--- On Mon, 2/28/11, Onno Meyer <[email protected]> wrote: > Brandon replied to me: > > I'm rewatching Farscape right now, which includes the > leviathan bioships > > (biomechanical, actually). Some additional > considerations: > > > > * Leviathans can feel pain. > > > > * Leviathans can feel fear (only one leviathan was > ever known to be > > armed). > > > > * Leviathans can be poisoned (there are a handful of > cargoes a leviathan > > can't carry because of their effects on the ship shoul > shipping containment > > be broken). > > according to Robots, biocomputers are neural-net or > sentient, so > while the capability of pain or fear is not mandatory, it > fits > right in. > > Of course, fear might be a powerful reason to be armed, and > not > the other way around.
In Farscape, the builders of the leviathans (a quasigodlike energy race) intended them to be peaceful and one was appalled when he discovered another race had managed to breed an armed gunship. Of course, Farscape was space opera, not hard science fiction. > > Leviathans rely on small oval robots about the size of > rhoombas (DRD, > > Diagnostic Repair Drone) for repairs. A grown > leviathan can carry hundreds. > > > > http://farscape.wikia.com/wiki/Diagnostic_Repair_Drone > > Those would be separate designs, not part of the > mothership. They are built by the leviathans to keep them healthy. So, while for interaction with (N)PCs they need their own designs they are part of a properly functioning leviathan. You wouldn't say white blood cells aren't part of a human would you? ;) Brandon _______________________________________________ GurpsNet-L mailing list <[email protected]> http://mail.sjgames.com/mailman/listinfo/gurpsnet-l
