Refuel.AI focuses on infrastructure and tooling for teams building ML applications on top of unstructured data. ... Refuel.AI may be growing as indicated by the launch of a large language model to label data needed for training machine learning applications, which suggests an expansion of their ...

Refuel.AI - Crunchbase Company Profile & Funding

Use LLMs to create, label and enrich your datasets at better-than-human accuracy. Classify text, extract information from documents, and so much more in minutes with our enterprise platform.

Refuel.ai: Clean, labeled data at the speed of thought

Refuel AI, a company creating AI training data with LLMs, today came out of stealth with $5 million in seed funding.

Refuel AI nabs $5M to create training-ready datasets with LLMs ...

Refuel is a retail fuel distribution and convenience store chain with over a decade presence in this growth market. ... Business Journals — Refuel acquires Greensboro-based GreatStops gas stations, with purchase of Triangle&#x27;s Whalen pending

Refuel - Crunchbase Company Profile & Funding

🚀 TeachFX + Refuel: Leveraging Custom LLMs to Enhance Classroom Interactions 🎓 92% Agreement with human experts, in a complex domain ⏱ Reduced AI feature development time from 2 months to 2 weeks 📚 TeachFX, an ed-tech company focused on elevating classroom dialogue, teamed up with ...

Refuel | LinkedIn

Information on valuation, funding, cap tables, investors, and executives for Refuel.AI. Use the PitchBook Platform to explore the full profile.

Refuel.AI Company Profile: Valuation & Investors | PitchBook

Free and open company data on California (US) company REFUEL.AI, INC. (company number C4755715)

REFUEL.AI, INC. :: California (US) :: OpenCorporates

Most companies have tons of data at their disposal, but most of that information is not training-ready. Before it can be used to train AI models, it has to be cleaned and annotated. Traditionally, this task was performed by human data scientists, but it’s a manual process that can take weeks or even months. Of course, this simply doesn’t scale, hence the need for an accelerant. With Refuel ...

Refuel.AI - Products, Competitors, Financials, Employees, ...

Our mission is to accelerate the era of AI abundance. We are a team of engineers and researchers making clean, labeled data accessible to every business in the world.

About Us

Welcome to Refuel.ai, Inc. (&quot; Company&quot;, &quot; we&quot;, &quot; our&quot;, &quot; us&quot;)! As you have just clicked our Terms of Service, please pause, grab a cup of coffee and carefully read the following pages. It will take you approximately 20 minutes.

Terms of Service - Refuel.AI

Refuel.ai - Artificial intelligence based unstructured data analytics platform for developing ML applications. Raised a total funding of $5.2M over 1 round from 2 investors.

Refuel.ai - Company Profile - Tracxn

Refuel&#x27;s curated content combines the most researched approaches to growth with an empowering user design that aims to drive impactful experiences refreshed daily. ... Designed to be a companion in life, making long-term change frictionless.

Refuel is the AI Comprehensive Human Performance App ...

Nihit Desai, co-founder and CTO of Refuel.ai, has been accepted into Forbes Technology Council, an invitation-only community.

Nihit Desai, Co-founder of Refuel.ai

Refuel.ai is hiring a Founding Engineer - Frontend through Triplebyte. View the job listing and company information, and apply.

Refuel.ai Founding Engineer - Frontend - Triplebyte

Refuel.AI focuses on infrastructure and tooling for teams building ML applications on top of unstructured data.

Refuel.AI - Recent News & Activity

Before Refuel, Nihit and I spent more than a decade building large-scale AI and data systems at Meta, Primer.ai, LinkedIn, Cloudera, and Stanford. Our early engineering team has previously worked at companies like Amazon, Apple, Google DeepMind, Lyft and Uber.

Refuel: Accelerating the era of AI abundance

Andy Thurai, vice president and principal analyst at Constellation Research Inc., said Refuel’s model is a refined version of the Llama-v2-13b base model developed by Meta Platforms Inc. He said the company has fine-tuned this model to handle tasks such as classification, entity resolution, ...

Refuel.ai debuts a large language model to label the data needed ...

Refuel.AI - Funding, Financials, Valuation & Investors

Generate, annotate, clean and enrich datasets for all your AI needs with Refuel's LLM-powered platform. Simply instruct Refuel on the datasets you need, and let LLMs do the work of creating and labeling data.

Refuel AI

Elon Musk: A Businessman who Prioritizes Sustainability - ÀLA.HAUSSE The ÀLA.HAUSSE ecosystem exists because we want to assist in the global effort for a more sustainable future. As persistent and as determined as we are, the fight can be tiresome when the world often shows little concern for the environment. Thankfully there are philanthropists like Elon Musk who help us remember that there are still people out there fighting for justice for Mother Earth, and who inspire us to keep pushing for a greener future. Elon Musk: A Man of Many Interests, Including Philanthropy Musk is known for many things. He founded Tesla, a company that develops and produces electric-powered vehicles, as well as SpaceX, another company that’s leading the charge in space and rocket technologies, and the aptly named Boring Company, which focuses on large-tunnel boring under cityscapes. As you can see, he has a variety of interests, but all seem to have one goal in common: the betterment of humanity. Yes, Musk is a controversial subject. His antics as of late could only be compared to that of a 15-year-old computer , but he appears to be a man who wants to achieve global climate action; a goal that, given his resources, is not outside the realm of possibility. In fact, many of Musk’s undertakings have already had a serious impact on climate change. In alone, his company Tesla avoided 5 million metric tons of CO2 emissions, thanks to the use of their electric cars. troll 2020 Being a company that takes climate action, as well as economic action seriously, Tesla states on their website that by 2030 they plan to increase their sales of electric vehicles from 0.5 million to 20 million per year. They also plan to achieve energy storage of 1500 GWH, compared to the mere 3 GWH achieved this year. Achieving the Tesla Ecosystem As they’ve outlined in their 2020 impact , they aim to attain a balanced ecosystem between all tesla resources. This includes solar panels, energy storage, tesla cells and tesla vehicles, all working together in unison to deliver an experience that is not only economically efficient, but environmentally sound. Because they doubled their sales in 2020, from 2.4 billion to 5.9 billion, they plan on localizing their supply chains, so as to reduce their associated carbon footprint. report SpaceX Leading the Charge in Sustainable Space Practices​ As for SpaceX, arguably the greatest space agency to date, they’ve attained some significant milestones in the global sustainability agenda; both on Earth and elsewhere. Their reusable rockets, for example, allow them to simply refuel the rocket in question, aim it back at the sky, and send it right back into space. Prior to this significant advancement in rocket technologies, rockets that were sent to space would either become garbage or would have to be rebuilt and refitted. Now, the process is faster, it’s more efficient, and most importantly, it’s cleaner. Currently, rockets use liquid kerosene, which isn’t carcinogenic or toxic like hypergolic propellants; the more widely used method. In the future, the plan is to use methane because it is a natural gas and is, therefore, a greener alternative when it comes to rocket fuel. Liquid hydrogen would have been preferable, but the technological logistics are complex, and the fuel tanks required would need to be larger. SpaceX Tesla’s Solar Panels Give Power to the People Of course, their solar panel endeavors are also of incredible importance. With solar inverters that operate at a 97.5% efficiency, and relatively affordable options, Musk makes free energy to just about everyone. The solar panels themselves can be fit to all sorts of different housing types and angles, and their associated storage cells allow individuals and families the opportunity to save energy for later use. Tesla solar panels give you more control over your energy footprint, and with the easy-to-use app, you have access to real-time energy consumption and generation data. accessible Tunnels a Viable Sustainability Option As boring as the may seem, giant tunnels under cities are not simply just giant tunnels under cities. The intention is that one day, these tunnels will act as a traffic decongestants, allowing commuters the option to circumnavigate traffic by opting for the subterranean alternative. The tunnels are already being dug and built under Las Vegas, with possible extensions planned for the future. Boring Company But why bother with tunnels? Are they really a more sustainable option than roads? Tunnels are a green alternative to surface highways and roads for a number of reasons. They reduce traffic, and, therefore commute times; they are low maintenance and require little re-paving, and their construction is less pollutive and destructive to the environment. They allow for more space on the surface, and they have an unlimited capacity, meaning layers upon layers of tunnels could be hypothetically built. Tunnels also offer the opportunity for a hyperloop system, which, when in operation, could enable travel between distant locations within significantly reduced periods. This could lower emissions in not only the automotive industry but the air transportation industries as well, depending on how far the tunnels reach. The ÀLA.HAUSSE Sustainability Initiative Having a company that focuses on electric alternatives to the automotive industry, as well as other sustainability initiatives like solar power and traffic decongestion, Musk has proven time and time again that he intends to assist in bringing about a more sustainable society. Sustainability is key to the ÀLA.HAUSSE agenda, and so we commend his efforts and hope to see him continue in his fight for a better future.

How Elon Musk Prioritizes Sustainability in his Businesses

Another AI-Hosted Podcast: The Future of Tech Belongs To Its Builders

Two sets of issues this week — those now in our face and those from the future. Issues now in our face — economics and taxes, biometrics, Twitter and 1st Amendment — shows how out of step government is with real life and the dangers this poses to us. Issues from the future — AI and the last human era before AGI, and wireless charging electric cars — suggest major changes ahead that few have appreciated. There are articles of mine about these issues you might find of interest: _As most everyone knows, the Hawaiian Islands are a beautiful and magical place. In spending most of my life there I…_medium.com The Future By Default _April 2000, as millennium celebrations passed into history, Silicon Valley luminary, Bill Joy, wrote a provocative…_medium.com Civilization’s Anti-Human, Not Machines _Voting is suppose to guarantee you are “represented.” So, if you are over 18 and a citizen you can vote. But, why is…_medium.com One Story the Media Ignores Completely _As a dog that regularly bites, it is fair to say we have a love-hate relationship with capitalism. This lends itself to…_medium.com Capitalism and Post-Capitalism — The Whole Truth & Nothing But ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Issues now in our face – (15 min. video) Charlie Rose Roger Altman discusses Trump’s tax plan, income inequality, and the economy _Investor Roger Altman discusses Trump's tax plan, income inequality, and the economy._charlierose.com Roger Altman - Charlie Rose We are better at creating new claims on wealth than wealth itself – “That sentence was written in the context of…rise in debt in the 40 years leading up to the 2008 crisis…[and] quantitative easing (QE), creating money (new claims on wealth) in order to buy assets…[that] resulted in very high asset values and ultra-low interest rates…. ….[ Total debt levels in the economy have not fallen…[and] if QE is ever fully unwound, the system will be just as risky as before. Creating money is the solution to…a shortage of demand….[not] when economies have been growing for a significant period Now] need to rebalance our economy…[with] reallocation of resources both within and between nations…to bring about a shift to a new equilibrium …. …. . [T]he great economic puzzles of recent years has been the slowdown in productivity growth across Western nations We know that every time a financial asset gets traded, someone in the industry takes a cut — a commission, a fee or a bid-offer spread… .” Many within the industry…point to the falling cost of trading. But that is offset by the number of times assets are traded …[yet] cut taken by financial intermediaries is as large as it was in the 19th century….A lot of people might be happier if the stock market was less buoyant and the average standard of living was more https://www.economist.com/blogs/buttonwood/2017/10/wealth-effect-0 Biometrics knows no borders, it must be subject to extreme vetting – “[T]he use of an iris, fingerprint, or your face for identity verification is already widespread, and the market for it is set to … but risks ultimately only serve data-hungry industries and government agencies [yet]…has the potential to bring chaos and vulnerability**….** rocket …[ … …. [New] technologies already exist which can collect biometrics from a distance, while targets are on the move and without their knowledge first] to fight terrorism, and eventually to identify immigrants or people claiming social benefits…[the] infrastructure will already be in place…[to] be used for anything…[like] a government building…public transport…a shopping center, or…area of town to track, stop, or punish Automated analysis techniques can be used to identify suspicious movements and patterns, assign risk ratings to people, and add people to watch lists….[Already] 1 in 2 adults in the US were already in a law enforcement facial recognition network. …. China is planning to integrate a nationwide database with a facial recognition system, Russia [has]… the most advanced facial recognition applications….[UK] used facial recognition cameras at a number of large public events Sharing is of all this data already common place within and between governments…. Biometrics and behavior data amassed by industry will also continue to be an irresistible intelligence target for government agencies through sharing requirements and surveillance programs…. …. [It’s] only be a matter of time before watch lists of millions and datasets of billions of people compiled in part by corrupt officials, repressive regimes, and dodgy algorithms…shared around…the world, with little chance for individuals of redress. Not only will some of this data be wrong or lead to discrimination, it will also be a massive target for hackers .” But between such a devastating breach of biometric data, out of control surveillance databases, and a consumer apartheid enforced by industry…may be limitless, public acquiescence and indifference cannot be https://medium.com/@privacyint/biometrics-knows-no-borders-it-must-be-subject-to-extreme-vetting-b13bf6420253 How Twitter Killed the First Amendment - “[W]e live in a golden age of press harassment, domestic propaganda and coercive efforts to control political debate…to discredit the press, threats to strip broadcasters of their licenses and calls for the firing of journalists and football players for speaking their minds…[all] regularly attacked by vicious, online troll armies whose aim is to silence opponents**….** …. [An] age of ‘new’ censorship and blunt manipulation of political speech First Amendment was written for a different set of problems in a very different world…coming to life only in the 1920s…to protect speakers from government prosecution and censorship …. …[ [Now] censorship works differently with] Russia and China [spending]…a decade pioneering tools and techniques…suited to the internet age…[and] become unwelcome imports in the United States, with catastrophic results…. Russian government was among the first to recognize that speech itself could be used as a tool of suppression and control…[with] the ‘troll army,’ disseminate pro-government news, generate false stories and coordinate swarm attacks on critics of the government. The Chinese government has perfected ‘reverse censorship,’ whereby disfavored speech is drowned out by ‘floods’ of distraction or pro-government sentiment…. … [Both] employ information ‘in weaponized terms, as a tool to confuse, blackmail, demoralize, subvert and paralyze’ ….[Trump] administration habitually crosses the line between fact and propaganda…[and] Russian government and…others hope to manipulate American political debate, as in the last election …. …. …. [So] reinvigorating the First Amendment is vital Cyberstalking is a crime…[and] Supreme Court has made clear, threats of violence are not protected speech ….[If] speaking one’s mind…results in death threats [it’s] not a country that can be said to be truly free At a minimum, new rules should bar social media companies from accepting money for political advertising by foreign governments or their agents. And more aggressive anti-bot laws are needed to fight impersonation of humans for propaganda purposes…. — …. White House needs to be held accountable when…[using] private parties to circumvent First Amendment protections…[or] encourages others to punish its critics as when it demanded that the N.F.L., on pain of tax penalties, censor players…wielding state power to punish disfavored speech [ .” N]o defensible free-speech tradition accepts harassment and threats as speech, treats foreign propaganda campaigns as legitimate debate or thinks that social-media bots ought to enjoy constitutional protection…. We have entered a far more dangerous place for the republic https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/27/opinion/twitter-first-amendment.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fopinion&action=click&contentCollection=opinion&region=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=sectionfront Issues from the future – We’re living in the Last Era Before Artificial General Intelligence – “[W]e used to think…going to good college and…relatively good career trajectory…[in] meritocracy [was enough]…[but] generation GenZ and Alpha, may be among the last people to grow up in a pre automation and pre AGI world…. …. We live in a world where AI is…beginning to interact with personal assistants…software is getting smarter on the cloud, data is being collected Between 2014 and 2021, an entire 20th century’s worth of progress will have occurred, and then…it begins to accelerate until more progress is being made in shorter and shorter time periods_…._ Many believe sometime between 2025 and 2050…Artificial General Intelligence… not only does AI outperform human beings in tasks, problem solving and even human constructs of creativity, emotional intelligence, manipulating complex environments and predicting the future — it reaches Artificial Super Intelligence relatively quickly thereafter…. ….[ …. [So] we might be living in the last ‘human’ era …[viewing] computers as man-made tools, robots as slaves, and AI as a kind of ‘software magic’ that’s obliged to our bidding Still] doesn’t stand to reason that AGI will think, behave or have motivations like people, cultures….AGI would be able to program robots, facilitate smart cities and help humans govern themselves in a way that is impossible today…[impacting] literally everything ….[ …. AGI would not only be able to self-learn and surpass all of human knowledge and data collected up to that point, but create its own fields, set its own goals and have its own interests AGI] would indeed feel like a God to us… networked to all IoT devices, be able to hack into any human system, network or quantum computer…[yet] not be led by instincts of possession, mating, aggression or other emotive agencies of the mammalian brain …. … …. …. Likely it would instigate a self-aware separation between humanity and the descendent order of AI It’s not clear how this might work, but some human beings to protect their species might undertake ‘alterations’ cybernetic, genetic….In the corporate race to AI, governments… want to ‘own’ and monetize this for their own purposes There might be no human revolution from wealth inequality until AGI [which]… may be closer than we might assume _‘taught itself’ Go without using human data but generating its own data by gaming itsel_f…. 2017, Alpha Go Zero AGI will mean planning ahead, not just coping with change to human systems. In a world where democracy can be hacked…we are still living in slow motion… and as usual, human civilization appears quite stupid. … . . .” We don’t even actively know what’s coming because this has never happened in recorded history, and represents such a paradigm shift… We can barely imagine that our prime directive in the universe might not be to simply grow, explore and make babies and exploit all within our path And, we certainly can’t imagine a world where intelligent machines aren’t simply our slaves, tools and algorithms designed to make our lives more pleasurable and convenient https://medium.com/@Michael_Spencer/were-living-in-the-last-era-before-artificial-general-intelligence-3bc4536e7f24 It is now practical to refuel electric vehicles through thin air – “A WISE driver keeps an eye on the fuel gauge…[but] infrastructure needed for refilling batteries has yet to be developed…[and] cables and charging points bring problems…. …. …[ Electrical induction, the underlying principle behind wireless charging…is widely used in things such as electric motors and generators When a vehicle equipped with a suitable ‘pickup’ coil stops or parks above this device [a]…current is induced in the pickup…and is used to top up the vehicle’s battery has] become practical… for between $2,500 and $4,000…[with] vehicle manufacturers…is starting to happen…[and] is especially promising for buses …. .” [S]till depend on a vehicle stopping when it needs to recharge….The next step will be charging vehicles on the move. Preliminary trials have started…[to] electrifying roadways https://www.economist.com/news/science-and-technology/21730623-electromagnetic-induction-gets-rid-cables-it-now-practical-refuel This AI Technique Was Kept Quiet so Spammers Wouldn’t Misuse It - “[An] algorithm could [advance]…AI — but it could also fill your in-box with spam…[using] machine learning…[able] to recognize visual information…in a more human-like way…[and] doesn’t get confused when something is morphed slightly or partially occluded**….[This] can beat** . Captcha …[the] distorted text used to prevent bots from…registering e-mail accounts… [ …. .’” Uses] a recursive cortical network (RCN) that can generalize beyond what it’s initially taught…with assumptions about visual information — like edges or curves — which it then uses to recognize inputs it hasn’t encountered in training ’Data efficiency and reasoning are very important when robots deal with unstructured environments https://www.technologyreview.com/the-download/609228/this-ai-technique-was-kept-quiet-so-spammers-wouldnt-misuse-it/ Find more of my ideas on Medium at, . A Passion to Evolve Or click the Follow button below to add me to your feed. Prefer a weekly email newsletter — no ads, no spam, & never sell the list — email me with dochuston1@gmail.com “add me” in the subject line. May you live long and prosper!Doc Huston

News — At The Edge — 11/4

Lasers by Hal Hellman, is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book . COMMUNICATIONS here COMMUNICATIONS Future deep space missions are expected to require extremely high data transmission rates (on the order of a million bits per second) to relay the huge quantities of scientific and engineering information gathered by the spacecraft. Higher data rates are necessary to increase both the total capacity and the speed of transmission. By comparison, the Mariner-4 spacecraft that sent back TV pictures of Mars had a data rate of only eight bits per second—a hundred thousand times too small for future missions. The use of lasers would mean that results could be transmitted to earth in seconds instead of the 8 hours it took for the photos to be sent from Mariner-4. One of the problems to be solved in using lasers for deep space communication, oddly enough, is that of pointing accuracy. Since the beam of laser energy is narrow, it would be possible for the radiation to miss the earth altogether and be lost entirely unless the laser were pointed at the receiver with extreme precision. Aiming a gun at a target 50 yards away is one thing; aiming a laser from an unmanned spacecraft 100 million miles away is quite another. It is believed, however, that present techniques can cope with the problem. Another peculiarity of laser communication is that it will probably be accomplished faster and more readily in space than here on earth. Powerful though laser light may be, it is light and is therefore impeded to some extent by our atmosphere even under good conditions. Data transmissions of 20 and 30 miles have already been accomplished in good weather with lasers. But if you have ever tried to force a searchlight beam or shine automobile headlights through heavy fog, rain, or snow, you will appreciate the magnitude of the problem under these conditions. The use of infrared frequencies helps to some extent, since infrared is somewhat more penetrating, but the poor-weather problem is a serious one. A possible solution is the use of “light pipes”, similar to the wave guides already in use for certain microwave applications over short distances. But as often happens, new developments create new needs; how, for example, can we get the laser beam to stay centered in the pipe and follow curves? A series of closely spaced lenses, about 1000 per mile, probably would accomplish this, but too much light would be lost by scattering from the many lens surfaces. Scientists are experimenting with a new kind of “lens”, one that uses variations in the density of gases to focus and guide the beam automatically. Since there are no surfaces in the path of the light beam, and since the gas is transparent and free of turbulence, the laser beam is not appreciably weakened or scattered as it travels through the pipe. Figure 31 Laser light beam being guided through a “light pipe” by a gas “lens”. Heating coil (lower left) or mixture of gases (lower right) are two possible ways of maintaining proper density gradient in the gas. shows how the gas focusing principle might be used to guide a beam through a curving pipe. The shading represents the density of the gas. Several means have been developed to keep the gas denser in the center than around the outside. When the pipe curves, the light beam starts moving off the axis of the pipe. The gas then acts like a prism, deflecting the light beam in the direction of the curvature of the “prism”. Figure 31 In communication between distant space and earth, a light pipe might be a little cumbersome; hence it may prove necessary to set up an intermediate orbiting relay station that will, particularly in cases of poor weather, intercept the incoming laser beam and convert it to radio frequencies that can penetrate our atmosphere with greater reliability. Powering space-borne lasers will, of course, be a problem. Indeed one of the major unsolved problems in production of spacecraft and long-term satellites is the provision of an adequate supply of power. Fuel cells and solar cells have helped but do not give the whole answer. One other approach has already been developed: a sun-pumped laser. Sunlight focused onto the side of the laser (see ) provides the pumping power, enabling the device to put out 1 watt of continuous infrared radiation, enough for special space applications. Descendents of this device could produce visible light if this is deemed desirable. Figure 32 Another approach, using , is even more intriguing and may have greater consequences. Chemical lasers will derive their energy from their internal chemistry rather than from the outside. A mixture of two chemicals may be all that is needed to initiate laser action aboard a spacecraft or satellite. (Chemical lasers also offer the promise of even greater concentrations of power than have been achieved heretofore, which may make them useful in plasma research.) chemical lasers With all these possibilities, it may still be that spacecraft will need more power than is available on board. The narrow beam of the laser offers one more fascinating possibility, especially in the case of satellites relatively near earth. The light of a laser might actually be used to beam energy to a receiver, either for immediate use or storage. It would then become possible to “refuel” satellites at will, giving them much greater capabilities. If available laser power is great enough, laser beams might even be used to push satellites back into their proper orbits when they begin to wander off course, as they almost invariably do after a while. Figure 32 Artist’s rendering of sun-pumped laser as it would operate in space. The sun’s rays are collected by a parabolic reflector and are focused on the laser’s surface by two cylindrical mirrors. Sun Parabolic Collector Hyperbolic-cylindric secondary mirror Semi-circular-cylindric tertiary mirror Laser beam About HackerNoon Book Series: We bring you the most important technical, scientific, and insightful public domain books. This book is part of the public domain. Hal Hellman (2021). Laser. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved October 2022 https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/65512/pg65512-images.html This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at , located at . www.gutenberg.org https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html

Future deep space missions are expected to require extremely high data transmission rates

The year is 1994, and , fresh off their success with the ( in the US) and, to a lesser extent, its ( in the US) and addons, unleash their next-generation console on an unsuspecting audience in Japan - the . Backed by a series of awesome (and increasingly ludicrously humorous) commercials featuring the console’s mascot (played by actor , best known for his role as the original ) punishing those who refuse to play games on his parent company’s beloved console, the Saturn was a hit in the Land of the Rising Sun - the character was so popular that he even received his own game exclusive to Japan, and his theme song was also released as a single. Sega Mega Drive Genesis Mega CD Sega CD 32X Sega Saturn Segata Sanshiro Hiroshi Fujioka Kamen Rider In the West, however, the Saturn did not fare as well, sadly - largely due to a mishap on Sega’s part by releasing it prematurely, and its higher price point than its most direct rival, then-newcomer and their console, did them no favours, despite a series of solid launch titles and early games like , , (original version and its second edition), , , , and the much-sought-after . However, it did get a brief second lease of life with the release of . Sony PlayStation Virtua Cop Virtua Cop 2 Virtua Fighter Remix Virtua Fighter 2 Virtua Fighter Kids Panzer Dragoon Panzer Dragoon 2 Zwei Panzer Dragoon Saga Sega Ages: Volume 1 What is Sega Ages? is an in-house brand used by Sega themselves to promote and release ports, conversions, remakes and collections consisting of their classic games from yesteryear, both arcade and console, typically for the ( in Japan) and Sega Mega Drive. The series was first launched on the Sega Saturn in 1996 and has survived into the 21st Century on the under the name (referring to its budget price of ¥2500, equating to around £14 or €18 in Europe, or about $20 US), and continues to thrive today on the , and , with the original name restored in the latter’s case - the phrase itself is a (spelled the same way backwards and forwards) and was originally used in European marketing campaigns during the 1980s and 1990s. Sega Ages Sega Master System Mark 3 PlayStation 2 Sega Ages 2500 Microsoft Xbox 360 PlayStation 3 Nintendo Switch palindrome During the Saturn’s lifetime, most titles were only released in Japan, and typically consisted of an arcade-perfect port of a classic game complete with some new features, such as unlockable extras, new game modes and a choice of original and remixed soundtracks. Three (3) of these games - , , and , all created by the legendary and featuring soundtracks by - were compiled together onto a single disc and released under the title in Europe in 1996 and a year later (1997) in North America. Despite the title, there would be no future releases in these territories, as the Saturn was essentially defunct by the end of 1998 and replaced by the a year later (1999). This 3-game-on-1-disc collection is going to be the focus of this review. Sega Ages Space Harrier Afterburner 2 Outrun Yu Suzuki Hiroshi Kawaguchi Sega Ages: Volume 1 Dreamcast Introduction When the disc boots up, you are greeted with the Sega Saturn intro sequence (which also doubles as a rudimentary copy protection scan - if you get the logo above on your screen, then you’re OK). No time is wasted getting to the point, no bullshit intro cutscenes, no minute-long unskippable opening credit sequence. Pressing the Start button allows the user to select each game in turn by pressing and on the controller - amusingly enough, the logo moves across the screen in time with each directional press. When you are satisfied, press the button again to begin the game in question - each game has its own unique loading screen and opening animation for the Sega logo, and you can adjust each game’s individual difficulty level, lives, score required to get an extra life or continue, control scheme and even use a sound test in their respective submenus, along with the option to play each game in either stereo or mono (yes, it may be hard to believe, but even in the mid-1990s, there were still some households with mono TVs, even though stereo was commonplace). Left Right Start Options Game 1: Space Harrier I decided to start with my least favourite of the three games in this collection, largely because it is a game I am unfamiliar with when compared to its contemporaries by the same company. However, I will do my best to be fair - this game was also ported to the 32X, arcade-perfect and all. Pressing the button gives the player a menu, with a choice to play the game, go to the submenu or to exit back to the title screen. For this review, I am playing on the easiest difficulty level known as and with a special feature enabled called - what this does is grant the player a minute (60 seconds) of infinite lives - when the timer expires, they will then have to complete the game with a finite amount of lives. There are no hit points - you get hit, you lose a life. There are no continues - at least, not that I know of, I did not make it far enough to see if there is an option to continue. Extra lives can be obtained by reaching a score-based interval (every 3 million or 5 million points - user-definable). Start Options Extra Easy Trial Time The controls are simple - use the controller to move the on-screen character (the eponymous Space Harrier) and the and buttons to shoot the enemies (you can choose whether or not to invert the vertical controls, so goes down and goes up like in a flight simulator). The 3D perspective, while visually jaw-dropping (particularly for a game originally released nearly 40 years ago), can also be a little bit distracting for some players, as there is no on-screen reticule, no means of knowing whether or not your shots will land, something which plagued quite a few early 3D shooters. A, B C Up Down At the end of each stage (18 in total), except for Stage 5, which is a bonus stage, a boss fight ensues - defeat it and you can proceed to the next level. From what I understand, this version is missing what was going to be the original final boss of the game, a twin-headed dragon called , which was removed from the arcade version due to time limitations. The only port that I know of which contains this final boss (without fulfilling any special requirements) is the Sega Master System/Mark 3 version, so the final boss fight consists of a rematch against the previous bosses followed by one last new enemy. Haya Oh Game 2: After Burner II Moving onto , which, despite its name, feels more like a revision or an update to the original game as opposed to a true sequel - a second edition, if you like. This version was also ported to the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive and 32X. The options are the same as for , complete with difficulty selection, amount of lives (again, one hit and you lose a life), control scheme (complete with normal or reversed vertical controls) and a sound test, along with an option to have the in-game aircraft’s machine gun/cannon fire automatically, and whether to perform a 360-degree roll with the control pad or an action button on the controller. Again, I am playing this on the difficulty level with the auto-fire on. Afterburner 2 Space Harrier Extra Easy Depending on your configuration, the lower buttons on the Sega Saturn’s controller ( , and ) will either perform a 360-degree roll, fire a missile (of which you have a finite supply) or fire the machine gun/cannon (known in-game as the ), while the upper buttons ( , and ) control the speed of the afterburner thrust (slow, medium and fast respectively). A hit counter keeps track of your kills (which is reset every few levels and added to your score), while a basic radar in the upper right-hand corner of the screen shows you both your position and that of your enemies (later stages involve you trying to shake off enemies from behind, represented by large circles). This game is composed of 23 stages, although Stages 5, 13 and 23 are nonplayable cutscenes featuring the player character landing and refueling (and arming up with new missiles, although a supply plane will appear every few levels and refuel automatically to help mitigate this), while Stages 8 and 17 are bombing run levels taking place in vast canyons. A B C Vulcan X Y Z The trick to survive in this game is to watch the radar and constantly do 360-degree barrel rolls whenever possible. Also, try to use your missiles to dispatch multiple opponents, as a single missle can lock onto multiple enemies, but use them sparingly. Every few levels, you will get the option to continue from your last checkpoint, which occur at Stages 5, 9, 13 and 19. I don’t know if this is a holdover from the original arcade version, but it’s nice to have at least, and this game is definitely easier to play than , largely due to its faster pace and visual indicators to help the player aim and manoeuvre their way to safety. Space Harrier Game 3 (Last Game): Out Run Saving the best for last, this is my favourite game on the disc - an arcade-perfect port of Sega’s classic racer, , which went on to have a sequel in the form of , though not as successful. The options are the same as in and , although with some unique special features: there is a hidden option to turn on what the game calls a , which increases the in-game framerate to help with the game’s fluidity and to make the controls more responsive. Outrun Turbo Outrun Space Harrier Afterburner 2 Smooth Mode Another hidden option comes in the form of , which reduces the traction during turns, bends and corners, improving the in-game car’s handling characteristics. Furthermore, the player can choose whether to play the original Japanese courses or the new tracks released in the overseas version of the game. Depending on your configuration, the lower , and buttons can be used to accelerate, brake or change gear, or they can be used to accelerate and brake only, while gear changes are relegated to either the upper buttons ( , and ) or and on the control pad. You can choose whether to play with a manual or automatic gearbox. Easy Cornering A B C X Y Z Up Down I will be playing with an automatic gearbox on , on the overseas tracks, and with both and enabled. This version of the game also supports analogue controls in the form of a steering wheel  such as the or the analogue stick on the (which can be used in either analogue or digital mode but few games are compatible with the former feature, the most notable being ). Extra Easy Smooth Mode Easy Cornering Sega Arcade Racer 3D Control Pad Nights into Dreams One thing of note is that this game is nonlinear - at the end of each stage, the player’s car will come across an intersection, and must decide whether to go left or right. This opens up a lot of replay value, and ultimately leads to five (5) different endings, depending on which route the player takes and which goal they reach - a map of the player’s chosen route is displayed at the end of the game. The left route is usually easier than the right one. Before the game begins, you can choose your in-game music from a choice of three (3) compositions - the classic with its Caribbean-influenced melody and rhythm, the overlooked with its dramatic thunder, and the unfairly-singled-out , with its casual tone and happy-go-lucky beat (this last track is missing on most early home computer and console releases). Magical Sound Shower Splash Wave Passing Breeze the arcade soundtrack (albeit edited into a 5-minute medley of all 3 tracks) was released as a free bonus with the original home computer ( , , , and ) releases, as a means of enticing potential buyers. Suffice to say, the soundtrack was far more enjoyable than the game on most of those platforms save for the C64, though its linearity hampered the experience (each course had to be loaded in separately if you wanted to experience a different route). Trivia: ZX Spectrum Amstrad CPC Commodore 64 Commodore Amiga Atari ST The game starts by giving you a generous 80 seconds (1:20) for the first stage. It will take on average about a minute to clear each level, so try not to crash (crash at least 3 times and you’ve basically run out of time to complete the current stage). After the humorous ending sequence (one for each route), you are then shown a course map showing your progress throughout the game’s varied locations (I think this game might take place in New Zealand, considering it’s got every climate and environment imaginable all on the same map). This map also appears if you run out of time, with the car stopping at the point your game ended. The Review Similar to my review of the for the PS1, I cannot compare the various aspects (graphics, sound, controls, gameplay) of three games using very similar hardware which all build upon each other. Instead, I will give each element a score out of 5 stars and calculate the average based on the overall score for each game, before declaring one game the ultimate victor and deciding whether or not this collection is worth the price of admission. Tekken Trilogy Presentation 5/5 (nice title screen and loading screen, but this game really is a tough cookie - shame about the lack of the original Haya Oh final boss, though) Space Harrier: 5/5 (same, but slightly easier, and the game’s cutscenes and continues help elevate it beyond a standard shoot-em-up) After Burner II: 5/5 (I love that intro, I love the loading screen, and the extra hidden features make this one worth it) Out Run: Graphics 4/5 (questionable usage of colours and Sega’s use of the technology doesn’t quite work as well here as it does on later titles) Space Harrier: Super Scaler 4/5 (better-looking graphics than with more appropriate colour palette, though the text and visuals on the or can blend in a little too easily, making it difficult to focus) After Burner II: Space Harrier Heads-Up Display HUD : 5/5 (just right - the colours don’t bleed into each other and the HUD is clean and clear, plus, the Super Scaler technology, which simulates incoming 3D objects, is perfected here) Out Run Sound (SFX & Music) 3/5 (the weakest game, sonically, as the sound effects can be quite cartoonish, and the voice acting is a little too overacted - the music for the first stage sounds eerily similar to the theme tune to the classic TV show ) Space Harrier: Blake’s 7 4/5 (awesome soundtrack, although the sound effects do cover up the music for the most part, which is a bit of a problem considering the music is a major part of the experience) After Burner II: 5/5 (there’s a song for a happy, sad or angry mood, and the sound effects are appropriate for the game’s atmosphere - nothing sounds out of place) Out Run: Controls 5/5 (fully functional, perfectly responsive, and the option to fly flight-simulator-style is a nice touch) Space Harrier: 5/5 (ditto, plus the ability to speed up and slow down actually add a light element of strategy to what is an otherwise all-action arcade game) After Burner II: 5/5 (the additions of the Smooth Mode complete with increased framerate and Easy Cornering to facilitate handling on turns make this game a joy to play - almost too easy) Out Run: Gameplay 3/5 (it’s not great, but it’s not bad either - the game’s main weakness is the lack of any visual sighting mechanic, leaving the player with no choice but to fire blindly and risk getting their projectiles mixed up with enemy fire, which is not something you want in a game of this type) Space Harrier: 4/5 (much faster paced than and thus, more enjoyable - although sometimes it can veer too much in the opposite direction with the same result, though the addition of a targeting mechanic makes this game easier to play along with the continue/checkpoint system) After Burner II: Space Harrier 5/5 (its nonlinearity with multiple routes to take encourages replay value unlike its brethren, and when coupled with a choice of courses based on either the original Japanese version or the overseas release, this game is practically chock-full of content, particularly considering its age and arcade genesis) Out Run: Final Score 3/5 (an OK game, but not my first choice) Space Harrier: 4/5 (much more appealing to both gamers and non-gamers alike, especially with ) After Burner II: Top Gun aficionados 5/5 (this game deserves all the praise it gets due to its ease of play and accessibility) Out Run: Overall There’s no doubt about it. for the Sega Saturn is a must-buy, not even a rental. It’s a shame that Sega never put out any other collections of this type in the West, because their arcade and classic console catalogue are revered as some of the most memorable videogames to come out of the 1980s and 1990s, and for good reason: they helped sell arcade machines, home computers and game consoles. I can only imagine what the hypothetical Volumes 2 and 3 could have been - they could have been grouped together by theme or genre: (with an option to unlock the full-length Japanese Sega Master System/Mark 3 version as a bonus) (a downscaled version of which later appeared on the Sega Master System/Mark 3) and (more famously ported to the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive, which I reviewed ), or (loosely inspired by the cult 1983 movie ), and . The Sega Saturn, despite its complexity and troubled lifespan, did have some good  games on offer, and this collection is one of them. This is one title that deserves to be in any Saturn owner’s personal library - to me, the jewel in the crown is , but it’s worth it for the simple fact that you get three iconic arcade games on a single disc for the price of one Saturn game alone. Sega Ages: Volume 1 Enduro Racer Hang-On Super Hang-On here Thunder Blade Blue Thunder Power Drift Fantasy Zone Out Run

Sega Ages Volume 1 (Sega Saturn) Review

Key Out of Time by Andre Alice Norton, is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book here . The Ancient Mariners The Ancient Mariners Another map spread out and this time pinned down with small stones on beach gravel. "Here, here, and here—" Ashe's finger indicated the points marked in a pattern which flared out from three sides of Finger Island. Each marked a set of three undersea depressions in perfect alliance with the land which, according to the galactic map, had once been a cape on a much larger land mass. Though the Terrans had found the ruins, if those saucers in the sea could be so termed, the remains had no meaning for the explorers. "Do we set up here?" Ross asked. "If we could just get a report to send back...." That might mean the difference between awakening the co-operation of the Project policy makers so that a flood of supplies and personnel would begin to head their way. "We set up here," Ashe decided. He had selected a point between two of the lines where a reef would provide them with a secure base. And once that decision was made, the Terrans went into action. Two days to go, to install the peep-probe and take some shots before the ship had to clear with or without their evidence. Together Ross and Ashe floated the installation out to the reef, Ui and Karara helping to tow the equipment and parts, the dolphins lending pushing noses on occasion. The aquatic mammals were as interested as the human beings they aided. And in water their help was invaluable. Had dolphins developed hands, Ross wondered fleetingly, would they have long ago wrested control of their native world—or at least of its seas—from the human kind? All the human beings worked with practiced ease, even while masked and submerged, to set the probe in place, aiming it landward at the check point of the Finger's protruding nail of rock. After Ashe made the final adjustments, tested each and every part of the assembly, he gestured them in. Karara's swift hand movement asked a question, and Ashe's sonic code-clicked in reply: "At twilight." Yes, dusk was the proper time for using a peep-probe. To see without risk of being sighted in return was their safeguard. Here Ashe had no historical data to guide him. Their search for the former inhabitants might be a long drawn-out process skipping across centuries as the machine was adjusted to Terran time eras. "When were they here?" Back on shore Karara shook out her hair, spread it over her shoulders to dry. "How many hundred years back will the probe return?" "More likely thousands," Ross commented. "Where will you start, Gordon?" Ashe brushed sand from the page of the notebook he had steadied against one bent knee and gazed out at the reef where they had set the probe. "Ten thousand years—" "Why?" Karara wanted to know. "Why that exact figure?" "We know that galactic ships crashed on Terra then. So their commerce and empire—if it was an empire—was far-flung at that time. Perhaps they were at the zenith of their civilization; perhaps they were already on the down slope. I do not think they were near the beginning. So that date is as good a starting place as any. If we don't hit what we're after, then we can move forward until we do." "Do you think that there ever was a native population here?" "Might have been." "But without any large land animals, no modern traces of any," she protested. "Of people?" Ashe shrugged. "Good answers for both. Suppose there was a world-wide epidemic of proportions to wipe out a species. Or a war in which they used forces beyond our comprehension to alter the whole face of this planet, which did happen—the alteration, I mean. Several things could have removed intelligent life. Then such species as the burrowers could have developed or evolved from smaller, more primitive types." "Those ape-things we found on the desert planet." Ross thought back to their first voyage on the homing derelict. "Maybe they had once been men and were degenerating. And the winged people, they could have been less than men on their way up——" "Ape-things ... winged people?" Karara interrupted. "Tell me!" There was something imperious in her demand, but Ross found himself describing in detail their past adventures, first on the world of sand and sealed structures where the derelict had rested for a purpose its involuntary passengers had never understood, and then of the Terrans' limited exploration of that other planet which might have been the capital world of a far-flung stellar empire. There they had made a pact with a winged people living in the huge buildings of a jungle-choked city. "But you see"—the Polynesian girl turned to Ashe when Ross had finished—"you did find them—these ape-things and the winged people. But here there are only the dragons and the burrowers. Are they the start or the finish? I want to know—" "Why?" Ashe asked. "Not just because I am curious, though I am that also, but because we, too, must have a beginning and an end. Did we come up from the seas, rise to know and feel and think, just to return to such beginning at our end? If your winged people were climbing and your ape-things descending"—she shook her head—"it would be frightening to hold a cord of life, both ends in your hands. Is it good for us to see such things, Gordon?" "Men have asked that question all their thinking lives, Karara. There have been those who have said no, who have turned aside and tried to halt the growth of knowledge here or there, attempted to make men stand still on one tread of a stairway. Only there is that in us which will not stop, ill-fitted as we may be for the climbing. Perhaps we shall be safe and untroubled here on Hawaika if I do not go out to that reef tonight. By that action I may bring real danger down on all of us. Yet I can not hold back for that. Could you?" "No, I do not believe that I could," she agreed. "We are here because we are of those who must know—volunteers. And being of that temperament, it is in us always to take the next step." "Even if it leads to a fall," she added in a low tone. Ashe gazed at her, though her own eyes were on the sea where a lace of waves marked the reef. Her words were ordinary enough, but Ross straightened to match Ashe's stare. Why had he felt that odd instant of uneasiness as if his heart had fluttered instead of beating true? "I know of you Time Agents," Karara continued. "There were plenty of stories about you told while we were in training." "Tall tales, I can imagine, most of them." Ashe laughed, but his amusement sounded forced to Ross. "Perhaps. Though I do not believe that many could be any taller than the truth. And so also I have heard of that strict rule you follow, that you must do nothing which might alter the course of history. But suppose, suppose here that the course of history could be altered, that whatever catastrophe occurred might be averted? If that was done, what would happen to our settlement in the here and now?" "I don't know. That is an experiment which we have never dared to try, which we won't try—" "Not even if it would mean a chance of life for a whole native race?" she persisted. "Alternate worlds then, maybe." Ross's imagination caught up that idea. "Two worlds from a change point in history," he elaborated, noting her look of puzzlement. "One stemming from one decision, another from the alternate." "I've heard of that! But, Gordon, if you could return to the time of decision here and you had it in your power to say, 'Yes—live!' or 'No—die!' to the alien natives, what would you do?" "I don't know. But neither do I think I shall ever be placed in that position. Why do you ask?" She was twisting her still damp hair into a pony tail and tying it so with a cord. "Because ... because I feel.... No, I can not really put it into words, Gordon. It is that feeling one has on the eve of some important event—anticipation, fear, excitement. You'll let me go with you tonight, please! I want to see it—not the Hawaika that is, but that other world with another name, the one they saw and knew!" An instant protest was hot in Ross's throat, but he had no time to voice it. For Ashe was already nodding. "All right. But we may have no luck at all. Fishing in time is a chancy thing, so don't be disappointed if we don't turn you up that other world. Now, I'm going to pamper these old bones for an hour or two. Amuse yourselves, children." He lay back and closed his eyes. The past two days had wiped half the shadows from his lean, tanned face. He had dropped two years, three, Ross thought thankfully. Let them be lucky tonight, and Ashe's cure could be nearly complete. "What do you think happened here?" Karara had moved so that her back was now to the wash of waves, her face more in the shadow. "How do I know? Could be any of ten different things." "And will I please shut up and leave you alone?" she countered swiftly. "Do you wish to savor the excitement then, explore a world upon world, or am I saying it right? We have Hawaika One which is a new world for us; now there is Hawaika Two which is removed in time, not distance. And to explore that—" "We won't be exploring it really," Ross protested. "Why? Did your agents not spend days, weeks, even months of time in the past on Terra? What is to prevent your doing the same here?" "Training. We have no way of learning the drill." "What do you mean?" "Well, it wasn't as easy as you seem to think it was back on Terra," he began scornfully. "We didn't just stroll through one of those gates and set up business, say, in Nero's Rome or Montezuma's Mexico. An Agent was physically and psychologically fitted to the era he was to explore. Then he trained, and how he trained!" Ross remembered the weary hours spent learning how to use a bronze sword, the technique of Beaker trading, the hypnotic instruction in a language which was already dead centuries before his own country existed. "You learned the language, the customs, everything you could about your time and your cover. You were letter perfect before you took even a trial run!" "And here you would have no guides," Karara said, nodding. "Yes, I can see the difficulty. Then you will just use the peep-probe?" "Probably. Oh, maybe later on we can scout through a gate. We have the material to set one up. But it would be a strictly limited project, allowing no chance of being caught. Maybe the big brains back home can take peep-data and work out some basis of infiltration for us from it." "But that would take years!" "I suppose so. Only you begin to swim in the shallows, don't you—not by jumping off a cliff!" She laughed. "True enough! However, even a look into the past might solve part of the big mystery." Ross grunted and stretched out to follow Ashe's example. But behind his closed eyes his brain was busy, and he did not cultivate the patience he needed. Peep-probes were all right, but Karara had a point. You wanted more than a small window into a mystery, you wanted a part in solving it. The setting of the sun deepened rose to red, made a dripping wine-hued banner of most of the sky, so that under it they moved in a crimson sea, looked back at an island where shadows were embers instead of ashes. Three humans, two dolphins, and a machine mounted on a reef which might not even have existed in the time they sought. Ashe made his final adjustments, and then his finger pressed a button and they watched the vista-plate no larger than the palms of two hands. Nothing, a dull gray nothing! Something must have gone wrong with their assembly work. Ross touched Ashe's shoulder. But now there were shadows gathering on the plate, thickening, to sharpen into a distinct picture. It was still the sunset hour they watched. But somehow the colors were paler, less red and sullen than the ones about them in the here and now. And they were not seeing the isle toward which the probe had been aimed; they were looking at a rugged coastline where cliffs lifted well above the beach-strand. While on those cliffs—! Ross had not realized Karara had reached out to grasp his arm until her nails bit into his flesh. And even then he was hardly aware of the pain. Because there was a building on the cliff! Massive walls of native rock reared in outward defenses, culminating in towers. And from the high point of one tower the pointed tail of a banner cracked in the wind. There was a headland of rock reaching out, not toward them but to the north, and rounding that.... "War canoe!" Karara exclaimed, but Ross had another identification: "Longboat!" In reality, the vessel was neither one nor the other, not the double canoe of the Pacific which had transported warriors on raid from one island to another, or the shield-hung warship of the Vikings. But the Terrans were right in its purpose: That rakish, sharp-prowed ship had been fashioned for swift passage of the seas, for maneuverability as a weapon. Behind the first nosed another and a third. Their sails were dyed by the sun, but there were devices painted on them, and the lines of those designs glittered as if they had been drawn with a metallic fluid. "The castle!" Ashe's cry pulled their attention back to land. There was movement along those walls. Then came a flash, a splash in the water close enough to the lead ship to wet her deck with spray. "They're fighting!" Karara shouldered against Ross for a better look. The ships were altering course, swinging away from land, out to sea. "Moving too fast for sails alone, and I don't see any oars." Ross was puzzled. "How do you suppose...." The bombardment from the castle continued but did not score any hits. Already the ships were out of range, the lead vessel off the screen of the peep as well. Then there was just the castle in the sunset. Ashe straightened up. "Rocks!" he repeated wonderingly. "They were throwing rocks!" "But those ships, they must have had engines. They weren't just depending on sails when they retreated." Ross added his own cause for bewilderment. Karara looked from one to the other. "There is something here you do not understand. What is wrong?" "Catapults, yes," Ashe said with a nod. "Those would fit periods corresponding from the Roman Empire into the Middle Ages. But you're right, Ross, those ships had power of some kind to take them offshore that quickly." "A technically advanced race coming up against a more backward one?" hazarded the younger man. "Could be. Let's go forward some." The incoming tide was washing well up on the reef. Ashe had to don his mask as he plunged head and shoulders under water to make the necessary adjustment. Once more he pressed the button. And Ross's gasp was echoed by one from the girl. The cliff again, but there was no castle dominating it, only a ruin, hardly more than rubble. Now, above the sites of the saucer depressions great pylons of silvery metal, warmed into fire brilliance by the sunset, raked into the sky like gaunt, skeleton fingers. There were no ships, no signs of any life. Even the vegetation which had showed on shore had vanished. There was an atmosphere of stark abandonment and death which struck the Terrans forcibly. Those pylons, Ross studied them. Something familiar in their construction teased his memory. That refuel planet where the derelict ship had set down twice, on the voyage out and on their return. That had been a world of metal structures, and he believed he could trace a kinship between his memory of those and these pylons. Surely they had no connection with the earlier castle on the cliff. Once more Ashe ducked to reset the probe. And in the fast-fading light they watched a third and last picture. But now they might have been looking at the island of the present, save that it bore no vegetation and there was a rawness about it, a sharpness of rock outline now vanished. Those pylons, were they the key to the change which had come upon this world? What were they? Who had set them there? For the last Ross thought he had an answer. They were certainly the product of the galactic empire. And the castle ... the ships ... natives ... settlers? Two widely different eras, and the mystery still, lay between them. Would they ever be able to bring the key to it out of time? They swam for the shore where Ui had a fire blazing and their supper prepared. "How many years lying between those probes?" Ross pulled broiled fish apart with his fingers. "That first was ten thousand years ago, the second," Ashe paused, "only two hundred years later." "But"—Ross stared at his superior—"that means——" "That there was a war or some drastic form of invasion, yes." "You mean that the star people arrived and just took over this whole planet?" Karara asked. "But why? And those pylons, what were they for? How much later was that last picture?" "Five hundred years." "The pylons were gone, too, then," Ross commented. "But why—?" he echoed Karara's question. Ashe had taken up his notebook, but he did not open it. "I think"—there was a sharp, grim note in his voice—"we had better find out." "Put up a gate?" Ashe broke all the previous rules of their service with his answer: "Yes, a gate." About HackerNoon Book Series: We bring you the most important technical, scientific, and insightful public domain books. This book is part of the public domain. Andre Alice Norton (2006). Key Out of Time. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved October 2022 https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/19651/pg19651-images.html This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org , located at https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html .

The Ancient Mariners

Astounding Stories of Super-Science May 1931: VOL. VI, No. 2 - When Caverns Yawned

Atterrissage vaisseau 3D - CGI Spaceship landing (Dades Production) 50m starship + 70m booster is essentially a thin and 130m tall wonder of the world. Take a matchstick with essentially the same length to width ratio and try to keep it standing upright. Pretty hard even without the slightest wind. right? But the moment SpaceX mastered rocket engine vectoring all kinds of new design possibilities suddenly opened So why do we actually still launch and land vehicles with thin profile in position that is generally unstable? More flights mean faster return of investment and bigger chance of becoming multiplanetary civilization before statistically inevitable happens. But here is current 14 pretty strict (no wind over 30mph) . weather launch criteria for falcon 9 Being limited to static launch tower means being limited to weather conditions there too. Remember. There is no Sci-Fi. Just predictions. So what If we were stable enough to launch or land from anywhere, even sea It’s not even that hard.  We simply need to be more wide than tall. Due to the wonders of engine vectoring we can now be 10m tall (instead of the current 130m) during landing or launch and transition to supersonic upright config anytime. Could we then launch or land in much harsher weather even with strong winds? Would we then actually get rid of expensive static launch towers on Earth, the Moon, or Mars? Could we then suddenly launch fly and land anywhere even at sea not needing lengthy cranky FAA permission near crowded areas? Weather is definitely the main deciding factor. Making most of the days pretty much no go. And with Climate change, we clearly opened pandora’s box of brutal weather unpredictability and force. So with tall sticks, we will be sitting ducks a lot of the time. Starships independent from static launch sites and their local limits able to move fast to any place over the sea on earth would allow fast parallel launches from anywhere. Time and Money Lost Waiting for Good Weather or Bureaucracy is What We Can’t Afford if We Want to Become Multiplanetary. So. What if we take the current spaceship 50m + booster 70m and slice it instead to 2-3 shorter tubes, put them next to each other with 2 rotatable engine groups on sides and 2 groups on the bottom? Trading 130m 4 flaps 4 fins batteries avionics and connection ring weight for 10m height stronger frame and front engine vectoring mounts By merging perhaps a significant amount of weight can be now removed. No need for ship booster connection ring and hydraulics 10t?. No need for avionics grid fins and heavy batteries from what was 200-160t booster shaving. 20-40t and another 20-40t? can be shaved by removing what was flaps and heavy batteries from what was the ship. Hopefully, leaving 50-90t? old budget for side reinforcement beams on a beer can hull between two front rotating 8 motor cluster mounts and two bottom ones with vacuum engines from the ship. Also in case of launch problem, whole 4 clusters of 8 motors are perhaps more easily swapped faster or accessed than 29-32 engine dense plumbing maze. Refueling connects at 1m ground is also a lot less risky than at 70m (space shuttle chunk of ice incident). Front engines could rotate optionally to move to the bottom to reduce thermal stress to the hull. Getting rid of vacuum engine weight by having variable-ratio nozzles Maybe SpaceX should try to make their own cheap carbon fiber to expand their material options for some parts if the only price is holding them back from composites. Considering how efficiently they made iterating steel who knows where carbon composite iteration in parallel would lead them too. Those two are not mutually exclusive. Steel is heavy and not every part makes sense to be made from steel radiation or weight-wise. The simplest way to make carbon nanomaterial even at home is to drop graphite dust on soapy water. Recently one Chinese company found a way to make supercheap carbon nanomaterial batteries. Since you can hover now, you can cheat You can launch 3 ships and chain refuel from 2 at 15km ;D Joking. Or not? If we are still too heavy to reach orbit we can go back to some parts as composites instead of steel or have a second tube smaller in diameter to form an airfoil shape to use the surface for added lift. That would also help with fuel efficiency until going fully vertical or for two starship tubes in the middle and two returning side boosters config starting and landing in VTOL 10m height config. Two tube starships just to be stable on the moon and Mars dust storms. Spreading the Same Force Over a Larger More Stable Area with Proper Landing Legs Instead of Concentrating it to a Single Unstable Spot At the launch of large loads, we are fighting mostly gravity, not air. Sidewind stability, proper landing legs, wide-area spread failure redundancy is much more important during launch/landing than thin shape for air resistance. Then in higher altitudes past strong winds we can simply transition to the same supersonic upright flight position as before having engines transition inline with the same engine power. So let’s just slightly reshuffle engines and mfg. pipelines that we already have. Single Angle Engine Vectoring Can Reduce Complexity and Many Points of Failure Since the engine can no longer randomly point in random directions in case of sudden computer latency or wind gust, one can argue the biggest points of failure are being removed or reduced. Movement and hovering freedom Vectoring can now be done with simple valves by thrust just like in quadcopters most of the time even manually if a computer fails. Ie. a higher chance to save a vehicle in theory. The ocean is an incredibly big area and in the quad mode, you are now stable enough to launch from simple and cheap 4 empty used old starship bodies acting as floats below deck you use to catch falcons. It is a great strategic advantage that SpaceX can now manufacture big steel tubes cheap and fast. So perhaps no 100 expensive oil rigs needed to hold 130m tall rockets either. Just 1 ship to pull a chain of starships on floating decks out on the sea. Landing anywhere especially in the ocean. The whole ship will on landing be essentially one big empty barrel full of air and will float pretty well too. But maybe the whole idea is stupid too heavy to reach orbit without 2 stages. I don’t know. But that’s me, never afraid to have crazy stupid ideas. I am curious to hear your opinion guys. ;D Please let me know through your feedback. I am really curious. I asked this question to a few people from SpaceX I found on Linkedin (around 20 :D ?). Curious what their answer will be but I haven’t received a reply so far. But If there are any open-minded people anywhere willing to take risks and think outside the box to push boundaries of what is possible then it is definitely at SpaceX. Previously published at https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/what-starship-quadcopter-ladislav-nevery/

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