Author Topic: The Alzarian Scrolls  (Read 4821 times)

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Offline Father Tim (OP)

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The Alzarian Scrolls
« on: November 20, 2006, 01:12:14 PM »
From the personal journal of Osman Bey:

Monday, 3rd Yonno, Ascension -22:
   Today was my first day with the Ministry for Seeking After Truth.  Minister Kemal invited me to lunch, to personally welcome me to the office.  I doubt he has the time to greet every new member of the Ministry in such a fashion, so I assume he is more interested in who my father is than what I can do.  I had hoped that here, at least, people would be more interested in seeking after truth than political patronage.

Tuesday, 4th Yonno, Ascension -22:
   My secretary, Marioglu, informed me that Minister Kemal invited myself plus a guest to the Moon Festival Gala this Friday.  She also confirmed that the Minister had never before taken a fresh graduate to a personal lunch.  It seems the good Minister wishes to show off how close he is to the Heir.  I must find some ribbon-cutting ceremony or diplomatic affair to occupy myself Friday night, so that I may gracefully decline the Minister's offer.

   At least I was able to finally do some work today.  Professors Duranu and Corbo have been doing some very exciting work neutron-compacting metals.  Monday they begin a new series of experiments in the hydrocollider.

Monday, 10th Yonno, Ascension -22:
   Today's experiment was a smashing success (I know, terrible pun).  The detectors showed definite traces of neutron vapours, comfirming sublimation of a superdense neutron solid.  Tomorrow we try lasing the plasma mix as it hydrocollides.

Tuesday, 11th Yonno, Ascension -22:
   Success!  The lasing stabilized the plasma long enough for a superdense neutronic pile to coalesce.  Corbo and Duranu have named this new metal 'Neutronium'.  For the moment, it has a half-life of minutes after the laser is turned off, but the professors are sure the breakdown can be postponed by the continuous application of a small current.

Thursday, 20th Yonno, Ascension -22:
   Professor Duranu's idea of a applying a continuous current to the Neutronium production field has yielded a startling development.  Instead of a superdense neutron accretion, an extremely strong yet lightweight metalloceramic fibre coalesced on the anion, like cotton candy on a paper cone at the fair.  We have dubbed this substance 'Duranium' in Professor Duranu's honour.

Monday, 1st Yulu, Ascension -22:
   Supercooling the hydrocollider while attempting to produce Neutronium has yielded yet another new metal
« Last Edit: December 06, 2006, 12:47:10 PM by Father Tim »
 

Offline Father Tim (OP)

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« Reply #1 on: November 21, 2006, 12:28:46 PM »
From the personal journal of Osman Bey:

Friday, Supet 29th, Ascension -22:
   Laboratory Director Zurdu is safe, for the moment.  With Father's Holy Writ in hand, and a squad of Immortals at my side, there was not much the Castigators could do to impede me.  I doubt High Castigator Aleppo will dare to directly oppose my father's authority over this matter, and in any event I have assigned bodyguards from amongst the Immortals to ensure Zurdu's safety.

Monday, Occobu 2nd, Ascension -22:
   Despite last week's events, research goes on.  Prof. Duranu intends to superheat the hydrocollider core prior to injection.  He hopes to generate a stable, high-temperature Neutronium plasma.  Unfortunately, I failed to complete my work last week, and the entire experiment now waits for me.

Wednesday, Occobu 4th, Ascension -22:
   An odd result today.  The detectors failed to register a single free neutron in the hydrocollider.  To be certain, some type of plasma was formed, but it certainly wasn't the Neutronium cloud we were looking for.  Duranu, Corbo, and I remain in the lab for now, studying the results.

Friday, Occobu 6th, Ascension -22:
   Five additional tests have replicated the data from our first trial.  It appears this plasma is an additional stable form of TNE.  For now, it has been given the reporting name of Mercassium, after Prof. Corbo's primary research assistant, Mercassi.  Gradual cooling of Mercassium results in a phase shift to a gas which quickly dissipates, but a crash-freeze with liquid nitrogen created a gelatinous mass.  Corbo and Mercassi continue to experiment on the 'blob'.

Wednesday, Occobu 16th, Ascension -22:
   The lab is a mess.  It appears that Prof. Burglu sought additional quantities of Tritanium for his experiments, and attempted to produce it on his own, after hours.  Instead, his efforts generated a slightly-different substance... and a small explosion.  It will take weeks to repair the damage to the hydrocollider.

   The new substance show many similarities to Tritanium, but in a more stable form.  The lab personnel voted unanimously to name this new substance after Prof. Burglu's long-suffering research assistant, rather than the professor himself.  Dr. Vendar was thrilled, and said she can't wait to get out of the hospital and back to work.  In the mean time, Prof. Duranu has appointed me to run the the Vedarium Investigation Team, with strict instructions to keep Prof. Burglu as far away as possible.  The South Polar Research Station is oft-noted as being 'the right distance'.

Monday, Occobu 21st, Ascension -22:
   Repairs to the hydrocollider proceed on schedule.  The V.I.T. has had great success in exo-atmospheric applications.  It seems a small amount of Vendarium, added to Tritanium, produces a much more stable burn than the explosive Tritanium alone.  Combined with the thermal insulation abilities of Vendarium it seems we have found a winning combination for endo-exo-atmospheric craft.

Tuesday, Occobu 22nd, Ascension -22:
   For some reason, the computerized records have all been altered to read 'Vendarite' instead of 'Vendarium'.  Prof. Corbo suspects a student prank, but I wonder if the Office for the Purity of the Faith has been poking around.  Laboratory Directory Zurdu passed me a confidential report, by way of the Immortals, confirming that Corbomite, Tritanium, Boronide, and Uridium have all been found in the Starliner's hull in significant quantities.  Tomorrow I shall have the Immortals pass him a report detailing all the information we've found so far about TNEs.

Wednesday, Occobu 30th, Ascension -22:
   The monthly staff meeting was a bit more lively than usual, mainly due to the presence of both Prof. Duranu and Prof. Burglu.  At one point I was sure they'd come to blows.  It appears the hydrocollider will be fully repaired next week.  Prof. Duranu's motion that the entire cost of the repair be deducted from Prof. Burglu's salary was soundly defeated, but the look in Burglu's eyes when the old goat proposed it was priceless.

Wednesday, Novubu 7th, Ascension -22:
   Final tests were run today on the hydrocollider, and it passed with full scores.  Tomorrow we attempt to reproduce Vendarite, hopefully without the explosion this time.

Friday, Novubu 9th, Ascension -22:
   Our Vendarite production was finally successful.  Good thing, too, because a couple more failures and Prof. Duranu might have been forced to 'consult' with Prof. Burglu on his technique.  I'm not sure either man would have survived the process.

Monday, Novubu 12th, Ascension -22:
   Prof. Burglu proudly invited most of the department down to observe the first test flight of his 'A-Craft', a small, remote-controlled Tritanium-Vendarite craft he plans to fly out of the atmosphere, orbit Alzarius, and return to a controlled landing.  Prof. Duranu's invitation must have been lost in the mail, as he failed to observe the test flight.

   In Prof Burglu's defense, the A-Craft's flight profile went exactly as predicted until it exploded.  Preliminary reports suggest the Tritanium fuel repository ruptured in microgravity.

Thursday, Novubu 22nd, Ascension -22:
   Prof. Burglu's B-Craft flew yesterday.  Once again, the flight was on-profile right up to the moment it exploded.

Friday, Novubu 23rd, Ascension -22:
   Another new substance in the hydrocollider today.  The dense metal has heat-retention factor that is an incredible seven one-hundredths that of air itself.  A metal able to redistribute and radiate heat that quickly will revolutionize engine construction.  Prof. Duranu initially offered to call the metal Osmium in my honour, but understood my reasons for declining.  We settled on Gallicite, after his wife, Gallicia.

Saturday, Deca 15th, Ascension -22:
   Prof. Burglu launched his C-Craft today.  It exploded shortly after leaving atmosphere.

Tuesday, Jurgu 2nd, Ascension -21:
   A new year, and with it, new promise.  Prof. Duranu and Corbo remain hard at work, seeking a stable form of Neutronium.  Their lastest attempt involves turning the hydrocollider into a helicollider, and applying a continuous electrical current to the collision chamber.  In the mean time I am dealing with the implications of Laboratory Director Zurdu's latest secret report.  It seems that every single trans-neutronium element we have discovered is present in the hull of the Starliner.  Thousands of tons of each of them.  Including element X, an element that Zurdu believes is Neutronium, or at least a Neutronium alloy.
« Last Edit: December 06, 2006, 12:49:58 PM by Father Tim »
 

Offline Erik L

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« Reply #2 on: November 21, 2006, 02:15:01 PM »
Best line in my opinion...

Thursday, Novubu 22nd, Ascension -22:
Prof. Burglu's B-Craft flew yesterday. Once again, the flight was on-profile right up to the moment it exploded.
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 06:00:00 PM by Erik Luken »
 

Offline Steve Walmsley

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« Reply #3 on: November 21, 2006, 03:10:33 PM »
A lot of fun to read - eagerly awaiting the next installment !

Steve
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 06:00:00 PM by Steve Walmsley »
 

Offline rmcrowe

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« Reply #4 on: November 21, 2006, 07:09:51 PM »
Agreed!   Well done

robert
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 06:00:00 PM by rmcrowe »
 

Offline Father Tim (OP)

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« Reply #5 on: November 23, 2006, 12:40:12 PM »
From the personal journal of Osman Bey:

Monday, Jurgu 22nd, Ascension -21:
   Success at last on the Neutronium project.  The helicollider suffered minor damage, but nearly four millitonnes were produced.  Such a dense metal
« Last Edit: December 06, 2006, 12:55:53 PM by Father Tim »
 

Offline Randy

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« Reply #6 on: November 23, 2006, 02:21:34 PM »
millitonnes??

  Isn't that just a strange way of saying "kg"??

And that makes microtonnes = grams...

Amusing story nontheless. :-)
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 06:00:00 PM by Randy »
 

Offline Father Tim (OP)

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« Reply #7 on: November 24, 2006, 01:33:12 AM »
Quote from: "Randy"
millitonnes??

  Isn't that just a strange way of saying "kg"??


Yes.  I was making fun of Steve for sticking to "kkm" instead of megameters.
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 06:00:00 PM by Father Tim »
 

Offline Strega

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Scrolls
« Reply #8 on: November 25, 2006, 09:33:28 AM »
This is brilliant stuff.  I haven't had this much fun reading a diary/report since originally finding the Rigellian Diary.
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 06:00:00 PM by Strega »
 

Offline wildfire142

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« Reply #9 on: November 25, 2006, 09:53:12 AM »
Great please write more.
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 06:00:00 PM by wildfire142 »
 

Offline rmcrowe

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« Reply #10 on: November 27, 2006, 11:00:07 AM »
Concur.  The story goes on.  And it is well written

robert
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 06:00:00 PM by rmcrowe »
 

Offline Summercat

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« Reply #11 on: November 27, 2006, 11:28:33 AM »
I am enjoying this as well.
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 06:00:00 PM by Summercat »
I know who I am, what I am, when I am, where I am, and how I am. Why I am is either up to God or will give me Godlike powers.
 

Offline Father Tim (OP)

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« Reply #12 on: December 06, 2006, 12:34:22 PM »
From the personal journal of Osman Bey:

Wednesday, 18th Avi, Ascension -21:
   Doctor Sori made an interesting discovery.  Using a methane-ammonia mixture with a catalytic stabilizer, she was able to form a Hydrogen-Sorium compound that is remarkably stable in high-pressure liquid form, yet undergoes radioactive decay as a low-pressure vapour.  This combination suggests that the compound could be used as fuel source.  Prof. Burglu has halted work on his F-craft in order to incorporate Sorium fuel.

Tuesday, 1st Mai, Ascension -21:
   A holiday today, as all of society came together to celebrate my Quartercent.  Odd to think that one hundred and forty million people, give or take, are celebrating the anniversary of my birth.  Father said not to let it get to me, that the people weren't celebrating my Quartercent, but rather were taking this opportunity to celebrate their lives.  It's a little less horrifying that way, I guess.  Still, it's odd to think that any day now I could wake up to find myself leader of the entire planet.

   Of course, Quartercent means presents, a subject bound to cheer up even the gloomiest Heir.  Father has privatized the mining complexes near Portside, as well as several manufacturies and electronics shops and presented them to me (along with a significant staff drawn mainly from the Immortals) as my personal holding.  He chose the name 'Oscorp' for what is now the largest privately-owned venture.  I can't thank him enough for this, as he has put the entire operation beyond the scope of Aleppo and his Castigators.

   The folks at the lab must have been in on it, as Professors Duranu and Corbo presented me with an 'Oscorp' nameplate cast from four millitonnes of pure Gallicite (Osmium), and my faithful secretary Marioglu gave me an exquisite, marshleather briefcase with the Oscorp logo embossed on the side.

   At last it was my turn to hand out a few presents, appointing former Laboratory Director Zurdu to head the day-to-day operations of Oscorp, and arranging for increased TNE production and shipping the refined minerals to the Minstry and SAIT.

Friday, 11th Mai, Ascension -21:
   Father's 'Address to the Faithful' today announced the the Ministry of Production's Automated Mining Project would have a working prototype by the end of the year.  I believe that was a surprise to the project members, but a little spur from higher up often helps technological progress.  Likewise, Father's mention that the Jannissary would double its annual intake of students
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 06:00:00 PM by Father Tim »
 

Offline liveware

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Re:
« Reply #13 on: June 21, 2020, 09:18:39 PM »
Quote from: Randy
millitonnes??

  Isn't that just a strange way of saying "kg"??

Yes.  I was making fun of Steve for sticking to "kkm" instead of megameters.

I have a long-running disagreement with some collogues regarding the use of milli-milli- vs micro- scale unit systems... some people are just entrenched.

I enjoyed also the bit about 'everything was going according to plan until the ship exploded'. A most realistic situation I fear.
Open the pod-bay doors HAL...