Woof, always the tough topics that get brought up, eh?
One of the (many, many) things I like to bring up now and then is that handwavium does get used on Earth, it just doesn't get used in what we'd call Fen-standard ways (i.e. going to space and/or biomodding). Think of all the ways you could use handwavium for basic stuff like power and water -- and since you're not trying for heavy absurdity the quirk levels would be low to nonexistent -- and by 2016 this sort of thing isn't common but it's gaining traction as people start using it and the world doesn't end.
Random thoughts off the top of my head:
* In 2015 Boeing unveils the Boeing 747-8W, a refit of the classic 747 using handwavium-based thrusters instead of jet turbines. The result is both familiar and a little weird, but it makes almost no noise and has zero emissions.
* In 2013 Tesla Motors (because of course they would) introduces a handwavium power cell for their cars & offers to lease the technology to other auto manufacturers.
* In 2012 TSAB activates the Farnsworth National Fusion Facility, which provides power (mostly as a publicity stunt) to the city of Santa Fe for a month before they shut it down for inspection.
* In 2014 the PRC starts a crash program for replacing existing coal plants with fusion reactors, basically hedging on handwavium's known safety record to allow for cheaper plant construction.
..stuff like that, y'dig? I admit that using handwavium as a panacea for all the world's ills doesn't sit quite right with me -- for all that Fenspace isn't a dystopia, it isn't a utopia either. But that doesn't mean things can't be better, nor does it mean that stuff like carbon skimming isn't possible. (It's flashy, impractical and kind of silly considering the Fen are sitting on, well, Venus. But it's not like flashy, impractical and kind of silly aren't Fen staples.)
Mr. Fnord interdimensional man of mystery
FenWiki - Your One-Stop Shop for Fenspace Information
"I. Drink. Your. NERDRAGE!"
One of the (many, many) things I like to bring up now and then is that handwavium does get used on Earth, it just doesn't get used in what we'd call Fen-standard ways (i.e. going to space and/or biomodding). Think of all the ways you could use handwavium for basic stuff like power and water -- and since you're not trying for heavy absurdity the quirk levels would be low to nonexistent -- and by 2016 this sort of thing isn't common but it's gaining traction as people start using it and the world doesn't end.
Random thoughts off the top of my head:
* In 2015 Boeing unveils the Boeing 747-8W, a refit of the classic 747 using handwavium-based thrusters instead of jet turbines. The result is both familiar and a little weird, but it makes almost no noise and has zero emissions.
* In 2013 Tesla Motors (because of course they would) introduces a handwavium power cell for their cars & offers to lease the technology to other auto manufacturers.
* In 2012 TSAB activates the Farnsworth National Fusion Facility, which provides power (mostly as a publicity stunt) to the city of Santa Fe for a month before they shut it down for inspection.
* In 2014 the PRC starts a crash program for replacing existing coal plants with fusion reactors, basically hedging on handwavium's known safety record to allow for cheaper plant construction.
..stuff like that, y'dig? I admit that using handwavium as a panacea for all the world's ills doesn't sit quite right with me -- for all that Fenspace isn't a dystopia, it isn't a utopia either. But that doesn't mean things can't be better, nor does it mean that stuff like carbon skimming isn't possible. (It's flashy, impractical and kind of silly considering the Fen are sitting on, well, Venus. But it's not like flashy, impractical and kind of silly aren't Fen staples.)
Mr. Fnord interdimensional man of mystery
FenWiki - Your One-Stop Shop for Fenspace Information
"I. Drink. Your. NERDRAGE!"