(urth) Faterh Inire Theory cont.

[David Stockhoff]

I think the word "flaking" is used. The flaking is the problem---let 
alone the fumes from paint drying in the first place.

Here's the main point: the House Absolute and the antechamber are partly 
based on the palace of the Sun King at Verseilles, the very pinnacle of 
ornamental aristocratic uselessness. Thecla's memory of her youth 
illustrates this uselessness. Imagine our heroes caught there, wandering 
among dusty rooms and secret doors and hidden closets. They pass rich 
chambers and hurrying servants. They go down steps and find a door out 
of our near future with a red symbol warning of monsters.

At no time does Jonas, who is now "metal" Jonas, "meat" Jonas having 
been stunned, mention ships. When he mentions the ceiling and its 
compartmentalization, he uses the language of an ancient, long-occupied 
terrestrial palace. At this point they are deep underground.

I really don't understand why this idea is being pursued further.

On 12/13/2010 9:12 PM, James Wynn wrote:
> What if they don't use paint? What if the colors are burned on with 
> radiation? What if they apply crystallization?
>
> On 12/13/2010 8:09 PM, David Stockhoff wrote:
>> I like your romantic notion of a starship, Gerry.
>>
>> I just don't think even "good" air filtration is achievable if 
>> everyone on the ship thinks as you do and renovates his "suite of 
>> rooms" from time to time. It would take very little bad behavior from 
>> all hands to kill the ship.
>>
>> On 12/13/2010 6:28 PM, Gerry Quinn wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>> I really think you are making too much of these limitations on the 
>>> permissible furnishing of spacecraft which, though far in Urth's 
>>> past, are far in our future.  They have artificial gravity; if they 
>>> also have good air filtration, dust may not be as much of a problem 
>>> as you imagine.  Think of them as like ships on Earth - you can put 
>>> anything you want there, within reason.
>>> They use paint because it looks better.  Would you want to sail in a 
>>> grotty pre-fab starship?  And maybe it didn't flake at all during 
>>> the voyage anyway.
>>
>


---
avast! Antivirus: Outbound message clean.
Virus Database (VPS): 101213-1, 12/13/2010
Tested on: 12/13/2010 10:07:39 PM
avast! - copyright (c) 1988-2010 AVAST Software.
http://www.avast.com