[color=00AEFF]”We did meet here today to answer your questions. Ask as they come. I won’t be able to answer all of them, thus they’ll filter themselves out. As for those you won’t think of, tomorrow is also a day, and so is the one after.”[/color] Vigdis looked toward the cookout and lifted up her mask, taking a deep breath before putting it back on. [color=00AEFF]”That smells good. We could move over if you wish. Then we could involve other people. I think Dr. Ibarra knows a lot about history, actually.”[/color] the Engineer offered.

[color=00AEFF]”Spices were historically very valuable, back when the height of exploration was sailing around the world in wooden ships driven by sails. I assume Kanth-Aremek isn’t the same everywhere, Earth definitely isn’t. Spices grown where it’s hot and dry can’t be grown where it’s cold or wet and so on. And if something is hard to get, it means the people who can get it can ask a high price for it.”[/color] She elaborated, briefly considering something before continuing, [color=00AEFF]”The speed of light is, according to common understanding, the upper limit of how fast something can move. The heavier an object is and the faster it’s moving, the more effort is needed to further accelerate it. Light is massless, it doesn’t weigh anything, which is why it can achieve… well, the speed of light. You would need to expend infinite effort to get anything that weighs something to move that fast.”[/color] She judged this to be harmless information. It would be a while before the locals could use this information for anything. Frankly she was proud of getting through it without having to use the word ‘energy’ once. [color=00AEFF]”But I don’t know if there isn’t some gap in my understanding of things the ship could have taken advantage of. The reason for trying to go as fast as possible is to shorten travel times, as celestial bodies are [i]very far[/i] apart. Even the moon or the planets you can see in the night sky with your own eyes are so far away I feel confident claiming you cannot imagine such a distance, no offense intended.”[/color]

[color=00AEFF]”As for how far from Earth we are? Good question, and one we’ll have to find an answer for if we ever want to return home, so let’s unpack it.”[/color] Vigdis started counting points on her fingers, [color=00AEFF]”One, the jump from Earth to here was instantaneous. To my - limited - understanding of the jump drive, that shouldn’t have been the case. This would imply we are close. Two, this world has an oxygen-rich atmosphere. More so than Earth. If a planet capable of supporting life was close to Earth, we would’ve found it centuries ago. That leads me to believe we are very far away and that the jump drive performs better than expected. Discounting the whole ‘accidental activation’ part, that… that needs work.”[/color] Vigdis chuckled, [color=00AEFF]”If the relevant equipment is intact or can be repaired, if we can see Earth’s parent star from here and if we can learn the axes of Kanth-Aremek’s orbit around its sun, we’ll be able to calculate the distance.”[/color] And don’t think about what will happen if they can’t find Earth.