Ozu Saya
Engineering/Ops
[TI19]
Posts: 878 Likes: 29
Rank: Master Chief Petty Officer
Position: CoB/Chief Engineer
Species: Vulcan-Bajoran
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Post by Ozu Saya on Jun 30, 2020 20:53:35 GMT
[Ice Cream Parlor]
Saya flushed slightly at the compliment, her skin turning a pale shade of green, and she ducked her head, taking another bite of ice cream as the conversation continued around her.
Then Anna asked a more difficult question. She hesitated, twisting her spoon, before before replying, The Breen weapon was...devastating for the Federation. They completely surprised us, and for awhile, it seemed as if there was no way to counter the weapon.
Fortunately, a Dominion ship with the technology was captured. Your mother and I were called in to be part of the team that studied and worked out countermeasures. Saya set down her spoon and folded her hands before continuing. The weapon works by draining the power from a ship, rendering shields, weapons, engines all useless. The Breen could then take their time using conventional weapons to destroy their enemies.
The Klingons' ships had a sort of natural defense already. They only had to make a slight modification in order to counter the weapon, but our ships were not so easily modified. Saya smiled slightly. The solution ended up being rather elegant, something that any Starfleet or Romulan ship was able to accomplish in a matter of minutes, though it took some time to come up with it. Saya didn't feel it was wise to say much more in a public venue. The technicalities were classified, so it wouldn't do to go speaking too much about them openly.
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Judith Eastman
Civilian
Grandma
Posts: 2,593 Likes: 84
Rank: Civilian/other
Position: Civil Servant
Species: Human
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Post by Judith Eastman on Jul 1, 2020 2:04:43 GMT
[Ice Cream Parlor]
Anna was visibly impressed.
"How did you find it, if it was so subtle?" she asked curiously. Judy, instinctively, stepped in. "Well, the thing to do is to have a brainstorming session. Look at the facts, think of ideas, talk about them, and then we test them," she explained, deliberately not giving the answer Anna wanted. "And what was the idea?" Anna asked. Judy leaned in, as if to tell Anna a secret. "Well, what you have to do is take the power couplings, inspect them one by one, and then stick 'em right up your nose," she said, whispering most of the sentence and then shouting the end of it. Anna giggled.
Max glanced down at his watch. "Well, lassies, Thomas, we have more city to see. We booked a slot to go up the Empire State, so we need to get over there," he said.
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Ozu Saya
Engineering/Ops
[TI19]
Posts: 878 Likes: 29
Rank: Master Chief Petty Officer
Position: CoB/Chief Engineer
Species: Vulcan-Bajoran
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Post by Ozu Saya on Jul 1, 2020 20:51:26 GMT
[Ice Cream Parlor]
For a moment, Saya was worried that Judy was actually revealing Starfleet secrets to her daughter. Then the older woman raised her voice and made a completely ridiculous statement, actually managing to startle a laugh out of Saya. She quickly covered her mouth and schooled her features, but she appreciated Judy taking the pressure off of her own shoulders. Those times were difficult to speak of.
Saya finished her ice cream, the sugary treat giving her quite a jolt of energy. She'd heard of the Empire State building, and looked forward to viewing the city from the top.
She stood as one of the employees came down the counter to start collecting empty dishes, clasping her hands in front of her as she waited for the others.
I am looking forward to the Empire State. I've heard it's quite impressive.
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Judith Eastman
Civilian
Grandma
Posts: 2,593 Likes: 84
Rank: Civilian/other
Position: Civil Servant
Species: Human
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Post by Judith Eastman on Jul 2, 2020 3:22:39 GMT
[Ice Cream Parlor -> Taxi]
Max decided to answer this. "It's a beautiful view. The only problem is that you can't see the Empire State itself from up there," he shared. "It sounds ridiculous, but that was a bit of a disappointment for me when Judy first took me on a tour here." "We didn't see King Kong, either," Judy quipped as they headed out. Using her little communicator (civilian-issue), she hailed a hover-taxi, and a large yellow one pulled up promptly.
"The Empire State Building is one of those cases where, the more things change, the more they stay the same," the family matriarch remarked as the kids piled into the back. "It's been there 400 years. Empires rose, Empires fell, wars were waged, and the building stands. Remarkable."
"Get on, Mom, or we'll go without you!" Anna proclaimed.
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Ozu Saya
Engineering/Ops
[TI19]
Posts: 878 Likes: 29
Rank: Master Chief Petty Officer
Position: CoB/Chief Engineer
Species: Vulcan-Bajoran
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Post by Ozu Saya on Jul 3, 2020 18:40:11 GMT
[Taxi]
Saya offered a small smile to Max at his comment, replying, That is, indeed, a detriment. One can hope that we will be treated to a decent view of the building as we approach.
She climbed into the taxi with the others, settling into a corner of her seat to avoid physical contact. She didn't mind too much when Judy's kids happened to touch her, but she found children's emotions particularly difficult to manage, and the excitement of the day, especially for Anna, would likely mean that her emotions were particularly heightened.
It is most impressive that it has managed to stand for so long with wars and bombings and the changing times. I've always found it fascinating that cities will leave such ancient buildings standing, even as everything is modernized around them. She gazed out the windows as they drove down the packed city streets.
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Judith Eastman
Civilian
Grandma
Posts: 2,593 Likes: 84
Rank: Civilian/other
Position: Civil Servant
Species: Human
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Post by Judith Eastman on Jul 4, 2020 5:14:32 GMT
[Taxi - En Route to the Empire State Building]
Max lifted Judy onto the taxi, much to her chagrin. Then, he crowded in with the kids, while she sat with Saya.
"Well, part of it is city pride. The Empire State, Flatiron, Chrysler, all these buildings, they're ours, we take pride in them. If someone were to suggest we should take one of them down, there would be quite a mess," she explained.
"If it's a good building, why would they replace it?" Anna asked, with that directness which children of her age often demonstrated.
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Ozu Saya
Engineering/Ops
[TI19]
Posts: 878 Likes: 29
Rank: Master Chief Petty Officer
Position: CoB/Chief Engineer
Species: Vulcan-Bajoran
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Post by Ozu Saya on Jul 5, 2020 19:12:09 GMT
[Taxi]
I imagine that some cities simply prefer uniformity of architecture, thought there is very little 'simple' about it. In some cases, it might be a matter of only changing a facade. Or with today's holographic technology, it wouldn't be too difficult to equip the outside of a building with holoprojectors so that the exterior could be easily changed as desired. I can't say that I know a great deal about architecture, however. Saya did like to build small models, but they were generally things like mechanical clocks or perpetual motion devices.
Most buildings on Vulcan that are as old as the Empire State building are no longer in use, and many are in disrepair, but they are generally not in the center of a city with a great deal of activity. I don't believe Vulcans hold much pride in structures. The wide variety of architectural structures in New York City was frankly surprising.
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Judith Eastman
Civilian
Grandma
Posts: 2,593 Likes: 84
Rank: Civilian/other
Position: Civil Servant
Species: Human
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Post by Judith Eastman on Jul 5, 2020 21:00:52 GMT
[Taxi]
"Holoprojectors aren't energy-efficient enough yet. Setting up and powering emitter arrays on the scale of a whole building façade, it's a lot of energy. I can show you the numbers later," Judy said. She had a project she'd worked on to that tune, and while the project itself was classified, it was based on a scientific paper from a civilian Academic, which was not.
"I think the Vulcans are more utilitarian than we are. Humans are sentimental," Max added, touching on that point. "They don't typically use the same amounts of garlic or hair dye that we use, either."
Judy chuckled. Max actually preferred her blonde, and he was happy with the amounts of garlic their household consumed, but friendly teasing had rules of its own.
"I'm pretty sure I should be offended," she remarked.
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Ozu Saya
Engineering/Ops
[TI19]
Posts: 878 Likes: 29
Rank: Master Chief Petty Officer
Position: CoB/Chief Engineer
Species: Vulcan-Bajoran
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Post by Ozu Saya on Jul 7, 2020 22:37:57 GMT
[Taxi]
Saya tilted her head in concession of Judy's point. There were a great number of technological feats one could accomplish more readily aboard a starship than planetside. Though...There are a few examples of holotechnology being used extensively with only one unit to power an entire holographic village or village full of people, though those were primarily non-Federation technology. If a city's government wished to give a significant section of the city a new look, it wouldn't be beyond the realm of possibility. It would require significant upkeep, of course.
And that is certainly true, she said in response to Max. On all counts, she added with a raised brow. You have greatly influenced my own use of garlic in meals.
The taxi ride wasn't terribly long, and soon the group was arriving at their destination.
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Judith Eastman
Civilian
Grandma
Posts: 2,593 Likes: 84
Rank: Civilian/other
Position: Civil Servant
Species: Human
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Post by Judith Eastman on Jul 8, 2020 3:48:19 GMT
[Taxi -> Empire State Building]
As the taxi pulled up, Max again helped Judy off, against her will. "Thank you," Judy shot off to the cabbie, before giving Max a brief death glare.
"Last time we were here, there was such a long line to get inside," Tom kvetched as they went inside the opulent lobby. "Oy, that was a bad one. Two years ago, with Max's mother, mid-July, 35-degree heat. You could melt," Judy recalled.
"In any case, here it is. They built this place, on all this splendor, during the Great Depression, if you can believe it. It was the tallest building in the world at the time, and had the largest fleet of elevators of any building up to that time - and they were fast for the time, too. They have transporters too, nowadays, but we're going to go on the elevator, old-school," she prattled off from memory. Max got their tickets scanned while Judy talked, and already they were waiting for an elevator to the 86th-floor observation deck.
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Ozu Saya
Engineering/Ops
[TI19]
Posts: 878 Likes: 29
Rank: Master Chief Petty Officer
Position: CoB/Chief Engineer
Species: Vulcan-Bajoran
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Post by Ozu Saya on Jul 8, 2020 16:23:18 GMT
[Empire State Building]
Saya exited the taxi and tilted her head back to peer up at the top of the building. It was nowhere near the tallest building she'd ever seen, but as an engineer, she had respect for the people who had taken on the challenge of building such a large structure.
With a sardonically raised eyebrow, Saya said, I presume that these elevators have been maintained for safety?
When they queued up, it didn't look like they'd have to wait long for their turn to ascend, certainly not anything like Tom mentioned about their last visit.
As they approached a newly-empty elevator, Saya caught a flash of red above the heads of a group that was exiting another one of the elevators, but it disappeared before she could get a better look.
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Judith Eastman
Civilian
Grandma
Posts: 2,593 Likes: 84
Rank: Civilian/other
Position: Civil Servant
Species: Human
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Post by Judith Eastman on Jul 8, 2020 19:42:34 GMT
[Empire State Building]
"There's one sure-fire way to find out," Judy quipped regarding the elevators. "If we don't fall, it's working."
The group entered the elevator, a little crowded but not packed.
"I have the strongest urge to just stop the elevator and have a long, long conversation," the older woman joked. "I think I've spent too much time in the Fleet."
Judy personally disapproved of this Starfleet custom, which is why she used it as a punchline here as they went up towards the observation deck.
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Ozu Saya
Engineering/Ops
[TI19]
Posts: 878 Likes: 29
Rank: Master Chief Petty Officer
Position: CoB/Chief Engineer
Species: Vulcan-Bajoran
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Post by Ozu Saya on Jul 13, 2020 17:34:31 GMT
[Empire State Building]
As the elevator ascended, Saya could sense that they weren't moving nearly as fast as a turbolift did. It would make the trip take longer to rise so many levels.
Saya shook her head and hid a smile at Judy's joke before saying, I believe this journey will take quite long enough without that. It is fascinating that we still use essentially the same technology to get around starships and space stations. I have sometimes wondered why we do not utilize the transporters more, especially if one needs to quickly get from an upper deck to a lower. The power drain would be minimal.
Meanwhile, she tucked herself against the wall and tried to make herself as small as possible so as not to accidentally touch any of the other tourists.
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Judith Eastman
Civilian
Grandma
Posts: 2,593 Likes: 84
Rank: Civilian/other
Position: Civil Servant
Species: Human
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Post by Judith Eastman on Jul 13, 2020 18:40:37 GMT
[Empire State Building]
"It comes down to economies of scale," Judy explained. "If you look at the base case, of one person traversing, let's say 30 decks, then the power consumption works out to be similar enough whether you send her in a turbolift or by transporter. For the sake of argument, let's say it's even."
She took a brief pause to see who was paying attention. Thomas wasn't particularly engaged, but Anna was. Judy would speak appropriately to this audience.
"Now, suppose we have two people traversing those 30 decks, instead of just the one. The marginal energy cost, the additional energy we need, to take that second person in the lift, the same lift, works out to be pretty low, essentially zero, but the marginal cost of transporting the second person comes out to be pretty significant - not double, despite what you'd expect, but far from zero. So, essentially, the more people you're moving, provided at least some of them are sharing lifts, the more energy-efficient the lifts end up being. Remind me later, I'll crunch the numbers."
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