totm aug 2016 Kerny Kerman's Journal (mission reports from a Kerbal's point of view) [Chapter 86: "The slow passage of time, adrift in space."]

[adsii1970]

Just a little something from Kerny and the gang at the Kerbal Space Center. Remember to live each day as it were your last and treat each friend, family member, and loved one as if it is the last time you'll spend with them. Leave only with great joy and gladness in the hearts of all you meet.

[Orion Kerman]

Can't wait to see what happens next, it's great KSP is such a big community it means we can all share enjoyment from different sides of the world because there's people from England, USA and so many places. Plus its not a busy holiday.

Edited January 4, 2017 by Orion Kerman

[MinimalMinmus]

Merry christmas!

And may your mainsails be powerful!

-Common kerbal blessing

[Orion Kerman]

 

20 hours ago, MinimalMinmus said:

Merry christmas!

And may your mainsails be powerful!

-Common kerbal blessing

Indeed "Hoist the mainsails" set sail for 2017 merry ...... what would a kerbal call Christmas?? Kristmas, too boring what's your idea??? Merry Christmas.

[MinimalMinmus]

3 hours ago, Orion Kerman said:

 

Indeed "Hoist the mainsails" set sail for 2017 merry ...... what would a kerbal call Christmas?? Kristmas, too boring what's your idea??? Merry Christmas.

Using "first flight"'s canon, then "Merry Kermas" would fit rather well.

[Orion Kerman]

Merry Kerman, and a happy  new Y

I think that is the term displayed at my seat in the space centre. I am going to add Merry to my rooster.

Merry Kerman

Will Kerny celebrate  Merry Kerman??

i assume that they put engine in there houses to create tree shaped fire.

 

[adsii1970]

Urlum 40, Y003
"It's just another day around the KSC, sir...!"
Chapter 26

The last two days were anything but normal. Since the 36th of Urlum, I've been assigned a young pilot, Ensign Gilti to replace Aldas. In the simulator training for our upcoming launch on the 5th of Neidon, she's worked a lot harder than Aldas ever did. She even carries her decimals to the hundredth - totally the opposite of Aldas' we're close enough to walk home attitude. Also that same day, Aldas officially became someone else's problem. He was launched into space to rendezvous and dock with the Zebulan Kerman. Bobak, Bob, Gilti, and myself went to the roof of the VAB to watch the nighttime miracle take place. As we watched the ignition sequence, Bob asked, "Does Ribnand - I mean Lieutenant Commander Ribnand know about what he's in for with Aldas?"

"Gene told me just to send his personnel file with the daily data packet," Bobak said as we watched the rocket begin its gravity turn. "But Dr. Haywood added a 'personal note' for Commander Ribnand - explaining the, um, situation." And with that, all of us except Gilti, began laughing.

"But Commander Kerny," Gilti asked in her usual quiet voice. "I thought you said everyone deserves a second chance..."

"Oh, believe me, Gilti," Bob interrupted. "He gave Aldas more than a few chances. Let's just say the last mission to Minimus, Kerny ordered Aldas to play solitaire on his Kpad for the rest of the flight..."

"How the..." I interrupted.

"Kerny, when you gave him that order VOX was still on..." Bobak added. And with that, the group began laughing again - all except me. "Besides, even if we hadn't have heard your order, we'd have known something happened. After all, you guys landed within walking distance to the KSC! It was way too accurate of a landing to be the work of Aldas!" It only added fuel to the already hard-laughing gang of Kermen.

We continued joking and watching the rocket until well after the first stage separation and until the craft was no longer a speck of moving light against a dark nighttime sky. At that time, Bobak asked us, "Y'all want to go watch the newest episode of Emiko Station on the 'big screen'?* Once they've finished flight ops, they'll transfer control to the tracking center..."

"You know if Gene finds out, he'll put you on the next rocket bound for the Zebulan Kerman!" Bob interrupted. Laughter returned to our rooftop hideaway.

"Oh, I've already thought of it... and I've taken care of it... Trust me..." Bobak added. We waited another twenty minutes, and on Bobak's timing, we began our trek to the control center. "See, there's no one else here..." and with that, we made our way into the control room and climbed the set of stairs to the balcony overlooking the control center.

Within minutes, we were watching the latest episode on the control center's huge monitor. A door opened below us and I was a bit concerned until I heard a familiar voice in the darkness. "Kerny, thank you for inviting me to join your gang tonight. I've yet to miss an episode." And with that, the unseen Kerman sat with our group in the balcony, watching our show on the control center's monitor.

The real fun came about forty minutes later - right as we were watching Geschosskopf floating in space in front of the apparition of Emiko floating above Kerbin. The control center doorway opened, and immediately we all knew Gene had discovered our secret! " I cannot believe this... a million rad monitor and I come in to find you - whomever you are up in the balcony - using my equipment for that? Bobak, it better not be you behind this... And you could at least watch a show that has some sort of real value..."

"Actually, it was my idea..." the familiar voice called out. "I happen to like The Saga of Emiko Station. And whose equipment is it exactly?"

"Oh, Dr. Haywood..." Gene sheepishly answered. "I had no idea you... and you're right... it is a great show!' And with that, we heard Gene go from a vicious Kerbite to a dandelion within a matter of seconds. We all had a laugh as we heard Gene leave the control center. Some ten minutes later, after the episode ended, I excused myself from the group and went back to my quarters at the Kerbalnaut complex.

The next morning, on the 38th of Urlum, we sat through our morning briefing after breakfast. I learned that my newest crew member, Gilti, was actually related to Bobak - she is his first cousin! Everyone knows that Bobak has a reputation as a stickler for accuracy; apparently it is a family trait.

During our briefing, I noticed the absence of Bob and Jebediah. Apparently, so did a lot of others. Bobak explained that Gene and Dr. Haywood had become concerned about the level of irrational behavior Jebediah had exhibited since the abduction of Bill. The entire KSC center crew, including the flight crews, were told during the briefing that the Committee on Aeronautics and Space Flight had made the decision to officially and temporarily revoke Jebediah's flight status. Effective immediately, Jebediah would be on an extended vacation at Tulum Station - as Gene said - "to get him out of Thompberry's hair and allow us to get back to normal operations."

Gilti and myself were asked to stay after the daily briefing. Gene and Dr. Haywood told us that we were going to fly Jebediah, Bob, and a special passenger to Tulum Station. Tulum Station is a settlement of engineers and scientists out near the Pyramids in the Desert Plains. Jebediah, Bob, and our special passenger were already waiting in the space plane hangar. We would leave immediately for Tulum Station and would return to the KSC on the 41st. The flight would be long, nearly an entire day so we were given a day off to rest before our return flight. 

"Kerny, Dr. Wernher and Dr. Haywood say you've been doing your own research and I felt you'd be perfect for this mission... it will give you the chance to see some of the information you've been asking about..." Gene added to his instructions. Within six and a half hours, we were landing on the Desert Plains between the settlement and the pyramids. Following the Tulum Station protocol, Gilti and I turned the Mallard around and taxied to the end of the extended runway.

As our turbines began the shut-down cycle, we saw the station commander, Barcott, driving across the landing zone in a doodlebug. Unlike some of the other station commanders, Barcott believed that when any craft landed that was not a routinely scheduled flight, he should come out to welcome the flight crew and passengers. Little did he realize who our special passenger was.

On the flight over, I made it a point to go back into the passenger cabin to check on Jebediah and Bob, and to meet this special passenger we had been assigned to fly to Tulum Station. No one, unless they are a scientist or engineer, ever asks to go there, yet our special passenger did. In fact, Bobak said our passenger had requested to be flown out there to better study how the Kerbin Defense Forces and the teams of engineers and scientists work together on special projects. It was during my inflight visit with Bob and Jebediah that I discovered our special passenger was the J. Jim Kerman - the writer and producer of The Saga of Emiko Station!

Bob, Gilti, and myself had a good laugh as we watched Barcott react to Jim as he got off the plane. Within a moment, Barcott had him on board the doodlebug and on his way to the station. Barcott was so awestruck that he didn't even come back to ferry the rest of us to the station, so we had to walk from the end of the runway to the station - a twenty minute walk!

"I've been into space yet I get to walk." Jebediah quipped. "This guy just writes about space..." and with that, we knew that at least Jebediah's sense of humor was still intact. Imitating Gene's voice, Jebediah asked "So what did you do today?" "And my answer, 'Just another day at the KSC, sir!" Jebediah added

By the time we arrived at the station, Barcott and Jim were on the second story observation deck; Jim was awestruck by the size of the pyramids. We overheard Barcott explain to him that the station, Turlum, is actually the ancient Kerbin word for pyramid, thus Turlum Station literally meant, "Pyramid Station."

"I've heard about them, but never realized how big the main one is..." we overheard Jim say as we entered the station airlock below the deck.

This time tomorrow afternoon, Gilti and I will be making our way back to the KSC. We then will have until the 5th of Neidon to train for our next mission to Minimus. Until we leave here, I plan to learn as much about the pyramids as possible. Are they related to the alien craft? What's this ancient language of the Kerbins that keeps coming up at the KSC? So far, there are three new craft designs that are named using ancient Kerbin words. There are so many questions I have but not enough time to really dig for the answers. Since we've now been assigned our guest quarters, I'm going to see if I can catch up with Barcott and Jim. I wonder why, of all places, he'd want to come to Tulum Station? Maybe I'll have the opportunity to ask him later.

* Image on the monitor has been used with permission from and is the intellectual property of @Just Jim, the author of The Saga of Emiko Station. The image is from Chapter 72 "The Looking Glass

Edited January 16, 2017 by adsii1970
Reformatted images.

[Just Jim]

OMG..... Love it!!!!  Thank you!!!  

[adsii1970]

There have been a few comments left on this thread and a few private messages I thought I needed to find a way to address that dealt with various aspects of Kerbin's culture. For those of you who have read my profile, you know I teach history at the university/college level and have done so for almost 15 years (wow...). In a previous post, I addressed similar concerns and suggestions for this story line by "quoting" a section of the book, A History of the United Republic of Kerbin by that great historian and philosopher Herodikus Kerman (The entry can be found here).

Before I go into the latest installment, here are some questions that have been posted on this thread that I would like to address:

@MinimalMinmus: Using "first flight"'s canon, then "Merry Kermas" would fit rather well. No. There is very little established official canon within the KSP universe. Even with the monoliths, the dead Kracken, and the other various Easter eggs there is no official story or background given in either the KSP wiki or the game itself. If there were an official canon it would serve nothing more than to create barriers that would make good fan-fiction hard to write. No, it would not be impossible, but you would not have the diversity that we currently have on this part of the forum.

@Orion Kerman: Will Kerny celebrate "Merry Kerman"? No. A while back ago I decided that with the exception of one ancient civilization, there would be no anthropomorphism that would happen within the Kerbal culture used within my story. Sure, I've used aircraft, ocean-going vessels, and space craft that resemble Earthly counterparts - but that's where the similarities end. The reasoning behind this is technology is fairly universal in its application.

If we look at the ancient world, the concept of bow and arrow is found literally all over the world. They always resemble similar technological innovations in other contemporary cultures - a bow from an American Indian nation, such as the Sioux, resembles the bows used by the Greeks, Arabians, Chinese, and even Celts... you get the idea. Culturally, however, there is very little trans-culturalism when it comes to religion, social practices, and customs.

 

---

Adapted from:

A History of the United Republic of Kerbin (Y001). Ed. Dr. Herodikus Kerman. New Kerbin City: Central Kerbia University Press
A Study of the Ancient Kerbyan Religion and Impact on Modern Society (Y003). Ed. Dr. Herodikus Kerman with foreword by Dr. Haywood. New Kerbin City: Central Kerbia Press

Tulum Altun Ha: Located at 6° 29′ 47″ S 141° 40′ 3″ W,  the pyramid complex was first discovered by a surveyor satellite (Kerbin Explorer 1) on the 15th of Duna, Y001. Three months later, in the month of Dres, a Kerbaled expedition arrived at the location to conduct a preliminary survey of the entire site. The site consists of four small ziggurats arranged at the perimeter of the complex, a statue of the ancient Kerbal deity K'awiil, and a much larger ziggerat, known as the Tut-Un Jeb-Ahn in the ancient Kerbyan legends. It is believed these six structures are from the Archaic Period, constructed some time between Y-7000 and Y-5500.

A smaller pyramid, known as the Tut-Un Jacawitz, is a smaller ziggurat located to the west-northwest of the larger ziggurat. It's location is directly between the Tut-Un Jeb-Ahn and the cliff of the Oxlahuntiku Mountain System. It was constructed at a later date than the rest of the complex. Studies conducted on rock samples indicate Tut-Un Kabrakan was constructed between Y-6000 and Y-5000.

It is believed the site was once used as a temple complex in the worship of the two ancient deities. The older part of the temple complex is believed to be used in the worship of K'awiil, the Kerbyan god of lightening, fertility, and agriculture. K'awiil was seen as being the chief deity of the Kerbyan pantheon. The second, smaller ziggurat was used as a temple to the god of mountains and earthquakes known as Kabrakan.

The Tulum Altun Ha temple complex (background) with the Tulum Station settlement (foreground)

Tulum Kolop U Uichkin: Located at 0° 6′ 15″ S 74° 34′ 31″ W, this ancient pyramid is now a small undistinguished hill located to the south-southwest of the Kerbal Space Center. The location was accidently discovered by the Tulum Altun Ha expedition of Y002 in a set of pictoglyphs located at the base of the small southeastern ziggurat of the Tulum Altun Ha temple complex.

Based on ancient Kerbyan mythology, this site was used in the worship of the ancient deity known as Kolop U Uichkin, the god of celestial events. The modern day celebration of Kolopukin, the Kerbin new year, is celebrated on the same day as it's ancient counterpart, Kolop'Uichkin. Just as in ancient times, the Kerbin year is divided into four cycles of a hundred and three days, with a dawn eclipse of the Mün on the horizon to the east, as visible from the ancient temple mound and the modern location of the KSC, signaling the beginning of each Münar cycle.

Although mythology and surviving historical accounts do indicate the ancient Kerbyans celebrated Kolop'Uichkin four times a year, since about Y-2000, Kerbins began celebrating only one of the four ancient celebration days. The modern celebration of Kolopukin, as began around Y-2000, is celebrated on the 1st day of the month of Eve. This particular Münar cycle begins in the center Kerbin's dormant period, an observed time of inactivity in the plant life of Kerbin. It should be noted that the eclipse itself may not actually happen on the 1st but may occur at any time from the 40th of Moho and the 2nd of Eve. 

Additionally, there are a total of fifteen eclipses during the four Münar cycles. The second and last two of the cycle are not visible from the Tulum Kolop U Uichkin. The mythology and described feast and sacrificial ceremonies celebrated by the ancient Kerbyans do indicate they were aware of the complete cycle of eclipses. While some eclipses had elaborate ceremonies, most of the eclipse observances included a simple, specific type of meal to be eaten or a small gift exchanged, as is currently done on the 20th of Plock, in commemoration of the fourth noontime Münar eclipse and the beginning of the harvest period.

Tulum Station: Located at 6° 29′ 53″ S 141° 40′ 1″ W, the Committee of Kerbin Exploration and Resettlement issued Article 002-29 on the 3rd of Plock, Y002 ordering the construction of a self-sufficient settlement for the combined purpose of resettling the surface of Kerbin and scientific and archaeological study of the Tulum Altun Ha temple complex. The settlement was completed on Eeloo 14th, Y003.

The Tulum Station settlement (foreground) with Tulum Altun Ha temple complex  and the southeastern edge of the Oxlahuntiku Mountain System (background).

I'd like to thank @Just Jim for figuring out the cycle of eclipses, both observable and unobservable Münar eclipses. I'd also like to thank @Orion Kerman for his basic idea for a gift-exchanging holiday that I incorporated into a celebration that corresponds with the Kerbin harvest.

Edited January 16, 2017 by adsii1970

[Orion Kerman]

@adsii1970 I am loving these back story type things and I can't wait for some more chapters.

Edited January 4, 2017 by Orion Kerman

[adsii1970]

6 minutes ago, Orion Kerman said:

@adsii1970 I am loving these back story type things and I can't wait for some more chapters.

It actually takes me a bit longer to do the expository style informational entries than it does to write a regular chapter. It requires a little bit of actual historical research, some research into the KSP gameverse, and trying to make it actually sound somewhat authoritative. It's actually kind of fun and like you, I believe it adds to the overall story.

[Orion Kerman]

40 minutes ago, adsii1970 said:

It actually takes me a bit longer to do the expository style informational entries than it does to write a regular chapter. It requires a little bit of actual historical research, some research into the KSP gameverse, and trying to make it actually sound somewhat authoritative. It's actually kind of fun and like you, I believe it adds to the overall story.

Great!! I know you will definitely enjoy that as I do since I am interested in many things but my favourite hobby is just thinking just thinking. About anything in particular. I certainly do enjoy the detail. I think it is like a jixsaw. You need EVERY SINGLE PIECE just because it annoys me there is a random blank space.

[adsii1970]

Neidon 3, Y003
"Two days before launch... and counting"
Chapter 27

We left Tulum Station at mid-day on the 42nd of Urlum, just as we were told during the mission briefing. Everyone noticed how Jebediah and J. Jim  were competing for the attention of my newest crew member, Gilti. I will admit, she is the first Kerman I have met from the Southern Isles. Her auburn hair is like nothing I've seen before. J. Jim invited her to join him on a tour of Tut-Un Jacawitz, the smaller of the two main ziggurats. It was funny watching J. Jim's reaction when Jebediah invited himself along on that excursion. I'm not too good at reading other Kerman's body language, but even I saw that J. Jim wasn't too happy about this effort by Jebediah.

The return flight was pretty uneventful. We had to land at one of the other settlements to refuel, just as we had to do on our flight out to Tulum Station. The refueling point, Ta'an Ha'Tseel Settlement, under the governorship of Biggas, sits along the coast of Cape Kermania. Right now, the settlement is experimenting with several designs of docks. From what I knew about this settlement in our mission briefing, the plan is for this settlement to become a refueling station not only for aircraft, but for ships also. The entire facility sits on a gigantic ore deposit. Over the last few days, we've learned from members of the scientific team at Tulum Station that the continent has several good locations to begin creating more surface settlements. Ta'an Ha'Tseel Settlement is to be the first of many and will be one of the major transportation hubs for the region.

Once we were back from our mission, we continued our simulator training at an accelerated pace. Our upcoming mission, scheduled to launch on the 5th of Neidon - just two days from today, will be a fairly extensive mission. We will making two landings on Minimus, take up a few rock samples, and conduct a general ground survey up to 100 meters from our lander at both landing zones.. Using the most recent orbital surveyor scans, our first landing zone is a relatively flat area just to the south of the equator. Because of the expectation that Minimus will have less gravity than the Mün, we've been spending more time in the weightless training simulator. If Minimus is anything like what the simulator is, then it's going to be somewhat interesting to say the least. 

The second landing zone is a small oval shaped flat area in the northern hemisphere. Again, we are supposed to collect samples. My instructions on both landings are that I am to rotate crew members - so one landing I will take Karloff and the other, Gilti. At this morning's briefing, Gene made it clear that someone had to remain in orbit at all times and he wanted every member of my crew to experience landing on Minimus. He also made it clear that I would be leading both landings - and I agree with him. As the team's commander, I don't think I should put my crew in any danger that I am not willing to face myself.

Yesterday afternoon, I got my first glimpse of the new habitation module we will be testing on this mission. During the afternoon briefing, Bobak told us Dr. Wernher wanted to see us in front of the space plane hangar. We borrowed the tracking center' flat egg and took off for the hangar. Right there, coming out of the huge door was our new crew habitation module for the mission! Since it was being launched separate from our command capsule, the decision was made by Dr. Haywood to have both it and the excursion lander launched together. Although the habitation module does have a large LFO tank, it does not have any engines itself. Essentially, its tanks are to provide refueling for the excursion lander. Knowing it was being transferred from the space plane hangar to the vehicle assembly building, Bobak thought we'd like a peek. Was he right! We stayed right there until we watched the newest creation from Dr. Wernher's mind disappear as it entered the access doors of the vehicle assembly building.

We weren't able to see inside either the crew habitation module or the excursion lander, but all of us already knew what to expect with the excursion lander since the simulator was modeled after it. What's unknown is what we will find inside the habitation module!  This morning's briefing we were told a bit more about the habitation module by Dr. Wernher and Gene. It has a small science lab and has a four-crew capacity! Our first trip to Minimus took nearly 14 days. In this morning's briefing, we were told that this mission will be about the same - fourteen days out and five days in. This time, the travel time to Minimus is intentional - to test the crew habitation module.

Once we complete the Minimus landings, we return to high Kerbin Orbit (HKO) and undock from the crew habitation module, leaving it in orbit for the next Minimus mission. Both the crew habitation module and the excursion lander have been designed to be reusable. Gene told us it would be launching at dawn tomorrow in an orbit of 200 kilometers. Our launch would follow, the next day, and rendezvous some five hours later. Once docked, we'd wait for the window to change our trajectory for the Minimus encounter.

Tompberry, given full support and access to everything he could possibly need, has ordered and supervised the construction of a gigantic scaffold to better study the monolith at the KSC. The monstrosity is so large you can actually see it from the space center! Without him having Jebediah around to question his every decision, more has been learned about this monolith in the last four days than we've known since Y001. Although the composition is still unknown, what is known about it is it cannot be cut with even our carbon-crystal tools used for mining of ore and other resources. On the 41st of Urlum, Natachelle, one of the scientists in Thompberry's team, noticed a slight hum detected from the monolith. She is also the one who made the connection that the 41st of Urlum corresponds with the 12th eclipse of the third Münar cycle. 

This discovery involving the hum has really created a lot of interest within the Committee of Aeronautics and Spaceflight and the Committee of Sciences. Gene approached both committees with the idea of sending another mission to the Mün to occur around the time of the twelveth eclipse of the next cycle. There's been another anomaly discovered on the Mün; Gene's pretty sure it is another monolith. There's some fundamental disagreement between Dr. Haywood, Dr. Floyd, and Dr. Orson as if the monolith on the Mün would exert the same hum on the same day as the one near the KSC. Dr. Orson has stressed repeatedly that what is needed is another excursion to one of the other four known monoliths around the time of the twelveth eclipse to see if it hums as the one near the KSC does at that time of the cycle. Gene thinks we should do both; learn all we can about the monoliths on Kerbin and the ones on the Mün. Everyone believes that if we can gain an understanding of the monoliths then we might be able to figure out what happened to Bill.

In another hour, Gilti, Karloff, and me are scheduled to report to the training simulator. Because of the nature of the mission, Gene wants both Gilti and Karloff to become proficient in rendezvous and intercept planning as well as docking. Karloff is actually pretty good at intercept planning already - after all, it was he who discovered how to reduce our return trip time. Gilti has never been in space before, but she's doing well in the simulators. So far, she's handled launching procedures and rendezvous planning in the simulators. I don't expect she will have any serious problems with intercept planning or docking either.

 

 

 

[Orion Kerman]

Yay got my password fixed for yet another great chapter. Can't wait for this mission. Ive got some ideas what will happen next but you will surprise me yet again, but if I know your going to surprise me you won't surprise me which...... No I am not going into a time paradox.

[adsii1970]

Too late, you already have entered the paradox!

[Angelo Kerman]

The Paradox has you... @adsii1970 Pretty cool scaffolding on the monolith.

Edited January 16, 2017 by Angel-125

[adsii1970]

@Angel-125: Thanks - considering it is as tall as the monolith itself! But then again, I can almost see Thompberry being a little like Mr. John Hammond in Jurassic Park, "I spared no expense"...

Might I add that the Buffalo is a pretty awesome mod! As you could tell from the images, I used it to transport components from the SPH to the VAB. I was amazed at how it handled the load without tipping over.

 

[Just Jim]

Rivals with Jeb???  Oh, that too funny!!!  

And just like a Hollywood type... I'm guessing J. Jim has no real archaeological training or background?  

[Orion Kerman]

@adsii1970 @Angel-125

Curse you Tim the leader of time I was about to rule the tri-paradox area!!!!

Do people get that reference. By the way if you don't supprise m e there is no need for this conversation which means we are in a weird weird universe, which is the definition of fun in the launguge of which is my favourite science then it's German if you don't count English 

Auf Wiedersehen!!!

Ich denke, das ist eine gute Geschichte

(Believe thats right)

[adsii1970]

@Just Jim:

Yep, he is... but at this point, we still have no idea who Gilti might be interested in.   Or do we...

And as far as J. Jim goes, well, I'll just leave this here:

Spoiler

He does something in the next chapter that's going to catch a lot of people off-guard. I've been watching two television shows lately, Millennium and X-Files.  J. Jim has a lot in common with Chris Carter in my mind's eye - but there are some subtle differences.

 

@Orion Kerman:

You have to understand, my six-year old daughter and I love watching Phineas and Ferb. She has asked me to get her the series on DVD and for her birthday, I just might.

Vielen Dank für die freundlichen Worte.

[Orion Kerman]

21 hours ago, adsii1970 said:

@Just Jim:

Yep, he is... but at this point, we still have no idea who Gilti might be interested in.   Or do we...

And as far as J. Jim goes, well, I'll just leave this here:

  Hide contents

He does something in the next chapter that's going to catch a lot of people off-guard. I've been watching two television shows lately, Millennium and X-Files.  J. Jim has a lot in common with Chris Carter in my mind's eye - but there are some subtle differences.

 

@Orion Kerman:

You have to understand, my six-year old daughter and I love watching Phineas and Ferb. She has asked me to get her the series on DVD and for her birthday, I just might.

Vielen Dank für die freundlichen Worte.

@adsii1970 @Angel-125

Danke, und dir.

Angel maybe you could mod proper scaffolding, well by proper I mean as strong as paper.

 

Edited January 17, 2017 by Orion Kerman

[AviosAdku]

Loved the shot of the hab module & lander on the transport, it really added atmosphere to this piece. It also reminds me jus how big things are in spaceflight. I know the reference point is a metre tall at best but the reduced Delta-v requirements mean the equipment is much smaller than ours too, still big by the scale of the world.

(a minute or two later)
Got to the section on the monolith scaffold, another impressive build, interesting that line about "Carbon crystal" cutting tools, I'm guessing the Human term is "Industrial diamond", if it is then I liked the way you distinguished Kerbin culture from Earth but in a subtle way that makes it still easy to get.

In all, a good chapter, that reference to Hammond made me wonder, are there any other characters in fiction (or real life) that ones in your story are like?

Aku

[adsii1970]

@AkuAerospace:

Thank you for your kind words. I also appreciated that shot. There were a few extra images from that sequence that I didn't use in the chapter. Here they are (in the spoiler).

Spoiler

What you said - getting a perspective of the size of the craft - was exactly what I was after. Sure, it may be a bit bigger than a Mk 1 capsule. Although Kerbin-days are significantly shorter than Earth-days, I still would not want to be confined to a small capsule for a span between seven and fourteen days. I also decided to borrow an early idea of NASA's from the Mercury days when Apollo was still on the drawing board. There was an idea to launch the LM and Command Module in separate launches. So, since I am not really worried about a budget, I'm using this approach with the exception the entire assembly shown above, minus the ground transport, simply stays parked in Kerbin orbit once the mission is over. In the past, I have used my own Kerbal analog similar to the Apollo Program - where the LM and Command module are launched in the same vehicle. Did several Mun missions that way, probably will do more missions that way as well.

Yes, a carbon crystal cutting tool is an industrial diamond. I wanted to relay that these Kerbals have some pretty high-tech stuff, and are as advanced as we are. I also do not want to use "human" terms either. As you've discovered, I want these guys to have their own culture without too much of ours bleeding into it. It's caused me to really rethink how I approach my own culture. I will say this, I have used an ancient Earth society to model some aspects of the Kerbin culture. The stepped pyramids (Ziggurats), were the gateway that allowed this to happen - and no, I'm not using Egypt. I also do not want to reader to get lost in too many details. I'm a detail-oriented person and this can be a hard balance to achieve.

Ah, yes... and glad you asked it. Here's a brief rundown of the Kerbal characters (nonstandard) I've used and their human counterparts:

• Valentina - think of her as being like Captain Janeway off of Star Trek: Voyager and Admiral Bill "Bull" Halsey from WW2.
• Kuzzter - a toss between Walter "Radar" O'Reilly and Rick Moranis. I put him in here as a tribute to @Kuzzter for helping and encouraging me.
• J. Jim - a television show producer, but another tribute Kerbal in honor of @Just Jim who offered advice, and who has become someone who I consider a friend. The character is loosely based off Chris Carter (X-Files and Millennium writer/producer) with a touch of Josh Gates (Destination Truth).  (If I am in Florida again soon, let's go get a steak! My treat... within reason.)
• Dr. Haywood - Yes, Dr. Haywood Floyd from 2001 & 2010; I've chose to make him more like the way he was portrayed by Roy Scheider in 2010: The Year We Make Contact. I changed the name from Heywood to Haywood to avoid any potential legal complications...  
• Herodikus (also written as Dr. Herodikus) - in real life, Herodotus is considered as the "Father of History" and is why the entries that appear to be taken from history books are written by him. Adds depth to the story. I have not revealed this yet, but he is an old-aged Kerbal, probably one of the older ones on Kerbin (or is he?). 
• Harrison - named after a real person, Harrison "Stormy" Storms, an aircraft designer who worked on/helped design the Apollo Command Module for North American Aviation.
• Dr. Floyd: Another hat-tip to Dr. Heywood Floyd (see above). He's made an appearance once... I am a big Arthur C. Clarke fan...
• Dr. Wernher - you know him... hopefully. But I also added a couple of little tweaks to his personality. He is a perfectionist and very driven, so has characteristics of the real Dr. Wernher and Howard Hughes.
• Dr. Orson - based off Orson Welles, the author of the War of the Worlds and other science fiction works. There's an interesting story line developing about him that I started by accident... but now... (cue X-Files theme music)

There are other characters I will be introducing, but in due time. I hope by sharing this, I have not given too much away...

 

Edited January 18, 2017 by adsii1970

[Mister Dilsby]

1 minute ago, adsii1970 said:

Kuzzter - a toss between Walter "Radar" O'Reilly and Rick Moranis. I put him in here as a tribute to @Kuzzter for helping and encouraging me.

...wow, that's quite a tribute...thanks...do I really sound like that?  

 

[adsii1970]

4 minutes ago, Kuzzter said:

...wow, that's quite a tribute...thanks...do I really sound like that?  

 

Not sure if you do... but in my Kerb-verse, Kuzzter works in the tracking center. Although I've not done a lot to bring him out, but in my mind's eye, he is someone that simply *just* knows where things are going to be, where they are going to hit... and he also _________________ .

Think of Rick Moranis in Honey, I shrunk the Kids, Ghostbusters, and Spaceballs. In all three movies he has the ability to not only be goofy when it's needed, but can also be sorta-serious, and most of all, his characters never give up in their pursuits. This is an important facet of Kuzzter's character...

 

Edited January 18, 2017 by adsii1970