Since time is pretty much up, summarizing where I’m at:
Afaict each resonance pilot strength result is a multiple of the result of a pilot-independent, resonance-specific rule times a pilot-specific power level with that resonance. (though, tbh, I haven’t checked this that closely).
With Maria out, the highest pilot power levels per resonance appear to be:
Alpha: Corazon. This resonance has apparently random variation about a constant value that jumped slightly somewhere around Floorday 500. It is too weak to save us.
Beta: Janelle. This resonance has apparently random variation about a constant value. It is too weak to be likely to save us.
Gamma: Janelle. Credit to GuySrinivasan for finding the specific formula of (1+k*amplitude) (times pilot gamma power level). The integer k is from 0 to 5 with 1 being slightly more common than 0 (could be random variation) but dropping off beyond that. Though that isn’t the most expected random distribution and may hint at something non-random, I haven’t found the pattern if there is one. Janelle needs k to be 1 or higher to save us or 2 or higher to overwhelm Earwax. Without knowing a pattern for the k value, this seems too risky.
Delta: Amir. This resonance has apparently random variation along with a moderate upward slope with heteropneum amplitude. It is too weak to save us.
Epsilon: Will. This resonance follows a cubic formula (credit to GuySrinivasan for reporting the cubic dependence first, though I hadn’t read his comment when I reported it). Though GuySrinivasan expresses low confidence in Epsilon, it seems to me that, assuming the assumptions of the cubic formula plus the multiplicative relationship between power values for different pilots is correct, there is no way the coefficients could possibly off by enough for Will not to beat Earwax. And these assumptions seem to me more solid than for Zeta below, so I see this as the safe choice (but not my current choice, because Epsilon will not overwhelm).
Eta: Will. This resonance has a non-random constant value with several jumps over time. One of the jumps appears to coincide with Alpha’s jump. Without any reason to expect a further jump since the last observed data, it is not strong enough to save us.
Zeta: Corazon. Zeta is either zero, or one of two non-zero values. Afaict whether it is zero is random, except that no zero values have been observed for heteropneum amplitudes above 2.27, so I weakly infer that there will not be a non-zero value against Earwax. It seems that which non-zero value occurs depends on which of two or more populations the heteropneum belongs to. The large majority of heteropneums belong to a population with amplitudes that are (before rounding) multiples of 0.142 or something very close to 0.142. These always get a low Zeta value if they get a non-zero result. The minority that are not in this population always get a high Zeta result if they get a non-zero result. Earwax’s rounded 3.2 value cannot be obtained by rounding a multiple of 0.142, so we can expect a high Zeta result and for Earwax to be overwhelmed. Thus, I pick this choice, despite my uncertainty as to whether I have enough evidence against a zero result.
A potential wild card is that we don’t know Flint’s power levels except for alpha, since he never overwhelmed any heteropneums. If there is a way to predict power levels without seeing a strength result with that resonance, this could reveal further opportunities with Flint.
Since time is pretty much up, summarizing where I’m at:
Afaict each resonance pilot strength result is a multiple of the result of a pilot-independent, resonance-specific rule times a pilot-specific power level with that resonance. (though, tbh, I haven’t checked this that closely).
With Maria out, the highest pilot power levels per resonance appear to be:
Alpha: Corazon. This resonance has apparently random variation about a constant value that jumped slightly somewhere around Floorday 500. It is too weak to save us.
Beta: Janelle. This resonance has apparently random variation about a constant value. It is too weak to be likely to save us.
Gamma: Janelle. Credit to GuySrinivasan for finding the specific formula of (1+k*amplitude) (times pilot gamma power level). The integer k is from 0 to 5 with 1 being slightly more common than 0 (could be random variation) but dropping off beyond that. Though that isn’t the most expected random distribution and may hint at something non-random, I haven’t found the pattern if there is one. Janelle needs k to be 1 or higher to save us or 2 or higher to overwhelm Earwax. Without knowing a pattern for the k value, this seems too risky.
Delta: Amir. This resonance has apparently random variation along with a moderate upward slope with heteropneum amplitude. It is too weak to save us.
Epsilon: Will. This resonance follows a cubic formula (credit to GuySrinivasan for reporting the cubic dependence first, though I hadn’t read his comment when I reported it). Though GuySrinivasan expresses low confidence in Epsilon, it seems to me that, assuming the assumptions of the cubic formula plus the multiplicative relationship between power values for different pilots is correct, there is no way the coefficients could possibly off by enough for Will not to beat Earwax. And these assumptions seem to me more solid than for Zeta below, so I see this as the safe choice (but not my current choice, because Epsilon will not overwhelm).
Eta: Will. This resonance has a non-random constant value with several jumps over time. One of the jumps appears to coincide with Alpha’s jump. Without any reason to expect a further jump since the last observed data, it is not strong enough to save us.
Zeta: Corazon. Zeta is either zero, or one of two non-zero values. Afaict whether it is zero is random, except that no zero values have been observed for heteropneum amplitudes above 2.27, so I weakly infer that there will not be a non-zero value against Earwax. It seems that which non-zero value occurs depends on which of two or more populations the heteropneum belongs to. The large majority of heteropneums belong to a population with amplitudes that are (before rounding) multiples of 0.142 or something very close to 0.142. These always get a low Zeta value if they get a non-zero result. The minority that are not in this population always get a high Zeta result if they get a non-zero result. Earwax’s rounded 3.2 value cannot be obtained by rounding a multiple of 0.142, so we can expect a high Zeta result and for Earwax to be overwhelmed. Thus, I pick this choice, despite my uncertainty as to whether I have enough evidence against a zero result.
A potential wild card is that we don’t know Flint’s power levels except for alpha, since he never overwhelmed any heteropneums. If there is a way to predict power levels without seeing a strength result with that resonance, this could reveal further opportunities with Flint.