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computerneek


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It's a spaceship. An enormous spaceship, floating in orbit around the Earth. That's all traffic control knows about it.
It's got beefy sensors, strong computers, and stern control of a plasma cannon, utilized in its defense against a known criminal. That's all Law Enforcement knows about it.
It's newly commissioned and currently unmanned. There's a clear lack of engineering people on her crew lists. That's all her new Captain knows about it, while she's on her way to be the first human being to step aboard.

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An alternate timeline of The First Equestrian Starliner in which Athena didn't null out.
Tags may be updated as the story progresses.

Chapters (19)
Comments ( 85 )

Given the guy who designed the ship and had the robots build it died, just how much of that ship is origional and existed Earth side, before its D jump?

Im puzzled at the clock speed of the processor. Ok, so its a fair bit faster than hoof woven 3D fibre logic, but compared to Pie Geode Dense Optical Logic, its running awfully slow. And thats classical computing. Once the entanglement option is enabled, then processing capacity becomes Not A Number.:pinkiecrazy:

Very intresting starting point. Please, continue. :pinkiehappy:

9297355
The processor clock speed, you'll note, was current speed, not peak speed- or even maximum speed. Your computer may have a 3GHz processor in it (mine does), but that processor almost never actually runs that fast- to save power.

As per how much is original, all of it. Nothing was gained, fuel & ammo was spent. The only addition from Equestria was the residual 'Unknown Energy One'- which, had they waited another few months, would have disappeared on its own.

Heloooo, Horse.

Only 1.4 seconds? Thats going to be an intresting debreifing given even the currently mentioned abilities.

So much new untested prior undescribed tech, so little time.

Its like hearing about DeepSpace 1 all over again. :moustache:

9300114

Its like hearing about DeepSpace 1 all over again.

:trollestia: Oh yes.

Then, 1.4 seconds is also short enough that very little info was acquired. Especially considering the ship's attention wasn't on Equus, it's lucky to have any recording of Equestria at all, from the 1.4 seconds it spent in Equestrian space!

... I wonder what Twilight thought...

Well, that ship went somewhere interesting. I guess this is what happened AFTER the previous story, when/if the ship returned? Or is it an alternate where it simply went within range of "magic" and got contaminated? (Maybe it happened to orbit the Equus system primary, and got irradiated...?)

I do wonder if the AI has a bit of a trollish streak, given that it doesn't seem to care (or warn!) that anyone who enters it gets to experience the work of Kafka first-hoof.

Oh, this is going to be interesting. Aside from the fact that everyone back at Equestria is going to be asking "What the fnord just happened?!" ...And Discord might get enough of a boost to break out early, if he hasn't already. :pinkiecrazy:

9308138
This story is an alternate timeline of the First Equestrian Starliner, in which Athena didn't null out and spent only a second and a half in Equestrian space before continuing on her testing routine and, eventually, returning to Earth.

9308142
Or at the very least, Celestia will be. Pretty sure she's already doing it, to boot- and possibly putting Equestria into an uproar as she tries to find out what happened. I don't know, that's not the focus of the story right now :pinkiehappy::trollestia:

Althought the snow line lies roughly in the Asteroid Gap, all the good stuff is out in the Kuiper and oort cloud, or for hydrogen can skim top of Jupiter, lift a cubic kilometer or so of water from Earth, or activate the Fuel Scoop and go Sundiving? That will also give extra on the auxilaries as well.

Direct solar radiation power density at photophere interaction is about 60 thosuands times that of Earth orbit? If you drop a Hafnium Oxy Graphene molecular smart scale to that point, it will head out of the solar system about 20% c, just on passive reflection, without reactive drive.

I thought the transformation effect was wearing off, or was it just the first 24 hours or so, so the working crew and families could arrive and settle in, and after that, everyone else is tourists and cargo?

Wonder what their definition of a microstation is. Skylab, because its a single launch container on a one shot vehicle?

9345342
Alrighty, to understand that....

Yes, just about every one of those are options for fuel harvesting, including simply approaching the Sun.

Transformation effect wearing off...? The residual energy that is causing it is slowly wearing away, yes, and the transformation takes about twenty four hours overall- but once started, no, the transformation is permanent. As for the families & etc... Yep, they would be simply passengers. On a ship this large, though, there's plenty of space for everypony to hang out. She's big enough to qualify as an arkship, after all...

As for what they call a microstation, that's a good thought- but perhaps a little bit of a different format. Looking around the Web, it does look to be about the right size for what I have in mind.

If groundside Earth ponies can sing to the life of flora, fauna and the world, can technical Earth ponies sing to the machines and electronics, and Space ponies sing to the skein of reality, quantum communicators, warp drives and such?

If theres all those go up and only 3 make it, somoens trying the sneak some operators in among sweeping dregs, if not all operators or such like?:twilightoops:

…….you have my attention

9350688
I'm not sure, yet.

As for only the three making it... Sta'leer mentioned a few chapters ago that they've got a "haphazard pile of new recruits" to deal with. Of course, as a rule, the more experienced officers would be more ready to move in short order- meaning he flew up with the bridge crew, then she greeted her department heads... and this was a flight of mostly new recruits, who were startled by the suddenness of the revelation and wanted to stay human. After all, they did not get to see really any of her magic- no unicorn magic, no even pegasus walking- that would have put her in a disadvantageous position. They wanted to stay useful, so they stayed human. There were undoubtedly some of them that might have changed anyways, but chose not to because they had family or something elsewhere.

As for the three that came, their matching coat colors were meant to indicate the accident of birth- triplets, or something. Probably afraid of being separated if they said no, potentially with no one to return to after the mission is completed... and possessed of enough brains to realize there's only one reason the Space Lord himself would be coming aboard just to transform: That is, that the whole pony-form is not completely helpless. Then, they saw her demonstrations of pegasus and unicorn magic, and... Well, who could resist after seeing that?

top speed near Mach Forteen.

You are missing a "u" in there.

...I really can't see ANYONE taking this in such a blase' fashion. The CDC or similar would lock that down instantly, and they sure wouldn't let more people onboard since they have no idea of the effects and the known ones are bizarre.

Also, just how much of a visionary is that ship designer anyway?!

Pegasus, to.

too


I'm glad that got addressed. It was stated earlier that the transformed people produced the energy, but one of your comments stated that the energy for the transformations was dissipating. Glad to know that it's not limited or a weirder, quirky kind of magic.

9363636
Fixed.

Yes, in the real world, surface agencies would have a similar reaction to hers, when it came to her mind- but that wouldn't make for a very good story... Or would it? So far, the only people they have aboard are the ones that headed up when they didn't know of the effect... and the Space Lord probably didn't mention the effect when he ordered the microstation- no, that's her job to reveal.

As per how much of a visionary... I honestly don't know. This ship is frequently labeled a 'mary sue ship' around my home- or, it was, until I moved. Basically, she can top anything Earth might have to offer for millions of years- and in some fantasies, through the end of the universe. How did he build that? I have no clue.

9363652
Fixed

lets out a help of surprise

Fixed that too, you missed it :pinkiehappy:

Yes, it's not limited or strange. It is true, my headcanon non-Alicorns rely on surrounding energies for any significant spellwork while the Alicorns produce enough to do what they please wherever they please... and that there simply aren't enough ponies aboard to maintain the relatively high energy densities currently still found throughout the vessel. As time goes on, if no more people come aboard, the residual energy will concentrate into the areas the crew is actually using- and, depending on how much they move around, either disappear completely or stabilize. This would allow for safe co-operation with humans, so long as Unknown Energy One densities were monitored and humans were disallowed anywhere with transformation-triggering densities... and the (unskilled) unicorns were forbidden from using magic on humans.

Skyla, as an Alicorn, has the ability to produce basically limitless power- but unlike the others, who bleed off what they're not using, she's an Alicorn- so she only makes what she needs, making it completely safe for her to travel to the surface for a petting zoo... yet giving her the ability to flash-transform many thousands of people at once, with no warning whatsoever- and by so doing, dooming Earth to an Equestrian future. I am thinking that somepony with skill, such as is (currently) only found in Equestria, could easily use magic on a human without exposing them to transformation-inducing densities... Though of course, they couldn't do that in a magic-dense region like Equestria, where they're already exposed to such densities.

I take it Athena will take a dim view of direct, indirect, delayed and combination attempts at removal of the Command staff, including DNA targeted modified basic foodstuffs that only break down and react to form toxic compounds for certain people?

It is possible. If I understand the constututions and timing, Im allergic to the digestion product of a certain sulphur compound found in onions and garlic, and a certain class of antibiotics amongst others.

The research and technology was also covered and considered on the degree course in polymers a couple decades back. I would hope they would know far more details by now.

9370591
Most likely. While Athena is a computer, vastly restricting such details as creativity in response (and expanding such details as tracing accuracy/precision/persistence), there is one thing they didn't ask about- and of course, that one thing is the most likely in this situation, after simply going missing.

Looks like Athena learnt Master class level of trolling from Celestia. :trollestia:

Theres far more than 30 seconds buffer just in flowing mass in lifesupport, and that 30 seconds of shipwide power pulled in and compressed down can give someone a very bad day.

Lets see how long it takes Athena tocompute the parameters to using Nikolai Teslas HAARP to short the planetary ionnosphere to stabilise and amplify the warp drives spacetime interface to generate a gravity tramline for the transmat system to scan, target and pull out Command crew. :rainbowhuh:

Looks like the next time Command crew go through Ships Internal Transmat, theyre going to get long range biotracking infused in their magical fields?

9372448
Uh... Not likely. If the ship were capable of worry, they might- but it might be worth note that none if them will be going through the transporters anyways, after what happened when the Captain went through them (Ascension)...

The thing is, finding them isn't the hard part. There's a reason she didn't simply say 'access denied' or 'sure'.

Distributed gravity generators are so much fun. I was hoping to use them as a game mechanic where by setting two of them next to each other inthe correct overload conditions, created a temporal throwback for the mass cost of one of the generators. It was not a good idea to use closed loops, but if you were careful they were possible because they were valid.

So much riidng the fun tubes. At least theres no bugs in the system yet. :yay:

9374324
XD No bugs probably because there's probably nil gravity in those tubes during normal operation- and as a matter of fact, for normal operation, I'm thinking the cars are all equipped with their OWN gravity generators and inertial compensators. Nothing as overblown as the whole vessel ones, but enough to keep passengers' lunches where they belong without requiring the main compensators to worry about changes in velocity relative to the ship... or the cars to fight against shipboard gravity, which may be extreme (Remember what he designed this ship to be able to do with its atmosphere...)

Mind, that little speed-tube thing would have relied on the mains for both systems. Too dangerous to put an entire lift car's worth of moving steel that close to her with no guarantee it could stop before squishing her.

Uh oh. It sounds like someone's been caught out in his plotting. I don't know what it needs fuel for, but I bet it requires brown pants.

I was expecting something like this after their conversation last chapter never thought to mention "politics". :D

Well, that went pear-shaped. How the heck did (and WHO, for that matter) did someone sneak a bunch of unscrupulous mercenaries onto the ship?

It also explains that error message in the last chapter. That's clever.

Also, judging by the last sentence, are none of them ponies yet? If so, there's about to be a really good demonstration of why people might want that transformation... for both sides of this little squabble!

9374741
What it needs fuel for... That should be obvious: It has none. More fuel means more power, means more options.

9374761
Depending. It was mentioned, last chapter, that she had the thaumic scrubbers working. Small detail, yes, but as of the beginning of chap. 9, thaumic levels aboard the ship are far below the threshold required to trigger the transformation.

As for how they snuck them on, they were snuck on as genuine Space Agency officers... against living, breathing (pony) beings. It wasn't asked, they didn't act out, and they posed no threat, so there was no reason for the computer to post an unsolicited notification to the Captain's attention. Once she went into full auto, though... You'll notice that, under Charlie-Indigo-Delta-Seven, she's allowed to guess what her Captain wants and act on that. And of course, that guess can be based on anything and everything the ship knows, not just what her Captain knows. Which means...

Yes, that also means that, had he gotten the AI wrong, full auto would be one of the most dangerous states for the ship to be in. And it is true, it is- under full auto, she doesn't require authorization to engage hostile against "known hostiles"... which the AI is allowed to designate regardless of auto-vs-manual status. (Not spoilered because it's explicit in the chapter at hoof.)

Do I need to read the other one first?

9377140
No, you do not. It may be helpful to read both, as they use the same ship (and reveal different details), but there is no order to them.

What is this a crossover of?

9385628
That is a very good question- because this isn't a crossover.

The world and characters used in this story are entirely original, so far- save only the magic that came from our favorite (AU) Equestria.

This is going to be intresting. The slime are oozing into the Wolfs own backyard.

I'm starting to lose track of characters. Lot of people with similar names. I'm fine so far, but...

I like the part about them being worth the bullets. That's gotta be a real encouragement to talk. :D

Once,
there was a ship who,
fell into a pony world... :trollestia:

Dont like to dream? Here at Happy Real Life Simulations we can make your world come Real To You. :pinkiehappy:

Now, we need to get the Space Lord on board. Anyone know if The Raccoons are still running the Rocket Racket?:derpytongue2:

9454002
I have no idea how to respond to that.

I like those Thaumic controls. Powered by intent. Which is a really obscure injoke in computing and canon terms. :trollestia:

As for Staleens reactions, thats up there at Riker class. :eeyup:

Wait. Did you just retcon, or at least fake us out, with that whole crew deployment and kidnapping attempt?

What is now canon and what was part of the simulation now? :rainbowhuh:

Nevermind my previous question. You answered it already.

9468807
Yep!

She lets out a sigh when the machine finally turns off.

There's a point, earlier in the story, where that exact quote is repeated. That's the beginning of the simulation.

That little trick with the keyboard was actually something I had wanted to pioneer for my story, but hadn't even written down yet. Drat you for getting ahead of me! :D

Though I was going to use a physical keyboard and an odd use of hoofgrip, admittedly.

I'll also follow up BoosterSpice's comment on the intent-based programming bit. I caught that one too, and there are so many times I wish my computer actually did that. The downside is that by the time we invent something along those lines, it will get bought out by some big company who will either make it cloud-based, require licensing, ship it as compiled binary, or share your surface thoughts with anyone who pays. Most likely all of the above. There are times I hate living in the future.

Okay, that's a silly example (though admittedly something that would be awesome in theory) but why can't people consider the idea of making software portable anymore? A lot of hardware these days gets EOL'd due to nobody supporting the software anymore and updated/fixed versions just not existing. I actually prefer older tech as long as it works offline and not needing to phone home to its true masters!

All the previous transformation was in a simulation run to see how Unknown Energy One would react with return to Earth space?

9473165
Yep! Not to mention, remember that her builder died before she left- so the computer was likely aware of that fact, and may have been running simulation after simulation to decide on what course of action to take once it got back.

9468884

There are several possibilities including the Wiki article, but for simplified example, this seems to be decent.

Tao Intent 2006

Have you, by chance, been watching Inception?

But it really explains a lot. Also, did I read correctly that the ship accidentally introduced magic to the second planet's worth of equines they ran into in the other story?

9473748
Yes, you did read correctly.

And yes, I have seen Inception... a long time ago. I wasn't thinking of it when I wrote this, though.

9473760
Huh, that's cool to know. I wouldn't mind an interlude where it talks about the utter upheaval resulting from the abrupt return of magic. I wonder what they come up with after the third time someone tries moving the sun like a three-year-old discovering a lightswitch. (See Starswirl's Annals of raising infantile deities, vol. 7 for more details.)

That of course assumes that it's mostly just a hidden shoutout and they won't show up again in this story. If they DO show up, it might be more amusing to hear it firsthoof.

Twilight forgot to carry the ij? :twilightoops:

Did the human get aboard before Bon Bon awoke, or is Bon bon not the captian because the computers default is for first human, not first non violent cooperative coherent sentient entity?

9482655
The ij...?

I love questions like this, because it means you’re clearly not paying attention to the story or past chapters... Last chapter was all about human Skyla coming aboard, and this chapter, Athena explicitly states

”Approximately thirty-seven minutes after your departure, three equinoids from this world arrived aboard.

Soooo... I hope the story answers your question. :pinkiehappy:

9482729

Sorry for the confusion on my part, partially I blame some new medication from the doctors, it has some possible intresting side effects. :twilightoops:

I was trying to remmeber that did you mean Skyla departed For Athena, After Athena granted her Command authority, meaning the ponies arive Aftre, or she arrived and the pones were there.

Carry the ij is Ive seen mathematics of quaternions instead of using ijk triple, they use i, j, and ij. Of course, Dimentional maths uses Octonions, so really Twilight might be using r, i, j, ij, l, il, ij, ijl

Something about Hexonions in that you can add, subtract, multiply, but you cant divide. You have to search for two numbers that can be multiplied together to give the answer which is the number you want to divide? Oh dear. Fuzzy. :derpytongue2:

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