Wapsi Square Forum

So what was it?

Primacord?

(Though that's a touch modern to be there, i'd think.)

Look in the foreground of the first panel.

Worst Timing Ever.

It could have been metal cable for hauling the cart up the slope and letting it down slow. I think they are about to come to the end of the ride. Shame they don't have air bags.

That dark line could be the cable. She said duck so that they don't loose their heads as it rips the top of the mine cart. Though the blast will have destroyed the anchor point. Then worry about the cable whipping along after them.

Off the tracks and into the air.
Bend right over and grab your dairy aire

Ominous. Somebody wanted to be able to blow the whole mine into dust on a moment's notice.

(cue spooky music) I wonder why?

Targeted against the Library or people coming from it? Targeted against searchers for the kachinas? Crazed survivalists, attempting to defend themselves against hordes of ore-eating zombies? Truant officers from a school for paranormals, trying to scare a young Siren out of imaginative dreaming and back to her sedentary schoolwork?

Enquiring warped minds want to know!

Warp factor eight, Mr. Sulu!

I see her as more of a song bird. Maybe a Mocking bird, if she can imitate voices...

Wapsi wrote:Look in the foreground of the first panel.

I see fuses going to lots of boxes with writing on them... and the fuses are burning (that's how I knew they were fuses)

zachariah wrote:It could have been metal cable for hauling the cart up the slope and letting it down slow. I think they are about to come to the end of the ride. Shame they don't have air bags.

That dark line could be the cable. She said duck so that they don't loose their heads as it rips the top of the mine cart. Though the blast will have destroyed the anchor point. Then worry about the cable whipping along after them.

Considering that we see what appear to be burning segments of fuse attacked to each of three boxes of dynamite, quite some distance down the tunnel from the fire, I think what Kat tripped over was fuse or detonation cord of some type.

All of that dynamite wasn't just a storage cache, it appears. It was an Infernal Machine, waiting to be triggered. There may be an Enemy at work here (or perhaps somebody who hasn't developed a sense of proportion in his attempt to revive the tradition of slam-dancing).

Wapsi wrote:Look in the foreground of the first panel.

Duh.

I had sort of noticed the sparks, but assumed they were from the cart's wheels.

OTOH, a fuze was in my thoughts...

Why is this mine rigged to self-destruct ... and why hasn't it already been done?

It's more of a passive-aggressive self-destruct system. It wouldn't start it on it's own.

Jabberwonky wrote:It's more of a passive-aggressive self-destruct system. It wouldn't start it on it's own.

Suffering from buried resentment and emotional tunnel vision, no doubt. Possibly due to excessive use of mine-altering substances.

Do lit fuses have an acidic smell? They must have been burning since Kath triggered the trap. I guess to trap them in. At least to prevent them from exiting to wherever the mine exits. The stockpile may not have been meant to blow up though. It would seem the fire which prompted them to escape in the cart was a scary but fortuitous event. Otherwise they would have probably walked and been shut in or killed.

Dave wrote:

Jabberwonky wrote:It's more of a passive-aggressive self-destruct system. It wouldn't start it on it's own.

Suffering from buried resentment and emotional tunnel vision, no doubt. Possibly due to excessive use of mine-altering substances.

Anger issues and a short fuse on an explosive temper...

Dave wrote:

Jabberwonky wrote:It's more of a passive-aggressive self-destruct system. It wouldn't start it on it's own.

Suffering from buried resentment and emotional tunnel vision, no doubt. Possibly due to excessive use of mine-altering substances.

Indeed. Explosives would definitely be considered a mine-altering substance.

KnightDelight wrote:Do lit fuses have an acidic smell? They must have been burning since Kath triggered the trap. I guess to trap them in. At least to prevent them from exiting to wherever the mine exits. The stockpile may not have been meant to blow up though. It would seem the fire which prompted them to escape in the cart was a scary but fortuitous event. Otherwise they would have probably walked and been shut in or killed.

...the smell is most likely the nitroglycerin that has leached or "sweated' out and crystallized on the surface of the sticks; this form of nitro is =highly= unstable - takes very little to set it off...

Old dynamite is incredibly dangerous because of this tendency to sweat the nitro out of the compound.

themadkansan wrote:Old dynamite is incredibly dangerous because of this tendency to sweat the nitro out of the compound.

Some discussion in previous days' threads brought out the fact that the "Extra" dynamite shown in the mine isn't nitro-based... this variety uses ANFO and is somewhat more stable.

Dave wrote:

themadkansan wrote:Old dynamite is incredibly dangerous because of this tendency to sweat the nitro out of the compound.

Some discussion in previous days' threads brought out the fact that the "Extra" dynamite shown in the mine isn't nitro-based... this variety uses ANFO and is somewhat more stable.

...you do still need nitro-based dynamite or something similar with ANFO, since it needs a booster to actually set it off - plain ol' burny-type fuse alone won't do the job, so they use one or two chunks of nitro-base to light off the main charge. Electrically fired plastic explosive would also do it, but them weren't electrical cables.

themadkansan wrote:

Dave wrote:

themadkansan wrote:Old dynamite is incredibly dangerous because of this tendency to sweat the nitro out of the compound.

Some discussion in previous days' threads brought out the fact that the "Extra" dynamite shown in the mine isn't nitro-based... this variety uses ANFO and is somewhat more stable.

...you do still need nitro-based dynamite or something similar with ANFO, since it needs a booster to actually set it off - plain ol' burny-type fuse alone won't do the job, so they use one or two chunks of nitro-base to light off the main charge. Electrically fired plastic explosive would also do it, but them weren't electrical cables.

Blasting caps work for ANFO.

And you need those for nitro dynamite, too - a "plain ol' burny-type fuse" won't set it off without a cap.

Quoting Wikipedia:

Most blasting caps contain what is called a primary explosive, which is a high explosive compound that will explode from flame, heat or shock. A blasting cap may also contain a booster, another less sensitive but more energetic explosive that makes the cap more powerful, and thus more reliable for detonating secondary explosives.

Explosives commonly used in blasting caps include mercury fulminate, lead azide, lead styphnate and tetryl. The recommended primary explosive is DDNP because it is nontoxic, easy to make and not too sensitive.

heh. Dueling Wikis.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ANFO#Chemistry

"ANFO under most conditions is cap-insensitive, and so it is classified as a blasting agent[5] and not a high explosive;[6] it decomposes through detonation rather than deflagration with a moderate velocity of about 3,200 meters per second in 5-inch diameter, unconfined, at ambient temperature. It is a tertiary explosive consisting of distinct fuel and oxidizer phases and requires confinement for efficient detonation and brisance. Because it is cap-insensitive, it generally requires a primer,[7] also known as a booster (e.g., one or two sticks of dynamite, as historically used, or in more recent times, Tovex or cast boosters of pentolite (TNT)/PETN or similar compositions) to ensure continuation of the detonation wave-train.[8]"