Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[swordsmith04]

I'd like to point out that she wasn't necessarily 'made' by the UWM; she's younger than the Doctor, and he does like to experiment...

As for humanoid ghostships, you could probably fit five brains in a robotic body. It's possible to put a layer of living skin over robotic limbs and such; we've had a few people piecewise described as terminators. Not to mention she really doesn't like people trying to use CamEyes or super-vision from those goggles on her. And there's the fact she can access the amp sensors directly.

[Toaster]

She also doesn't want to be inserted into VR for sexy funtime, so she could just not want anyone trying to x-ray her clothes.


That said, remember what happened with the Doc when Morul weirdvisioned him.

[GreatWyrmGold]

We do know that her visible form isn't her true form.

Citation?

As for humanoid ghostships, you could probably fit five brains in a robotic body.

That's nowhere near Ghostship-level brainage.

[Harry Baldman]

That's nowhere near Ghostship-level brainage.

The AM hardly has the abilities of a ghostship, either. For one, she can't melt and rip apart planets with ease. But she does have talent for ampage, and would probably be a desirable experimental subject for any unorthodox projects. Anyway, whatever they did to her or she did to herself, it does seem to have worked very well, as she seems to have abilities surpassing those of a trained UWM amp specialist (a person they took bodily functions from to increase amp skill) without any of the apparent tradeoffs. So it does suggest some form of shenanigans happening - what those might be, however, is hard to say. Humanoid ghostship is simply the first thing that came to mind. Wonder how they discovered the whole amp specialist thing, though. And what does affinity for amps mean (probably a way to say 'you had a high Exotic skill upon arrival despite not even having a clue how amps work', but you never know)?

Actually, questions for piecewise: how do they select Amp Specialists? Do they promote them from among the officer ranks, do psi testing like in X-COM or XCOM, just let people volunteer or do it some other way entirely? What do they even pay Amp Specialists? Do they pay them? What do Amp Specialists usually do in their spare time? How are they dealing with permanent disability? Do they go crazy a lot? Can they speak? Does anybody invite them to parties? Do they have a reasonable amount of free will, or are they basically people with acquired sodliness?

[syvarris]

I'm pretty sure Steve said the UWM thinks she's dead.  So there's your reason for her being wasted on the sword- she's kept there where Steve can keep an eye on her and protect her.  It is one of the few places where he's practically god, after all.

Anyways, I'm still of the opinion that she's supposed to be dead 'cause she survived ten missions.  And that she found/used alien artefacts of some form.  For all we know, she might have been the original person to find the pill machine, and tried the same stunt as Grate.

And Toaster, correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't she specifically put herself into a sexy funtime VR program so Elisaz (I think.  Maybe Renen.) would stop bugging her?

@Harry
How do you know she can't rip apart a planet?  All we know is that she contained Grate3², which could have had pretty much any amount of power at the end for all we know.


Questions!
At one point Steve said that the UWM use wetware AI specifically because they're more human, and seem less alien than a normal AI.  How much 'humanity' does Steve actually retain?  Can he actually like a person?

You said Steve's brain is massive.  Does he experience latency issues with himself, or does he use the instant communication in his brain?

Presumably Steve splits different parts of his brain to think about and deal with different situations.  If two sections think about different things long enough without 'talking' much between themselves, could Steve end up with multiple personalities?

Is Steve's personality/opinion of things static?

[Toaster]

We do know that her visible form isn't her true form.

Citation?

As for humanoid ghostships, you could probably fit five brains in a robotic body.

That's nowhere near Ghostship-level brainage.

The armory master's height is 5'6
She wears green coveralls, as do everyone who works with weaponry on HMRC ships.
When she was brought to the HMRC, she didn't come here alone.
Weight wise, she's much lighter then she would appear. Lighter even then Grate.

Is the AM still technically human?

Up to interpretation. Have you ever heard of the Ship of Theseus? Same problem. Though, to be honest, most of it burned off soon afterwards.

Annoying answer. Although...what makes something "technically" human? DNA? Thoughts? Organs?

That was my thought. Though, by those criteria:

No, Hard to say, No.

I'm pretty sure I'm missing a quote, but I'm tired of looking.



Ghost ships can also glass planets with ease.  Being able to best an Arbiter is several power levels down from that.


PPE:  Ninjas all around!

And Toaster, correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't she specifically put herself into a sexy funtime VR program so Elisaz (I think.  Maybe Renen.) would stop bugging her?

Not exactly.  She said she didn't really care if Elisaz tried to act out fantasy in VR, just don't talk to her.  He asked for

When Elisaz flashed back to the current situation, he smiled. "Sounds like a fair deal to me. Just one thing: Could you have the Virtual Reality machines come with pre-made programs featuring you and the rest of the crew as 'options'?" He says this with a cute blush.

and got

The armory master's eye twitches and she smiles. A horrible sort of smile. She points at you. Your fingers all break and bend backwards, your elbows and shoulders are wrenched from their sockets, your jaw is dislocated, your eyes are ruptured, your belly splits open, your knees bend forward, your feet are folded in half and your genitals rip away.

"I'll take that as a yes."

You wake up later, much later, in the infirmary, in a full body tank of some sort of fluid. A doctor is standing outside the tank, looking at you.
"Try not to move. Trying to keep you organic. Most things saved. " he pauses for a moment, "Could not save genitals."

Also, Steve seems to like Milno.

[GreatWyrmGold]

That's nowhere near Ghostship-level brainage.

The AM hardly has the abilities of a ghostship, either.

More evidence against her being one.

Actually, questions for piecewise: how do they select Amp Specialists? Do they promote them from among the officer ranks, do psi testing like in X-COM or XCOM, just let people volunteer or do it some other way entirely? What do they even pay Amp Specialists? Do they pay them? What do Amp Specialists usually do in their spare time? How are they dealing with permanent disability? Do they go crazy a lot? Can they speak? Does anybody invite them to parties? Do they have a reasonable amount of free will, or are they basically people with acquired sodliness?

Are they even still sentient, or are they sod-like in brain activity?

[Harry Baldman]

@Harry
How do you know she can't rip apart a planet?  All we know is that she contained Grate3², which could have had pretty much any amount of power at the end for all we know.

It seems like a reasonable guess - she had trouble containing Grate, which, despite being unpredictable and highly dangerous, was definitely a local rather than a global event. And if she can rip apart a planet, that just lends more credence to her being functionally like a ghostship, which may or may not indicate a shared origin.

More evidence against her being one.

She has the abilities one would expect from a scaled-down ghostship, which is an extreme amount of power realized through amps. The question is how she got it. She could actually be a scaled-down ghostship, an unconventional form of an amp specialist, powered by forbidden alien magic, self-improved with her amp abilities (such as the organochemistry overrider, which could explain increased brain power), self-improved through mastering the mysterious internal components of her amps or some other alternative I haven't thought of. Humanoid ghostship is simply one of the more thought-provoking alternatives.

[syvarris]

@Toaster

Oh.  That bit about 'didn't come alone' might indicate she was special before the HMRC.  Or it might mean she came with her family.  Did she ever tell Milno when she went into the HMRC?

Also, thanks for the Elizas quote.  She's still fine with people doing VR stuff on their own initiative, as long as they don't annoy her about it.

The Arbiter tests were done with VR AM, who is probably a human with similar abilities.  If not, we can dissect VR AM to get more info.  Adding to VR projects file...

As for Steve liking Milno, Steve is a very capable liar.  He has the brains of hundreds, if not thousands or even millions of people in him.  Anything he says could be a well-thought out manipulation.

@Harry
Yes, it's a reasonable guess.  But it's not proof, because for all we know Grate might have been more or less holding back most of the energy while he was alive.  When he died, it could well have had the power of a supernova.

All we know for certain is that the AM had -slightly less- power than needed to completely contain it.

[GreatWyrmGold]

She has the abilities one would expect from a scaled-down ghostship, which is an extreme amount of power realized through amps. The question is how she got it.

Yes. And the exact same arguments for "scaled-down ghostship" apply equally well to "scaled-up amp user" and "alien from a species which has more advanced manipulator technology". And other things, I could go on.

Humanoid ghostship is simply one of the more thought-provoking alternatives.

I don't see why. All it provokes is "how and why did the UWM make that?"

Yes, it's a reasonable guess.  But it's not proof, because for all we know Grate might have been more or less holding back most of the energy while he was alive.  When he died, it could well have had the power of a supernova.

And, let's face it, destroying a planet is a lot easier per unit energy than stopping Grate-3² was. After all, the planet-destroying can be only one kind of energy, which you don't need to apply too precisely if you have enough. Stopping Grate required not only power, but also precision and probably multiple different things.

[Harry Baldman]

She has the abilities one would expect from a scaled-down ghostship, which is an extreme amount of power realized through amps. The question is how she got it. She could actually be a scaled-down ghostship, an unconventional form of an amp specialist, powered by forbidden alien magic, self-improved with her amp abilities (such as the organochemistry overrider, which could explain increased brain power), self-improved through mastering the mysterious internal components of her amps or some other alternative I haven't thought of.

Yes. And the exact same arguments for "scaled-down ghostship" apply equally well to "scaled-up amp user" and "alien from a species which has more advanced manipulator technology". And other things, I could go on.

What you just explained was exactly what I just said in the very next sentence after the one you quoted, bolded to accentuate unnecessary repetition. Goddammit, GWG.

I don't see why. All it provokes is "how and why did the UWM make that?"

How is the important question, since, in the event that it's actually a procedure, upon finding that out we could possibly repeat it. Make more AMs. As for why, well, she's got all the abilities of an amp specialist (probably more plus equipment) with none of the drawbacks. That's why. Though, since there aren't any people like her we know of, it might be a process that's too time and resource-intensive for efficiency.

Yes, it's a reasonable guess.  But it's not proof, because for all we know Grate might have been more or less holding back most of the energy while he was alive.  When he died, it could well have had the power of a supernova.

And, let's face it, destroying a planet is a lot easier per unit energy than stopping Grate-3² was. After all, the planet-destroying can be only one kind of energy, which you don't need to apply too precisely if you have enough. Stopping Grate required not only power, but also precision and probably multiple different things.

Destroying a planet with raw power with a personal amp would probably result in a universal amp overload, which was presumably what Grate basically was, judging by the wonky physics across the board. And do you actually know what she did to stop Grate?

[Toaster]

She's known to use a kinetic shunt- perhaps there exists a more universal shunt that she can absorb damn near any form of energy with?


EDIT-  That sounds like a good question for the AM, actually.  (In "does there exist" form, not "do you use" form.)

[GreatWyrmGold]

What you just explained was exactly what I just said in the very next sentence after the one you quoted, bolded to accentuate unnecessary repetition. Goddammit, GWG.

Missing the point. Yes, the AM could possibly/hypothetically be a scaled-down ghost-ship. No, there is no reason to think so.

How is the important question, since, in the event that it's actually a procedure, upon finding that out we could possibly repeat it. Make more AMs.

Between knowledge, resources, and game balance...no. No we won't.

Destroying a planet with raw power with a personal amp would probably result in a universal amp overload, which was presumably what Grate basically was, judging by the wonky physics across the board. And do you actually know what she did to stop Grate?

"Destroying a planet with a normal manipulator would probably cause an overload of that specific kind. Grate was like an overload of every kind of manipulator. The AM stopped Grate with a probably-abnormal amp. Therefore, the AM must be capable of destroying planets."
Yeah...I don't buy that train of logic.
And hell if I know, but it probably involved a hell of a lot of precision to negate rather than amplify the effects. When you're dealing with that level of energy, precision is required to not destroy nearby things. (Either that, or a lack of nearby things.)

[Harry Baldman]

"Destroying a planet with a normal manipulator would probably cause an overload of that specific kind. Grate was like an overload of every kind of manipulator. The AM stopped Grate with a probably-abnormal amp. Therefore, the AM must be capable of destroying planets."
Yeah...I don't buy that train of logic.

I'm glad to see that you do not buy your own train of logic. It makes you far more agreeable, I find.

My point is that you can't destroy planets with a personal amp, because the attempt will create an overload. And the AM has a personal universal amp - while it is hardly standard equipment, it still has the limitation of draining you and overloading when you try to do too much with it, because that's how amps work - exactly the same as manipulators, but with a different control mechanism.

[darkpaladin109]

Hmm...

It still makes more sense in my mind that piecewise is actually a floating, vibrating skull in a tank hooked up to a computer, rather than a person, even after seeing a picture.

I find it funny you didn't join this yet, Mastahcheese.