Weapons and Tech in the Verse
POSTED BY: caul
UPDATED: Wednesday, May 18, 2005 02:04
VIEWED: 16919
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As I recall on the DVD special features there is a deleted scene with the captain talking to Saphron, maybe? Anyway he says something along the lines of : "More than 70 Earths spinning in the 'verse and the meek inhereted not a one."
That strongly suggests that they haven't spread across the whole galaxy.
Spoiler re: the movie
Select to view spoiler:
The movie states in very certain terms that the show takes place in a single system with many planets and hundreds of moons. So no FTL problem at all, assuming they got to the system in sleeper ships, generation ships, very fast burn anti-matter rockets or rare and costly FTL that you never see in the show.
"If they take the ship, they’ll rape us to death, eat our flesh and sew our skins into their clothing, and if we’re very, very lucky, they’ll do it in that order."
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Quote:
Originally posted by Channain:
*eyebrow raising*
*JUST* a show, is it? So... WHY are you bothering to straighten out our thought processes about the weapons?
To that end, you wouldn't happen to have any notions on what that *extra* sound is when Mal pulls his hand gun? Aside from a post-production sound add-in, of course. Actually, finding out what was used to actually MAKE the sound we hear would be harder to do than hypothosizing about what it coule be.
But then it's just a show, isn't it?
<
Ok, so maybe is is more than 'just' a show.
I was only messing around hence the big ol' smiley.I have alot of useless and some useful knowledge and I try to add positive things to a topic when I can. Weapons are one of my hobbies(my nick should suggest that) and one thing that really bothers me is how hollywood treats weapons. I wanted to pass alone truthful and useful info in this case. Not the mention that guns are real even when used in movies, that are that,just movies.
(see the smiley?)
As to the gun sounds, unregardless what produces them in the movie, I speculate that in the future primers(the little thing that the firing pin hits to ignite gun power in a cartridge to expel a bullet at a high velocity) could be electronic and the sound could be a capacitor getting charged to 'fire'. Simple. This of course is a very real possibility as these types of guns exist today(see multiple references in other posts above), though I have no idea what the ignition system sounds like...yet.
I hope this is helpful, please feel free to ask any related questions you'd like. I do not claim to know it all, but I can find the answer relatively easily if I do not already know it.
ByteTheBullet (-:
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Quote:
Originally posted by InevitableBetrayal:Quote:
riginally posted by ByteTheBullet:
...even crappy 1911s.
I know you did not just call 1911s "crappy"...
Now would I do that? Again the addition of the big ol' smiley should have been a give away. I was really just fishing to see if there were any other enthusiasts here. I am not a .45 guy, but I do not hold it against those that are.
ByteTheBullet (-:
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Re: Ship's drives: Although Serenity's short-term "Dash" engine (The "Hard Drive" fusion reactor on the stern) is clearly reaction based, my theory is that long-range thrust is derived from the "It spins and you move" engine, which I refer to as "Gravity Drive". (Kaylee mentions Gravity Drive in "The Message", although in honesty it's not made clear in the script if this is a propulsive system or another way to refer to Serenity's artifical gravity.)
I look on the situation as analogous to an automobile having a nitrous oxide system; sometimes you want a burst of sudden power, but you can't drive coast to coast on Nitrous.
Since Firefly never discusses relativistic effects, and 70 planets is a bit too many to co-exist in a single system, I tend to believe in the FTL drive/multiple system theory. And since no one has proven that the propagation rate of gravity is limited to "C", it's as good a candidate for FTL protential as any other piece of Treknobabble Doubletalk out there. Maybe the BDM will clear this up. (This is not a request for spoilers.)
"Do you know what the definition of a hero is? It's somebody who gets somebody else killed." -- Zoë Warren
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Just a quick word of response to this thread. I have thoroughly enjoyed the history and theories that have been posited (particularly TheifJehat's), but I daresay, this is missing the point.
Is FTL a big problem? Sure. Is tech something of a mystery in the Firefly 'verse? Yup. But here's my basic premise: who cares?
Now before you hang me from the yardarm (or whatever the 25th century equivalent is) hear me out.
I think that if you asked Joss, he would tell you that Firefly is all about storytelling. It's about "nine people in the vastness of space seeing nine different things". Joss isn't trying to give us a fully fleshed out verse--he's using the 'verse as a vehicle, a backdrop for some damned good story telling.
This goes to the heart of what sci-fi/fantasy is all about. At its best (J.R.R. Tolkien, Philip K. Dick, Star Wars, original Trek), it tells stories that simply couldn't be without a fantastical backdrop. You can't tell a story with the scope of Lord of the Rings without putting it in another world. Same with Star Wars--it just wouldn't work in modern-day Brooklyn. The best sci-fi/fantasy is about the story; it's about people. And the fantastical setting allows for a fantastical story to be told.
Bad sci-fi, on the other hand (and I'll spare you examples just in case I touch a nerve), is more and more about the tech and about the universe/setting itself. The story telling gets bogged down under a discussion of radion accelaration sub-atomic drive shafts or some such, and never really gives human drama.
To me, Firefly falls into the first category. Who really cares about FTL, fusion drives, gun tech and so on? I care about Inara and Mal's unrequited love. I care about Book's mysterious past. I worry whether Jayne will betray Simon and River again. I love the 'verse, but only insofar as it is a vehicle that allows these very human stories to be told.
So I overlook FTL/vastness-of-space type issues. Rationally speaking they do present a problem. And I must admit, as a curious person, I do wonder how they could do what they do (e.g. gravity in space). But in the end, I'm more than willing to suspend disbelief and simply accept that Serenity can travel vast distances quickly. If I get hung up on how she does it I might lose focus on what really matters in Firefly: the human drama.
*Edit*
The foregoing isn't to say that you can't or shouldn't enjoy discussion of these types of issues. Just giving my perspective on them.
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Quote:It's good to know your skills, isn't it? I'm creative minded - I can draw, I write fairly well, but math? *pfwaf* I had to take the dumb math test for college three times to make sure I didn't have to take transitional math. I barely squeaked by, but I did it
Originally posted by thiefjehat:
I'd be better placed in a think tank for world building consistancy issues for a sci-fi TV show than in writing character relationships. I've tried my hand at writing a story and frankly, I suck. My talents are not in introducing and developing themes.
Get me past balancing my checkbook, and I'm hopeless! So it's good we have folks like yourself to do this kind of deep, dark, involved thinking - enlightening the obsessively canon writers about what we should and shouldn't do. Quote:Hey, I'm a writer, I like lengthy essays! I have my own theories about Inara, but haven't thought too much about Book beyond the very obvious - he wasn't always a shepherd (then again, no one is born a shepherd or a pastor, are they?) but there's a heckuva lot more to it than that. Like he was high up in either the military or law enforcement, both of which are very common theories. I'd love to hear what you have to say on any topic. I started a post once about how the war would be referred to, based on the divided references to the Civil war by Northern and Southern States. Some liked to use the same term you did - Unification War - while others preferred (Southern voce) The War of Independence. It was a fun thread!
Originally posted by thiefjehat:
You know, if you want another lengthy essay I can talk about my analysis of how Book fits into the Unification War. Plus there's the secrets Inara is keeping too. Both those subjects are found in various other threads on this site.
Quote:I asked Haken about that once, and I believe we are able to post to that Reference list as well-informed fans. I asked if I could add to the Chinese language translations. You might want to ask him yourself if you could add some updates on the tech, etc. I'm sure he'd appreciate the contribution to the cause.
Originally posted by thiefjehat:
There are several things I would like to further flesh out in the verse...
Quote:
Originally posted by thiefjehat:
And sure you can save my stuff for your work, I don't mind.
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Quote:
Originally posted by Lobohan:
As I recall on the DVD special features there is a deleted scene with the captain talking to Saphron, maybe? Anyway he says something along the lines of : "More than 70 Earths spinning in the 'verse and the meek inhereted not a one."
B]
That works well within my vision of the 'verse. Perhaps 25 established core corlds and 50-ish rim worlds and maybe that many more undergoing tereforming operations and not currently habitible.
Now, as to your spoiler post:
Select to view spoiler:
This is seriously unsettling to me. Are you saying that the movie states clearly that all planets/moons are within the same single star system? So Sihnon and Triumph and Persephone and Whitefall and ect...ect... are all within the same single star? Besides being way less romantic in terms of storytelling, it just about utterly violates accepted theories of planet formation. To have 70-ish earths and hundreds of 1g moons all in 1 star system is seriousing ruining my suspension of disbelief.
Perhaps it's just the events of the movie that occur in the same system?
Do not fear me. Ours is a peaceful race, and we must live in harmony.
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Select to view spoiler:
The size of the serenity universe is firmed up in the film.
Everything takes place in a single solar system, there is no FTL. There's something like 25 planets, and a hundred moons or so.
In our mrs. Reynolds we find out that 70 planets/moons have been terraformed.
Select to view spoiler:
Throughout the series Joss uses galaxy/system more or less interchangably. And I DONT like the fact that the firefly verse is constrained to a single system. IT makes it feel very small. But thats the way it is.
Select to view spoiler:
So no FTL.
If you watch, Serenity never really seems to be going fast enough for FTL anyway, especially after a firefly effect. Fast? Yes. FTL fast? No.
"Also? I can kill you with my brain."
-River
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Deadman,
You just openly posted movie specifics in un-spoiler form.
But since it's out in the open now, I hate the idea that this verse is within 1 single star system. It's completely illogical. Whatever has people all upset in Seattle that they are petitioning to change the movie...I hope this is it. I'd rather see a loved and respected main character die in my face that be forced to swallow the terrible idea that 25+ 1g planets and hundreds of 1g moons all orbit 1 star. What complete foolishness.
How does one communicate physics and astromomy truths to Joss?
**Edit**
Man, this makes me really sad all of a sudden. Such a rich and awsome 'verse has been tossed in a trash can with that premise. Granted, at this point fusion tech totally works, (interplanetary vs intersteller travel) but the whole wonderful idea of expanding humanity is wasted. My long lengthy post above should demonstrate how long and hard I've thought about the 'verse and I'm forced now to begin to believe that Firefly isn't as brilliantly thought out as I have been thinking it was for the past 18 months. You simply CANNOT have that many planets around a star. At most...AT THE VERY MOST...you might have 2 1g planets orbiting at the correct distances from the parent star and perhaps a couple moons around a gas giant...or in a binary orbit with a parent near-1g planet.
I feel like my spirit just got crushed. When I walked out of star wars episode 1 I felt this way. When Willow kissed Kennedy in buffy season 7 I felt this way. When Farimir took the ring to Gondor I felt this way. Will there ever be a film experience that gets things right?
**End Edit**
Do not fear me. Ours is a peaceful race, and we must live in harmony.
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Quote:
Originally posted by Deadman:
The serenity universe is firmed up in the film.
Everything takes place in a single solar system, there is no FTL. There's something like 25 planets, and a hundred moons or so.
Hey!! If you're going to post spoilers, put them in spoiler text! Poor form! God, I can't even describe how badly I want to curse at you for that.
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