There isn't that much here yet, but I had to write it up to get it out of my head. And since nobody's introduced this grand old lady
to the Fenspace universe yet, I thought I would.
I stepped into Engineering, where I saw Agatha tinkering on...something. It should be a new power generator if the report she'd sent me was accurate.
We'd see. It was certainly a gorgeous piece of steampunk engineering, though. As I came closer, she waved. "Hey, Kevin. Come to see how it's
coming?"
I nodded. "A bit. Though I really wanted to run something past you." I grinned. "I had an idea for a new car. Well...an old
car, really. I wondered if you'd want to help out?" She looked intrigued and came down off the ladder where she'd been making adjustments on the
machine, wiping her hands on a rag as she walked over. "I'm listening. What did you have in mind?"
I chuckled. "I'm not sure if you came across it when you were going through the Archive or not. Got time to watch a show? It'll
give you a better idea of what I'd like to try." I grinned. "It should catch people's attention, if we can pull it off." She nodded.
"All right. Show away." I laughed, and called up a pair of chairs, and a screen. "OK...here we go. Have a seat." We settled back to watch
the movie...Agatha laughing as the show progressed.
Agatha was making the final adjustments under the hood, as I checked over the main body of the car, giving the wood a bit of a polish with a
rag. "How's it looking? Everything good to go?" Closing the hood, she nodded. "Looks ready to go. You have the mobile emitter set up?"
I grinned. "Yep. All set for you to tag along on the test drive. I've got my suit on and ready to go, just in case this doesn't work like
we're hoping, but I think it'll be OK." She nodded and got into the passenger's seat, and I climbed in the right side, behind the wheel.
"Let's see how she works, then. Might be fun to head down to Australia...test out a few features down there." Agatha nodded, and I started the
car, the engine immediate settling into a distinctive rhythm.
Edging out of her parking spot in Yggdrasil's landing bay, we headed towards the force screen shielding the opening to space. A
button blinked on the dash, and I pushed it. Fins came out of the sides of the car, near the bumpers, and a glowing tube protruded from the rear. Lifting off,
we flew out into open space...an odd feeling in an open roadster. Fortunately, the faint shimmer around the car held in the air...and there was even a breeze
in our faces. No idea what was generating that, but it was a nice touch. I grinned as we flew towards the Earth, the roadster's chrome and polished wood
gleaming as we came around the dark side of the planet into sunlight. The light caught the white letters on the front plate, too: GEN 11.
I glanced over at Agatha, and grinned. "Want another project to play with, now that we've got this lovely lady built? I was
considering another vehicle that was made of wood..." She raised an eyebrow at me. "Oh...what did you have in mind?" I chuckled. "I figured
we could use something with a fair bit of cargo space...and there's this plane that I always loved. Built by a bit of an eccentric, and never really used,
sadly. I figured we could make our own version." My grin widened. "The original was called the Spruce Goose...."
Sorry...I had to. I'm still trying to work out some of Chitty's features in Fenspace. I do know a few of her quirks, though. And
yes...the Jason IS hoping to build his own version of the Spruce Goose one of these days. We've got the space to work on it in Yggdrasil, though
we might have to complete the assembly outside. *grin* Besides, it's too lovely a plane not to do anything with. And with stained wood and resin (and
different woods) instead of what they went for in the original, she could be absolutely friggin' GORGEOUS.
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang - Fenspace version
User Friendly: There's no AI to speak of...at least, that's spoken back. But the car has a definite
personality. Needed controls will blink to point themselves out if the user doesn't seem to know what to do, and the car can literally drive herself.
There's definitely something in there, even if she doesn't talk.
ALL-Terrain Vehicle: Like the original Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, the Fenspace version doesn't let a lack of
roads...or land...curtail her jaunts. She's been tested in land, air and sea modes...and has a finned 'rocket' version for space. When being tested
by Agatha and the Jason in boat mode near Australia's Great Barrier Reef, a chance comment about wishing for scuba gear caused one of the dashboard buttons
to blink...and a modified version of the rocket mode quickly demonstrated it was quite adept at underwater maneuvering as well. This startled more than a few
divers that day, to the testers' amusement. Tests on the Moon and Mars have shown that the tires will adjust to meet the conditions there. She hasn't
been tested on ice or snow yet, but they're hoping to get around to it one of these days, to see what happens.
In Space, No One Can Hear You...*chitty...*?: The car's distinctive motor noises and backfires can be heard
anywhere. Even in hard vacuum. Needless to say, this drives Fivers and new Galactica fans nuts. Anyone can hear her, though those who are modded or have more
exposure to handwavium seem to hear the noises more clearly.
to the Fenspace universe yet, I thought I would.
I stepped into Engineering, where I saw Agatha tinkering on...something. It should be a new power generator if the report she'd sent me was accurate.
We'd see. It was certainly a gorgeous piece of steampunk engineering, though. As I came closer, she waved. "Hey, Kevin. Come to see how it's
coming?"
I nodded. "A bit. Though I really wanted to run something past you." I grinned. "I had an idea for a new car. Well...an old
car, really. I wondered if you'd want to help out?" She looked intrigued and came down off the ladder where she'd been making adjustments on the
machine, wiping her hands on a rag as she walked over. "I'm listening. What did you have in mind?"
I chuckled. "I'm not sure if you came across it when you were going through the Archive or not. Got time to watch a show? It'll
give you a better idea of what I'd like to try." I grinned. "It should catch people's attention, if we can pull it off." She nodded.
"All right. Show away." I laughed, and called up a pair of chairs, and a screen. "OK...here we go. Have a seat." We settled back to watch
the movie...Agatha laughing as the show progressed.
Agatha was making the final adjustments under the hood, as I checked over the main body of the car, giving the wood a bit of a polish with a
rag. "How's it looking? Everything good to go?" Closing the hood, she nodded. "Looks ready to go. You have the mobile emitter set up?"
I grinned. "Yep. All set for you to tag along on the test drive. I've got my suit on and ready to go, just in case this doesn't work like
we're hoping, but I think it'll be OK." She nodded and got into the passenger's seat, and I climbed in the right side, behind the wheel.
"Let's see how she works, then. Might be fun to head down to Australia...test out a few features down there." Agatha nodded, and I started the
car, the engine immediate settling into a distinctive rhythm.
Edging out of her parking spot in Yggdrasil's landing bay, we headed towards the force screen shielding the opening to space. A
button blinked on the dash, and I pushed it. Fins came out of the sides of the car, near the bumpers, and a glowing tube protruded from the rear. Lifting off,
we flew out into open space...an odd feeling in an open roadster. Fortunately, the faint shimmer around the car held in the air...and there was even a breeze
in our faces. No idea what was generating that, but it was a nice touch. I grinned as we flew towards the Earth, the roadster's chrome and polished wood
gleaming as we came around the dark side of the planet into sunlight. The light caught the white letters on the front plate, too: GEN 11.
I glanced over at Agatha, and grinned. "Want another project to play with, now that we've got this lovely lady built? I was
considering another vehicle that was made of wood..." She raised an eyebrow at me. "Oh...what did you have in mind?" I chuckled. "I figured
we could use something with a fair bit of cargo space...and there's this plane that I always loved. Built by a bit of an eccentric, and never really used,
sadly. I figured we could make our own version." My grin widened. "The original was called the Spruce Goose...."
Sorry...I had to. I'm still trying to work out some of Chitty's features in Fenspace. I do know a few of her quirks, though. And
yes...the Jason IS hoping to build his own version of the Spruce Goose one of these days. We've got the space to work on it in Yggdrasil, though
we might have to complete the assembly outside. *grin* Besides, it's too lovely a plane not to do anything with. And with stained wood and resin (and
different woods) instead of what they went for in the original, she could be absolutely friggin' GORGEOUS.
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang - Fenspace version
User Friendly: There's no AI to speak of...at least, that's spoken back. But the car has a definite
personality. Needed controls will blink to point themselves out if the user doesn't seem to know what to do, and the car can literally drive herself.
There's definitely something in there, even if she doesn't talk.
ALL-Terrain Vehicle: Like the original Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, the Fenspace version doesn't let a lack of
roads...or land...curtail her jaunts. She's been tested in land, air and sea modes...and has a finned 'rocket' version for space. When being tested
by Agatha and the Jason in boat mode near Australia's Great Barrier Reef, a chance comment about wishing for scuba gear caused one of the dashboard buttons
to blink...and a modified version of the rocket mode quickly demonstrated it was quite adept at underwater maneuvering as well. This startled more than a few
divers that day, to the testers' amusement. Tests on the Moon and Mars have shown that the tires will adjust to meet the conditions there. She hasn't
been tested on ice or snow yet, but they're hoping to get around to it one of these days, to see what happens.
In Space, No One Can Hear You...*chitty...*?: The car's distinctive motor noises and backfires can be heard
anywhere. Even in hard vacuum. Needless to say, this drives Fivers and new Galactica fans nuts. Anyone can hear her, though those who are modded or have more
exposure to handwavium seem to hear the noises more clearly.