From: owner-deltagreen-digest@nocturne.org (deltagreen-digest) To: deltagreen-digest@nocturne.org Subject: deltagreen-digest V2 #95 Reply-To: Delta Green List Sender: owner-deltagreen-digest@nocturne.org Errors-To: owner-deltagreen-digest@nocturne.org Precedence: bulk deltagreen-digest Friday, October 8 1999 Volume 02 : Number 095 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 08 Oct 1999 03:54:49 -0400 From: David Paul Subject: DG: NOT Ghroth Robert Thomas wrote: >Well it's been nice knowing you all looks like Ghroth's on its way! You fools! Don't you understand? It's Yuggoth! YUGGOTH!!! In _The Whisperer in darkness the mi-go told Wilmarth that the came from the farthest planet in the system. Wilmarth assumed they meant pluto -- BUT HE WAS WRONG!!!!! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! - -- David Paul janus@ioa.com - ------------------------------------ The pure at heart may sleep better, but sinners enjoy their waking hours much more. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 08 Oct 1999 01:32:36 PDT From: "Stabernide -" Subject: DG: The Mysterious Planet X >Yes. IIRC Pluto and Neptune seem to exert slight gravitational >influences >upon one another, making their orbits a little more wobbly than they > >should >be. There was speculation that another planet, which hadn't been >detected >at >the time (X, for want of another Roman god) was also exerting odd > >gravitational >influences on these two, hence the odd orbits. As I understand it, it was orbital 'peturbations'('wobbling' to the initiated) in the orbit of Uranus that led to the discovery of Neptune; suggesting that there was a large body distant to that planet affecting its orbit. Soon after Neptune's discovery, astronomers observed that that too 'wobbled' at various points in its orbit- suggesting yet another large body distant. No one found anything, however, until 1938/39 (?), when an American astronomer discovered Pluto. The case was not, however, closed. Pluto is actually smaller than our own moon, and as such cannot be responsible for the disturbances to Neptune's orbit. The discovery of Pluto's moon Charon only served to confirm Pluto's tiny size, and so the search for the elusive 'Planet X' was on again. The theory, however, has taken a bit of a battering in that the entire zodiac has been examined and no hint of an extra planet found. In addition, the course of one of the Pioneer probes brought it into the general vicinity of where Planet X SHOULD have been if it was indeed responsible for Neptune's 'wobbling', and passed by said region without so much as a quiver. Supporters of Planet X have since come up with the theory that it has an extremely unconventional orbit to the other planets- thus evading detection by astronomers/pioneer; but no one really seems to be buying that. Other possible culprits include the cometary cloud, and a dark star/black hole some further distance out. ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 8 Oct 1999 12:49:04 +0100 From: "Steven J. Cook" Subject: DG: New DG Keeper seeks advice Hello everyone i'm de-lurking for some questions that I need some answers and advice on, well here goes. I want to run a DG campaign with 6 players (aged 28 - 41) who meet once a week to play RPG's, my question is what would be a good mix of agencies to have them in? I am considering them having contacts with a DG friendly Secret Society similar to 'The Legacy' which also combats Mythos activity, any thoughts as to whether this sounds like a really good/dumb idea? Anyone know where I can get some good maps of the US say a national one and some of key States where I want to have adventures set? Being a Brit and living in a virtually firearm free environment (excluding military, police, criminals, oh! and farmers) I have some questions regarding Federal agents and firearms. An Agents is issued with a firearm say a colt 380, is there anything to stop said Agent from purchasing (privately) a superior firearm and using it in their duties or would that be frowned upon? And how freely available are firearms and ammunition in the US ? and what licencing restraints are there? eg if a foreign national was visiting say NY or Washington DC how easy would it be to get a firearm legally? I assume that there is a good black market that with good contacts a visitor could get a firearm quickly enough if he knew who to ask? Any other advice for a new DG ref would be appreciated. Many thanks, - -- Steven J. Cook ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 8 Oct 1999 09:27:37 -0400 From: becole@juno.com Subject: Re: DG: New DG Keeper seeks advice On Fri, 8 Oct 1999 12:49:04 +0100 "Steven J. Cook" writes: >I am considering them having contacts with a DG friendly Secret >Society similar to 'The Legacy' which also combats Mythos activity, any >thoughts as to whether this sounds like a really good/dumb idea? Sounds like a good idea. All the better if the "wealthy, benevolent benefactor" is someone the players never see, they only get suggestions and assignments from....MUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA >Anyone know where I can get some good maps of the US say a national >one and some of key States where I want to have adventures set? If you can get ahold of the organization known as AAA (American Automobile Association, IIRC) then you can get maps to any state, along with hotel, restaurant info, etcetera etcetera. The other way might be to use Yahoo's map service and select the areas you are interested in. >An Agents is issued with a firearm say a colt 380, is there anything >to stop said Agent from purchasing (privately) a superior firearm and >using it in their duties or would that be frowned upon? A federally employed agent has key pieces of identification, their badge/ID, their fingerprints and dental records (of course) and their firearm. They are issued a firearm whose ballistics are already recorded and logged somewhere. These firearms also have their serial numbers emblazoned on probably two to a dozen mainframes (you can bet that Internal Affairs has a hard copy somewhere). If an agent used their service piece in a shooting, they will most likely be put on temporary probation (IIRC from a couple days at a desk to maybe a month, depending on who was shot) while the shooting is investigated (i.e., did you really need to 'shoot to neutralize' the suspect), I imagine that if the after-action report showed that a DIFFERENT firearm was used in the shooting, there would probably be a stink. I am not a federal employee, but I cannot imagine say, the FBI, looking real highly on an agent who used their privately owned shotgun to take someone down while on a stakeout (although if they were off-duty, or defending themselves at home, it might not be that big a deal) . >And how freely available are firearms and ammunition in the US ? and >what licencing restraints are there? eg if a foreign national was >visiting say NY or Washington DC how easy would it be to get a >firearm legally? There are literally hundreds of public access gunshows with minimal police presence where investigators could acquire ammunition, after-market mods (such as the 'Hellfire trigger: in essence, takes the action of a semi-automatic and speeds it up to damn near full, while remaining under the classification of 'semi-auto'), and, I have even seen people dragging 37mm under-barrel "flare" launchers to these things. Why 37mm you say? Because if I bore it out to 40mm then suddenly it can accept US military loads. As for firearms, there is a big stink in the States currently because in yet another attempt to avoid inDUHvidual responsibility we are going to limit access to yet another tool, so that if your investigators went to a gunshow, they would probably have to submit ID, fingerprints, etc (I don't know if this proposed bill has passed yet, but the DG GunFondlers are out here, somewhere, and can probably answer). Of course, as yet another example of life under Adolph Clintler there is also a movement to require ID and signatures on ammunition purchases...... The bottom line: the best way to acquire firearms is either the black market, or to buy from individuals advertising in the classifieds (usually no paperwork, no muss...long as you have cash, and you can get stuff that would make most legislators balk), however, there is always the possibility of some kind of perverted STING operation, conducted by people with not enough time and not enough crime. -B ___________________________________________________________________ Get the Internet just the way you want it. Free software, free e-mail, and free Internet access for a month! Try Juno Web: http://dl.www.juno.com/dynoget/tagj. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 8 Oct 1999 09:44:07 -0400 From: graemep@immagene.mcg.edu (Graeme Price) Subject: Re: DG: New DG Keeper seeks advice Steven wrote: >Hello everyone i'm de-lurking for some questions that I need some >answers and advice on, well here goes. Greetings from an expatriate fellow Brit. Welcome aboard. >my question is what would be a good mix of >agencies to have them in? Depends. 6 players would equate to one cell plus 3 friendlies, I guess. Friendlies could (perhaps should) be anything (academics, non-law enforcement agency members etc.), but the core of the cell would probably contain people drawn from FBI, ATF, DEA etc. Perhaps throw in the odd service intelligence type for colour. Really though, you are pretty free in this regard. I'd be inclined to let them play what they want and construct the cell to fit them. >I am considering them having contacts with a DG friendly Secret Society >similar to 'The Legacy' which also combats Mythos activity, any thoughts >as to whether this sounds like a really good/dumb idea? Having it involved at the outset might be a bad idea, as that sort of thing can be used as a crutch by some players. Better would be to have them run across it in the course of an adventure... it also gives you the chance to refine the idea into a more devious form. DG thrives on twisted plots and double crosses... so having what initially seems like a Mythos busting secret society that the party can rely on for info later turn out to be a front for (for example) the Fate can be quite fun. Especially when the players realise that they've been helping out a faction of the bad guys! >Anyone know where I can get some good maps of the US say a national one >and some of key States where I want to have adventures set? Rand McNally Maps of the US should be readily available (Waterstones, Dillons, larger WHSmiths etc.) but I'd check out the local library first. Note that if you're looking for anything approaching the detail of OS maps, you are likely to be rather disappointed. I'll leave the gunfondling info to those more skilled at the art. >Any other advice for a new DG ref would be appreciated. Listmembers will always help and provide ideas/info if you are stuck. Just ask. Paradoxically, perhaps the biggest problem in campaign design you are likely to encounter is that there is too much background info available to use it all at once (especially if you bolt on Countdown and DGEO's). Personally, I'd pick one focal enemy (MJ-12, the Fate, Karotechia, PISCES, Tiger Transit etc.) and have say 60% of the campaign revolve around that, with occasional excursions into unfamiliar territory. Throwing in the odd looks-like-mythos-activity-but-really-isn't scenario can also help keep players on thier toes. Anyhow, enough from me. Later Graeme graemep@immag.mcg.edu ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 8 Oct 1999 09:16:40 -0500 From: "Shane Ivey" Subject: DG: RE: New DG Keeper seeks advice - -----Original Message----- From: owner-deltagreen@nocturne.org [mailto:owner-deltagreen@nocturne.org]On Behalf Of Steven J. Cook I want to run a DG campaign with 6 players (aged 28 - 41) who meet once a week to play RPG's, my question is what would be a good mix of agencies to have them in? - -------------------------- That depends entirely on what style of game you and your players want to conduct. If you prefer a law-enforcement-oriented game, make them mostly federal LEOs with maybe a spook from the CIA or NSA or military thrown in for spice and moral quandaries. Of the federal agents, FBI special agents are by far the most versatile in mission: they are assigned to particular specialties (Kidnapping, Drugs, Behavioral Sciences, whatever), but it's easy to fudge that by having them rotated to a new field on a temporary basis. If the team will be completely covert, of course, jurisdictional issues won't matter anyway--but it helps to have a cover story in place when the "real" authorities start wondering what the group is up to. Obviously, if your investigators are not from the US, substitute the appropriate international agencies. If you'd prefer a more covert, spooky, espionage-oriented game, set up most of the players as CIA, NSA, and military, with a couple of law enforcement officers (FBI, DEA, whatever) thrown in for the aforementioned spice and moral quandaries. They'll have additional challenges in a domestic operation, since most of those agencies have no jurisdiction to spy on US citizens on US soil without a lot of red tape and approval in high places. If they're smart, they'll get Delta Green to hook them up with at least preliminary covers as federal cops. But if they're not, hey, more fun for you as an appropriately sadistic Keeper. My own current campaign involves a law-enforcement-type investigation (a weird new drug on the streets of New York), but it features a pretty wide mix of operatives: one DOJ lawyer, two NSA specialists, two CIA/Special Ops covert operatives, one CIA case officer, with a local cop, a private eye, and a Deputy U.S. Marshal on the side. Then there's the FBI agent who I want to bring in but keep getting side-tracked away from working into it. (Sorry JT!) - -----Original Message----- I am considering them having contacts with a DG friendly Secret Society similar to 'The Legacy' which also combats Mythos activity, any thoughts as to whether this sounds like a really good/dumb idea? - -------------------------- It's a matter of taste. Personally I prefer to keep DG isolated in that regard--DG itself is a support system beyond what any "traditional" CoC investigators ever had, and I don't like players to get too comfortable. I'm not familiar with The Legacy, but some fine organizations have been created that you can use as examples: Davide Mana has done a great job of fleshing out the Order of the Sword of Saint Jerome, and Daniel Harms (M-O-O-N, that spells Cthulhiana) posted an interesting description of the Ancient and Fraternal Lodge of Sextons in Field Report #2381 at Delta-Green.com. Then there are always the Theron Marks society, from TERROR FROM THE STARS, and--nuts, I forgot the group's name--from the "Last Dawn" articles in TUO. - -----Original Message----- Anyone know where I can get some good maps of the US say a national one and some of key States where I want to have adventures set? - -------------------------- maps.yahoo.com - -----Original Message----- Being a Brit and living in a virtually firearm free environment (excluding military, police, criminals, oh! and farmers) I have some questions regarding Federal agents and firearms. - -------------------------- Bruce answered this one already. Police officers are permitted to own personal firearms, but in most large organizations they are not allowed to carry them on-duty, and they will have a LOT of questions answered and paperwork to complete if they are caught using a personal firearm in their official duties, even if the shooting is otherwise perfectly justified. - -----Original Message----- And how freely available are firearms and ammunition in the US ? and what licencing restraints are there? eg if a foreign national was visiting say NY or Washington DC how easy would it be to get a firearm legally? - -----Original Message----- Again, Bruce got to this one. Availability and legality are two separate issues. Foreign nationals will have a hard time legally purchasing a firearm in the US or carrying one around; but those under diplomatic cover (embassy couriers or staff, security officers) may have diplomatic pouches which are pretty darn convenient for storing weapons where NO cop can legally look for them. U.S. Diplomatic Security agents have used this tact to get their firearms overseas, and any CIA player working abroad ought to try to finagle it, just in case the people messing with him are the sort to obey the law. But you didn't hear that from me. Shane Ivey, Editor and Webmaster, Zealot.com Hecklers Online, Inc: www.hecklers.com - www.ant.com - www.zealot.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 08 Oct 1999 10:47:31 -0700 From: Jeff Ewing Subject: Re: DG: New DG Keeper seeks advice At 09:44 AM 10/8/99 -0400, you wrote: >Rand McNally Maps of the US should be readily available (Waterstones, >Dillons, larger WHSmiths etc.) but I'd check out the local library first. >Note that if you're looking for anything approaching the detail of OS maps, >you are likely to be rather disappointed. Now I feel I must step up to the defense of my government! The USGS prints maps that are *far* more detailed than anything you're ever likely to need --heck, you could run a skirmish game on some of them. Plus, you can buy aerial survey shots from them, and the price is generally very reasonable. Check out this link: http://mapping.usgs.gov/esic/to_order.html I will say that building and so forth is very rapid, so some of the maps are a bit dated, but I've planned and successfully executed many hikes using these maps. Jeff ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 8 Oct 1999 11:27:58 -0400 From: graemep@immagene.mcg.edu (Graeme Price) Subject: Re: DG: New DG Keeper seeks advice Jeff wrote: >Now I feel I must step up to the defense of my government! The USGS prints >maps that are *far* more detailed than anything you're ever likely to >need --heck, you could run a skirmish game on some of them. Plus, you can >buy aerial survey shots from them, and the price is generally very >reasonable. [Clarification] Sorry, Jeff. What I meant was that you can't get the really detailed US maps in the UK... at least not easily. You would probably have to go via special order or the net to get hold of them - and that's probably overkill for most gaming budgets. Graeme graemep@immag.mcg.edu ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 08 Oct 1999 12:27:46 -0400 From: Daniel Harms Subject: Re: DG: New DG Keeper seeks advice At 12:49 PM 10/8/99 +0100, you wrote: >Hello everyone i'm de-lurking for some questions that I need some >answers and advice on, well here goes. >I am considering them having contacts with a DG friendly Secret >Society >similar to 'The Legacy' which also combats Mythos >activity, any thoughts as to whether this sounds like a really >good/dumb idea? It could be good, but it could also get really dumb really quick. My advice is one of the following: a) Make it small. Look at Saucerwatch in the DG book; your organization should most likely be that size or smaller. b) Make it more than it seems. The players get a lot out of the group, but as they explore its depths, they find that they're not working for who they thought they were - an entity/group that has an agenda that, if not opposed, runs against the grain of the group as a whole. Saying they're just evil cultists won't do it; instead, give them personalities and goals, and decide how this will affect the group's investigations. See my Sextons article (already recommended) for one example of how to pull this off. Yrs., Daniel Harms dmharms@acsu.buffalo.edu The Internet: Learn what you know. Share what you don't. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 8 Oct 1999 20:11:39 +0200 From: EHuelshoff@t-online.de (Eckhard Huelshoff) Subject: Re: DG: Wasted bandwidth David Farnell schrieb: > From: The Man in Black > > We need to get a calendar, that day in 1970, Reggie Day in '94, St. Jerome > > Day, Maybe a few Ghoul feast Days, some astrological stuff, and of course > > December 6, 1972. > > Very good idea--let's make a list of all important DG/CoC days on which to > raise your (beer / sake / mango juice/ space mead / S.T.H.U) glasses high. > Don't forget HPL's birthday. Put it in the FAQ. > My favourite: Candlemas [ February 2nd ]: The birthday of Wilbur Whateley.....and me ECKHARD ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 8 Oct 1999 20:11:40 +0200 From: EHuelshoff@t-online.de (Eckhard Huelshoff) Subject: Re: DG: Skills: Credit rating and Bureaucracy McGloin, Michael schrieb: [snip] > The other question I had was why doesn't DG have a Bureaucrat skill like > Admin to reflect the ability to cut through red tape and get the job done. I > have always enjoyed that old bureaucrat that could sight by verse any > applicable regulation and the easy way to get around it. In a game where we > are spending so much time dealing in bureaucracy, I really think this is a > skill that could fill a real need. I'd try the Law skill for this. ECKHARD ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 8 Oct 1999 20:11:41 +0200 From: EHuelshoff@t-online.de (Eckhard Huelshoff) Subject: Re: DG: RE: New DG Keeper seeks advice Shane Ivey schrieb: [snip] > If you'd prefer a more covert, spooky, espionage-oriented game, set up most > of the players as CIA, NSA, and military, with a couple of law enforcement > officers (FBI, DEA, whatever) thrown in for the aforementioned spice and > moral quandaries. They'll have additional challenges in a domestic > operation, since most of those agencies have no jurisdiction to spy on US > citizens on US soil without a lot of red tape and approval in high places. I really like that one. I think it's the mix that offers most opportunities. Though you might want to add one or two non-American friendlies that can be helpful for missions around the globe. ECKHARD ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 8 Oct 1999 21:17:36 +0200 From: "Andreas" Subject: DG: Re: DARK THEATRES: INQUIRY/SURVEY The book arrived yesterday (and some other stuff). The binding seems to be ok. Although it is not great, I guess I will not loose any pages, when I handle it carefully. So it does not seem to be a generell production failure. As it arrived yesterday I did not read any of the stories yet, but I will begin to read the book pretty soon. I guess you will tell The List, when you do not need comments anymore. I will tell you what I think of the stories as soon as I read at least three of them. I know that this mail is not very helpful, but I wanted to tell you about the binding, just in case that you want to talk to the printers about it. Be seeing you Andreas Melhorn - -----Ursprüngliche Nachricht----- Von: An: Gesendet: Freitag, 1. Oktober 1999 21:25 Betreff: DG: DARK THEATRES: INQUIRY/SURVEY > Dear Pagan Consumers, > > This is for all of you out there who purchased Delta Green: Dark Theatres. I > need you guys to let me know a couple of things about this book. > > Number one is the binding. We've been getting reports that the binding on > these limited editions is very poor. For anyone who has a binding that's > falling apart, please send me email directly and let me know. We'll want to > make amends on this issue and need to know who's been affected by it. > > Secondly, I need some feedback from you guys on the quality of the various > stories in Delta Green: Dark Theatres. Please rate each story you've read > >from 1(terrible) to 5 (excellent). If you haven't read them all, let us know > which ones you haven't gotten to. Feel free to include specific comments as > to which elements either pleased or disappointed you concerning each story. > > Please email your reviews and notices about the bindings directly to me at > SGlancy12@aol.com. Also include your snail mail address as we will arrange > for some kind of goody to be sent to you for your efforts in this matter. > > Thanks & Be Seeing You, > > A. Scott Glancy, Pagan Publishing Business Manager > ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 8 Oct 1999 11:39:55 -0800 From: "Jeffrey Moeller" Subject: DG: Speaking of Ghroth.... This is a multi-part message in MIME format. - ------=_NextPart_000_000C_01BF1181.D7A2FE60 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Initiate immediate containment! Or, go vote in the online poll = about what this all means at http://msnbc.com/news/320182.asp Researchers suggest that huge unseen object orbits on fringe of solar system =20 =20 Oct. 7 - Two teams of researchers have proposed the existence of = an unseen planet or a failed star circling the sun at a distance of more = than 2 trillion miles, far beyond the orbits of the nine known planets. = The theory, which seeks to explain patterns in comets' paths, has been = put forward in research accepted for publication in two separate = journals. =20 SPECULATION ABOUT the existence of unseen celestial companions dates = back far before the discovery of Pluto in 1929 - and even figures in = more recent fringe phenomena such as the 1997 "Heaven's Gate" tragedy = and talk of a new "Planet X." This latest hypothesis, however, is aimed = at answering nagging scientific questions about how particular types of = comets make their way into the inner.=20 The best way to think of the distances involved is in terms of = Astronomical Units. One AU is the distance from Earth to the sun (93 = million miles or 149.6 million kilometers). Pluto, the most distant of = the planets, is at 39 AU. The Kuiper Belt extends from 30 AU to perhaps = 1,000 AU. Even further out is the Oort Cloud, a spherical haze of comets = surrounding the solar system at distances between 10,000 AU and more = than 50,000 AU. That's where long-period comets such as Hale-Bopp are = thought to come from. For some time, astronomers have noticed that the = directional patterns of these comets are not completely random. And = after years of study, some researchers are reporting that the patterns = hint at something big out there perturbing the cometary paths. =20 WHAT COULD IT BE?=20 No telescope has yet detected this object. But on the basis of its = gravitational effect, John B. Murray, a planetary scientist at Britain's = Open University, speculates that the object could be a planet larger = than Jupiter, the biggest of the solar system's known planets. Murray = puts the object's orbit at 32,000 AU, or 2.98 trillion miles from the = sun. His proposal appears in the Oct. 11 issue of the Monthly Notices of = the Royal Astronomical Society. Meanwhile, researchers at the University of Louisiana at = Lafayette say the object could be a planet or brown dwarf - that is, a = dark, failed star - roughly three times the size of Jupiter and orbiting = at 25,000 AU. The researchers, led by physicist John Matese, say their = paper is to be published by the journal Icarus. Both studies acknowledge that other factors could influence the = pattern seen in long-period comets: for example, the Milky Way's = gravitational tidal effects. But the Louisiana researchers say the = cometary patterns are best explained by the existence of "a perturber, = acting in concert with the galactic tide." Matese said the proposed object should make one orbit around the = sun every 4 million to 5 million years. Murray said the object he had in = mind would make one orbit every 6 million years, circling the sun in a = direction counter to that followed by the nine traditional planets. The two researchers said they were familiar with each other's = work but hadn't taken a close look at each other's studies. They = acknowledged that their estimates for the mass and orbit of a mysterious = object were similar, but couldn't say whether they were talking about = the same object.=20 =20 MORE QUESTIONS How could such a massive object exist so far from the sun? The = researchers say a planet or dark star could have coalesced during the = formation of the solar system billions of years ago, but more probably = would be a passing celestial body that was captured by the sun's subtle = gravitational pull. Another question: Why hasn't such an object been seen? Murray says that = even a Jupiter-scale planet could not be observed at the immense = distances involved. Matese and his colleagues say that their = hypothetical brown dwarf wouldn't have been detected even by the = Infrared Astronomical Satellite, which surveyed the heavens in 1983 - = but that the yet-to-be-launched Space Infrared Telescope Facility just = might be able to pick it up. All this may sound like science fiction, but an expert in the = field notes that the hypothesis has been a subject of serious = speculation for years. "We've all wondered whether there was something out there," said = Brian Marsden, who heads the International Astronomical Union's Central = Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams as well as the Minor Planet Center at = the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. However, Marsden also expressed some skepticism about the = evidence behind the latest research. "I'm not convinced it is not due to chance," he told MSNBC in an = e-mail message. "In any case, the data may not be as good as one would = like."=20 If the research holds up, it could open the door for renewed speculation = on even spookier questions: Some theorists have proposed that the = gravitational effect of a massive unseen object in a distant orbit - = nicknamed "Nemesis" or the "Death Star" - could set off periodic = cometary storms, which would increase the chances of a catastrophic = impact with Earth. Indeed, physicist Daniel Whitmire, a colleague of = Matese's who is a co-author of the new research, laid out just such a = scenario in 1985 to explain mass extinctions on Earth, such as the = demise of the dinosaurs. Matese also speculated back then about such an effect, but he = emphasized that the newly detected object didn't fit the doomsday = profile. "This object is not a Nemesis," he told MSNBC. "It does not = create comet storms." He said his proposed object would cause a mere 25 percent = increase in the influx of comets from the Oort Cloud. "It's very modest, but we believe this very modest signal = requires a dynamical explanation," he said. =20 - ------=_NextPart_000_000C_01BF1181.D7A2FE60 Content-Type: text/html; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
Initiate immediate = containment!  Or,=20 go vote in the online poll about what this all means at http://msnbc.com/news/320182.as= p
 
Researchers suggest = that
huge unseen=20 object orbits on fringe of solar system
Oct. = 7 —=20  Two teams of researchers have = proposed=20 the existence of an unseen planet or a failed star circling the = sun at a=20 distance of more than 2 trillion miles, far beyond the orbits of = the nine=20 known planets. The theory, which seeks to explain patterns in = comets’=20 paths, has been put forward in research accepted for publication = in two=20 separate journals.  

SPECULATION=20 ABOUT the existence of unseen celestial companions dates back far before = the=20 discovery of Pluto in 1929 — and even figures in more recent = fringe phenomena=20 such as the 1997 “Heaven’s Gate” tragedy and talk of a = new “Planet X.” This=20 latest hypothesis, however, is aimed at answering nagging scientific = questions=20 about how particular types of comets make their way into the inner. =
 =20      The best way to think of the distances involved is = in terms=20 of Astronomical Units. One AU is the distance from Earth to the sun (93 = million=20 miles or 149.6 million kilometers). Pluto, the most distant of the = planets, is=20 at 39 AU. The Kuiper Belt extends from 30 AU to perhaps 1,000 = AU.
 =20      Even further out is the Oort Cloud, a spherical haze = of=20 comets surrounding the solar system at distances between 10,000 AU and = more than=20 50,000 AU. That’s where long-period comets such as Hale-Bopp are = thought to come=20 from. For some time, astronomers have noticed that the directional = patterns of=20 these comets are not completely random. And after years of study, some=20 researchers are reporting that the patterns hint at something big out = there=20 perturbing the cometary paths.
       
WHAT = COULD IT=20 BE?
No telescope has yet detected this object. But on = the basis of=20 its gravitational effect, John B. Murray, a planetary scientist at = Britain’s=20 Open University, speculates that the object could be a planet larger = than=20 Jupiter, the biggest of the solar system’s known planets. Murray = puts the=20 object’s orbit at 32,000 AU, or 2.98 trillion miles from the sun. = His proposal=20 appears in the Oct. 11 issue of the Monthly Notices of the Royal = Astronomical=20 Society.
       Meanwhile, researchers at the = University=20 of Louisiana at Lafayette say the object could be a planet or brown = dwarf — that=20 is, a dark, failed star — roughly three times the size of Jupiter = and orbiting=20 at 25,000 AU. The researchers, led by physicist John Matese, say their = paper is=20 to be published by the journal Icarus.
      =  Both=20 studies acknowledge that other factors could influence the pattern seen = in=20 long-period comets: for example, the Milky Way’s gravitational = tidal effects.=20 But the Louisiana researchers say the cometary patterns are best = explained by=20 the existence of “a perturber, acting in concert with the galactic = tide.”
       Matese said the proposed = object should make=20 one orbit around the sun every 4 million to 5 million years. Murray said = the=20 object he had in mind would make one orbit every 6 million years, = circling the=20 sun in a direction counter to that followed by the nine traditional=20 planets.
       The two researchers said they = were=20 familiar with each other’s work but hadn’t taken a close = look at each other’s=20 studies. They acknowledged that their estimates for the mass and orbit = of a=20 mysterious object were similar, but couldn’t say whether they were = talking about=20 the same object.
       
MORE = QUESTIONS
 =20      How could such a massive object exist so far from = the sun?=20 The researchers say a planet or dark star could have coalesced during = the=20 formation of the solar system billions of years ago, but more probably = would be=20 a passing celestial body that was captured by the sun’s subtle = gravitational=20 pull.
Another question: Why hasn’t such an object = been seen? Murray=20 says that even a Jupiter-scale planet could not be observed at the = immense=20 distances involved. Matese and his colleagues say that their = hypothetical brown=20 dwarf wouldn’t have been detected even by the Infrared = Astronomical Satellite,=20 which surveyed the heavens in 1983 — but that the = yet-to-be-launched Space=20 Infrared Telescope Facility just might be able to pick it up.
  =  =20    All this may sound like science fiction, but an expert in = the field=20 notes that the hypothesis has been a subject of serious speculation for=20 years.
       “We’ve all wondered = whether there was=20 something out there,” said Brian Marsden, who heads the = International=20 Astronomical Union’s Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams as = well as the=20 Minor Planet Center at the Smithsonian Astrophysical = Observatory.
 =20      However, Marsden also expressed some skepticism = about the=20 evidence behind the latest research.
      =  “I’m not=20 convinced it is not due to chance,” he told MSNBC in an e-mail = message. “In any=20 case, the data may not be as good as one would like.” =
If the research holds up, it could open the door for renewed = speculation on=20 even spookier questions: Some theorists have proposed that the = gravitational=20 effect of a massive unseen object in a distant orbit — nicknamed = “Nemesis” or=20 the “Death Star” — could set off periodic cometary = storms, which would increase=20 the chances of a catastrophic impact with Earth. Indeed, physicist = Daniel=20 Whitmire, a colleague of Matese’s who is a co-author of the new = research, laid=20 out just such a scenario in 1985 to explain mass extinctions on Earth, = such as=20 the demise of the dinosaurs.
       Matese also=20 speculated back then about such an effect, but he emphasized that the = newly=20 detected object didn’t fit the doomsday profile.
    =  =20  “This object is not a Nemesis,” he told MSNBC. = “It does not create comet=20 storms.”
       He said his proposed object = would cause a=20 mere 25 percent increase in the influx of comets from the Oort = Cloud.
 =20      “It’s very modest, but we believe this = very modest signal=20 requires a dynamical explanation,” he=20 said.
        
- ------=_NextPart_000_000C_01BF1181.D7A2FE60-- ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 8 Oct 1999 18:31:51 EDT From: LizardRoi@aol.com Subject: Re: DG: New DG Keeper seeks advice In a message dated 99-10-08 07:56:29 EDT, you write: << Hello everyone i'm de-lurking for some questions that I need some answers and advice on, well here goes. I want to run a DG campaign with 6 players (aged 28 - 41) who meet once a week to play RPG's, my question is what would be a good mix of agencies to have them in?>> Others covered this well, but no one mentioned agents doing deep cover for the DEA. They can start out from most any law enforcement org and be on detached duty. Advantages include an eclectic selection of contacts and a lot of time to do DG work without day job complications. As long as they debrief on a regular basis and produce info, they can be pretty flexible with their hours; a luxury few regular Feds have. <> If it adds atmosphere and complexity and ambiguity and offers posssibilities for leaks, betrayal and hidden agendas: good idea. If it's a crutch for players, kick it out from under 'em. Then audit them. << And how freely available are firearms and ammunition in the US ?>> Vending machines, party favors and samples at the supermarket. << and what licencing restraints are there?>> Only as many as you feel like volunteering to obey. << eg if a foreign national was visiting say NY or Washington DC how easy would it be to get a firearm legally?>> Not very. But since you aren't planning to shoot anybody legally, who cares? <> You'll find one on the pillow at most good hotels. Also, check the nightstand, there's usually a Gideon .45 for the weary traveller. Mark McFadden ------------------------------ End of deltagreen-digest V2 #95 *******************************