction, but with one foot firmly planted in today's technology (for the most part) and an eye on the plausibility of the engineering. It is science fiction set in present day and assuming that we spent the past ten years knocking down political and financial barriers that impede space progress. Thus the Prophesy and her crew are born.

 

Bill

[TheFaithfulStone]

assuming that we spent the past ten years knocking down political and financial barriers that impede space progress

 

So it's a fantasy then? B)

 

TFS

[IDMclean]

Fantasy by it's definition is fiction of the purest sort, the ultimate in what if?

 

It always results in chaotics when you place it into a real world system, but hey they make good stories around the Camp fire.

[TheFaithfulStone]

Ha!

 

Bio-nano-bots. :hihi:

 

Classic.

 

TFS

[Pyrotex]

Ha! Bio-nano-bots. :) Classic.

Ohhhh! So you liked that one, hunh?? thanks!! ;)

 

So THIS is where you guys have been hanging out. I must have missed the office memo where we were told that a parallel strategy thread was being created.

 

I agree with everything said here so far. We don't want too much structure, but we don't want loose cannons dragging our plot into an endless soap opera of "my gun's bigger than yours".

 

I'm basically satisfied with our little "agent provacateur" episode. I thought I would let someone else finish off Desiree la'Tush. I've HAD my fun with her. :) Seems she was working for the Press. (Brilliant, BigDog! How did you know?) Oh, and we have to find out what those bio-nano-bots are programmed to do. Perhaps make us quarrelsome, so the press can sell more crisis news? Great job to ALL you guys.

[TheFaithfulStone]

KAC: Please clarify.

 

Did the UN massacre the scientists or somebody else. It's unclear from the story.

 

Also - people on Earth seem to be giving us a lot of crap... I say we point the engines towards Delta Pavonis and leave all these sots behind - I hear it's just lovely this time of year - the waves of Caladan and all that..

 

TFS

[TheBigDog]

Has anyone noticed how much traffic we have had the past couple of weeks? We are getting about 100 views/day on the story thread. Do we have a growing fan base?

 

Bill

[Jay-qu]

I think I check in about 5 times a day :naughty:

[Jay-qu]

when I am getting off the moon?