[itachi-san]

Thread's alarm was blaring. The 3 crew members of the ship "Thread" shook from the recent blast. There had been a loud explosion when something had struck the vessel.

"This is bad," said Yoruichi, the sf anime specialist, examining a gauge. "The blast destroyed the airlock, so we can't shelter there. The atmosphere is leaking in across at least half the ship! What about the bridge?"

"The bridge isn't designed to be sealed," answered Slickster, the flirtatious logistics officer (and comic relief). "Quick! Get out the pressure suits!"

But, to everyone's dismay, not all of the emergency equipment was present. The self-contained breathing apparatuses (SCBAs) were there, along with plenty of oxygen tanks, but the pressure suits were missing. "Who screwed this up!?" Slickster demanded loudly, thinking back to his last Halloween party.

"Quiet," ordered Captain LIS. "Let's work the problem." He calmly picked up a breathing kit. "Put these on. Then unpack the balloon from the lab and meet me on the bridge."

They did so. A few minutes later, they entered the cockpit dragging a large rubber balloon and three spare oxygen bottles.

Captain LIS was seated at the comm station. He inhaled from his tank, then pulled aside the mask and said, "I just spoke with the Commander at Space Station BrainDen. They're prepping the Rescue Ship "Replies", and expect it to be underway in half an hour... which means we'll be saved in about three hours."

"What about Thread?" asked Slickster, being careful to inhale only from his SCBA.

"Our engines are fine," answered LIS.

"Then we could make it to BrainDen in only two and a half hours!" both Yoruichi and Slickster exclaimed.

"Bad idea," answered Captain LIS, "very bad, indeed. We have plenty of oxygen, so we'll wait here. I'll run the cabin heaters at full power on the bridge. If necessary, we'll crawl into the balloon and huddle together to stay warm." Yoruichi arched an eyebrow at Slickster. "Just don't get too friendly in there."

1) Where is Thread?

2) Why does Captain LIS refuse to pilot Thread back to BrainDen?

3) Will Slickster get frisky despite the Captain's warning?

[Yoruichi-san]

Lol...thanks, I think...

They are in a sub, and the reason LIS doesn't want to move is because he stayed awake in thermodynamics class...you lose heat faster to moving fluid (in the frame of reference of the sub, the fluid is moving), than to stagnant fluid. As for the last question...if he does, we'll know who'll be next in the body count...

[itachi-san]

Lol...thanks, I think...

They are in a sub, and the reason LIS doesn't want to move is because he stayed awake in thermodynamics class...you lose heat faster to moving fluid (in the frame of reference of the sub, the fluid is moving), than to stagnant fluid. As for the last question...if he does, we'll know who'll be next in the body count...

good guess

they cannot be immersed in water because the balloon theory would not be effective.

[soop]

good guess

they cannot be immersed in water because the balloon theory would not be effective.

An airship.

[Prof. Templeton]

I would guess

The "Thread" is a space ship. As you pointed out the ship can't be taking on water or the balloon wouldn't work. If atmosphere is leaking in, the ship is somewhere where the pressure is higher than normal. It also must not be breathable. LIS can't take the ship into space where the Brainden is because of the vacuum. Slick may get frisky if the pressure goes over about 40 psi. Higher pressure can affect the Nitrogen in the blood stream causing intoxication, similar to what divers can experience.

So, it's a space ship on a planet with higher atmospheric pressure that's not breathable and cold.

Is the ship in our solar system? That might narrow it down.

[itachi-san]

I would guess

The "Thread" is a space ship. As you pointed out the ship can't be taking on water or the balloon wouldn't work. If atmosphere is leaking in, the ship is somewhere where the pressure is higher than normal. It also must not be breathable. LIS can't take the ship into space where the Brainden is because of the vacuum. Slick may get frisky if the pressure goes over about 40 psi. Higher pressure can affect the Nitrogen in the blood stream causing intoxication, similar to what divers can experience.

So, it's a space ship on a planet with higher atmospheric pressure that's not breathable and cold.

Is the ship in our solar system? That might narrow it down.

Yes, it's in our Solar System. You got #2 right. #3 is a bit off though. Friskiness isn't associated with the bends. Good guess though.

Edit: on second thought, you got #3 too. Nitrogen would cause it. I was thinking too much about how they're not in the water

[Prof. Templeton]

Yes, it's in our Solar System. You got #2 right. #3 is a bit off though. Friskiness isn't associated with the bends. Good guess though.

Edit: on second thought, you got #3 too. Nitrogen would cause it. I was thinking too much about how they're not in the water

The only place that fits is the largest moon of Saturn which is Titan. It is larger than the planet mercury, it's very cold (-180 C), and it has an atmospheric pressure about 60% greater than the earth. I couldn't find any other place where the pressure was close enough to be survivalbe.