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    #16
    Originally posted by TOIVA View Post
    The short story I sent a link to contains the story of Epstein meeting his wife (with some tensions between Earth and Mars in the background) and then what was shown in the episode. While I haven't read the books, I don't believe any of it could be spoilery.
    Cool! Will definitely have a look, then (I'm effectively spoiler-proof, having read the whole series [actually re-reading now]). There's no mention of his wife, IIRC, in the books, so that bit will be new to me.

    Originally posted by TOIVA View Post
    Well, even right now, in 2017, one (or is it both?) Voyager probe is already crossing the edge of the Solar system. I believe Epstein reached far higher speeds than Voyager and was on his way longer.
    Oh, yeah, at V-Ger's leisurely amble, it's poked out of the Heliopause after 30-ish years, so 13 Gees for a couple of weeks (already starting from a point beyond Earth) will put him squarely in interstellar space before his fuel pellets are even expended. And yah, there's no mention that he was pointed in any particular direction, so it'll likely be centuries or millennia before he brushes another sun's well.

    Haunting, really...

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      #17
      The Epstein drive thing doesn't make sense to me either, unless it is necessary exposition for something yet to come?

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        #18
        Originally posted by Infinite-Possibilities View Post
        Yeah I got that the Epstein Drive was meant to be a parallel to the Protomolecule, but I just thought the way they told that story was very odd and also confusing.

        I mean, I guess if he left detailed plans at home for his wife, that explains how the rest of the system knows about the Epstein Drive, but still they still did a recurring segment where a dead narrator talks about his death 100 years after the fact.

        Even the Julie Mao flashback at the end of Season 1 felt like it was her internal monologue for the period of time where we followed her. This character felt like he was talking directly to the audience. Had they done that before?

        The closest I can think of is Miller trying summarize the previous season during the begging of the premier. And just seemed more like an extended "Previously on the Expanse" thing.

        And yeah, I thought the Protomolecule was supposedly on Phoebe for "eons." Even after traveling at high speed for a 137 years, would he have left the edge of the Sol System yet? Even if he had, he couldn't have gone far, in galactic terms.
        In full story it explain that his ship would stop accelerating at about 0.5c, so his vessel presuming it hasn't crash, should be 68.5 light years away from earth.

        You can read the short story on the syfy website, http://www.syfy.com/theexpanse/drive/

        Personally I think it should have come later in the series
        Spoiler:
        perhaps when they discover the portal the protomatter molecule builds that gives humanity access to the stars.

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          #19
          Originally posted by Noocyte View Post
          My take on the Epstein story was that we were "hearing" an inner monologue, taking place during that Timeless Time as he was stroking out (which is when it ended, followed by an "Objective" shot of his ship whizzing Oort-ward...). He did say that he'd left detailed notes, and so his wife would become wealthy, and Mars would be free to push the limits outward).

          Agree that a direct connection between Epstein's sepulchral starflight and the sending of the protomolecule doesn't add up, timeline-wise. I do believe that a 13-gee boost for several weeks, followed by a coast at such velocity would have placed him outside the Heliopause in fairly short order, but of course, that's barely poking a toe out the front door, in interstellar terms.

          Hadn't looked at the linked short story on this (and I zoomed through all the books and the three novellas [one of which is integrated into the main storyline in a very satisfying way, re: the Protogen scientist] in about five weeks), but this account is embedded into the narrative in one of the novels. I'll have to have a peek, when I've a bit more time.

          Hadn't seen the parallel of the Epstein Drive and the protomolecule (which is curious; I'm usually All About making those kinds of sideways connections), so thanks for pointing it out. Nice beat, that!

          Ganymede is a ripping good story! Looking forward to it (and I really like that they introduced Bobbie at the beginning of the season, so that we could live her experiences. In the books, that scene is our first introduction to her, which would not have worked nearly as well.

          SO comprehensively satisfied with this series thus far!
          1G get you to Mars in 1 day and about 7 hours, 18 days to the khyber belt. 13G was when he had a stroke, he has enough fuel to keep accelerating for 3 weeks potentially taking him up to hundreds of Gs. He probably got pretty close to C by the time he stopped accelerating.

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