So, while I wait for another of my skills to train, I found and read the short story, "Red Star, Winter Orbit", a tale of an alternate history where the Soviet Union has won the space race. A story that captures the cyberpunk genre, it gives a bleak, yet somehow hopeful future.
The story is about the crew of a Soviet space station, Kosmograd, the slowly collapsing American influence, and ultimately the conversion of space into a true frontier. It contains the elements of cyberpunk; a dystopian world with high technology, where information and control are foci.
I'll elaborate more on this later, as I only just finished reading it, and move on to the adventures in EVE.
The slow decline of my corporation has finally become apparent as yet another familiar face has left the group. I wonder when I personally should start seeking a new home. We all keep in contact with our own communications channel (colloquially: a chat room), so any worries of being alienated are fading.
They are still, however present. There is no surer route to destruction than abandoning friends in New Eden. Trust is a commodity in this violent and cruel society, and attempting to go on one's own is a fast trip to destruction. Pirates, roaming paramilitary forces, con artists, imperial militias, even random pod pilots bored, just looking to shoot something: all are threats.
So I make good use of the friendship I have in the pilot Tango Cainne. Frank, a former co-worker in real life, started EVE at my suggestion a few months back. He has grown quickly as a Gallentean pilot, handling the Thorax class cruiser, and his new obsession, the Helios covert-ops frigate, with almost terrifying efficiency. The first time I took him as a wingman he scored a kill against an aggressive Arbitrator cruiser. His barely equipped Myrmiddon Battlecruiser fought of a squadron of interceptors, with years of experience to his mere months.
As prospects grow dim on our ISK making endeavours, we have both taken to patrolling and exploiting a few, lower security systems near our militia staging-grounds, the Villore system. Oulley, the low-security system I've mentioned before (where I crushed a destroyer), is where I've been patrolling as of late.
Our efforts have been relatively fruitless so far. We attempted to track down a Thorax, running a mission given to her by a Gallente agent of some sort. Frank's Helios deployed a scanning probe in an attempt to locate our prey, but the would-be victim was just out of range. In the meantime, a hostile roaming party came through the system. Fielding several battleships (Dominx and Megathron classes), an interceptor and a combat recon (Curse), I soon picked up newly formed wreckage from bystanders as they moved through.
Eventually, our target left, and the roamers eventually attempted to locate me. I was able to stay hidden between planets, moving from random point to random point until they simply gave up and move along.
Yesterday, I finally caught a careless cargo hauler moving through the system. Carrying only a modest load of minerals, the assault was hardly worth the lowered security rating given to me by Concord (the police agency of New Eden). I start to wonder if I'm doomed to flounder about in this society, grinding out an existence scavening the remains of those careless enough to be caught by the LH-S Malevolence and his unseen partner.
Surely I deserve a better future, former combat pilot of a powerful alliance. However, that certainty was annihalted as the juggernaught known as GoonSwarm lay waste to our defenses, taking advantage of the poor core leadership we had always begrudgingly accepted. Now, my corporation is barely operating within Gallente space, far from the [player-controlled] outlands of Geminate that was the graveyard of Alliances, and final resting space of my former alliance.
Who knows what tomorrow may bring. I have powerful agents I can do work for in order to earn an income. I hate working for those too full of themselves with their important positions, and I hate even more working for their [npc-controlled] Gallente Federation. However, we all do what we must, and the only alternative is attempting to go on my own to find a new niche, a new alliance or corporation to work with, or fading into obscurity as a small-time pirate.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Monday, September 15, 2008
Cyborg's of New Eden - The Pod Pilot
Khamal Jolstien, Pod Pilot of New Eden, is in effect an immortal demi-god. Not a god by usual standards, he is very much a physical being, able to be seen, touched, heard. But when he is immersed in the gelatinous substance that fills his space capsule, he is instantly transformed into master and commander of his vessel.
More importantly, he is invulnerable to death in the traditional sense. Cloning technology has advanced to the point where his entire mind is transported into the new body the moment there is a fracture in the capsule. His old body destroyed, he awakens far away in a cloning bay at an orbiting space station. His ship, crew and all destroyed, yet he will continue.
Pod Pilot's in New Eden are revered, admired, and feared. The nature of their work, the disposability of their crew and the crews of ships they destroy makes them apathetic, completely indifferent to death. It is not of their concern, it can't be in order to maintain sanity. Completely immeresed in the protective goo of their pods, they are at once blind, and all seeing. They're electronically interfaced with their ship, their thoughts driving the vessel, or commanding others to take action on board the vessel.
Completely part of their machine, these gods are cyborgs. Implants allow these people to connect with the Pod, and some of them even use extra cranial implants to enhance their already considerable abilities. Implants can increase mental capacities to speed learning, they can enhance responsiveness to certain aspects of the ship, increasing speed, automated repair, and agility.
In many ways, these gods can determine who lives and who dies on the battlefield. This week, fellow pilot Tango Cainne (a friend, Frank, from work) delved into the complex world that is the covert ops vessel. The Helios class vessel, covert ops frigate from the Gallente Federation's navy, is able to provide information on an area without being seen, and that's precisely what he did.
A lone destroyer, a Catalyst (another Gallente Federation ship), was picking through wreckage off of a stargate into the Osmeden system. Cainne's Helios was nearby, reporting on the target's location. In a few moments I emerged from the stargate in my Cerberus, the LH-S Malevolence.
The target, only 15 kilometers away, didn't stand a chance. My heavy assault cruiser's five heavy missiles destroyed the shields on the first volley, and another two volleys removed the armor. In about thirty seconds, the destroyer was reduced to the wreckage it was investigating only moments before.
Its pilot was safe in her capsule, floating in space while the crew were all killed in the explosion. She, being a pod pilot herself, cared more about the ship's destruction than the unknown crew in her charge.
This is typical of a pod pilot. Pod pilots in the EVE-Online canon, and the adroids of Philip K. Dick, and other popular authors all have the same, lack of empathy and regard for life other than their own. I have wondered what similarities exist between the two.
Both are machine, at least in part. Androids completely so, pod pilot's only partly. Their minds and earlier life are natural, so where does this lack of compassion originate? Perhaps it comes from control. Pod pilots have complete control on whether they live or die. All they need to do is ensure there is a valid clone waiting somewhere. In fact, if they fail at this, they're given a cheaper, less effective clone to ensure they're not lost completely.
Androids know their lifespan almost do the day. Philip K. Dick's androids do anyway. They know they are but machine, of little consequence. They live for four years until they wear out. I believe that in both cases, there is a certainty to the lives of these apathetic beings. Humans, normal people, are in little control of their lifespans. They can suffer and perish due to things outside of their control. It is this subtle difference that creates empathy, I believe, and it is this potential experience that is lacking in the android and the pod pilot.
More importantly, he is invulnerable to death in the traditional sense. Cloning technology has advanced to the point where his entire mind is transported into the new body the moment there is a fracture in the capsule. His old body destroyed, he awakens far away in a cloning bay at an orbiting space station. His ship, crew and all destroyed, yet he will continue.
Pod Pilot's in New Eden are revered, admired, and feared. The nature of their work, the disposability of their crew and the crews of ships they destroy makes them apathetic, completely indifferent to death. It is not of their concern, it can't be in order to maintain sanity. Completely immeresed in the protective goo of their pods, they are at once blind, and all seeing. They're electronically interfaced with their ship, their thoughts driving the vessel, or commanding others to take action on board the vessel.
Completely part of their machine, these gods are cyborgs. Implants allow these people to connect with the Pod, and some of them even use extra cranial implants to enhance their already considerable abilities. Implants can increase mental capacities to speed learning, they can enhance responsiveness to certain aspects of the ship, increasing speed, automated repair, and agility.
In many ways, these gods can determine who lives and who dies on the battlefield. This week, fellow pilot Tango Cainne (a friend, Frank, from work) delved into the complex world that is the covert ops vessel. The Helios class vessel, covert ops frigate from the Gallente Federation's navy, is able to provide information on an area without being seen, and that's precisely what he did.
A lone destroyer, a Catalyst (another Gallente Federation ship), was picking through wreckage off of a stargate into the Osmeden system. Cainne's Helios was nearby, reporting on the target's location. In a few moments I emerged from the stargate in my Cerberus, the LH-S Malevolence.
The target, only 15 kilometers away, didn't stand a chance. My heavy assault cruiser's five heavy missiles destroyed the shields on the first volley, and another two volleys removed the armor. In about thirty seconds, the destroyer was reduced to the wreckage it was investigating only moments before.
Its pilot was safe in her capsule, floating in space while the crew were all killed in the explosion. She, being a pod pilot herself, cared more about the ship's destruction than the unknown crew in her charge.
This is typical of a pod pilot. Pod pilots in the EVE-Online canon, and the adroids of Philip K. Dick, and other popular authors all have the same, lack of empathy and regard for life other than their own. I have wondered what similarities exist between the two.
Both are machine, at least in part. Androids completely so, pod pilot's only partly. Their minds and earlier life are natural, so where does this lack of compassion originate? Perhaps it comes from control. Pod pilots have complete control on whether they live or die. All they need to do is ensure there is a valid clone waiting somewhere. In fact, if they fail at this, they're given a cheaper, less effective clone to ensure they're not lost completely.
Androids know their lifespan almost do the day. Philip K. Dick's androids do anyway. They know they are but machine, of little consequence. They live for four years until they wear out. I believe that in both cases, there is a certainty to the lives of these apathetic beings. Humans, normal people, are in little control of their lifespans. They can suffer and perish due to things outside of their control. It is this subtle difference that creates empathy, I believe, and it is this potential experience that is lacking in the android and the pod pilot.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
First!
Well, just opened this thing last week, and I kinda figured it would be beneficial to actually use it (plus I've been bored), so here goes.
I've been active in EVE-Online for almost two years now. I've gotten into some pretty interesting shenanigans; invading enemy territory, patrolling my own, piracy, thievery, defense, entrepreneurship and a few other activities I'm sure I've forgotten.
Lately, I've been involved in Faction Warfare, a feature that demonstrates the newly declared war between the four Empires of New Eden (the galaxy EVE Online takes place in). It's not as brutal as the total war waged out on the fringe systems, but times have been interesting.
I'm an Electronic Warfare pilot these days. I fly in a Falcon, an advanced cruiser with state-of-the-art electronics, jamming equipment, cloaking device and surveillance equipment. My particular ship, which I've named the LH-S Omniscience, fields an impressive 7 Multispectral Jammers, capable of rendering useless several enemy ships at once.
My niche is one of many available to pilots of New Eden. I've flown in an intercepting role, damage dealing, exploration and scouting for a fleet, stealth and espionage, and even flown a stealth bomber. I enjoy the Electronic Warfare portion of the game more than these however, because I am able to effectively remove several enemies from the fight with my jamming, thereby protecting my wingmen.
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I get myself into trouble every now and again in EVE. Wandering into enemy territory with some friends, or alone, usually leads to a fight. Other players are fiercely defensive of their space, and will react with overwhelming force almost every time. Hit and run attacks are the norm these days for such incursions, and my ability to jam targets enhances our survivability in case we're not quite running yet when reinforcements arrive.
On one such occasion, we were attacked shortly after we destroyed an enemy mining vessel. Several cruiser-class ships dropped out of warp almost on top of our small wing. In an instant they were on one of our ships, a hapless cruiser-class vessel known as a Caracal. Fortunately, I was sitting cloaked nearly 100 kilometers away in the Omniscience. I was able to jam the targetting systems of the attackers just in time to let our cruiser get away, and even destroying one of the attackers in the process.
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Unfortunately, I hadn't had much time to play this week, so this is the only real action to post. I let this story sit for a bit, hoping for something else to add, but oh well. Next week I plan to take a small hunter-killer party out to track down industrial ships, mining, and hostile patrols.
I've been active in EVE-Online for almost two years now. I've gotten into some pretty interesting shenanigans; invading enemy territory, patrolling my own, piracy, thievery, defense, entrepreneurship and a few other activities I'm sure I've forgotten.
Lately, I've been involved in Faction Warfare, a feature that demonstrates the newly declared war between the four Empires of New Eden (the galaxy EVE Online takes place in). It's not as brutal as the total war waged out on the fringe systems, but times have been interesting.
I'm an Electronic Warfare pilot these days. I fly in a Falcon, an advanced cruiser with state-of-the-art electronics, jamming equipment, cloaking device and surveillance equipment. My particular ship, which I've named the LH-S Omniscience, fields an impressive 7 Multispectral Jammers, capable of rendering useless several enemy ships at once.
My niche is one of many available to pilots of New Eden. I've flown in an intercepting role, damage dealing, exploration and scouting for a fleet, stealth and espionage, and even flown a stealth bomber. I enjoy the Electronic Warfare portion of the game more than these however, because I am able to effectively remove several enemies from the fight with my jamming, thereby protecting my wingmen.
-----------------------
I get myself into trouble every now and again in EVE. Wandering into enemy territory with some friends, or alone, usually leads to a fight. Other players are fiercely defensive of their space, and will react with overwhelming force almost every time. Hit and run attacks are the norm these days for such incursions, and my ability to jam targets enhances our survivability in case we're not quite running yet when reinforcements arrive.
On one such occasion, we were attacked shortly after we destroyed an enemy mining vessel. Several cruiser-class ships dropped out of warp almost on top of our small wing. In an instant they were on one of our ships, a hapless cruiser-class vessel known as a Caracal. Fortunately, I was sitting cloaked nearly 100 kilometers away in the Omniscience. I was able to jam the targetting systems of the attackers just in time to let our cruiser get away, and even destroying one of the attackers in the process.
-----------------------
Unfortunately, I hadn't had much time to play this week, so this is the only real action to post. I let this story sit for a bit, hoping for something else to add, but oh well. Next week I plan to take a small hunter-killer party out to track down industrial ships, mining, and hostile patrols.
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