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Sentient Ship
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| Senator_Ordan | Date: Tuesday, 09 Oct 2012, 7:20 PM | Message # 1 |
 Lieutenant general
Group: Users
Messages: 633
Status: Offline
| No, don't worry chaps, this is no Battleship Kruus.
We're told droids often are self-aware at higher levels. Well, one presumes a computer such as that which can run a ship must be pretty smart too. So I'd like to request one Recusant-class ship that was just constructed (during the middle of the Clone Wars) when it was taken aside for research into a new droid brain to speed up the operation of the ship and improve it's reflexes. Unfortunately they got all they wanted, but the ship also gained full sentience and with no biological crew onboard one night fled into the void of space, having gathered from reading it's databases that its creators were engaged in a conflict in which it wanted no part.
The years since would have been spent in the company of the Silentium, and would have received a heavy overhaul from this altruistic mechanical species which included an upgrade of all major systems, as well as a degree of sustainability not encountered in most ships known in the galaxy.
The ship would be named "Nonconformist", having been made a Recusant-class, it thought it amusing to make a pun on it's original class and so named itself Nonconformist. It's personality could be characterized as just that, being somewhat cynical of those who hold power (and who sent thousands of proto-intelligent ships and droids to their deaths daily for little gain). The Nonconformist will just as often be seen playing a game of chess using a droid as a proxy with a hermit in a cave on an uncharted world as it is to talk to a Governor or King. The ship enjoys scupture and collects seawater samples as a hobby.
The ship is an extremely peaceable one, always seeking to use diplomacy as the first option, flight as the second. It will very rarely not retire in the face of any form of aggression. The ship is unknown to Imperial Authorities as yet, but when scanned would show some of the same power signatures as the tactfully ignored Silentium craft which travelled the Galaxy, once it was inspected up close and it was realized the Nonconformist was an ex-Separatist ship, the policy would likely change.
Special features
Having encountered the Silentium in it's initial flight from the galaxy it received a number of upgrades from this superior species but declined to join them, the AI core having a slightly eccentric enjoyment for it's original hull.
- Automatic refuelling - The ship is able to absorb energy from any nearby source of heat or light up to five light minutes distant, allowing indefinite flight. It's hypermatter based reactor would thus have been replaced by this poorly understood energy collection and storage system. The energy collected will be stored in six onboard storage systems which form the energy into eight Black spheres - These turn up in the Empire in some years time and ultimately be usable by them as essentially unending power supplies for Imperial-class Star Destroyers but as with the canon article, be unable to actually replicate them despite intense scientific scrutiny.
- The ship has a small workshop to build a number of Droids of up to the mass of a small speeder.
- No Battle droids any longer aboard aside from one or two as sculptures.
- No obvious controls - While space exists inside the ship for them (around 300 in relative comfort), the network for controlling the ship itself has no connection with the inhabited areas; this means the ship can't be taken over easily. The bridge section is converted into a viewing platform.
- Silentium overhall - The ship's hull is toughened to approximately twice it's original strength by the addition of highly sophisticated tensor fields, likewise it's shields. All systems have had a general tidy up and as a result in combination with the advanced AI inside, the ship is formidably speedy with it's reactions.
- Two Drone Scouts carried.
- Hyperdrive Burst Drive - The vessel can go to hyperspace almost instantly on this emergency setting although these engines will work only once before requiring refit, this allows it to "bug out" in the event the Clone Wars are going on and it wonders into a battle.
- No maximum sublight speed - The ship can in theory continue accelerating at 2800G indefinately, higher speeds do have the consequence of making turning around or stopping take a large amount of time. The ship can make an emergency stop within 100km from up to half of lightspeed, this, however, has the effect of burning up all it's engines and meaning it is dead in the water until it can effect repairs using it's onboard repair droids.
- Chromium plating - Being a tasteful ship, it's got all it's major hull sections painted in the Chromium favoured by it's mentors, the Silentium.
- Advanced Slicing Ability - Able to crack the encryption on most low security holonet transmissions, as well as read the news and access civilian databases with relative ease.
- Gift from the Silentium - The Nonconformist returns from the years it has spent with the Silentium with a huge volume of Extragalactic and Forgotten knowledge. Most importantly, it brings a gift that it is charged to bring to a species deserving of a great boon with the ability to proliferate technology. This is the designs for advanced computer systems that are able to analyse and upload peoples personalities, for digital storage or transferal to a droid body, most importantly, this technology is tiny and it's possible to "back yourself up" using an item as small as a ring or pendant. It also has data for self-growing computer systems that can be implanted into the brain to allow interface, even remotely, with data networks - without the usual mental problems caused by existing tech. As well as the knowhow to produce Dyson spheres etc.
- Extremely secure AI. The AI present running the ship is extremely intelligent and fast (being exponentially higher than the human average and constantly improving itself). This AI is immune to remote slicing as it exists in the technology of Star Wars in the same way a modern tank is immune to stone arrows.
The ship will basically be thinking along the lines of Klaatu from "The day the Earth stood still" but with less of the implied threat, appearing and contacting societies with efforts to guide them toward a better future.
Senator Hubert Ordan
__________________________
Senator of the Azure Sector
Foreign Minister of Anaxes
Captain-General of the Azure Interest Protection Squadron
Deputy Chairman of the Ethics Committee
Worshipful Master of the Most Loyal and Honourable Company of Blockadeers
Archtreasurer of the Vault of Pols Anaxes
Autocrat of Selgon
Owner of Azure Durasteel
Systems Admiral (Ret)
Order of the Canted Circle
Message edited by Senator_Ordan - Wednesday, 17 Oct 2012, 1:36 AM |
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| Jaron | Date: Sunday, 14 Oct 2012, 6:13 PM | Message # 2 |
 Major general
Group: Administrators
Messages: 252
Status: Offline
| But it is!
I'm having flashbacks!
GAME OVER, MAN!
Okay. I'm okay. Let us get the brain trust on this. It is a bit of a thing.
Jaron Park
Manager from June 2009 to Present, Administrator from December 2011 to Present
(pre-April 2012 posts) (post-April 2012 posts)
Pre-2009 Archives
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| Heinrich_Maxwell | Date: Tuesday, 16 Oct 2012, 2:51 PM | Message # 3 |
 Sergeant
Group: Users
Messages: 36
Status: Offline
| It's rather a different idea to the Battleship Kruus.
The Battleship Kruus was an idea to create a warship by fusing the most advanced side of star wars droid technology with the most advanced ships of the period (it was a MC90 stats wise - one of the best ships in Star Wars generally).
This is the idea of fusing fairly antiquated Star Wars technology with arguably post-star wars technology that the Silentium exhibit, but in a minor and non threatening form - a single light ship. The Recusant-class was originally only intended as an escort ship (and a light-escort at that) used in shoals, despite it's length an original Recusant-class is no match for a pair of - DP-20s which are 1/10th of it's size.
Even with an improved hull and shields, it's not a true warship and fragile in comparison to line ships. I'm amenable to the idea of removing weapon systems too - naturally the droid fighters are gone as well. We can also say it's sophisticated manipulation beam replaces the Heavy Prow Turbolaser.
Mr Heinrich Maxwell
___________________________
Imperial Liaison Representative of Trandosha
Major Accounts:
The Government of Trandosha
The Sublight Products Corporation
United T'bac Company
Palar Microsystems
Partner in Terumo, Nicholson and Maxwell - Specialists in lobbying and managing the affairs and relations of organizations of all sizes, from corporations to planets.
Message edited by Heinrich_Maxwell - Tuesday, 16 Oct 2012, 2:54 PM |
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| Jace_Varitek | Date: Tuesday, 16 Oct 2012, 9:00 PM | Message # 4 |
 Generalissimo
Group: Administrators
Messages: 2245
Status: Offline
| Non-threatening or not, I think it's out-of-character with Star Wars. Moreover, the circumstances of this ship's creation are far too fortuitous; that is, everything that needed to go right for this ship to function on its own happened to go right. How can it operate continuously without re-fueling? Conveniently, it has its own perdurable energy source. How can it conduct day-to-day maintenance on itself? Conveniently, it has a workshop it can use to create droids for this purpose. How can it stop people from re-programming it? Conveniently, it has a decade-old but nonetheless sophisticated AI that's "immune to remote slicing." And on top of all this, it happens to encounter the Silentium. It's all too improbable for a ship that wasn't designed to wander away from its owners. It's also not consonant with the most advanced Separatist technology of the time—this "advanced hyperspace beam manipulator," for instance, is unheard of in Star Wars (if not unheard of in certain other genres) that I must of course vote to DENY along with the ship itself.
Jace Varitek
Manager/Administrator from January 2003 to Present
My recent posts here, pre-2009 archives here
"When my information changes, I change my opinion. What do you do, sir?"
—John Maynard Keynes
Furthermore, a dancing Wookiee:
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| Verence_Terrawin | Date: Wednesday, 17 Oct 2012, 1:30 AM | Message # 5 |
 Major general
Group: Users
Messages: 285
Status: Offline
| Just thought I'd try and spice things up with a little more of a "different" storyline that might divert people for a while.
If you did take the time to read the request though, technology at the time of the Separatist insurrection showed no reason why a ship shouldn't be sentient. After all, they had sentient battle droids. It's perfectly possible that they might try to apply the same sentient, quick reacting techniques to a warship which reacted slowly because it was not awfully advanced.
All of the upgrades mentioned are intended to be -from- the Silentium (pretty sure it's stated in there), not from the original CIS ship. Originally it did not have an unlimited energy source or any advancements above and beyond an experimental sentient computer controlling it.
Naturally, I'd be happy to bring the tech level on certain devices down (as represented above).
Verence Terrawin
Senator of Alsakan
First Lord of the Foreign Office, Alsakan
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| Senator_Ordan | Date: Wednesday, 17 Oct 2012, 2:03 AM | Message # 6 |
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Lieutenant general
Group: Users
Messages: 633
Status: Offline
| The hyperspace beam manipulator was a punt rather too far (which I accept). However, I don't think the Silentium enhanced ship idea is an awful one or at all in contrast to Star Wars. It was also intended to be Silentium technology (not Separatist).
Many computer systems in star wars flirt with sentience. It is perfectly possible that the line into sentience could have been crossed by some bungling error by a Neimoidian somewhere. Artificial intelligence is well known in Star Wars, some droids are explicitly stated to be sentient, "Advanced artificial intelligence could be found in many computers, such as a starship's main computer" to quote Wookieepedia.
Several mechanical and biomechanical species exist in Star Wars.. The Silentium include giant starship sized examples.
It's improbable, but not vastly improbable that this ship might have encountered the Silentium (who by all accounts have no need for fuel) and so been upgraded with a number of digital systems as a fellow mechanical spacefarer in need. As for rendering it un-hackable - it is just a provision designed to bring what would be a new character in line with every other character in the RP (who cannot be taken over by another player).
Refuelling is a bit of a moot point - noone has ever roleplayed out sourcing fuel to my knowledge - the Contingency Spheres are just intended to be the same ones in Imperial Ownership (also mysterious power devices) in 10 years time and provide a tangible "prize" for the capture of the ship.
It's an antiquated ship upgraded by a superior race, as mentioned, I've highlighted the upgrades that would have been made by them (originally it was literally just a line Recusant with the better AI).
I'd also like to express some disgruntlement with not simply raising these objections during the many discussions we have had during the time the request has sat posted, I would have been more than happy to explain the situation I intended and remove items which concerned you; I realize you may have sought to avoid confrontation but I don't think I've ever been said to be less than willing to accommodate your input and suggestions or those of any other managers when making a request.
I accept it does involve a pair of fortunate events taking place (although CIS experiments cocking up seem to be the rule rather than the exception), interesting stories are based upon fortunate events. The whole star wars films are predicated upon a series of unlikely events just happening to come off. Currently we have a great political an economic roleplay going on, but it lacks a certain amount of dynamism.
Let's be frank, if I proposed the plot of ANH as a Storyline, it'd be laughed out of the hall. This provides a thinking man's plot with a dichotomy presented - friendship to try and get it's technological know-how or to attack it and seize what you can. No, I don't predict it'd be around in the RP forever because inevitably someone (likely the Empire) would adopt the latter strategy. This is a proposal to throw a wild-card into the game of the RP and I don't think it should be evaluated as if it were a simple request for a big sophisticated ship but rather what it represents in the wider context, an unexpected event that provides room for intrigue, first contracts, diplomacy, hunting, battle and much more without posing an existential risk to the Galaxy as a whole or even to any given world or it's fleet (as it's passive).
Basically, I'd like you to have a read through what I have said, take note of my reductions in the technology level and re-consider your ruling in the light of both as it seems the premise of the request as well as the technicalities were arguably misunderstood.
Senator Hubert Ordan
__________________________
Senator of the Azure Sector
Foreign Minister of Anaxes
Captain-General of the Azure Interest Protection Squadron
Deputy Chairman of the Ethics Committee
Worshipful Master of the Most Loyal and Honourable Company of Blockadeers
Archtreasurer of the Vault of Pols Anaxes
Autocrat of Selgon
Owner of Azure Durasteel
Systems Admiral (Ret)
Order of the Canted Circle
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| Verence_Terrawin | Date: Wednesday, 12 Dec 2012, 9:54 PM | Message # 7 |
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Major general
Group: Users
Messages: 285
Status: Offline
| I'll pull this for now.
Verence Terrawin
Senator of Alsakan
First Lord of the Foreign Office, Alsakan
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