>>5248049"Yeah, that's what i'm thinking." You agree. "So, maybe we're better off making our own stations, colonizing our own planets. Then, those who aren't welcome literally can't intrude, because just stepping foot on our habitats would kill them."
"Yes... human keep to themselves, and are basically impossible to bother. Keeps friction between species low, while still allowing for trade and communication. Frankly, it sounds quite similar to the Greys."
"Except instead of hiding, we live out in the open."
"Raiding your stations would be nearly impossible though, despite that. Between the gravity and the oxygen content... around 20%, i believe it was? Pure poison."
"Eh, i wouldn't say it's impossible. You cut the power to the gravity generators, go in with some masks to scrub out excess oxygen... although, that wouldn't work if we used more "traditional" gravity generation methods."
"Traditional? Like what?"
"We just spin the whole station really fast. It flings you up against the side and simulates actual gravity without a gravity field. I hear it can make you motion sick if the station's too small, though."
"...You spin the station. Like a child's spinning top."
"Oh, cool. They have those out here, too?"
"Surely that would just rip the whole station apart. How fast must it need to spin to generate 1G of acceleration?"
"Nah, it's cool. You keep the structure strong but lightweight. Lots of carbon fiber and titanium on the outer rings, and the inside doesn't experience nearly the same forces, so you can just make it out of steel instead."
"You've planned this out, haven't you?"
"Me? Nah. Space nerds have been thinking about this stuff before we even set foot on the moon."
"Wait, what? I thought your species wasn't space-borne yet?"
"Chemical rockets. We strapped ourselves onto barely-controlled explosions and shot our asses into space before we even had real computers. They winged half that shit, you know. It was all one big dick-measuring competition."
Gron simply stares at you in confusion.
Until SHODAN drops the monitor down again and starts playing back your memories of the Saturn V launch. And then generalized blueprints for a rocket engine, based off your limited knowledge of their construction.
"...Had they no fear of death?"
"Sure they did. And some did die. Usually by accident... but sometimes due to wanton negligence. Komarov, i think was his name. Poor bastard, he knew it was a rushed launch. Knew it wasn't safe. But he took it anyways, in place of his friend. He cursed them all the way to the ground."
"Why? For pride? For honor?"
"Just to be the first, i guess. Call it what you want. Pride, ambition, whatever... doesn't really matter. Innocent men died for it. Good, brave men. It's always been the same, though. Everest, the challenger deep... youtube comments. People are willing to risk it all just to be first."
"That's ridiculous. It's suicidal!"
"Well, they just wanted to leave their mark, i guess."