Miscellaneous Loroi question-and-answer thread

[Quickdraw101]

If not friend, why friend shaped?

[Cthulhu]

If not friend, why friend shaped?

On Deinar, the Loroi had only the miros, which were bacon-shaped instead.

On Perrein, they got the sori, which is basically all of Australian fauna's murderous intent and ability in a single tentacled package. It can sing, though.

On Taben, there were the leviathans. Good eating, but definitely not cuddly.


As not to get off-topic, a few questions:
1. Is there any kind of overview what the roles of the male monastic orders are? Maybe even with ranks... sorry for being greedy
2. What do the cardinals or other "clergymen" do? Or is that still classified for plot reasons?
3. Would a male even care to meet his offspring, especially a daughter? In a non-sexual way, of course.
4. Had Fireblade ever enjoyed an encounter?
5. How long would a completely normal encounter last? And what about something very extravagant?

[Arioch]

1. Is there any kind of overview what the roles of the male monastic orders are? Maybe even with ranks...

The male orders perform a variety of social support functions, which can mostly be summarized as various forms of counseling and therapy. This can include psychological counseling, spiritual or philosophical guidance, social "coaching", physical therapy, psychiatric therapy, and various forms of more specific medical treatment in the general category of "wellness." It can also include research related to the above, or to more abstract philosophical subjects.

There are a variety of separate orders that each specialize in a particular activity in a specific locality. After reunification of the Sister Worlds there was only limited interest in merging them as was done with the female castes, resulting in the Nedatan super-order which handles multiple specialties and has chapters on multiple worlds. Today most of the original orders still exist in their various original locations, but most of the males found in the newer colonies are Nedatan.

Nedatan titles include:

• Tiret - counselor
• Ninzadi - scholar (with Listel-like memory)
• Timadi - seer
• Nilodi - preserver (an administrator, usually with seer abilities)
• Diigon - archive (a senior Ninzadi)
• Titennos - root (a senior administator)

2. What do the cardinals or other "clergymen" do? Or is that still classified for plot reasons?

As in a church, they perform administrative and leadership duties, debate doctrine, and perform their respective specialties at a high level.

3. Would a male even care to meet his offspring, especially a daughter? In a non-sexual way, of course.

It would depend on the individual.

4. Had Fireblade ever enjoyed an encounter?

Yes.

5. How long would a completely normal encounter last? And what about something very extravagant?

A typical encounter includes multiple meetings over a period of about a week, and usually includes whatever theraputic or counseling services that male provides. A higher-tier encounter is mainly characterized by being with a higher-status male.

[Cthulhu]

The male orders perform a variety of social support functions, which can mostly be summarized as various forms of counseling and therapy. This can include psychological counseling, spiritual or philosophical guidance, social "coaching", physical therapy, psychiatric therapy, and various forms of more specific medical treatment in the general category of "wellness." It can also include research related to the above, or to more abstract philosophical subjects.

There are a variety of separate orders that each specialize in a particular activity in a specific locality. After reunification of the Sister Worlds there was only limited interest in merging them as was done with the female castes, resulting in the Nedatan super-order which handles multiple specialties and has chapters on multiple worlds. Today most of the original orders still exist in their various original locations, but most of the males found in the newer colonies are Nedatan.

Nedatan titles include:

• Tiret - counselor
• Ninzadi - scholar (with Listel-like memory)
• Timadi - seer
• Nilodi - preserver (an administrator, usually with seer abilities)
• Diigon - archive (a senior Ninzadi)
• Titennos - root (a senior administator)

So there's enough wiggle room. Thanks for the detailed explanation!

As in a church, they perform administrative and leadership duties, debate doctrine, and perform their respective specialties at a high level.

Somehow, I assumed that the Loroi didn't have much in terms of an organized church. Do they even any have any public services?

Yes.

Okay, I think that I mixed that up with a fanfic. Although with how grumpy she is, perhaps she needs another one...

A typical encounter includes multiple meetings over a period of about a week, and usually includes whatever theraputic or counseling services that male provides. A higher-tier encounter is mainly characterized by being with a higher-status male.

So an encounter can be spiced up with additional services. But what about the reverse? Is it always a package? Do the males performing those healing/therapeutic tasks on the females end up bedding their patients? Or is that forbidden if the female didn't earn any encounter rights?

[Arioch]

Somehow, I assumed that the Loroi didn't have much in terms of an organized church. Do they even any have any public services?

One of the functions of the Ninzadi is to recount the heroic myths. When done for a large audience this is analogous to a public religious service.

So an encounter can be spiced up with additional services. But what about the reverse? Is it always a package? Do the males performing those healing/therapeutic tasks on the females end up bedding their patients? Or is that forbidden if the female didn't earn any encounter rights?

It's normally a package deal, for services that involve one-on-one contact. It's not like you show up to the town doctor and it turns out he's a male; a female would be doing that job.

Normally. There is always the possibility of unusual circumstances, but the Loroi endeavor to avoid putting males in such circumstances. You won't normally find males out on frontier outposts and the like where they might end up pressed into service in non-traditional roles due to personnel shortages.

[Cthulhu]

Somehow, I assumed that the Loroi didn't have much in terms of an organized church. Do they even any have any public services?

One of the functions of the Ninzadi is to recount the heroic myths. When done for a large audience this is analogous to a public religious service.

That I already knew, I didn't know that the "priests" were involved in there as well. Or even how they're involved. So the Ninzadi recount the myths, and the priests cover the administrative part? Or some other interpretation part? Or the molesting part? No, that's the universal package

[Arioch]

Somehow, I assumed that the Loroi didn't have much in terms of an organized church. Do they even any have any public services?

One of the functions of the Ninzadi is to recount the heroic myths. When done for a large audience this is analogous to a public religious service.

That I already knew, I didn't know that the "priests" were involved in there as well. Or even how they're involved. So the Ninzadi recount the myths, and the priests cover the administrative part? Or some other interpretation part? Or the molesting part? No, that's the universal package

I'm not sure who you mean by "priest." And the analogy to religion is an imperfect one; "clergy" or "priest" could refer to any or all of the Nedatan. In the above example I assumed you were referring to the higher-ranking titles such as Nilodi or Diigon; these are mainly higher-ranking versions of the Timadi and Ninzadi. It's like an engineering manager: he's still an engineer, but probably spends most of his time being a manager.

As mentioned, a Ninzadi may frequently give myth retellings to an audience that he's not having sex with.

A Timadi is most typically tasked with monitoring the telepathic activities of a large group of people who he's not having sex with.

A Tiret may sometimes offer counseling to a group rather than an individual, in which case he's not having sex with them.

[Cthulhu]

Ah, okay, now I understood it, the males with the "religious" titles like deacon and cardinal are simply higher-ranking versions of the Timadi and Ninzadi. I thought they were a separate branch of the Nedatan order, and this caused my confusion. Sorry for being a bit dense.

Is there a "pope" as well?

[Arioch]

Ah, okay, now I understood it, the males with the "religious" titles like deacon and cardinal are simply higher-ranking versions of the Timadi and Ninzadi. I thought they were a separate branch of the Nedatan order, and this caused my confusion. Sorry for being a bit dense.

Is there a "pope" as well?

There is a head of the ruling Nedatan council, but to compare him to the Pope would, I think, be taking the religion analogy too far.

[Urist]

4. Had Fireblade ever enjoyed an encounter?

Yes.

Hmm, and she's 25... so assuming that she got the usual post-diral encounter, add a year, that means that there could (approximately) be a 'Fireblade Junior' freshly graduated from the Teidar academy running around the galaxy somewhere.

Scary.

Silly scenarioShow

Alex: "You know, I'm glad that this Tinza-reserve warship picked us up off of the Shell ship, but the warrior they've sent to keep an eye on us seems really, uh, 'standoffish.' What's her problem?"

Beryl: "...It seems that she is Fireblade's daughter."

*Synchronized mother-daughter glaring at the humaniti*

Weirder scenarioShow

Or more strangely, Fireblade Junior isn't a teidar, but instead is the friendliest & most chatty soroin in the Union.
Alex: "Fireblade, you need a maternity test on that kid. I refuse to believe that you two are related.

Scarier scenarioShow

Or Talon wasn't (just) being sarcastic on Page 143 and *she* is Fireblade's daughter.

Beryl: "Alex, Fireblade says that she would like to ask 'What you meant by holding hands with her daughter.'"
Alex: *Nervously sweating*

[Hālian]

I weigh about 25¾ dinopilo (under Terran gravity). God, I'm fat.

I've since lost just under 34 pilo! I now weigh 25¼ dinopilo. I'm also working on the path towards bariatric surgery again.

[gaerzi]

You won't normally find males out on frontier outposts and the like where they might end up pressed into service in non-traditional roles due to personnel shortages.

"Normally" and "might" give enough leeway for fanfic writers to run wild!


Especially when it turns out the enemy has some way to advance undetected so planets that weren't considered frontier outposts end up being suddenly frontier outposts without warning.

[Hālian]

Without reference to sanzai, how would one tell the difference between ranks of the same caste with the same color rank insignia (e.g. Torrai Torret though Sillatozan, or Mizol Rizoiszit and Lennai-in-uniform)?

[Arioch]

Without reference to sanzai, how would one tell the difference between ranks of the same caste with the same color rank insignia (e.g. Torrai Torret though Sillatozan, or Mizol Rizoiszit and Lennai-in-uniform)?

There are differences in the uniform, notably in the detail of the rank tabs and the shape of the shoulder guards; higher ranks tend to have more ornate designs. See below the differences between Torret (Ashrain & Arclight), Mazeit (Moonglow) and Lashret (Stillstorm).

[Cthulhu]

1. How quickly can a floater engine be turned off (or dialed down as not to deliver significant trust), and then powered up to full output? Will this perhaps put additional strain on the subsystems, especially the reactors?
2. What about the Umiak engines?
3. How good are the inertia dampening fields at compensating pivoting momentum? Do they function better in a directional sense (lining up with the engine vector), or is there not much difference?
4. If a ship received additional acceleration that is not lining up with the vector of whatever the dampeners are currently dealing with (like an attack), will the dampening effect (for either vector) suffer?
5. What happens if the ship's acceleration goes over the dampening limits? Will the generators continue to work and partially dampen the forces, or simply fail altogether?

[Arioch]

1. How quickly can a floater engine be turned off (or dialed down as not to deliver significant trust), and then powered up to full output? Will this perhaps put additional strain on the subsystems, especially the reactors?
2. What about the Umiak engines?
3. How good are the inertia dampening fields at compensating pivoting momentum? Do they function better in a directional sense (lining up with the engine vector), or is there not much difference?
4. If a ship received additional acceleration that is not lining up with the vector of whatever the dampeners are currently dealing with (like an attack), will the dampening effect (for either vector) suffer?
5. What happens if the ship's acceleration goes over the dampening limits? Will the generators continue to work and partially dampen the forces, or simply fail altogether?

The throttling performance will vary depending on the individual engine model, with larger engines taking longer to spool up to full power. The Loroi tend to have larger engines and rely more on thrust vectoring for maneuver, so reaction time will be slower, while the Umiak rely more on differential thrust from multiple smaller engines, so their throttle times will tend to be faster.

I don't have specific throttle times modeled; the sim I put together doesn't track time on that short a timescale. Engine cut-off time would be nearly instant, though there would still be residual thrust for a few seconds as the reaction died down. Engine spool-up time would be very quick for small engines, and several seconds for larger engines... maybe something on the order of 10 seconds for full thrust from the largest engines.

The most extreme accelerations that a ship is going to experience are a) the extreme gravitational gradient of hyperspace jump transition, and b) any hit from a high-energy projectile. Both of these events are both instantaneous and would produce enough momentary acceleration to splatter the entire crew against the bulkheads, so the inertial damping system has to be able to deal with these acclerations which are far in excess of any acceleration that the engines could produce and could come from any direction and without any advance warning.

So, as a practical matter, any ship with inertial dampers can easily damp out any acceleration produced by their engines, and momentary events like turning or braking are not a problem.

If somehow a ship did receive a force beyond what its dampers could handle, the occupants would experience the net excess force. I don't think overloaded dampers would necessarily fail, but the only sort of event that I can think of that might cause an overload would be high velocity collision with another object (or the ground) that would most likely destroy the ship anyway, so I'm not sure it really matters in practical terms.

The Umiak damping systems work on a similar principle, and so observe the above rules.

[Cthulhu]

If somehow a ship did receive a force beyond what its dampers could handle, the occupants would experience the net excess force. I don't think overloaded dampers would necessarily fail, but the only sort of event that I can think of that might cause an overload would be high velocity collision with another object (or the ground) that would most likely destroy the ship anyway, so I'm not sure it really matters in practical terms.

I was thinking more in terms of the dampers no longer being able to deliver their full output. Battle damage, energy transmission problems, cooling issues, etc. Would the remaining dampening force remain in full effect, but only up to a certain g threshold, or would it be a partial dampening effect regardless of the acceleration?

Or do the dampers have so much redundancy that they are unlikely to be a bottleneck?

[Arioch]

If somehow a ship did receive a force beyond what its dampers could handle, the occupants would experience the net excess force. I don't think overloaded dampers would necessarily fail, but the only sort of event that I can think of that might cause an overload would be high velocity collision with another object (or the ground) that would most likely destroy the ship anyway, so I'm not sure it really matters in practical terms.

I was thinking more in terms of the dampers no longer being able to deliver their full output. Battle damage, energy transmission problems, cooling issues, etc. Would the remaining dampening force remain in full effect, but only up to a certain g threshold, or would it be a partial dampening effect regardless of the acceleration?

Or do the dampers have so much redundancy that they are unlikely to be a bottleneck?

I would think in a damage scenario, in most scenarios the dampers would either be on or off, rather than operating at reduced effectiveness.

[Cthulhu]

I would think in a damage scenario, in most scenarios the dampers would either be on or off, rather than operating at reduced effectiveness.

Thanks for the detailed answers!

A final question, were the Loroi ever able to observe what happens when a mis-jumping ship materializes inside a stellar body? Or is the knowledge regarding the effects purely theoretical?

[Arioch]

A final question, were the Loroi ever able to observe what happens when a mis-jumping ship materializes inside a stellar body? Or is the knowledge regarding the effects purely theoretical?

I don't think that there's any way to observe what's happening deep within a star, and I don't think even the complete matter-to-energy conversion of the largest starship would register as so much as a burp in a star's output -- especially since in a sunlike star the photons generated in the core can bounce around the radiative zone for millions of years before reaching the surface.

The physics of such a collision are relatively straighforward: the jumping object is pushing its way in through an extra-dimensional hole. So although one object may end up inside another, it's an ordinary collision with atoms pushing each other out of the way, generating heat. At jump velocity this usually means enough kinetic energy to vaporize both the ship and the mass it is in immediate contact with.