trope-a-day
Sticks to the Back: Both possible, and done, with tiny vector-control emitters sewn into the clothing that can grasp objects you place on top of them and hold them in place against the emitters, or even at a designated range from them. And, obviously, anywhere, not just the back, including
trope-a-day
Steel Eardrums: As mentioned briefly under Super Senses, one of the modifications included in the current alpha baseline upgrade is a special sphincter for the ear to protect against loud noises, both reflexively and voluntarily operable. It’s not perfect Steel Eardrums – where exceptionally loud noises are concerned – but it
AKV (Autonomous Kill Vehicle)
From: Coordinator Lyrenth Enchale, Admiralty Intelligence (Galian Desk) To: All Space Lords, Imperial Navy Subject: His Hand-class AKV Classification: FLEET GENERAL (formerly BRASS DANCER/CHIMING SALT) Sources and means attached to the Galian Desk have produced the following information concerning the rumored His Hand-class AKV reported soon to be deployed
trope-a-day
(No fic today, sorry… for reasons of pie. Urp.) Stay in the Kitchen: Averted in the Empire, where Gender Is No Object. No-one there would think of saying it – and when someone from elsewhere says it, they will have the damndest time trying to get the Imperial to understand what
trope-a-day
Statuesque Stunner: Average height of the Eldrae is 6′ 8″ to 7′ 8″, for both sexes. (And, of course, transsophont beauty is built right into the genes.) Everyone qualifies – or rather would, if they were around humans, and not too much like The Fair Folk.
Darkness Within
About that LOX tank… The least well defined part of this candle plan has always been how to stay breathing. Before leaving Gutpunch‘s hulk, I can recharge my suit reservoirs with the last of the oxygen and inert-mix1 from the emergency supplies. That would be enough for a local
trope-a-day
State Sec: Despite the name, Imperial State Security averts this completely; they’re just an intelligence/security organization, and a much more constrained (even the Fifth Directorate), non-autonomous one. The only military is, well, the Imperial Military Service under a different ministry entirely, the regime protection forces are three entirely
Comet Ice and Water
“…over the course of the 3100s, orbit-change and mass-export rights covering the majority of Inlétanós’s spectacular planetary ring system were bought up by the crowdfunded Outer Planets Aesthetic Collective, most notably in one massive transaction in 3142 in which the Collective purchased as a bloc the entire ring ice
trope-a-day
Star-Spangled Spandex: Fabric that reflects the night sky with tiny stars and nebulae (the generic kind is nebulin), especially the kind that through inbuilt tech or an AR shimmer actually has them move subtly when you’re not paying attention, was a major fashion trend back in the middle Space
Imperial Exploratory Service
“In reality, there is no such thing as a life detector. Vitalism long since having joined the scientific junk-heap, it is a regrettable fact of the universe that there is no quick, convenient, and universal ‘vital field’ that we can tap into to determine the presence of living beings. “But
Darkness Within
For those of you who read this for the space technology, it occurs to me that I should perhaps point out at this time that it’s only the militarized version of the Nelyn-class that comes with a nuclear-thermal attitude control system. The civilian one uses regular and more modestly
trope-a-day
Starship Luxurious: Played straight in the Empire, even to a large extent with military vessels. Part of this – see Flaunting Your Fleets – is advertising, much as the brightwork on Age of Sail ships used to be, “look, we can afford to do this with our naval vessels”, but a lot