Vespaeda

Spot on observations, Spanner 76![..re: the lack of thrust vectoring nozzles, low speed handling & flaps..] This model has me intrigued and I'd definitely want one if I got into DFs(..prop & gliders only now..) Everything you stated would probably be the way to go: - Instead of roll control/elevator & yaw being 'ailerons+beavertail'-mixed... Use: - 2D thrust vectoring for pitch & roll control; programmed for 'severity of throw' opposite OR together. -Wings with full flaps or flaps+slats instead of ailerons; programmed like a glider/sailplane to 'crow' for low speed flight, better take-off & slow handling/landings! -Rudders, w/'Inward', hi-'AoA' capability as well. I seriously believe these gentlemen focused on the simplest, most reliable approaches for a first try at a 'close-to-anime' accurate model here: focus on CG balance, lightness and as few surfaces moving as possible. They DO know their stuff! However...IF this plane is modified to incorporate these other controls & maybe built slightly larger to better distribute its finished/flying weight, we could very likely see an even more kick-@$$ bird! I'm keeping my eyes peeled on RCGroups to see if their plans are gonna be shared!

Taking a couple of repeat looks at the video, I figured that they basically designed these VF-1s as stretched delta wings...like a Mirage or a EuroTyphoon, with an element from flying wings thrown in. They have broader chord[width] wings than the line art, fixed at an optimum sweep, working ailerons for roll control and possibly includes mixed/combined movement 'Up/Down' to work along with the beavertail elevator. The clue concerning the use of delta fighter design principles was the airfoil shape they used for the wings; they use a recurve in the under surface towards the trailing edge[..visible on the vid frame showing the wing ribs lined up together..] called reflex in aviation design. It specifically helps flying wing designs remain stable without a tail end horizontal stabilizer; preventing 'pitch up' or 'down. I cannot wait until these gentlemen share the plans and other people have a chance to upscale, improve modify and add extra flight features. These are better than all the profile foamies that have come before!

^^-- What HE said…@Mr. March. Avg. 'Joe' movie-goer: "..So, ummm….THAT Brad Pitt movie was THEE "World War Z"??...that was single-handedly responsible for re-inventing and reviving the Zombie genre? ...Including "28 Days", "The Walking Dead" and all the rest, eh?…Hmmm, hard to believe…" Discerning/Informed Fan: "..Ahhh--No. No, it wasn't…not by a billion-gagillion miles, it wasn't. ...In THREE words: 1) Hollyweird…and, 2) Trust ME!… ...Go to the original source material--the book; it will make MOAR sense than if I stood here and tried to explain any further.."

Personally, I believe the flop of the Wachowski's big budget "Jupiter Ascending" is partially why WB let go of the rights w/out renewal. Big budget sfx action like that & 'Pacific Rim' didn't convince them of the staying power associated with the franchise… Not least of which the HG/BW legacy issues, developement hell and no one like DelToro to run things[..his personal TLC being the only reason 'Pac. Rim.' was moderately successful, as an unknown property..] I think their experience with "Jup. Ascend." was a 'bad after-taste' deal breaker for something unlikely to match or exceed "Pac. Rim" in $$$ returns.

This made my day...I figured I wouldn't be the first person to post about it […although I may have if I had been on my computer yesterday…] Glad to know it just may prove JJ has some 'Macross' in is blood.

I enjoy it for what it is: a cheap knock-off of GoT, Fallen Skies & Defiance/Stargate. Still waiting for a synthesis of this concept+'Evangelion'+'Five Star Stories'... Wherein, angels and demons are really power armours/mecha of more modest proportions and one's psychic/spiritual/life's walk can endear you towards being offered an opportunity to pilot one, in some transcendant celestial warfare for souls and life beyond this plane. Events that figure into rotations of the galactic arms, bringing Earth and other worlds into proximity to celestial realms every many thousands of years. Grafting in a whole universe of lore encompassing Judeo-Christian, Zoroastrian, Buddhist and Sufi legend. All this, at the risk of coming across as a Scientologist platform, LOL!

The U.S. Armiy's 'T.A.L.O.S.' exoskeleton-assisted future soldier program needs Shinji Aramaki onboard to design their sheit. Right now, it looks a mere step or two away from Hammer Industries wares & offerings.

[in my best Weyland voice and posturing...] "Ladies and gentlemen, what if I told you we were about on the cusp of ALL your cybermechanical, robotic and power-assisted wet-dreams come true? Unfortunately, not quite including 'Tony Stark'-esque flight, mind you--[trust me, we ARE all working so very, very hard on that one...keep the faith...yes..] However, domestic humanoid and biomimetic robots, brashly leaping the 'Uncanny Valley' to tackle realistic, facial muscle modulation and...perhaps, heat-sensitive, supple touch, localized pelvic thrusting, gryration & undulation--with accompanying fluid warmth...Hmmm...got your juices & attention now, eh?!? Seriously now: powered-assist suits, armour and mechs scalable as desired?" ...Behold--the simple, cheap & innocuous NYLON FISHING LINE!! http://io9.com/scientists-just-created-some-of-the-most-powerful-muscl-1526957560

AWESOME! May it rock!

"...The lure of illicit, Nazi gold...payment in exchange for production freedom. Offered by unseen benefactors, who are actually a remnant vanguard of escaped, Third Reich collaborators...from an obscure mountain villa in Argentina... "

Thus far, all we have that are remotely close upon such aerospace themes are "Wings of Honneamise" and "SkyCrawlers"--by Hideaki Anno & Mamuro Oshii. Does "Porco Rossi" count? Actually, I just Wiki-Googled "WoH" to verify the art influences. I was pleased to read a reference to a long-shelved sequel, named 'Blue Uru', to be tentatively set 50yrs afterwards and concerning [fighter] pilots; supposedly discussed at Tokyo Anime Fair by Gainax( Last paragraph on Wikipedia entry, Ref. [7]: 21 Mar '13, from ANN article )

If they wanna go "alien invasion vs. powered armour" as driving gimmick, why not grab the rights to "Genesis Climber Mospaeda" and REALLY apply memorable mechs/power suits with characters and plot arc you CAN care about? (...This isn't still "Whore-Money Gold's" license property is it?...) Particularly if they are at risk of getting killed off... Could this older Tom Cruise pull off Stig? Rework the 'Mospaeda' story/plot line: Humans have colonized much of the star system and occasionally fought one another for 'expansion room' beyond a crowded and depleting world, as was the historical norm. So, they maintain an almost conventional military structure, using the same consumption/attrition logic we've always used. Never seriously imagining encountering an intelligence or accountabilities beyond defacto norm after 149 years beyond Earth sphere. The alien Mimics(...or InViMics...) are first aroused by human technological tinkering with wormhole/'jump' gate tech, in the hopes of interstellar travel--their next step toward 'Level 1 Civilization' progress. It involves using the mass of Jupiter to direct energy and collapse/bridge a 'loci' in space; monopole ores from Jupiters titanic gravity environment are also involved. A molecule or 'three or four' of which can power mechs, ships, fields and weapons. There are curious 'in vivo/gravito-etheric' field effects around living beings[...precursor to InViMic sensitivity to activated vehicles and weapons…]. What sets off the InViMics feelers is not Robotech 'Protoculture' per se, but the fact that concentrations of biotic sentient mentalities were behind this 'worm-hole' phenomenon--something they could detect & had a kinship to--versus naturally occuring wormhole events(...almost closer to the Macross interpretation of Proto/DeCulture...). They fold, like termites/ants(Vajra) on 'Swarm Day' and arrive on Earth, at the center of all the biotic sentience. The expected space opera ensues... Humans have never actually faced non-humans in such scaled war and are out-thought/strategized...like domestic organisms in the face of invasive fish, tropical snake or snail species from another country. They evolve after their initial takeover to incorporate human engineering technology, versus only their innate biorganics and hive strength that contributed to their actually costly but rapid victory. It is NOT what the Hive Race had in 'hive'mind...and they are now stuck on Earth. They are committed to replenishing themselves, which must be at the expense of the simple, fleshy, psychically 'dull' bipeds who 'tricked' them in-system to a dead-end world[still showing the effects of human resource ravages from the prior 2 centuries of industrial & environmental consumption..) Marlene is killed in the first "Maginot Line" Op to defend Earth from the 'InVi-Mics'. Stig(Tom Cruise--at a bit more than his 'canon' age…] is near mortally wounded fending off this global attack and watches Marlene burn up with her ship before passing out. He's rescued by fleet elements that limp away to Mars and Jupiter colonies where humanity tries to wrap their heads around what has just happened and fortify against what else may come. Forward 9 - 12 years: the D-Day Force is nearing completion and Stig--older, scarred inside & out and lovelessly bitter(...easy attitude for Tom Cruise...)--volunteers as a leader for the advanced, RECON wave from Mars Div. The main fleet elements from Jupiter-Sphere are almost a full year behind in preparation. Mars Div. are to stir up the 'Crabs'(only engaged in a few skirmishes over the years); observe and foment human resistance, making sure there are no major surprises to doom the coming Op. In reality, the Human colonial leadership is worried it will all fail massively and are actually sending Stig et al. on a "Dieppe Beach" Op...to ferret out whether Earth and any humans are really salvageable--whether the Neutron-S(...or whatever they're called in 'Mospeada'...) warheads, derived from the wormhole research and monopole matter their powerful mechs are driven by--will be necessary to sterilize Earth and start over. They are also scared by the high possibility the InViMic's proliferation on Earth portends that when they reach colonial hive mass, they'll come out to Mars and Jupiter, consuming the remainder of humanity[..an ironic parallel with contemporary behaviour Humanity leaving Sol for the bounty of a stellar community..]. The rest of the movie/story arc follows our favorite anime generally, with Marlene and the other ochre-eyed, Human-InViMics all being genetic replicants of crewmembers from the annihilated orbital defense forces. Stig is reunited with Ariel because the Hive Conscious senses the powerful 'pit' of loss/hatred/emptiness/loneliness within Stig that correlates with a molecular memory of her persona/being. Thereby moving Marlene/Ariel's 'genetic remainder' into contact with him, so as to understand how such mentally obtuse/flesh limited creatures can create wormholes. Story subcontexts of regressive human imagination, holistic awareness and inertial, tribal behavior upon the cusp of breaking free of Earth and joining a potential stellar community. The unconscionable waste of our only world and resources for short-sighted, attrition-like repetitious culture. And whether we really still need to look at vast portions of our human brethren as sacrificial or 'expendable' for some shallow goals--no matter how impoverished or conquered by the "dice roll-of-Life" they appear. The possibilities of alien mentalities that value and move according to different rhythyms, like the InViMic's draw to biotic sentience behind gravitational/'wormhole' disturbances; yet they're organic, not-so-alien intelligences as tangible, relate-able beings in a 'first contact'...and ones we could learn new awarenesses from. All of this to be contemplated before we join the stars--were the 'jump tech' completed. A kind of pre-graduation lesson for a Level 0.80-0.85 civilization on the Kardashev/Sagan scale. A necessary, mutual learning curve for all species before leaving their ontological cradles. Unfortunately, I see how this might vaguely touch some of the themes within "Ender's Game"…must not imitate. However, I'd much rather see such as this become a sci-fi movie plot cliche, more importantly an excuse to create realistic, on-screen Ride-Armours and Legioss fighters[!!!]…than irrelevant time-loops and a dark, brooding future for the sake of being "Call of Duty"-edgy.

Dreamed of this for like...forever. Didn't have the guts to attempt surgery like this on my Gakken and haven't been equipped to attempt 'Chinese engineering industry'-protocol of replicating each part for such mods. You are inspiring, though.

Sorry news indeed! A good collector and obviously always one for friendly banter; my condolences to his family.

Watched it Saturday night, after failing at getting out to an IMAX 3D theater on opening weekend. I didn't have any of the false pretenses about what it would be about(overly melodramatic with unnecessary plot twists/gimmicks): excrutiating visual detail to convey the surreal, 0-gee environ and its inhospitable hazard and a small crew of astronauts struggling to survive an over-the-top nightmare accident of some kind. I wasn't disappointed. I did see Neill DeGrasse Tyson's commentary--and notably, that he THOROUGHLY liked the movie for what it accomplishes[...met him a handful of times when he was a 20-something grad student, managing the Hayden Planetarium in the early '80's; he was my H.S. buddy's boss, when we both volunteered summers as research assistants; guess my age... ..]. Although some of his criticisms blew away some of the plot drivers, the major thing they serve is in uniting audiences around the world over Cuaron's movie: it gives EVERYONE a new, visceral respect and tangible understanding of just how dangerous and unforgiving actual astronaut work is. I don't care how big a sci-fi nerd or legacy space opera/fiction aficionado you might be; compared to some of my deployment environments and ships underway in pitched seas, I give mad props to international astronauts and scientists who seek out this career. Space is pharking terrifying! Its gonna be a looooooong time before we're galivanting around in it, like Star Wars or Star Trek... 'Nerves of steel' undertakings! Akin to exploring kilometers of an active Kilauea or Icelandic lava flow field, while flying over them in nothing sturdier than a gossamer soap bubble...and a tool box of assorted wands & only a child's plastic jar of extra soap bubble fluid for replenishment during your trip! If this country ever gets its head out of its A$$ long enough to encourage renewed NASA/orbital work, this movie can do the same for cultural motivation for space, like the 60's Mercury & Appollo program and Kubrick's '2001' did for that generation. 5 stars for cinematic experience and story-telling!

One last thing that nagged me about the movie and I understand its effect on me now. There were not too many characters to like deeply in this film; their developement and investment as personalities was so-so. M. Damon is one, but even then, I wonder if Eminem would have carried it better, as originally planned. The Armadyne CEO was a likeable-hateable tool that I'd like to have known more about and Jodie Foster as 'Christine Lagarde/Ayn Rand' so-so needed a bit more history such that her story arc could 'weigh' more. Thinking about now, as I've had a U.C. Gundam itch that is irresistable to scratch, I realize that all that Syd Mead eye-candy was somewhat wasted on that 5-spoke wagon wheel Elysium. Its actually begging for a universal Century colonial setting and characters for a U.C. Gundam, big screen treatment--brokered between N. Blomkamp & J. Cameron, in conjunction with a Japanese production and writing team to keep it on track. Gundam character pantheon could truly flesh out a big screen epic without being merely a forgettable CGI-fest for the bonfire.

Saw it. Thoroughly enjoyed it and, 'politically speaking' quite satisfied with seeing a "99%" get the drop on a "1%" that is smug and insulated beyond usefulness. Another 'District 9'-like social commentary, reflective upon human politics and society in a overcrowded world. Classic national boundaries/values are blurred; one has to get over who is portrayed as haves/have-nots and their own, personal 'team' biases to just accept this as extension of what is news headlines today...like it or not. No 'Prawns' here to subtly dilute class/caste perceptions. I've seen some of the same, ignorant and overly 'self-important' critical comments on other websites, that people made back when "V for Vendetta" came out. Some were outraged or insulted that 'America' was being portrayed as a nationalist, insular police state--when an alternative, Neo-'Thatcher'-ian Britain was the setting. But enough political allegory. Inspired: Yes. Novel: no, not really...no profound or innovative concepts/perspectives to convey the story, like 'Inception'. However, excellent use of the Syd Mead-type design aesthetic and its reliable portrayal of a visceral, functional world based off the contemporary paradigm of global resource politics and power. Achieves a seemless 'suspension of disbelief'. Blomkamp's personal politics are again present here with his indictment of SA history--'Merc', self-actualizing police state & resource hegemony culture as the parasitic crab louse that clings to and perpetuates itself anywhere human class/caste-ism can commoditize itself. 1st half of film is quite gripping, but the second half seems rushed. While they may have wanted to portray a profligate application of technology resources, over indulgence in high tech weapons & accessories in the absence of a traditonal antagonist state, they merely achieve a shoot 'em up to me. The exoskeletons fall a little short; as their amp'd power is believable, but the associated stresses on human flesh & bone beneath leave me doubting all that was attempted with the minimalist suits provided. Maybe I didn't pay close enough attention. Overall, the visuals and design elements of near future are the WIN/WIN for me. I DO like that M. Damon, while a social crusader and vocal activist in his personal life, was content to portray a blue collar 'everyman' who fought to achieve an everyman, yet enlightened/egalitarian goal within that world. Not become a lone, 'larger than life' hero who gets the girl and the 'prize', while rattling off snarky one-liners as he confronts his enemies, in the manner of say Kevin Costner in his prime or Will Smith's usual characters. I'd give it 7.7 out of 10.

VERY glad to see this is a feature film versus a direct-to-DVD, kids home viewing. Now, if they can preserve more of the "Toy Story"/"Monster's Inc."-class and balanced maturity/youthfulness...rather than the over-the-top kiddie "Cars2" Renegadeleader1, The main character/'Cropduster' is more likely based off a Cessna Agwagon, not a P-51 Mustang. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cessna_A188A_Agwagon_N9961G_Minden_NV_27.10.05R_edited-2.jpg

sketchley, My only intent of mentioning 'cold' was as a figure of speech, referencing any possible UN Spacy mandates or instructions concerning VF ordinance systems. Was it a desirable option and considered important, the way the JSF program insisted upon VTOL/STOVL version being kept in the program, despite its handicap of 5,000lbs or so ...OR did they 'leave that out in the cold', 'show it no love'...ignore 'in sortie/flight' reload developement as superfluous; despite any frontline pilots wishing they had the option when swarmed by Zents, missiles or whatever.

Sounds rather epic? Required reading for contemporary USN personnel, I'd hope!

This begs an answer. Even 'in-Universe' storytelling could accomodate such a feature without it being 'anime-magic' overkill. Any pitched combat situation of the present or the foreseeable future would make 'speed-loading' a foregone conclusion/option, if main weaponry is a projectile, auto-cannon type. I can understand SW-1 circumstances leaving it out in the cold due to the catastrophe/war-emergency constraints, but future models? I've created my own variable fighters based around the legacy F/A-18 Hornet and the EA-6B, back in 2002...a year before the Yamato 1/48 VF-1 debuted and about the time of Macross Zero. Knowing the limitations of the GU-11 then, 'speed-reloading' from fuselage/forearm stowage in battroid-mode was a design point on my Hornet 'valk'. The semi-circular intakes were much becoming my forearms while the splitter-plate enlarged and deepened as arm-shields; with internal ammo stowage on 'zip-linked', retractable belts integral to these. I hadn't decided exactly how much could be stored there as I hadn't gotten deep enough into the details of exact dimensions. Once I retire, God-willing I can brush of these drawings and detail them.

Curious if anyone who is intimately familiar with the Macross Variable Fighter's weapons and accessoriy systems knows if the countermeasures and jamming equipment VFs employed included this approach? I know Roy manually engages the missile salvos from Unification forces w/the help of a retina-lock/eye-blink target and triggering in Mac Zero; this type of missle countermeasures seems de rigeur? How else could Max and company repeatedly dodge so much missile spam? http://news.yahoo.com/science-fiction-aims-fund-real-weapon-205811327.html

I just assumed it was retractable. I'd LIKE to assume the CGI rig for his suit sequencing has programmed in safe-guards against such an inconsistency. To alert the animators/artists when there are glaring inconsistencies in articulation & coverage flow--rather than just chalk up present day production standards for such a film as purely 'anime-magic'. Then, there ARE rushed deadlines... Too many die-hard geeks/fanboys involved in these productions nowadays to easily let something like this slide. Anybody got hard IM suit references handy as justification or to debunk my hypothesis?

This is news most epic! Thank you for the introduction to May's Toy series; loved it.

Purchased the DVD and watched it for the first time yesterday evening. I've had several months of reading everyone's import here and linked spoiler sites and my biggest concern was complaints on the story being disjoint, poorly paced w/inconsistency of story topped off with poorly written characters. Have to agree w/eugimon and shake my head at Kanedas bike's disappointments. I'm an old phart who saw the original Alien in the theatre w/my adventurous godmother 33yrs ago. One thing that R. Scott's 'Blade Runner' & 'Alien' franchise universes accomplished well and Cameron's 'Aliens' successfully embodied, was of a corptocracy-run Earth and similar hierarchy of all other human disciplines of the near future. Resources, wealth, R & D, luxury and freedom to come and go or engage the benefits of society, reflected by wealth/education caste/class--only trumped by corporate wealth intervention and/or power. The world of the 1970's was recovering from the post-VietNam/Watergate politics, turn-around in U.S. international influence as the prime policy driver post WWII and the OPEC gasoline crisis, global resource access and rise of Iran and other Arab states to affect the greater world at large with their own internal fights, vice Europe, Russia & America exclusively. Corporations and their power replacing nations and allied governments as world shapers: with everyone being offered a 'stake' from janitor to rocket scientist and religious philosopher...was the new paradigm. The romantic faith of our grandparents generation and before--in God, tradition and purity of principles--is long dead, quaint and smarmily replicated in consumer logos and advertisement. Archtype unto memes that persist usefully. The post-stasis breakfast, then briefing in the Prometheus' ready-room/forward bay revealed why everyone was there. The geologist job was thorough terrain mapping; the "I'm chicken-crap & lost, but I'll pet the cute worm/cobras" dude Millburn was another biologist along with the Dublin-accented female, Ford? The captain Janek and two deck crew(Tweedle-Dee & Tw'dl-Dum) were mil. type flight crew--with responsibility for the vessel's operations and thats it. Military cut & dry. Why are they SO stupid/clueless/irrational? The ultimate wisdom of Weyland, his 'Corp.' execs, including Vickers(whether robot daughter of Weyland, biologic/adopted or former squeeze w/geriatric fetish) is just like that underlying the Nostromo's mission, charter and crew, Carter Burke and the Sulaco contingent and by extension of recent universe tie-in, 'Blade Runner'/Tyrell corporate think. People are plentiful(overpopulated) & expendable, regardless of great individual talent; however there are enough of them that they need to be kept fed, housed and employed like worker ants lest they turn on and consume the defacto order. A galaxy is a big place for rebellions and piracy to grow on far flung worlds with light-years in between. The 'genius corp.' of mission specialists are good at what they can bring to bear on Weyland's mission, but quirky enough not to threaten the decision making of Vickers or derail unorthodox changes in mission goal--get Weyland immortality. They are expendable idiots who aced the placement exams and are satisfied with their wages, but are not a threat to getting them all to LV 333(or whatever its number). I'd say the 2 biologists were the biggest waste; only additional time analyzing the primordial goo and Engineer's remains could have allowed them growth. Once their specialties are made clear, Weyland & Vickers understand clearly that anything they individually could bring to the table could be reasonably replicated by David. Matter of fact, David's capabilities underly much of this venture going forward. Although not stated, I am quite comfortable ASSUMING Shaw's 'adventures-in-childbirth' were data-liked to David's 'positronic'brain and that Ford and the other tech brought him & Vickers up to speed when she escaped. That she was the 'religious-motivated' scientist, as well as being a small statured female, I'd assume few took her as a serious opponent/distraction. Ultimately, this entire space mission is not 'enterprising humanity' discovering the unknown...it is a ship of calculated fool's on varying ego quests, funded by Weyland's dream fortune. In a Star Trek-like universe, there might be several droids or Datas or Davids onboard to assist mission completion or protect fragile, irrational humans in unexpected circumstances. That is only a plausible consideration because 'Star Trek' is a nice, happy future where people work together and care. R. Scott's futures are slogging, carnivorous food chains only slightly domesticated by the needs of capricious mega-corps--evolution to egalitarian ideals takes third place to profit and maintenance of the corporate power structure. The galaxy is vast is, holds untold bounties for those who have the financial means to get the political & military go ahead to explore then rape it appropriately. As it is today, every business corp. is hoping to monopolize the 'next big thing' and find as close a guarantee to protracted, unrestricted/exclusive profit mining. The only obstacles are gov'ts and military that serve one purpose: maintain law & order and keep it in the hands of those 'chosen/designated/paid-off/can afford to pay-it-off'--for the greater good of the empire/domain/federation...what have you. That is where Weyland dwells; he's not dictator or Lord Emperor, but is probably one of a handful of similar moguls/execs with such incredible brains, ambition and resources. Parallel: The oil companies and industrial resource global contractors of the future--Koch Bros., Halliburton, Exxon/Mobile, Pfizer and Monsanto. Deny global climate change so that a thawed Arctic Circle & open N'West Passage guarantee King Solomon's grade resource mining and access for the nations that can access it for the next 100yrs--without overflight treatise or negotiating w/militarized religious zealots=WIN/WIN! Phkk the environment-->thusly, fewer competitors, who will be too busy pumping rising sea levels out of their capitol cities to invest in deep sea drilling/fracking. Pumping sea water that is, w/YOUR proprietary, 'Gulf Spill'-heavy duty, drilling/pumping technology!! Aside from 'Aliens' which used the Reagan deregulated/'Gordon Gekko' Wall St. mentality of the mid-80's as a back drop for corporate-think and archtypic mentality, the political/military are not discussed at all because they are not the movers & shakers...they are the dependable & nec. paid-off tools. According to H. Kissinger's oft quoted dig at Alexander Haig concerning 'military men', Janek and company embodied to me, consummate dedicated merchant marine/Maritime Sealift Command veteran types who put mission and the safety of their charges first--ultimately seeing the big picture clearly=save Earth at all costs. Give us the right, 'ultimate' mission and I believe most of those whom I've served with the last 18yrs would sacrifice their lives once they weighed the obvious costs. Lastly, Janek was written like a stereotype of many career naval/maritime staff I've served around too: dedicated, straight to the point, short on words and externally simple, but running all the numbers & cross-filing the 'crazy characters' onboard thru his head clearly. Meanwhile, always looking to crack open some p00n with the correct angle...8^7. He KNEW Vicker's story, her weakness for 'human-like' sentimentality & family warmth(Christmas) and figured why not go fishing for 'it' early on. Just like a WestPAC cruise shakedown! All of the other unexplained detail, Kaneda bike...those NEED NOT be explained->can be sufficiently deducted/approximated and are fodder for sequels. Scott assumes his audiences are students of history/classics, current events and basic human nature/society--they are the back drop of his stories.