Project Longbow

Craig Barnett [email removed] writes:

>Exactly _what_ is Project Longbow, and what is the significance of the
>date 70 years after the received message in SM?  Has any further information
>been made available yet, or do we have to wait (as we do for the Regency
>sourcebook, which IMHO should have been the first sourcebook released for
>TNE, but that's another story)?

Officially, we don't know a blessed thing except the vague allusions in
_Survival Margin_.  Much like the whole "Who are these IRIS people?"
business from Strephon.  A quick unofficial guess-work analysis:

Longbow appears to be some sort of psionic-based interstellar communications
project, possibly in the research phase since prior to the First Civil War
and First Interstellar War, which appearently has come to fruition by the
early 1100s, at least enough to cause Strephon to consider repeal of the
Psionics Suppression Acts of the early 800s.

Someone or something named Pentecost is connected to the project.  Pentecost
was the day upon which the disciples of Jesus were "filled with the Holy
Spirit and began to speak in other tongues", and is a Jewish feast day
celebrating the first fruits of the harvest.

Longbow was apparently being used to warn the Imperial government of some
sort of mysterious threat approaching the Imperium at superluminal speeds
and which would apparently reach the outer borders in about 1202.

Make of the tidbits what you will.  Apparently Pentecost went missing
during the Rebellion.  Strephon apparently witnessed a test from the
Depot at Lishun to Capital, but we don't know much since he was busy
waxing obscure...er, poetic.  This is one of those "increasing the aura
of mystery" things that GDW is so hot on these days.  (No implied value
judgment intended.)

  Steve Bonneville
  [email removed]