Home Fires questions

David Stockhoff · 23 Oct 2011, 20:10 · from 2011-October.txt.gz

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From: dstockhoff at verizon.net (David Stockhoff)
Date: Sun, 23 Oct 2011 16:10:05 -0400
Subject: (urth) Home Fires questions
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On 10/23/2011 12:38 PM, Stephen Hoy wrote:
> > Stockoff: Another approach: if tours of duty are similar to our own, 
> i.e., 6 months to 2 to 4 years, maybe that's a place to start. Given 
> interstellar distances, 2 years may be the minimum time Chelle was 
> away. Would 1000 days be a typical tour, or 500 + star travel? How 
> many years would pass on Earth?
>
> Nailing down the length of a year has significance if you want to know 
> where Chelle fought the Os.
>
> In Ch 2 When Janie Comes Marching Home, Chelle asks, "How long was I 
> gone?" "Twenty-two years, one hundred and six days," Skip replies, "I 
> was..." then trails off into silence. "Speechless, Counselor?" Skip 
> offers up a few words to explain how he felt, including a phrase from 
> Edward Coke,"Veritas nihil veretur nisi abscondi." Truth is only 
> afraid of concealment.   Curiously, we find a similar quote in /An 
> Evil Guest/ from Coke's legal rival Francis Bacon, the bit in the 
> first chapter where the President scoffs,"What's truth,  said jestin' 
> Pilate."] This particular legal phrase doesn't really fit Skip's 
> situation. To me, it feels more like "X" marks the spot.
>
> The time passed provides an estimate of the distance traveled. There 
> are only three stars within 11 light years of Earth. Assuming 
> near-perfect lightspeed travel, Chelle possibly traveled to Epsilon 
> Eridani, 10.5 light years distant.
>
> Doesn't leave Chelle much duty time at her destination--about 1 year 
> 106 days--, but this is consistent with the story. She returned early 
> due to injury.

Well done. Of course "1 year and 106 days" is 471 days, or nearly 500. 
Consistent with a tour of 1-2 years.
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