WWLXX: At the Prison of Ice - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

Legate of Amon Lanc · 11-28-2009, 03:44 PM

Approximately at 0:45 AM on November 29th sudden crash awoke me from sleep in my cabin. When I ran out into the corridor outside, I encountered our palaeoclimatologist and his mathematician colleague rushing from the stern where our "common room" was situated. Apparently they have been awake, yet even they could not tell what happened. When we rushed on the upper deck, we encountered the rest of our crew, and also saw the deck covered with shards of ice. Our mechanic went away and came back with the confirmation of our fears: the ship had apparently crushed into a vast mass of ice, a thickened ridge which it was unable to penetrate, and even though its hull was only partially damaged, it seemed that the propellers might have received some damage, possibly by debris of ice getting into the propeller shafts. We could not get a proper account of these events, however, as apparently only our captain had been on the deck when it happened, yet we could not find any trace of him. Some speculated that possibly he was on the deck when it happened and the impact had somehow swept him overboard, yet why would he be on the deck? Simultaneously, we noticed that the data transmitter in the cabin was broken, possibly as the crash damaged its subtle mechanism. That effectively dismissed our hopes for further advancement with the ship for the time being, even if it was still movable. We needed constant updates on our ice drift charts if we were to find a way out of here.

Fortunately, our survival expert took lead at that point. Our expedition had such one - although even many of the others were skilled specialists who have spent more than one season on the ice (one of them being a veteran of the Antarctic expedition to Mt. Mallis). Our survival expert presented us with a plan: she would take half of us to the ice back in our own trail and look for the missing captain, and half of us would stay on the ship and try to assess the damage we have suffered. In the worst case, if the ship proved immovable and irreparable for us, we will send a distress call. Repeatedly, our survival expert asked us to remain calm and not to get stressed.

LIVING MEMBERS OF THE EXPEDITION:

Inziladun - meteorologist
Mnemosyne - field medic
Boromir88 - senior assistant to a professor of glaciology
Eomer of the Rohirrim - sea pilot
Loslote - rich funder's spoiled daughter
Morsul - federal grants lawyer
Brinn - polar bear biologist
Pitchwife - marine biologist
Nienna - navigator
Nogrod - old palaeoecologist with is own theory of climate change
Macalaure - palaeomathematician
sally - the original initiator of the expedition
Thinlómien - whale expert
Nerwen - mechanic
Roa - survival guide
Bes - room/store manager
Shasta - sled-dog handler
wilwa - crewmember
Greenie - senior assitant to important scientists in the company
tromkehra - cook/bartender

It is now Night 1. PMs with your roles are being sent to everybody now. As soon as you get your roles, Werewolves may PM each other. Ranger and Hunter may PM each other. Others, remain asleep. No posting on this thread until Day 1 starts. Everybody don't forget to turn yourselves invisible. (in your User CP => edit options, tick the box and save at the bottom of the page)

Legate of Amon Lanc · 11-29-2009, 03:00 PM

The reconnaisance team returned at about 3:30 AM with no news about the missing man, yet the only logical explanation was that he indeed went overboard and fell into the rift created by the ship, and sunk. This realisation shook us, but that was only the beginning of the horrors which were about to unfold. The reconnaisance team also informed us that they have spotted what they thought was either an iceberg or a small island rock not very far to the southwest from our trail. We did not know yet the significance which this landmark will take for us in the following days. For now, all our thoughts were occupied with the damaged ship: it seemed, our chief engineer had stated, that we will be able to move, he only wanted to be sure that there is no damage which would prove critical later on and wanted to thoroughly check the ship himself. We left him with the repairs and went to sleep, as many of us had not slept at all that night.

If we only have not listened to our calm leader and sent a pan-pan call right at the moment, things might have taken a very different course. But nothing could have stopped what was happening when we woke up and found the communication, navigation and electrical control devices smashed hopelessly beyond repair. Horrified, we rushed below, only to find the lead engineer's motionless body entangled in a knot of power cables in the underdeck. His face was pallid, his eyes wide open, staring into the ceiling. Most of us shuddered in horror upon seeing his expression. What happened here? That was the mutual question, and we felt reluctant to answer it. And when at last few brave ones examined the body, our fears have been confirmed. This could not have been a suicide, our field medic stated. Somebody strangled that poor man. We stood there, eyeing each other, not knowing what to do, but then again our meteorologist roused us into action. His words were sharp and fast, but we felt he was right – it was necessary to make clear who was responsible for this and why he or she did it.

LIVING MEMBERS OF THE EXPEDITION:

Inziladun - meteorologist
Mnemosyne - field medic
Boromir88 - senior assistant to a professor of glaciology
Eomer of the Rohirrim - sea pilot
Loslote - rich funder's spoiled daughter
Morsul - federal grants lawyer
Brinn - polar bear biologist
Pitchwife - marine biologist
Nienna - navigator
Nogrod - old palaeoecologist with is own theory of climate change
Macalaure - palaeomathematician
sally - the original initiator of the expedition
Thinlómien - whale expert
Nerwen - mechanic
Roa - survival guide
Bes - room/store manager
Shasta - sled-dog handler
wilwa - crewmember
Greenie - senior assitant to important scientists in the company
tromkehra - cook/bartender

Day 1 begins. Werewolves, Hunter and Ranger, stop PMing. Everyone, you may start posting here.

Mnemosyne · 11-29-2009, 03:06 PM

Okay, who here is secretly funded by Evil Rich Corporations Who Want To Make Money At The Cost of Destroying The Environment?

...I've been watching too much Captain Planet lately...

On a more serious note, let's not be too eager to look for Grand Conspiracy Theories when there could be more simple motives at hand. Did anyone have something against our engineer?

*thinks more*

On the other hand, considering that we need our engineer to get out of here...

Does anyone have something against all of us?

Aside from the whole showering issue, of course.

Nogrod · 11-29-2009, 04:23 PM

We could apply my theory of "radical contingency and non-linear anticipation of quantumlevel events" I made a paper for the Royal Society on May 23th 2003 - and combine it with some fractal-analysis and the interesting pieces of hitherto unknown Mayan myths on predestination I have quite recently published a book about? ("Is the time-space continuum a trick by God to test our faith? - The early medieval Mayan metaphysical escathology approached from a modern scientific angle", Oxford University Press 2008)

For the question sure is which unlikely events are unlikely for real and which are unlikely only when predicted on the basis of bad old-fashioned mechanistic theories that should be thrown to the same grave with the most honourable sir Isaac (esq.)?

I mean you medics are always so down to earth and I appreciate it when you're stiching a wound or mending a broken collarbone, but you know, we have lots to learn from balancing our chakras first. Awakening the kundalini-energies would be releasing such an infinite reserve of untapped power we could run the whole planet on western living-standards without a single milligramme of emissions!

So let's not forget that the world is not as it looks like it is. Only brave and bold science not chained by everyday trivia and perceptual commonplaces can reveal the hidden truth of the universe - and thence of our fate as well.

Now please excuse me, I have some lab-work to do as my latest set of experiments requires my full attention rather immediately.

Mnemosyne · 11-29-2009, 04:35 PM

Nogrod, my friend, I have three words for you:

Peer.

Reviewed.

Journals.

I may not be familiar with your field, but I know a pedant when I see one, and let me tell you I don't trust any theory until it's been verified multiple times by multiple parties, and published in multiple journals, preferably with different interests (aside from the noble interest in Scientific Veracity) in mind to show that their minds haven't been swayed by anticipation of the results. That's why they like doing double blind tests in my field--though I haven't done much work on that sort of experimental stuff since my days in med school.

As for your chakra theories (though I do appreciate your appreciation for actual medical science), this is the best thing I can say in response.

Loslote · 11-29-2009, 04:56 PM

Interesting discussion so far. Many long words. I found it inspiring. I'd try to understand it, but honestly, I'm too lazy. I'll just say Nog was being very scientific and Mnemo, for some reason, doesn't appreciate the lack of showers. Meh...not too much to comment on, is there?

Nogrod · 11-29-2009, 05:13 PM

*hears the medic's words from the door and turns*

Show me a verified theory, any theory, and I'll show you a perpetuum mobile...

You can predict a thing happens - like that a hypothesis "works" - for any foreseen scenario, but they always predict only individual cases ("this pen on my hand will fall if I release it now"). But the fact that the prediction is fullfilled has nothing to do with verifying any abstract theory whatsoever (how do you jump from a positive result of an individual pen dropping to the law of gravitation?).

So let's just stick with probabilistic theories leaving room for indeterministic factors in the universe and forget that outdated mainstream hodgepodge that is suited for naturalists and other mechanical deteminists who don't have the faintest of the actual quantum-machanics behind the universe but are stuck with their 18th century views on things?

Oh, my test-tubes... excuse me...

Nienna · 11-29-2009, 05:03 PM

Wow kids way to be productive so far. Nogrod I'm shocked at you. This is a new side that I haven't seen. Not that it isn't a nice side but its different.

So we have 4 wolves, two gifteds and a secret role. Unless the secret role is a seer we don't have one of those. Our gifteds can talk though so they know each other which will give us known innocents later in the game. We've had a lot of early reveals without reason lately and I don't really recommend this. Voting toDay is necessary so someone will be lynched. We don't want to loose a gifted to day One lynching either so that would be the only real reason I can see for revealing.

I'll be around tonight and a few hours before deadline but I have class when deadline is so I won't be around then.

Loslote · 11-29-2009, 05:13 PM

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