May I pick your brains for a moment?

[dberry]

OP, have you read either "The Last DIve" or "Shadow Divers"?

 

[Lefty Writer]

I've read both of those. Both were good reads. I'm using some of the info from them as part of the technical background for my characters. I started this thread so I could get multiple opinions on the same topic. It's been very enlightening for me, and now I really want to start taking some tech diving courses. My wife would probably break my arms, though, as it would be hard for me to justify the $$ for that. Maybe if my project is successful I can use whatever proceeds from that to fund my training.

 

[doctormike]

Take one of these courses, and you will learn a LOT about the history of this sort of diving. I did. Definitely worth it - great training, and very entertaining!

 

[Lefty Writer]

Take one of these courses, and you will learn a LOT about the history of this sort of diving. I did. Definitely worth it - great training, and very entertaining!

I'm sooooo tempted to use a line like:

Ken just shook his head and smirked, "Zach, you are no John Chatterton! You had no business trying to fit into that tiny space."

I'll have to research the legalities of using his name like that.

 

[NYCNaiad]

I really love that you're trying to get all the details right. Including a lot of technical details whether about diving or the science can detract a bit from the story. I'm an avid diver & had a double major in college (one of which was bio). However, I was a little distracted by the science though I really liked the snippet of story & it made me want to read more. If you removed a bit of the tech detail while keeping the dive methodology & science behind it intact, it might make the story flow a bit more especially for the majority of your audience who may not have a science or dive background.

Like so:
“Well, I inoculated several flasks with one of the amps. I did our standard one to a hundred dilution and we definitely have something growing. The E6 and BHK cells were almost totally destroyed on day 3. I didn’t see any growth in the egg cultures, so I don’t think we have a flu sample. I saw minimal structural changes in the MDCK cells which developed too quickly for a filovirus. It isn’t consistent with what I’ve seen with a herpesvirus, though. I’m thinking we have a henipavirus.”

-------------------------------------------------
Changes above detailed here with gray denoting move/addition & strikeout denoting deletion:
“Well, I inoculated several flasks with one of the amps. I did our standard one to a hundred dilution and we definitely have something growing. The E6 and BHK cells were at 4+ CPE almost totally destroyed on day 3. I didn’t see any growth in the egg cultures, so I don’t think we have a flu sample. I saw minimal CPE structural changes in the MDCK cells. The CPE which developed too quickly for a filovirus. Maybe we’re looking at one of the herpesviruses or even a henipavirus. The CPE It isn’t consistent with what I’ve seen with a herpesvirus, though. I’m thinking we have a henipavirus.”

 

[lowviz]

...//..."Zach, you are no John Chatterton! You had no business trying to fit into that tiny space." ...//...

I wouldn't sweat that line too much. He seems to have a sense of humor: Andrea Doria Disco Ball Found ~ Artifacts & Shipwrecks ~ New Jersey Scuba Diving

BTW, you'll find more details about NE wreck diving than you could ever use if you start at the home page of the link above...

 

[undrwater]

"Tech" fiction seems to be a burgeoning sub-genre. My aunt writes in a similar style, though geology is her geek.

 

[lowviz]

...//... Seriously, though, I want this to be so realistic that the next time one of my fellow divers sees a wreck, they'll wonder if there's some hidden plague lurking in the silt.

Steady as she goes.

I love a well-researched novel. Those who aren't interested in the nuts and bolts will just gloss over the details as buzz words. I've already enjoyed searching on the various flavors of viruses that you offered to us. Thanks!

Another thought in this vein: If you are tying all this to WWII, then an Axis freighter is a really unusual thing to find over here. We had more subs than we ever needed but no freighters. Not to say a properly disguised (flagged as friendly) freighter (escorted by subs) couldn't wreak some serious havoc...

 

[Lefty Writer]

I really love that you're trying to get all the details right. Including a lot of technical details whether about diving or the science can detract a bit from the story. I'm an avid diver & had a double major in college (one of which was bio). However, I was a little distracted by the science though I really liked the snippet of story & it made me want to read more. If you removed a bit of the tech detail while keeping the dive methodology & science behind it intact, it might make the story flow a bit more especially for the majority of your audience who may not have a science or dive background.

Like so:
“Well, I inoculated several flasks with one of the amps. I did our standard one to a hundred dilution and we definitely have something growing. The E6 and BHK cells were almost totally destroyed on day 3. I didn’t see any growth in the egg cultures, so I don’t think we have a flu sample. I saw minimal structural changes in the MDCK cells which developed too quickly for a filovirus. It isn’t consistent with what I’ve seen with a herpesvirus, though. I’m thinking we have a henipavirus.”

-------------------------------------------------
Changes above detailed here with gray denoting move/addition & strikeout denoting deletion:
“Well, I inoculated several flasks with one of the amps. I did our standard one to a hundred dilution and we definitely have something growing. The E6 and BHK cells were at 4+ CPE almost totally destroyed on day 3. I didn’t see any growth in the egg cultures, so I don’t think we have a flu sample. I saw minimal CPE structural changes in the MDCK cells. The CPE which developed too quickly for a filovirus. Maybe we’re looking at one of the herpesviruses or even a henipavirus. The CPE It isn’t consistent with what I’ve seen with a herpesvirus, though. I’m thinking we have a henipavirus.”

Brilliant revision idea......thank you!

Steady as she goes.

I love a well-researched novel. Those who aren't interested in the nuts and bolts will just gloss over the details as buzz words. I've already enjoyed searching on the various flavors of viruses that you offered to us. Thanks!

Another thought in this vein: If you are tying all this to WWII, then an Axis freighter is a really unusual thing to find over here. We had more subs than we ever needed but no freighters. Not to say a properly disguised (flagged as friendly) freighter (escorted by subs) couldn't wreak some serious havoc...

I really enjoy working with these viruses. It's amazing how some viruses will grow in certain cells, yet not grow in other similar cells. If you've ever read The Hot Zone, several of the scientists mentioned in that book are guys I either work with now or worked with in the past. It was pretty cool meeting them the first time, and most of them are really down to earth.

My freighter is actually more of a cold war variant.

With all this support I've had on this thread alone, I really want to finish my project and get it (hopefully) published by someone so I can then share it.

 

[lowviz]

...//... My freighter is actually more of a cold war variant. ...

I grew up with the Cold War. Near and dear to my heart. "duck and cover".

The Cold War hit close to home, I lived very near a little-reported incident: The Kecksburg Files

-can't wait for the book.