Re: TML nightly: Msgs 5266-5268 V52#15

 Matt Johnston notes:
>somebody said that the particles concerned had
>ZERO MASS...I would like to point out that it may be Zero REST Mass
>which is a different kettle of uplifted dolphins.

Well, a more modern viewpoint (at least the one I was taught) says that
"mass" means rest mass, and anything else is a whole other kettle of fen.

>we have been under for sixty years (ohoh we did a Ripley)
>...
>The settlement is a religious commune...these natives have regressed
>to TL6 and they have found a way into the base, where they worship
>the shiny surfaces and corridors.

IMHO, this is one of the most idiotic sf cliches there is. I can buy
the loss of the technology--Man's tools are incredibly interdependent, and
sometimes it seems more amazing that the web DOESN'T simply collapse.

Religion and culture is a completely different matter. After two thousand
years of Christianity (or fill in any major religion), can you imagine YOUR
grandchildren "worshipping shiny surfaces"?

>We force our way in and confront the priests...they demand answers
>and we tell them that we are angels from the Gods and from there we
>enter the complex.

I would love to see one of these scenes end with the priests frowning, like
what kind of backwoods bozos do you think we are, and ordering the
blaspheming (or maybe just insane) intruders confined.



- --
 colin | the discworld--flat, circular, and carried through space on the back
 roald | of four elephants who stand on the back of great a'tuin, the only
         turtle ever to feature on the hertzsprung-russell diagram. (pratchett)