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[Silver Night]

So, I'm wondering about how people view the process of physically getting into the pod. Things like, is the fluid already in there, or do you get in and then the thing fills up? Is there an oxygen mask, or do you 'breath' oxygenated fluid? How do the pod connections (and the mask, if there is one) get attached? Do they attach themselves? Does it all get attached, and then the thing gets filled with fluid?

Anyway, wanted to see how other people view it. My own tendency has been to think that the pod is filled with oxygenated fluid to begin with, and that the cables and whatnot connect themselves. Either that or oxygenation is handled separately (via the blood, perhaps) and the lungs are bypassed entirely while in the pod.

[Shintoko Akahoshi]

I wrote a piece once way back in the day - I don't even have it anymore, sadly - that included a "getting into the pod" scene. The way I saw it, the pod starts out opened widely (like the pod you see in your captains quarters), with coils of various tubing and cables along the back and base. I see the thing as semi-autonomous: you get in, and the cables/tubes seek out the proper sockets in your body on their own, while the pod closes up and fills with fluid. I imagined you had more sockets than we end up seeing on our avatars, so I envisioned the fluid as purely cushioning, with all your bodily needs provided by the tubes and cables.

As far as masks and the like go, there was an early painting in one of the chrons that showed a pod pilot in situ wearing a mask, so I figure that's that.

One thing I used to think was that it was possible to get in and out of a pod in your ship, even in a frigate. I think the chron that introduced conquerable stations spoiled that, with a description of the pod gantry (a massive piece of infrastructure that makes it so that pod pilots can't really get in and out in-ship in anything smaller than a battleship). I'm not sure if that's still canon or not. In any case, it opens up interesting possibilities for more tubes. Some pod pilots stay in the pod for a very long time, so you have to assume the pod includes various catheters for handling waste. You don't want poop in your pod goo, after all...

[Lithium Flower]

Liquid, especially gooey one, is viscous medium. Even if it is heavily oxygenated, you need to maintain it's flow through lungs for it to saturate blood with oxygen, and the strength of chest and stomach muscles can simply be not enough to maintain this flow.

Even if you train your muscles enough to breath water (or even goo, yuck, that will be waaay more harder), human organism has a defense mechanism to stop filling lungs with liquid, that causes spasm and reflexive respiratory standstill.

As for getting in and out of pod, I usually skip that part and go like: "Hello, Im in pod now", then "Hello, im in my quarters now". I think a person in the pod should be without clothes (and, really, I wouldn't want to walk after getting from pod in clothes soaked in goo, eeewwww). Problem with clothes for my characters I solve simply: military training allows them to quickly dress and undress in like 30 seconds, maybe add a couple of seconds later to plug buttons, wipe and then arrange hair, etc.

[Esna Pitoojee]

The Pod Gantry is still canon, although we now have "cross-capsule gantry" ships - essentially custom modded ships with a Gantry fitted aboard. CCP has said that they're mostly restricted to capitals and above, and almost never on anything smaller than a battleship.

Anyhow, I view it as something where you stand on a small platform in front or slightly above the pod's open hatch; this is where the cables are plugged in and -things- attach. The breathing process involves a mask over the mouth and nostrils, required due to the fact that liquid breathing - especially in higher-pressure environments - requires moving tremendous amounts of liquid through the lungs, difficult considering the distracted nature of the operating capsuleer. By forcing liquid in using a mask, however, fresh fluid may be continuously moved through the lungs.

Once the mask is strapped on and the plugs inserted, the capsuleer actually enters the pod, at that point half-filled with fluid. I imagine they are lowered or 'fall' in backwards, allowing themselves to float in the fluid. At this point the capsule closes, the lungs begin to fill, and the pod fills the rest of the way.

Pretty much complete in reverse for getting out of the pod.

[Lithium Flower]

How much time would this take?

[Ember Vykos]

Kat and I RP'd something about getting out of the pod one time on a deployment to Providence once. We basically just went with what you can see from the CQ and added a shower area to it. Kat will have to verify but iirc we had a box like room for privacy and shower stalls so you could clean the goo off and get dressed before you actually went into your quarters, or change into a pod suit before you got into your pod.

[Esna Pitoojee]

Hmm... perhaps 3-8 minutes, depending on the capsuleer's experience and familiarity with the process, the skill of any accompanying crew, and other factors.

The by far the long step would be allowing the lungs to fill - I think you'd want to give a minute at the least to do this, probably much longer for most people, as sudden rapid filling might be damaging to the lungs.* The same goes for filling the pod - being suddenly drenched and then overtopped by a suddenly-filling pod might be unnerving for rookies, but a standard process for veterans.

The rest of the process... is really quite simple. Of course, I'm not counting taking off or putting on clothes here, so that's another thing.


* Disclaimer: I am no medical professional. I do not know if this is actually true. It -seems- likely, but any actual medical professionals may feel free to correct me.

[lallara zhuul]

You put the suit on, that is similar to a G-suit that fighter pilots wear.

The suit itself has all the tubing attached for waste removal and in addition to the mechanisms needed to keep the blood flowing in high Gs it also has the capability to keep the pilots muscles from atrophying. The suit also acts as device that keeps the pilots body temperature within limits.

You attach the mask and walk up to the pod, you can be barefoot or not.
Your hands can be bare or not.
The mask covers only the nose, ears and the mouth.

Robotic arms attach cables and wiring to the suit lifting the pilot with his bare spine to a surface that attaches all the interface widgets into the sockets, at this time the pilot loses all control of his body and his eyes are closed.

The mask is activated and it sticks a tube down the pilots nose into his stomach for food, also a tube is injected to the side of the mouth that goes down to the pilots lungs, in a case of an emergency the tube going to the lungs can expand and harden, keeping the pilots pipes from collapsing.

The pilot is transported to the pod and the pod is filled with goo.

Dressing up in the suit from being completely naked takes about ten seconds, attaching the mask about five. The whole process takes about thirty seconds from the time that the pilot enters the area where the wires get connected to the suit.

Exiting the pod takes a bit longer and you need a shower to be able to attend anything social.

The suit itself keeps the orifices blissfully free from any unwanted goo insertion and takes care of the body while the mind is preoccupied with the ship.
The mask feeds the body and keeps the lungs, nose and the ears free from the goo.

The side effect from being in a pod for any period of time is eyes being red for an hour or two, similar to going for a swim in a swimming pool with chlorine in it.

All the communications from the pod are virtual in nature, text channels mostly, avatars in short range.

[Graelyn]

Yeah, we know at least that they drown you every time...and every time you get out you get to hack it all back up.

Immortality isn't easy or nice.

[Lyn Farel]

I mostly see the ectoplasm as a grim variant of amniotic liquid.

[Anslol]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxWpc31cCfw

[Dame Death]

I'm guessing theres no fast entry way? to icly explain all those "GET YOUR FUCKING DREADS ON RIGHT FUCKING NOW" quick account changes? :p

[Anslol]

I'm guessing theres no fast entry way? to icly explain all those "GET YOUR FUCKING DREADS ON RIGHT FUCKING NOW" quick account changes? :p

CCP uses handwavium for now. From what I've read and seen (and a bit of inference), getting into and out of a pod ain't fast.

[Karmilla Strife]

Handwavium for rapid account changes and the like: don't use captains quarters. The characters are already in pod, waiting for the order.

I pretty much imagined it as similar to Esna's description, though the shower next to the pod could be a great addition.

[Anslol]

I pretty much imagined it as similar to Esna's description, though the shower next to the pod could be a great addition.

Steamy egger on egger shower action from a spece balcony in a spece station with a spece camera...in spece.