I actually own a Meade ETX-90 telescope which is where I got the idea for the Vuduri eyes. The telescope is great. It is compact and offers literally the same seeing power as a traditional telescope three times the length.
Entry 1-344: December 4, 2013
The PPT Thrower
The PPT Thrower has been mentioned several times both here and in Rome's Revolution and The Ark Lords.
A PPT Thrower is the sharpest instrument in the universe. It creates a PPT tunnel one atom wide and separates atoms to the left and atoms to the right cutting whatever it touches into two pieces. It can literally cut through anything. It was originally designed for mining and construction but has been fashioned into an incredibly powerful weapon.
Just before Rei and Rome crash land on Deucado in Part 2 of Rome's Revolution, they knew they were going to be attacked by the Vuduri. The ships that were coming after them were armed with some pretty heavy duty weapons but only one that truly paralyzed them with fear was the PPT Thrower. Here is that scene:
“They have scrambled eleven armed ships,” said MINIMCOM.
“What kind of arms?” Rei asked.
“The Vuduri do not use weapons,” Rome insisted.
“These Vuduri do,” countered MINIMCOM. “They are armed with magnetic pulse cannons, electrostatic charge disrupters and PPT throwers.”
Rome gasped. All the color left her face.
“What? Say again.” Rei said.
“PPT throwers.”
“What are those?” Rei asked, panicked.
MINIMCOM replied, “They are normally used in mining and salvage operations. They create a moving PPT tunnel, a very small one, even within a gravity well, which sweeps across an area and separates atoms that encounter it from their immediately adjacent atoms by sending them elsewhere. They can cut through any material known to man. However, in space, they can extend over a much greater distance.”
“So you’re saying…” Rei sputtered.
“What he is saying,” interjected Rome in a hushed tone, “is that they are for slicing up very large objects into very tiny pieces.”
Rome was correct to be very, very afraid of them.
In The Ark Lords, MINIMCOM develops what he calls his "roadgrader" cannons which are just millions of PPT Throwers aligned within a fan-like protrusion. With it, he can cut down forests, pave roads or slice a hundred people in half in the blink of an eye.
All in all, the PPT Thrower is a very effective device whether it is used for construction or as a weapon.
Entry 1-345: December 5, 2013
The Ark post-crash landing
In Part 2 of Rome's Revolution, Rei and Rome arrived at Deucado after an 11-month journey only to be attacked immediately. Their attackers were going to use PPT Throwers mentioned yesterday. Because Rei's brain was working better, he was able to come up with a brilliant but unorthodox plan to save the Ark. They punched a PPT tunnel through the atmosphere of Deucado and slid on through hoping that the tunnel would collapse before their Vuduri pursuers could follow them.
They were successful. The tug holding Rei and Rome broke off and the Ark crashed to earth, crushing MINIMCOM underneath. The Vuduri had to pursue them using a regular Bessel-style aero-brake-type approach.
Even so, how was it that the Vuduri could not find the Ark when they did arrive? After all, the Ark II weighed 7000 metric tonnes. It would be hard to miss.