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Chapter: Chapter 8: Heavy Water

  • Mr B Natural asked: Talita, do you have a birthday you celebrate or have ever celebrated? Talita: Well, nobody actually knows exactly when I was born. When I showed up at the foster care home, they estimated that I had pupated some time in the last couple weeks, which means I was probably born in July the previous year. On paperwork, my birthday is July 1st. larva: 23 weeks pupa: 2 weeks imago Talita: I usually take the day off, but I’m not huge into celebrations. Though, this time Gillie and Idrisah surprised me with a gift. They got me a new windspinner, it has an otter made from a curved metal plate. I guess they noticed I like putting them in front of air vents...

    RttS Reader Questions 44

    Feb 10, 2026

  • Anonymous asked: Adam, why do you have difficulty finding and keeping jobs in piloting? Adam: It's because of bureaucracy bullshit. You know how it goes, you piss off the wrong people at the wrong time and then you're fucked forever. After leaving the North American Republic, I started training to get my aircraft piloting license in the Socialist Republic of Mars. I started dating this girl in my training group... but then she got licensed before me and promoted up to a useless pseudo-manager position, and was so up her own ass about it… After we broke up, she went on a powertrip and got me in trouble for not doing one of the stupid redundant safety checks that NO ONE in the team was doing, including her!! So, the SRM booted me from the program and barred me from getting a license there. Right now I’m trying to get into the Martian Free States piloting program, because they’ll ignore my SRM record. The MFS and the SRM hate each other, haha. But the MFS is allergic to giving anything government funding, so… I have to pay for it in full. SRM MFS

    RttS Reader Questions 43

    Feb 03, 2026

  • Anonymous asked: Idrisah, what branch of Islam do you practice? Idrisah: I'm Sunni like my mum and dad, but they come from pretty different traditions. My dad's from Pakistan and his family is mostly secular, while my mum's from Egypt and her family is more devout. She was a rebellious young adult and left for Jovia seeking independence, where she met my dad, who came here for school. Neither of them put a lot of pressure on me to follow orthopraxy, but I was always very curious about spirituality, theology, and Islamic history. The Muslim community in Nexus Jovia is small and very international; the Opportunity cylinder had the biggest mosque in the Nexus and it collected all types. We had an odd mix of solidarity and sectarian grudges, secular and orthodox, practicing and non-practicing. As a kid I asked a lot of blunt questions that got me in trouble with other members of the congregation.

    RttS Reader Questions 42

    Jan 27, 2026

  • Angoryt asked: Idrisah and Gillie, if you two are going to move back to Nexus Jovia, have you already managed to get an apartment? Or will you be living with your relatives until you can get a place? Idrisah: We submitted our SHB app as soon as we knew we were gonna quit. But our current placement is in an apartment block in the Solidarity cylinder… opposite to the Opportunity cylinder our parents and most of our friends live in… Gillie: Average waitlists for most of the housing in Opportunity is two years, haha. Idrisah: It’s not actually that long of a trip on the Spokes, but I would prefer to be closer. Nexus Jovia Opportunity District Solidarity District The Spokes (microgravity train system) Gillie: Better than staying with my dads. They've got a big house but they like, never leave it. I can’t deal with their neurotic hovering these days. Idrisah: My parents are alright, but we have way too much stuff to fit it all in their tiny apartment. So we’d have to rent storage space or recycle a lot of nice things. Image: Apartment layout with two bedrooms, and living room, and a toilet. Shared kitchen and washrooms are down the hall. Gillie: Storage space is sooo expensive. I've heard of people using their allotted housing as storage while living somewhere else… but if the Social Housing Board catches you doing that, they will penalize you BIG TIME.

    RttS Reader Questions 41

    Jan 20, 2026

  • Anonymous asked: Bip, why do you sometimes use conversational pauses? Bip: …?? Do you think an optimized conversation involves all participants speaking as quickly as possible simultaneously? Pauses mean things, just like words! For instance, this means I’m baffled why you’d ask me such a thing! Bip's avatar points to the speech bubble with "...??" in it.

    RttS Reader Questions 40

    Jan 13, 2026

  • Anonymous asked: Ohwitiil and Cheevwut, what are some your favorite drugs to add to food? Ohwitiil: I've never been into the extreme flavors. I have some biih in the morning to wake me up, but I only add enough for the strong high to last a couple minutes. After work I might have some ratriit or vut in my dinner. Cheevwut: I have biih snacks whenever I feel tired during the day. I add vut to my work lunches, to relax. Ideally just enough for the high to go away when I clock in, but… Ohwitiil: "Ideally" meaning "never?" Cheevwut: Oh, loosen up. You should have some woaa or alcohol with me some time! Ohwitiil: No. I don't like hallucinogen flavors… Cheevwut: You don't know how to dose them right. Just time it so it goes away when you're bored and want to try the next one!

    RttS Reader Questions 39

    Jan 06, 2026

  • RttS Reader Questions 38

    Dec 30, 2025

  • Dr. Bongwater asked: Talita, Idrisah, Gillie: other than Dirtball, what other planets have you all been to, if any? Gillie: (ASL) We've only been to Earth. Idrisah: (ASL) You've spent more time there than me, with college. Gillie: (ASL) Yeah, but you've been to more countries than me. Idrisah: (ASL) How about you, Talita? Talita: (ASL) Dirtball is my only planet... Gillie: (ASL) What! You need to visit at least ONE good one! Idrisah: (ASL) You should come to Earth with us some time! It's beautiful! Talita: Er... Talita: (ASL) Earth is difficult. Need to pack all my food. Not many compatible toilets. But I want to visit Mars in the future. See Martian Mech Madness! Gillie: (ASL) Yeah!! Let's go there!! Idrisah: Ehhh...

    RttS Reader Questions 37

    Dec 21, 2025

  • LOG 8: Z-Pinch Fusion The Runaway is a rapid transit vessel (colloquially, a "torchship"), designed to transport cargo and passengers as quickly as possible on intrasystem trips between wormholes. During the majority of a journey, the vessel acceleration is between 8 m/s² and 11 m/s², the comfort range of gravity for most sophonts. While this shaves days off of voyages and reduces crew time spent in microgravity, it requires a great deal of firepower. The Runaway's comparatively tiny habitat sits on top of a massive pair of fuel tanks and z-pinch fusion engines. As plasma fuel is injected into the fusion chamber, the engine’s capacitor banks deliver thousands of electrical pulses per second, creating magnetic fields strong enough to initiate nuclear fusion. This magnetic field “pinches” the plasma along the engine's z-axis into a blinding blue jet of super-heated gases, pushing the ship to its cruising acceleration. Engine Schematic: fuel tanks deuterium capacitor banks shadow shield outer electrode inner electrode plasma electric current The magnetic field follows the direction of the electrical current. magnetic nozzle helium, hydrogen, and neutrons FUSION Image: Bip grumpily holds up a sign in front of one of the deuterium fuel lines with “3He” written on it. Bip: Ideally, I'd have one tank of ³He and one tank of deuterium, that would be more efficient than reacting doot with itself... Talita: Beggars can't be choosers. Also, fusion engines aren't the only propulsion here! Image: She points at a small multi-nozzle rocket on the side of the Runaway’s habitat. Talita: On both ends of the vessel are rings of reaction control systems, aka RCS. These smaller chemical rockets are used for fine maneuvering and approaching dock, since fusion engines are illegal to operate too close to habitation. While fusion engines have less radioactive exhaust than fission engines (which use a process similar to a nuclear bomb for propulsion), they still emit deadly neutron radiation when operating. To protect the inhabitants from being fried by their own engine emissions, there is something called a "shadow shield" between them and the thrusters. This is a block of material that absorbs the thruster radiation and creates a cone of protective shadow around the body of the ship. Image: A diagram of the Runaway shows shape of the shadow cone, and the size of the habitable area of the ship (green) relative to the rest of the vessel. The main habitat is a four story structure under a 12th of the total length of the ship, with a short cargo bay hallway in the upper section of the spine. Most of the length of the vessel is occupied by fuel tanks, shielding, and the engines. Habitat (green) cargo bay (green) RCS (purple) shadow shield (dark blue) radiators (red) Neutron Radiation Zone (white with skulls and crossbones) Radiation Shadow Cone (light blue) This stellar flamethrower also creates a ton of waste heat, which in the insulating vacuum of space, dissipates very slowly. In order to prevent heat from traveling up the spine of the ship and turning the habitat capsule into a multi-story oven, heat from the propulsion system is diverted to the radiator wings. The radiators pump waste heat away from the engine and spine of the ship, giving it more time and space to dissipate, and can glow red-hot while the engine burns. Their triangular shape allows them hide within the shadow cone during burns, and extend to cool faster and provide maintenance access when the ship is coasting or docked.

    Runaway to the Stars: Page 238

    Dec 16, 2025

  • Talita wraps her arms around her friends, rests a cheek on top of Idrisah's head, and relaxes into the hug. Bip turns their webcam towards the the front loader, holding up its newly attached articulated hands. They reach out with them and gingerly grasp the group of women, who look down in surprise. Bip: Best I can do, sorry. Talita: Thanks, Bip.

    Runaway to the Stars: Page 237

    Dec 13, 2025

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