VF-25S Full Armour

SkullLeaderVF-X, judging by our avatar, I must say, you've got taste.

We know for a fact that the elder folks (Ozma and Cathy) know quite a lot more than they've bothered to show onscreen, but with Michael gone, besides Klan, who else would have the inspiration or the motive? Luca? For all we know he could be part of this mess, though in a not so voluntary manner (i.e. might involve coercion) , and he definitely knows part of the story, though possibly not all. Alto? Let's hope the possible loss of Michael cures his denseness and gets him curious enough to consult Klan-Klan and try to get to the bottom of things.

That's another question that remains unanswered to this date. We know absolutely that his adviser and most (if not all) of his troops were dead for sure since we all saw them eaten up by the dimension eater, but we did NOT see Ogathwai die with our own eyes since it was never shown. What really happened to him?

With Mr. Blanc out of the way, this isn't really going to help along with the storytelling. If all the snooping him and Klan-Klan (and there is a possibility that he knows stuff that he hasn't even told her yet) did is going out of the ship the same way the poor man's body does, then wouldn't that be a HUGE waste of plot development? Unless he somehow left all he knew in some hidden yet accessible to his friends, I find it impossible to discount his return in some form.

Hmm, I have a bad feeling that some other main character might end up dead within the next few episodes. Maybe it's Sheryl herself? Still much about her remains unanswered. Wonder what Brera's going to do with his VF-27... Now that Leon's Mr. President, the big question remains: What's going on with Bilrer? The SMS complex is obviously under Vajra attack, but where is he ? His role in all this remains unknown even to this date. The whole Vajra rush on board thing is so reminiscent of the zerg... "LIVE FOR THE SWARM!" Now that I think of it, Ozma and Cathy could easily wind up dead next episode too if Leon is as careful and thorough as he could be. The word "trap" springs to mind.

This is definitely the best overall Macross Frontier Episode so far. Sheryl Nome has shown us that her strength is deep and true. Nothing like a bitch slap to beat some sense into a little girl who is lagging in the mental and emotional maturity department. Sheryl Nome has a supposedly terminal disease and her life's work on the career of her dreams has all but evaporated, yet she finds the strength to do all the right things a mature adult and professional should do given her exact situation. Despite so many claims of Ranka being "loli", from my POV she is just a very young petite teenager. Loli? What's the deal with that? She might be really kiddy like in behavior and so on, but based on what I see so far her body is no child. Hell Hath no Fury like a Heartbroken Meltran! The only thing that isn't too manly about Alto is his hairstyle, and that's where it all ends. We are talking about a guy even the MAN Ozma thought was too reckless on the battlefield. RIP Michael Blanc (assuming he's 100% dead), he died the GLORIOUSLY in BATTLE, protecting the one woman he truly loves. This fits with both the Macross AND Klingon ideal of the perfect way to die. The gates of Valhalla and Stovokor are both open to him. As someone pointed out, it could take over a minute to die a cold, slow and agonizing death in space. Since Michael had a hole through his abdomen, there's the problem of accelerated blood loss. The urban myth about people bursting up and dying in space within seconds simply defies the laws of physics. An average healthy human (reference species) has a BP of 110/70mmHg to 120/80mmHg, which frankly isn't THAT much (it's less than 1 bar), so there's no way a human would just balloon and pop within seconds, with human collagen as string as it is. In reality, human BP can SPIKE to extremes like 300mmHg for just over a second in EXTREMELY strenuous activity such as weightlifting hundreds of kilos, yet there is practically no real danger. With Michael dead, then who is going to tell the rest of the young guys about the whole truth when the time comes? Possibly Klan-Klan? Her current emotional state might mean that the secrets die along with her too, unfortunately. The Vajra attacks all reminded me of one thing: Zerg Rush. It is now very unlikely that Michael could have somehow survived, though not 100% impossible. In Gamlin's case, all we saw was a surprise Kamikaze and a big explosion, and nothing else. Michael was impaled through his abdomen and spat blood, indicating that major internal damage must have occurred. If all major organs and blood vessels were missed, which does occur in real life, that would not have occurred. Still wondering what Grace forced Brera to do.

Why would the physics of such an incredible device like a DE fascinate me so much?Well, let's just say that quality Sci-Fi (especially with someone like SK who has a good technical background) has always been inspired by Science fact, taken to a theoretical extreme. Doesn't necessarily have to get EVERYTHING right, and most importantly, inspires lots of thought, research and enthusiasm about science and engineering. Oh, by the way, here are the equations to describe classical gravity and electrostatics: Fg = G*(m1*m2) / (R^2) Where G = 6.67*10^-11 and R = distance between COG of m1 and m2 (hint: This is what makes density "special" (not the quotation marks, I'm not trying to pull a bunny out of the hat or such); density allows one to place the COG of the 2 objects much closer together without) Fe = (Q1*Q2) / (4*pie*Eo*Er) Eo = 8.84*10^-12 and Er is a medium dependent constant. My apologies if I have managed to generate a string of headaches (and significantly increased headache medication sales) with what I'm doing here. Just having too much fun.

Well, thanks Deebot for explaining what I was trying to say about flux density better than I did. What I was trying to say about spherical object of finite radius vs. point charge. What you said about getting a spherical charge of finite mass and then squashing it down in radius to R->0 was exactly what I was trying to get across. My apologies for if the way I said it was too confusing. As for singularities and the idea of the black practically infinite well where no matter could escape, well, that simply isn't that simple though. In practice, Hawking radiation has already been predicted by we know who and proven to exist from observations of real black holes. A proportionately VERY small but still detectable amount of radiation still radiates out of the "black" hole. Quantum Tunneling, exactly what causes serious problems in our quest for ever smaller transistors, as it actually gets significant at 16nm minimum half distance between each line. Compare this to the current 45nm process and the soon to come 32nm process. The "strength" of the magnetic field i.e. the force of repulsion or attraction per unit charge is a function of flux density alone and has nothing to do with total charge. It's a basic definition and one only needs to refer to a multi-variable calculus text book to confirm this. Total flux, which is a function of charge (or mass for gravity) is NOT related to density at all. Real charged particles all have a finite effective radius (though), so the flux density can never get to infinity. That's why you don't get infinite force. By the way, magnetic field theory just happens to be an extremely handy analogy for explaining gravitational flux since they actually work the same. The only real differences are: 1. Charge has 2 opposite signs but no "-mass" has been found so far. 2. The physical constant are different. Gravity has the G constant, but for electrostatics has Mo and Eo (for freespace), whereby 1/c^2 = MoEo and Mo = 4*pie*10^-7 and Eo = 8.84*10^-12. Otherwise, the same maths apply. To avoid actually hitting the black hole or in our earth's case, hitting the sun, one just needs to to be far enough and have an orbital velocity fast enough to generate centrifugal force to match or exceed (if one wants to get away) the gravitational pull generated centripetal force. If one's space ship gets close enough, the escape orbital velocity required starts to get to significant proportions of c and as you said, general relativity starts to be significant.

Actually, worm holes are formed by joining 2 black holes end to end to form a channel between 2 points in time and space. What made me come up with the black hole hypothesis was the fact that it was basically and expanding spherical object that sucked all matter in close proximity into it. Notice that Grace version 1.00 (using the current Grace chassis as a v2.00 reference) was sucked into the black growing ball, just like what would have happened if one was close to a black hole. Since the center of gravity of the black sphere was ABOVE Grace v1.00, she was sucked UP and towards the center of the sphere as far as I can tell, Not crushed DOWN, so the sphere must be attractive to matter. Also notice how even seriously overpowered VF-25s (vs. today's fighter jets) were also struggling against the pull of the growing black ball on their escape and only made it because they took off just in time to fold off along with the Vajra ships. IIRC, Galia IV was left looking like an apple partially eaten with one GIANT bite.

Well, if DEs create disruptions in fold communications, which rely on manipulating the space time fabric i.e. space folding, then DE rounds must disrupt the space-time fabric then. As for the aftermath of Galia IV, the planet was NOT crunched or crushed in any way. Matter close to the black hole generated by the device (which is much weaker than what those large natural black holes in space) was simply sucked into it as far as I can tell, as if stuff was ripped off. The closer one was to it, the more strongly it ripped one off. Remember the scene where the Zentradi Adviser was literally ripped apart? A black hole's ability to suck in matter is not actually based on mass alone. It's density is more important than it's total mass. As matter is sucked into it, it's overall mass of course grows. But in reality, a larger black hole could be weaker than its smaller cousin simply because its density is lesser. Of course, being larger means greater radius and greater proximity to its surface for a given distance to it's center of mass. But, one can view gravitational fields as gravitational flux, using electrostatics as an analogy. For example, let's use a simplistic theoretical experiment as an example. Lets have a spherical charge with 1C of charge. Lets have another with 1C of charge, but as a point object (i.e. radius -> 0). Since its repulsion or attractive force towards an equal or opposite charge sign is proportional to the flux DENSITY i.e. charge per area, the point charge is in fact "stronger" than the spherical charge of finite radius, since it is possible to get closer to the central origin of charge even though the overall amount of charge is the same. For a given overall mass of sphere, mass/area and thus, gravitational field strength is proportional to the 1/Radius^2. As m->infinity, Radius of sphere->0 and thus density->infinity, the force of gravitational attraction possible approaches infinity. Of course, DE rounds might not actually create just black holes, but wormholes that transport matter from one dimension to another. Thus, the "Super Dimension" theme?

Hmm, I think I should spark off a separate page on DE discussion after all? Speaking of black holes, they can actually be visualized pretty easily if one can see the fabric of space and time like Einstein did. Since 3-D space is too much for most humans to perceive well, let's get down to simple 2-D to illustrate the principle. If the fabric of space time is literally like a piece of rubber cloth, then significant gravitational force is generated as a single object of large mass exists, e.g. the sun in the middle of our solar system causing a distortion in the space-time fabric, causing the other massive objects (e.g. the planets) to be pulled towards the sun. A black hole occurs when an object of nonzero rest mass is somehow at a density so great that it literally tears a hole in the space-time fabric, causing other matter to get sucked into it like a kitchen sinkhole sucking water in when unplugged. The fact that light gets pulled towards the direction of origin of gravitational fields means that though light has no rest mass, it does in fact have gravitational mass. As for compressing a pineapple? Well, a bad idea, pineapples are too complicated a matter. In fact, micro black holes have already been created IRL in particle accelerators, where matter hitting each other a over 0.99c end up so condensed tat they generate micro black hole. Luckily, there is simply insufficient matter to feed them enough for them to grow as they would if they were in the middle of the galaxy. Since I'm rather new here, I wonder which area of the forum is best suited for such a thread. Suggestions will be highly appreciated.

A character episode, nonetheless. A lot of touchy feely stuff going on, and the Sheryl Ranka Alto Triangle is finally moving forward at a less glacial pace. Positive overall, and thus I voted so. Finally, the confrontation between the Ozma/Kathy spy team (or couple for that matter) with literally mountains of documented proof. The fact that President Glass himself in within the sights of a sniper would complicate things a lot. It's as if Leon expected things to occur exactly as they are now. In the words of Emperor Palpatine: "I foresaw it." Despite my positive vote, however, there are some things that I think are still inadequately revealed ATM. The good news is that we've finally seen Alto's mom as she really was. Nothing like a mother that actually embraces your hopes and dreams instead of just quashing them from the get-go. Dimension Eater Rounds? Finally. Took a while and now the ultimate weapon is out (not counting the insanely large scale use on Galia IV of course). Wonder how such a weapon might be possible. Since black holes (which is how DE rounds work) require only sufficient mass density to work, maybe they've figured out a way to condense matter to TIGHT spaces, say using a pile of protons contained in a magnetic container which is them compressed extremely violently with a sudden EM containment field spike? Like charges don't mater when one somehow manages to push protons close enough to allow the short ranged but EXTREMELY powerful strong force to work. Just speculation on my part, but maybe I should open a new thread specifically on the physics of DE rounds and get some physicists' blood pumping? Leon's current actions are predictable, but no less interesting nonetheless. Doesn't take an Einstein to figure out that he hungers for more power and is willing to do anything for it. But his true ultimate purpose and also those of Grace & Co. remain unknown for now. A man like Leon cannot be driven by power alone. Hitler was driven by his messiah complex and crazy ideas about the Arian race, etc. Leon is no different. This reminds me about SDF:Macross in the sense that an enemy will just show up and strike in the middle of their celebration. Ranka: "Onee-Chan..." Correct me if I'm wrong, but that means brother in Japanese, right? One of the major reasons for Grace to hold so much sway over Brera Stern is his desire to recover lost memories. Perhaps now on we shall see Brera as he truly is (I think...), a fundamentally good person that sings evil's tune through sheer lack of choice. More questions with still gaping holes. There is still no definitive story on Sheryl's real past yet. Ranka, it's obvious enough now even without every piece of the puzzle right in front of us. And what's going on in Galaxy now? Have not heard from them since episode 15 IIRC.

Thanks Gubaba. Maybe I should have poked around all the tabs and buttons a bit more. I'll do that a bit next time. So far I'm enjoying myself on this forum and frankly this place is one of the most civilized (in forum space) I've been to so far. Good job to everyone for keeping open yet civilized discussion the main MO around here.

Hello folks. As some of you might already know, I'm new to Macross World. At the moment, I have 2 questions to ask. 1. How do you get your personal photo to show in a thread post instead of only when someone clicks your name tab? 2. There are dots that seem to be an indication of rank around here. What do they mean and what are they based on? For instance, one dot seems to be "valkyrie heat shield scrubber, 3 is edwards test pilot, etc.? Any real help will be highly appreciated. I thank whoever helps in advance.

Or rather, she is just one of the constituents of her specially cooked up DNA? Mao's blood type might be quite common after space war one though, with humanity shrunk to a few % of itself and all sorts of interbreeding between all sort s of people occurring. It is quite possible that she was created to be the perfect "galactic siren", thrown into and "orphanage" (with corporations in control, ANYTHING is possible) which was in fact just a cover for their "Project Fairies". She was thrown out somewhere down the line for who knows what reason (maybe her stubborn nature was causing complications?"). If my genetic engineering theory holds true, then technically she is an orphan since she has no biological parent in the conventional sense (i.e. no individual mom and dad). The guys at the "orphanage" could simply tell her that she's some random orphan from the streets just to keep things under wraps. Using the Hitman as an example, there's Mr. 47 who was created from a mix of DNA of multiple individuals in the quest to genetically engineer the perfect Assassin. He was never told his true origin and was raised as the perfect killing machine. If you follow the games' storylines as the canonical source, he only figured out his true genetic heritage when he returned to the asylum (which was just a cover for a genetic engineering lab) he escaped from in the 1st place. As we've seen Sheryl is pretty much in the dark over her true current condition, which Michael&Klan managed to discover as a V-type virus infection, something they later confirmed to her.

It's Milia Fallyna Jenius to be exact. My mistake for mixing it up with the Robotech version of her name. And I do assume that the current pointy ears as the canonical version of zentradi ears, which makes much more sense to me than normal human ears. Just think of it as retconning, S.K. style. IF she was a discarded subject, it is also possible that she was discarded when she was already a self aware child with some limited but luckily sufficient survivability (e.g. age 5 or over, when one is old enough to speak and take care of ones basic needs e.g. feeding and cleaning oneself). Her experiences of struggling to survive every single day on the streets would fully explain her unbreakable tenacity. Of course, I'm not saying that I believe that Sheryl's past is necessarily THAT convoluted. As I said at the end of my post, it's pure speculation. However, one must always be open to whatever possibilities that of what the truth could be be. What concerns me even more now is Grace herself. Has she actually been fully digitized i.e. all her organic components completely discarded and her consciousness fully uploaded into a computer, or was she an AI in an android body all along? Or does she actually have her original organic brain somewhere in a titanium/carbon nanotube braincase like Motoko Kusanagi from GITS?

Well, Sheryl claims to be fully human, but even Ranka who is 25% zentradi could have fooled anyone as a full human on visual inspection alone if not for her green hair colour, assuming that it is her real hair colour. Sheryl's hair colour is simply impossible for a natural full human, unless of course it is dyed the same way as Maximilian Jenius's famous blue locks. No one's mistaking someone such as Guld or Klan-Klan as a human though. Their ears are a dead giveaway. And there is no way Miriya's undercover mission on SDF-1 could have been pulled off if not for her long hair hiding her pointed meltrandi ears all the time As for hair colour? Well, everyone could have just assumed that her was dyed green. Since Galaxy was so heavily into bleeding edge tech, it's not inconceivable that she was a genetically engineered specimen based on Ranshe's DNA which was discarded for who knows what reason, but as we all know now Sheryl is like a Terminator in nature (i.e. absolutely will not stop fighting until the bitter end). Somehow, this remarkably resilient specimen was picked up from the slums by Grace as she happens to be both a great research subject AND integral to project "Fairy 9"? Just my wild speculation, but since the details are so sketchy now anything is possible, especially with the fact that she was an orphan (I am 90% sure of her orphaned status ATM).

Assuming that your triangle theory is true and there is a a remote possibility that Ozma and Ranka are indeed blood relatives, are we looking forward to one of these moments: Ozma: "Ranka, you never knew the truth about your , did you? Ranka, I am your !" Ranka: "That cannot be, that's impossible! NO!!!!!!!" Goes on to punish those whom I find disturbing...

The T-1000 comment was just speculation along the lines that her shapeshifting abilities MIGHT be greater than what we've seen so far. Of course, as you mentioned, there are lots of simple tricks that will seriously transform one's looks. But that won't explain away how she could morph her hand to such extremes back on Galia IV, or how she could generate tentacles to swap Sheryl's blood sample with an anomaly free substitute. The fact that Episode 17 does not show the complete sequence of her man->woman transformation isn't helping either. The shapeshifting abilities may or may not be limited to just her arms. For now, I'm sticking with the full body shapeshifter theory. As I said, only time will tell.

Technically, even if a humanoid robot had a real human mind that once belonged to a completely organic human before, it's STILL an android. For an example of a true cyborg, just take a look at the Borg from star trek. Since both their biological and technological mechanisms are integral to their function and survival, they are true cyborgs. So is Robocop, with major portions of Alex Murphy's brain running what's basically a humanoid tank. Same for Motoko Kusanagi when she is actually inhabiting a body with her original organic brain in it. Terminators are referred to as Cyborgs("Cybernetic Organisms") too, though in technically the human skinned infiltrators (from the original T-800s to the T-888s) are still androids, if one follows the true meaning of "Cybernetic Organism" i.e. an organism that functions and survives via a synergy of organic and synthetic components. Hope this clears things up. Apparently, Grace and Co. are running an android body that is fully capable of physically reformatting itself to whatever shape it desires, within the limits that conservation of mass imposes AFAIK. This is pure speculation on my part for now, but I think she may be a Macross Universe analogue of the T-1000. Only time will tell.

Speaking of red Vajra nuke resistance, I'm not surprised in the slightest bit. It's conceptually no different from say overuse of DDT IRL. Apparently, they were NOT immune to extreme thermonuclear heat, but they did become extremely resistant. As for shedding an entire layer of skin, that's the explanation for their extreme durability right in front of us. It's no different from what the Apollo modules did back in the 60s, the concept off ABLATIVE ARMOUR. It's basically allowing a sacrificial layer of extremely heat resistant material to burn away to prevent excessive heat conduction to the vitals underneath it. As for Grace, it's already firmly established that she (technically THEY) is and android with either downloaded former human minds or AIs or even a combination of both. There is absolutely no original organic material that we could observe on that body, so technically she is NOT a cyborg. By definition, cyborgs are a combination of both living organic matter and artificial parts, and Grace's body is absolutely synthetic.