@parker — text.

[webshoots]

I haven't met everyone, so for those of you I haven't met: hey, my name's Peter, wish circumstances were better etc, and I'm going to admit I don't really do this a lot, so you'll have to bear with me.

I know we've just had a meeting to discuss how we can be more prepared in the future and how we can try and limit repeats of the Lighthouse expedition and the party, but that was before Robin and the Doc shared with the class what they know about the World Eaters. New and old, we're all roughly on the same page as far as that's concerned.

Saying it'll be worth putting our heads together at some point to work out how we're going to deal with that threat is an understatement, but... It'll be worth it. Apparently the quickest way to send us all on a one-way trip to definitively not existing is by not working together, and I'll be honest and admit I'm pretty keen on avoiding that.

(That doesn't mean now, for the record, but we've got a time limit and this doesn't look like it's one of those situations where you can cram all night with a jugful of coffee and hope for the best at 8am, day off.)

(And while we're here, can we all agree that murder is bad? Yes? Great.)

I haven't had the (questionable) luck of coming across anyone from my version of Earth here, but we can basically sum it up with: stuff happens. Invading aliens, not-so-invading aliens, pod people, body snatchers, you name it, it's probably happened. I don't want to assume that's the case for everyone here, but I've spoken to enough of you that I feel pretty comfortable going out on a limb and saying that most of us have had experiences that kind of stretch the definition of 'normal'.

Which also means we've got enough experience between us all to make some kind of headway.

(That's the long way of saying "okay, so", by the way.)

There's been a lot of encouragement about exploring Beacon and pulling together whatever we find into something cohesive to be able to figure out a survival plan, and that's great but it's not without its risks.

In life, I had a tech company. At the moment, I've just got it on my tablet, but I've been messing around with something I came up with back home. Think of it like GPS, but with fewer (read: no) satellites.

Radius isn't unlimited and it's not totally foolproof, but if anyone's heading out into the forest and they've got any concerns or reservations about ending up separated from whoever they're with, or unable to find their way back to town, let me know.

Comments

text @ SuprNerd

[moderatelymaladjusted]

Did you just say that you have trackers?

[webshoots]

In a manner of speaking.

[moderatelymaladjusted]

Is it something you'd have to hold on to, or? I mean, how small is it?

[webshoots]

Small enough to go in a pocket.

Why?

[moderatelymaladjusted]

Nothing. Just curious I guess, since we all have to carry the lanterns around and if it was something that sized, it wouldn't really be possible to use it if I was going off on my own? Can I borrow one?

[webshoots]

You know I'm just going to ask 'why' again, right? I don't have an endless supply, and unlike home, I can't afford to lose them.

So: expedition? Or something else?

@wayne

[pearlstrings]

What did your company specialize in?

[webshoots]

[ ugh. that was supposed to serve more as a footnote than anything else. ]

The utilization of nanotechnology in cybernetics, originally. Then, cyber security.

[ lo... osely speaking. ]

[pearlstrings]

That's a very broad scope. Should I assume the original focus was biological augmentation?

[webshoots]

Think more 'hip replacement' and you're about there.

[pearlstrings]

And your specialization in cyber security? Tracking devices seem more in the vein of monitored activity and information gathering than something like theft prevention.

[webshoots]

Is this a job interview?

I’ll be honest: the original design for the trackers is unrelated to any of that. I wasn’t popular as a teenager, not all of my personal belongings stayed in my locker.

[ fe... asible, maybe? ]

@silent

[callada]

Thanks Peter. I think I got most of that. Don't want more people going missing.

What's GPS?

[webshoots]

Then you got the important bit.

It stands for Global Positioning System. It’s a satellite-based radionavigation system — basically, if you’ve got a device capable of receiving an unobstructed signal from four of those satellites, you can be located.

This is a little (or a lot) more crude than that, but in a pinch, it’ll work.

[callada]

And satellites are ... not moons, the way you're using that word, I take it. Something else that can be set up in an array.

How many people can you track at once with what you've got right now?

1/2

[webshoots]

No. They’re man made, but they orbit a planet in much the same way.

Reliably? Two individuals or groups going in different directions.

( private. )

[webshoots]

Any more would require me to amend individual tablets. That’s not something I have an issue with by itself, but I’m not totally comfortable with the idea of allowing free reign with this, not yet.

I also don’t know how it would work on a larger scale here. Too many unknown variables, you know?

( private. )

[callada]

Understandable. So far we're doing well at working together but you never know who is prone to try and take advantage of something like a tracking system and it's good to be cautious.

That said, if we had been able to track everyone during that last attack, we might have learned more about which areas were hit first. Or for those who went missing, if they were, say, moved by the forest spirits to somewhere, we would know where.

[webshoots]

It’s not strictly about that, it’s about how it could be perceived. I don’t think there’s the scope for abuse here like there would be on Earth - there just isn’t the technology for it, but we’re only just regaining trust with the spirits. One wrong move...

Outside of that:

( public. )

Like I said: it’s got a limited radius and it’s not foolproof. The signal can be interfered with if someone’s got the right equipment and frankly, I don’t know how it’ll hold up against magic. I don’t want to make any false promises about what it’s capable of.

It’s helpful if you know the area or direction of whatever or whoever you want to trace, but if you’ve got two signals coming from the same rough area, it’s not going to be able to differentiate between the two. It’s also not going to tell you where a person’s been, just where they are now — or, if in tandem with something static, where that is, which would be more useful for anyone trying to get back to town.

@ grizz

[quotability]

hi peter
i'm grizz

what's the radius?

[webshoots]

Hey, Grizz. You're one of the new arrivals, right?

For sure? 100 yards. Anything outside of that might be a bit spotty.

[quotability]

yeah, i am

100 yards? that's not too bad

[webshoots]

Given the confines of the technology - but hopefully it'll be helpful in a pinch if needed.

[quotability]

it'll be good for exploration

[webshoots]

That was the plan.

Got any explorations in mind, Grizz?