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Mailing List Logs for ShadowRN

Message no. 1
From: "Logan Graves <Fenris>" <logan1@*****.INTERCOM.NET>
Subject: RealLife SOTA Tech (was:Re: Today's state of the art...
Date: Sun, 9 Nov 1997 23:11:25 -0500
In our last episode, Rune Fostervoll wrote:
>
> There's a trend recently, and also in the SR books themselves, that
> technology options which *TODAY* is state of the art, is also 'design
> improvement options' in SR.
<much snip>
> How much has technology advanced the last 60 years? Quite a lot.
> Completely new things is nukes, computers, space travel, television,
> jet engines, velcro, teflon, and so on. Sciences that has gone through
> multiple paradigm advances in chemsitry, metallurgy, medicine,
> sociology, physics, economy.
<more snippage>
On that note, I thought I'd relate a relevant RL technological advance:

Lockheed-Martin has recently completed field-testing an airport
chem-sniffer, much like the ones described in the NAGtRL Sourcebook. It
looks much like the old stand-up metal detectors, that one walks
through, only a little deeper, but with circular air vents all over the
inner surface. The detector blows air around the traveller, then
collects & measures the blow-by for traces of (pre-programmed)
explosives. Currently, they have it down to a twelve-second sweeping
pattern, during which time the 'subject' must stand within the
detector. But the goal (as defined by the airline customers) is a
ten-second delay. L-M says that this is do-able.
During the several weeks of field-testing in a New Mexico Airport,
their only "positive trace" was the detection explosive residue on the
person of a chemical plant worker, who'd not been in contact with the
detected substance for over four days, prior to entering the airport.
Strangely, I *do* feel safer.
--Fenris
_______________________________________________logan1@*****.intercom.net
(>) Toeing the Company Line, are we Fenris?
(>) --Ricochet Rita, Razorgal

(>) <*Shrug*>
(>) -F
Message no. 2
From: Rune Fostervoll <runefo@***.UIO.NO>
Subject: Re: RealLife SOTA Tech (was:Re: Today's state of the art...
Date: Mon, 10 Nov 1997 05:33:34 +0100
Fenris wrote:
*SNIP* New chemsniffer in today's airports by Lockheed - Martin.
> During the several weeks of field-testing in a New Mexico Airport,
>their only "positive trace" was the detection explosive residue on the
>person of a chemical plant worker, who'd not been in contact with the
>detected substance for over four days, prior to entering the airport.
> Strangely, I *do* feel safer.

*nod*

That system sounds like a very sensitive system. If it functions as
advertised, it should stop all but the best professionals. And the
best professionals usually doesn't hijack planes.

(I'm stereotyping here, but it's usually hard to get a highly educated and
skilled guy to go on a suicide mission. An added reason is that they are
usually also more valuable alive to the organization, than dead.).

(flight) Security is very variable though. In Norway, for instance, it's
very random. One in ten flights is checked or so, but when they are, they are
checked thoroughly. I've been in such checks a couple of times, and both times
my knee detected as metal. (It is, but it didn't cause any trouble, only a
raised eyebrow.). In airports in Rome and Bulgaria, that didn't happen - (In
Bulgaria there was about one check daily for a week. The advantage of visiting
the President, the National Assembly and so on.).

(That will probably change with the new airport next year, but that's
unimportant to the list, I HOPE!)


If I was a Shadowrunner with a tight screen of fake ID's, well disguised cyber,
no guns and so on, I would be running a major risk by going through a security
check. No matter where, or how good it was. It should be a calculated and
knowledgeable risk, though, and with good preparations, the risk would be
reduced somewhat(1/10 or less.). If you go in registered as Iron Man, carries
a disassembled LMG in a clay case and a few hand grenades you should expect to
have use of your gear well before you get on the plane, though, even if you
get on the plane in Palookaville.

Further Reading

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These messages were posted a long time ago on a mailing list far, far away. The copyright to their contents probably lies with the original authors of the individual messages, but since they were published in an electronic forum that anyone could subscribe to, and the logs were available to subscribers and most likely non-subscribers as well, it's felt that re-publishing them here is a kind of public service.

Thwap!