An alternative concept, partly from pondering on the Titanic and what happened shortly after it sank and why, since the city’s fall seems conceptually rather similar.

On the surface, it fell because bad guys attacked, blew holes in the walls and messed with the ventilation systems. But disasters are rarely that simple. There're decisions that mitigate or worsen the consequences, some of these made years before the attack began. What seems like a valid decision to cancel an evacuation with hindsight is disastrous. While for the people making the decision, based on the information they had, it was exactly the right thing to do.

Quote:In the years since, the events surrounding the fall of Crystal Osaka acquired their own mythology. The story was told and retold and grew into something it never was. It took on its own life as a rallying cry for Great Justice. The city grew into an invincible fortress that had been felled by malignancy from without and incompetence from within. It gave people the heroes they wanted and put faces to the villains they needed to blame while the city itself remained pure and perfect.

It suits the myth to believe that the city was doomed from the first moment. It makes the heroes shine all the brighter as we have them come dashing in out of the cold void of space into knowing danger and a desperate struggle against time. It blackens the villains who could have destroyed something so pure, for something so pure could only be destroyed by the evils of men.

Nobody wants to believe that the city could’ve fallen for any other reason.

What many people forget is, the city was buoyant for hours afterwards. The city’s engineers had time to conduct a full structural analysis and concluded that, despite the serious damage to the city, it wasn’t going to fall. In the growing mythology after the event, they were cast alongside those who refused to believe that the Titanic could sink.

And yet, subsequent analysis have shown that, even with a compromised ventilation system and with the damage to the buoyancy cells, the city should have remained afloat. The city did remain afloat for nearly eighteen hours; long enough for the evacuation order to be rescinded and for the city’s residents to begin to return. The punctured sections had reached equilibrium and the City’s list had stabilised at three degrees South.

Those involved in making this decision were villified in the mythology that grew up as being dangerously reckless. And realising the error of their ways, they went down with the city trying to save the lives of the people they had carelessly doomed.

It is only with the benefit of hindsight that we can see how wrong they were, however. It is a common mistake of popular history to assume that people at the time knew everything that we know now. With the information presented to them, the city’s council made the correct decisions. A fact quietly brushed under the carpet of history is that quite a few people complained about the evacuation orders lasting for so long.

Many of the heroes of Osaka are forgotten in the Fennish clamour for idols, for shining archetypes of fiction. People remember the Grey Knights fighting against the virus in the computer and lionise them as saints. It’s become almost taboo to discuss the city’s ordinary damage control teams who ran from sector to sector manually operating failed valves in a desperate attempt to keep the city afloat for as long as possible. They trimmed the sinking city using hand radios and legwork, keeping it from capsizing right up until the concourse imploded.

This is a tragedy of its own sort. Ordinary people who gave everything just doing their jobs get nothing but a line for their name on a memorial obelisk.

The city should never have fallen, this is easily demonstrated with the proper analysis tools. We know from the surviving logs that the damaged cells had been isolated both automatically, and using the manual valve system. The system was properly designed to account for a malicious failure in the controlling computer. Even before the Boskone War began the possibility of the ventilation control system being compromised by an attacker had both been discussed and planned for extensively.

The fact remains however, that Crystal Osaka is a tangled mass of wreckage on the surface of Venus.

And so it comes to us to figure out why the city really fell, to understand what really happened in those final hours. Because without understanding, we may be doomed to repeat these events all over again.

----
The City’s own logs show that, six hours before the final collapse a damage control team was dispatched to compartment A-24, neighbouring the damaged sectors. This was nothing more than a routine survey of the damaged sectors.

After five minutes the team leader called into to report a slight smell of leaking gas, but concluded that it was just lingering remnants after the isolation doors had shut. Moments later all contact with the group was lost as a series of explosiosn ripped through sectors A-24 coreward to A-18 and up onto B-level. With the isolation doors open in the thus-far undamaged sections, there was nothing to stop the inrushing atmosphere..

Only now with twenty percent of the city potentially open to the Venusian atmosphere,did the fall truly became inevitable. Gas started flooding in through the remains of the ventilation system.

It was widely held that this must have been some form of booby trap left behind; a last dastardly gasp of the defeated villain

-----

The truth is, there was no explosion. While the wreckage shows signs of damage by some sort of high energy pressure wave tearing through the corridors, ripping isolation doors from their mounts and blowing open the ventilation system, no explosive residue was ever found.

The City fell because of a single failed bulkhead. Specifically, the bulkhead between A-25 and A-26. It may have been damaged in the firefight, or have been defective from design. Without recovering the remains of the door the truth will never be known.

One one side of the door was the Venusian atmosphere at high pressure. On the other, one single standard atmosphere. The bulkhead was already under immense stress before the city settled at its new equilibrium altitude. Once it failed, that pressure differential would have been like a bomb going off inside the corridor.

All that mass of gas in the damaged compartments behind would immediately have rushed forward through the opening, tearing the door from its mounts and likely instantly killed the damage control team. It would have rushed down the corridor beyond where it would have met the isolation door for A-24. The gas hits the door, but by now tons of pressurised atmosphere are moving at high speed down this corridor.

All this gas has it’s own inertia. For a few brief moments the pressure on the intact A-24 door spikes far beyond it’s design rating. The door fails, blowing open and allowing this gas to continue to the next door, then the next in a daisy chain of failures. It only stops because of a low mass flow rate through the initial breach, causing the pressure in the whole system to drop as the gas expands. Door A-18 holds.

These same pressure waves blast through the ventilation system, tearing isolation valves apart before bursting out into unprotected sectors of the city.

With the automatic systems failed and nobody now able to reach the venting sectors to activate the manual valves, Crystal Osaka had six hours to live.

So, Peg and I have the broadcast of the most recent Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on the TV this afternoon, and Donovan's segment comes on (and if you haven't seen it, it's a great; he did most of his thank you speech in the form of a poem he wrote for the occasion).  Anyway, as he was performing some of his music afterwards, I idly said to Peggy, "You know, I think 80s-90s teen movie star Ione Skye is his daughter."  She grabbed her laptop off the couch next to her and said, "I'll look it up."  I nod and walk into the kitchen.
A couple minutes later I hear this shriek of laughter.  I come back out and Peggy begins regaling me with information she's gotten off IMDB.  As it so happens, this RnRHOF induction is practically a family reunion for Ione Skye.  Her father's inducted.  Her former boyfriend Flea from Red Hot Chili Peppers, is also inducted.  As well as her first husband, Adam Horowitz of the Beastie Boys.
Peggy's still laughing.  And now trying to find out what Donovan has his doctorate in.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

The blog post yesterday inspired Warringer and me to get it into Fenspace...

###########

[big]Bio-Globes[/big]

History

Bio-Globes are a recent development in Fenspace, which began at the end of the Boskonian war. While Fenspace already could produce lots of food at Wonderland and the Jovian system, smaller settlements in remote places had discovered that being totally dependent on one or two suppliers lightminutes away could be a problem.

In the late 2013s, a small group of Belters began to look for alternatives. After some time of experimentation, they began to work on a concept published in 2012 by Conceptual Devices on Earth (link) and built the first Bio-Globes.

Design

The typical Fenspace Bio-Globes are double layered geodesic domes of five to eight meters diameter, which are used for growing plants, fruits and fish. On a series of trays along the walls of the transparent dome, different kinds of plants and tree-fruits are raised. Water is transported back and forth between the plant area and the fish tanks to exchange nutrients between them.

While most plants can be grown in hydroponics or aeroponics, others, such as potatoes need to be grown in actual soil.

Most outer layers are made from waved materials and are designed to be completely airtight, while the handwaved parts keep the atmosphere within clean and fresh and produce artificial gravity. Some Bio-Globes in asteroid settlements or in places far away from the sun add bright lights to sustain the plants, other add solar panels for generating electricity used in the inner dome.

The inner shell is often completely handwavium free to lower the chance of cross-polluting the ecosphere inside. In addition to the plants and the fish tanks, the Bio-Globes contain a small recycling container for most kinds of organic matter as well as smaller containers with bacteria that reduce the ammonium/ammoniac of the fish wastes to nitrates that can be used by the plants.

Additionally they provide variety in the daily work of belter habitats and provide emergency shelters in the event of a hull breach.

Culture

While the original designers built their Globes mostly for themselves, the design quickly spread among the small settlements of the belt and beyond. Fen began to trade design modifications, plants and fish species between each other, others began to construct additional Bio-Globes for friends and neighbors.

For most of the smaller habitats the Bio-Globes also provide a place to teach Fenkinder who were born and raised on Fenspace responsibility for their environment and in some cases with a way to keep pets (fish) that are not impacting too heavily on the life support systems.

Today, the Bio-Globes are a widespread installation among remote Fen settlements. While most of them are still buying food from external sources to increase the biomass of their constructions, the Globes have become an important part of Fenspace’s food production, as they provide a basic minimum most habitats can survive on.

There are some commercial variants of easy to setup Globes including plants and fish, but most of the globes started as self made constructions and gifts by other Fen. Most settlements prefer to use multiple smaller Globes to reduce the chance of losing their whole local food source in a single accident as well as having multiple harvests per year spread over the number of Globes.

Known Variants

Depending on the construction, and quirks of the outer dome structure, various Bio-Globes may only reach certain temperatures on the inside, allowing to grow only some specific plants.

Some of these Bio-Globes are called ‘Winter Globes or ‘Cabbage Globes’ because they are generally used to grow cabbage and other cold season plants.

Others are known as ‘Summer Globes or ‘Citrus Globes’ as they are used to grow citrus plants and other hot season plants.

There are also some larger Globes in existence, used to grow plants such as rice, wheat, soy and corn. Generally the habitats with these ‘Wheat Globes’ tend to also produce local alcoholic drinks.

Trivia:

• Bio-Globes cannot provide food from nothing, it is the responsibility of the owner to provide enough recycled biomatter as a replacement for the harvested food.
  
• Some larger spaceships carry small Bio-Globes to provide food on longer journeys for the crew.
  
• A basic 6 meter Bio-Globe can produce up to 400kg plants and 100kg fish per year, enough to feed 12-15 people. Some habitats with multiple Globes are exporting food.
  
• Tilapia and Oreochromis are the most used fish in Bio-Globes.
  
• Because most Bio-Domes use Handwavium only for life-support, they are practically quirk free.
  

It's been many years since I started my college education. I joined the Army and stayed in for 8 years. But finally, I've completed by Bachelors of Science in Computer Science, at the University of Nebraska--Lincoln.
I just attended the graduation ceremony today, and have my diploma in hand. It's the end of one journey and the start of another.
Nothing too profound, I just wanted to share.
--Chris Stevenson

If I'm tracking the In Nomine rulebook collection correctly, the only book that isn't on e23 now is In Nomine Anime. So, before I actually need it, I thought an updated list of anime with angels, demons, Heaven and Hell, and so on might be useful. (That book is over a decade old now...)

For those who don't know In Nomine, the characters don't have to be classical angels, demons, etc., but they do have to be recognizable as such if you squint the right way. Reflections of Abrahamic faiths are ideal (to match the same distorted reflection found in In Nomine), but aren't essential.

Stage 1 is making the list - I started that process over on rec.arts.anime.misc yesterday. Stage 2 is describing the shows in In Nomine terms - anybody want to help here? (I'm not familiar with some of these shows...)

The list so far, with the writeups so far:

Aa Megami-sama (Ah! My Goddess!) (Kousuke Fujishima, 1993, 2005-2007, 2011)
See In Nomine Anime under Oh My Goddess!, although Belldandy is a Servitor of Faith, not Flowers.

Angel Sanctuary
See In Nomine Anime.

Angel Tales/Tails (Hiroaki Maki and Mari Okada, 2001)

Ao no Exorcist (Blue Exorcist) (Kazue Kato, 2011)

Ayashi no Ceres (Ceres Celestial Legend)
See In Nomine Anime.

Bludgeoning Angel Dokuro-chan (Masaki Okayu and Tsutomu Mizushima, 2005)
Dokuro-chan and Sabato-chan say they're angels, but from the way they act, it's better to think of them as slightly-Discordant Habbalah... with the comedy dial turned up to 11.

Chrono Crusade (Daisuke Moriyama, 2003)

Cutey Honey (Go Nagai, 1973, 1994, 1997, 2004)

Death Note (Takeshi Obata and Tsugumi Ohba, 2006)

Devilman (Go Nagai, 1972, 1987)

Dororon Enma-kun (Demon Prince Enma) (Go Nagai, 1973, 2006, 2011)
The adventures of an anti-demon Triad ... who aren't all Servitors of Judgment.

Earthian
See In Nomine Anime.

Escaflowne
See In Nomine Anime.

Haibane Renmei (Yoshitoshi ABe, 2002)

Hanappe Bazooka (Go Nagai and Kazuo Koike, 1992)
A couple of Andrealphans ... "help" ... a teenaged boy with his desires while indulging in their own with his relatives. (Yes, this one's an 18+ title... but that's true of any reference for Lusties.)

Haunted Junction
See In Nomine Anime.

High School DxD (Ichiei Ishibumi and Takao Yoshioka, 2012)
Issei become the Servant of his high-school classmate, the high-ranking (and beautiful) demon Riasu.

Jigoku Shoujo (Hell Girl) (Takahiro Omori and others, 2005)

Jungle Wa Itsumo Hale Nochi Guu (Hare+Guu) (Renjuro Kindaichi, 2001)
The Ethereal Guu makes Haré's life miserable, but he's too good a person to let her torment someone else.

Kamichu! ("Besame Mucho," 2005)
Yurie wakes up one morning to discover she's become a Shinto god. Somebody's given her Ethereal and Celestial Connections and a lot of Secret Songs... The series gives a modern (and highly-gameable) twist to the Shinto deities and their Ethereal Domain.

Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne (Arina Tanemura, 1999)
Marron is a Saint of the Wind, tasked in this life to protect others from demonic artwork. She has a companion Reliever, Finn, for most of the series – and the end of the story hinges on Finn's Fate and Destiny.

Kamisama Kazoku (Yoshikazu Kuwashima, 2006)
A family of Ethereals live on Earth to learn what it means to be human.

Kannagi: Crazy Shrine Maidens (Eri Takenashi, 2008)
A local goddess assumes human form almost by accident, and strives to gain the worship of the people she protects.

Kobato. (Studio CLAMP, 2009)

Lupin III: Castle Cagliostro
See In Nomine Anime.

Magic Knight Rayearth (Studio CLAMP, 1994)
What happens when three teenagers get pulled into an Ethereal Domain? A quest, of course... but not the sort of quest they were expecting. A good example of why you can't assume anything when visiting somebody else's Domain.

Makai Senki Disgaea (Kiyotaka Isako and Atsuhiro Tomioka, 2006)

Miracle Melmo

Neon Genesis Evangelion
See In Nomine Anime.

Ninja Scroll
See In Nomine Anime.

Omishi Magical Theater: Risky Safety (Rei Omishi, 1999)
Risky is an Impudite of Saminga; Safety is a Seraph of Novalis; both are currently on probation, trying to regain their respective Superiors' favor. For an ineffable reason which is shown but not explained midway through the series, they share the same (rather small) Vessel. Now they have to carry out their assigned duties and sabotage each other's work in the middle of a slowly-growing group of Symphonically-Aware humans.

Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt (Studio GAINAX, 2010)
Two Outcasts set up shop as ghost-exterminators... with the comedy set to maximum.

Pita Ten (Koge Donbo, 2002)

Rental Magica (Makoto Sanda, 2007)
In a world where magic is just another profession, a Sorceror has to be extremely Willful to stand out. Adelicia is such a Sorceror – one who dares to summon the likes of Furfur and Asomedus (or, at least, demons using those names).

Revolutionary Girl Utena
See In Nomine Anime.

Rozen Maiden ("Peach-Pit," 2004)

Sailor Moon
See In Nomine Anime.

Saint Tail

Serial Experiments Lain

Shuffle!

Spirited Away

Steel Angel Kurumi

Super Book

Tenshi ni Narumon (I Want to Be an Angel)
See In Nomine Anime.

Viper GTS

X/1999
See In Nomine Anime.

Yondemasu yo Azazel-san
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

In the early 1970s, ABC ran an educational children's TV show called Curiosity Shop (Chuck Jones was the executive producer). There's a song on one episode that runs through my head every now and then, and while I can't recall most of the lyrics, and can't find them or a recording anywhere, what I remember of the opening lines strikes me as having gatesong potential:
"I can tell that you're a dreamer,
Just the same as I,
By the stardust on your coat
And the rainbow in your eye.
So I'll tell you a little secret
If you'll handle it with care:
I've got magic pink pajamas
That take me anywhere." (Italics mine)
Of course, this will have the side of effect of turning whatever he's wearing when he activates the song into pink flannel pajamas, and if he goes through the gate, it'll stay pink flannel pajamas until he wakes up. Which should produce an interesting wrinkle to the first impression he makes on the locals....
-----
Big Brother is watching you.  And damn, you are so bloody BORING.

I listen to random jpop at work, mostly because I don't actually speak Japanese its mostly white noise that doesn't detract concentration from what I am actually supposed to be paying attention to.
(Some of my coworkers in cubes close to me have astonishingly annoying voices).
So I mostly listen for some beat thats not too frenetic and the occasional singer with a sexy voice.

I was listening to everything on groovershark by the VA for Fate of Nanoha ( who evidently has a music career as well), and I have encountered a song on grooveshark thats apparently misfiled, but I want to find more by the same singer if possible. My efforts to catch specific phrases in the lyrics and run them through the googles have yielded no good results.
The song is "VII" by "Nana Mizuki" on album "000".
That should let any one find the song on grooveshark. Anyone more into jpop ( or who speaks japanese) recognize the actual singer or song?

I just realized, there doesn't seem to be a link anywhere on the forum (that I can find) that leads back to the main story site.  That just struck me as somewhat odd.
-----
Stand between the Silver Crystal and the Golden Sea.
"Youngsters these days just have no appreciation for the magnificence of the legendary cucumber."  --Krityan Elder, Tales of Vesperia.

I actually decided this a few days ago, but I've found myself mysteriously distracted recently, can't figure out why...

In any case, a small announcement:  the title for the Sailor Moon Step has been set:

Drunkard's Walk S:  Heart of Steel


Thank you, thank you, you can now return to your business.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

For those who hadn't heard, Adam "MCA" Yauch died today of cancer. He was 47.
This bums me out a bit. The Boys have been part of my soundtrack since high school, and MCA is only about 6 years older than I am. So, without further ado, let me kick it one time for the Boys from Brooklyn.


Ebony the Black Dragon
http://ebony14.livejournal.com

"Good night, and may the Good Lord take a Viking to you."