Page 107 Discussion

[fredgiblet]

This information pleases me hooman, give me more!

[Razor One]

That look on her face is absolute gold.

Good thing Alex stuck to metric. If he'd started reciting imperial measurements I think her head would have exploded.

[GeoModder]

Or Alex' head, with her pressing meticulous question about ever more detail and exceptions in the imperial system.

[rewik]

That look on her face is absolute gold.
Good thing Alex stuck to metric. If he'd started reciting imperial measurements I think her head would have exploded.

I don't think it would have made much of a difference: metric is convenient because we settled on a base-10 numerical system. There's evidence of base-8 and base-12 being used earlier, and Romans used a non-positional system. Trade language uses base-8 (it's also bijective and little endian to make it even more alien to us), so it's not much easier.
On a related note I've been thinking of how to do octal-bijective equivalent of decimal representation of fractions and I don't really have any ideas. So most likely he really is literally saying P divided by ZPPGRGRAPZ. (And I hope I haven't screwed this up)

Sidenote: there's an error on the Trade Language Numerals page, with decimal values 29-35 having wrong representations in Trade-8 (reversed digit order).
Second sidenote: I don't envy him having to do this bloody conversion in his head without the aid of a computer. Or perhaps he's been using Trade-8 exclusively and doesn't have to convert from decimal?

[fredgiblet]

Personally I would have expected the ships to be Trade exclusive from training forward. English only for things that can't be easily described in Trade. Full immersion is the fastest way to learn a language.

[MattStriker]

He may have just given away more than he wanted. Even if the Loroi only have the same exoplanet-hunting technology we do (and I figure they're quite a bit beyond that), he's probably just given them the exact position of Earth. Giving them the length of a day may have been safe-ish. The year is the problem.

[fredgiblet]

In a month or two they'll know where Earth is anyway, so it doesn't really make a difference.

[sunphoenix]

Yes... she does have a very lovely smile..that's nice!

But I think something he also revealed...as you can learn a lot about a culture by how it measures the universe. Its will be quite clear to Tempo that Humaniti is a very analytical species with a strong base in scientific principals. Clearly it make some very good sense for a ten fingered species to develop a base-10 mathematics system. And clearly... Alex is one of humaniti's well educated representatives.

To me, at least, it would make Humaniti's psychology look like a very expansionist and adaptive species that could very well with time be a rival for galactic territory... but at the very least.. Humaniti "seems" to be so very similar to the Loroi and if this one specimen, 'Captain' Alexander Jardin, is to be taken as a base-standard humaniti could be a VERY strong ally with similar needs, goals, and motivations as the Loroi.

Humaniti could either be their greatest Ally.. or even a worse threat than the Umiak if this initial contact is somehow bungled badly. Though Humaniti are less advanced technically than the Loroi, Humaniti could catch up ...quickly in ways that would be surprising and potentially dangerous for them as Humaniti clearly are a technical species with a inquisitive and insightful mind~ as the reasons/basis for Humaniti's measuring systems somewhat reveals.

Clearly, Humaniti are not primitives.. just not quite up to Loroi advancement...all without ANY "boot-straping" from a previously advanced races ruins merely recovered and figured out. Well BUILT our technical advancements.

[dragoongfa]

He may have just given away more than he wanted. Even if the Loroi only have the same exoplanet-hunting technology we do (and I figure they're quite a bit beyond that), he's probably just given them the exact position of Earth. Giving them the length of a day may have been safe-ish. The year is the problem.

Remember that 365 days isn't exactly accurate

[Suederwind]

That face is priceless.
Lets hope for Alex, that she won't ask more biological questions next, with that expression on her face...

[Nugget]

Now that's a face you can trust.

[CrimsonFALKE]

This information pleases me hooman, give me more!

She is enjoying her job way to much.

[Arioch]

Sidenote: there's an error on the Trade Language Numerals page, with decimal values 29-35 having wrong representations in Trade-8 (reversed digit order).

Thanks for the correction.

[novius]

Yep, I'd say she is flirting.... consciously or unconsciously, in a nerdy sort of way. That, or she must be an even better actress than Tempo would ever be.

Though I wouldn't completely discount a hidden purpose in Beryl's line of questioning. Length of day? Length of year? Two identifying orbital parameters for a planet. Add some automated telescopes or other means of survey into the mix, and they could come close to pinpoint Earth amongst the number of possibly life bearing planets. Especially since humans evidently thrive in similar conditions Loroi are used to.

Especially since the Loroi obviously have a rough idea in which direction to look...

Just seen that it has been mentioned earlier, but two months could mean everything in a war. Especially if it could turn out to be a race between Loroi and Umiak.

[Razor One]

I don't see how the Loroi being able to pinpoint Earth is in any way a bad thing. Diplomatic contact between their species was the entire purpose of the Bellarmine's mission and hiding the location doesn't really facilitate the goal. Both powers are expanding and will find the place sooner or later.

What exactly is gained by hiding Earth's location to people whom you ostensibly need to buddy up to in order to avoid being bushwhacked by the other guy?

[Zakharra]

This information pleases me hooman, give me more!

For Beryl, new knowledge of an unknown intelligent species is better than sex.

[Siber]

Yeah, okay, that face is fairly unsettling.

And woo, more pages! Loving it!

[hack]

"tell me more of this 'imperial measurement systems'..."
"oh, you dirty, DIRTY girl..!"

[icekatze]

hi hi

I was going to say... I don't think telling her about non-metric measurements would cause her head to explode. Judging by the look on her face, I'm guessing she'd be thrilled to hear all about those wacky, quaint, and backwards units of measurements that the humanities use.

Is it just me, or did anyone else see this:

And think of this:

Having the Umiak reach the relay first would be a serious problem, but I would think that Alex could phrase it more along the lines of "being worried that the Umiak might find it," rather than "the Umiak would be brought there." When you think about it, it is really a rather bleak proposition for Alex, being abandoned like that. Imagine if the Terrans allied themselves with the Umiak.

[Razor One]

hi hi

I was going to say... I don't think telling her about non-metric measurements would cause her head to explode. Judging by the look on her face, I'm guessing she'd be thrilled to hear all about those wacky, quaint, and backwards units of measurements that the humanities use.

That wouldn't be the head asplodey part, no. The fact that certain nations still use that system as their primary unit of measurement when there are better ones though? That's where her head asplode.

"It's archaic! It's completely arbitrary! Moreso than usual! It makes no sense! How? How could they keep using such a travesty of a non-sensical system!? It might have made sense before science and reason but it has no place in the-arghargharhgharhgarhWTFBOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!"

Is it just me, or did anyone else see this:

And think of this: <<Snip>>

Yeah, I was thinking of "More Input!" as well. Haven't watched it for years but there it was. Glad I'm not alone.

Having the Umiak reach the relay first would be a serious problem, but I would think that Alex could phrase it more along the lines of "being worried that the Umiak might find it," rather than "the Umiak would be brought there." When you think about it, it is really a rather bleak proposition for Alex, being abandoned like that. Imagine if the Terrans allied themselves with the Umiak.

That would make Alex one of two things; either a POW or a Quisling to the Loroi, depending on how he swung. In the former case, depending on how humane the Loroi feel during and after the war, he might be able to get away with permanent house arrest or wind up on the gruesome experiments slab. In the latter case, assuming he assists the Loroi subjugating Earth away from the Umiak, he could probably convince them not to horrifically bomb major population centers.