Search options (Page 44 of 48)

I decided to have them outlawed by the Geneva convention as weapons otherwise they compete with the story for attention.I'd recommend a similar approach in yours - once you get them into combat it's hard to tame them

Hmm. He has X amount of time left. Provided that air loss continues at a constant rate and that no loose objects (or people) plug the hole and restrict the air loss. The AI made a prediction based on the information it had. The prediction was not mathematical certanity but a guess based on information the AI had at the time (eg: what if one occupant died earlier than expected leaving more air for the others?)

I mean if during a drive to Vancouver (ew!), my AI predicted my fuel would run out in four minutes but it lasted eight, I'd think it was off by fifty percent due to reasons outside its control (temperature, expansion of the pipes, bad sensors, squirrels in the gas tank). The ratio is too low to be a miracle. When I reach my destination, I'll hardly emerge a born-again Christian.

if you want a miracle-in-doubt I recommend you give it a really long time. Like four hours. They get rescued. The leak is still there. The ship's oxygen tanks are empty as the AI said. It's clear the AI's calculation of death -- no matter how affected by outside factors -- is valid

No field day.

Writing a story about someone who's actively trying *not* to take action is difficult. One of my mains (the amazing [K a j o]) falls into that category. I basically surrounded him in people he grows to like and slowly take them away from him as a penalty for inaction until finally he's spurred to move. At the end of his book one, in the final chapter, he's finally like "okay fine, I'll get up and do something" -- the end.

This is a tough structure to write... after all why should the reader care about my MC if he can't be bothered to lift a finger for himself? We tend to want to read about someone motivated. If they aren't motivated, the story has to do backflips to keep us tagging along. Samuel Beckett had this ability. And Robertson Davies.

I know this doesn't help. Just some thoughts.

I say get to the lovey dovey

1. I forgot the sunscreen
2. I'm wearing a red shirt
3. BBQ
4. Liquify
5. Reactors look balmy compared to this
6. Mushroom cloud
7. The sun is jealous
8. Sh*t, I just melted the planet
9. We don't need no stinkin' solar system
10. Big bang

You have the makings of a nice 3 pillar story here, should Maya side against both the Empire and the Scofflaws.

Most would suggest carbon. It's available in abundance from cells, allowing for replication. Probably need a bit of silicon (not sure where theyd get that) and iron (easily obtained from the bloodstream). In my story, they latch onto the mitochondria for juice

There are more missing chunks, which I'll try to hit when I reach that point. You're possibly experiencing the fear of overexplaining. It's a legitimate concern.

s lazed = a laser

You poor thing. Here's a cookie

You're correct so far...

note: Star Trek and Star Wars both break the laws of physics. Objects in space sometime bank as if travelling through a medium. Some objects drift to a stop despite lacking a brakign mechanism. I have a catch I've complained on here before where an object "blows" off Anakin's starboard wing.

So if your story makes some stretches, it's well within reason

Sure. Consider this conversation between Alice and Bob, the latter of whom has just emerged crawling from a fiery car crash only to collopse a few steps away.

Alice: Bob! Oh no! I think his heart just stopped. I'd better inject him with an unsafe amount of steroids
Bob: (wakes up): Alice! I should be dead!
Alice: I gave you a dangerous injection. You now have twenty minutes to live!
Bob: Twenty minutes!
Alice: Go to the hospital. Get help.
Bob: I gotta get back in that burning car and rescue other passengers
Alice: Are you crazy?!? I said you have twenty minutes to live!!
Bob: I will never leave my companions to die. Help me.
Alice: Yes, Bob. I will accompany you on this quest. Bob? Bob? What are you doing? Why are you sitting back down?
Bob: Alice... I wonder about my car's spedometer. Do you think it gave me an accurate representation of my speed?
Alice: Twenty minutes, Bob. You're going to die in twenty minutes.
Bob: I wonder how I can find out. What if we never learn the truth?
Alice: Look... while you get all existential, I'm going to go bake muffins.

I've added a little stress to this, but that's basically what happens. All the characters except one are acting with a high level of urgency. the one calm character (the M/C) somehow manages to cool them down to his level and even engages them on philosophical debate. What' missing in my example story is character C who will make a turnkey statement that allows Bob to change tracks .

Bob: I gotta get back in that burning car and rescue other passengers
Alice: Are you crazy?!? I said you have twenty minutes to live!!
Bob: I will never leave my companions to die. Help me.
Alice: Yes, Bob. I will accompany you on this quest.
Chris: Bob! I just ran a scan of the flight recorder. Apparently you broke the speed of sound!
Bob: What? *falls to his knees* That-- that's impossible
Alice: Bob? Bob? What are you doing? Why are you sitting back down?
Bob: Alice... I wonder about my car's spedometer. Do you think it gave me an accurate representation of my speed?

It's still a little zany with C but I hope you can see how C adjusts A's energy level.