The Ark

[Loch Belthadd]

I would play this as a Florian. Hydroponics FTW!!

[Matt Larkin (author)]

Major coolness points Wensleydale. I'll read in more depth in the future.

[LordVreeg]

Typic android/AI issues involve the cliche of created intelligence outstriping it's human counterpart and evolving ahead of it. And then taking over, Ho-Hum.  

That's what I was refering to.

[Superfluous Crow]

Well, they have the distinct disadvantage that they can't evolve and adapt like we can and experiment with their form. (Unless something like this - http://www.damninteresting.com/?p=870 - is implemented.)
So they just have to be less intelligent than we are now, then they shouldn't be able to reach the Singularity too soon : P
i think...

[Wensleydale]

Ahh, I see what you mean now. Well, they have a difficulty in that evolution and intelligence software is still in relative infancy - besides which, what do they have to learn from? Human beings, generally speaking, so advancing beyond them could be difficult. Other problems are also present - even the most advanced Replicants, although capable of doing extremely complex mathematical equations, cannot understand certain social situations, or many things that cannot really be explained by basic logic (why humans appreciate art, for example). This may not appear to be a great disability, but it can cripple social ability. Besides which there are so many parameters written into every mass-manufactured android (including a shutdown code, mass shutdown code etc) that they're generally no danger unless hacked or if they go severely wrong.

[Wensleydale]

Water Tank 82

[ic=The Little Mermaid]Under the sea, under the sea
Darlin' it's better
Down where it's wetter,
Take it from me...[/ic]

Water Tank 82 is the largest tank on the USS Ark - technically speaking part of Hydroponics, but in reality stretching throughout the ship. In it resides Alabar, the Last Kraken. Known for his knowledge of goings-on about the ship, Water Tank 82 is a good place to come to if you want to know something others do not - provided you keep your wits about you.

 The Last Kraken

'Alabar' - a rather embarrassing approximation of a Kraken's call - refers to himself as 'the last Kraken'. This is a reasonable claim - the planet of the Krakens, named rather unoriginally 'Oceania', was mined for its oil, fished for its cuisine and then destroyed in an attempt to view its core. Alabar was captured and moved in stasis to the New New Jersey Oceanic Lab, where he spent fifty-three days in a tiny, psycho-repressive tank before Noah teleported him directly into Tank 82. Kraken prefer water, and are quite capable of living for at least five-hundred years. Kraken communicate by a mild natural psychic disposition and a powerful combination of hormones and scent replication, but Alabar - who prefers to be referred to as a summary of the complex mass of thoughts and chemicals that could be described as his name, Virile-Young-And-Swims-Quickly - has developed his psychic ability to a new level. It is thought that this is why he knows so much about what occurs on the ship. Alabar himself is of unknown size - possibly as much as a mile long from the tips of his longest tentacles - but all most people ever see of him is one great eye, or possibly a spiked and frilled tentacle, if that. He survives through a mixture of the rare foolish individual who strays too close to the edge of his tank, a kind of 'thermosynthesis' by which he creates sugars from heat energy, and spending most of his time in a kind of trance-hibernation.

Many of the more savvy inhabitants of the Ark often use Alabar as a source of information. However, he does not provide such easily - if you're lucky, he'll demand some food or some duty in return, if not, he may give you an immensely complex riddle or some complex and fiendishly difficult quest to complete. Alabar can be addressed from any one of the many maintenance platforms above the waterline in Tank 82 - there are entrances beneath the water level, but nobody who has ever entered these has come out alive. It is important not to stray too close to the edge of the platform - Alabar can commune with potential customers fully wherever they are within the tank, although he sometimes pretends to be unable to do so to lure people within attacking distance. Communicating with him can be somewhat draining, especially the first time, because it involves so many sensory sensations, telepathic and otherwise. However, he almost always has something useful to offer. Those who double-cross Alabar often discover that their actions were highly misguided - Alabar has, apparently, an 'understanding' with many of HIM 2.0's personalities.

[Wensleydale]

The Ark

[ic=Children's Song]The animals went in two by two, hurrah, hurrah...[/ic]

AN INTRODUCTORY PAMPHLET TO THE USS ARK
REQUIRED READING FOR NEW CREW MEMBERS

 Design

The USS Ark is a 7000-crew colony ship with a six-billion-man stasis capacity. The largest and most advanced of its kind, roughly 15,000 kilometres long, construction began eighty-seven years ago in the Texas Military Refitting Shipyard. Because of its size, large portions of its internal hull are actually natural - three small planetoids, in fact. The artificial sections of its hull are mainly made up of wiring, maintenance corridors and crew accomodation, forming a frame around the asteroids. To the rear, the ship tapers off to a large sphere - the engine core - behind which extends a long tail which consists of a complex web of thrusters. To the fore, the frame likewise tapers to a point. This point, and a large space behind it, make up Hydroponics and the cargo bay. You should familiarise yourself with this general placement to help avoid confusion.

 Interior Construction

The natural sections of the Ark's hull are almost completely given over to stasis modules - each one a small room about 10 metres by 10 metres by 2 metres capable of holding 10 people in stasis - and the accompanying extra technology, access corridors, maintenance panels etc. The planetoids are slowly spun to maintain low gravity as a cheaper, stasis-friendlier alternative to the anti-gravity devices used elsewhere on the ship.

The outer frame which surrounds the interior cavity is split into three main parts. At the rear, the long tail and sphere which make up the revolutionary Singularity Drive and its control structure are referred to as the 'Engine Bay', and include working accomodation for engine shift staff, manual controls for the engine and the ship's power plant, which is connected up to the engine. The midsection is referred to as the 'Command Section' - the underside contains the larger shuttle bays, whilst the section on the top of the ship makes up the crew decks, the bridge, accomodation, the cantina etc. The front section is the 'Vitals Section', including Hydroponics and its water tanks, various sensor arrays, and (taking up most of the large cavity between the foremost planetoid and the bows of the ship) the Storage Bay.

 Technology

The USS Ark is equipped with some of the most advanced technology currently known to mankind. Other than stasis booths - which are nothing particularly new, there are several other important systems to take note of:

HIM 2.0

Although humans have many virtues, they are not yet capable of doing extremely high-level calculations and interfacing with other humans at the same time across a vast ship. The captain has some of this responsibility, but when a calculator is needed or systems are simply required to keep running, the Higher Intelligence Model Version 2.0 comes in. HIM 2.0 is not capable of true decision-making, but complements the captain and science officers as they compliment it. The computer's main centre of operations is found in the computing lab, Deck 42 of the command section - please note that only authorised personnel are allowed within the Computing Lab. Various subsystems of HIM can be accessed throughout the ship via maintenance terminals, and commands can be given using the IP intonation system detailed during your training.

Singularity Drive Mechanism

The SDM is the propulsion system of the ship. Found to the rear as stated in earlier documents, it is one of the first of its kind to be taken beyond the experimental stage and fitted to a large ship. The artificially-generated black hole, so feared by the propagandists of the media, is perfectly safe as long as you follow the guidelines detailed during your training. The SDM can take us past the speed of light whilst generating enough power to keep the entire ship running.

Leyline Reality Distortion System (Mk 2)

Another revolutionary system from EMCA Engineering, the LRDS (or 'Leyline') replicates natural mild magical fields found on many planets, including, scientists hypothesise, our earth in antiquity. Trained operators are capable of feats referred to by sensationalists as 'supernatural' - if you have not witnessed magical acts before, please do not be alarmed. Operators will be assigned daily quotas of Arcan units after application to the Leyline Department. The Leyline system is powered indirectly by the Singularity, so overuse could cause minor power failures and other inconveniences in local areas.

[Wensleydale]

Movement

[ic=The Proclaimers]I'm on my way,
From misery to happiness today...
Ahuh ahuh ahuh ahuh.[/ic]

The Ark is immense. It would take years to walk around it - and so other methods are required for transit. This article will deal with the varying methods of getting around aboard the spaceship.

STSS

The Set-Track Shuttle System is the most common method of getting around large ships. Effectively, these shuttles are autopiloted vehicles which travel along specially designed set paths from station to station inside the ship. Their paths run everywhere, and are part of the complex internal network of maintenance shafts, ventilation, wiring etc that form the interior of any large ship. Many of the shuttles are currently damaged or not working, and traditionally the STSS has been a target of much criticism anyway due to its slow movement and long, winding routes.

RTSS

The Rapid Transit Shuttle System is the higher-class response to the STSS's failings. In effect, it is the taxi to the STSS's bus - the RTSS goes by the most direct route and is thus much quicker. However, the RTSS system has always been restricted to emergency usage by officers and maintenance technicians, and is not in daily usage even aboard the largest of ships. Today, the RTSS survives mostly intact, other than malfunctions aboard the shuttles - and all RTSS shuttles have manual control, meaning that they are still usable.

The Tunnels

Tunnels of various different kinds riddle the ship - maintenance corridors, ventilation shafts, waste and sewage pipes - and if you don't mind walking, crawling, climbing, falling, jumping and taking a long time to get where you're planning to go, you could probably navigate the entire ship through these tunnels.

The Shell

Both the interior and exterior of the 'shell', the metal frame surrounding the ship's core, are navigable provided you have gravity boots or some other method of remaining attached to the ship. Although walking across the outside is not really desirable, at times it is necessary.

Teleportation

Still highly experimental and extremely dangerous and expensive, teleportation is not encouraged. However, if you need to get somewhere instantaneously, this technology-magic hybrid is theoretically possible aboard a ship with a Leyline system, provided you possess one of the experimental Teleportation Modules. Almost inevitably by this point, the Ark possesses a small stockpile of the latter and one of the most advanced versions of the former - if rapid movement is required, teleportation is the way to go.

[Ghostman]

What are the dangers of teleportation? Being disintegrated? Ported to a random destination? Twisted anatomy? Creating duplicates of the teleported characters?

[Wensleydale]

What are the dangers of teleportation? Being disintegrated? Ported to a random destination? Twisted anatomy? Creating duplicates of the teleported characters?

All of the above, as well as parts of your anatomy disappearing, being left behind or bursting into flame on arrival.

[Wensleydale]

Crew Recreation Area

[ic=Star Wars Cantina]At the Star Wars, Star Wars cantina...[/ic]

The Recreation Area is one of the lowest areas of the ship's Crew Deck, beneath and above which are sleeping areas. Spanning two decks, it includes a small warpball stadium, shooting range, gym, cantina and bar and various other areas intended for enjoyment and exercise.

 Ownership

The Recreation Area was one of the first to be seized by aliens after the mass escape. Unfortunately or fortunately, depending on your point of view, it was seized by Tsochari. A Tsochar is a writhing hive mind of snake-like strings capable of possessing most living beings and either riding or controlling them directly. In the case of the Recreation Area, the Tsochari immediately took total control of all of the crew - with the possible exception of Ronnie, the barman, who may or may not be under Tsochari control - and began using them as bodies. This situation continues to the present day, with all of the recreation deck under the iron control of the Tsochari. It serves as a neutral zone, a place where species can meet together or just gain sanctuary for a while. Because the Tsochari have at least some knowledge of the memories of those possessed, they are probably the only ones who know exactly what happened during 'the event'.

 Ronnie

Ronnie the Barman appears at first to be a cheerful soul, unaffected by the Tsochari controlling all of his crewmates. However, he too has a Tsochar inside him - whether the Tsochar is riding him or actually controlling him is as yet unknown. Ronnie is believed by some to have a hidden agenda - he refuses to talk about the Event, but is quite free and natural on other topics. It is possible that Ronnie is not actually who he says he is - but this, along with most other things about him, is shrouded in mystery. Either way, Ronnie keeps a blast rifle under the bar and is quick to use it if anyone tries anything.

[Superfluous Crow]

Just a thought based on your Star Wars quote: how far in the future is this? And since it seems to be based on our world only with some additions, do people still watch Star Wars :p (now going from episode I to XX)
Also, again, love the Tsochari... possibly the best thing WOTC ever made :D
How do you play Warpball? Does the recreation area follow a set of enforced laws in any way or are you aiming for some kind of hedonistic paradise?
In general, how is order maintained on the ship when it is maintained?
Alabar is neat; also cool to have him be the last of a race of kraken. Do you propose that Earth's oceans saw visits from them at some point since we have myths etc? I like them better confined to their own planet to be frank, but it would explain the myths. Maybe a freak teleportation accident or a species of highly developed intergalactic jesters dropped a kraken there at one point.
Did Alabar escape or was he always located in the Water Tank? Seems odd since that water was probably meant for drinking.
You also mention that you can walk on the outside of the ship. Has the outside seen any kind of development? Colonization by space mushrooms or some such?
You have mentioned the hyin several times: what are they other than the most peaceful alien species?
Do you have any immaterial or non-carbon-based races?
I think that was all for now.

[Wensleydale]

Just a thought based on your Star Wars quote: how far in the future is this? And since it seems to be based on our world only with some additions, do people still watch Star Wars :p (now going from episode I to XX)

Also, again, love the Tsochari... possibly the best thing WOTC ever made :D[/quote]How do you play Warpball? [/quote]Does the recreation area follow a set of enforced laws in any way or are you aiming for some kind of hedonistic paradise?[/quote]In general, how is order maintained on the ship when it is maintained?[/quote]Alabar is neat; also cool to have him be the last of a race of kraken. Do you propose that Earth's oceans saw visits from them at some point since we have myths etc? I like them better confined to their own planet to be frank, but it would explain the myths. Maybe a freak teleportation accident or a species of highly developed intergalactic jesters dropped a kraken there at one point.[/quote]Did Alabar escape or was he always located in the Water Tank? Seems odd since that water was probably meant for drinking.[/quote]You also mention that you can walk on the outside of the ship. Has the outside seen any kind of development? Colonization by space mushrooms or some such?[/quote]You have mentioned the hyin several times: what are they other than the most peaceful alien species?[/quote]Do you have any immaterial or non-carbon-based races? [/quote]I think that was all for now.[/quote]

Thanks a lot :D