Clonus Posted August 12, 2008 Report Share Posted August 12, 2008 Assume space craft cruising for between half a year to two years between stops. What can go wrong? Hydroponic plants start to die Electrical fire Computer malfunction leading to burn misfire Micro-meteorite hull breach leading to loss of atmosphere Burst of solar activity causes radiation hazard Power plant runs out of control and either irradiates the interior or has to be shut down. Radiator fin jams while deploying. Overheating problem Centrifuge module motor burns out Gyroscope breakdown sets the whole ship spinning Disease epidemic on board Vermin infestation On board atmosphere or water supply contaminated by chemical leak Psychotic passenger/crewmember Lover's quarrel Exterior fuel leak leads to insufficient propellant to stop. Computer BSOD Mutiny Airlock refuses to open/close Shuttle engines fire while in bay or docked Reentry angle miscalculation Ship to ship combat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manic Typist Posted August 12, 2008 Report Share Posted August 12, 2008 Re: Whatever Can Go Wrong Saboteur/mutiny. A general loss of the will to live. People start to disappear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tkdguy Posted August 13, 2008 Report Share Posted August 13, 2008 Re: Whatever Can Go Wrong The engines and comunication systems fail, and life support doesn't look too good either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Outsider Posted August 13, 2008 Report Share Posted August 13, 2008 Re: Whatever Can Go Wrong First contact. A navigation error, gravitic anomaly, or some cosmic weirdness causes the ship to not be headed for its intended destination, and it doesnt have fuel enough to correct its course. A flaw (or sabotage) in the colonist's cryogenic storage system requires that the colonists be awoken midflight. The ship has neither air nor food for so many people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tkdguy Posted August 13, 2008 Report Share Posted August 13, 2008 Re: Whatever Can Go Wrong First contact. A navigation error, gravitic anomaly, or some cosmic weirdness causes the ship to not be headed for its intended destination, and it doesnt have fuel enough to correct its course. A flaw (or sabotage) in the colonist's cryogenic storage system requires that the colonists be awoken midflight. The ship has neither air nor food for so many people. Remember Earth's first encounter with the Minbari in Babylon 5? The results of that mistake were pretty significant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nyrath Posted August 13, 2008 Report Share Posted August 13, 2008 Re: Whatever Can Go Wrong 11b. Cosmic rays cause vermin to mutate into intelligent vermin. Rats start to arm themselves, and initiate a planned sabotage campaign Computer virus destroys navigational software and all back ups. Navigator reduced to using slide-rules. Mold mutates into a form that consumes the insulation on all the ship's electrical wires and network cables. Unscrupulous suppliers sell you foodstuffs that have been exposed to solar flares. Food seems nourishing, but has several critical vitamins destroyed by radiation. Crew gradually starts suffering from several nasty vitamin deficiency diseases. Crew might not realize what was wrong unless their doctor was on the ball. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Frisbee Posted August 14, 2008 Report Share Posted August 14, 2008 Re: Whatever Can Go Wrong Target destination environment has changed radically or is otherwise unsuitable for lifeforms aboard the space vessel. Travelers aboard vessel develop sensory / sleep deprivation psychosis and start lashing out at each other. Travelers have a serious disagreement and initiate their own personal civil war aboard ship (mutiny). Adults die aboard ship leaving children to run it without a clue as to where they're going or why. Computer becomes self-aware and begins to question the actions of the lifeforms on board. ("Are you certain you want to do this, Dr. Chandra? I think we should stop." -- HAL 9000, 2010) Matt "End of Exile by Ben Bova fanboy" Frisbee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clonus Posted August 14, 2008 Author Report Share Posted August 14, 2008 Re: Whatever Can Go Wrong 22. Atmospheric evacuation doors all slam shut. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manic Typist Posted August 14, 2008 Report Share Posted August 14, 2008 Re: Whatever Can Go Wrong The ship crosses a previously unknown line across space time and enter into a region of the universe where the fundamental laws of reality function differently. As a specific example, the ship enters into a region where MAGIC works and much science DOESN'T. This is made obvious when a giant ball drawn by space dragons comes along and knocks on the door. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drhoz Posted August 14, 2008 Report Share Posted August 14, 2008 Re: Whatever Can Go Wrong Major bug in the databases loses a third of the data ( See Janet Kagen's book Mirabile, and the problems with Dragon's Teeth this gave the descendants ) - includes information on how to repair other problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sundog Posted August 14, 2008 Report Share Posted August 14, 2008 Re: Whatever Can Go Wrong Coolant failure in LOX tanks causes rupture. CO2 Scrubbers become contaminated with lubricant and cease functioning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubba smith Posted August 14, 2008 Report Share Posted August 14, 2008 Re: Whatever Can Go Wrong The ship crosses a previously unknown line across space time and enter into a region of the universe where the fundamental laws of reality function differently. As a specific example, the ship enters into a region where MAGIC works and much science DOESN'T. This is made obvious when a giant ball drawn by space dragons comes along and knocks on the door. this one sounds unusual:thumbup: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobGreenwade Posted August 14, 2008 Report Share Posted August 14, 2008 Re: Whatever Can Go Wrong Random wormhole pulls the ship into the distant (or even not-so-distant) past. Destination planet has been obliterated (by alien invasion, asteroid hit, world war, Galactus, or whatever). Captain is replaced by evil alien doppleganger. Hull breach in the food supply hold. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lawnmower Boy Posted August 14, 2008 Report Share Posted August 14, 2008 Re: Whatever Can Go Wrong When invited to the captain's table, your ignorance of fine dining causes you to send the gazpacho back for reheating...... What? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DusterBoy Posted August 14, 2008 Report Share Posted August 14, 2008 Re: Whatever Can Go Wrong Murphy's Law: "Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong, usually at the most inconvenient moment." O'Toole's corollary to Murphy's Law: "Murphy was an optimist." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nyrath Posted August 14, 2008 Report Share Posted August 14, 2008 Re: Whatever Can Go Wrong Murphy's Law: "Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong, usually at the most inconvenient moment." O'Toole's corollary to Murphy's Law: "Murphy was an optimist." It's ironic, but the original Murphy's Law was more along the lines of "idiot-proof everything" and "double-check everything." Now it means "everything is predestined to go haywire like Wile E. Coyote's road-runner traps so you might as well just give up now." Murphy's law was something like "if there are two ways to install a component, some moron is going to install it the wrong way." So what you do is design it so there is only one way to install it, thus nipping the problem in the bud. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DusterBoy Posted August 14, 2008 Report Share Posted August 14, 2008 Re: Whatever Can Go Wrong But then some idiot will still try to install it the wrong way - without bothering to read the instructions first. (yet another of Murphy's Laws IIRC) Trust me - human stupidity has no limits, which is terrifying, because human intelligence seems to run up against its limitations pretty quickly. (Did I say that right?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeropoint Posted August 15, 2008 Report Share Posted August 15, 2008 Re: Whatever Can Go Wrong Senior medical officer turns away patient complaining of chest pains because patient smokes; patient dies of heart attack a few hours later. Auxiliary craft collide while on mission, loss of both craft and both pilots. Coolant pump for reactor starts grinding metal, sending metallic particles into coolant system. Reactor must be shut down. Reactor is eventually restarted but cannot be run at full rated capacity. Horrible noise from one of the ship's engines; engine must be taken offline for inspection and repairs and can no longer be operated at full power. Female pilot prostitutes herself, causing a reduction in discipline. Or did you want events that are less realistic? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubba smith Posted August 15, 2008 Report Share Posted August 15, 2008 Re: Whatever Can Go Wrong when a ninja uses his nunchuck the chain/line breaks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clonus Posted August 15, 2008 Author Report Share Posted August 15, 2008 Re: Whatever Can Go Wrong when a ninja uses his nunchuck the chain/line breaks You expect a lot of ninjas using nunchuks on your spaceships? I'm thinking I'm gonna need to divvy up these suggestions between realistic and fantastic lists. Superannuated missile warhead goes dead or volatile FTL Glitch: Spaceship thrown back in time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nyrath Posted August 15, 2008 Report Share Posted August 15, 2008 Re: Whatever Can Go Wrong That "interesting spheroid rock sample" the geologist picked up on the last alien planet ... hatches... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DusterBoy Posted August 15, 2008 Report Share Posted August 15, 2008 Re: Whatever Can Go Wrong Someone's seen ST:TOS "Devil in the Dark" a few too many times . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubba smith Posted August 15, 2008 Report Share Posted August 15, 2008 Re: Whatever Can Go Wrong You expect a lot of ninjas using nunchuks on your spaceships? I'm thinking I'm gonna need to divvy up these suggestions between realistic and fantastic lists. Superannuated missile warhead goes dead or volatile FTL Glitch: Spaceship thrown back in time sorry forgot which forum this thread was in still it ISa good example of murphys law so was my original post Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nyrath Posted August 15, 2008 Report Share Posted August 15, 2008 Re: Whatever Can Go Wrong Someone's seen ST:TOS "Devil in the Dark" a few too many times . . . Maybe. But I've seen that 'the rock is actually an alien egg' gag in novels as early as The Rock of Three Planets by A. M. Lightner (1963) and as late as The Ring of Charon by Roger MacBride Allen (1990). "Devil in the Dark" was from 1967. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pinecone Posted August 15, 2008 Report Share Posted August 15, 2008 Re: Whatever Can Go Wrong Crew gets hooked on Role playing games...whole ship goes to heck... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.