Angel: New page: 'Makeshifting' is a practise which is treated as an art by many on more popular worlds, but is a necessary way of life on low-level colonies. It usually involves making equivalents of high...

2007-03-10T11:36:02Z

New page: 'Makeshifting' is a practise which is treated as an art by many on more popular worlds, but is a necessary way of life on low-level colonies. It usually involves making equivalents of high...

New page

'Makeshifting' is a practise which is treated as an art by many on more popular worlds, but is a necessary way of life on low-level colonies. It usually involves making equivalents of high-tech devices using the most mundane components. For example, [[Junkship]]s are spacecraft made by strapping rocket motors (sometimes not even those designed for ground-to-orbit use) onto a [[cargo container]], [[ground vehicle]] or [[habitation module]].

==For Necessity==
There are a number of reasons people on low-level worlds fall to makeshifting. However, some members of the [[Makeshift Guild]] maintain that the term 'makeshifting' should not be applied to the work of such unskilled people who have little choice.
*Price - on worlds well away from major trade-routes, complex manufactured appliances and ships can be disproportionately expensive, forcing poorer [[colonists]] to make do with what is available.
*Speed - even where a real ship or appliance is affordable, it may take weeks to be delivered. In these cases, a makeshift could be used temporarily. In many cases, however, once the makeshift is in place, it is seen as not worth the price of ordering a factory-made replacement.
*Repair - When the nacelle arm has broken from a school [[shuttle]] on a [[scattered world]], if a spare is not immediately available the only options are to close the school for a week or more, or to bind the engine on with a length of dome support. This kind of repair is often known by the antiquated term 'jury-rigging', with engineers only accepting it as a true makeshift once the repair has been accepted as a permanent 'upgrade'.
*Independence - On some colonies, it is seen as a matter of pride to use only locally made products as far as possible. When such a small settlement cannot support a full range of factories, a makeshift is the only option.

==For Art==
In the year 893, noted fashion designer [[Corinthian Blake]] was preparing for a major show when news was received that the [[freighter]] carrying his designs had suffered a technical malfunction and been forced to jettison the cargo in high orbit. Unable to organise another landing window at short notice, Blake hired 2 tugs which were chained to the 6 [[cargo container]]s, and a shuttle to carry up models and guests. The stark surroundings of the hastily-pressurised containers were deemed by the press to be a perfect backdrop for the grotesque complexity of Blake's post-retro gothic designs.

Those containers, with only enough modification to make them livable, are now a permanent satellite. In 887, a [[downline]] was added anchoring Blake's new studio to the skyline of [[Meriphage City]]. Blake then went on to astound art critics by staging a sculpture show in which every piece was a common household appliance, fully working, made from a wild assortment of engines and gears housed inside a cut-down container.

'Makeshift' was widely accepted as a new school of art after noted critic [[Teeodore Boynsen]] named it in 891. Today, makeshifting is popular among both artists and engineers (although the best makeshifters have usually dabbled in both disciplines). Rather than a way of getting around scarce components and low budget, these makeshifters consider it a challenge to perform a common task using the most inappropriate components possible.

[[Category: Technology]]

Category:Makeshifting - Revision history

Angel: New page: 'Makeshifting' is a practise which is treated as an art by many on more popular worlds, but is a necessary way of life on low-level colonies. It usually involves making equivalents of high...