General voice test

[hatesdrdinosaur]

-1-

[Congratulations, smart person. Your application to work at the Tesladyne institute has been processed. All that remains is the interview with the institute's founder, the intelligent robot known as Atomic Robo. Robo is by far the most unusual thing in the office, which is otherwise utterly mundane. You've never seen a robot wearing a t-shirt.]

Glad you could make it, take a seat.

-2-

[Downtown is being trashed by a sixty foot tarantula that is spitting green fireballs]

I can think of five reasons why that can't possibly exist off the top of my head.

[Despite the physical impossibility of it, it just ate a mail-man. Robo slumps his shoulders.]

There are guns in the truck.

-3-

[You're both on the way to a mission in the depths of the Amazon Rain Forest, on a helicopter. Robo takes you aside at one point on the trip.]

Listen, we're going to be going into enemy territory for this one, so you'll need to be prepared.

[As you contemplate how you THOUGHT you were going to check out some vine covered ruins that had risen out of the ground mysteriously, Robo leads you to a large crate in the back labeled "Bug repellent". He flips the latch and the top pops open to reveal that the crate is full of guns.]

Comments

[number1_kerbal]

Glad to be here!

[Is this a little green man? It just might be. It takes him a while to walk over to the chair and get into it-he's only a meter tall. Not as much of that is head as it looks in pictures, but he's still got a proportionally over-sized noggin. Selective pressure must be different where he comes from.]

Gotta say, it is an honor to be considered for this job.

[hatesdrdinosaur]

Well, we take all types, Dr. Kerman, so long as their heart belongs to science.

Now it says here your specialty is rocket science, and that you built a functional space ship out of scrap metal, along with a whole pile of NON-functional space ships.

[number1_kerbal]

Glad to hear it, glad to hear it. And you can call me Jeb, I don't like to stand on the PhD.

Well, it's the price of trial and error isn't it? A functional spaceship, you don't learn much from. And when you simulate something, you're at the mercy of your computer model. That said, I think I've learned a lot of lessons about aerodynamic pressures, launch windows and rocket engines from my designs, failed and successful alike. Right now I'm working on a new engine design, but I'll bet that's in there to.

[hatesdrdinosaur]

It...isn't, actually. But I've always felt chemical rockets can only take us so far. Tell me about your new engine.

[number1_kerbal]

Well. As you're probably aware, one of the big obstacles in space flight is the amount of fuel and oxidizer you need to get into orbit. Back in the 70s, they looked into putting jet engines on the space shuttle to cut back on it's oxidizer needs, but the added weight cut into payload too much.

But why bring along separate jet engines? Jets, rockets, the difference between them is actually pretty thin. Well, actually it's pretty significant, but I'm working on a rocket that will use the atmosphere for it's own oxygen supply up to about Mach 5.5. It might have a thrust to weight ratio as high as 14 if all the tricks I'm planning to use work out. Single stage to orbit capable. It's not a space elevator, but getting out to orbit is halfway to anywhere you want to go.

[hatesdrdinosaur]

Hm, you'll have to send me the specs for that later. If you can actually get that to work... Tangent.

Tell me, what are thoughts on vampires?

[number1_kerbal]

We're not talking Bela Lugosi and his ilk I take it? Don't have much of a personal opinion. Am I likely to have one if I work here?

[hatesdrdinosaur]

It's definitely within the realm of possibility.

[number1_kerbal]

Well. I certainly wouldn't want to have my blood sucked. Better keep a jetpack close at hand then.