Kids These Days...
12 Mar 2021Elderrook
I guess maybe I’m just getting old. That must be the case. I remember when I was younger and people who I thought of then as ‘old’ would say things to me that I now think of most of the younger generation. It certainly makes me feel old. Truth is, I’m okay with that. I’d rather be the way I am than the way most of the kids are these days.I’m an explorer by trade. Sure, I can do more than that. I started out flying a passenger vessel, and even dabbled in mining when I bought my first ship. I can fight when I need to, but don’t claim to be the best there is. Sure enough that someone will come along to prove otherwise as soon as you start claiming to be something special.
But it was always the lure of exploration that drew me to the pilot’s chair. Long ago, in a previous life, I really made a name for myself. I was close to achieving the vaunted ‘Triple Elite’ status before…
Well, before the incident. I can’t really say more than that. Not now, and not here. Maybe that’s a story for another day. Right now, I’m here to gripe about the state of exploration in the galaxy. That’s right, call me a grouchy old man. I don’t mind. I take it as a badge of honor.
I’ve been to one side of this galaxy and back, regardless as to what my new Pilot’s Status says. I’ve been to more worlds for the first time than most of these punks calling themselves explorers today, and I did that while most of them were still asking their mama for an allowance. I’ve even come across one of the worlds I’d discovered back then. Sure is funny to see my old name there on the explorers’ registry. Now I'm known as Cmdr. rIZAAR. Oh, yeah, go ahead and make your jokes. The old man can't even figure out the Capslock key. Yeah, there I go again. Back to the subject at hand; exploration today.
It sure isn’t what it was when I was young. Back then you didn’t have all the new-fangled gadgets in the cockpit to help you. Not that I have anything against progress, but it took a certain skill, and a helluva lot of guts back then. These days, no one appreciates the tech. They take it for granted. Machines that repair your ship at the push of a button? Yeah, we had to land and effect the repairs ourselves back then with whatever spare parts we’d been smart enough to take with us. It was no cake walk, I’ll tell you that much.
Of course, back then we were actually interested in being explorers. Kids these days can’t be bothered to put in any real work. They just want to make a fast buck at it and be on their way. Well, let me tell you something, sonny. No explorer worth is salt ever went into the business trying to make it rich. We did it for the thrill of discovery, for the right to put our name on the registry, not for some get rich quick scheme.
What am I talking about, you say? Fair question. Sit down and I’ll explain something to you. Provided you have the patience to listen, of course. Isn’t it about time your mama was handing out your allowance?
I just got back from a little jaunt into the void, only about ten-thousand light years out. A shakedown run, you might say. I can’t tell you the number of times I came across a system that had only one or two worlds registered by the Pilot’s association. I’m talking about shifting into a supposedly unexplored system with a dozen or more bodies identified by the Discovery Scanner, and one or two worlds having been analyzed with the Full Spectrum Scanner!
What the hell is that about?! You fly all the way out to some system far from the bubble and you only bother to scan a couple of the planets? What’s the matter? You got a hot game of Virtual Tiddly Winks going with the onboard computer and can’t be bothered to finish the job? What the heck is wrong with this generation.
Time was, we took pride in our work. We didn’t just put in the minimum effort and call it a day. We put our blood, sweat and tears into the work we did, because that work mattered. Nowadays you ank a guy what the proper name is for his FSS and he’ll give you a blank look. Start talking to him about signal waveforms in the Filtered Signal Analysis and his eyes will glaze over.
That’s NOT exploration!
You get the honor of being the first one to visit a system, you damn well finish the job you came there for! You take the time to at least analyze each world in the bloody Full Spectrum Scanner. I’m not asking you to map out each planet, here. I realize your attention span is a finite resource for you and wouldn’t want to tax you to the point that you actually start to care about your profession. Besides, if you can’t handle the Full Spectrum Scanner, I sure as heck can’t imagine trying to explain the function of the Detailed Surface Scanner to you.
You kids today are taking the fun out of exploration. If I shift into another system where the only planet to be scanned is the earthlike world, I swear I’m going to scream. It’s only a shame that in space, no one can hear it. (And yes, that’s a reference for all the other old-timers like me out there).
I realize you do this because the only worlds that pay out well are the ELW and the water worlds. You know what? I don’t care. It’s a lousy way to make money in the first place, and makes you look too lazy to be allowed to call yourself a Commander in the first place. Maybe surface mining is more your speed. Or you could spend your days flying rich tourists around the Sothis system if you’re in it for the money.
But if you’re going to keep calling yourself an explorer, at least take some pride in what you do and finish the job! Hey, maybe one day you’ll even take the time to land on one of those worlds you discovered. Not because it pays well, but because you might understand the point of exploration; being the first one there.
Happy flying, kids.