Psionic help

To: [email removed]
From: [email removed] (Stephen D Smith)

Subject: Psionics help
Organization: personal mailbox at The Next Challenge

[I tried to send this message to the TML last week, but never ]
[saw it posted. So I'm trying again. Sometimes my local mailer]
[ chokes. If the original was posted, pardon the duplication. ]

      Thanks for the several replies on my question for psionic
help. My GM and I will be getting together to work out some
kind of "scenario" for altering my characters abilities. (I'm
sort of attached as it's my first one.)

To Rob Miracle (message 916):

      Thanks for the suggestion and the outline of possible point
costs for the "new and improved" ability. Actually it was a VERY
GOOD psi level (11!), at the time of rollup I didn't know how
good it was. (Beginners luck.)

To Greg Givler (message 928):

      So far my character has used her abilities in "public"
only under extreme circumstances. In the pirate ship I gave as
an example, no one on the ship actually knew WHAT happened, just
that the ship blew up. Actually they didn't have time to think as
we were very close, and had to go into jumpspace to avoid the EMP
and shock wave. Even then we had a misjump.) My character keeps a
tight reign on herself, just imagine what would happen if she had
a nightmare while asleep!

To [email removed] (message 933):

      I'm no expert, but I do have a problem with your message.
First let me say I should have mentioned in my original message
that the GM determined the 1 mg pellet of antimatter hit the fuel
tank of the pirate ship. You mention;

> 1. 1 milligram of antimatter is roughly equivalent to 10 kilos
>    of TNT. That ain't gonna bother the pirate much.
>    (approximately .01% of the mass in a fission bomb is
>    converted to energy, a 20 kT bomb has about 10 kilo's of
>    fissionables. The rest is simple calculations)

      I was under the impression that a matter/antimatter
explosion was a FUSION reaction, and 100% complete energy
conversion, not .01%. I do puzzle at a ship that could take a
10 kilo TNT explosion on it's hull and not be bothered. (I
guess Megatraveller ships are a LOT tougher than I thought.)

> 2. This happened in *space*. Therefore, the hydrogen fuel is
>    no big deal. Hydrogen is *NOT* explosive. Hydrogen mixed
>    with an oxidizer is. Blow a hole in a fuel tank, and you'll
>    cause a small side thrust due to the escaping fuel. You'll
>    also make them worry about their fuel reserves.

      If a FUSION reaction took place in a hydrogen fuel tank
might not SOME of the hydrogen participate in the reaction? It
wasn't the oxidation I was referring to, but the byproduct
H -> He reaction. Even if no fusion reaction took place, wouldn't
the gamma radiation mess up the ship systems, as well as the
biological systems?

To Robert Johnson (message 936:

      You're right everything has a price. As mentioned above,
I keep a tight reign on this character. Of course since she's
from the Aslan Heirate culture, she doesn't fight much,
(that's MALE work!).

      In another instance, our party was gather in a local
restaurant before a mission, simply to plan our actions, and
minding out own business. he bad guys started shooting up the
place, the males of our party (human, aslan, and zhodani),
returned fire. When the baddies blew a hole in the ceiling, (there
were more on the roof), I simply moved to another table out of the
line of fire, ordered another drink from the terrified waiter, and
watched. When an idiot on the roof took a shot at me, (missed, but
close), I simply looked at him, and turned the carbon atoms in his
head to nitrogen. (It's quicker, less obvious, and quieter than
sodium.) Since the bad guys were a suicide force, when he died the
self-destruct unit got rid of the evidence.

      Thanks again for the help, suggestions, and info.


            Stephen D Smith   USENET: [email removed]
                              BIX: sdsmith
- --Name = STEPHEN SMITH  Mailbox # = 68

All opinions and material above is the responsibility of the originator.
Submissions: [email removed], or [email removed]
Administrator: [email removed] (James Perkins)
The TML is made possible by facilities provided by Tektronix, Inc.