Newest Questions
39,296 questions
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Could a universe be governed by curvature emerging from electrostatic tension rather than spacetime fabric —and just what would such a law then imply?
In standard physics, curvature is defined as the bending of spacetime caused by mass-energy. But suppose a different framework existed in which curvature is not a geometric deformation of spacetime ...
2
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0
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22
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What would the g-force be at the end of a rotating skyhook?
I'm talking about something like this:
With a rotating skyhook similar to this, but slightly more advanced, the kind where the tip "slows" down enough so that it is stationary relative to ...
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2
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0
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30
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Could Coconut Octopuses sustain themselves off of baiting?
In a project I've been working on for a while, sapient Octopuses evolve in the waters of Australia and proceed to affect human history. The way that these sapient octopuses come about is via an ...
- 2,281
3
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What would be the environment and ecosystem of an island world that was formerly earth like?
The water level has risen to the extent that only mountains, their ranges, and other extremely high elevation points are left. It has been maybe 7 centuries since the flood event.
Thank you all for ...
2
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3
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169
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Making the most out of rawhide armour
So i'm writing a parody LOTR/DnD/ASOIF (except with no magic) setting where the classic axe-wielding barbarians defending their forest look like ... generic muscle-bound ill-proportioned monstrosities ...
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7
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5
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1k
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What is a realistic size and population for a predator that eats humans?
I'm trying to build a species that's exclusively carnivorous, and its favored prey is humans. The species is a solitary mammalian ambush predator, probably with a build similar to a big cat such as a ...
- 1,174
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6
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828
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The state's miniscule security apparatus is already 'ruling' a large teeming populace, how much more barebones can we get?
As a disclaimer: I'm working on a dark political satire where the literary classic of 'Sci-Fi Writers Have No Sense of Scale' is front and centre.
Setting background: Basically, its a parody of post-...
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11
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How would you design a firearm for a fairy?
Suppose that you have a setting with a late 19th/early 20th century level of technology and firearms development that also has fantasy races.
Suppose further that one of these races are fairies; which ...
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2
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121
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What military strategy and tactics make most sense when individual fighters are stronger than entire military units? [closed]
The long and short of it is that some people in my setting are not entirely human, and some start human but become much stronger because of mystical reasons. The significant ones can often be strong ...
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2
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4
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139
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Why would alien nations send members to go to the Galactic Hunger Games willingly? [closed]
I am writing a story where the Galactic Hunger Games take place every 3 years. The competitors only use their natural weapons and tools that they can make in the arena. If a species wins, they get ...
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10
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3
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1k
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Energy released by the sudden appearance of an alien obelisk?
In the not-too distant future, mysterious obelisks made of unobtainium begin to materialise around the world. They do not fall from space, but appear suddenly; teleporting into seemingly random ...
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2
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197
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Does human biochemistry change enough to cause death in higher-fundamental-causality-speed space?
Imagine a future scenario if you will, through ancient aliens, transapient minds, or phenomia humans have learned how to cause but we don't understand, a bubble of space is created between star x and ...
12
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9
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2k
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Why build an industrial space station in close solar orbit?
For a somewhat hard science-fiction setting, set roughly around the 24th century, I had envisioned an industrial space station in close solar orbit (closer than Mercury at least).
However, I started ...
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11
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7
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Why would an Earth naturally have no petroleum?
I have an alternate Earth that's extremely similar to ours (geological, ancient, and premodern history) but with the exception that petroleum never existed. Is there a natural explanation I can use to ...
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14
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5
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Is this alternative quadrupedal limb arrangement (two side limbs, one forelimb, and one hindlimb) evolutionarily plausible?
Four extremities below the body are the fewest needed to maintain a rectangular platform on any surface while still being decently stable. When they are arranged at the corners of the body like table ...
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9
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What happens if you nuke a trillion oil barrels?
Cold War to Modern Day setting. I have a very religious nation with an oil reserve of approximately a trillion barrels. They believe that crude oil is demonic blood and therefore rarely use it. ...
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6
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How would a society tht runs on a barter system interact economically with a country that runs on a monetary system?
As you can see, I have an economics-based question.
Without getting too detail-heavy, the central plot of my current WIP centers around a Princess trying to get two neighboring countries to stop ...
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6
answers
142
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Why would enemies target tanky units as opposed to backline healers? [closed]
I'm creating a Renaissance Fantasy universe (think World of Warcraft) where mass warfare is based off of the holy MMO trinity. There are tanks that draw enemy aggro. There are healers that keep the ...
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3
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253
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Where do human-like species make their homes in the galaxy if they can choose?
Imagine you're building a setting where humans and/or biologically similar species have dispersed among the stars over a very long time, such that they span thousands of lightyears, and let's say you'...
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111
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How big can a kaiju get before square cube law starts being a bum [closed]
So I like kaiju's and stuff and I know they cannot exist in real life due to energy demands, and the square cube law. I know I can get around the energy problem with a way to generate anti matter/...
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10
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3
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Does a creature that moves with a single "foot" like a snail need to leave a slime trail?
Somewhat inspired by the question Snail centaur mobility and somewhat inspired by wondering about the stereotypical "slime girl".
If something moves around via one large "foot", ...
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3
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1k
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Avoiding nutritional imbalance in a densely populated 'concrete jungle' overly reliant on food parcels
To cut a long story short, I'm drafting notes for a isolated settlement (think Begich Towers but with 4 of them connected to each other in a manner that forms a plus sign). Dimensionally, the plot of ...
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4
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4
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199
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How could EMPs be used as a phase in hybrid warfare?
I'm writing fiction about an attack where an EMP (delivered by drone for the first phase) renders electronics inoperable, allowing armed forces equipped with shielding and not relying on electronics ...
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5
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2
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1k
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How to stop high power lasers from harming body that it needs to pass thrrough
This is based on my previous laser finger gun question. I am mainly asking this for fun and physics experience. These lasers are high powered pulsed lasers. However, since the laser needs to pass ...
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151
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Plausible *one weird trick physicists found* that reshape the world overnight [closed]
I posted a question previously, (here:Consequences of a no i quantum mechanics+3d time universe on human technology) with the intention of playing around with a story where sudden advancement in ...
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2
answers
169
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Consequences of a no i quantum mechanics+3d time universe on human technology [closed]
I would like to start writing writing, and write in the same sort of framework as a variety of Greg Egan stories, that is, internally consistent frameworks of physics that probably aren't true but ...
11
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14
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4k
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The hero's party has just purchased a pricey relic from a backwater vendor, why is the regional economy not inflating?
As a disclaimer: I'm working on a dark comedy setting where it's a generic soft fantasy with the aim of parodying the likes of DnD and GoT and LOTR, so things might be a bit whack.
So our cheerful ...
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6
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5
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2k
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Minimum bomb power to generate earthquakes with a nuclear-railgun weapon?
Part of the "heavy" weapons category for a spacefaring faction I have is the "gravedigger" railgun. The weapon consists of an ordinary railgun (hooked up to very large capacitors ...
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163
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Could we have sumatra but bigger? [closed]
The problem is the following: I've created a world first based on vibes with geography that "looked" good but without much thought behind. As I continued making the world though, I've fell ...
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4
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3
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164
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What is the first visible sign of an interstellar invasion force? [closed]
Setup
During the 1920s an armada of interstellar ships intrudes the solar system. Giorgina Giacalone is the assistant to a german astronomer working in Sicily. Early signs of the impending invasion ...
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7
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At what speed does the Cosmic Microwave Background radiation become lethal
Background
Far future humanity has set its sight on widespread inter-galactic colonization. Due to advancements in a variety of technologies, the ability to move at an arbitrarily high fraction of the ...
14
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8
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4k
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What is the most humane way to kill humans for meat?
On the world of Ruquelis, about which I have written many times before, there are three sexes, Men, Women and Lilim. Long in the past, the lilim were afraid that their biology was such that women ...
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11
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What is the single biggest animal a single human with a spear can kill?
First let me give some context. I want a fantasy setting where hunters are supposed to be really prominent, and that means giving them heroic narratives about hunting giant beasts.
So what I want is ...
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3
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1
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224
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What is the plausibility of living continent-like superstructures? Pt 1
Let’s say, there is a habitable moon with life, orbiting around a gas giant. The moon is a small body, about 0.7 Earth masses, so it has a low gravity. But I don’t know how it is going to hold all of ...
2
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Mech uses in wars [duplicate]
I'm starting a fictional universe of mechs, wars, aliens etc, and a big part of this is well, mechs, which is used by an organization or faction in this universe. Now in my universe, mechs free fall ...
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How can I make my map more geographically and meteorogically correct? [closed]
I want to have a plausible planet, with accurate tectonic plates, continents, wind patterns/currents, etc. Any tips or resources I can study are greatly appreciated, and here is my map as of now.
...
3
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3
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338
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Why would an "instant-win" character not partake in fighting and this be forgiven/tolerated by others? [closed]
The setting for my story is an entirely fictional country whose situation and rough geopolitical position was inspired by the Roman Empire (minus the slaves). It started as a small city state, which ...
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9
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Sustaining a non-agrarian sedentary population
So I have a walled settlement (hence forth dubbed, 'the Spire') smack-bang in the middle of a all-encompassing misty 'cursed' forest. The overall population is around 2000.
The Spire has ONE joint ...
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12
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8
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2k
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Justifying the institutional usage of 'random number generators' in a strict hierarchal society
So I'm doing a dark comedy setting where, among other things, the main faction utilizes a random number generator when it comes to its military formations.
Basically, the inspirations that I'm drawing ...
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4
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5
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The new Venice Republic's Navy
This question is set in the Hardwood Forest Rangers universe. As a quick recap: England never successfully colonized America, and was "banned forevermore from having oceangoing vessels, and ...
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Band of marshy areas floating on ocean at equator: possible?
My world is reasonably earth-like in terms of plate tectonics, although I'm still trying to nail down the overall climate and seasons. One feature that I've realized is important for societal ...
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2
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A taxonomy of magic
While answering another question (Does my magical addition to Linnaean taxonomy make sense?)
I began to imagine a full-fledged taxonomy of magic. I love fantasy fiction, RPG, and the entire shebang, ...
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7
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If the sun were to be replaced with an equivalent mass neutron star, how long would it take for deep-sea life to be affected?
I'm assuming that total energy input onto the Earth would remain the same, so temperature fluctuations shouldn't be extremely relevant here. I think having the neutron star at 1 solar mass would do ...
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Hard sci-fi: Could a Dyson sphere's thermal effects cause Earth's gravity to increase?
I'm writing a hard science fiction story set in the 30th century. I want the physics to be internally consistent even if speculative.
The Scenario:
Humanity builds a Dyson sphere that concentrates ...
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2
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127
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What would Mars look like if it formed 1.1 AU instead of ~1.5, had a moon with effect equivalent to Earth’s moon, and was 0.27 Earth mass? [closed]
How much closer to habitable (for humans) would this hypothetical ‘Super Mars’ be?
If 1.1 AU would destabilize it or Earth’s orbits, then a further orbit would be fine; the main focus is being closer ...
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8
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Preventing overplanting/overharvesting of a coconut based currency
"Anything can serve as a currency and ultimately the winners will
possess the characteristics that people demand: portable, fungible,
easily divisible, and reasonably scarce" - John Matonis
...
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5
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2
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511
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What volume of sediment would be required to close the Shargrainan Straits?
Related to How can I make a migratory path sea channel between two land-masses be at risk of closure at any time?, I have decided to have the Shargrainan Straits on my world of Ruquelis closed by a ...
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5
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4
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Could an exoplanet's atmosphere plausibly have enough heavy noble gases to cause nitrogen narcosis on lowlands?
Earth's atmosphere has approximately 1% of argon and trace quantities of neon and krypton. Having more of heavy inert gases like that would make the atmosphere more dense without making it outright ...
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Why would a love potion not work with paintings or drawings? [closed]
I have love potions that cause anyone who drinks them to fall deeply in love with the first person they see. This "love" is extreme, pervasive, and all-consuming. The love potion works by ...
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11
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5
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1k
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Feasibility of an industrial society where a 'modern' tax system is less regarded/effective than 'tax farming'?
In my setting there was a expansionary city-state that has industrialized and extracts wealth from its holdings by 'outsourcing' tax collection to various tax farmers. Basically, every single ...
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