(Jon sez:) If you look closely at the control panel in front of Caprice on the bridge of the Qin Shihuangdi, you will note that it has few instruments or control devices. Martian ships are run without the need for such gross physical instrumentalities. The control panel is there for the psychological reassurance of non-Martian passengers, like Benjamin, who need to believe that there is some sort of visible interface device that controls the ship. Qin Shihuangdi himself is a fascinating figure in history. He was the first emperor of China, forging an empire by uniting the Warring States twenty-two hundred years ago. He created the first of the many bureaucracies that would help the Emperors rule China for the next two millennia. He built the first Great Wall. He also burned all the Confucian books he could find, causing a serious gap in the history of China before the Qin dynasty, and he had a habit of killing his generals for tardiness. You may have heard of the massive army of eight thousand life-sized terra-cotta soldiers which were found in Shaanxi, China, in the 1970s. This army was part of the burial goods of Emperor Qin Shihuangdi.	(Mark sez:) Qin Shihuangdi is also famous for his brief appearance in Tomb Raider II.