A Very Important Safety Lesson

[claudiometer]

Hokay, so. Now is the time for a network announcement that has nothing to do with ‘holy shit possibly Harrogate,’ other than I can share the load of beefing up mental firewalls. Otherwise network-fu isn’t so much my thing. Instead, I have a couple follow-ups to Riddick’s ‘hey we can turn Liminal Space into usable electricity’ discovery.

Thing One, during the last jaunt I figured out how to properly wire my rooms, so you can bring your own plugs. The downside is I think it has a measurable limit in terms of energy output, so I didn’t rewire the server room for Liminal Intranet. That’s still on… hell, I don’t know, cognitive power? I expect it to work so it works?

Thing Two, and slightly scarier: It’s possible to draw some serious shock power out of Liminal Space, if you play your cards right. The really bad news here is that shock power is measurable in milli-amps. Very Important Safety Lesson, guys – amps can absolutely seriously hurt or kill people. I’m reasonably sure anything fatal would take a deliberate effort, but it would be very easy to contact-paralyze someone by accident.

I’m not here to tell people not to chase it in the first place or whatever. Just… be careful. It’s one thing to have another weapon in your arsenal and another thing entirely to risk accidentally Flooring someone.

Comments

[thornsofmalkav]

Oh my fucking god I need to learn how to wire a room. Like yesterday.

[claudiometer]

It might be easier to explain if you already know something about electrical wiring. Considering I could mod Teslas in my sleep at this point I didn't find it that hard, but... that pretty much helps me and Helena, and that's it.

[biiowiired]

Sweet, sweet civilization.

If you had a really big, really strong battery, I could probably charge it. But a) it would have to be more advanced tech than I've seen around here, and b) most likely it would explode and get acid all over us. My stuff's pretty volatile. Working on that.

So let's be realistic and say I can just help craft some power cables, converters, and plugs for the schlubs out there who don't have them. You're... not the only tech person here... right?

[[ Please let there be more than just one computer person or he is going to apply his palms directly to his face. ]]

[thornsofmalkav]

Claudia's better than me, but I can do some programming and I'm passably familiar with hardware. Jules is probably up there with Claudia.

[thornsofmalkav]

... uh, only the most basic basic stuff about it. Like the stuff you need to know for computers and hoverboards and small robots.

[biiowiired]

Oh thank God. I really thought I'd landed myself in a techless wasteland and would be forced to become some kind of computer messiah. It's a thankless job, messiahing.

[thornsofmalkav]

Naw, there's a couple of us computer people around. And some of us who at least have used computers in their pre-Traveler life.

... I mean, on the other hand, there are way too many people here who think computers are full of tiny people, but at least most of those people come from pre-computer times.

[tookashirototheknee]

... there are people who don't know that?

What the hell did they teach in school in the early 21st century?

Oh, right. Dark Ages.

[awondrousplace]

I believe I am aware of the workings of energy in Liminal Space now. Would you mind teaching me about the wiring? I would like to perhaps create a space for people to charge things.

[triggerhappytraitor]

So a more universal outlet, rather than a built in one?

[itsananimalthing]

Also, we can charge shit on the Jaunt using liminal energy, with this. Takes some more control, and being able to summon things, but could be pretty useful.

I'm workin' on how to zap people next.

[There may be the sense of a grim sort of grin to go along with that last part.]

[claudiometer]

[Of course he is. But if there's anyone Claudia trusts to know the right time for 'deliberate choice to really really hurt someone,' it's Riddick.]

Man, sign me up. Once I figure out summoning stuff, pretty sure I don't have that one down yet.

[claudiometer]

The outlet's still built into the wall, but people can bring their own chargers now, instead of the creator having to think appropriate plugs into the wall. I'm not too solid on non-American plug types, but this is my field - gimme an example or details and I can work one in, no problem.

[claudiometer]

Absolutely. You know where to find me.

[claudiometer]

Hey, for those of us who haven't been friends with volts since we were eight, it's easily forgettable.

[claudiometer]

...Yeah, let's... maybe skip anything involving explosive batteries.

Me and Jules are the main 'making computers do stuff' crew, but we're not the only tech-savvy people by any means. With most of the pre-computer-era folks, it's a pretty even split, I think, between people who don't know and don't care, people who found out via infiltrating, and people whose first exposure to computers at all was the Grid. That last group is gonna be the 'computers are full of tiny people' crowd Thorne mentioned.

[claudiometer]

That's probably enough to get you started. A room is just a really, really big circuit when you look at it right.

[triggerhappytraitor]

I already have a charging station set up for the few things I have from home, and have been able to work up some adaptors when needed. I'm a bit more curious as to the differences between the two more than anything else.

[claudiometer]

Nothing wrong with powering things because you expect them to have power while they're in your space. For big projects, that's probably the better way to do it, really - I haven't tested yet, but I'm pretty sure wiring a space gives it a measurable kilowatt-hour output, and while a regular house doesn't use all that much, big projects are not a regular house.

'It works because I say so' has either no upper limit or one we're not likely to bump into any time soon. 'It works because the space is wired for electricity' lets people bring their own plugs in and out, instead of counting on whoever made the room to know what your adapter looks like an build in a charger.

[triggerhappytraitor]

So for something like an electric powered motorcycle, it likely would work better with a proper outlet rather than a will-powered one.

[biiowiired]

Did they get duped by some sort of simulation?

[claudiometer]

That would probably work just fine with either.

[claudiometer]

On the Grid everyone was a person inside a computer.

[biiowiired]

How do you know? And whose stupid idea was this? It even sounds stupid. Making up tiny people to explain away the intelligence of the person who built the thing.

[claudiometer]

I know because I was there.