Kelly St. Clair <xxxxxx@efn.org> wrote: > The essential issue, IMO, is always consistency - whether in terms of science/engineering or gameplay. "If X can solve this problem, why can't it also solve this other problem that, logically, it should be able to?" > > "Because" is almost never a satisfying answer. Agreed, though when this happens I imagine the reason is often similar to the reason why the pathogen can't get to the ~Enterprise~ via the transporter one week but you can't rid your body of the pathogen the next week simply by making a quick transport. One week, the writer needed the pathogen not to get to the ship and the next week a different writer needed it to be difficult to get the pathogen out of the patient. Both writers were trying to tell an interesting story for their week, not trying to build a consistent fictional universe for fans to unpack for half a lifetime. . . . Given all the writers contributing to Traveller over the past four-and-more decades we should be surprised this sort of thing doesn't happen more often. Cheers, David -- Victoria, British Columbia 48° 29' N, 123° 20' W
