| abstract
| - Mayson Historical Technology Society - The Mayson Historical Technology Society is, first and foremost, a museum filled with a variety of oddities accompanied by viewscreens which can be touched to reveal more information about the item in question. Some of the items include old weaponry, psi blockers, and power generators, however. At the center of the room, currently, is the featured exibit. A twenty foot high cannon, dubbed a replica the New Paris Gun. The main holographic image by the weapon indicates this is a one-tenth scale of the original. Further viewscreens indicate that the weapon was built in the early 31st century, and designed to hit New Paris with an artillery shell from what eventually became the city of Freyssinet. A group of a couple dozen people or so is forming near the entrance, likely a group of visitors that have yet to have a guide assigned. Among that group is a tallish, red-haired Sivadian woman, with a pair of wire-rimmed glasses perched on her nose. Alexandra stands patiently, looking around curiously as she waits for a guide. Jeff makes his way into the museum, and it appears he is trying to talk to someone with a hands-free set, "Sure," he says, nodding to everyone but the person he's taking to, "Yes, I am on La Terre now, I just popped away from the boat for a walk. No, I'm just visiting a museum. What museum? I don't know, the one on La-Terre... Well I'm sorry if that's not helpful, hey I can take care of my self Steve, I'll be fine. Yeah, okay. Really, really.... Really? What did he say? No I will not accept that, he can meet me during lunchtime or he can, as they say, shove it. No that's all I'm going to say to him." Finally what looks to be a tour guide shows up. He comes up a bit short, however, only standing a bit over five feet tall. He looks up at most of the visitors who are taller than he is. "Welcome to the Mayson Historical Technology Society." he says, "And our 31st century military technology exhibit. My name is Will and I will be leading the tour." he explains. Alexandra quirks a brow at Jeff as he walks up, perhaps thinking the man to be talking to himself. After a few moments, though, she smirks, rolls her eyes and looks away, her attention settling instead on the tour guide. "Bye Steve... Bye bye now. Yes. Yeah. Bye... Bye." Jeff hangs up, apparently, turning to gaze in mixed interest towards the tour guide. And Will begins to walk along, the first major exhibit being what looks to be some kind of infantryman. "Before we begin, we should explain that a large part of La Terran 31st century military doctrine was created and ran under Rachael Akari and her infantry corps. This..." he motions to the infantryman, "Is an example of what a typical infantryman from that era looked like." he seems to be equipped with armor, a rifle, a sidearm, and a few other things, but is not weighed down by what one might think a 'typical' infantry soldier would carry. The red-haired Sivadian trails along with the rest of the group, her head tilting curiously as she looks over the display. Lex doesn't ask any questions though - she seems content simply to listen. Another glance goes toward Jeff, as if Lex were trying to reassure herself that he had, indeed, hung up his call. Jeff notices nothing, not even the tour. He's looking in the opposite direction at another exhibit. "Perhaps the most important thing to notice" Will continues, "Is the focus on versatility. Infantry doctrine of the time dictated that with limited production capabilities that an emphasis on equipment that could operate in most conditions was more important than specialized equipment. The armor you see is one of the older versions of the Akari battlesuit. Mostly it is a few light armor plates in locations that do not need to bend or pivot a great deal kept together by thin leather. The idea being that mobility and lightness was the most important for the infantry of the time." Sara enters the museum, looking around curiously, taking in one of the closer exhibits at first, even reading the sign in front of it to get a better understanding of what she's looking at. She does seem to tilt her head as she picks up the words of the tour guide, and she starts in that direction however a bit shyly. Alexandra simply watches and listens, again looking the display over with marked interest as Will describes what exactly it is she's looking at. Jeff continues to stay with the crowd, of which he's managing to blend in with fairly well. He doesn't seem too interested in the tour itself above, say, the shy looking girl moving to join the group. His eyebrows raise over his sunglasses for a moment and he smiles. "Similar to the suit, you will see the pistol. It is an older, bulkier pulse pistol style weapon. Designed for targets at short ranges." Will explains. Sara moves a little closer toward the group and also looks the display over, her eyes taking it in quietly. She doesn't seem to have noticed Jeff watching her, but she does look around herself for a moment, a shy little smile on her lips and a soft blush on her cheeks as she now tries to blend in with the group. "Huh," Lex notes quietly, nodding a bit, the gesture probably intended for nobody but herself. She shifts a step to the left to accomodate the newcomer, a brief glance going over toward Sara. "So..." Jeff says, moving through from one side and looking between Sara and Lex incredulously, "Are either of you /really/ interested in a collection of old toys?" he grins, keeping his voice low enough to be vaguely polite. "The primary weapon, however, is the rifle here." Will explains. "An assault weapon designed with a high rate of fire for the time. This is ultimately the weapon that could be credited for winning the conflicts Rachael Akari was a part of. Long range superiority over other La Terran forces of the day." "Sorry," Sara offers Lex, a humble expression on her face, and then she looks back at Jeff, "It's part of my heritage, so yes," she replies softly, trying not to cause a scene. She looks back, to the display looking it over curiously, "Is that a projectile weapon?" she asks curiously although not too loudly, perhaps just an idle curiosity. Alexandra looks away from the exhibit and offers a nod and a reassuring smile to Sara, then blinks at Jeff blankly. "Er... well, yes," she answers after a moment, her voice also kept very low. She accompanies the comment with a shrug. "Aren't you?." And then the Sivadian's attention is back on the tour guide as Sara asks her question. "Ah, pfft." Jeff manages, shaking his head, "As far as I am concerned, I should be thankful for any place I can escape the cameras, old toys or not." this seems to have dissuaded the man somewhat, and he finds a place a little place away from the two women. "The rifle is a projectile." Will explains. "The pistol is an energy weapon. The rifle is said to have come with a plasma based assault as well, but this was not near as commonly used, with the expense needed to produce, often left to elite squads to use." then he indicates a small square, "And this, is an old psionic blocking technology. Designed to block out psioinic energy entirely. It also drove psionists insane. Modern psionic interrupters and the suppression grid manage to avoid the pain side effect, but this protected the infantryman from assaults from psionists, which were more common on La Terre during this time." Sara nods her head at the explanation, "Interesting," she replies softly, "So even back then the beliefs that we have now were that important to the people?" she asks, her head tilting slightly to one side as she waits for the answer. The Sivadian woman looks after Jeff only briefly as he wanders off, offering a shrug to noone in particular. Lex gives a quick glance Sara's way before she resumes listening quietly to Will. Jeff seems to keep rather blended in, from this point on, as difficult as that can sometimes be. "Rachael Akari taught a rather different version of what is believed now. At that time, however, the Saints as we know them did not exist yet." Will explains. "Many of Rachael Akari's campaigns were against Vollistan populations residing on La Terre at the time, making the psionic blocking technology of critical importance." Sara nods, "I see," she says softly, a thoughtful expression on her face, but she keeps quiet this time, her eyes just going back to the display. Alexandra blinks. "What was the reasoning behind these campaigns?" she asks then, her head tilting slightly as she looks to the tour guide. Right, she just painted 'tourist' on her forehead with a single question. "This was at a time before La Terre was protected from psionists." Will explains. "A new age of Kamir were a resurgent threat, and the Vollistans, being genetically linked to the Kamir, were a target of Rachael Akari's pogroms. Those who were not killed were often used in medical experiements or other illicit research." Sara's nose wrinkles at the mention of medical experimentation, but she keeps silent for the moment. "Interesting," Lex replies, with a nod. A faint frown creases her brow, also seemingly at the mention of the experiments. But she continues nonetheless. "What sorts of experiments, if you don't mind me asking?" "Some were an attempt to understand how psionics were channelled. This was before there were humans who could reliably channel psionics." Will continues. Then he moves on to the next exhibit, "However, we should examine the final exhibit, and the major draw." he announces. "The New Paris Gun. This weapon is one tenth scale." he says, motioning up at the twenty foot tall cannon. "A weapon aimed to hit New Paris from the old city of Lightholding." Sara follows along, quietly listening. Her eyes travel along hte length of the gun as she looks it over, awe showing in her eyes. Alexandra simply nods in reply to Will's answer, and trails along as the group moves to the next exhibit. She too looks the weapon over, a similarly awed expression in place. "The weapon was able to hit at approximately 500 miles. The weapon entering the upper atmosphere to take advantage of the minimal amount of air, but not so high as to be vulnerable to the New Parisian defensive satellites. The nature of the weapon also meant the weapon could attack with minimal warning. A key component of what became the seige of New Paris." Sara smirks, "Surprise attack. They always had to be on their toes cause they never knew when it was coming," she comments. "Huh," Lex comments to herself, again looking up at the one-tenth-scale weapon. A nod is given in response to Sara's observation. "It was not very accurate, but it would hit within the city. It was largely a psychological weapon." Will observes. "This coming as Rachael Akari's infantry was surrounding the city. Ultimately, the conflict ended in a truce. The surrender of New Paris, in exchange, the city of Lightholding would be named after one of their early leaders. Freyssinet." Sara smiles, "So each side got something they wanted in the long run. Interesting tactics though," she observes. Alexandra purses her lips. "It sounds like there would've been an awful lot of collateral damage, though," she comments. "How many times was it actually fired?" "The exact number is unknown." Will says, "But the collateral damage was the purpose of the weapon. It was unable to hit military targets with reliability." Sara nods, "Hence why the use of area damage is better then," she comments. The red-haired Sivadian simply falls silent at Wil's explanation, a noncommittal nod given. Lex glances over at Sara again as she comments. "And that is our exhibit for the day." Will explains, "Any further questions? We thank everyone for showing up." Sara shakes her head, "Thank you for the tour," she offers with a polite smile. Alexandra smiles as well. "Yes, thank you for showing us around," she offers, along with a nod. "I've asked too many questions already though, I think," she adds then, giving a faint chuckle.
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