From: mcraig@talk21.com Sent: Tuesday, April 20, 1999 12:19 PM To: blue_planet@lists.MPGN.COM Subject: [BLUE PLANET] - Blue Planet/Avatar Consolidated From: Malcolm Craig Further to the little article about Avatar Consolidated that appeared in UC#3, I've decided to post some very basic notes on some of the major personalities within Avatar. If anyone has any ideas as to what Avatar should be doing to help the natives (bearing in mind their stated aims), please let me know. Dr Harold Innes, Senior Vice President in Charge of Research, Survival Techniques Design Group: A powerful figure within Avatar Consolidated, respected scientist and cultured man-about-the-islands, Harold Innes is one of the founder members of the Avatar Consolidated group. Born in late 2147 to working class parents in Dunedin, New Zealand, Innes was never a child to whom academic pursuits meant much. He was more concerned with sports and adventure, rather than science and the arts. At the age of nineteen (having flunked out of technical college) he joined the Peacekeepers as a line trooper. His seven years in the forces exposed him to many new experiences, broadening the outlook of a boy into the desires of a man. When Poseidon was recontacted, Innes saw where his future lay, but as an ex-serviceman with little in the way of skills or training, he could see little opportunity for himself. Consequently, he went back to school, taking his exams over again and eventually, after two years, gaining the qualifications he needed to enter university. At age 28, he entered St Andrews University in Scotland to study Biochemistry & Molecular Biology. His rough and ready approach came as something of a shock to many of his more cultured classmates but his persistence and desire to learn thrilled his tutors. He graduated with First Class Honours and was almost immediately offered a position with a GEO HCST team. It was reasoned that despite his age, his military experience and scientific excellence would more than compensate. His time on Poseidon has given him wide knowledge of the planets biology and biochemistry but has done little to temper his headstrong nature. His main sympathies lie with the natives and he is slowly but surely attempting to turn Avatar into a military machine that will come to their assistance. Age: 41 Goal: Revolution Motivation: Compassion Attitude: Confident Profession: Scientist Species: Modi Tara Cavanagh: Ostensibly acts as secretary/pa/assistant to Julian Crichton. Actually she is Avatars top security official, a fact known only to her and Herren Findler. Seems typically secretary-ish when first met and will only blow her cover if the situation really requires it. While Francis McNaught seems to be in charge of security, it is Tara whom makes all the management decisions about security (commands which are usually routed from 'upstairs'). She also retains sole responsibility for any and all covert ops carried out by Avatar. In essence, this means she is in charge of all the external field operations carried out by Avatar. She also monitors the activities of senior personnel and has even set up an expert system to monitor her activities and inform her if she is doing anything that would endanger company security. Age: 33 Goal: Accomplishment Motivation: Loyalty Attitude: Disciplined Profession: Covert Ops Species: Geni (Transhuman) Francis McNaught: McNaught is now aged fifty and has a weathered, granite like appearance. An ex-mercenary, McNaught is the head of security for the Avatar Facility but is only in it for the money. Out of all the high-ranking employees of Avatar, he is one of the most likely to be subverted by outside forces. His past is somewhat dubious (although Cavanagh does have detailed records) and certain activities he has engaged in could be used to blackmail him. Age: 50 Goal: Wealth Motivation: Professionalism Attitude: Confident Profession: Mercenary Species: Modi Julian Crichton: Son of one of Avatars major shareholders, Crichton is a capable but somewhat excitable young man who has found himself rather unexpectedly in a position of power. He is the General Manager for the main Avatar facility at and lives in a constant state of fear and alarm. This state is caused by his paranoia about the GEO and the Incorporate finding out about the true nature of Avatars dealings. He is continually interfering in the work of Francis McNaught, a fact resented by the entire security contingent. He also believes that all his movements are recorded and his conversation taped. On this, he is dead right, Cavanagh scrupulously monitors the activities of all senior personnel and is more than a little suspicious of Crichton, whom she sees as an easy target for subversion. Age: 28 Goal: Wealth Motivation: Social Attitude: Manic Profession: Administrator Species: Geni (Transhuman) Kirsten Carroll: A young (23) Cat hybrid, Kirsten has been employed by Avatar for the last four years. She is being trained as a doctor and currently functions as a medic and occasional lab assistant. Unknown to most, she is very capable at martial arts, karate being her speciality. She is also being groomed (secretly) by Cavanagh to eventually take over her role. While Kirsten is not aware of this, her training has been leading subtlety in that direction for the past three years. Away from work, she is a charming young lady and well liked by all who come in to contact with her. Age: 23 Goal: Altruism Motivation: Duty Attitude: Co-operative Profession: Medic Species: Geni (Cat Hybrid) Dr Frank Retson: The senior scientific figure within STDG, Retson was lured away from GenDiver by a very lucrative contract and the promise that GenDiver would not find out where exactly he had gone. Now in his late forties, Retson desperately wants to make his mark on the scientific community and is beginning to view his move to Avatar as something of an imprisonment. While he feels a certain amount of loyalty towards his current employers, he loathes Innes and is fearful of Qureshi, both of whom he sees as competitors rather than colleagues. Age: 47 Goal: Fame Motivation: Discontent Attitude: Brooding Profession: Scientist Species: Pure Strain Human Dr Harry Qureshi: Senior assistant to Dr Retson, Qureshi was born on Poseidon to Indian parents. Despite his young age (26) he is a capable scientist. He has something of a fancy for Kirsten and is not backward in coming forward. He is an elegant, handsome young man but something of a loudmouth when intoxicated. Age: 26 Goal: Love Motivation: Curiosity Attitude: Energetic/Arrogant (when drunk) Profession: Scientist Species: Modi ----------------------------------------------------- This message has been sent from talk21 http://www.talk21.com/ *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@mpgn.com with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. From: Heivilin, Jim [banzai@missouri.edu] Sent: Tuesday, April 20, 1999 9:55 AM To: 'blue_planet@mpgn.com' Subject: RE: [BLUE PLANET] - headlines > -----Original Message----- > From: Wordman [mailto:wordman@flashpt.com] > Subject: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - headlines > > It is also worth mentioning that a story covering this on NPR quoted a > researcher who said that our tools for doing this are still pretty limited. > From what I understand (and this info may be a few years old) the primary means they have of determining if a star has *any* planets is the perturbation in the orbit of the star caused by the gravitational field of those planets. And since the mass (and thus gravity) of "solid" planets like Terra is relatively small when compared to the mass of the star, those perturbation are very small. The perturbations caused by gas giant sized planets is larger but still relatively small. And so most of the problem is the resolution of the instruments used to do the measuring (can they detect a change that small). Up to now we've only been able to determine the existence of gas giants since we can't positively measure changes in orbit caused by Terran like planets. Jim H. *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@mpgn.com with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. From: Auberon [fskln1@uaf.edu] Sent: Tuesday, April 20, 1999 1:38 AM To: blue_planet@mpgn.com Subject: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - Incorporate logos Wilke Wills Family wrote: > > The helix looks dull because the shading isn't right for a helix...its > just a gradient I use for metallic lettering. I think the font is okay, > but it goes over one part of the helix, which detracts from the 3D > effect. As I said, just a quick attempt...I still like the overall > helix part, though. In any case, it should serve its intended purpose > as something to stick on a convention handout. I like the basic idea, but I'd give it a textured background that fades at the edges to white (blends to the paper), and map the text to the side of the helix, 'G' down, rather than have it horizontal. That said, I'm too busy to do it right now, and what's there is fine for a convention game handout. -- +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+= "I never get involved in my own life. It's too much trouble" - Michael Garibaldi (Babylon 5) *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@mpgn.com with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. From: Auberon [fskln1@uaf.edu] Sent: Tuesday, April 20, 1999 1:40 AM To: blue_planet@mpgn.com Subject: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - headlines Wordman wrote: > > It is also worth mentioning that a story covering this on NPR quoted a > researcher who said that our tools for doing this are still pretty limited. > If "people" on a planet in the Upsilon Andromedae system used the same tools > to view our solar system "they would only notice the existence of Jupiter". True, but the eliptical orbits of the planets would make the formation of rockball planets really difficult. -- +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+= "I never get involved in my own life. It's too much trouble" - Michael Garibaldi (Babylon 5) *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@mpgn.com with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. From: Auberon [fskln1@uaf.edu] Sent: Tuesday, April 20, 1999 1:10 PM To: blue_planet@mpgn.com Subject: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - headlines "Heivilin, Jim" wrote: > > >From what I understand (and this info may be a few years old) the primary > means they have of determining if a star has *any* planets is the > perturbation in the orbit of the star caused by the gravitational field of > those planets. And since the mass (and thus gravity) of "solid" planets > like Terra is relatively small when compared to the mass of the star, those > perturbation are very small. The perturbations caused by gas giant sized > planets is larger but still relatively small. This is quite true. This means of detection is the reason that most of the planets we've found so far are gas giants with orbits closer than Sol's asteroid belt (2AU). Eccentric or oval orbits are the easiest way to detect too, since they create larger disturbances. That's part of what's so significant about this: it's the first system that we've found multiple planets in, and we've also found gas giants relatively far from the local sun. > And so most of the problem is the resolution of the instruments used to do > the measuring (can they detect a change that small). Up to now we've only > been able to determine the existence of gas giants since we can't positively > measure changes in orbit caused by Terran like planets. The other problem is orbital period. Detecting a planet that orbits its star only ever 40-80 years requires longer periods of observation. We're just starting to get there, as the equipment hasn't been that good for that long. With the Subaru in Hawaii and the new European telescopes in Peru (?) we're going to start finding a whole bunch more over the next couple of decades. -- +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+= "I never get involved in my own life. It's too much trouble" - Michael Garibaldi (Babylon 5) *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@mpgn.com with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. From: c718678@showme.missouri.edu Sent: Tuesday, April 20, 1999 3:54 PM To: blue_planet@mpgn.com Subject: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - headlines > That's part of what's so significant about this: it's the first system > that we've found multiple planets in, and we've also found gas giants > relatively far from the local sun. You mean relatively close. Two of the three are closer to Upsilon Andomedae then mars is to the sun. One of the reasons "people" in a nearby star system would be able to see Jupiter is that its far enough away from the sun that the sun's light wouldn't blur over it, and you could literally see it with something like the Hubble telescope. Speaking of Hubble and local famous people, he was from Missouri :) (and was always ashamed to admit it, but that's beside the point..) Later, Eva @@@(* > *)@@@ *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@mpgn.com with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. From: Ronald Johnson [ronjon@shore.net] Sent: Tuesday, April 20, 1999 4:02 PM To: blue_planet@mpgn.com Subject: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - Incorporate logos Weren't there some Incorporate logos on the biohazardgames web site a while back? I seem to remember seeing some on the scrip exchange rate page, but I can't get there now. Cheers, Ron --- Ron Johnson Surf Poseidon! *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@mpgn.com with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. From: Sean Michael Whipkey [highway@cstone.net] Sent: Tuesday, April 20, 1999 4:20 PM To: blue_planet@mpgn.com Subject: [BLUE PLANET] - Go out and vote. http://www.rpg.net The survey this week is on environmental games. BP is in second place. Need I say more? :-) SeanMike -- SeanMike Whipkey - Cornerstone Networks Engineering - highway@cstone.net Report received spam to: spam-report@cstone.net with the full headers Cornerstone Networks - 804.817.7000 or 800.325.9848 - http://www.cstone.net "And when I know computers, I shall be the Supreme Being!" - Time Bandits *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@mpgn.com with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. From: Wordman [wordman@flashpt.com] Sent: Tuesday, April 20, 1999 8:16 PM To: blue_planet@mpgn.com Subject: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - headlines > One of the reasons "people" in a > nearby star system would be able to see Jupiter is that its far enough > away from the sun that the sun's light wouldn't blur over it, and you > could literally see it with something like the Hubble telescope. Actually, I we don't see planets. We see minute "wobbles" in the star caused by gravity from planets. Only the most massive would have an effect. In our system, only Jupiter has enough gravity to produce a "wobble" visible from another system. Another interesting note is that since one of the new planets discovered in the new system is so close to the sun, that it doesn't need to be as massive to create a visible "wobble", since gravitic attraction is inversely proportional to distance squared. Wordman *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@mpgn.com with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. From: Tun Kai Poh [t_poh@hotmail.com] Sent: Tuesday, April 20, 1999 10:17 PM To: blue_planet@mpgn.com Subject: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - headlines Wordman wrote: >Another interesting note is that since one of the new planets discovered in >the new system is so close to the sun, that it doesn't need to be as massive >to create a visible "wobble", since gravitic attraction is inversely >proportional to distance squared. Okay, I know this is going over slightly-worn paths, but roughly how far out would a wormhole like the one in BP have to be to make sure we can't detect it with existing technology? Kai Poh, Malaysian Lagomorph _______________________________________________________________ Get Free Email and Do More On The Web. Visit http://www.msn.com *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@mpgn.com with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message.