Forgotten Space Program

[ElJugador]

Wait, both FSP and AL are novel-length? Neither of them feel that long. AL certainly didn't.

[Cydonian Monk]

22 minutes ago, ElJugador said:

Wait, both FSP and AL are novel-length? Neither of them feel that long. AL certainly didn't.

That's partly because what we think of as a novel has been completely twisted by Epic-length works such as "Harry Potter and the [Titles That Will Be Censored By American Publishers]" and "A Song of Ice and Fire". (Recall that "The Lord of the Rings" is actually six books, all six roughly novel-sized.) Structure and story wise, I'd rate both AL and FSP as being extra-wordy novellas desperately in need of an editor. There's not a novel's worth of plot, per se, but more than a novel's worth of words.

Some of that word count is also thrown off a bit by BB Code formatting and image text.

[Andem]

1 hour ago, ElJugador said:

Wait, both FSP and AL are novel-length? Neither of them feel that long. AL certainly didn't.

Don't forget about @Just Jim's TSES!

[Just Jim]

11 hours ago, Andem said:

Don't forget about @Just Jim's TSES!

Yup, I'm at almost 100,000 words... 

[Just Jim]

Following up on my last quick response... (I was on my phone)

22 hours ago, Cydonian Monk said:

That's partly because what we think of as a novel has been completely twisted by Epic-length works such as "Harry Potter and the [Titles That Will Be Censored By American Publishers]" and "A Song of Ice and Fire". (Recall that "The Lord of the Rings" is actually six books, all six roughly novel-sized.) Structure and story wise, I'd rate both AL and FSP as being extra-wordy novellas desperately in need of an editor. There's not a novel's worth of plot, per se, but more than a novel's worth of words.

Some of that word count is also thrown off a bit by BB Code formatting and image text.

I looked online, and the best description I could find of how many words are actually in a novel came from the Nebula Sci-Fi Fantasy Awards website.
They categorize and award writings as follows:

Short Story: under 7,500 words
Novelette: 7,501 - 17,500 words
Novella: 17,501 - 40,000 words
Novel: over 40,000 words

And much to my surprise, when I checked my backup on MS Word, which does word counts, Emiko became a novel nearly 20 chapters ago. So like @Cydonian Monk said, a book doesn't have to be nearly as long as one of the "Dune" series to qualify as a novel, and I'd bet AL and FSP both qualify.

[Windspren]

@Cydonian Monk Can you give me a download with the KSP save you're using in this (the one with all of your ships from all your saves condensed into this one)? I want to try a save where I use a single ship and scavenge supplies from random space stations everywhere

[Cydonian Monk]

2 minutes ago, Laythe Dweller said:

@Cydonian Monk Can you give me a download with the KSP save you're using in this (the one with all of your ships from all your saves condensed into this one)? I want to try a save where I use a single ship and scavenge supplies from random space stations everywhere

Short answer: No.

Long answer: No. Sorry.

Maybe someday, but not until most of the story has been milked out of it, piece by piece, juicy ship by juicy ship. Crunch, crunch, crunch, as the kraken chews its way through everything I've ever launched. Of course by then there may not be much to salvage. It's a full time job somedays just getting this save to load.

I do wonder though if there isn't some way to force the stock "rescue this stranded craft" logic into overdrive, and also force it to use some randomly-built ships or stations. I once considered building such a mod, but never found the time to figure out how to get it to work.

[Wahgineer]

So, @Cydonian Monk, when can we expect the next installment?

[Cydonian Monk]

3 minutes ago, awsumindyman said:

So, @Cydonian Monk, when can we expect the next installment?

Probably sometime this weekend. I've spent most of my KSP time of late in the 1.2 pre-release and have done little to move the FSP forward. (I must say the 1.2-pre is the first version of KSP I've played that felt like release-quality software. Really changes and improves the game.)

Edited October 1, 2016 by Cydonian Monk
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[Ultimate Steve]

On ‎9‎/‎28‎/‎2016 at 6:31 PM, Just Jim said:

Emiko became a novel nearly 20 chapters ago.

Congrats!

Hmm, I tried to start writing a book a few months back... almost 9000 words now!

Checking Project Intrepid would be a pain, though, because It is all on the forum and I don't think it has any word count functionality. Maybe if I do some random sampling I could get an average per chapter...

 

EDIT: Okay, according to random sampling, Project Intrepid is around 38,000 words. I SHALL WRITE A NOVEL!!!

EDIT2: Nevermind, I added it all up and PI is only 26,000 words. Carry on! (Hey, I'm halfway there!)

Edited October 2, 2016 by Ultimate Steve

[DragonsForce]

Hey, this is amazing! Take some truckloads of likes! (One truckload contains 25 likes. Truckloads will be delivered at a rate of 1/day.)

I'm only on page 15, but I'm hooked This will keep me entertained in the darkness of space...

[Cydonian Monk]

3 hours ago, DragonsForce said:

Hey, this is amazing! Take some truckloads of likes! (One truckload contains 25 likes. Truckloads will be delivered at a rate of 1/day.)

I'm only on page 15, but I'm hooked This will keep me entertained in the darkness of space...

Thank you! More soon (I hope).

[Cydonian Monk]

Somewhere In the Dark....

Shadows drift over a solemn rock, stars bright in the endless black beyond. A flicker jets into the void, clouds scattering the distant sunlight, glittering briefly like the many lights that grace the night. Steadily a glow of green overtakes the tranquil scene, faintly at first then overpowering the cold light. Claws reach out, clutching, grasping, digging for purchase on this broken shore. Clouds spray forth once more, green and white, disparate as the battling light.

And then seen again no more.

"Ok Shellan, let's bring it in."

"Aye. Moving the rig forward." A flick of the wrist in the cabin of the Dres Shadow and the mining rig in the void beyond its windows moved towards the spinning pebble in front of it. "20 meters." Its operator, one Engineer by the name of Shellan Kerman, watched his monitors patiently as the large rig lumbered towards the slowly spinning rock. "What'd we do to be condemned to this gig cap'n?" 

"Condemned? Ha!" Gregory Kerman, Captain of the Dres Shadow and former commander of Pioneer Mün Base laughed at the comment. "Would you rather be stuck orbiting that noxious ball of water, just a hair's breadth above an atmosphere you could never breathe? Or be here at an under-appreciated planet making fuel for the common good?"

"That ball of water sounds right nice just now. Better than slogging this mess of tin about." A tap on the stick and the rig shifted laterally. "10 meters. Y'know I was joking when I said I'd rather face the quarry with a spoon than watch the lab rats run around that whirligig wheel, right?"

Gregory clapped their pilot on the arm, waking him from a nap. "You hear this guy, Z? Condemned he says. Tin can he calls it." Shelzan Kerman, more affectionately known as Z, who had spent most of their years at Dres asleep, head buried inside his headphones. He snorted a response and twisted sleepily away, returning to his slumber. "See, Z's not complaining so it can't be that bad. We just gotta finish this tanker, program it to fly to Jool, and the we head back to Kerbin. That's it."

"Ok, ok, fine, whatever, final approach, call the pressers. Looks like we've a good flat-like spot coming round, praying the claw holds and the stones don't scatter."

Their chosen asteroid was one of the many orbiting high above the dark world of Dres, in a ring better known as the Dresteroid Belt. Most believed the rubble cloud to be fragments of a small moon, as the debris was in a very clean 20,000km orbit, though a few others suggested it was kicked out when the scar was gouged across Dres' surface. All Shellan knew was these rocks were full of ice and ores, and perfect for being chewed up and turned into propellent. Propellent desperately needed by their Forgotten Space Program. Propellent they themselves would need to get back home. 

The Dres Shadow was an old ship, built and launched in the earliest days of interplanetary exploration. As its name implied, it was built to travel to the tiny speck it now orbited, though its original crew had never taken it beyond Kerbin. Meanwhile its larger sister ship, the Jool Jester, had been the first to take kerbals to the like-named jolly green gas giant. Two slightly smaller ships, the Eve Gambit and the Duna Dragon, had also been to their respective targets. Only the Dres Shadow had remained unused, forgotten, moored to its fueling depot high above Kerbin until some stranded kerbal had stumbled upon it.

Many years later and all four ships had been rebuilt and reconditioned by the Forgotten Space Program. New control electronics were installed, including flight computers. Some of the fuel tanks were retrofitted to hold only liquid fuel (the preferred beverage of the LV-N), while the larger assemblies had their oxidizer tanks sealed until a heavier rebuild could be completed. Simply swapping out the smaller tanks and adding thermal control systems was enough to return the four to their desired delta-v capabilities. 

The mining rig they were presently attaching to an asteroid was likewise a lucky find. Launched some decades previous as a piece of test equipment, one of their scouts had stumbled on it in Kerbin orbit and immediately realized its importance. A tug was hastily rigged to fire it out to Dres, and there it had scratched out its living ever since. When fuel reserves in the greater fleet were running low a crew would be dispatched on a decade-long mission to refuel tankers and send them to Duna or Jool. This time Gregory, Shellan, and Z were the lucky three, and had scored an extra-long thirteen year mission. Their promised reward was a return to Kerbin, a home none had seen for many, many years. 

"Five meters. Drill areas ahead of the target lights look good. Bringing it in for a hard clawing." The rig shuddered as its Claw bit into the rubble. "Contact, firm grasp, using RCS to stabilize. Whoah there, big spinny thing. We didn't mean it, we swear."

"Hmm. Tiny rock." Gregory ran some quick numbers as the jets on the rig fired to stop the spinning. "Must be hollow, or mostly rubble. Still, I think it'll be enough. At least enough to fill this last tanker." Gregory pushed at his pilot again, shaking him awake. "Z, move the Shadow in to dock with the rig. Shellan, get suited up. You'll need to inspect the anchor site before we bring the tanker in and start drilling."

Their new quarry was between the ship and the Sun, making for a dark and foreboding scene. Z grumbled something about "Evil tings that sleep in the dark," but Gregory was having none of it. A few minutes later and the Dres Shadow was safely docked, despite all the doom and gloom coming from the rest of the crew. Doom and gloom and a bit of laziness, a bad trait they had all picked up from this miserable planet.

Shellan was already outside and inspecting the drill site, Z had dozed off almost as soon as the ship was docked. It was cold and dark in the void, and Shellan could feel his very skin crawling. Or was it the MAG he was wearing inside the suit? Why was he always the one that had to go out? 'Shellan, inspect this spooky-looking wreck,' or 'Shellan, crawl into this dangerous looking hole.' Well, when they got back to Kerbin he'd never crawl into any dark places ever again, so help him.

And then something glinted in the dark, and shadows moved across nothingness.

"Say, cap'n, you picking any other ships up on radar? Or... things?"

"No. Why?"

"I could've sworn I saw something moving out of the corner of my eye, big nasty thing."

"Probably just the tanker."

"No, I'm looking right at that beastie. This was something else." Shellan finished his inspection in silence, turning around occasionally to check over his shoulder. Wasting precious fuel. There was something out there, he knew it. They should find another rock. Or just go home or....  

"Dres be a cursed place!" Suddenly Z was cursing and spitting into the radio. Shellan was really about to freak out when Gregory interrupted his tirade against the night.

"Oh ho! Z speaks at last!"

"Dis no joke, bossman. Darkness be here. Dark moves in dark places. Mark I words."

"Marked. Words spoken by Shelzan Kerman at 4 hours, 13 minutes, 29 seconds on the 23rd day of the 100th year." Gregory grinned at his pilot, who glared back angrily. Their strangely imbalanced staring match was broken up a few seconds later by Shellan.

"It's really a bit dark out here you know. The anchor is set and all, but I think we should scurry off and find another rock."

"No way. Nothing wrong with this one, and if we delay too much we miss the window for Kerbin. Back off and let me test the drills."

"Fine, fine. Sink the drills. Let's see how solid this thing is."

"Drilling. Watch yourself. Don't want you too close when we poke the monster with two giant needles of death." 

The rock shuddered as the mining rig sank its two teeth into it. Small bits of debris were kicked up, forming an ever-spreading cloud around the drill site. Shellan pulled back and watched as the drills went to work. This asteroid was definitely a rubble pile, but didn't seem to be anything the mining equipment couldn't handle.

Still, it was unusual for so much junk to be kicked up just by inserting the drills.

"Ok, you're drilling right through the rock now. Shut off the drills. Have Z move the tanker in, I'm headed back.... Wait." Shellan spun around quickly and scanned the sky. A few pieces of debris were silhouetted against the Sun. Just small black dots, likely nothing more than rocks kicked free of the far side of the asteroid. Such a strange rock. "Cap'n. Are... are you sure there's nothing else out here?"

"It's just your mind playing tricks on you. Get back in here already so we can get this job over with."

"Fine, fine. I'm headed to the lower airlock." Dres was a dark place, darker than Jool for some reason. Dark places played dark tricks on the mind. He noticed the tanker was looming ever larger, and made his way hastily to the Dres Shadow's lower cabin and its airlock. He was inside and out of his EVA suit faster than he could ever remember a kerbal doing so. He almost wished his old instructor was there with a stopwatch. Surely he'd just set a record.

The ship had picked up a nasty vibration from their quarry, the ghosts of its rather persistent rotation kicking at the metal beasts that had halted it. Shellan had just slipped out of his EVA suit when Z brought the tanker in, bumping it roughly into place. The added mass helped to dampen the vibrations, or perhaps it was the added vibrations from the hard docking, but a quiet moment descended on the ship. Life at Dres was peaceful once more.

And then the drills fired up, the refinery was running full blast, and Shellan was wishing he had a set of headphones like Z. Big, heavy, thick, enough to drown out the universe. A universe that had suddenly become rather loud, shaky, and bumpy. And loud. How could it be so loud in space?

Thud. Bump. Thud. Ding. Bing. Thud. Occasionally a heavy bump. Rocks kicked off from the drills, rejecting their bite. A stronger shake. Noise. Cascading through the ship. Through the rig. Through the rock. Through the vacuum. Not loud, but constant. And unnerving. Rhythmic. Low. A buzz, a hum, a distracting presence at the back of one's mind. Screams. Shrieks. Silence. Whispers in the dark.

Whispers in the dark.

--

Forgotten Space Program
Volume Two: Continuum

It's happened again. Those well meaning kerbals ran off and completely forgot about their space program. There was a global crisis. The planet was consumed by some extra-universal event. Jeb and the Bs ran off to Jool and left the stove on. It was snack time for the Kraken and the kerbal ships were really, really tasty. Unfortunately nobody remembers exactly what went wrong because nobody that was there to see it go south was still alive.

Or were they?

Years pass. Eventually a young kerbal stumbles on the ruins of the long-forgotten space program. Trailers. Sheds. Run-down labs. A dirt runway. Factories scattered here and there in the nearby countryside. Exploding barrels of fleas. Sharp metal bits. Gumball machines. Nuclear waste. The usual rust of a long forgotten industry. A few quick phone calls to her young friends Wernher and Gene and this entrepreneur became the co-owner of her very own start-up space program.

At least she was until the real owners showed up.... And that's when the fun began. 

--

Kerbin: North Mountain

The mountains were unchanged, their permanence as guaranteed as the stars in the sky. A storm was moving in from the northeast, its rain falling peacefully on Green Plains. Life was always so tranquil here in the north, the land seemingly untouched by the hands of kerbals or the hands of time. Life continued here as it always had, peacefully and quietly. 

The same could not be said for the eyes observing from on high, as the years had done nothing but change Jonbald. So many worlds had flashed before these eyes since they had seen this simple beauty. So many horrors since he fled the serenity of the Monastery at North Mountain. Eyes ever changing until the day they would close forever. 

How different would his life be today had he stayed at the mountain? Had he not gotten involved? When he arrived he was just another forgotten kerbal. When he left, he was ready to change the world. And yet there was a nagging sensation that, had he stayed, nothing would be different. He would still be just another spacekerb, cast aside and forgotten. Many of his friends would still be missing. Still be dead. No, the quiet life was never meant for him. He would ever fix the world or die trying.

And that's what brought him back to North Mountain.

Well, not literally. It was really an old research jet that had brought him back to North Mountain. He was pleased to find it was still working after so many years buried in the snow and covered by a tarp. It had died those many munths, so many years ago, engines starved of oxygen as Jebediah foolishly flew it to the North Pole, only to be resurrected and then buried by Jonbald and a few of his friends. This simple aircraft had outlived most of them despite having died twice. And for that he was happy.

The approach to North Mountain from the air was not easy, but he knew it well. Fly in from the east towards the twin mountains. Turn slowly south until you're flying towards the gap in the wall. Drop into the valley, dive, flare, brake, pray. He'd only landed here twice before, the other times, the first time, he had walked in. As the monks preferred. Flying was faster, walking was easier.

Walking was safer.

It was a good place to build a monastery. It would've been a good place to build a fortress, too, had kerbals been the warlike types. A pleasant valley, buried deep within a seemingly impassible circle of mountains. Peaceful, quiet, far from the life most kerbals would choose to live. Ample farmlands and pure water, enough to sustain a small population of kerbals indefinitely. A pleasant wind blew into the valley, a secret valley that hid in plain sight.

And oh what a secret it held.

Jonbald brought the jet down roughly, bouncing off of the uneven terrain. Thump. Bump. Ding. Noises scratched across the bottom of his cabin, grasses and small pebbles kicked up by his violent arrival. He hit the thrust reverser on the jet and laid on the brakes, hoping the plane would stop in time. It did. Now safely at a coasting speed, he taxied around the landing green and moved towards the monastery's hidden entrance. 

An old friend was already waiting for him, snacks and drinks in hand.

Archibald Kerman.

One of the few kerbals left who was nearly as old as himself.

"My friend! Welcome! Here! Drink up! There's no Rule G here in the safety of the North."

"Archibald, you old space dog you. How'd you survive the bugs? And the crazies?"

"Oh, I have my ways. We have our ways. You have your ways. Here, have some bread. Remind me to tell you about the Mun crabs sometime. Anyway, enough about the horrors, you've come to see the monolith, yes?"

"Well, no. Not really. I've come to ask a favor." Jonbald motioned towards a nondescript rock on the green. "Should we head inside and talk?"

"Please. Lead the way. You know it as well as I do."

Some time later, after the snacks had been snuck and the fizzy drinks drank, Jonbald got to the point of his trip. A new space program had sprung up down at the Cape, and he was organizing a council to run it. Seven kerbals, three of their own and four from this new agency. He laid out Rosuki's plans, The Plan, his own thoughts on moving kerbals off-world, and how this new council needed a level-headed kerbal such as Archibald to help guide it. His old friend was agreeing with everything he said, every step of the way.

And so he was a bit surprised when Archibald suggested a better candidate. Munlin.

"Munlin? The simpleton?"

"Yes, Munlin, though he is no simpleton. Munlin sees the universe as a wonder to be explored, not an object to be conquered and controlled. He knows what it is to be stranded out there," Archibald pointed upwards randomly, "alone with no idea or hope of rescue. He's exactly the type of kerbal your council needs. Look to the failures of Buring and Harler. Or to Enwise, and the tremendous damage he caused and may still be causing. The more you try to control this mess the worse it gets."

"Except Harler was right. The autonomous spacecraft have saved lives and saved resources. There's no way we'd have made it as far as we did in the last cycle if...."

Archibald raised his hands to stop Jonbald. "Just talk to Munlin. He's at Sky's Reach, not far from the place the new locals call Baikerbanur. I'll have him come to the Cape. Anyway, night is coming and fast. You're welcome as always to stay, wash up, change your flight suit. Everything of ours is yours. Yet you must visit the monolith. It's just a short hike. Then you can see what's happened."

"Something bad?"

"Something wonderful. Come along and see."

Something wonderful indeed.

 

Navigation: Next Page

Edited December 4, 2016 by Cydonian Monk
Fixed continuity error with age of Archibald (Jonbald = 0.20.2, Archibald = 0.23)

[KAL 9000]

Oooooh...

[Thedrelle]

whoooooo!

the kraken cometh!

[DMSP]

Wow! Quite a change from the last chapter!

I wonder how we got here. That tanker looked like on of the (am I right?) Phosphorus Tankers, but It's too early in the 100th year for anything to get there. Hmph.

[Cydonian Monk]

33 minutes ago, DMSP said:

Wow! Quite a change from the last chapter!

I wonder how we got here. That tanker looked like on of the (am I right?) Phosphorus Tankers, but It's too early in the 100th year for anything to get there. Hmph.

That tanker is old-ish, designed and launched in a test save some time back, 1.0.2 or 1.0.4 (don't recall where it started exactly as I kept the same saves for all of 1.0.0-1.0.4). I retouched it a bit to add more RCS thrusters and radiators (curse you LV-N overheat!!!), and to rebalance it for post-1.0.5 KSP, but story-wise it was already in orbit. (Along with four others of a similar build from when I was testing the design.)

The design of the Potassium tugs are very much descendants of that tanker, which itself evolved from the drive section of the Kraken's Harvest. 

The mining rig on the other hand was completely rebuilt and launched (in a different test save on my MacBook) while I was on vacation. True, I had tested an older and similar design whenever ISRU was first introduced, but so much of that has changed and been nerfed that it just didn't work anymore. And solar power was no longer viable at Dres, so.... RTGs.  

 

Edited October 3, 2016 by Cydonian Monk

[Angelo Kerman]

Love the Kraken tentacles and the new story arc! Space Monks for the win.

[SpaceplaneAddict]

Finally caught up on all of your writings since May! A fantastic plot is something you've caught me with! Well done

[Cydonian Monk]

8 hours ago, SpaceplaneAddict said:

Finally caught up on all of your writings since May! A fantastic plot is something you've caught me with! Well done

Thanks. 

It's tough to keep up with all the good stuff on this forum - I know I struggle with it. As much as I wish I could stay read up on everything everybody posts, I know that's just not realistic.... If only we could live life in parallel with multiple versions of ourselves handling all the side tasks.

[Just Jim]

2 hours ago, Cydonian Monk said:

Thanks. 

It's tough to keep up with all the good stuff on this forum - I know I struggle with it. As much as I wish I could stay read up on everything everybody posts, I know that's just not realistic.... If only we could live life in parallel with multiple versions of ourselves handling all the side tasks.

Then it's not just me???  I'm in the same boat. I try so very hard to keep up with everyone else's work, but I've found it's like trying to read 7 different novels at the same time, plus write my own, and it can get very confusing at times.

Edited October 4, 2016 by Just Jim

[Cydonian Monk]

4 hours ago, Just Jim said:

Then it's not just me???  I'm in the same boat. I try so very hard to keep up with everyone else's work, but I've found it's like trying to read 7 different novels at the same time, plus write my own, and it can get very confusing at times.

Definitely not just you. Sometimes I intentionally avoid reading other threads for a few weeks just to avoid potential concept spill-over. I've got enough stuff to keep sorted out at work that sometimes keeping the forum stories separated is an impossible task.  

Edited October 4, 2016 by Cydonian Monk

[cubinator]

I don't know how you just keep managing to make this story more awesome! I love how we keep getting answers, yet new questions continue to arise at the same time! Will there ever be a definitive end?

[DragonsForce]

I am all caught up! Started 2 days or so ago and worked my way through the entire thread... What a story! What imagery!

One question: Is the "Answers with time. Time with riddles." a quote from something, or is it your personal saying? Either way, I'm totally going to steal it

[Cydonian Monk]

1 hour ago, cubinator said:

I don't know how you just keep managing to make this story more awesome! I love how we keep getting answers, yet new questions continue to arise at the same time! Will there ever be a definitive end?

Thank you. Sadly there is always an end to everything. Not for some time though, if I have anything to do with it.

 

1 minute ago, DragonsForce said:

I am all caught up! Started 2 days or so ago and worked my way through the entire thread... What a story! What imagery!

Thanks! Now I know there's 93 posts or so in this story so far.  

1 minute ago, DragonsForce said:

One question: Is the "Answers with time. Time with riddles." a quote from something, or is it your personal saying? Either way, I'm totally going to steal it

Totally me just being coy, but it's hard to say if I picked it up from somewhere else or not.