10:22 < mdxi> variable-geometry gravitic drive
10:22 < mdxi> fall through space in any direction, instantly!
10:22 <@ejp> something like that
10:22 < solios> I still think *real* near-future space combat would likely be warheadless missiles (kinetic impact is enough) and beam weapons. With the biggest headache being debris/micrometiorites
10:23 < solios> mdxi: what the Sabrosa almost has.
10:23 < mdxi> i was stealing the idea from Honor Harrington (although theirs seem to operate mostly in one direction. maybe the author just didn't fully think through the implications)
10:24 <@ejp> honorverse tech does a good job, IMO, of being advanced, while still leaving plot.
10:25 < solios> :o
10:25 < solios> I'd like to think I'm doing similar.
10:25 < mdxi> agree. its biggest problem is the same problem Horatio Hornblower did
10:25 < solios> trying hard to impose the idea of a distribution curve.
10:25 < mdxi> which is no surprise, as it's a gigantic tribute
10:25 < solios> wherein the sabrosa is The Most Advanced and the daedalus and cheops are among The Most Common
10:25 < mdxi> the lead character is basically infallible, and has done everything
10:25 < solios> (think, say.... F-35 vs. F-16)
10:26 <@ejp> mdxi: yes.
10:26 < solios> mdxi: hah.
10:26 < mdxi> so it's great for 3-5 books, maybe
10:26 < mdxi> the first few are definitely awesome
10:26 < solios> infallible--
10:27 * solios likes it when defficiencies define characters.
10:27 <@ejp> I read book 1, 2 is sitting there waiting.
10:27 <@ejp> along with Old Man's War and Last Colony.
10:28 < mdxi> solios: she doesn't start out infallible, just very skilled and aptitudinous. and lucky.
10:29 < mdxi> but within a few books, it's clear she's the single most advanced human in teh entire universe
10:29 <@ejp> and full of goo. MISSON GOO.
10:29 < mdxi> except for her own lingering self-doubt
10:29 < mdxi> (just like Hornblower)
10:29 < solios> heh.
10:30 < mdxi> Admiral Hornblower never had a telepathic six-toed cat tho
10:30 <@ejp> who eats celery.
10:30 < solios> everybody in ATC is either crazy, a functioning drug addict, dead, mostly dead, or some combination of [the four].
10:30 < mdxi> hahahahahaha
10:30 < mdxi> you have a new tagline, dan :)
10:31 < solios> well, I write what I know, or something.