IN HER NAME: Week of 3/8 - Reading & discussing chapters 30-39

[Michael R. Hicks]

Wow, Ann, you are catching up fast!  I just thought someone should warn you to hang onto your hat!  It's going to be a really bumpy roller-coaster ride from here on out!

N

[Michael R. Hicks]

We need clear cut bad guys in this story.  The Kreela are supposed to be the enemy, but are they really?  Yes and no.  Reza certainly isn't the enemy and he has the soul of a Kreelan priest/warrior.  Mike kind of takes us back and forth with that.  So, yes, make Thorella and Borge as bad as you want.  I need to know who to hate.

Well, knowing that those two are worth hating should be pretty easy!

Whew.  This sounds like a job for Superman. 

Hmmm, pretty close for a Kreelan warrior priest...

[Michael R. Hicks]

I have had more time to read these last couple of days, for whatever reason.  Wait, I know, nothing on TV but basketball!

We're doing a car trip down to Florida the end of the week, too, and I hope to get some reading in then. . .interesting trivia sidelight. . . I never could read in a car before Kindle, but it doesn't bother me now.  Still not good on a train or bus though. . .too much jerking and bumping.  Anyway, eventually April 15 will roll around and then I won't have to go to work every day and should be able to get going on Distant Cousin as well!

Ann

Sounds fun! We're heading to AZ this Friday for a week of blessed warmth and sunshine. I'm sorry, but I'm a desert baby - I HATE being cold!! :-(

[Ann in Arlington]

Sounds fun! We're heading to AZ this Friday for a week of blessed warmth and sunshine. I'm sorry, but I'm a desert baby - I HATE being cold!! :-(

So Do I.  And I got into the office this morning and I swear it wasn't more than 60 and the a/c was on.  It's not a very big space and there were 6 computers running all weekend but it was still FREEZING.  Our fingers were numb.  We'd go down the hall to the bathroom to warm up and run warm water on our hands.    But, hey, it's the Pentagon, and the office they've stashed us in this year is right next to the construction zone. . . .we're lucky to be there at all.    Florida will be SO Nice!  Even if it's only a couple of days.

Time to go read before bed. . . .

Ann

[Michael R. Hicks]

So Do I.  And I got into the office this morning and I swear it wasn't more than 60 and the a/c was on.  It's not a very big space and there were 6 computers running all weekend but it was still FREEZING.  Our fingers were numb.  We'd go down the hall to the bathroom to warm up and run warm water on our hands.    But, hey, it's the Pentagon, and the office they've stashed us in this year is right next to the construction zone. . . .we're lucky to be there at all.    Florida will be SO Nice!  Even if it's only a couple of days.

Time to go read before bed. . . .

Ann

LOL! Hey, next time I happen to head down there I'll have to look you up. I don't go to the P-gon very often, but will keep that in mind. Yeah, our office is either too hot or too cold. And the blower is right above my desk - that's the main air output for an office that's about sixty feet by forty feet. WHOOOOOOOSHHHHH! Stupid office spaces...

[Neekeebee]

Hey, what happened to her hat?  I warned her to hang on to it! 

N

[Gertie Kindle 'a/k/a Margaret Lake']

Hey, what happened to her hat?  I warned her to hang on to it! 

N

Good advice.  I have to read the next section again before I can answer any questions.  I think I'm going to super glue my hat on my head and then strap myself into the recliner before I do.   

[Neekeebee]

I think I'm going to super glue my hat on my head and then strap myself into the recliner before I do.   

I'm relieved to hear it, Gertie.  You do have such nice hats.

N

[Ann in Arlington]

LOL! Hey, next time I happen to head down there I'll have to look you up. I don't go to the P-gon very often, but will keep that in mind.

That would be cool.  This year the H&R Block office is room number 2A259.  I'm there Monday thru Thursday (except this week only Monday thru Wednesday) and the office will be open until April 15.  Next year we're supposed to be on the brand spankin' new concourse.

Ann

[Michael R. Hicks]

That would be cool.  This year the H&R Block office is room number 2A259.  I'm there Monday thru Thursday (except this week only Monday thru Wednesday) and the office will be open until April 15.  Next year we're supposed to be on the brand spankin' new concourse.

Ann

Hmm. Well, it has been a while since I've visited my friends in the J2's office...

[Ann in Arlington]

Carry a copy of your book and I'll know it's you! 

Ann

[Michael R. Hicks]

Carry a copy of your book and I'll know it's you! 

Ann

Maybe I'll wear an IHN t-shirt!

[Anju No. 469]

I have a question - don't think this is a spoiler - why does it take forever for personal messages to go from one place to another and instant transmissions for the "bad guys"?  It would appear that the technology should be the same, at that time in the future.

[Michael R. Hicks]

I have a question - don't think this is a spoiler - why does it take forever for personal messages to go from one place to another and instant transmissions for the "bad guys"?  It would appear that the technology should be the same, at that time in the future.

Well, I think the premise here is that communications in-system can be very fast (internet-like), but communications between systems has a problem: you've got to somehow bridge the gap between the stars.

The military comms system is based on STARNET, which is a faster-than-light (FTL) transmission means that uses a tight beam that the humans assume can't be intercepted. But it's extremely expensive and requires a lot of power. Normal civil communications probably rely on some sort of manned (or, more likely) automated communications drones that gather up incoming signals from one system, then jump to another to relay the information. The system is complicated, has a lot of time lag, and probably not nearly as reliable as people would like. Throw into the mix the Kreelans wreaking havoc on various star systems at any given time...

Does that make any sense?

[Anju No. 469]

yep - makes sense - in my other life I was in some kind of communication area and that's what I thought 

Thanks

[Michael R. Hicks]

yep - makes sense - in my other life I was in some kind of communication area and that's what I thought 

Thanks

LOL! Well, the other thing to keep in mind is that I finished this in, what, '94 or so - so if I had written it today some of the technology aspects would no doubt be different - we've come a long way just since then!

[Anju No. 469]

actually - the technology was there - don't know what govt job you have but - 'nuf said

[Michael R. Hicks]

actually - the technology was there - don't know what govt job you have but - 'nuf said

Well, technically yes, but when I was writing this the "latest and greatest" computer I could afford was a 386SX laptop that "screamed" at a clock speed of (if I remember correctly) 16 MHz on turbo, and at work the IBM PC/AT was the "new" standard workstation. Ohhhh, we've come a long way!! LOL!!

On the other hand, I don't claim to be any technological visionary - there are lots of authors who are far better at that sort of thing than I could ever even think of being. I'm just happy when the microwave works without blowing a fuse!