Aphelion

Gino has treated us to another fast-paced space opera in his customary style. I think these stories would be better if he would slow down and work on better characterization, though. The best we have here is of the main character, who comes across as impatient and a little tough; the rest have no 'inner person' to them, if you will, and Paula has just a tiny bit. Not enough. Interpersonal conflict is only of the most superficial variety, and inner conflict within characters is pretty much missing completely.

One thing stopped me right away:

The attaché case's lock was a shiny, featureless black square that glinted in the tenebrous light. "Spook Central," Paula whispered. The lock disintegrated in a shower of glittering particles.

When I read that, the first thing I thought was, "Isn't that going to be a little rough on the station's air filters?" Sorry. And, I know, a gram or two more or less of airborne detritus won't be noticed aboard a large installation. It seemed like an odd way to make a lock, though.

Another thing I noticed was that Paula's field of expertise had no part in the solution to the problem -- she just happened to be the only person around who could communicate with the other party. This doesn't hurt the story; it was just something I noticed.

Hope I didn't offend, Gino. To me, 'space opera' is a sub-genre, not an insult. Your stories aren't as melodramatic as some space operas, but what you have in common is a quick-to-read style with a lot of action, and not as much emphasis on character.

I would assume that the particles in question were (a) very small, and (b) might sublime into vapor (non-toxic, of course).

Robert_Moriyama wrote:I would assume that the particles in question were (a) very small, and (b) might sublime into vapor (non-toxic, of course).

Well, for starters, it's obviously nanotech. I'll say mostly carbon in composition, because, if it has to actually function as a lock (keeping the case from being pried open) carbon can be more than sufficiently strong. The big problem is in getting the carbon molecules (or maybe crystals) to let go of their bonds.

Is it an active or passive device? Has to be active; at least the part of it that waits to detect the unlocking signal. Carbon makes decent electrical circuitry, and I think it could get its power from random static charges in the immediate environment. The proper signal can trigger a cascading event of some sort that causes the bonds to release.

It would be monolithic until broken; if it were to open on a simple linear seam, that would present a weak point to be exploited by someone trying to break in to it. That's why it shatters into tiny fragments. And carbon is readily capable of producing shiny surfaces, thus the glitter.

Having it sublime into vapor would certainly be a neat trick; carbon in a gaseous state would just harmlessly latch on to the surrounding air molecules; no cleanup needed, and no possibility of reverse-engineering the lock from its remains.

Gods, I think I need a life . . .