LIFE'S LITTLE MYSTERIES
I was reading through some of the old bundles and I noticed
that a few people were as puzzled as I was by the cryptic
reference in _Survival Margin_ to "Meridian 78, Prime Radial".
What, pray tell, could that be? Let's see: It's obviously
a *place* (nice work, Bill) -- referred to in terms of some
coordinate system that you and I have never heard of before. The
word "radial" seems to indicate some sort of polar system, and
therefore "meridian" must be the distance along the radial.
Given that this is true, we have three problems. 1) What
units do we measure meridians in? 2) What is the prime radial?
and 3) What is the point of origin? [Note that we don't care
whether radials are measured in degrees, mils, or percent of pi;
we just need to know what 0 is in this system].
Three Assumptions:
1) That meridian 78 is 78 parsecs from the origin.
2) That the prime radial is the direction to the galactic core.
3) That the origin is Capital/Core.
That means that meridian 78, prime radial is....Meshan 2120.
Does this tell us anything? I don't know. I don't even know if
there's a _planet_ in that hex.
Of course, any one of my three assumptions could be wrong.
Meridian 78 may be 78 ly from the origin. The prime radial may
be in a different direction. The origin may be somewhere other
than Capital/Core.
Of these three assumptions, the one that seems the least
firmly grounded is the point of origin. Suppose the origin is
Kaggushus (that is, _Hub_/Ershur -- this coordinate system is an
old Second Imperium convention) or even Reference (as in point of
reference -- get it? :) ) These are closer to the "center" of
the Imperium, and meridian 78 in either case would be right on
the border in Lishun sector.
This actually makes more sense than if Capital is the center
of this coordinate system. The message then becomes: "Heads up,
Strephon! That thing you and I were talking about before is due
to arrive on your doorstep in 90 years."
But you can be damn sure that Norris' heirs are going to
launch a mission to intercept whatever's coming (There's a New
Era adventure idea for free -- "Arrival Vengeance II: Into the
Wilds"). And whoever's running the show in the Black Sphere
might know about it as well, and think it a real good excuse to
come out and play.
So the question is: what will the crew of this Arrival
Vengeance mission find at Rad 0, Mer 78? I'm voting for Lishun
0305 as its location...any other candidates?
Couple of other questions: Why has the Black Sphere gotten
bigger (and messier) from Survival Margin to the T:TNE rulebook?
And what the hell is Humphrey Bogart doing dressed up as a Star
Viking (p. 244)?
Bill White ([email removed])