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The future of war has been evolving before our eyes in Ukraine, yet the west still plans to fight the last war. In this special episode, guest host Noah Smith (@noahpinion) and Brandon Anderson sit down with Yaroslav Azhnyuk (@YaroslavAzhnyuk), a serial tech founder who went from building PetCube to founding The Fourth Law, one of the world's most advanced AI-guided drone companies. Over two hours we cover the technology, tactics, and geopolitics of drone warfare, and why the modern battlefield has already left the West behind:* Yaroslav's personal history and the Ukraine war [00:01:04 – 00:14:01]* The modern drone tech stack: why FPV drones are the new god of war, the future of the rifleman, fiber optic vs. AI, five levels of autonomy, and the eight dimensions of the autonomous battlefield [00:14:01 – 01:05:13]* The geopolitics and economics of drones: China's manufacturing advantage, the drone race, Western defense readiness, countermeasures, and why the gap is widening [01:05:13 – 01:58:57]For those looking for Noah Smith's commentary, it really gets going around the 00:51:31 mark.Yaroslav Azhnyuk / The Fourth Law:* X: https://x.com/YaroslavAzhnyuk* LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yaroslavazhnyuk/* The Fourth Law: https://thefourthlaw.aiNoah Smith:* Substack: Noah Smith * X: https://x.com/noahpinionTimestamps00:00:00 Cold Open: China's 4 Billion Drones and the Cameras-to-Explosives Pipeline00:01:04 Introduction: Brandon, Noah Smith, and Yaroslav Azhnyuk00:05:41 From Tech Entrepreneur to Defense: PetCube, Brave One, and the D3 Fund00:10:42 The Ethics of Building Weapons: Dual-Use Technology and the Wolf at the Door00:14:01 The Tech Stack: Cameras, Autonomy Modules, Interceptors, and a Semiconductor Fab00:18:47 Fiber Optic vs. AI: The Radio Horizon Problem and $32/km Cable00:25:32 FPV Drones: The New God of War — 70–80% of Frontline Casualties00:28:28 The Five Levels of Drone Autonomy: From Terminal Guidance to Full Autonomy00:41:37 The Eight Dimensions of the Autonomous Battlefield00:45:32 AI Safety and the Morality of Autonomous Weapons00:51:31 The End of the Rifleman? Noah's 2013 Prediction vs. Battlefield Reality01:05:13 China's Manufacturing Advantage and Western Vulnerabilities01:24:21 Policy Advice for Western Defense: Defense Valley and the Widening Gap01:32:54 The Drone Race: Who's Ahead, Category by Category01:41:57 Countermeasures: Shotguns, Jammers, Lasers, and Fishnets01:58:19 The Wedding and Final Takeaway: Be Prepared for WarTranscriptCold Open: China, FPV Drones, and the New Warning SignYaroslav [00:00:00]: Think about this. Last year, Ukraine produced 4 million FPV drones. Ukraine is not the most industrious nation in the world. China can produce 4 billion of these FPV drones.Noah [00:00:10]: Would you say that right now China is now the supreme conventional military power on Earth, given its ability to manufacture and deploy drones in the quantity and quality that you just described?Yaroslav [00:00:20]: I don't think we have all the information to claim that but we cannot count it out, and that alone should be a big warning sign. As I say, at some point in my life I went from making cameras that fling treats to pets to cameras that fling explosives to the occupiers. So that's the short story. And when you think about what your nation, what your patriots are going through, you realize that's the only morally right thing to do is to fight back, and it is immoral not to fight back, and then the choice becomes very clear.Introduction: Yaroslav Azhnyuk, Petcube, and the Last Flight into KyivBrandon [00:01:04]: Welcome to Latent Space. I'm Brandon. I normally do science podcasts, but today we're going to do something a little bit different. I'm joined by Noah Smith of Noahpinion on Substack and Twitter. And he has lots of interesting things to say about drones. And as a guest, we have Yaroslav Azhnyuk, founder of The Fourth Law and several other, drone-related startups. To get started, it is February 23rd, 2022. You are running a pet startup. You're connecting pets with their owners. Let's go in just a little bit of background. How did you get started in tech, and what were you working on before the Ukrainian war started?Yaroslav [00:01:50]: Good to be here. Thank you. On February 23rd, late in the evening, 11:00 PM Kyiv time, my wife and I landed in Kyiv. Actually, then she was a fiance. We came from Lviv, where we were looking at a church, where our wedding should have taken place. And we got into this cab ride from the airport to our home, and the driver was like, “You crazy. Like, everyone's leaving Kyiv. Why do you come?” We're like, “What? Nothing's going to happen. Dude, chill.” And then obviously, eight minutes later, or eight hours later, the bombs fell in the city. It was quite surreal. We probably landed on the last flight that landed in Kyiv, or one of those last flights. My background, I'm a tech guy. Studied applied mathematics in Kyiv Polytechnics, born and raised in Kyiv. My parents are old PhDs from academia, and grandparents too. Like, everything, from linguistics to nuclear physics. And I'm an entrepreneur, so I've built a bunch of companies. Petcube is the one you were referencing. So I lived in San Francisco 2014 to 2020, building Petcube, which is one of the leading, pet device companies in the world, selling lots of pet cameras. And then, yeah, as I say, at some point in my life I went from making cameras that fling treats to pets to cameras that fling explosives to the occupiers. So that's the short story.February 24th: Leaving Kyiv as the Invasion BeginsNoah [00:03:28]: February 24th, I guess a few hours after you, go to check out your wedding chapel, what do you do?Yaroslav [00:03:37]: We had a plan for this situation. So my parents and family live in Kyiv, and we're like, “Okay, this has actually started. The worst has, come true.” And so we basically packed our belongings and got in the car and spent 17 hours driving west. And that was pretty sure most people in our audience watched at least one apocalyptic movie in their life, so that was exactly like that. Like, felt exactly like that. Missiles are falling. Like, there was smoke in Kyiv. Like, my dad and I went, like, to central part of the cities. It's probably, likeYaroslav [00:04:20]: 800 meters from presidential office, to pick some stuff up at his workplace. Because he's, like, the head of an academic institution, so he had to get some of the things with him. And super surreal. Like, the streets are empty. Like, the gas stations are out of gas. Like, we found some gas station. We didn't have, like, spare canisters with us, so we're like, We figured out, like, the car was diesel, so like, we figured out, if it's diesel, you can actually store it in plastic, canisters, and we bought some window wash for the cars. We poured it out of the canisters, and we poured the diesel into that. Yeah, so it was like that. And then, like, helping friends get out, like my friend and his dog. Like, we found Like, my brother was also, like, riding in a separate car. We found a place for my friend who didn't have a car. It was like, yeah, it was like, totally surreal. And we didn't know of course, and you didn't know this will last for so long. You didn't know whether Ukraine will be able to defend Kyiv. And it was like, yeah, very little information and very little insight into future.From Pet Cameras to Defense Tech: Building for Ukraine and the Free WorldNoah [00:05:42]: What are your thoughts with regards to how do you, defend, Ukraine? So you eventually start building drones Like, what is the process to get from there from where you were building, devices that connect owners with pets to building drones, and what other things did you do to help the war effort in the process?Yaroslav [00:06:07]: It's definitely non-trivial, right? Like, I didn't go, to I didn't get any, like, military education when I was a student. Like, normally, in Ukraine, you would, you would go to like, this military school even if you're getting higher education in any other, sphere. I decided to skip that which is like, an unusual way to go. And I never thought that I will be somehow engaged in a war effort. Like, what is war? Of course, wars are over. It's the end of history. So one thing you got to understand about, like, many Ukrainians and like, I guess, it's also true about most of the people I met here in the US, that your who you are in terms of your nationality is a big part of your identity. So when that gets under attack, it's something deeper than just the country you live in gets under attack, right? And I Day one, I figured I'm going to I'm going to fight back with everything I can, right? But I didn't think on day one that I'm actually going to do, weapons. And a bunch of things. We were reaching out to a number of American, congresspeople and senators, and basically advocating for support of Ukraine, for voting for lend lease, which has happened in May 2022, but didn't actually work as expected. We helped start, Brave One, which is now a very important defense innovation cluster, sort of like a DIU here in the US. We helped start, a fund called D3. It's like, it was started or co-started by Eric Schmidt, former CEO of Google. So a bunch of these odd things, but then eventually I was like, “Okay,”by 2023 it was obvious this thing, A is going to last a lot more time, and B, that the whole world is shifting and that there's going to be a new arms race, that the warfare is redefined by drones as platforms. And for the first time in history, you have a platform that is software defined, that can increase your battlefield capabilities, in a in a step change just overnight. So it's like if you were able to push a software update and get all of your Roman legionnaires a new helmet? That has never been possible before. It's the first time in the history of war this is possible. So all of that and many other things like, supply chain fragilization, and the impact that AI is going to have on all of this all these things have become evident to me in 2023, and it's like, “Okay, I should do what I do best, or what I know how to do best, start a tech company, and sort of leverage the global techno capitalist machine, to provide, defensibility to Ukraine and the free world.” So that's literally the mission of the company, increase defensibility of Ukraine and the free world. And then there was some sort of soul-searching and like, asking yourself. It's like, “Okay, am I Actually, I know nothing about weapons. Am I actually, like, ready to make, things that other people use to kill other bad people?”Yaroslav [00:09:36]: When you think about what your nation, what your Compatriots are going through And think about all the terror of places like Bucha, the occupied cities in the east and south, the abducted children, the raped women, all the economic damage that's being done, and the intention to destroy a whole nation, to genocide the people of Ukraine, you realize that's the only morally right thing to do is to fight back, and it is immoral not to fight back. And then the choice becomes very clear. And look, we're just passing the ammunition. We're not doing the actual job. The actual fighters and defenders and heroes are people in the armed forces. We're just support.The Moral Question: Weapons, Responsibility, and Fighting BackNoah [00:10:33]: I have so many questions. Actually, I know you seem to have a question. Do you want to ask anything?Yaroslav [00:10:38]: No, I'm just listening. Go ahead.Noah [00:10:40]: I do want to talk about, some of let's say, the moral issues, like you just said. You endYaroslav [00:10:50]: I think there are no issues there.Yaroslav [00:10:52]: What would an example of a moral question be in this case?Noah [00:10:55]: No, I mean Okay. As you just said, you are creating the tools, but others are using them.Noah [00:11:05]: I was maybe thinking of having this conversation later, but one of the questions is like, is it actually you are going to be building them for your homeland, which you are building it for your homeland, which is I think, very a strong morally defensible position, but this technology is not going to stay with you, right?Noah [00:11:26]: This you will probably be selling these to other people Yeah. So the future is really where the moral issues may come into playYaroslav [00:11:38]: The this question becomes, easier and more complete if we ask this not about a particular technology or particular weapon, if we think that this question actually applies to any kind of technology Right? So -Knife or fire. You can use knife to do surgery and save people's lives, or you can use it as a weapon to take people's lives.Noah [00:12:06]: Cut tomatoes, too.Yaroslav [00:12:08]: Cut tomatoes too.Noah [00:12:09]: Yes, knife.Yaroslav [00:12:09]: That's helpful.Noah [00:12:10]: In Japan, sword and knife, they, call the same word.Yaroslav [00:12:14]: It's like, it's with any technology. Large language models, right? Look at how powerful they are and yet they're available to anyone in North Korea or in Russia.Yaroslav [00:12:29]: That's one side of the argument. The other side is As a maker, what is your responsibility for how the tools you're creating, will be used? There's definitely some responsibility, right? Then How should the decision process look like? Should you, like, try to calculate all the possible scenarios before starting to work on something? Or do you create something that is needed now to save people's lives, and then think about, addressing the unwanted edge cases later? In ideal world where there's like, or okay, it's not ideal world. In a mythical world where there is some one governing party and it gets to decide everything, and there is no other country, that can, decide on their own, you could say, “Well, we need to calculate for all the consequences, and only then, maybe build this building, by replacing this park because, maybe we need this park in the city,”right? So that kind of situation. But when you're in a situation where you're in a forest, in front of a wolf, you first going to deal with the wolf that wants to eat you, and then you're going to go consult Greenpeace. So that's kind of situation that Ukraine is in.The Fourth Law, Odd Systems, and Ukraine's Drone StackNoah [00:13:59]: Enough. Because this is a tech podcast, I did want to spend some time talking about, sort of the tech in that you've developed and what you've been working on. So can you explain, I guess, first of all, like, the problem that you were trying to solve from a technical standpoint? And I think, and then maybe, like, go into some of the solutions and some of the design process that led you from designing, little laser-guided, guiding lasers with a with an iPhone versus Having drones.Yaroslav [00:14:34]: Like, it so happened, that my partners and I, we sort of So I started one company called The Fourth Law, and its goal was and is to Make, massively scalable on-drone autonomy. And then In parallel with that together with my, Petcube co-founders, partners, and friends, we started another company called Odd Systems Which, was focused on making thermal cameras. Cameras, thermal cameras are seeing thermal radiation and are used to see at night. And we're now sort of those companies are getting closer and closer together and we're probably going to merge them. And this group of companies is currently the leading, team in on-drone AI and thermal imaging on the Ukrainian battlefield, and Likely one of the leading, if not the leading in the world. So We have these, like, three sort of business units, which are cameras, drone autonomy, and drones. So the cameras and drone autonomy sell daytime and nighttime cameras and different types of drone autonomous modules to other drone manufacturers, over 200 drone manufacturers in Ukraine. And then the UAV, business unit sells the drones themselves to the armed forces of Ukraine, Ukrainian government. And there are different types of drones. Those are sort of front strike, as we call them, so those are sort of FPV strike drones and the bombers, and then interceptors. And there are different kinds of interceptors. We do Shahed interceptors and we do ISR interceptors. We don't do the deep strike-FPV Drones, Interceptors, and Battery-Powered WarfareNoah [00:16:32]: What's an ISR interceptor?Yaroslav [00:16:33]: ISR is stands for intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, and those are basically drones which are which, Russians are using to watch over positions and then communicate where, the targets are coming.Noah [00:16:48]: It's a reconnaissance.Yaroslav [00:16:48]: That's, the ISR is sort of a classical term for a for a reconnaissance drone.Noah [00:16:53]: Are all of these battery-powered drones that you just described? ‘Cause I know that the sort of deep strike drones still have, like Some sort ofYaroslav [00:17:01]: Internal combustion engine?Noah [00:17:02]: Internal combustion engine. Are all the things you're talking about battery-powered?Yaroslav [00:17:06]: What we're working on is all battery-powered, right? We don't do the deep strikes, right? And then in terms of autonomy-Noah [00:17:12]: You can catch a Shahed with a battery-powered thing. It's not Fast to catch.Yaroslav [00:17:17]: No, absolutely. Look, Shahed interceptor, like ours, it's called Zero, it goes up to 326 kilometers per hour.Noah [00:17:26]: For reference, how fast is a Shahed?Yaroslav [00:17:28]: Eight, like, in internal phase it could be 280, but in cruise phase it's, like, 220-ish.Yaroslav [00:17:36]: Yeah. And sorry, I'm not like you can convert that into miles if you're interested.Noah [00:17:41]: No, that's fine.Noah [00:17:41]: Multiply by two thirds or point six or something.Yaroslav [00:17:44]: That's easy. Yeah, I was saying that for autonomy modules, right, we, -We make systems, autonomous systems for frontline, for interceptors and some for deep strikes as well, and then different levels of autonomy. So from terminal guidance, which is like lasts 500 meters, give or take, to autonomous bombing, to autonomous target detection, to autonomous navigation and all of that across day and night, different terrains, different time of the year, different platforms like quadcopters and fixed wing, and maybe some other platforms. So it's quite a wide variety of products. We also have like our own simulation. We have our own training school for the war fighters. And we're about to start construction of two, semiconductor plants to make, sensors for thermal cameras. So that's super exciting for me as a computer science guy is Doing semiconductors. Super cool.Noah [00:18:49]: Like in terms of kind of core drone technologies, you basically are one is an FPV replacement without fiber optics, and the other isYaroslav [00:18:59]: YouNoah [00:18:59]: Signal tracking with interceptorsYaroslav [00:19:00]: With or without fiber optics. Fiber optics Is just like, sort of a communication module.Yaroslav [00:19:05]: You can, you can use classical analog, video link and radio link. Those would be two separate radios. You can do digital, or you can do fiber optic, and then fiber optic Has its own advantages but also adds weight and decreases, the distance and decreases, how fast you can, sort of turn and With a drone. Yeah.Noah [00:19:33]: Do you need AI for fiber optic drones?Yaroslav [00:19:36]: Like you can use AI for fiber optic drones. AI replaces a human, right? Fiber optic is making your communication link more resilient. So those are slightly different goals. Like if you want, you can have, AI controlling hundreds of fiber optic drones instead of having 100 operators for each.Fiber Optics, Radio Horizons, and Terminal GuidanceNoah [00:20:03]: I guess I thought that the key reason that people moved to fiber optic drones was for like electronic, countermeasures. Or I guess to counter those.Yaroslav [00:20:13]: I think that's a correct assessment from sort of a public awareness standpoint. In practice it's somewhat more difficult Because besides electronic countermeasures, you have these issues of a radio horizon For FPV drones, which means that asYaroslav [00:20:36]: I believe Earth is round Some people disagree. But basically if you fly a drone and you have a land station over here and a drone flying over hereYaroslav [00:20:49]: If your drone is flying high, you have good direct radio visibility. If your drone goes low, and usually, Russian infantry and vehicles, they're on the ground and you want to hit them, you need to go low. Lower you go, maybe you'll get behind a hill or behind a forest, and if you're far enough, you'll just get behind the curvature of the earth. You get into what's called a radio shadow. And then That is a real bummer because for the last, be it 60 or 20 meters, you won't be able to see anything and it will be very difficult to hit the target. So to counter that what-- And then the distances that these FPV drones, act on they're, they can be quite large. So for example, here in the US there was this drone dominance program competition, and in drone dominance the furthest distance was about 10 kilometers.Noah [00:21:44]: What was drone dominance? What was that competition?Yaroslav [00:21:47]: Drone, the drone dominance is a is a program started, by the US government, to accelerate the development of drone technology here in the US.Noah [00:21:57]: Got it. And the longest range thing they were using was 10 kilometers.Yaroslav [00:22:00]: Was 10 kilometers, right. In Ukraine, like if your drone doesn't fly at least 20, 25, it just, no one's interested in it, and the usual hits are happening. It was like, okay, many hits are happening between 30 and 40 kilometers, and that's what expected from a regular 10-inch, FPV drone. So at that distance, even at altitudes of like 60 to 100 meters, you might start losing, the link. So some of the earlier AI technology that was fielded in FPV drone was this terminal guidance technology. That was the first product that we ever, launched that helped you as an operator, once you see the target from two, three, 500 meters, you lock onto the target and then, it just, drives the drone towards the target no matter what, even after you lost the visual connection. So optic fiber solves that. However, if you want to go like 20 kilometers with optic fiber, that will add an extra three kilos, of useful weight to your drone. SoNoah [00:23:12]: ‘Cause the cable that you have to unspool as you go weighs.Noah [00:23:15]: It is heavy.Yaroslav [00:23:15]: At first, like the spool is about 800 grams, so a bit less than a kilo, and then, and then think about 10, 10 kilometer optic fiber is another kilo, something like that. That takes away from your useful mass and then now you have like, you need a 15-inch drone and it can only carry maybe one or two kilos of explosives if you want to go, 20 kilometers. If you want to go to 30 or 40, like 30 is probably max. 40 is like very problem problematic on optic fiber. And then the problem with optic fiber is it's actually getting super expensive. So and why? Because of all the data centers for AI. That's literally the same optic fiber-Noah [00:24:01]: We're running out of centersYaroslav [00:24:02]: That's being used there.Yaroslav [00:24:02]: Like when Ukrainians and Russians come to Chinese factories to buy the optic fiber, they're like, “We're out. We sold it out to the Americans.”? That's the craziest thing. So optic fiber went up in price from like, $4 per, kilometer to like, $32 per kilometer in a few months in the beginning of this year. And I'veBrandon [00:24:26]: Claude Code is stopping the Russian drone effort here.Yaroslav [00:24:30]: Ukrainian as well. Yeah.Brandon [00:24:31]: Ukrainian. But I read somewhere that the Russians had grown more dependent on fiber optic drones relative to the Ukrainians, and that's one reason why the Ukrainians have sort of regained the initiative in drones recently.Brandon [00:24:42]: How accurate's that?Yaroslav [00:24:43]: The Russians were the first ones to scale that. I think by as of now, Ukraine has caught up. I think, like, as of maybe three months ago, Ukraine is mostly caught up on fiber optic. Yeah.Brandon [00:24:57]: What percent of damage would you say is in terms of FPV drone damage would you say is now fiber optic versus, like autonomous?FPVs as the New God of War: Tanks, Artillery, and Cost per KillYaroslav [00:25:07]: For our, for our audience, I actually, I cannot answer that question. Like, it's like I know the answer, but I would not disclose that. But for our audience, I think another interesting fact is out of all the casualties on the front line Between 70 and 80% are done by FPV drones.Brandon [00:25:30]: FPV drones are the new weapon of universal weapon of warfare.Yaroslav [00:25:34]: It'sBrandon [00:25:35]: Land warfare, anywayYaroslav [00:25:35]: They used to say that artillery is a god of war because artillery used to cause, like 80% of casualties, and now On that ranking-Brandon [00:25:46]: FPVYaroslav [00:25:47]: FPV drones rule.Brandon [00:25:48]: FPV drones are the god of war.Yaroslav [00:25:51]: Sort of. Dethroned artillery. But it's not to say that artillery is not useful, is not needed. Like, all of these systems are needed. Maybe except cavalry, although Russians still use it. I know, have you seen the videos of Russians using mules and horses?Brandon [00:26:09]: What is the usefulness-Yaroslav [00:26:10]: It'Brandon [00:26:10]: Of a tank in the in the modern-Yaroslav [00:26:11]: That's where we need Greenpeace to say a word, but they're silent. Yeah.Brandon [00:26:15]: What's the use of a tank on the modern battlefield?Yaroslav [00:26:21]: It's diminishing.Brandon [00:26:22]: Diminishing.Yaroslav [00:26:22]: However, I think there might be technologies which will, revive the tank. Look, tank still provides you armor, and armor is important. Like, you still need to armor and firepower, right? Like, you can be an armor personal carrier that provides you, armor. The challenge that currently exists is armor is not very well protected against incoming drones. However, there are ways to do to protect it. We were previously talking about this before the podcast. The CEO of Rheinmetall, recently sort of ridiculed, Ukrainian drone industry, saying that like, there is nothing interesting there, no real innovation, no to stand Compared to like, Rheinmetall or Boeing, and it's all made by housewives. There was like, obviously a ton of memes about this people ridiculing the CEO of Rheinmetall. And one of the best quotes, I heard on this topic is from my friend, Alexey Babenko, who's, the head of and founder of VIARI Drone, which is one of the largest manufacturers of FPV drones. They're our partner. They're using our autonomy. So he said that the drones we manufacture in one day will be more than enough to destroy all the tanks Rheinmetall manufactures in a year.Yaroslav [00:27:52]: Then, yeah, cost-wise, of course, a drone is like, $500 and a Rheinmetall tank is what, probably 5 million-ish or maybe more.Brandon [00:28:00]: Don't mess with those housewives.Yaroslav [00:28:03]: Drone wives.Brandon [00:28:04]: Drone wives.Yaroslav [00:28:06]: That's it.Noah [00:28:06]: There's a classic saying that everyone always fights the last war.Noah [00:28:12]: Yet do How did So from your standpoint, how did we get to the point where tanks became irrelevant in at least for now In a matter of just a few years?Yaroslav [00:28:24]: Look, I think it's the same way, how do we get to the point that calculators become irrelevant?Yaroslav [00:28:31]: Now we have iPhones. Like, why would you need a calculator? Technology progresses and its influence grows non-linearly. It's all exponential. So I can tell you that full autonomy, when you put it on a drone Look, so if you, if you think about a tank and a like, it's not a direct comparison, but even, like, a drone and a artillery shell or like, sort of cost per kill, an artillery shell for 155 caliber, which is a standard NATO caliber Currently market price is about $4,000 per piece. So compare that to say, $400 per drone. That's 10 times more expensive. Account for the amortization of the artillery gun and for how vulnerable it is and what is the sort of tactical, capabilities it gives you as compared to a drone. You'll figure out that an FPV drone is maybe three orders of magnitude, more versatile, more useful, more capable than artillery and many of than a classic artillery. Many of Because there are different types of artillery. Not just, like, one 155. You have mortars, you have all that. But give or take, roughly three orders of magnitude maybe. Again, it doesn't have that firepower. It's not one-to-one comparison still.Yaroslav [00:29:53]: Now, take that FPV drone. When you put full autonomy on that FPV drone, which can be not very expensive, like systems that we're, producing are like, in hundreds of dollars of pure bombFull Autonomy: From Human Pilots to Smartphone-Directed Drone MissionsNoah [00:30:06]: Just interrupt. You said full autonomy Just a second ago you were saying that the autonomy here is guidance, right? It's not decision-making.Yaroslav [00:30:14]: No, I was I was saying that's the f-First and sort of easiest pieces of autonomy that was fielded by us. But if you, if you add full autonomy to a droneBrandon [00:30:24]: He, I think he's asking what does it can you, for the listeners, can you explain What the term full autonomy means?Yaroslav [00:30:29]: Basically, I think a good way to think about an FPV drone is like an iPhone of warfare. It's, like, very inexpensive, very mass producible, very versatile. You don't need a bunch of other things when you have a iPhone in your pocket. You don't have, need an MP3 player, you don't need a calculator, don't need other things. All right? So FPV drone is an iPhone. Or like, okay, Apple please don't sue me, is a smartphone. And then, when you add autonomy to it sort of becomes like Uber or ride sharing. Okay? So what it means is instead of actually being a trained pilot who has this complex remote controller device which requires a couple months of training to actually pilot the drone, and then having to pilot it for 30 minutes, flying towards the target, et cetera, et cetera, now you basically, you have your smartphone, you have a drone, you pick your smartphone, you say, “We are here. The bad guys are here. Go and get them.” And the drone goes up, flies in a given direction, localizes itself on the map, finds the dedicated area where they, the bad guys are supposed to be sees the bad guys, bombs them, return, like, watches, so does a damage assessment, returns back, sits down, and then you can pick it up and watch the video if you didn't have the radio link, right?Noah [00:31:59]: That's a bomber drone.Yaroslav [00:32:00]: That's full autonomy for a bomber drone, right?Noah [00:32:03]: You're saying that no human decision is made in this entire process?Brandon [00:32:06]: That's not, that's not what he's saying.Yaroslav [00:32:07]: A human decision was made at the beginning of the process-Noah [00:32:09]: I get it. I get itYaroslav [00:32:09]: The same way as you would fire an artillery.Yaroslav [00:32:12]: When you fire an artillery, you don't stop at like, 500 meters away from a target and ask it whether, you want to strike or not. That's exactly, a human decision is always made at some point. So when you do that's full autonomy, and such full autonomy is happening as we speak. And such full autonomy increases the capabilities of an FPV drone, which is already, like, three orders more powerful than an artillery shell. Full autonomy increases its capabilities by four orders of magnitude because now you can have 100 times as many people who can use it, because you don't need to train those people, and this is important. You can have 10 times, mission success rate, and you can have 10 times utility per drone because now instead of being one-way kamikaze, it's, it can be a bomber.Brandon [00:33:05]: Now wait, let's, you said 10 times mission success rate, which means that fully autonomous bomber drones succeed in their missions 10 times more often than human piloted bomber drones do. That's an important thing to know.Noah [00:33:17]: Maybe, to push back onBrandon [00:33:19]: They're super, they're superhuman. They're, they' 10X superhuman.Yaroslav [00:33:22]: They're not vulnerable to electronic warfare. They don't care about the radio horizon. They don't lose track during navigation. They are not susceptible to human error when, an artillery shell or other drone blows up besides you and you're like, “Hell no,”like, “I'm getting out of here.” Right? That doesn't happen to an autonomous drone. Like, all of those things. Like, we have, like, one of the brigades that's using our drones with just first level autonomy They literally said that their success rates-Brandon [00:33:53]: What's first level autonomy?Yaroslav [00:33:54]: First level autonomy is just the terminal guidance.Yaroslav [00:33:57]: By the way, we have video of that. We can watch that.Brandon [00:33:59]: Terminal guidance means a human gets it nearby and then the AI takes over.Yaroslav [00:34:03]: The human flies it all the way, like 30 kilometers towards the target, and obviously the target was probably given to that human by someone who's flying some ISR drone, some reconnaissance drone, right? So all the way to the target, and once you see the target from a distance of 500 meters, you do target lock, and from there drone flies autonomous. So just that feature alone, it has increased the guy's, his call sign is Grom, so it has increased his, mission success rate, like precision of mission, yeah, mission success rate from 20% to 71%, and it also increased his kill zone from three kilometers to 10 kilometers, which means there's certain area around the front line which is designated kill zone. Whenever enemy goes into that area, it's almost guaranteed to be to be destroyed by a drone. And then obviously the drones are not launched from like, the zero line. They're usually launched from like, minus 10 kilometer-Mission Success, Failure Modes, and the Five Levels of AutonomyBrandon [00:35:03]: What is a zero line?Yaroslav [00:35:05]: Zero line is sort of an imaginary line of control, of two conflicting forces.Brandon [00:35:14]: It's important to explain these things to a lot of the listeners who areYaroslav [00:35:17]: Thank you for askingBrandon [00:35:18]: Familiar with warfare.Noah [00:35:20]: Myself.Noah [00:35:20]: I'm one of those listeners.Brandon [00:35:20]: You said that level one autonomy, in other words just terminal guidance, just, like, human gets it to the finish line and then it goes over the finish line, increases mission success from 20 something percent to 71%, or something like that.Yaroslav [00:35:33]: Increases the kill zoneBrandon [00:35:34]: Increases the kill zoneYaroslav [00:35:34]: Three kilometers to 10 kilometers.Brandon [00:35:36]: Got it.Yaroslav [00:35:36]: On both parameters-Brandon [00:35:37]: What is full autonomy, dude? AndNoah [00:35:38]: Actually on real quick, can we define mission success and like, maybe in a way, what are the failure modes of missions?Brandon [00:35:44]: I have a guess what mission success is.Noah [00:35:46]: But I couldBrandon [00:35:47]: Get ‘em.Yaroslav [00:35:49]: No, but that's a very good question, in fact, because, even if you fly into the target, well, first the target can be damaged or destroyed. Those are two different modes. Then there can be different targets. A sole infantryman is one kind of target. A dugout where supposed there are some, enemies there is another kind of target, and a some mechanical equipment is another type of target. Radio emitting equipment, which, like, often, like, the targets that the military want to get more than anything else is the some enemy radio tower or something like that or some small radio dish that really makes life difficult in that area, in that combat area. So those are different targets, right? It can be destroyed, can be damaged.Then sometimes, the drone hits but doesn't explode. Like, that happens. And then, there are other failure modes. You didn't even reach the target because you were A jammed by electronic warfare; B, you lost the control over drone because of the radio horizon; C, you were jammed by a different type of electronic warfare that happens way before You hit the target area. It's, impacting your, video receiver. So like jamming on video or jamming on control are two different types of jamming. Then something malfunctioned on a drone, just a mechanical malfunction, maybe like a motor broke or like, whatever. So all of those are different failure modes. Yeah, or maybe you got lost, you're navigate navigating to your, to your target. That happens, too.Noah [00:37:41]: The Level one autonomy, basically you manage to point in a direction.Noah [00:37:49]: You go there, and then the last mile The drone taking over.Yaroslav [00:37:52]: We define this like, I define that but it sort of got picked up by the industry. We define five levels of autonomy. So level one is terminal guidance. It's what we just discussed. Level two is bombing. Level three is autonomous target detection and engagement decision. Level four is autonomous navigation. And level five is autonomous takeoff and landing.Noah [00:38:15]: Those are good things to knowYaroslav [00:38:16]: Those are five levels of autonomy. Now, if youNoah [00:38:19]: I have a question for you.Yaroslav [00:38:19]: Sorry. Like, let me finish withNoah [00:38:21]: SorryYaroslav [00:38:21]: Theoretical part.Noah [00:38:23]: What is Tesla running at right now?Yaroslav [00:38:25]: Tesla?Noah [00:38:25]: No, sorry.Yaroslav [00:38:26]: That's very good point. Like, it's exactly, it was inspired by the levels of self-driving autonomy.Noah [00:38:32]: Waymo's level five, right?Noah [00:38:35]: You just tell it where you want to go, it picks you up, and then you go there.Yaroslav [00:38:36]: I think, like, if you, if you look at the classic definitions of self-driving cars, Waymo is still, like, level four because it still requires even remote, but still, like, human control. It's like if Waymo gets in trouble, there is an operator who takes over and resolves this. So that would still be a level four. It doesn't map directly, but it's also five levels.Brandon [00:38:58]: Can I, can I interject a question here? In terms of an FPV drone that's like a suicide drone that'll just blow itself up killing something, how do what it hit? Like, does it, just transmit back, or do you sort of like, lose track of it and hope it hit? Like, what happens to that?Yaroslav [00:39:16]: That's a great question. SoBrandon [00:39:18]: You need another droneYaroslav [00:39:19]: Like, the current battlefield in Ukraine is saturated with different types of drones. So obviously you have all the FPV drones and last year alone, Ukraine manufactured about 4 million of these, and then Russia's maybe, like, 20% less than that. And for this year, the publicly voiced target was 7 million on Ukrainian side. So it's, like, serious numbers. We're getting in serious numbers here. And then besides those, there are different, reconnaissance drones, ISR as we call them, and there are sort of tactical level ISR where we, both Ukrainians and Russians usually use, Mavic, drone by DJI. And then there are a bunch of locally produced drones, which are sort of fixed wing drones that can stay in the air for much longer than Mavic, maybe, like, half an hour. And then, there are drones that can stay for many hours or even up to a day. And those drones have, are more expensive, have more expensive cameras, et cetera, et cetera. We hunt those drones that Russians launch. The Russians hunt our drones, and so on. But ideally, when you, are a group of soldiers operating an FPV, you'll have someone in your, company, or someone in your platoon who has an ISR asset that will do target designation for you. They'll say, “Oh, like, there's a Russian vehicle over there. Go and get him.”and you go there, you get it, and they're like, “Okay, confirmed.”Battlefield Surveillance and the Eight Dimensions of AutonomyBrandon [00:40:57]: Those guys are watching. They have their own drones in the sky.Yaroslav [00:40:59]: Target destroyed. They have, like, a carousel of drones because One Mavic cannot stay more than 30 minutes. ItBrandon [00:41:06]: They're constantly surveilling the battlefield.Yaroslav [00:41:07]: Almost every spot on the battlefield.Yaroslav [00:41:11]: It's not always the case. Sometimes you will not have a surveillance asset, so then you would launch another FPV just to confirm that there was a hit. Then if you see there was a hit and you're not sure if it completely destroyed, you maybe hit again for good measure.Brandon [00:41:26]: You double tap.Yaroslav [00:41:28]: That's how it works. But I was about to give you another sort of piece of taxonomy. So you have five levels of autonomy, right? Then you have sort of eight dimensions of autonomous battlefield. So what is eight dimensions? It's crucial to understand how autonomy evolves in a modern, battlefield environment. So dimension number one is level of autonomy. What are the capabilities that your asset has? Dimension number two is the platform you're operating on. So it can be a quadcopter, a fixed wing drone, different types of maybe, like, a long range drone or short range drone, but it can also be a missile. You can have autonomy even on an artillery shell or a ground vehicle or a sea vehicle. So all of those are different platforms. Level three would be domain. So it's ground to ground or ground to air as an intersection, or ground to sea or sea to air. They're all, like, all the nuances with different domains. Then level four, would be higher levels of autonomy, such as swarming, drone carriers, drone nests, et cetera.Brandon [00:42:39]: Now when you're saying level, you're talking about dimensions, not about-Yaroslav [00:42:42]: Sorry. YeahBrandon [00:42:43]: Autonomy levels. So dimension four.Yaroslav [00:42:43]: The dimension. Yeah, I used to say I was supposed to say dimension. I say dimension because each of them works with another, right? So you might have, like third level autonomy, fixed wing drone operating in land to air, and stuff like that right? And then operating in a swarm or operating from a nest. Right? Then you have, sort of dimension number five is environment. So is it day or night? Is it summer or winter? Is it, humid, cold, dry? What kind of target is it? Is your target hiding in a forest, or is it, behind a hill or within buildings? So all of that is environment. Then you have, dimension number six is command and control. How are you dealing with or like, tens of thousands of those assets around the battlefield? How are you coordinating that on the higher levels of command? How are you collecting data? All that.Yaroslav [00:43:44]: Dimension number seven would be infrastructure, so things like simulation, data collection tools, security, deployment mechanisms, et cetera. So all those systems have to be developed separately and integrate with all the others. And finally, dimension number eight is sort of distribution. Have you deployed 100 of these systems or 100,000 of these systems? Because those are two very different ballgames. So that now gives you a more broad overview of how autonomy propagates across the battle space.Targeting, Human Responsibility, and Rules of EngagementNoah [00:44:23]: As someone who has done machine learning and had gone out of distribution and had things, go horribly wrong, you were talking several of these, kind of axes of thinking about drone warfare seem like they could be very susceptible to some sort of distribution shift if you start making things autonomous.Yaroslav [00:44:41]: Like what?Noah [00:44:41]: I mean Well, first ofYaroslav [00:44:43]: If the I'm very interested Sort of sort of kinds of scenarios that you're thinking about.Noah [00:44:48]: Like the most obvious one is you, if I assume these are computer vision guided systems for at least the last mile, how do you ensure that oh, well, like you now have some fog roll in or something, and you, the drones just attack the wrong thing? Or maybe, it probably will not turn around and fly back and attack you, but youYaroslav [00:45:10]: Same, the same, the same question, how do you ensure that your mortar fire hits the right thing? Well, it's like mortar fire, give or take half a kilometer could be plus or minus. So maybe you fire one, and then you fire another. So drones are actually, much better in being precise in those scenarios. And I think, to your point, I think five to 10 years from now it will be immoral to use weapons without AI.Yaroslav [00:45:44]: ‘Cause weapons without AI will be more likely to cause, collateral damage or unwanted damage. Same way, it will be immoral to drive your own car manually on a public road because it's more likely to cause, unwanted damage.Noah [00:46:02]: Wow, I never considered that mightBrandon [00:46:04]: Really? That's definitely coming.Yaroslav [00:46:07]: Anyway.Brandon [00:46:07]: No, but that' I don't know, it's an obvious, an obvious thought. I agree with you.Brandon [00:46:12]: I, No, they, obviously they're not going to let you drive once most of the cars on the road are autonomous.Noah [00:46:17]: No, that one, don't I believe.Yaroslav [00:46:19]: No, I think you were you were talking about drones, right?Brandon [00:46:21]: The drones, right. Cool.Yaroslav [00:46:22]: The weapons, right?Brandon [00:46:23]: Friendly fire and collateral damage and stuff like that is all minimized with AI.Brandon [00:46:27]: Here's my question. Take all let's go to level six autonomy. Let's take all of the target selection. Let's take all the battlefield data, integrate it into one big AI, and have that big AI basically be in command of the battlefield And agentically do target selection.Yaroslav [00:46:44]: Be the general, right?Brandon [00:46:44]: It's a general. It's, you've cut humans out of the loop except maybe as dexterous robots, repairing drones and fastening things to drones or maybe something like that because you don't have those robots yet. How soon are we there? AI general.Yaroslav [00:46:58]: The most important thing to ask ourselves is who will be faster to that us or our adversaries?Brandon [00:47:07]: I assume us, but how fast will we be to that? I hope us.Yaroslav [00:47:11]: I hope so too.Brandon [00:47:12]: How fast can we Like when are we looking at that in terms of like horizons years?Yaroslav [00:47:18]: Like technically, it could be done now. The question is of course, there's, some engineering work to be done. The bigger challenge is deployment. Right? So okay, technically Like operation in Iran, right? They, the publicly, it was claimed that I think Palantir system was used for target designation, et cetera, et cetera. So it is not exactly as you say, the AI makes all the decisions, but basically AI goes through all the data you have, gives you these 1,027 different targets and says, “You-- To confirm, please press Okay.” And you look at the targets and you're like, “Yeah, sounds right. Press Okay.”so that's, I think that's where we are now already, or we were a couple weeks ago as we're recording this on April 10th. Another question is how massively deployable it is. Is it, like, every decision being made like that or is it, like, just some of the decisions made like that? And then different levels of command and control. There you have, like, the platoon, the company level, the battalion, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. But the tricky thing here when we get into that territory, the tricky thing is If your enemy is getting advantage of being Thousand times faster than yourself by deploying such systems What do you do?Yaroslav [00:49:10]: You got to-Brandon [00:49:12]: The if the enemy is a thousand times faster than you at deploying those systems?Yaroslav [00:49:16]: Like, if enemy starts deploying level six autonomy, as you call And you have not started doingBrandon [00:49:22]: You're in troubleYaroslav [00:49:23]: Yes, exactly. So you have to catch up. So my point is that it is very important to think about the safety of these systems, but that thinking should not slow you down in developing them because they are critical for your existential, survival, right? And like, one person who doesn't think, doesn't get to think about the ethics of the war is a dead person. That person surely doesn't get to think about that.Brandon [00:49:52]: What would be the safety risk of such a system?Yaroslav [00:49:55]: Of course-Brandon [00:49:56]: Friendly fire?Yaroslav [00:49:56]: Just wrong decisions, right?Brandon [00:49:59]: I see.Yaroslav [00:49:59]: Maybe, these decisions-AI Command Decisions, Dead Zones, and Complex BattlefieldsBrandon [00:50:06]: Skynet AI decides it's going to useYaroslav [00:50:08]: No, these-Brandon [00:50:08]: Drone army to kill usYaroslav [00:50:09]: Decisions will not only be made about drones. They are likely to made about what the humans should do on your side as well. Then obviously some environments are more like Ukrainian-Russian war, where you haveBrandon [00:50:26]: It will have to choose to risk lives. It will have to choose to sacrifice human lives-Yaroslav [00:50:28]: Of courseBrandon [00:50:29]: On your side.Yaroslav [00:50:29]: Of course. And then some environments are just, like, dead, like, dead zones and there are no civilians there, or virtually no civilians close to the front line because, like, super dangerous. Everyone has evacuated from there. But there are other environments which are more like, okay, there's a counterterrorist operation. There's, like, a group of terrorists or a group of civilians. Or like, it's like the recent operations in Iran, I imagine that the US and Israeli forces do not want to harm civilians. They only targeted the military targets there, right? So in those situations, it's a different level of responsibility for that decision-making as well. And then there is just such a big variety of those military missions, and I'm not even, like, well-informed or well-educated in military science to tell you about all those scenarios. We would need to put some general besides me, and maybe a Ukraine general and American general would have told you very different stories about these things.Brandon [00:51:34]: Got it. Can I ask a few more questions? All right. So in 2013, I wrote one of my first, paid articles ever was about how the era of drones will change human society. I was just sitting around bored thinking about things.Yaroslav [00:51:54]: You were way ahead of your time.Brandon [00:51:55]: I said, I said, “The following will happen.”Yaroslav [00:51:57]: It's, this article is real. I've read it.Yaroslav [00:51:58]: It's actually-Brandon [00:51:59]: I said small autonomous, suicide drones, will cleanse the battlefield of human infantry. Human infantry will not be able to stand against swarms of AI-powered, suicide drones. That was I didn't even know about, like, AlexNet at the time, I think.Yaroslav [00:52:19]: You're just an avid sci-fi reader.Brandon [00:52:23]: I'm an avid sci-fi reader, but also, like, it's not Like, there will be a way to do that. It's a it's a nonlinear multidimensional search problem, and you get enough compute, you'll find some search algorithm that will get you there. And soBrandon [00:52:38]: I, yeah, I think that one sentence describes the bitter lesson right there.Brandon [00:52:41]: It's just like it's a multidimensional search space. You search it somehow. I don't know. Figure out some get a grad student-Yaroslav [00:52:47]: Sooner or laterBrandon [00:52:47]: To make a search algorithm.Brandon [00:52:48]: It's not that hard. Anyway, so but then, but I guess the point is The point is that human infantry on the battlefield will be will be gone at the end. I wrote that in 2013. Many people on social media laughed at me for that called me hysterical, said things like, “Electronic warfare will knock all the drones out of the sky.”like, “You need humans to hold ground.”that's something you still hear from a lot of people on social media today. I feel that this article that I've written has never been directionally wrong. It has gotten more and more right steadily over time, and that we're very reading the battlefield reports from Ukraine, where, human infantry are basically guy, like a few guys hiding in dugouts for months, and I'm not sure what they're doing.Yaroslav [00:53:35]: That's on Ukraine's side. On the Russian side, that's just like a zerg rush.Brandon [00:53:38]: The zerg rush, and then they just die. Then, but they have some guys in dugouts too, right? Like hiding in dugouts for months.Yaroslav [00:53:45]: They have. Yeah.Brandon [00:53:45]: Like, but that like, what are those guys doing in the dugouts? Are providing, like, frontline, like, reconnaissance? Like, what are they doing?Yaroslav [00:53:54]: If there is a guy in a dugout with some bullets and automatic weapon, the other guy cannot come and take the that dugout. That'Brandon [00:54:07]: I seeYaroslav [00:54:08]: They are they're establishing control over territory.Brandon [00:54:10]: I see. So that is so there still is a use for human infantry on the battlefield as of today.Yaroslav [00:54:15]: LikeBrandon [00:54:15]: How long will that last?Yaroslav [00:54:17]: I think it will last for a while. This is funny. There's this whole Layer of the modern culture, a modern Ukraine culture built around the war-related stuff. So there is this -Punk rock band, that is called SZC, I guess in English that would be. Which stands short for like a deserter or something like that. So anyhow, this band has a song titled “2030.” It's basically about the year 2030, and the war still goes on as like the whatever, third world war or whatever. And they basically, they, sang about the AI and like cyborgs and everything, but the simple infantry is still needed, and we're still, like, getting cold in those dugouts, and we're still doing our job. That's sort of the theme of the song. And it seems like that's actually what's going to happen. There areGround Robots, Simulation, and the Limits of World ModelsBrandon [00:55:30]: Ground robots will not replace humans in the dugouts soon.Yaroslav [00:55:34]: I'm very much interested in following the whole humanoid robot theme andBrandon [00:55:39]: What about like a dog robot?Noah [00:55:41]: Or just mobile controlled platforms or something.Brandon [00:55:44]: Spider robot, yeah.Brandon [00:55:45]: Everything evolves into a crab.Brandon [00:55:46]: You build a crab robot.Yaroslav [00:55:47]: A humanoid-Noah [00:55:48]: The carcinization of warfare.Yaroslav [00:55:51]: There is a lot of utility in humanoid robots because the world is designed around humanoids. So I would not, like, 100% disqualify the possibility that sometimes 10 years in the future, humanoid robots, will be actually fighting. So that's an actual Terminator kind of scenario.Brandon [00:56:14]: Yeah, in the first Terminator movie, you look at what they've got on the battlefield, they've got flying bomber drones and humanoid robots.Yaroslav [00:56:20]: Look, the cost of large language models of running them is getting so low, you can have basically an inexpensive computer running, what was a state-of-the-art model a year and a half ago, running it locally on a device with an open source model, which also means that the Chinese can have it, the Russians can have it, the North Koreans can have it, et cetera. So that is already possible. And with when we're looking at the acceleration of the neural nets, I would've, if not the acceleration of the large language models, I would've said that I don't think that humanoid robots will be able to be useful in the battlefield earlier than in 10 years. But if you account for the exponential, it might be five years or so. The problem with all of the autonomous systems, and it's like starts with self-driving cars and even with all the AI, like modern day AI agents, to make them really, useful, you have to solve such a long tail of edge cases, that it's really difficult to make them useful. Like we were promised, self-driving cars, what, like 2007, Sebastian Thrun and Google, and even before that all the challenges, everything. And Elon of course told us it's going to be one year from 2014, and now we still don't have self-driving Teslas everywhere. We have Waymos in SF and some other places, but they're still, like, not perfect. So I think, I expect something similar from self-flying drones and fully autonomous drones, and we saw that firsthand as with each level of autonomy that we're adding, there is a very wide distance between a prototype and something that is ready to be scaled to millions of units and something that has been scaled to millions of units. But the race with like AI coding tools is just insane. So things might accelerate very fast, faster than we can imagine.Noah [00:58:46]: I think your point is that with due to this long tail behavior Level one autonomy as you've defined it, is actually very natural. Like you basically are just solving an image recognition and tracking system.Yaroslav [00:59:02]: It's actually interesting that you say it that way, and I thought about this the very same way, and we have this joke that there are like 200 companies in Ukraine which are trying to solve last mile, targeting or terminal guidance. It seems like we're like the only company that actually solved that because even that problem-Noah [00:59:22]: I'm not saying it's, I'm not saying it's trivial, but it's at least something that you imagine given our current state.Yaroslav [00:59:26]: Like us and Eric Schmidt, like Eric Schmidt's companies are pretty good.Yaroslav [00:59:29]: Like, I actually have lots of respect to what they're doing, and they're, they have been practically influential and helpful on the battlefield, and they have good engineering.Noah [00:59:38]: I wasn't, I wasn't saying it's trivial. I'm just saying this is a something naturally adaptive based upon things that we know work, well. But some of the other domains that where you do have to make decisions and you have a long tail become much harder, and you worry about edge cases more.Yaroslav [00:59:57]: Like the more, the more complex behavior you're trying to simulate, the more edge cases there are right? The more ways to do it wrong there are. And then there are different approaches. It's like if you think about, if you read academic papers about robotics, right? You sort of the robot is represented as something that has the sort of sensor input, and then you have three, levels of sort of logics or decision-making, which are perception, planning, and control, and then you have actuators as output.So pre-neural nets, you would do perception output and control all with classic logics, right? Then, with AlexNet and computer vision, you could do perception with neural nets and the rest with logic. You cannot currently do each of those separately with neural nets, each of those separately with logics, or you can just have one huge neural net that just takes lots of sensory data. It's not just pixels. Could be sound, could be accelerometer, could be everything, as input, and just outputs the controls. And some of the self-driving car companies are doing that or like, experimenting between different ways of doing that. So you can also, like, think about that and the way you implement those features, also influences how much degrees of freedom the system would have, right? Like control, you can do it classical algorithmic control with common filters and PAD filter, PAD controllers, et cetera, or you can do a neural net, that was trained in a gym with a reinforcement learning, et cetera. And those would be two different behaviors of a system.Noah [01:01:53]: I-- Maybe my point was just much more high level. It'Yaroslav [01:01:56]: Or you can If you go even like, if you go high level, you can, you can like train to like have whatever, like Feifei Li and folks who are doing like physical, sortBrandon [01:02:08]: World modelsYaroslav [01:02:08]: World models, right, physical intelligence, they're trying to make these big models and sort of understand the world and then supposedly you have such model and you can tell a drone, “Okay, like, go over that hill and like, find the bad guys and then get them,”or “Make me a video, make me a photo of the guy smiling and get back to me.” Right? That's one way. Another way you have like these subsystems, like one is navigation, another is finding the person, another is like getting to them to take a photo. And those are again, very different behaviors. And then it's not that one is necessarily better than the other, and we might have more technological ability to do one or another. But all of those systems will exist. And then again, you should always keep in mind that it's only the not only the good guys that are developing these systems, the bad guys are developing these systems as well.China's Drone Supply Chain and the West's Manufacturing GapNoah [01:03:00]: I guess where I'm going with this back to Noah's original thought with the end of the end of the soldier. And so in order to replace-Brandon [01:03:10]: Or at least the end of the rifleman.Noah [01:03:11]: Or the end of the rifleman, yeah.Yaroslav [01:03:13]: I'm not seeing that very close, and it was like I'm, as much as I'm a lover of sci-fi and all of that and a technologist, the more I try to beYaroslav [01:03:27]: Like the I try to have certain humility about these things, and like the military, domain and there was just so much human history and blood and tears, dedicated to sort of understanding this art of war and perfecting it and so on. There is so much knowledge in there that I don't feel like I even started to comprehend, a lot of that. But one thing that I really understood is that even though drones are now making eighty percent of the casualties, you go to the actual officers, you talk to the actual, like, brigade commanders, corps commanders, and they explain to you, how all of it fits together, how when you're thinking about an operation that involves a couple thousand people to get this piece of land, out of the enemy's hands, deoccu deoccupy it, how it is so complex, it involves, dozens of different types of drones and then land operations and reconnaissance operations, psychological operations and then aviations and tanks and logistics and all kinds of these different assets. So modern warfare is really very complex, and the fact that the drones are the latest, coolest thing, and then the AI is latest, coolest thing, doesn't mean that now it's that and only that right? So yeah. Whoever's looking into that I think should realize that it's not just what the press talks about, that the reality is much more difficult, much more complex.Brandon [01:05:17]: Let's talk about China and China's manufacturing capabilities. So suppose that someone, like suppose the United States went to war with China. AndYaroslav [01:05:26]: I hope not.Brandon [01:05:27]: I hope not as well. And then but suppose that drones were very essential to that war of all the types of drones that we're talking about here, and that suppose that China said, “All right, well, you need X and Y and Z, to make those drones to fight us, and we control the production of X and Y and Z, so we're just going to cut you right off, and now you have no drones.”Brandon [01:05:47]: I know that a number of countries, including Ukraine and Taiwan, have been making moves to China-proof their drone productions that China couldn't do that. Examples of things they might be able to cut off might include rare earths, fiber optic cable that you were talking about before, various other things that where even if they don't control one hundred percent of the production, they control enough of the production that would be extremely expensive to produce it without relying on Chinese sources. Or the market's fragmented enough, et cetera. What do you see as China's key bottlenecks, and how easy are those to overcome in terms of China-proofing drone production in case of a war against China?Yaroslav [01:06:30]: Let me start with a saying that -Although China does not sell directly to Ukraine and it does sell directly to Russia, a lot of Ukrainian supply chains, they start in China, right?Yaroslav [01:06:49]: We're not in a conflict with China, and we would not want to be in a conflict with China. And we'd hope that China stays a neutral power between Ukraine and Russia and the US as well. That said, the scenario that you're describing, everything is much worse.Yaroslav [01:07:11]: Think about this. Last year, Ukraine produced four million FPV drones. Ukraine is not the most industrious nation in the world.Yaroslav [01:07:19]: China can produce four billion of these FPV drones.Yaroslav [01:07:23]: China can make them not drones with propellers, but fixed-wing drones, which go not forty kilometers far, but maybe two to three hundred kilometers inland.

The flag drops, the crowd roars, and the Bastards are gunning it. Jordan is pulling, Trevor is driving (sort of), Cleo, Boris, and Robin are in the back doing something that smells like chemistry- and Ze is hanging off the back on a wheel and wreaking havoc. The race starts out behind a massive spiked train filled with secrets. There are wraiths on the track, three-legged synths, the musical stylings of Bad Snax, and a mess of rowing Terrans. But Bastards are a family with a mission, and they cannot lose. Not after everything they've been through, and certainly not in front of Robin! They have a weapon called The Doctor. They have a plan. They have.. Tomatoes. And when they round that first corner and a cart gets wrecked- it almost seems like that plan is working.. That those suspicious figures that fled through the stands were just another family of losers.. Just one less obstacle between them, the family fun lesson of a lifetime, and that shiny new spaceship spoiler.. Starring: DM Dick Dynamite the Dungeon Master -- ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Richard Kimber-Bell⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Cleo deCap / M8 -- ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Taylor van Biljon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Dr Ze/Doctor Zafrey Elektra --⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠Daniel Matthews⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Episode art by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠- Skia Ambiance sound support by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jamie Nord⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Michaël Ghelfi⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Synth Music Karl Casey @ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠White Bat Audio⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Episode Edit / Sound design by Daniel Matthews Distributed by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Realm⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - Send inquiries and fanart to backwaterbastards@gmail.com Support the show and gain access to extra content by joining our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/Backwaterbastards⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ If you love what you hear, share us with a friend! Find everything else on our website at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.backwaterbastards.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join our Discord⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Klaar staat, net als elke doordeweekse dag, een nieuwe episode van Gamekings Daily. In deze vodcast praten twee presentatoren over de laatste ontwikkelingen in de wereld die videogames heet. En dat alles in pak-hem-beet 20 minuten tijd. Vandaag schuift Daan opnieuw aan in de studio. Samen met JJ praat hij over de opmerkelijke uitspraak van de ontwikkelaar van NieR Automata die tegen de Japanse media Famitsu melde dat 'er over 50 jaar niemand meer een baan heeft in de game-development wereld'. Verder kijken de twee naar de mogelijkheid dat er een nieuwe Starcraft game komt. 15 jaar na het laatste deel. Deze twee onderwerpen zie en hoor je voorbijkomen in de GK Daily van dinsdag 29 april 2025.Pakt AI het werk af van iedereen in de game-development industrie?GK Daily is er op maandag, dinsdag, woensdag en donderdag. Op de vrijdag hebben we EvdWL, de uitgebreide podcast over alle ontwikkelingen in die week. In deze editie praten Daan en JJ over het interview dat Yoko Taro, de man achter NieR Automata, hield met Famitsu. De Japanner ziet het niet echt zonnig in voor de mensen die games maken. Volgens hem gaat AI dat werk allemaal overnemen. Zijn Daan en JJ het met hem eens? gaat het zo;n vaart lopen en hoe ziet de industrie er dan uit? Het antwoord krijg je in deze video.Nexon zou werken aan de nieuwe StarcraftStarCraft is een iconische real-time strategy RTS ontwikkeld door Blizzard Entertainment. De serie debuteerde in 1998 met StarCraft, een spel dat zich afspeelt in een futuristisch melkwegstelsel waar drie unieke rassen — de menselijke Terrans, de insectachtige Zerg en de psionische Protoss — strijden om overheersing. Na Broodwar in 2010 hebben we niks meer van de serie vernomen. Komt daar binnenkort verandering in? En hoe gaat die game er dan uitzien?   Timestamps:00:00:00 Gamekings Daily van 28 april00:00:19 Introductie00:01:18 ''Over 50 jaar werkt niemand meer in de gamesindustrie''00:14:20 BULLETTIME 5K2K00:17:15 Na tig jaar weer een nieuwe starcraft?

Through this show I have had the great fortune of meeting some really amazing people...This weeks guest is no exception. I haven't met her in person yet but it seems like everyone knows her somehow. She once told me she was "dance floor famous".... I just love that. BIG RAVE  vibes from this one. That's my shit.  She's  a pretty sick dj too and her aggressive mixing style is also my shit. Representing New Orleans LA, please welcome Terran it up! Terran Alonzo is a Chicana artist, US Army veteran, and rising star amongst her peers in the American dnb community.  Her decade of military service instilled in her a discipline that she carries with her in all aspects of her life.  As a classically trained musician, Terran possesses a deep understanding of rhythm and harmony and applies it to great effect on the turntables. On the dance floor, in the studio, or behind the decks, Terrans positive energy is contagious and powerful.  Links below  Please enjoy❤️ back next week -Thomas www.SoundCloud.com/terran-it-up www.instagram.com/jungle.gial www.facebook.com/TerranItUpDnB

Surviving a Crash.Based on the post by x sociate23, in 3 parts. Listen to the ► Podcast at Steamy Stories.As Cadet Cockman regained consciousness, he became aware of two things: the throbbing in his temples and the acrid smell that stung his nose and throat. His blurry vision gradually focused to look about the dimly light cabin. Red emergency lights slowly strobed overhead, bathing the interior in silent pulses of crimson like the inside of a gigantic beating heart. The instrument panel was dead, the viewport a blank oval.Memories of the crash began to surface. The red-hot flames of reentry, the flaring of the landing jets, the rushing up of the ground. His hands still felt the heavy shuddering of the yoke, his ears still heard the terrible sounds of rending and tearing metal as they struck. Despite his best efforts, they had come in too fast and at too sharp an angle. The last thing he recalled before darkness was the lieutenant reaching to hold his hand.He turned his head and pain shot up his neck. His whole spine felt compressed from the violent bouncing as their ship had skipped like a stone. The Venusian was unconscious, her head flopped forward. The loose strands of purple that hide her face were turned an eerie black and he couldn't tell if she was breathing. When he took a deep breath of his own, he began violently coughing.All at once his mind realized the danger. The smell was the fire suppression system, designed to prevent the rocket from blowing up in the event of a crash. He had to get them out of there, the gas could be lethal if breathed in for too long.Slapping his harness release, he stood up wearily. His body ached, particularly the areas where the straps had covered him. He released LuNar from her seat and lifted her small frame over his shoulder. Her body was limp but still warm. He hoped it was a good sign as he carried her to the exit, snatching an Aid kit from the wall with his free hand, the other wrapped around her slender thighs.Lifting the cover, he punched the emergency hatch button, air hissing as the door fell open. Harsh sunlight streaked inside, forcing him to shield his eyes. He clamored through the hatch with his burden and stood on a raise mound of dirt to look around.They were in the middle of a green rolling plain, the undulating hills carpeted with waist high savannah grasses and dotting with scraggily trees here and there. The hot sun of CarterD2007 burned overhead as Cockman looked towards the direction they had come in from. A huge groove was dug into the dark earth, stretching for hundreds of feet towards the horizon. Small brush fires burned and smoldered, trees along the giant runt were sheared in half by tritanium wings. Parts of the ship littered the ground, their shiny metal surfaces glinting in the sunlight.He spotted a small clump of trees about fifty meters away. They looked as good a place as any, so he moved towards them at a brisk pace, careful not to jostle the girl in his arms too much. They needed a place to wait, not only for the suppression gas to dissipate but also due to the still slight risk of explosion. He found a clearing under one of the trees, its coniferous leaves shielding the blistering sun.He lay LuNar down gently, supporting her head. Unzipping her tunic, he felt for a pulse at the neck. There was no pulse. Panic gripped him as he remembered he'd barely passed his Venusian Anatomy course. Taking a chance, he placed his ear to her upper left tit, his face turned away from hers. He relaxed as he was rewarded with the rhythmic thump of her heartbeat as well as her shallow but steady breathing. He also couldn't help but notice how soft her tit felt against his cheek."Cadet Cockman?!"Her shout resounded through his skull as his head jerked up. She had an appalled look on her face."I-I-I was checking your heart!" he stammered, leaning away from her chest as she sat up."I bet you were," she said hotly, eying his crotch with a look of suspicion in her eyes. He looked down and to his dismay found his fly was open. She curtly zipped up her top and seemed to swoon. He noticed a cut on her forehead, a bead of greenish blood trickling down. She attempted to stand but he placed a restraining hand on her shoulder."Easy, Lieutenant, Easy.""I am not easy!" she howled, slapping his hand away. First the boob thing, now this. He only seemed to be making her more and more angry.'Perhaps Venusians don't like to be touched,' he wondered to himself. But she needed medical attention, cultural differences be damned."Ma'am, you're hurt, let me help you," he pleaded, reaching into the Aid kit for antiseptic and gauze. She eyed him warily but at last relented. He delicately dabbed at the cut. It wasn't very deep so she wouldn't need sutures. He removed the backing from a plastic-bandage and gingerly placed it over the cut."There, all better," he said, looking her in the eyes. Again, she seemed to calm down immediately as she spoke."Now it is your turn.""What?"She gestured to his left arm. There was a large tear in the uniform across the bicep, the edges already soaked through with blood. He'd been so worried about her that he hadn't even realized he was injured. He realized it now, though, as he painfully removed his tunic, peeling the sticky sleeve away from the wound. The gash was deep but thankfully the blood had already clotted. Lieutenant  LuNar dabbed at it with the antiseptic cloth. It hurt like the devil and he reflexively jerked away."Hold still," she commanded, gripping the elbow."Sorry, it just hurts," he whined."Don't be such a chimNar," she scolded."What's a chimNar?""I believe you Terrans call it an in-fant," she stated as she cleaned up his arm. The offended Earthling scowled as he watched her deft fingers apply auto-sutures, wincing as they pulled the wound tightly shut. She sprayed the area with liqui-seal and wrapped the arm in an elastic compress. Lastly, she injected a dose of Omni-biotic into his deltoid with a hypo-spray, giving herself a dose in the neck for good measure."Where'd you learn the Nurse Nightingale routine?" he wondered aloud, flexing the arm. The painkillers were already working."I was first in my field medic class at the Academy," she said proudly, puffing up her chest. Cockman had to restrain his eyes from flickering to the movement."Well, thanks for the patch up.""So I take it we crashed?" she asked, seemingly ignoring his gratitude.'Damn, not even so much as a thank you,' he thought ruefully, 'Stuck up much, lady?'"Unfortunately, Ma'am," he answered as he stood up, replacing his tunic but leaving it unzipped. He then helped her to her feet, "It should be alright to head back for supplies."They moved towards the downed craft, Cockman in the lead. As they came closer, LuNar stopped suddenly, staring towards the cockpit. Thinking she had seen something; he followed her gaze and it took him a moment to realize she was staring with loathing at the Pinup portrait. It was another survivor, her scantily clad blue skin nearly free of blemishes.At last, LuNar huffed, held her head high and stoically strode past Cockman and into the ship. The Earthman cast one last glance at the vulgar Venusian before he too boarded.Feeling TerribleThey spent the rest of the day, which the records they had consulted before the crash said were approximately twenty-six Earth hours, salvaging what supplies they could. The HAB unit was first and was thankfully pretty idiot-proof. It was a self-contained unit that with the simple push of a button would unfurl into a plasticine igloo twenty feet in diameter. They cleared a space for it near the ship and filled it with other essentials. Rations, sleep sleeves, inflatable mattresses, a couple of Zapper pistols, an AC/heat unit; all of it found a home in the small space. The last thing Cockman brought in was a portable, battery powered sub-space radio.With their shelter secure, the next issue was finding a source of water. Luckily, a scout of the area found a pond nearby and a spectro-analysis found the water potable. The pair bedded down for the night, thoroughly exhausted.Eza awoke the next morning feeling terrible, her body aching and throat irritated from the suppressive gas they'd breathed the day before. She lay on her bunk, staring at the ceiling as she thought about the strange dream she'd had. She could not recall the specifics except that it had involved Cadet Cockman and was very pleasant. She looked over at his bunk and became concerned when she saw he was not there, his sleep sleeve neatly rolled up.'Why did he not tell me he was leaving the HAB,' she wondered. It was protocol after all. She saw that he had taken one of the Zapper pistols and she rose to strap the bulbous pistol in a holster that hung low on her wide hips. She walked out into the bright morning sunlight which was already heating up the landscape considerably.She spotted him elbows deep in the manifold of the ship. He appeared to have been up for hours working and as he stood erect, Eza noticed that he was shirtless. His well-defined muscles rippled and flexed as his stretched, absently scratching at his wounded arm. She suddenly felt flush as he bent over once more, his ass shifting in the tight confines of his trousers. Realizing she was staring, she turned away to head back inside when all at once she saw it.Where once had been a disgraceful depiction of a half-naked Venusian was now a large swath of black paint. He had taken the time out to cover the offensive image. Her gaze fell upon him and the rush hit her once more. It was a deep, primal, carnal sensation.'No, not now. Not him,' she thought with a mix of excitement and distress. Her breathing grew laborious as she watched him, a fire beginning to smolder in her core. She fought down the urge as she watched him lay down on his back under the canopy, sweat dribbling down the channels of his chest and abs.He noticed her and waved. Her breath caught in her throat as the wave surged through her, threatening to overwhelm her. She darted back inside, leaning heavily against the interior wall, trying desperately to clamp down on the urge, her loins ablaze. She had felt this before but now it was much more intense. She had to be careful or he might find out.RationsCadet Cockman was getting the distinct impression that Lieutenant  LuNar was ignoring him. Truth be told she was but not for the reason he was thinking. They had spent their second day on planet separately. He busied himself with work on the ship while she had stayed in the HAB, reading her holopad which had also survived the crash.Now it was evening, and they sat on their bunks eating their assigned rations. Cockman shoveled another spoonful of glop into his mouth that the label claimed was tuna noodle surprise, the surprise being it was moderately palatable despite looking like Martian yak barf. LuNar, meanwhile, was eating what looked like split-pea soup out of a collapsible, self-heating bowl. She had her back to him, just like she had done each time he was in the room with her. He was starting to feel like he had committed some egregious intergalactic faux pas when she finally put down her bowl and turned to him."Cadet, I wish to apologize for my behavior yesterday. You were only trying to help, and I should not have gotten angry with you.""Think nothing of it, Ma'am," he replied, swallowing another bit of mystery meat, "But in the interests of avoiding a repeat, might I ask what it was I said or did that upset you?""It was not you, it was me. I should not let some stupid nickname both..."She looked away as if suddenly realizing she'd said too much. Now his interest was thoroughly piqued."Nickname, Ma'am?" he asked, not really expecting an answer. He heard her sigh, the tone sounding like a violin string."It is from my Academy days. During my sophomore year, a Terran boy wished to court me, but I had politely declined. He then spread the rumor that Venusian females are promiscuous. So, they started to call me Easy LuNar."Cockman frowned sympathetically. He understood where she was coming from, with a name like Cockman, you learn to expect the dick jokes. He also felt sorry for her. She was an intelligent, dedicated, not to mention exceedingly beautiful woman and did not deserve the ridicule of some callous, sex-hungry asshole."I think Eza is a nice name," he said and found he genuinely meant it."Thank you, Cadet.""Curt. Just call me Curt.""Okay, Kurt," she trilled. Then she smiled for the first time and his heart seemed to skip a beat at the sight. The smile widened as she added, "I think that is a nice name as well."Staring at the HolopadOn the morning of the fifth day, Curt awoke to find Eza sitting up in her bed and staring at her holopad with a look of sadness on her blue face. There were tears in her eyes and when she noticed him watching, she hurriedly put away the pad. She turned to wipe away the tears, explaining that she was just not feeling well that day as she headed outside intent upon some nonsensical errand. For some reason the excuse worried him, namely because he knew that Venusians rarely, if ever, got sick.While she was away, Curt stole a peek at her holopad. It was wrong for him to pry into her personal life, but they were in this together. To survive, they both needed to be at the top of their game, not bogged down in depression. Yet what he found now left him feeling hollow. There on the screen, just as she had left it, was the image of a handsome blue skinned Venusian male.'Her lover,' he surmised, feeling a pang of jealously but immediately chiding himself for it. It made no sense for him to feel that way since he barely knew her and yet the feeling was still there. He also realized his first impressions of her had been all wrong. She wasn't some uptight, bossy, know it all. She was a vibrant, feeling woman and she was homesick.Looking again at the picture, he suddenly felt the need to make her feel better about their predicament.She avoided him most of that day and it wasn't until that evening when she sat staring at her holopad once more that he saw his opening. He spoke up, trying not to sound too gruff and unfeeling."You miss your family, huh?" he asked. She seemed hesitant to respond. Perhaps it was another Venusian taboo."Yes," she said at last, sighing."Anyone in particular?" he asked, secretly dreading the answer."My brother, Edrin," she said, showing him the picture. She was curious about the seeming look of relief on the Earthling's face."Don't worry, we will get you home to him," he assured her."Yes, but not in time.""In time for what?""My hatch date.""Is that anything like a birthday?""Yes," she said, suddenly remembering that unlike her kind, Terrans gave live birth."When is it?""Tomorrow.""Is it wrong for me to ask how old you'll be?""Not at all. Let me think...Venus has a shorter yagra," she said, using the Venusian equivalent for years, "So, eighteen Earth years."Curt was dumbfounded. She seemed so mature, was even a higher rank than him and yet she was barely legal. A thought also occurred to him, but he kept it to himself. He already had everything he needed for it."Well, if it's any consolation, I'd like to wish you a Happy Hatch date.""Thank you, Kurt," she replied, once more tripping over his name.He waited until she fell asleep, then set about on his self-imposed task.The next morning, Eza awoke, feeling depressed knowing that today was her hatch date but that she could not be with her family to celebrate. She especially missed her broodmate, Edrin. As she sat up, she felt her hand brush something hard. She was surprised when she saw what lay on her bed.It was a wood burned etching of Edrin on a piece of stiff bark. The likeness was decent for free hand and she realized with amazement that Curt must have spent all night long on it with only a laser bolt remover to work it. She looked over at him on his bunk.The morning sunlight shone down through the skylight of the dome, alighting upon his handsome face as he slept and she smiled as the stirring swelled once more within her. She realized with satisfaction that she was no longer averse to the feeling.She wanted him.Customs and PracticesThere seemed to be a shift in their dynamic. No longer were they superior and subordinate. They treated each other as equals, though they kept to themselves for the most part. Eza also seemed out of her funk, literally letting her hair down. She began wearing it unencumbered, the long purple locks cascading down in loose ribbons and curls. The change only added to her alien beauty and Curt was finding it harder and harder to concentrate when she was around.Just like now. It was the heat of the day, and he was trying to nap on his bunk. Try as he might, though, he just couldn't help glancing her way every few minutes. She sat on her bunk with her back to him, her feet tucked under her bottom. He could still see her face in profile, the text on the holopad in her lap reflected in her deep green eyes. A smile threatened to curl the edges of her lips. He stared at her hair, imagining running his fingers through it as he kissed her dark, ripe mouth. His eyes traced the sinuous curves of her back, settling on the round bulge of her ass. Her hand seemed to tremble as her fingers scrolled the text. He'd had enough, his curiosity aroused more so than his manhood.

Surviving a Crash.Based on the post by x sociate23, in 3 parts. Listen to the ► Podcast at Steamy Stories.As Cadet Cockman regained consciousness, he became aware of two things: the throbbing in his temples and the acrid smell that stung his nose and throat. His blurry vision gradually focused to look about the dimly light cabin. Red emergency lights slowly strobed overhead, bathing the interior in silent pulses of crimson like the inside of a gigantic beating heart. The instrument panel was dead, the viewport a blank oval.Memories of the crash began to surface. The red-hot flames of reentry, the flaring of the landing jets, the rushing up of the ground. His hands still felt the heavy shuddering of the yoke, his ears still heard the terrible sounds of rending and tearing metal as they struck. Despite his best efforts, they had come in too fast and at too sharp an angle. The last thing he recalled before darkness was the lieutenant reaching to hold his hand.He turned his head and pain shot up his neck. His whole spine felt compressed from the violent bouncing as their ship had skipped like a stone. The Venusian was unconscious, her head flopped forward. The loose strands of purple that hide her face were turned an eerie black and he couldn't tell if she was breathing. When he took a deep breath of his own, he began violently coughing.All at once his mind realized the danger. The smell was the fire suppression system, designed to prevent the rocket from blowing up in the event of a crash. He had to get them out of there, the gas could be lethal if breathed in for too long.Slapping his harness release, he stood up wearily. His body ached, particularly the areas where the straps had covered him. He released LuNar from her seat and lifted her small frame over his shoulder. Her body was limp but still warm. He hoped it was a good sign as he carried her to the exit, snatching an Aid kit from the wall with his free hand, the other wrapped around her slender thighs.Lifting the cover, he punched the emergency hatch button, air hissing as the door fell open. Harsh sunlight streaked inside, forcing him to shield his eyes. He clamored through the hatch with his burden and stood on a raise mound of dirt to look around.They were in the middle of a green rolling plain, the undulating hills carpeted with waist high savannah grasses and dotting with scraggily trees here and there. The hot sun of CarterD2007 burned overhead as Cockman looked towards the direction they had come in from. A huge groove was dug into the dark earth, stretching for hundreds of feet towards the horizon. Small brush fires burned and smoldered, trees along the giant runt were sheared in half by tritanium wings. Parts of the ship littered the ground, their shiny metal surfaces glinting in the sunlight.He spotted a small clump of trees about fifty meters away. They looked as good a place as any, so he moved towards them at a brisk pace, careful not to jostle the girl in his arms too much. They needed a place to wait, not only for the suppression gas to dissipate but also due to the still slight risk of explosion. He found a clearing under one of the trees, its coniferous leaves shielding the blistering sun.He lay LuNar down gently, supporting her head. Unzipping her tunic, he felt for a pulse at the neck. There was no pulse. Panic gripped him as he remembered he'd barely passed his Venusian Anatomy course. Taking a chance, he placed his ear to her upper left tit, his face turned away from hers. He relaxed as he was rewarded with the rhythmic thump of her heartbeat as well as her shallow but steady breathing. He also couldn't help but notice how soft her tit felt against his cheek."Cadet Cockman?!"Her shout resounded through his skull as his head jerked up. She had an appalled look on her face."I-I-I was checking your heart!" he stammered, leaning away from her chest as she sat up."I bet you were," she said hotly, eying his crotch with a look of suspicion in her eyes. He looked down and to his dismay found his fly was open. She curtly zipped up her top and seemed to swoon. He noticed a cut on her forehead, a bead of greenish blood trickling down. She attempted to stand but he placed a restraining hand on her shoulder."Easy, Lieutenant, Easy.""I am not easy!" she howled, slapping his hand away. First the boob thing, now this. He only seemed to be making her more and more angry.'Perhaps Venusians don't like to be touched,' he wondered to himself. But she needed medical attention, cultural differences be damned."Ma'am, you're hurt, let me help you," he pleaded, reaching into the Aid kit for antiseptic and gauze. She eyed him warily but at last relented. He delicately dabbed at the cut. It wasn't very deep so she wouldn't need sutures. He removed the backing from a plastic-bandage and gingerly placed it over the cut."There, all better," he said, looking her in the eyes. Again, she seemed to calm down immediately as she spoke."Now it is your turn.""What?"She gestured to his left arm. There was a large tear in the uniform across the bicep, the edges already soaked through with blood. He'd been so worried about her that he hadn't even realized he was injured. He realized it now, though, as he painfully removed his tunic, peeling the sticky sleeve away from the wound. The gash was deep but thankfully the blood had already clotted. Lieutenant  LuNar dabbed at it with the antiseptic cloth. It hurt like the devil and he reflexively jerked away."Hold still," she commanded, gripping the elbow."Sorry, it just hurts," he whined."Don't be such a chimNar," she scolded."What's a chimNar?""I believe you Terrans call it an in-fant," she stated as she cleaned up his arm. The offended Earthling scowled as he watched her deft fingers apply auto-sutures, wincing as they pulled the wound tightly shut. She sprayed the area with liqui-seal and wrapped the arm in an elastic compress. Lastly, she injected a dose of Omni-biotic into his deltoid with a hypo-spray, giving herself a dose in the neck for good measure."Where'd you learn the Nurse Nightingale routine?" he wondered aloud, flexing the arm. The painkillers were already working."I was first in my field medic class at the Academy," she said proudly, puffing up her chest. Cockman had to restrain his eyes from flickering to the movement."Well, thanks for the patch up.""So I take it we crashed?" she asked, seemingly ignoring his gratitude.'Damn, not even so much as a thank you,' he thought ruefully, 'Stuck up much, lady?'"Unfortunately, Ma'am," he answered as he stood up, replacing his tunic but leaving it unzipped. He then helped her to her feet, "It should be alright to head back for supplies."They moved towards the downed craft, Cockman in the lead. As they came closer, LuNar stopped suddenly, staring towards the cockpit. Thinking she had seen something; he followed her gaze and it took him a moment to realize she was staring with loathing at the Pinup portrait. It was another survivor, her scantily clad blue skin nearly free of blemishes.At last, LuNar huffed, held her head high and stoically strode past Cockman and into the ship. The Earthman cast one last glance at the vulgar Venusian before he too boarded.Feeling TerribleThey spent the rest of the day, which the records they had consulted before the crash said were approximately twenty-six Earth hours, salvaging what supplies they could. The HAB unit was first and was thankfully pretty idiot-proof. It was a self-contained unit that with the simple push of a button would unfurl into a plasticine igloo twenty feet in diameter. They cleared a space for it near the ship and filled it with other essentials. Rations, sleep sleeves, inflatable mattresses, a couple of Zapper pistols, an AC/heat unit; all of it found a home in the small space. The last thing Cockman brought in was a portable, battery powered sub-space radio.With their shelter secure, the next issue was finding a source of water. Luckily, a scout of the area found a pond nearby and a spectro-analysis found the water potable. The pair bedded down for the night, thoroughly exhausted.Eza awoke the next morning feeling terrible, her body aching and throat irritated from the suppressive gas they'd breathed the day before. She lay on her bunk, staring at the ceiling as she thought about the strange dream she'd had. She could not recall the specifics except that it had involved Cadet Cockman and was very pleasant. She looked over at his bunk and became concerned when she saw he was not there, his sleep sleeve neatly rolled up.'Why did he not tell me he was leaving the HAB,' she wondered. It was protocol after all. She saw that he had taken one of the Zapper pistols and she rose to strap the bulbous pistol in a holster that hung low on her wide hips. She walked out into the bright morning sunlight which was already heating up the landscape considerably.She spotted him elbows deep in the manifold of the ship. He appeared to have been up for hours working and as he stood erect, Eza noticed that he was shirtless. His well-defined muscles rippled and flexed as his stretched, absently scratching at his wounded arm. She suddenly felt flush as he bent over once more, his ass shifting in the tight confines of his trousers. Realizing she was staring, she turned away to head back inside when all at once she saw it.Where once had been a disgraceful depiction of a half-naked Venusian was now a large swath of black paint. He had taken the time out to cover the offensive image. Her gaze fell upon him and the rush hit her once more. It was a deep, primal, carnal sensation.'No, not now. Not him,' she thought with a mix of excitement and distress. Her breathing grew laborious as she watched him, a fire beginning to smolder in her core. She fought down the urge as she watched him lay down on his back under the canopy, sweat dribbling down the channels of his chest and abs.He noticed her and waved. Her breath caught in her throat as the wave surged through her, threatening to overwhelm her. She darted back inside, leaning heavily against the interior wall, trying desperately to clamp down on the urge, her loins ablaze. She had felt this before but now it was much more intense. She had to be careful or he might find out.RationsCadet Cockman was getting the distinct impression that Lieutenant  LuNar was ignoring him. Truth be told she was but not for the reason he was thinking. They had spent their second day on planet separately. He busied himself with work on the ship while she had stayed in the HAB, reading her holopad which had also survived the crash.Now it was evening, and they sat on their bunks eating their assigned rations. Cockman shoveled another spoonful of glop into his mouth that the label claimed was tuna noodle surprise, the surprise being it was moderately palatable despite looking like Martian yak barf. LuNar, meanwhile, was eating what looked like split-pea soup out of a collapsible, self-heating bowl. She had her back to him, just like she had done each time he was in the room with her. He was starting to feel like he had committed some egregious intergalactic faux pas when she finally put down her bowl and turned to him."Cadet, I wish to apologize for my behavior yesterday. You were only trying to help, and I should not have gotten angry with you.""Think nothing of it, Ma'am," he replied, swallowing another bit of mystery meat, "But in the interests of avoiding a repeat, might I ask what it was I said or did that upset you?""It was not you, it was me. I should not let some stupid nickname both..."She looked away as if suddenly realizing she'd said too much. Now his interest was thoroughly piqued."Nickname, Ma'am?" he asked, not really expecting an answer. He heard her sigh, the tone sounding like a violin string."It is from my Academy days. During my sophomore year, a Terran boy wished to court me, but I had politely declined. He then spread the rumor that Venusian females are promiscuous. So, they started to call me Easy LuNar."Cockman frowned sympathetically. He understood where she was coming from, with a name like Cockman, you learn to expect the dick jokes. He also felt sorry for her. She was an intelligent, dedicated, not to mention exceedingly beautiful woman and did not deserve the ridicule of some callous, sex-hungry asshole."I think Eza is a nice name," he said and found he genuinely meant it."Thank you, Cadet.""Curt. Just call me Curt.""Okay, Kurt," she trilled. Then she smiled for the first time and his heart seemed to skip a beat at the sight. The smile widened as she added, "I think that is a nice name as well."Staring at the HolopadOn the morning of the fifth day, Curt awoke to find Eza sitting up in her bed and staring at her holopad with a look of sadness on her blue face. There were tears in her eyes and when she noticed him watching, she hurriedly put away the pad. She turned to wipe away the tears, explaining that she was just not feeling well that day as she headed outside intent upon some nonsensical errand. For some reason the excuse worried him, namely because he knew that Venusians rarely, if ever, got sick.While she was away, Curt stole a peek at her holopad. It was wrong for him to pry into her personal life, but they were in this together. To survive, they both needed to be at the top of their game, not bogged down in depression. Yet what he found now left him feeling hollow. There on the screen, just as she had left it, was the image of a handsome blue skinned Venusian male.'Her lover,' he surmised, feeling a pang of jealously but immediately chiding himself for it. It made no sense for him to feel that way since he barely knew her and yet the feeling was still there. He also realized his first impressions of her had been all wrong. She wasn't some uptight, bossy, know it all. She was a vibrant, feeling woman and she was homesick.Looking again at the picture, he suddenly felt the need to make her feel better about their predicament.She avoided him most of that day and it wasn't until that evening when she sat staring at her holopad once more that he saw his opening. He spoke up, trying not to sound too gruff and unfeeling."You miss your family, huh?" he asked. She seemed hesitant to respond. Perhaps it was another Venusian taboo."Yes," she said at last, sighing."Anyone in particular?" he asked, secretly dreading the answer."My brother, Edrin," she said, showing him the picture. She was curious about the seeming look of relief on the Earthling's face."Don't worry, we will get you home to him," he assured her."Yes, but not in time.""In time for what?""My hatch date.""Is that anything like a birthday?""Yes," she said, suddenly remembering that unlike her kind, Terrans gave live birth."When is it?""Tomorrow.""Is it wrong for me to ask how old you'll be?""Not at all. Let me think...Venus has a shorter yagra," she said, using the Venusian equivalent for years, "So, eighteen Earth years."Curt was dumbfounded. She seemed so mature, was even a higher rank than him and yet she was barely legal. A thought also occurred to him, but he kept it to himself. He already had everything he needed for it."Well, if it's any consolation, I'd like to wish you a Happy Hatch date.""Thank you, Kurt," she replied, once more tripping over his name.He waited until she fell asleep, then set about on his self-imposed task.The next morning, Eza awoke, feeling depressed knowing that today was her hatch date but that she could not be with her family to celebrate. She especially missed her broodmate, Edrin. As she sat up, she felt her hand brush something hard. She was surprised when she saw what lay on her bed.It was a wood burned etching of Edrin on a piece of stiff bark. The likeness was decent for free hand and she realized with amazement that Curt must have spent all night long on it with only a laser bolt remover to work it. She looked over at him on his bunk.The morning sunlight shone down through the skylight of the dome, alighting upon his handsome face as he slept and she smiled as the stirring swelled once more within her. She realized with satisfaction that she was no longer averse to the feeling.She wanted him.Customs and PracticesThere seemed to be a shift in their dynamic. No longer were they superior and subordinate. They treated each other as equals, though they kept to themselves for the most part. Eza also seemed out of her funk, literally letting her hair down. She began wearing it unencumbered, the long purple locks cascading down in loose ribbons and curls. The change only added to her alien beauty and Curt was finding it harder and harder to concentrate when she was around.Just like now. It was the heat of the day, and he was trying to nap on his bunk. Try as he might, though, he just couldn't help glancing her way every few minutes. She sat on her bunk with her back to him, her feet tucked under her bottom. He could still see her face in profile, the text on the holopad in her lap reflected in her deep green eyes. A smile threatened to curl the edges of her lips. He stared at her hair, imagining running his fingers through it as he kissed her dark, ripe mouth. His eyes traced the sinuous curves of her back, settling on the round bulge of her ass. Her hand seemed to tremble as her fingers scrolled the text. He'd had enough, his curiosity aroused more so than his manhood.

Watch the Full Episode for FREE: Countdown To Extinction - How AI Will Exterminate Mankind: Professor Hugo de Garis Exposes All | Brian Rose - London Real

Watch the Full Episode for FREE: Countdown To Extinction - How AI Will Exterminate Mankind: Professor Hugo de Garis Exposes All | Brian Rose - London Real

In light of the non-bombshell bombshell that is: "U.S. Cogressional Testimony on the Validity of ALIENS", Erin and Brennan decide to build a monument, a potential meeting point for Terrans and Extra-terrestrials, but they can't decide if it should be made of clay, potatoes, or shaving cream. Hmmmmmm. Maybe pillows? This week we discuss Close Encounters of the Third Kind and ponder benevolence vs. malevolence. Benevolence: the spaceships are shaped like ice cream cones! Malevolence: THEY KIDNAP A CHILD FROM THEIR MOTHER'S ARMS!!! Prime Directive: do not interfere with the natural development of other societies.*'Inception'-like compulsion to rendezvous at a set meeting place*Result: LIVES TORN APART. WYOMING EVACUATED!!!! . . . People live in Wyoming?

A personal set with cherry picked tracks starting with an ambient and cinematic vibe. Get ready for hypnotic whorls of dubbed-out machine bomb techno. Enjoy! Tracklist KaioBarssalos - Agulhas Negras Pause - Night Spasm Zisko - Sex Magick I (The Initiation) Pyramidal Decode - Zinc KIKA(MD) - Chill O´Clock BW - Olives Uväll - Resilience (Original Mix) Are:gone - Terrans 421 (Original Mix) AINT.S - Detached Warnung - Oscillar Altinbas - Cynical Moves David Mijatovic - Differential A.Morgan - Solar Flare Kr!z - Evil Eye Matrixxman - Mother's Return Volster - EXPOSITION F Hemka - Bazaar Keikari - Perspectives Orphx - Slipping Through My Fingers Dynamic Forces - Doomsday

Marisa Serafini (@serafinitv) and I are book lovers and we've decided to do a monthly in-depth book discussion. Our 11th book is The Word For World Is Forest's, written by Ursula K Le Guin, and next month we'll be chatting about Adam Silvera's They Both Die At The End. What's The Word For World Is Forest about? "The Word for World Is Forest is a science fiction novella by American writer Ursula K. Le Guin, first published in the United States in 1972 as a part of the anthology Again, Dangerous Visions, and published as a separate book in 1976 by Berkley Books. It is part of Le Guin's Hainish Cycle. The story focuses on a military logging colony set up on the fictional planet of Athshe by people from Earth (referred to as "Terra"). The colonists have enslaved the completely non-aggressive native Athsheans, and treat them very harshly. Eventually, one of the natives, whose wife was raped and killed by a Terran military captain, leads a revolt against the Terrans, and succeeds in getting them to leave the planet. However, in the process their own peaceful culture is introduced to mass violence for the first time. The novel carries strongly anti-colonial and anti-militaristic overtones, driven partly by Le Guin's negative reaction to the Vietnam War. It also explores themes of sensitivity to the environment, and of connections between language and culture. It shares the theme of dreaming with Le Guin's novel The Lathe of Heaven, and the metaphor of the forest as a consciousness with the story "Vaster than Empires and More Slow". The novella won the Hugo Award in 1973, and was nominated for several other awards. It received generally positive reviews from reviewers and scholars, and was variously described as moving and hard-hitting. Several critics, however, stated that it compared unfavorably with Le Guin's other works such as The Left Hand of Darkness, due to its sometimes polemic tone and lack of complex characters." Thanks for tuning in. Also, feel free to ask questions or offer opinions of your own, whether down in the comment section or by hitting me up on social media @PhilSvitek. Lastly, for more free resources from your 360 creative coach, check out my website at http://philsvitek.com.

Zion Broadnax (Mo Malto), Sydney Mikayla (Robby Malto), Kathreen Khavari (Twitch Malto) and Zeno Robinson ( Thrash Malto) recently joined host Elias on Press Day! Transformers: EarthSpark debuts Nov. 11 on the Paramount+ streaming service. In this interview, we're meeting the voices of the the biggest and most exciting characters in Transformers Earthspark: Zion Broadnax, Sydney Mikayla, Kathreen Khavari and Zeno Robinson. Hear about their stories and find out more about the characters that will impact the Transformers Universe for years to come! TRANSFORMERS: EARTHSPARK introduces a new generation of Transformers robots called Terrans – the first Transformers robots to be born on Earth – and together with the humans who welcome them in and care for them, they'll redefine what it means to be a family. You can watch this interview on YouTube https://youtu.be/BfTdI20xcVQ Have a question? Email us  themccpodcast@gmail.com Follow us on Social Media for the latest show updates  www.twitter.com/themccpodcast www.instagram.com/themccpodcast www.facebook.com/themancavechroniclespodcast www.themccpodcast.com  www.youtube.com/c/TheManCaveChronicleswElias  

Transformers: EarthSpark Cissy Jones (Elita-1) recently joined host Elias on Press Day! Transformers: EarthSpark debuts Nov. 11 on the Paramount+ streaming service. In this interview with Cissy Jones, the actress who voices Elita-1 in the Transformers: Earthspark animated series, she shares new information about the characters, story, and themes of the series. TRANSFORMERS: EARTHSPARK introduces a new generation of Transformers robots called Terrans – the first Transformers robots to be born on Earth – and together with the humans who welcome them in and care for them, they'll redefine what it means to be a family. You can watch this interview on YouTube https://youtu.be/0OkxFe2x9qM Have a question? Email us  themccpodcast@gmail.com Follow us on Social Media for the latest show updates  www.twitter.com/themccpodcast www.instagram.com/themccpodcast www.facebook.com/themancavechroniclespodcast www.themccpodcast.com  www.youtube.com/c/TheManCaveChronicleswElias  

"Now hear this. Now hear this. On this week's episode of Kirking Off Kira and Bashir head to the Mirror Universe, and to recap the Mirror Universe goes something like this: Mirror Spock became a sort of Spock Jesus after being influenced by Prime Kirk in the TOS episode, 'Mirror, Mirror'. Now we learn that as a result of Spock Jesus's reforms his empire was smashed, and he was ousted from power by the Alliance. When Kira and Bashir arrive in the Mirror Universe Kira meets her Mirror double. The Cardassians and Klingons are in power and the Terrans are subjugated. O'Brien is doing his best turn-of-the-century factory worker archetype. Sisko is a giggling pirate who routinely bangs Mirror Kira. Garak is still a duplicitous espionage type, and Odo is still a tyrannical fascist. Quark is a - turned into a bit of a - space Harriet Tubman whisking oppressed Terrans off to their freedom. A wonderful dynamic exists between Mirror Kira and Prime Kira, and the lads explore narcissism, nature versus nurture, and what it would be like to meet your Jungian shadow. Some prompting questions: What would Prime Kira have done if given extreme power in the midst of her resistance fighting days? What would you do? Is the Mirror Universe the bastard son of a 1000 maniacs? We present to you Crossover, from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine." Season 2 - Episode 23 Hosts: https://linktr.ee/lsgdean (Dean), Nathan, and Brian Connect with us: https://www.facebook.com/groups/kirkingoff (Kirking Off FB Group) https://discord.com/invite/8FmrT9Drvu (Discord) Support the show: Join Membership - https://my.captivate.fm/www.libertystreetgeek.net/join (www.libertystreetgeek.net/join) Donate - https://my.captivate.fm/www.libertystreetgeek.net/donate (www.libertystreetgeek.net/donate)

Storm Over Warlock by Andre Norton audiobook. The Throg task force struck the Terran survey camp a few minutes after dawn, without warning, and with a deadly precision which argued that the aliens had fully reconnoitered and prepared that attack. Eye-searing lances of energy lashed back and forth across the base with methodical accuracy. And a single cowering witness, flattened on a ledge in the heights above, knew that when the last of those yellow-red bolts fell, nothing human would be left alive down there. And so Shann Lantee, most menial of the Terrans attached to the camp on the planet Warlock, was left alone and weaponless in the strange, hostile world, the human prey of the aliens from space and the aliens on the ground alike.

You thought we left you out there, in the dark of the cosmos, without a clue on how to play half of the factions, didn't you? Well, think again, ‘cause we're here, and this time is a strong faction time: it is time for everybody's gaiaforming specialists, it's Terrans time! 00:00:00 - WE'RE BACK!!!! 00:05:34 - Terrans - the super important artwork comments 00:08:14 - Terrans - the board, finally 00:16:47 - THE gaiaforming faction, a one-trick racing horse 00:27:05 - Terrans and the map 00:31:55 - Terrans and final scorings 00:42:44 - Terrans and round scorings 00:56:23 - Terrans and round boosters 01:08:58 - Terrans power cycle 01:16:34 - Terrans and technology tracks - and openings 01:42:52 - Terrans and advanced tech tiles (not a resource advanced tiles episode, sorry) 01:49:33 - Terrans and basic tech tiles 02:00:07 - Final considerations and answering the pre-errata from the community 02:03:35 - It is done - a short statement on how things are going to go from now on Check out Ghostly's amazing "Paia Groject Strategy Deck": https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/2772018/paia-groject-strategy-deck While you wait for the next episode, come play with us (Molfo and El Temblo) on BGS: https://www.boardgamers.space. You can also find us on our brand new dedicated channel, within the Gaia Project "Fight" Club Discord: https://discord.com/channels/693041156698669057/921351801259843605  (Invitation link: https://discord.gg/TsNX9epNUp) Feedback and contact: paiagroject@gmail.com Theme song by Paranoixx: https://www.beatstars.com/titoc06/feed

It's time to save the galaxy…again! The planDisney panelists are giving you a guide to the galaxy as they share insights on what to expect when you board the brand-new attraction Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind at Walt Disney World Resort. They also share what more guests can look forward to during the historic transformation of EPCOT, taking place at the park right now. Plus, Disney Imagineer Wyatt Winter gives Terrans a peek behind what it took to bring the first other world pavilion to EPCOT and hints on what to listen for to discover easter eggs within the attraction itself.  New episodes of this podcast drop every third Wednesday of the month, so make sure to subscribe, so you don't miss a tip-filled episode. In the meantime, follow @planDisneypanel on Instagram, @planDisney on Twitter or visit planDisney.com for more insights on planning a memorable vacation to a Disney Destination. planDisney is the “official” digital forum for Guests to ask detailed questions about planning a variety of Disney Vacations. Panelists, real Guests who've mastered the art of planning a Disney vacation, provide personalized responses filled with heartfelt advice and unique insights based on their real experience. Whether you're hitting the parks or sailing the high seas with Disney Cruise line, it's like asking your friend or neighbor who loves Disney for the inside scoop on everything! Panelists have received/will receive a Walt Disney World® Resort, Disneyland® Resort or Disney Cruise Line® vacation for panelist and up to three family members and/or park tickets for their planDisney participation. The views expressed on plandisneypanel.com are those of the panelists, who are independent contractors. These views are not intended to reflect the opinions of Disney Destinations, its affiliates, its management, its agents or its employees.

According to backstory, Peter Quill, AKA, Star-Lord, once visited EPCOT as a child in the 1980s. He loved the experience so much that he suggested Walt Disney Word's Epcot would be the perfect place for Xandarians to connect with Terrans. Xandarians are from the planet Xandar in the Andrama Galaxy, and Terrans being their word for humans on our planet Earth. That Peter Quill suggestion resulted in the first other-world showcase pavilion at Walt Disney World's Epcot “The Wonders of Xandar.” The Wonders of Xandar Pavilion is located in Epcot's World Discovery and features three main sections: The Galaxarium: a sweeping planetarium-style space showcasing planets, stars, and other intergalactic wonders that connect Terra and Xandar – reinforcing the notion that we're all born of the same space dust. In the Galaxarum, you'll meet The Xandarian supercomputer, Worldmind, whose purpose is to preserve the knowledge and history of Xandar. Most of the knowledge Worldmind has collected regarding Teran, aka Earth, comes from Peter Quill – “Terrans love music that moves your soul.” Understanding Terrans is just one of the many reasons Xandarans have opened the Wonders of Xandar Pavilion at Epcot. Worldmind provides the narration that gives us context to the stunning visuals in the queue area, along with some intriguing questions like Where is Johnny going and is he being good? Why only the turkey leg, what about the rest of the creature? Milkey Way is a curious name for a galaxy; why? The complete loop rounds a little over 30 minutes, and I hope this is your only opportunity to experience it in its entirety. After the Galaxarum, the Xandar Gallery, and the Phase Chamber are next in the Queue, I'll save that for the next episode of Sam's Disney Diary; be sure to hit that subscribes button for more. https://youtu.be/DeHlHbEeqko    

Judy Carroll is an extraterrestrial contact, she has had contact her whole life and she joined me to distinguish the types of contact people are having, she says there are Milab made greys which are controlled by the cabal and a group of reptillians she calls the repterrans, vs the people who are having contact with what she calls the good greys who are teaching people about their telepathic and psychic abilities and also healing abilities. About Judy: Judy Carroll was born in Queensland, Australia in 1952. Her family back- ground is Creole (South American/Spanish), English and Romany (Gypsy). She left school to pursue a career as a professional Flamenco Dancer, following in the foot- steps of her Grandmother, who was a dancer and clairvoyant medium in the Romany tradition. Judy feels that this background has helped her to assimilate the encounters she's had with Grey ETs since early childhood. Sixty years of these ongoing and at times fully-conscious encounters has given her a deep insight into this phenomenon which is happening to many thousands of people world-wide. Being born into a Romany family has also given her insight into “being different” among fellow humans and its effect on the psyche. #GrayAlien #extraterrestrial #ufo #mufon #podcast #zeta #Disclosure --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/typical-skeptic/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/typical-skeptic/support

Strange stories and tales from the darkest and eeriest corners of the web. Join host Scott Mort for tales of the paranormal, the weird, and the bizarre. There is the known, there is the unknown, and then there is what Scott knows. Strange Pathways Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/186420552007731 Email us at strangepathwaysmail@gmail.com For a downloadable podcast version of this show, head over to https://anchor.fm/strange-pathways Be sure to like, comment, and subscribe on our Youtube channel at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCesCon19mc2hb1VFJvxMlNw

#StarWars #LucyLawless #BookOfBobaFett #LRMOnline #MenaMassoud #EzraBridger #Genreverse #TheCantina Welcome to The Cantina. It's Friday, it's last call, and we have Star Wars news, rumors, and entertainment! What have we done? We (Star Wars fans) may have cost Lucy Lawless a Star Wars role! The actress weighs in on her possible role in another series being ruined by fan desire to see her replace Gina Carano as Cara Dune. Also, Mena Massoud plays coy about his role as Ezra Bridger. Okay, that's ALLEGED role, but you know we know. Lastly, The Book of Boba Fett release date has been revealed as well as a new poster! Drink up Terrans, and let's get started! 00:00- Intro & Star Wars: Visions Revisit 04:02- Lucy Lawless Lost Star Wars Role Because Fans Wanted Her As Cara Dune? So Say We All Hope That's Not True! 09:23- The Cantina Crew Reacts To Lucy Lawless' Comments 16:44- Mena Massoud Plays Coy On Ezra Bridger Casting 25:37- The Book of Boba Fett Release Date And New Armor 29:39- Disney+ And Other Streaming Services Becoming Cable TV All Over Again 38:39- Censorship Issues And How The US Military Gets Entertainment Abroad 44:01- Next Time At The Cantina WE HAVE A SPONSOR! Check them out here: www.GrowGeneration.com Thanks to the band My Day at the Races for the music (besides the intro/outro) and you can find more of them here: mydayattheraces.bandcamp.com/ Kyle, Cam, and Shockey are your guides to the galaxy far, far away! Join them as they dig into all of the upcoming Star Wars projects. A long time ago... In this not far, far away galaxy I (Kyle) ran a weekly Star Wars column called The Cantina. The end of each piece was called "Last Call" and topics rotated and eventually included a once-a-month podcast reviewing all of the Star Wars films leading to a release day group review of The Rise of Skywalker. Afterward, we reviewed Season 2 of The Mandalorian. You should really check those out HERE. Now, that glorious podcast has returned under the title of the original column and for the foreseeable future, we'll be bringing weekly news, theories, reliable leaks, and more. YOU WILL SUBSCRIBE AND HIT THE NOTIFICATION/FOLLOW BUTTON! This is the way... May the Force be with you! Join our Discord: discord.gg/PyrzzmrceY Question(s) of the week: Do you think Lucy Lawless should get another chance at a Star Wars role, even if it's not Cara Dune? Also, when do you expect official word of Mena Massoud cast as Ezra? Lastly, were you surprised by The Book of Boba Fett's release date? Catch the last episode here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1bdDEBHGJs3bTbcvpR4jsi?si=Qx7DWrHgQEuH7UhXI0BiUw&dl_branch=1 Website: www.LRMOnline.com Kyle Twitter: twitter.com/ThatKyleMalone Cam Twitter: twitter.com/LRM_Cam Shockey Twitter: twitter.com/LRM_Shockey

Vikter Bang - Victory over Noise - is a multidimensional being who loves music and makes his own soundtrack to his life. He also has a TikTok and Instagram page that showcases his unique and eclectic perspective. The topics he discusses cover relationships between us Terrans, spirituality, and what to do about the political situation we face today.   Vikter's TikTok: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMRsJRTJD/  Vikter's Instagram : https://instagram.com/vikterbang?utm_medium=copy_link    ++APPLE PODCASTS:http://bit.ly/HowToKillASacredCowPodcast  ++WEBSITE: www.howtokillasacredcow.com  ++INSTAGRAM:https://www.instagram.com/jayhenehan/  https://www.instagram.com/howtokillasacredcow/  ++FACEBOOK:http://bit.ly/HowToKillASacredCowFB  ++TWITTER: http://bit.ly/HowSacred  ++BITCHUTE: https://bit.ly/3fN8HLc  ++SPOTIFY: https://spoti.fi/3yyL8OA  ++ODYSEE: https://odysee.com/@HowToKillASacredCow:8   

It's new games a plenty this week. Zach wishes Terrans would catch on, Matt doesn’t think about stuff like that, Jay practices his heel toe technique, and Alanna drops Bobbi’s treats.

What if some UFOs are of non-human terran origin?? In this episode, I play around with the idea that UFOs might be old hominid species...

Surprise! Some people you probably don't know are making a space and science podcast! Here's a sneak peak for "The Terrans", a show where we talk about whatever we want (that's space and science related) and have some fun along the way. Episode 1 - "The Astronaut" - Coming 5/3/21

Boy, you thought nukes were bad… The Terrans finally make their way to the Moon, and find themselves entangled in the Moon’s internal strife. Meanwhile, Michael praises one last philosophical argument while fighting, Peter discusses a huge twist, and both hosts gush over the epilogue. Also included: the very good reasons for Corin Nander’s instability, … Continue reading E139 – Ɐ Gundam Conclusion →

A Terran walks into a bar and sees a stunning Belter. They go up, ask to buy them a drink, and are gutted as they get rebuffed once again. Does this situation sound familiar to you? Then do we have the product for you!“You Must Be A Belter, Because You're Out Of This World: Never Fail Pickup Lines For Terrans” is packed page-to-page with stunning one-liners guaranteed to get you any guy, gal, or pal out in space.Listen to this sampler, and then send your first payment of 6.99 to blueline commdress B837583!DISCLAIMER: Book is intended for entertainment purposes only. The publishing company cannot be held liable for any outcomes that result from use of these lines.---Coming June 4, 2021Breathing Space, Fading Frontier---Read the transcript here.---Voiced by Vic Collins, Rue Dickey, Shannon Roby, Thomas Fleming, Vanessa Haas, Alice Kyra, Charlie Neal, Corvyn Appleby, Landon Corbin, Dusty Hill, Olivia Cottle, Cam Clark, and M. German.--Written by Lee SeguinteEdited by Landon Corbin--Music: Shades of Spring by Kevin MacLeod

Spiritual Growth for Soul Incarnations. International Reality Call in 347-945-7207. We are growing 5th dimension inward.Ascension Age Awakening Awareness changes all of us for the better. We support cyberspace culture and all levels, planes, dimensions, and universes,email: director@uap.associates. or tjmorrisagency@gmail.com,American Communications Online Broadcasting. Conversations. Interviews, Topics of Interest, Pop Culture Reviews, Authors, ACO Press Club, Archivists, Authors, Visual and Performing Artists, Pop Culture, Entertainment, Sci-Fi, ACE Folklife Historical Society Oral Books, Art-Culture-Education - Science-Technology - History - Folklife, Wisdom Speakers, Psychic Network Club, Metaphysics, Esoterics, UAP Associates, UFO Association, Integrative Medicine, Mindfulness, Health, and Wellness Coaches. Physics to Psychic University Topics. ACE Folklife Historical Society Authors, Writers, Archivists, Philosophers, Engineers, or Storytellers. Book Store Owners, Library Advocates. We love Books. Discover new worlds and words with Theresa J Morris Ministries of Education. Universal Life Pastors are Pastor RIchard T Knight, Pastor Theresa J Morris, Pastor Gigi Evans of our ACO Team. We are always looking for others who desire to share their passion in leadership, speech craft, and organization skills for our groups. Internet and social media both have a place in our cyberspace culture club. We will all do our part to share in offering support to our American Communications Online Holding Company and TJ Morris Agency service company.  Laura Leone of California first time for our Ascension Conscious Extraterrestrails (CLUB) https://patreon.com/theresajmorris.f Ascension Age Books on Amazon and Lulu by Theresa J Morris. Theta Healing by Marci Kosich does Tones. Harmony in music and finding those who can assist in our Terran Symphony be a part of our Growth!      

"Perhaps one of the great ironies of the future will be the Solcoin alliance between urbane Terrans and hillbilly belters." - Dhruv Bansal Continuing our awesome walk through Dhruv's excellent Bitcoin Astronomy series we hit Part 2 today! What does a Type II blockchain look like when we scale to a Type II society? What time scales do they operate on, and what horizons will they enable us to conquer? Can multiple blockchains resonate with each other, or is one doomed to collapse into another? You ahve to listen to find out! Check out the original article plus the incredible amount of other great writing at the Unchained Capital Blog: https://unchained-capital.com/blog/bitcoin-astronomy-part-ii/ Stack sats automatically and get $10 free to start with my referral link: http://swanbitcoin.com/guy Don't forget to check out our awesome sponsors below: BitBox - Minimal, user friendly, secure, Swiss made, open source, hardware wallet (guyswann.com/BitBox) LVL.co - The first Free, no-fee exchange & Bitcoin banking services! (guyswann.com/lvl) --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/bitcoinaudible/message

"Perhaps one of the great ironies of the future will be the Solcoin alliance between urbane Terrans and hillbilly belters." - Dhruv Bansal Continuing our awesome walk through Dhruv's excellent Bitcoin Astronomy series we hit Part 2 today! What does a Type II blockchain look like when we scale to a Type II society? What time scales do they operate on, and what horizons will they enable us to conquer? Can multiple blockchains resonate with each other, or is one doomed to collapse into another? You ahve to listen to find out! Check out the original article plus the incredible amount of other great writing at the Unchained Capital Blog: https://unchained-capital.com/blog/bitcoin-astronomy-part-ii/ Stack sats automatically and get $10 free to start with my referral link: http://swanbitcoin.com/guy Don’t forget to check out our awesome sponsors below: BitBox - Minimal, user friendly, secure, Swiss made, open source, hardware wallet (guyswann.com/BitBox) LVL.co - The first Free, no-fee exchange & Bitcoin banking services! (guyswann.com/lvl) --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/thecryptoconomy/message

Today we discuss the conclusion to "Terra Firma Part 2" in Star Trek Discovery Season 3. We see the culmination of Georgiou's character arc, which I felt was nicely done. This two-parter has definitely change the way I see Mirror Georgiou and I'm loving it. So let's dig in and see what we can find to talk about in this episode. ----more---- Transcript Welcome to Nerd Heaven I’m Adam David Collings, the author of Jewel of The Stars And I am a nerd   This is episode 47 of the podcast. Today, we’re talking about Star Trek Discovery “Terra Firma Part 2”   And big news. It’s just been announced that Star Trek Lower Decks has an international distribution deal. It’ll be arriving on Amazon Prime in the U.K., Europe, Australia, New Zealand,  Japan, India, and more on the 22nd of January.   This has been a long time coming, but we’re finally going to be able to see it. Of course, at this point, I’ve pretty much had the entire first season spoiled for me, because, you know….I have access to the internet. Still, it’s good news.   So let’s talk about Terra Firma Part 2.   The description on memory alpha reads Georgiou uncovers the true depths of the plot against her, leading her to a revelation about how deeply her time on the USS Discovery truly changed her.   The teleplay for this episode was written by Kalinda Vazquez Based on a story by Bo Yeon Kim & Erika Lippoldt & Alan McElroy It was directed by Chloe Domont​ And it first aired on the 17th of December 2020.   Make it so. We pick up where we left off, in the mirror universe, onboard the ISS Discovery. We won’t see our prime characters until this whole thing with Georgiou is over.   .Michael is dragged kicking and screaming into the brig. Begging to be killed. That’s the honourable way out for a failed traitor. The Terran empire have a lot in common with the Klingons when you think about it. And that’s nothing new.   Michael says “every moment you keep me alive proves further how weak you’ve become. We learn the reason Lorca moved against her, the reason he got to Michael is because Mirror Georgiou was already being considered weak. She was losing her harsh edge, even before she met prime Michael. It turns out half of her biography opera was a lie. One thing I forgot to mention last week was how the story portrayed Georgiou as a peasant who rose up the ranks to emperor. I wonder if this part was true or false. This is a fascinating insight into her backstory, and while it may be a little bit of a retcon, it helps to make sense of the arc the character has been on.   Now that she's back in the mirror universe, Georgiou is learning just how much she’s changed. And Micahel is noticing. Rescuing Kelpiens, fretting over artists.   Interestingly, Gorgeous is starting to see what mirror Spock ultimately saw, with a little help from prime Kirk. The Terran Empire is not sustainable. They can’t go on like they are forever. Its downfall is inevitable. She tries to explain this to Michael.   Georgiou is only holding on to her power, at present, because of the loyalty of those who still serve her, like Owo and Killy. But how long will she be able to hold on to their loyalty if she really pursues peace?   Michael mentions an alliance is forming against them. This is the coalition we saw in season 1. Vulcans, Klingons, Andorians, Tellarite. Michael mentions a bunch of other races including the Denobulans, which was cool.   I have to assume the coalition of this time will eventually morph into the alliance that we saw in the mirror universe during Deep Space Nine. At that time, the empire had fallen and the alliance ruled the galaxy with almost as strong a fist as their predecessors. The main powers behind the alliance were the Klingons and the Cardassians.   The first thing Killy asks when she has a minute alone with Georgiou is “Why is Michael Burnham still taking up oxygen on my ship?” Killy already has her doubts about the emperor. Could Michael be right? Is Georgiou weak? I’m sure Killy has seen it. She knows Georgiou has changed. The only question she needs to wrestle with now is “what do I do about it?” Which option will best serve Captain Killy? She remains loyal, and I don’t think it’s because of anything Georgiou says here about trying to reforge a broken michael into a loyal subject. It’s because Killy doesn’t currently have the resources she needs to lead a revolution of her own. Terrans don’t really care about loyalty. They look out for number one. And she still thinks it’s in her best interest to support Georgiou.   I also think she is genuinely enamoured with the idea of being given the job of breaking Micahel. That sounds like a fun challenge to her. One she will embrace. Apparently, there is no greater interrogator than Killy. And that scares the hell out of me.   And then we get mirror universe opening credits. Just like Enterprise did with In a Mirror Darkly. Though they’re not as changed as what Enterprise did. The inverted colours work for me. The upside-down imagery not so much. I don’t really get that.  Had it been me, I’d have changed the starfleet logos to Terran empire logos. That kind of thing. But that would have taken a lot more work than just turning everything upside down.   Michael is pretty confident they won’t break her. At least, that’s what she says. I imagine that Terrans have a higher tolerance for pain than we do. I understand it was a little bit like that in the middle ages. When pain is a normal part of life, it’s not pleasant, but it’s accepted more readily. At least, so I’m told.   Killy’s interrogation doesn’t last long. She asks Michael to pledge her loyalty. Then zaps her with the agoniser booth. And then says “we’ll try again tomorrow. You don’t mind sleeping in there do you?” And this is pretty horrifying. She’s left in the booth all night. And every now and then, when she’s least expecting it, it will fire up and put her into incredible pain.   The agnoiser technology itself is horrific. The human body eventually shuts down to protect itself from pain, but this technology is designed to circumvent that, so the victim continues to feel the agony. So Detmer comes to see Michael. They all know these two were working together. Detmer tries to convince her to give in, because she won’t be able to cope with uch more. Plus, nobody has heard from Lorca. Which means he has abandoned Michael. There is no sense remaining loyal to him. And all of this makes a lot of sense. Lorca knows his rebellion is beaten. He can’t do it without Michael. That’s why he went through so many hoops to bring prime michael into the mirror universe. This also means they don’t have to bring Jason Isaacs back again. Which is a shame.   It also makes sense that Michael gives into Georgiou at this point. IF she is being offered a chance to redeem herself she’d be stupid and stubborn not to take it.   Then there’s a rather sweet scene as Georgiou shares a memory of walking with Michael through her night terrors to see the fireflies. She leaves a jar of fireflies on Michael's bed. And we get the impression that Georgiou is finally getting through to Michael.   And I think she actually is.   It’s obvious that Georgiou loves Michael as a daughter, and always did. And so she presents herself. I’m ready to pledge my loyalty to you.   But there’s a question here we’re all asking. Is she genuine, or is this all just part of Michael’s plan?   Michael goes and kills all her co-conspirators. (at least, those who are nearby. Lorca and his offsider are gonna be harder to find. There’s a cool shootout with Landry.   When Michael and Detmer come in with the badges of all the dead conspirators, it becomes clear that the forgiveness Georgiou is showing Michael doesn’t extend to Detmer. The kitchen is no longer serving Kelpien. Another of Georgiou’s changes. She can no longer stomach the idea of eating sentient beings. She no longer sees them as animals. She’s gotten to know Saru.   I think Michael is being honest when she says she no longer loves Lorca, and is willing to kill him. He abandoned her.   The culmination of Georgiou’s transformation comes when she tells Saru the truth about vahari. Essentially she frees the Kelpien people by revealing this information to him and telling him to share it with others.   Goergiou’s transformation has been accelerated by coming back to the mirror universe. Had she not come here, it would have remained the slow and steady change we’ve seen over the last few years. Sometimes you have to be reminded to who you were, in order to appreciate and embrace who you are becoming. This is all very well done, and is the heart of this two-parter.   And Georgiou says this world is her home. She vows to remain here and re-shape it into what it needs to become. Much as Spock will later on.   So now they’re on the hunt for Lorca, and they’re going to find him through his off-sider, Duggen. They find him in orbit of Risa.   And this is really cool. LAst week, we saw the return of Hannah Cheesman, who played Arium in season 2. She was just in the background, wearing a Terran uniform, but it wasn’t made clear exactly what role she was playing. Was this just an easter egg, like how they got all the alien actors to play humans in Vic’s bar in the final episode of DS9?   Now, we get confirmation she is indeed playing Arium. Remember, Arium was human, but she was injured in an accident and made into a cyborg in order to survive.   It seems that the mirror arium had no such accident and remained human. This also confirms that her name was Arium even when she was still human.   I love this. Very nice touch.   So they beam Duggen aboard to question him about Lorca.   And this is when the surprising but inevitable betrayal happens. Nice little nod to Firefly for you. All through this episode, I’ve hoped that Georgiou was successful in rehabilitating mirror Michael - turning her into something new. But deep down, always knowing that at any time, she may turn on Georgiou. So we’re really not surprised when it happens. Gorgeous isn’t surprised either. She’s become a lot more soft-hearted but she’s not stupid. She knew this was a likely scenario when Michael pledged her loyalty. She hoped for the best but she prepared for the worst.   Michael knew, the minute Goergiou spared her life, that she could never respect her mother again.   I love it when Georgiou says “I have changed. I have seen another way to live. Another way to rule.”   The prime universe has really had an impact on her.   So the battle begins. And again, it’s a cool fight. Discovery has always done action well.   Michael had a lot of people loyal to her. Were Culbert, Nilsson and the others co-conspirators all along, that Michael chose not to kill, or has she recruited them since her false return to grace? I suspect the latter.   Sadly, Georgiou is left with no other choice but to kill her daughter. Again.   Georgiou wakes up back on Dannus 5 with Michael and Carl.   She’s been in the mirror universe for months. From Michael’s perspective she passed out for less than a minute, but her wrist monitor has recorded 3 months of bio-readings.   She wasn’t transported bodily. She shared the body of an alternate Georgiou.  Carl has essentially spun off a new timeline off the mirror universe we know. A timeline that Georgiou has affected greatly. One where the Kelpiens may gain their freedom from the terran empire. Where some good has been done, at least.   Michael and Georgiou keep asking Carl, who are you really. The same question we’ve been asking. And finally, he answers. I am the Guardian of Forever. And they use the original voice recording from the original series. I thought the guardian was voiced by James doohna. I know he did a lot of alien voices, but no, the guardian was played by Bart LaRue. Apparently Doohan voiced the Guardian in the animated series, though. But I haven’t seen that episode. I really need to finish watching the animated series. It’s not great, but it’s still Star Trek.   Sadly, I didn’t feel anything much from this reveal, because it was spoiled for me. I woke up Friday morning, and within minutes, I saw this big reveal spoiled on Instagram. I was quite unhappy.   Spoilers are an interesting thing. I think there’s some responsibility on both sides. I’ve seen people on social media who’ve said things like “I plan to see this movie months after it releases, and heaven help anyone who spoils it for me.” That seems unreasonable. If you’re gonna wait that long, you have to take a little responsibility for protecting yourself, and understand that spoilers likely will happen during that time. But for a spoiler like this to be posted before the episode has even gone live on most of the planet, well, I think that’s a bit unfair. But, those who posted it have apologised and are going to hold to a 24 hour grace period, which I think is a really good idea.   Lower Decks is an interesting case. I’ve had much of that spoiled for me, because I move in the Star Trek circles online. I mean, that’s how I market this podcast. I don’t blame those who have posted spoilers. You can’t expect them to wait 6 months to talk about anything. I can’t even fully blame CBS. COVID kinda messed up their plans for releasing Star Trek.   Anyway, the door breaks apart and re-forms into the familiar stone portal from City on the Edge of Forever. I’m kinda surprised they went there. There was always a lot of controversy and disagreement around the use of the Guardian of Forever in Star Trek while Harlan Ellison was alive. I guess some agreement was met between CBS and his estate.   But this reveal is kinda like the reveal of Khan in Star Trek Into Darkness. It’s played as this big dramatic reveal, but it means nothing to Michael and Gaorgiou. It’s all just for the audience. Personally, I would have dispensed with the artificial suspense and just revealed the guardian properly in part 1. There’s no real reason for it to disguise as a door. A slight reason, perhaps, given it’s in hiding, but then why reveal itself now?   So we get some backstory of what’s happened with the guardian since TOS. When the temporal wars began, everyone kept trying to use the guardian as a weapon to kill each other. It wasn’t pretty. I can well understand the guardian not wanting to be used like that. So, it hid. It removed itself from its original location and hid here on Dannus 5. That makes sense. I kinda like how they tied the guardian into the temporal wars.   But what do I really think of this reveal? Well, it’s cool to see the guardian of forever again. No questions. It was one of my favourite things introduced in TOS. In fact, City on the Edge of Forever is my favourite TOS episode. But is this a good use of it?   I like the character of Carl. He’s cool. He has a fun personality. But, that’s not a personality I associate with the guardian of forever. The appeal of the guardian was it’s mysterious nature. Part mechanism, part being. Both and Neither. That big booming voice. And part of it’s appeal was also it’s setting. That mysterious ancient alien city left in ruins. Where did it come from? How and why was it created?   As much as I like Carl, I feel that he humanises the Guardian of Forever too much. I don’t want it to be humanised. I want it to remain mysterious and alien. That doesn’t mean I don’t want answers to some of the questions about it, but …. I don’t want it to be turned into a pleasant gentleman from the  1930s.   So ultimately, I think this was a mistake. I think they should have either: Made it obviously the guardian from the beginning and do away with Carl altogether. Or Forget the guardian, and just have Carl be a Q (which I still think really fits his personality) or have him be something new. Some new alien with Godlike powers.    I’ve always wanted to see the Guardian of Forever again, but just not like this.   But all of that aside, let’s look at what is explained next, because I do really like it. Georgiou is still dying. She wasn’t sent back to be cured. She was sent back to be weighed. To be tested. To see if she was worthy of the Guardian’s help. Would she make different choices? Has her time in the prime universe changed her? She doesn’t belong here, but sending her somewhere else could cause a lot of problems. The guardian doesn’t want to inflict another time or place with the dangerous Emperor Georgiou. But is she still dangerous?   What’s interesting is that Georgiou assumes she’s failed the test. She killed her daughter. Again. Carl is more interested in her heart than the outcome. And I like that.   Georgiou doesn’t want to go back to the mirror universe. Why would she? But that’s not carl’s plan. He’s going to send her to a time when the prime and mirror universes were still aligned, where her cells won’t fall apart. He doesn’t say exactly where or when. And we’ll talk about that shortly because I have some thoughts.   Carl believes Michael is just where she needs to be, so she can’t go with Georgiou. It’s nice that Geirgiou wants her, though.   So we have a very touching farewell between these two characters. It was wonderful.   We get a brief mention of Husan, the name mentioned in Georgiou’s episodes. She still doesn’t explain who he is, or what he meant to her. Michael tells her to tell the people she’s about to meet. So I guess this backstory will be revealed in the section 31 show. okay.   Georgiou has one final word of wisdom for Michael. This century is more Terran than the 23rd. Saru has navigated the change admirably but he’s not the only one suited for the captain’s chair. I’m not sure exactly what they’re trying to imply, but I thought we were done with the whole, will Michael take the captain’s chair thing. The way I see it, the only way for Michael to become captain of Discovery in any way that I'll accept is to get Saru out of the picture. Either kill or promote him. And frankly, I don’t want that, because Saru is one of my favourite characters.   And then she steps thorough, and is gone.   It’s funny. I really liked the prime Georgiou character, but never quite warmed to mirror Georgiou in the same way. But now, well, I’m really going to miss her.   So …. Where has she ended up?   For a long time, fans have been saying that Georgiou has to return to the 23rd century so she can star in the section 31 show. Now while I’ve never dismissed that possibility, my response has always been “Why are you assuming the section 31 show will be set in the 23rd century. We’ve never been told anything that would suggest that.” But people have been treated that as gospel.   I always thought there was at least an equal chance that the section 31 show would be set here in the 32nd century. Georgiou would leave Discovery to work with section 31 as she had in the past.   Well, we know that’s not the cast anymore.   The most obvious answer to the question is that she has returned to the 23rd century, as so many fans always assumed. And that’s a very likely scenario. But is it the only possibility?   Carl said he was sending her to a time when the prime and mirror universes were aligned. We know they were closely aligned in the 22nd, 23rd and 24th centuries, and on into the 27th, that was the time of the last incursion.   So Goergiou could be going anywhere within that window.   Here’s a wild theory for you. What if she’s going to the 24th, or early 25th century? That’s the time where we first learned about section 31, in Deep Space Nine. That’s where section 31 was used most effectively in story-telling.   This newly changed mirror Georgiou would fit in well with 24th-century section 31, and might even make them a little more moral than they are.   What if the setting of the Section 31 show is just after DS9, or more likely, around the time of Star Trek Picard? I can see that making a lot of sense, and I’d definitely be up for that.   Here’s an even wilder theory. She has been sent back to the time of Enterprise, and she ends up being the founder of Section 31.   I really like what they’ve done with Georgiou’s character. I used to complain that she was not evil enough, given who she was. But now, I have a different perspective. I see now that her time in the prime timeline has gradually changed her. Made her better., And I love that. And I really like the person she has ended up being. I think the arc could have been done a little smoother. I think they were kinda making it up as they went, rather than planning it from day 1, which is a shame. These things always work better for me when they’re been planned in advance.   So .. I’m not totally ready for a Michelle Yeoh lead spin-off. My only concern about the show is how they’re going to treat section 31. I felt that Discovery season 2 kinda ruined section 31. They didn’t handle it well. Have they learned from this? Will the section 31 we see in the new show be more like the section 31 we saw in Deep Space Nine? I can only hope. But I’m very eager to learn more about the show now. I’m especially keen to learn what the setting will be.   I’ll probably be disappointed if I learn it’s back in the 23red century. Strange New Worlds has that era covered. And honestly, I’m not pinning to have Tyler back. I didn’t like this character in season 2, so I don’t think he needs to be part of the new show.   Time will tell.   We finally return to Discovery, to see what our other characters are up to. Adira and Stamets are still trying to hack into the Kelpien ship’s sensors. But they’re having trouble. Book turns up with a device that will help. It’s emerald chain technology. So they finally check in with Vance, who is very concerned about using Chain technology on a Starfleet ship. It could be dangerous and Starfleet can’t afford to risk having their only ship with a spore drive compromised. Book is absolutely convinced it is safe. But I’m still concerned. They’re obviously setting something up here. I think it’ll become problematic in the next couple of episodes.   So this whole thing of Saru delaying his report on the Kelpien ship. I’m not fully following that.   Saru hasn’t seen another Kelpien in a long time, and this is a Kelpien ship. But ….. So what? It’s not like the Kelpiens are extinct. They’re a Federation member. Kaminar is still out there. I don’t quite understand Saru’s reason for not reporting the information to Vance as soon as he knew it. Did he think Vance would not want them to rescue it? I just don’t get it. I don’t know what the writers are getting at here.   Then we get another touching scene. It’s not quite a funeral, it’s just a little get -together to remember their friend who they’ll never see again. It was a lovely scene.   And this ends the story of Phillipa Gaorgiou, closing a story that began with the first episode of season 1.   In a way, this two-parter has seemed a bit like a distraction from the greater season plot, but I’m totally cool with it. The character arcs are just as important to this season as the burn story is.   And I, for one, have really enjoyed Terra Firma Parts 1 and 2. We’re getting close to the end now. Just 3 episodes to go. Next week we’ll be talking about episode 11 “The Citadel.” I’m excited to see what happens as the season’s plot arc goes into top gear. It should be cool.   And I’ll be watching that episode on Christmas day. But I’ll be on holiday by then.I plan to get my podcast out Monday morning, Australian time, as always.   I’ve revamped the books page on my website, so if you’re interested in trying out some of my fiction, you can see it all nicely laid out at AdamDavidCollings.com/books I’d encourage you to check it out.   Until I see you next, have a great week, Merry Christmas, live long and prosper.

In the newest episode of Star Trek Discovery, the crew finally locate Starfleet headquarters, in what is a fanboy extravaganza. We see Voyager J and the USS Nog. I love the back and forth between Admiral Vance and Saru and Burnham. Can they convince him to trust them, and is coming back to Starfleet, after so many centuries all they hoped it would be? Another great episode of Star Trek. ----more---- Transcript Welcome to Nerd Heaven I’m Adam David Collings, the author of Jewel of The Stars And I am a nerd.   This is episode 42 of the podcast. Yes. 42. A very significant nerd number. Let’s just take a moment to appreciate life, the universe, and everything.   Ok. on with it. Today, we’re talking about Star Trek Discovery season 3 episode 5. Die Trying.   The description on Memory Alpha reads After reuniting with what remains of Starfleet and the Federation, the USS Discovery and its crew must prove that a 930 year old crew and starship are exactly what this new future needs.   The teleplay was written by Sean Cochran based on a story by James Duff & Sean Cochrane. It was directed by Maja Vrvilo And it first aired on the 12th of November 2020.   Make it so.   The episode opens with Saru giving a captain’s log. And that’s awesome. I believe it’s the first time we’ve heard him utter those iconic words. The interesting thing is, it’s a supplemental log. Last week started the same way, with Doctor Culbert giving a supplemental log. A supplemental log is just that … it’s a supplement. The original series used supplemental logs as a little catch-up for those viewers coming in part-way through the broadcast who might have missed the beginning of the episode. In-universe, it’s like an addition to the day’s log. Now it’s conceivable that we would open a story with them supplementing their log, but the things they say just don’t feel very supplemental. They feel like the main content of a log. The first two seasons of this show often used supplemental logs to good effect, because it meant they didn’t have to quote a stardate, and they had no good system for stardates in the pre-TOS era. But we’re now in the 32nd century, and we have a good Stardate system. In fact, a stardate is mentioned later in the episode. So why are doing all these supplemental logs at the start of episodes? Feel a little weird.   But anyway, Saru is giving a captain’s log. And I love that.   Discovery is about to arrive at the coordinates where they’ll find the headquarters for both Starfleet and The Federation. And it’s nice to see that the writers are finally understanding the distinction and relationship between those two entities.   There’s a hint of misgiving in Saru’s voice. They don’t know what the Federation or Starfleet look like in this century. Will they be eager to see a 930 year old ship? Will the Discovery crew have a hope of fitting in with this version of Starfleet? Will the common ideals remain enough to bind them together? As they were in the fantastic crossover novel Star Trek Federation by Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stephens. Great book. Check it out if you haven’t read it.   Michael doesn’t just want to know what’s become of Starfleet in this universe. She wants to find out what happened to her mother. Maybe there will be some answers here.   So, headquarters is contained in a distortion field meant to hide it. I’m not sure it’s very effective. It’s this big glow blob thing that must raise a few eyebrows, both visually, and on sensors. But anyway,   Discovery flies in.  Have you noticed that the shuttle bay doors always seem to be open these days. I know they have a forcefield to hold in the atmosphere, but that’s just meant to be up while the doors are open for ships to come in and out. It’s kind of weird that they just fly around with it open all the time. Very odd. I mean, it looks cool on screen, but it’s not very practical.   This opening sequence is just a massive Star Trek geek-out. We get to see a bunch of 32nd century Starfleet ships, but we don’t get a really good look at them. The lighting in this shot seems designed to obscure them, more than show them off, which I think is a terrible shame. I want to get a sense of these ships. One of them seems to have really long nacelles, like Discovery. Another seems to be shaped like a donut.   The looks on everyone’s faces is priceless, and kind of matches how we’d all feel if we were suddenly in the heart of Starfleet territory, surrounded by ships.   The crew notice ships with neutronium alloy fibres, organic hulls, ships that are entirely holographic, a new USS Constitution that can sleep a crew of two thousand, detached nacelles, and a flying rainforest.   And then we see the USS Voyager. NCC 74658-J Which is really cool. Not all Starfleet ships that re-use the name of a previous vessel get the letters in the registry. Often, they just get a brand new number. It’s only special ships that retain that registry number and add a letter on the end. Enter Enterprise was one example. It seems Voyager is another. And that makes sense. Voyager’s journey home from the Delta Quadrant would be the stuff of legend in this day and age. We don’t get a great look at the new Voyager, but its primary hull seems to follow a similar shape to the original. It’s the eleventh ship to bear the name. Memory Alpha has said that Voyager J is a 32nd century intrepid class vessel. But that doesn’t make sense. The intrepids were a class of ships used in the 24th century. Starfleet doesn’t re-use the class name like that. If it were intrepid class, it should look exactly like the original voyager. Anyway, this isn’t on-screen canon.   And then the big moment, we fly past the USS Nog. NCC-325070 This is a blink and you’ll miss it moment, and honestly, you’ll probably miss it even if you don’t blink. You can barely read the name with all the lense flare going on. This particular moment was spoiled for me by the internet, because I don’t get Discovery until Friday night, here in Australia. So I spent the whole episode waiting for the USS Nog to show up. I expected it to be a significant part of the story. It wasn’t. It was just a quick visual easter egg. But, it’s an awesome one. I love that they did this. Alex Kurtzman has confirmed this ship is named after the character Nog on Deep Space Nine, who was the first Ferengi to join Starfleet. And he’s said this is an Eisenberg class ship. This, of course, honours the late Aron Eisenberg who played Nog, and who tragically died just over a year ago. In my opinion, Nog was one of the greatest characters in all of Star Trek. He had the greatest character arc the show has ever done, and by all accounts, Mr. Eisenberg was a wonderful human being. So I’m thrilled that Discovery honoured him in this way.   After Discovery hails headquarters, letting them know the USS Discovery is reporting for duty, they ask for the Captain, First office and Tal to beam aboard. Their sensors can detect the presence of the symbiont.   As they are snatched away by a transporter beam, the musical score goes full-on fanboy, which honestly was appropriate for this moment.   We get a decent look at the new Starfleet uniforms. They’re similar, but not quite identical to what we saw in Tal’s memories last episode.   They look like a decent continuation of the style we’ve seen on the USS Relativity, and from the temporal agents in the temporal cold war.   There’s a bunch of different uniforms. The admiral uniform is different, obviously, as it always is. Then there are light grayish blue uniforms with a stripe going up them in traditional TNG-era department colours. But there is another uniform, light dray on the bottom with dark blue shoulders, in a shape I’m not sure how to describe in words. This is worn by the chief of security and at least one other officer. This particular uniform looks the least Starfleet and seems to be out of place among the others.   Oh, and the com badges are not identical to the one worn by Admiral Sena Tal. I actually prefer Tal’s com badge, because the Starfleet delta is a bit more visible. But anyway.   And we meet Admiral Vence, commander-in-chief of Starfleet.   Saru is delighted to learn that Kaminar joined the federation.   We learn about The Omega Chain, a coalition of Andorian and Orions. And we learn of someone called Osyraa, who is becoming more brazen every day. I imagine we’ll learn more of him and his organisation in future episodes. The omega chain gets name-dropped again later.   The admiral knew Sela Tal, but makes it clear that he and Adira are strangers to one another. And then Adira is taken off for a medical diagnostic. And that’s the last we see of her in this episode. I wonder what all of that is about. Maybe they just want to make sure that the symbiant and the human host are healthy with one another. But the Trill themselves would have been better equipped to determine that.  I’m really curious what that’s all about.   I noticed, on my first watch, there was a little visual easter egg, a mention of the Kazon on a computer monitor. I imagine that before the burn, the Federation’s influence extended into the Delta Quadrant. Maybe even the Gamma Quadrant as well. Distances that were insurmountable for Voyager were probably considered “just next door” before the burn.   This season, and this episode in particular, are making me feel the same way that I first felt when I started watching TNG. This is Star Trek, but it’s a whole new Star Trek. It’s a great feeling. I enjoyed the first two seasons of this show, but I’m loving this season way more than I was expecting to.   But then we learn about the Kili. Some refugees of a cool-looking new alien race are sick with some kind of disease which is plaguing their world. Burnham is immediately keen to help with that problem, but Vance wants to hear their story first.   And I’m pleased to see they are finally telling someone the truth about their situation. The whole truth. Control, the sphere data, the spore drive. The red angel. All of it. And I’m glad about that. The whole hiding who they were thing was starting to get a bit old, and well...strange.   The rather annoying EMH notes that Saru may be the last Kelpien who still retains biochemical traces of Vahar’ai. Which is odd, because Vahar’ai is basically a stage of development, like puberty. So we are to say that the offspring of Kelpiens who have gone through Vahar’ai and shed their ganglia, are born without ganglia of their own, they are are born as “evolved Kelpiens” as the second season episode rather incorrectly called them. That’s weird. Remember, long ago, there were “evolved Kelpiens,” but the Ba’ul forced them back into their pre-vahar’ai state. None of this has been explained very well.   There are currently 38 member worlds of the Federation that Vance is aware of. There may be other worlds out there that still consider themselves members, but have lost all contact. There were 350 member worlds at the Federation’s peak. I wonder when exactly that peak happened.   And I do still love the floating tables and chairs. They’re cool.   The EMH, Eli has confirmed that Saru and Michael are not lying. But Starfleet records hold no references to Control, a red angel or a spire drive. Thanks, Spock.   So he’s understandably skeptical. He can’t corroborate their story. And the Federation spent most of the 30th century fighting a war to uphold the temporal accords. We, of course, know this as the temporal cold war. Time travel is outlawed. Which means, the Discovery crew’s presence here is by definition, a crime.   This all makes perfect sense. Given their past, the present-day Starfleet would be very uncomfortable with time-travellers, even if they claim to have come from a time far predating the temporal war.   Are the discovery crew here as an attempt by somebody to change the future? He can’t rule that out. And he shouldn’t.   He can’t afford to trust them without evidence.   You’ll notice that Starfleet, and Vance in particular, is the antagonist of this episode, because he opposes Saru and Michael’s goal. He stands in the way as an obstacle to what they want.   Note, that doesn’t make him a villain. This isn’t evil Starfleet. I think a lot of fans have had enough of evil Starfleet lately. No. This is Starfleet being cautious, as they should.   Vane plans to requisition Discovery for analysis and retrofit, and split up the crew. This immediately gets our heckles up. That sounds terrible. The crew of Discovery are a family. (and yes in this season, they have earned that descriptor). The reason they all left their lives behind to come into the future was so that Michael wouldn’t have to be alone here. If they are split up now, it defeats that whole purpose. They might as well have remained in the 23rd century and let Michael fly Discovery on auto-pilot as she originally planned.   This is really upsetting to all of them, and not something any of them are going to want to take sitting down. And I’m totally on their side in this.   However. What Vance is saying makes sense from his point of view. If the Discovery crew are here for some nefarious reason, it decreases the probability of them being able to carry out whatever it is they intend by breaking them up, separating them randomly. It seems harsh, but I understand why he’s doing it.   Vance asks Saru to put the needs to Starfleet ahead of the needs of his crew. That’s hard.   There’s a fantastic scene between Saru and Michael, back in Discovery’s ready room. Michael is all worked up about this, and understandably. She makes some good practical points why Vance is wrong. Why the crew should be kept together. They know this ship. They know the spore drive, and if this family is broken up now, some may never recover. All true.   But Saru rightly points out that it’s Vance’s call. He’s the admiral. He’s the commander in chief. They chose to rejoin Starfleet. They could have just stayed out there as a rogue element, like so many others in the galaxy. They chose to come back and submit themselves to Starfleet’s chain of command.   The balanced, two-sided conflict here is delicious.   Michael is all set to steal information about the Kili, so they can help cure the disease and prove their worth. Saru has to remind her that Starfleet officers don’t operate that way. A lesson he thought she’s learned by now, after her ill-fated mutiny on the Shenzhou. And I think she had, but she’s been living as a free spirit in this century for a year. She admitted she’d let go of a lot of things. She needs to be reigned in by Saru, and she knows it. Her humble realisation of that is nicely portrayed.   While the crew are interrogated, with various levels of cooperation, Saru and Burnham attempt to request the roster of planets the Kili visited through official channels.   They’re starting to get through to Lieutenant Willa.   Burnham’s unique knowledge of the past helps her to solve the mystery of the Kili Illness. The only way to cure it is to get a hold of some pre-mutated plants from Urna. The only place to find this is a Federation seed vault ship, which still exists today.  The USS Tikhov. It holds samples of every plant in the galaxy. It’s like a vast seed library.   The problem is, the Tikhov is four months away. The spore drive is the obvious solution. But the only crew-member Vance needs is Stammets.   He’s gonna put a new crew of trusted officers on Discovery. Burnham makes some valid points in argument, but as usual, her tone is insubordinate. It takes Saru to find the diplomatic middle-road. He’ll remain on the station, kind of like collateral. Burnham will command the Discovery, but Willa and two security officers will accompany them. You see, Vance is not completely unreasonable. But he does need to be convinced.   So they jump to the Tikhov’s coordinates, but the ship is stuck in an ion storm. They have to reach in and tractor them out. And this is where we get another great Detmer scene. As things get tense, she starts to blank out. She’s going all distant again. Because once again, the pressure is all riding on her shoulders. But Owo notices she's freezing and gives her some reassuring words. “You have time. You can do this.” And it’s enough to pull Detmer back, now that she’s being honest. I really liked this. I can see a real friendship growing between those two characters. Kind of like a Geordi / Data thing, or a Tom and Harry thing.   The most interesting part of the interrogations is definitely the Georgiou stuff. The bit where she shuts down holograms by blinking at them is kinda weird. The guy who questions her is kind of interesting. He wears glasses because he thinks they make him look smarter. (Remember even in the 23rd century glasses were mostly a thing of the past, unless you’re allergic to Retinax V like Kirk) He reminds me a little of Bill Nighy.   He’s fascinated by Georgiou and the Terrans in particular. They build an empire based on the maxim, because we feel like it. So why did she join a Starfleet crew? He figures out she has a personal stake. She cares, personally, for Michael. He also figures out that the only way he’ll glean information from her is by the questions she asks him. Nice. She wants to know who is really calling the shots in the galaxy today. Who caused the burn? Are they the same? You can see that she’s already planning her next move. Is she wanting to take over the whole thing for herself? Maybe set herself up as an emperor again? It’s in her nature. But she learns that the terran empire fell centuries ago, which we know from Deep Space Nine. It’s all thanks for mirror Spock’s preaching of peace, as motivated by Kirk. but as Kirk pointed out, the empire could not stand forever. It would fall eventually. This really seems to have rattled her. WE also learn that the distance between our universe and the mirror universe started expanding after she crossed over. I wonder what caused that. Kirk’s encounter there? Something else? There hasn’t been a crossing in over 500 years. That puts the last crossing at no later than the 27th century. He said over 500, so I wonder exactly how much earlier it was. And I wonder what the mirror universe looks like now, in 3189. Different Federation worlds take turns looking after the seed vault. At present, it’s a Barzan family. Nahn is excited to learn that her people joined the federation in the 25th century.   The Tikhov is overgrown with plants, which is a little weird. It’ll be explained later, of course. They find a holo recording of the Barzan family. Someone is humming a tune. The same lullaby that Adira was playing on the cello. This appears to be quite the mystery, and we’ll come back to it at the end of the episode. Don’t let me forget.   While looking through the logs, Nhan learns that something terrible happened here. A light hurt the wife and kids. The husband hoped a cure could be found in the vault. He’s been growing the plants from the seed vault, searching for answers.   Culbert finds the wife and kids dead in stasis. The husband, Attis is in a weird state. He appears and disappears. He’s out of phase.   Nahn says that Barzans don’t have the same concept of death as humans. But she doesn’t really explain what that means. Attis clearly believes he can find a way to bring his dead family back to life. I wish they’d explored this concept a little more. Because at face value it doesn’t make sense. What exactly do Barzan’s believe about death?   They can’t get into the seed vault without Attis’s password. So they have to find a way to reason with him.   Stamets, Reno and Tilly figure out that the ship was hit by a coronal mass ejection. Attis was beaming at the time, which is why he survived, but also why he’s out of phase, kinda mid-transport.   But they cure him of this with the transporter.   And Michael manages to get through to him. He gets her the seeds she needs to save the Kili.   But Attis won’t leave the Tikhov. He won’t leave his family. I don’t understand. Can’t they beam his family on board with him, while he gets medical treatment. Is this just a suicidal thing because he can’t bear to live without his family?   Michael wants to force him to come, because if he stays, the seeds will be lost? A valuable part of Federation history. I guess, she assumes if he stays, he’ll keep taking the seeds and growing them, depleting the supplies from the vault. So Nahn decides to stay behind and watch the seeds, fulfilling the Barzan watch. She’s suddenly feeling very connected to her people.   Somehow, Nahn again connects this, emotionally, to Arium’s death. I still don’t quite understand the connection. I was shocked that Nahn was leaving the ship here, because they’ve only just promoted her character to the opening credits of the show. So, I’m convinced we haven’t seen the last of her. Anyway, it was nice to see her so happy. So it seems that Michael has proven herself and the Discovery crew to Vance. He is willing to put them back on the active duty roster. But Starfleet doesn’t have 5-year missions anymore. Exploration is a luxury they can no longer afford.   Saru argues, via a historical anecdote, that their unique position, from a revered time, might help the Federation to look up, to regain some parts of itself that it has lost. Vance agrees that Starfleet has been in triage for a long time. He’s willing to let the crew stay together, but they’ll go where he says, when he says. There’s still a way to go to making the Federation what it once was. As for exploration, well, everything in this century is a new frontier for the discovery crew, so in that sense, they are exploring.   It’s nice to see them all come to an agreement.   Burnham really wants to know more about the burn. There are a lot of theories about what caused it. They’ve never found sufficient evidence to support one over the other. He feels there are no further conclusions to draw unless someone can find additional evidence, but there are more important concerns right now.   I like how Burnham takes this as a personal challenge to find new evidence, but at the same time, acknowledges that right now, it’s not the highest priority. She’ll keep her eyes open, but she’ll follow orders.   This feels like a big turning point in the season. They’re now accepted into Starfleet. No longer are they doing their own thing. They’ll be receiving missions. It’s a nice little status -quo shift.   Now, back to that music. Lieutenant Willa says half the people here know some version of that music, including he. Barzans, a Trill living on Earth. They all know this mysterious piece of music, but don’t know why, and yet, they’re separated by vast distances due to the shortage of dilithium. Willa can’t explain it, but isn’t going to lose any sleep over it. But it’s got Michael intrigued. And it’s got me intrigued too. I really hope they can pull off a satisfying conclusion to the mysteries they’re raising this season. The resolution of the red angel thing last season was not all I had hoped for. But I’m feeling optimistic.   Gorgeous is acting really weird. She doesn’t even notice Michael for a moment. I think she’s in grief that the Terran empire fell, and that she’s so far from her home, probably never to see it again. But I also think she’s plotting. And that worries me quite a bit. But at the same time, I’m pleased that they’re being honest with her character. As she said, she’s wicked, even for a Terran. In season 2, I think the writers forgot that.   Saru needs to remind Michael to choose her words more carefully with the Admiral in future. If he’d been a less reasonable man, things might not have ended up so well. I’m excited to see where this new status quo is going to take us. What mission will Vance send the Discovery on next week? It’ll be exciting to find out. Most Star Trek shows find themselves in their third season. It was true of TNG, DS9, Voyager, and Enterprise. It seems to be true of Discovery as well. They’ve found a good balance that I think will appeal to a wide variety of Star Trek fans. The tone feels way more Star Trek than previous seasons, but there’s still enough character focus to satisfy me. And while I enjoyed the darker tone in season 1, I don’t think they’ve over-compensates. They found a tone that I’m still good with. After all, I already liked Star Trek before it got dark with DS9, Discovery, and Picard.   Personally, I think there’s room for lots of different types of Star Trek, but what they’ve hit this season is the type that will have the broadest appeal, I think. I’m hoping it wins back some fans who had previously been anti-discovery.   Next week’s episode is called Scavengers. That’s all we know about it so far.   Last year, I wrote a Christmas sci-fi short story, set in my Jewel of the Stars universe. I put it up on Wattpad, where you can still read it for free, but I’ve just published it on all the major eBook retailers, where you can find it for 99 cents. So whichever way you prefer to read it, I’d encourage you to check it out. It’s a nice little story to get you in the festive mood. Because Christmas does seem to be coming a bit early this year. After a very strange year, I don’t blame people for wanting to hold onto something happy and fun.   Anyway, my story is called The Christmas Star Disaster. You can find it at Books2read.com/christmasstar and that’s the number 2.   See you next week. Live long and prosper. Make it so.  

Years have passed. The war is over. Peace has struck a tenuous balance amid the Galaxy. However, there are still questions that linger - and perhaps the new delegation of Terrans that have arrived will hold the answers. Either way, Daoket recognizes that political game has just become much more interesting.This episode is performed by Corey Hawkins, Haley Joel Osment, and Jaboukie Young-White.CHRYSALIS is written by SH Serrano, adapted by Stephen Michael and Macklen Makhloghi, and executive produced by Corey Hawkins. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Tabrat tamadalt n Radio Adventist

Tabrat tamadalt n Radio Adventist

Oh my, oh my, oh my. We’re late for an appointment at the palace! In this episode of Set Phasers, Steph and Akie discuss the insanity of the Mirror Universe, the nameless Emperor of the Terrans is revealed, delicacies are shared — and also: secrets? Or maybe not. Also, there’s a war on, folks and Lt. Stamets is having a heart-to-heart...with Lt. Stamets ?! Join us on Facebook, instagram and Patreon to join in the conversation and for exclusive BTS content!https://www.facebook.com/setphasershttps://www.instagram.com/setphaserspodcast

A new version of our popular podcast remastered with original score by multiple grammy award winning composer Christopher Tin and the brilliant  Alex Williamson. "400 years in the future, the Solar System is being overrun by a mysterious armada. The outer colonies fall in a matter of months, killing millions of pure gene Terrans and genetically modified Genen colonists. EarthCorp's Sentinel fleet, under the command of Admiral Katherine Shepard, must make a brave last stand at SaturnSys.  But the centuries old prejudices held by the pure gene Sentinel officers make it difficult to fight along the Genens the all powerful Transplanatary Corporations have inducted as emergency reserve forces." Series content warnings: Warfare, violence, mature content, body horror  

400 years in the future, the Solar System is being overrun by a mysterious armada. The outer colonies fall in a matter of months, killing millions of pure gene Terrans and genetically modified Genen colonists. EarthCorp's Sentinel fleet, under the command of Admiral Katherine Shepard, must make a brave last stand at SaturnSys.  But the centuries old prejudices held by the pure gene Sentinel officers make it difficult to fight along the Genens the all powerful Transplanatary Corporations have inducted as emergency reserve forces. Series content warnings: Warfare, violence, mature content, body horror

This is the one where the Doctor and Clara DON'T fight a Martian Ice Warrior on a Russian submarine during the Cold War. The Russians don't fight the Americans, the Terrans don't fight the Ice Warriors, it's a Cold War! Get it!? The post 103 Cold War appeared first on Noobs & the Whovian.

This is the one where the Doctor and Clara DON’T fight a Martian Ice Warrior on a Russian submarine during the Cold War. The Russians don’t fight the Americans, the Terrans don’t fight the Ice Warriors, it’s a Cold War! Get it!? You can find us at noobsandthewhovian.com, facebook.com/noobsandthewhovian, and twitter.com/noobswhovian and email us at noobsandthewhovian@gmail.com. Please subscribe and leave a rating wherever you found us, and share us with a friend. Support us at https://www.patreon.com/noobsandthewhovian.

The planet itself was tough enough—barren, desolate, forbidding; enough to stop the most adventurous and dedicated. But they had to run head-on against a mad genius who had a motto: Death to all Terrans!"The Hunted Heroes" by Robert SilverbergRead by Adam TagarroLicensing and Copyright InformationAll music and sound effects featured on this episode are original, created by me. This story is not covered by copyright, as it is in the Public Domain: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/25627 (Bibrec tab)Photo by Nicolas Lobos on Unsplash

yaser d terrans

Safe Place. The Time of Wind and Waters Author: beepblip "Terrans tend to feel they've got to get ahead, make progress. The people of Winter, who always live in the Year One, feel that progress is less important than presence." — Ursula Le Guin, The Left Hand of Darkness They say time stretches out in a place where the pace of technological progress has not caught up with the people's ambitions. For a newcomer, the village of Letea, on the brink of the ancient Letea Forest connected to the vast wetland of Danube Delta, may be the place for quiet contemplation, the time to reconnect with the wild and find one's inner peace. It is peculiar how this imaginary safe unspoiled place full of wildlife is contrasted with the harsh infertile land, cruel and violent for human and non-human animals alike. The voyage to these lands was much deeper than expected. The piece is a psycho-geographical memory of the safe place of wind and waters. Sound piece created during the SONIC FUTURE RESIDENCIES organized by Asociația Jumătatea plină and SEMI SILENT to Letea Village, Tulcea County, Romania in June-July 2019. beepblip [Ida Hiršenfelder] makes immersive bleepy psycho-geographical soundscapes by use of analogue electronics, DIY and modular synths, field recordings and computer manipulations. She is interested in bioacoustics, experimental and microtonal music. She was a member of Theremidi Orchestra (2011–2017) DIY sound collective, performing at over 30 international venues for media art such as Piksel (Bergen), LiWoLi (Linz), Spektrum (Berlin), Radiona (Zagreb), Eyebeam (New York), Zagorje Noise Fest International (Trbovlje), Museum of Contemporary Art Metelkova (Ljubljana), Artos (Nicosia), KSEVT (Vitanje), Kino Šiška (Ljubljana). She collaborates with media artist Robertina Šebjanič and sound artist Aleš Hieng – Zergon on a series of chemical sound installations (Time Displacement / Chemobrionic Garden; Sound Disposition / Crystal Garden). She is a member of radioCona bioacoustics collective (Steklenik Gallery for Sound, Bioacustics and Art). Her solo album Noise for Strings, Vol. 1 (2019) was published by Kamizdat label. www.beepblip.org Recording, editing and mixing by beepblip for SEMI SILENT Articolul Safe Place apare prima dată în SEMI SILENT.

Timestamps: 01. 00:01:40 Guest introductions / Show roadmap -  02. 00:06:46 This week in StarCraft -  03. 00:47:30 This week in Awesome -  04. 00:53:45 Homestory Cup XX Recap -  05. 01:18:18 Reviewing the new balance patch -  06. 01:31:54 Guests thoughts on the new patch -  07. 02:11:45 Patreon Q & A -  08. 03:07:24 Closing Thoughts -  - Sponsor: https://matcherino.com/thepylonshow - This weeks code: "drumstick" - Visit: https://ThePylonShow.com for Podcasts, VODs, Q&A submission link, countdown timer, and more. - Shownotes: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1RSYs1SHcUCbzJt3ttucN18M2k1NP1qf0oK2q_zvajZA/ - - Power the Pylon - - https://www.patreon.com/ThePylonShow - - Social - - Discord: https://discord.gg/ga5umfc Twitter: https://twitter.com/ThePylonShow Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thepylonshow/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ThePylonShow/ - Special thanks to the Pylon Show Team - VFX Artist: https://twitter.com/Bodypop_ Producer: https://twitter.com/CobraVe7nom7 Shownotes: Alisaunder - https://twitter.com/Daisemiin WebDevs: Diaxis & NeosteelEnthusiast Timestamps: https://twitter.com/AllelujahTV Track: Koven - Never Have I Felt This [NCS Release] Music provided by NoCopyrightSounds. Watch: https://youtu.be/-7fuHEEmEjs Free Download / Stream: http://ncs.io/NeverHaveIFeltThisYO #ThePylonShow Live Wednesdays @ 5:45pm PT on https://www.twitch.tv/Artosis/

Timestamps: 01. 00:01:40 Guest introductions / Show roadmap -  02. 00:06:46 This week in StarCraft -  03. 00:47:30 This week in Awesome -  04. 00:53:45 Homestory Cup XX Recap -  05. 01:18:18 Reviewing the new balance patch -  06. 01:31:54 Guests thoughts on the new patch -  07. 02:11:45 Patreon Q & A -  08. 03:07:24 Closing Thoughts -  - Sponsor: https://matcherino.com/thepylonshow - This weeks code: "drumstick" - Visit: https://ThePylonShow.com for Podcasts, VODs, Q&A submission link, countdown timer, and more. - Shownotes: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1RSYs1SHcUCbzJt3ttucN18M2k1NP1qf0oK2q_zvajZA/ - - Power the Pylon - - https://www.patreon.com/ThePylonShow - - Social - - Discord: https://discord.gg/ga5umfc Twitter: https://twitter.com/ThePylonShow Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thepylonshow/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ThePylonShow/ - Special thanks to the Pylon Show Team - VFX Artist: https://twitter.com/Bodypop_ Producer: https://twitter.com/CobraVe7nom7 Shownotes: Alisaunder - https://twitter.com/Daisemiin WebDevs: Diaxis & NeosteelEnthusiast Timestamps: https://twitter.com/AllelujahTV Track: Koven - Never Have I Felt This [NCS Release] Music provided by NoCopyrightSounds. Watch: https://youtu.be/-7fuHEEmEjs Free Download / Stream: http://ncs.io/NeverHaveIFeltThisYO #ThePylonShow Live Wednesdays @ 5:45pm PT on https://www.twitch.tv/Artosis/

Finishing off a wild season 1 of Star Trek: Discovery.

Our Consciousness Humanoid Beings sharing pure consciousness and grouping reality into organizations of co-creations. We are setting up our Ohana Thoughts and Consciousness co-creating and sharing. We are assigning member numbers and have the original planning committee for Allied Command Intergalactic Relations. ACO logo is shared with many domains who share in the planets cyberspace with ACO Radio Club.Thomas Amad Becker,  Theresa J Morris, Ken R Johnston St, Amad's Friend Brian a host on Revolution with Amad Painter makes us International on the Planet, We are Terrans with Ambassador positions with various groups of Alienologist s, Historians, Researchers, Truthseekers who share the training of their own experiences. Ken Johnson Sr is a Solar Ambassador and Theresa J Morris is a Cosmos Ambassador.     

Michael wraps up the StarCraft series and Season 1 of Video Game Mythos with the Terrans, or humans, from the StarCraft series. In this surreal closure, prep the reality meter, because Michael brings it home for Video Game Mythos listeners in a fitting finale. Don't forget to subscribe and leave a review! Looking for some exclusive Video Game Mythos & Thirteen Palm Trees merch? Check out our MERCH STORE! Hit us up on social media today! FACEBOOK - TWITTER - WEBSITE  Video Game Mythos is brought to you by Thirteen Palm Trees Podcast Productions.

When Commander Sisko gets taken to the Mirror Universe, he makes strong choices w/r/t “the right thing to do” vs. “the Mirror Universe thing to do.” But when confronted face to face with his Prime Dead wife, his mission begins to suffer from a case of performance anxiety. Is the human brain capable of grappling with the sexual morality of multiple universes? Are the Pakleds in charge? Should we be getting more cut fruit in our diet? It's a feel-good version of politics that you wish existed.

3:16 Carnage Amongst the Stars > The 5800th Band of KlavasMen, Women, Terrans! Today is the day you have been waiting for. We have found the Insectoids on a worthless ball of rock code-named Whistler. Destroy them! For in doing so you ensure the future of humanity in a way that only we can!

The crew of the Discovery finds themselves in a mirror universe, similar to the one we were first introduced to in the famed “Mirror, Mirror” episode in the second season of TOS. This universe exists on the brutal rule of the Terran Empire – barbaric, xenophobic humans who use terror and brutality to oppress other beings who dare to challenge their power. Opposing the Terrans is a rebel alliance of Klingons, Romulans, and Andorians. We later learn that in this universe Tilly is the Captain of the Discovery, Lorca is a wanted man and considered a traitor to the Empire, and Burnham is the Captain of the Shenzhou. She is presumed dead having gone missing on a mission to capture the traitor, Lorca. Captain Lorca informs the crew their first priority must be to survive. Which means they must adopt the appearance of belonging to this universe. He also comes up with a plan in which he and Burnham take on the roles of their “mirror” counterparts in order to gain access to information that “supposedly” would allow them the chance to get back to their own universe. Star Trek: Age of Discovery is a fan podcast for the CBS All-Access show STAR TREK: DISCOVERY. Subscribe to Star Trek: Age of Discovery in iTunes. Email the show at startrekaod@gmail.com. Follow us on Twitter at @StarTrekAoD and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/StarTrekAoD/. Visit our website at https://webeblack.wordpress.com where we offer additional articles on Star Trek canon, interesting sidebar issues and aspects of the show. 2018 © Star Trek: Age of Discovery

I veckans avsnitt bjuds det på en spretig härlighet! Vi börjar med DOOM, Battlefront II-sörjan och Switch hårdvara. Fabian har ordergett Terrans i rymdoperan StarCraft II som numera är "free-to-play". En spirituell uppföljare till Theme Hospital är påväg, The Game Awards nomineringarna är officiella, rykten om ett nytt Devil May Cry och Nintendo verkar samtala med Universal Animations om att göra en animerad Mario-film... Spela på! Musiken i avsnittet kommer ifrån StarCraft II och Days of our Lives. 00:00:00 - DOOM, Battlefront II-sörjan, Switch hårdvara00:14:30 - StarCraft II00:34:10 - Project Hospital00:42:25 - The Game Awards nomineringar00:50:10 - Devil May Cry-rykten00:59:15 - Universal Animations Mario-film01:09:05 - iTunes-recension

This week, we're continuing our journey around the world, venturing to South Korea to up our actions per minute (APM) as we learn more about fans of Starcraft! What is it about this almost-twenty-year-old game that is still so captivating to fans? Or has it lost its allure since the sequel (and many competitors) have been released? And why is it so popular in South Korea, of all places? Next week, we'll be heading off to Japan to learn about the world's most famous virtual idol, Hatsune Miku! ## Episode outline ### Fandom Facts **Origins:** > StarCraft is a military science fiction media franchise ... owned by Blizzard Entertainment. The series, set in the beginning of the 26th century, centers on a galactic struggle for dominance among four species—the adaptable and mobile Terrans, the ever-evolving insectoid Zerg, the powerfully enigmatic Protoss, and the "god-like" Xel'Naga creator race. > ... > The original game [released in 1998] and its official expansion have been praised as one of the benchmark real-time strategy games of its time. The series has gathered a solid following around the world > > — [Wikipedia - StarCraft](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/StarCraft) **Size of Fandom:** As of December 2010 (admittedly, not the most recent data) StarCraft II had sold over 4.5 million copies, and had over 2 million illegal downloads (setting a record for most data transferred by a single torrent in only three months). By June 2007, Starcraft and its expansion, Brood War, had sold nearly 10 million copies combined (4.5 million, of which, were sold in South Korea alone). The StarCraft reddit has over 190 000 subscribers, and the StarCraft II subreddit has over 10 000. **Changes in Fandom:** [Interest in StarCraft has been on the decline](https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&q=%2Fm%2F06nh1,%2Fm%2F02qty_5,starcraft) with interest reaching its height in August 2010 (the release of Starcraft II), and some other spikes in (Starcraft II: Heart of the Swarm's release) and May 2007 (the Blizzard World Wide Invitational hosted in Korea). [// Worth noting that google trends show relative interest to itself, not relative to other fandoms / search terms ]: # [// (apparently 150 apm, effectively 2.5 actions per second, is what it takes to be proficient in StarCraft II) ]: # ### [Last Episode's](http://fanthropological.com/e/43-cricket-fans/) Famous Last Words **Z** In the game StarCraft, there are three races you can choose: which is most popular in South Korea and why? **G** Is StarCraft an expression of Korea's interest in sci-fi in general (compared to China and Warcraft)? **T** StarCraft 2 is less popular than StarCraft 1 because it sucks. [// I mean... not wrong. Lots of people _said_ this, but didn't back it up. One quora question cited that StarCraft II is younger (balance not as resolved) and StarCraft I is a slower game, which makes it more interesting (and is harder to master). ]: # [// THIS was an interesting quote though: ]: # [// > Starcraft 2 drastically reduces all of this. It has autocontrol groups meaning you can just select you entire huge army and command at once, It has Automine rally point, Shift click for multiple build order, stacking of researches => basically less for the player to do. ]: # [// > **But the problem is exactly this. Starcraft 2 managed to remove what differentiated the great Starcraft players from others.** ]: # ### The Verdict **T is out** **G is out. Doesn't need anymore.** **Z is out.** ### This week's spotlight No spotlight this week. Sorry folks. [// Plugs go here ]: # ### Famous Last Words This week's famous last words around *next week's* fandom, *Hatsune Miku*! **Z** Hatsune Miku is popular in part due to dating sims. **G** A portion of her fanbase does not know that she is not a real person. **T** Are there male counterparts? Is Hatsune Miku peak moe? #

This episode, Steve decided to come back down to Earth to join us Terrans and record a podcast this week! We talk all about NPC’s this week; everything from how to utilize them to our favorite NPC creations. I hope you enjoy. Wish of the Week I GOT A NEW DESK! Damn the Man, Save the Music Kingdom Hearts 3 - Steve Top Secret…Cont. RPG Reflection Steve's GM episodes. Our favorite characters/NPC's we've created and why? Is there a key to making good NPC’s? Should NPC’s be part of the Party? How much detail should you put into an NPC? How do you make NPCs unique? Or should you? How do you keep players from killing off important NPCs too early? Twitter: https://twitter.com/TabletopCast Email: tabletopradiohour@yahoo.com Website: https://tabletopradiohour.wordpress.com Patreon: patreon.com/tabletopradiohour Thank you all for listening, and Keep Rolling 20’s!

As an evolved, scientifically curious species, we Terrans are woefully ignorant on a relative interplanetary scale. Honestly, it’s a wonder our brutish, barbarian tendencies haven’t caused us to be eradicated by a greater galactic power a dozen times over by now. We find another sentient species dormant beneath our planet’s surface, and immediately fall into two camps: cringing subservience; or distrusting militant response. Leave it to a dashing (if oddly dressed) hyper-brilliant alien to point out the need for a […]

Futuristic sci-fi at its finest! Don't miss November 7th when I'll be hosting Robin Leigh Anderson. She'll be reading from Suncatcher.* * *In the far future Terran asteroid miner Lt. Ard Jay Solstad crash-lands on a faraway unknown planet during a meteor storm and must survive for at least three months before the signal buoy can reach someone to dispatch rescue.  Ard is stunned to meet the last survivor of the planet, a silicon-based humanoid who looks like the stained glass suncatcher he had in his window as a child.  Despite the odds they fall in love as they both try to survive on what they can glean from his ship---glass for her---and carbon-based foods for him from the planet.  But, facing almost certain death as she cannot physically leave her planet, Ard must leave her behind when the droid ship arrives to rescue him.Three years later now Captain Solstad returns with a full complement of miners for the lucrative claim that basically gives him the planet, and settlers to repopulate the empty planet…to find his beloved wife alive, and his SON, half Terran and half Preth.  TeeCee’s and their son’s telepathic abilities aid in the investigation of colony bigots and prevent tragedy, while the community and the surviving Preth come to terms with their existence and their changed world.  Ard’s able efforts, together with his trusted Commissioner of Police Jameson, to establish a generational world for the Terrans and the remaining Preth, bring Ard to a stunning point in the evolution of humanity.

Evil mayors, cheeky Terrans and whale sperm. It's the VideoGamerUK podcast.

Crossover. Sometimes actions can have unexpected consequences. Such was the case in The Original Series when Kirk convinced Mirror Spock to turn the Terran Empire from evil to good. Only he didn't know it. Kirk had the best intentions, but maybe there was a reason the Terrans were the way they were. We learned the result of Kirk's speech in the Deep Space Nine episode “Crossover,” the first of many trips to the Mirror Universe for the DS9 crew. In this episode of The Ready Room, we're joined by Zachary Fruhling, Rumman Chowdhury, and Brandon-Shea Mutala to discuss the first onscreen foray into the Mirror Universe since TOS. Beginning with Kirk's actions, we continue on to explore the disastrous consequences his words had for the humans of this universe, how oppression impacts lives, and how sexuality can be used to wield power over others. We also discuss various DS9 characters and their mirror counterparts, and how circumstances bring out different traits. Plus, in our news segment we discuss the lineup of events and panels scheduled for Star Trek: Mission New York. News Star Trek: Mission New York Rundown (00:03:20) Feature: Crossover Initial Thoughts (00:24:36) The Divergence (00:36:28) DS9's Take on the Mirror Universe (00:37:45) Odo: Same of Different? (00:44:59) Kira, The Intendant, and Sexuality (00:53:33) Mirror Garak (01:02:31) Kira Outsmarting Kira (01:10:23) Smiley and the Weight of Oppression (01:16:30) Final Thoughts (01:24:34) Hosts C Bryan Jones and Zachary Fruhling Guests Rumman Chowdhury and Brandon-Shea Mutala Production C Bryan Jones (News Editor and Producer) Matthew Rushing (Feature Editor and Executive Producer) Charlynn Schmiedt (Executive Producer) Ken Tripp (Executive Producer) Norman C. Lao (Associate Producer) Renee Roberts (Associate Producer) Zachary Fruhling (Associate Producer) Sam Piassick (Associate Producer) Kay Elizabeth Janeway (Associate Producer) Tim Robertson (Associate Producer) David Shuford (Associate Producer) Richard Marquez (Production Manager)

The Terrans, Zergs, and Random battle for dominance of the Milky Way in the game about space that has actually been to space, StarCraft.

This week on Upper Pylon 2, the crew (and special guest star Lyn/Spockodo from Australia) go through the looking glass with “Crossover,” DS9’s first venture into the Mirror Universe! When Kira and Bashir’s runabout encounters some strange phenomenon in the wormhole, they end up in a parallel universe where Terrans are slaves and the Bajorans […]

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine returns to the Mirror Universe in “Through the Looking Glass” as Mirror O’Brien kidnaps Commander Sisko in a last-ditch effort to free some Terrans. Later, in “Improbable Cause”, the Cardassians and the Romulans reveal a last-ditch effort to reshape the galactic political situation. iTunes Google Play RSS

The Trial.Star Trek: The Next Generation is one of the few Trek series to begin and end with the same story - being put on trial by Judge Q. "Encounter at Farpoint" inaugurates the seven seasons of TNG on television with the accusation that humanity is a "dangerous, savage, child race." While the two-hour pilot attempts to refute that charge, the missions of the Enterprise-D can be seen through the lens of those accusations. The finale of "All Good Things..." sees Judge Q telling Captain Jean-Luc Picard that the trial never reached a verdict ... until now, and that humanity is found guilty of being "inferior." Once again, the Next Gen crew must solve a puzzle, one that spans three different time periods, in order to prove that humanity has indeed evolved.Daniel, Darren, and Phillip join the jury in examining how Q's trial informs what we learn from our favorite Trek series. Do we believe this crew best represents 24th Century humanity? And does humanity simply refer to Terrans or to all of the flagship crew, from andriods to Klingons to Betazoids? Are the "criminal" accusations the same or different in both the pilot and the series finale? Earl Greydeliberates on a verdict of humanity's fate in this episode spanning the entire television run of TNG. HostsDaniel Proulx, Phillip Gilfus, & Darren MoserEditor / ProducerDarren MoserExecutive ProducersNorman C. Lao, Matthew Rushing, & C Bryan Jones Production Manager Richard Marquez   Content Manager Will Nguyen ChaptersThe Trial (00:07:02) Judge, Jury and ExeQutioner (00:11:04) TNG Bookends (00:32:32) Closing Arguments (00:45:39) Send us your feedback! Twitter: @trekfm Facebook: http://facebook.com/trekfm Voicemail: http://www.speakpipe.com/trekfm Contact Form: http://www.trek.fm/contact Visit the Trek.fm website at http://trek.fm/ Subscribe in iTunes: http://itunes.com/trekfm Support the Network! Become a Trek.fm Patron on Patreon and help us keep our shows coming to you every week. We have great perks for you at http://patreon.com/trekfm

YouTube Live competes with Twitch, free-to-play Halo Online launches a surprise beta, and two Terrans celebrate the 17th anniversary of StarCraft's release. For Aiur! Our sources, music credits, and other show notes on all our episodes are at 1Pvs2P.com/shownotes

Welcome back Terrans, Zergs, and Protoss! StarCast is back for another special episode covering the oncoming storm that is the Legacy of the Void Beta. All three races are getting new units, major changes to existing units, and a pretty large overhaul to how economy work for the entire game. We even had an email from StarCastShow@gmail.com.Enjoy this episode of StarCast. Hopefully we'll be recording another episode very soon. Good luck and have fun!StarCast is a  podcast centered around the StarCraft 2 Universe. Each week the show covers hot topics in the community from recent eSports tournaments, to StarCraft 2 News, to emails and calls directly from listeners of the show. The hosts of StarCast are Garrett Weinzierl and Kyle Fergusson. Subscribe to StarCast on iTunes and Youtube.

In a Mirror, Darkly. TOS and DS9 aren’t the only ones to have romped in the Mirror Universe. Enterprise did it, too, and in this week’s episode of Trek News & Views Colin dives into 22nd-Century evil with the help of Matthew Rushing, Max Hegel, and Mariel Keeran. We look at the TOS tie-ins, how the Temporal Cold War seems to have taken place in some fashion in the Mirror Universe, and why DS9 had no cloak while Archer did. Of course it wouldn’t be Trek News & Views without a bit of digression, and this week we discuss Phlox’s love of animals, how Porthos almost became soup, and how the Terrans resemble the Nazis.  

This week, we're continuing our journey around the world, venturing to South Korea to up our actions per minute (APM) as we learn more about fans of Starcraft! What is it about this almost-twenty-year-old game that is still so captivating to fans? Or has it lost its allure since the sequel (and many competitors) have been released? And why is it so popular in South Korea, of all places? Next week, we'll be heading off to Japan to learn about the world's most famous virtual idol, Hatsune Miku! ## Episode outline ### Fandom Facts **Origins:** > StarCraft is a military science fiction media franchise ... owned by Blizzard Entertainment. The series, set in the beginning of the 26th century, centers on a galactic struggle for dominance among four species—the adaptable and mobile Terrans, the ever-evolving insectoid Zerg, the powerfully enigmatic Protoss, and the "god-like" Xel'Naga creator race. > ... > The original game [released in 1998] and its official expansion have been praised as one of the benchmark real-time strategy games of its time. The series has gathered a solid following around the world > > — [Wikipedia - StarCraft](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/StarCraft) **Size of Fandom:** As of December 2010 (admittedly, not the most recent data) StarCraft II had sold over 4.5 million copies, and had over 2 million illegal downloads (setting a record for most data transferred by a single torrent in only three months). By June 2007, Starcraft and its expansion, Brood War, had sold nearly 10 million copies combined (4.5 million, of which, were sold in South Korea alone). The StarCraft reddit has over 190 000 subscribers, and the StarCraft II subreddit has over 10 000. **Changes in Fandom:** [Interest in StarCraft has been on the decline](https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&q=%2Fm%2F06nh1,%2Fm%2F02qty_5,starcraft) with interest reaching its height in August 2010 (the release of Starcraft II), and some other spikes in (Starcraft II: Heart of the Swarm's release) and May 2007 (the Blizzard World Wide Invitational hosted in Korea). [// Worth noting that google trends show relative interest to itself, not relative to other fandoms / search terms ]: # [// (apparently 150 apm, effectively 2.5 actions per second, is what it takes to be proficient in StarCraft II) ]: # ### [Last Episode's](http://fanthropological.com/e/43-cricket-fans/) Famous Last Words **Z** In the game StarCraft, there are three races you can choose: which is most popular in South Korea and why? **G** Is StarCraft an expression of Korea's interest in sci-fi in general (compared to China and Warcraft)? **T** StarCraft 2 is less popular than StarCraft 1 because it sucks. [// I mean... not wrong. Lots of people _said_ this, but didn't back it up. One quora question cited that StarCraft II is younger (balance not as resolved) and StarCraft I is a slower game, which makes it more interesting (and is harder to master). ]: # [// THIS was an interesting quote though: ]: # [// > Starcraft 2 drastically reduces all of this. It has autocontrol groups meaning you can just select you entire huge army and command at once, It has Automine rally point, Shift click for multiple build order, stacking of researches => basically less for the player to do. ]: # [// > **But the problem is exactly this. Starcraft 2 managed to remove what differentiated the great Starcraft players from others.** ]: # ### The Verdict **T is out** **G is out. Doesn't need anymore.** **Z is out.** ### This week's spotlight No spotlight this week. Sorry folks. [// Plugs go here ]: # ### Famous Last Words This week's famous last words around *next week's* fandom, *Hatsune Miku*! **Z** Hatsune Miku is popular in part due to dating sims. **G** A portion of her fanbase does not know that she is not a real person. **T** Are there male counterparts? Is Hatsune Miku peak moe? #