----- Original Message -----
From: "David McMillan" <SkyeFire@aol.com>
To: "Bob Schroeck" <rms@eclipse.net>
Cc: "Mark Shurtleff" <gaijin@sfcmd.com>; "Fanfic Mailing List"
<ffml@anifics.com>
Sent: Tuesday, March 09, 2004 8:42 AM
Subject: [FFML] Re: [Fanfic][Ranma/SM] Relatively Absent: Chapter 8 (part 1
of 2)

Bob Schroeck wrote on 3/8/2004, 10:16 PM:


 > Speaking of which, despite the in-story explanation for the Emperor's
 > interest, I can't help but sense more groundwork laid here.  Why
 > bring out the satellite tracking of Ranma's movements if there isn't
 > going to be some official recognition of his new position?

    I'll add my voice to Bob's in that this story is keeping me interested
as we go.  But this bit does push one of my buttons.
    Sattelite surveillance simply doesn't work that way.  Keeping track of
a single person, in realtime, even with a KH-11, is hard-to-impossible
for many reasons.  But the biggest single stumbling block here is
orbital mechanics.  You can't park a sattelite over Japan -- it's
physically impossible.  And even a geostationary orbit, which can only
happen *directly* above the equator, can only work at an altitude so
high as to make visual imaging useless.  Photo recon birds make passes
over various parts of the Earth on regular intervals, usually several
days apart, and generally send back still-frame images, not live video.
  And analysis is *far* from instantaneous.
    Having put in my obligatory space-geek $0.02, I'll admit that it
doesn't bug me that much, given that this is a Ranma fic and not a Tom
Clancy novel, and it has little plot effect aside from tweaking the SEAL
(which *was* funy).  But if that sattelite usage was to play a *major*
plot role, my suspension-of-disbelief would be seriously wounded.
That's not a threat to stop reading --I'm having too much fun to stop
now--, just an FYI for future reference (or for any other auteurs
planning on (mis)using sattelite imagery in their fics.  You Have Been
Warned.  Grrr.  Arrg).

This segment had struck me as odd too, even with my own amature
knowledge of how satalites work. Perhapse a switch to discrete
ground based or aireal surveilance would be better. And even then
the results are not likely to be instantaneous. Although in either
case it would be faster than satalite responces.

AGENT 1: "Wild Horse has left the stable."

AGENT 2: "Wild Horse is... Ah! Magami sama!"

CONTROL: "Not funny, Agent two. If you are reading manga
on the job..."

AGENT 2: "Argh! No, I am not reading manga! Wild Horse
has vanished! Wild Horse has vanished!"



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