high-energy physics

[warpfairy]

Federation political prisons are not particularly uncomfortable. She's not going anywhere, but she can read, she's considering taking up an instrument, the only really awkward thing is that she doesn't particularly want to be supervised while she's sweating her way through her next pon farr one way or another but that's years off. That and she wishes she'd taken longer to get caught. But she was running out of the really low-hanging fruit anyway.

This is what she signed up for. She makes up imaginary profiles of people on the planets she got to, people who can live longer fuller lives with the stars in reach, one per day. One per day and she'll have loads of estimated impact left unused when she dies. Perfectly reasonable tradeoff and she can still read books.

Someone wants to interview her about Vulcan; they don't want to lose anything that anybody remembers; she gives the interview and then picks up some poetry.

Comments

[lintamande]

The Quendi are definitely lacking some cultural context here. Obviously everyone should at a minimum be immortal, not get sick, and have better eyesight? They can confirm those things are just straight pluses?

[warpfairy]

But there was that war that one time, don't they see.

[lintamande]

They give it a try.


Nope.

[warpfairy]

Anyway, it doesn't take very long for a genetic engineer to spend his life savings on Ferengi transport to their planet.

[lintamande]

They are delighted and are happy to acquire things a genetic engineer might need to do work here.

[warpfairy]

The genetic engineer is delighted. Some of his customers might be taking more discreet routes out.

[lintamande]

Are they screening for Federation spies? How are they doing that?

[warpfairy]

Well, the genetic engineer is probably not a Federation spy, although it's possible he traded his way out of prison by agreeing to turn spy for them - not a characteristic tactic but not that unlikely. They can do background checks - they can do this really thoroughly with science-ethernet-connected crystal balls - and they can invite people to be mindread before they are offered access to anything sensitive?

[lintamande]

Seems reasonable. The Quendi are picking up all their espionage instincts from spy media and will trust T'Mir about what's actually a warranted security level.

[warpfairy]

Well, she doesn't want to let spies in and they might really try to come in but she also doesn't want to abuse mindreading, and besides, if they want a large population they can't realistically run all of them past Bella, who is the only person who'd be able to suss out a spy determined to hide.

[lintamande]

Material has not sent them any other subtle artists? Though of course those wouldn't be inherently trustworthy either.

[subtly_artistic]

Yep, that's the issue, and they wouldn't know as much about what to look for until they too have absorbed spy media.

[lintamande]

Well, spy media for everyone is pretty easy, what with improving compatibility between different kinds of magic and science systems.

[subtly_artistic]

The Materians find Warp media very samey in setting (so much of it is science fantasy about Warp in particular!) but familiar in many respects. For instance, both worlds have invented the action movie.

...anything moving back in Valinor? Interplanar crystal balls are really hard, she is sorry she cannot send Fëanáro's parents cute pictures, but she's taking a bunch to send when she can...

[lintamande]

Fëanáro's parents are in touch every day, but Valinor remains Valinor-paced. They are debating three candidate sites for the city in the Outer Lands.

[warpfairy]

Wow, Valinor pacing is kind of amazing.

[subtly_artistic]

Isn't it just.

[lintamande]

"The debate over whether to accept the invitation to Valinor lasted thirty years," Rúmil says.

[warpfairy]

"...that's not even Valinor pacing, then, is it..."

[lintamande]

"It may in fact just be Quendi pacing."

[warpfairy]

"I suppose I have been exposed to an outlying sample."

[lintamande]

"Fëanáro hated it so much he left. I - well, I advise rulers, I am currently wedded to Bella's pace. I suppose otherwise I'd have been happy at Finwë's."

[warpfairy]

"Is there much variance apart from Fëanáro?"

[lintamande]

"Yes. But people who are faster-paced just take on more things simultaneously; you don't mind a debate going on for thirty years if it's one of a dozen projects of yours, some of which come together much more quickly."

[warpfairy]

"Huh. I think I'd rather work sequentially."