Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Pointless Question #14

So, you've gotten to the airlock of the space station that's been set to self-destruct with plenty of time to spare. Why do you wait until the last second to blast off in your spaceship?

9 comments:

Tom Foss said...

I'm going to allow the explosion to help propel me away from the space station. My ship's hull and shields can withstand re-entry, solar flares, micrometeors, and direct weapon hits; the heat and debris of a self-destructing space station don't pose much of a threat as long as I'm on the edge of it, not at the center. Meanwhile, spaceship fuel is expensive; I'm going to use all the boost I can get.

Anonymous said...

I like the thrill and the spectacle of big things going BOOM nearby.

Yeah, yeah, vacuum not good for noise. My ship has big subwoofers for these occasions.

-- GM

Anonymous said...

Because while I got to the airlock with plenty of time to spare... so did that dang Alien queen!

Anonymous said...

If you have the time spare, you have time to adjust your seat, check your mirrors, fasten your seatbelt and properly signal before leaving: important safety considerations you'd not manage if you blasted off as soon as you get in.

You'd be shocked how cramped people get when they just shoot off, and how many near collisions occur due to poor escape pod driving etiquette.

Infophile said...

Because the aliens who built our ship had only seen television episodes of it, and they assumed that there was some practical purpose behind everything waiting until the last second. Therefore, they programmed things to work this way, so you can't actually escape until that second however much you try.

Anonymous said...

Because I'm just that effing hardcore. Duh.

Dikkii said...

Because the "plenty of time to spare" was set by the consultants engaged to build the space station who just happened to include a couple of former members of the Jamaican 4 x 100m track and field team.

Flit said...

You've got to let the tubes warm up.

Anonymous said...

For my health.

Abandoning the station at a nice leisurely pace and watching the explosion from a safe distance does nothing to brace me for the ultimate stress levels of dealing with the villain soon afterwards. You have to ramp up to these things, like warming up before sporting event, otherwise the sudden demands on the body can lead to health problems later on, and I, for one, care about my future.

Plus I need a little time to come up with pithy parting shots for that aforementioned showdown. Villains work very hard for the privilege of having some nice quotes around when the big steam pipe gets slammed completely through their torso - I'd be a real heel if I didn't have something prepared for that. You have to respect hard work.