Well, my computer crashed yesterday morning. It was very old, so it was bound to happen soon. Fortunately I had just backed up all my Tangled River files to Box.com so nothing was lost. The computer is in the shop, but I'm in Italy, so who knows how long it'll be until it's fixed. I'm hoping I can stay on schedule, so tune in next Wednesday to find out if Page 83 has been uploaded.
I hope things get fixed soon.
Ps.
I'm in the process of making my own computer to replace this one (which is on its way out). I ordered the first parts this week.
With their technology failing, I'm glad they just stuck to the simple things.
If you are in Italy, I am sure it will be fixed sometime this century.
I see that there is no Terran phaser. Drat.
That "rainsuit" looks like it might once have been a flightsuit - possibly even vacuum-rated, if it had gloves and a facemask.
Wow, if a metal weapon / tool is rare enough for her to comment on, their tech base is far more restricted than I thought. It also has implications about their environment and resources.
Considering this world is very Earth-like, the relative absence of metal seems odd. Or did I miss where that's explained? They must have some kind of substitute just to support the tech they do have: those sailing ships for one thing.
She doesn't say that metal tools are rare, just that she has never possessed a terran metal weapon. Since she goes on to remark on how sharp they are, it isn't surprising to me that youngsters aren't generally allowed to carry them.
You have a point (pun honestly not intended), but she didn't specify that a *Terran* metal knife was rare. Her surprise seemed more general.
In a relatively low-tech society like the one that's shown, knives, hatchets and similar tools would be fairly common, and they would be made of the hardest materials that were available. It could be that there's not a lot of metal, so it's reserved for more heavy tools (saws, axes, picks) and everyone makes do with substitutes for less important things (eating utensils, cutting rope and fabric, shaving).
Or of course I could be misunderstanding the situation as presented in the writing. Good excuse to go back and reread the archives ;).
Good work on the art and writing of Tangled River.You sure have talent.
Now she will definitely need rope in the future. Her dialogue has guaranteed it.
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