Elite: Lore

04 May 2021, 12:03am
Just imagine walking in these snow white shoes and snow white uniform around a shabby T-9 full of biowaste.
04 May 2021, 12:36am
MeowersJust imagine walking in these snow white shoes and snow white uniform around a shabby T-9 full of biowaste.

If your biowaste canisters leak in zero-G, you'll have bigger problems than dirty shoes.
04 May 2021, 8:39am
Sakashiro
MeowersJust imagine walking in these snow white shoes and snow white uniform around a shabby T-9 full of biowaste.


If your biowaste canisters leak in zero-G, you'll have bigger problems than dirty shoes.


thats disc-gust-tang
04 May 2021, 1:17pm
What I find interesting & leaving me with many questions is the discussion in this Elite Dangerous forum thread, especially the ones marked as 'Spoiler'.

Are any of those current canon, or do they reflect earlier E:D games, or merely those of what others have written, exercising their imagination?

Such as:

"SCIENCE MAKES LEGAL HISTORY

Research workers at the [SyR(I) Scientific station have published details of their recent andro-human fertility project. The work, funded by the Giga-Tronics Corporation was established over fifty years ago in an effort to bridge the gap between human and android. The belief that androids are necessarily sterile has been fundamental to the understanding of the differences between human and android and was indeed, the cornerstone of the great legal debate of the last century: Jorvak vs. Trojan Developments Inc.

The final judgement centred on the fact that the andro/human in question: Tomas Jorvak, was capable of reproduction and indeed had fifteen very human children. The two dozen judges involved decided that Jorvak could therefore not be classed as android in nature. This was sufficient to win his case against the Trojan Developments Inc. Customer Services Department for inadequate repair of certain body parts, and he was awarded significant damages, including legal costs. Trojan Developments Inc. went into liquidation as a direct result of the financial drain on resources.

The firm of lawyers acting on Jorvak's behalf set up the Achilles Corporation on the proceeds of the case, hired most of the technicians and robotics engineers from the extinct Trojan Developments Inc. and became known system-wide as the biggest sharks in the business. Jorvak himself set up the Giga-Tronics Corporation and devoted the next four hundred years of his life to proving that human-android reproduction was, in fact, possible. It seems likely from reading his diaries, published posthumously, that he considered himself to be wholly android and that although the legal case made him extraordinarily rich, he was unhappy with the apparent stigma of a human identity.

The recent paper has not set out full details of the project but it is apparent that at least one fully formed andro-human child has been produce. The exact characteristics of either parents or offspring have yet to be published and it is likely to be some time before the full details are known.

The Imperial High Command have expressed an interest in the project and are known to have offered significant sums of money for the full details but have so far not been accepted by the executors of Jorvak's estate. Although he did not live to see his life plan come to fruition, it is certain that Tomas Jorvak, android and human, would be happy with the outcome." "

And this:

CONGRATULATIONS - IT'S AN ANDROID!
S.L.A.M
For about the past ten centuries or so, expectant parents have seldom needed to wait until the moment of birth to discover the sex of their child. Modern medical science has advanced to the point that even when the child has been conceived naturally, it is possible to determine accurately after as little as eight weeks, not merely the sex of the child but also skin, hair and eye colour, susceptibility to genetic diseases, and even its earned point average during its first year at university, probable career choice and likely starting salary. Nevertheless, scientists at [PlL1(C) yesterday celebrated a first with the successful birth of the first human infant to undergo in utero Implantation of synthetic components. The infant, born to a trio of asteroid miners, was conceived without proper medical supervision, and ran the risk of being born with a rare congenital heart defect.
Doctors at the University Medical Hospital in [CiL1(C) opted to try a novel nanosurgery technique to install replacement synthetic heart valves in the growing fetus. The technique had been practiced on simulacra, but had never been tried with a human patient before.
The birth was uneventful, and mother and child are both doing well."

And this:

"THE CHOICE TO DREAM - PART ONE
M.C.S
A recent survey conducted by members of the Unaffiliated Research Syndicate was conducted amongst systems in the Inner Core to determine the sleep/Dream patterns of the majority of the human and andro-human population. It is axiomatic that Androids have no need for sleep, no psychic need to dream and no observable states in any way analogous to those states in humans. In fact, one of the earliest defining features used to distinguish between silicon and carbon-based self-aware beings is that the silicon based, technologically created, being does not have the need to dream - the dreaming function ( if there is a function) evolved in parallel with the ability to be self aware.
Self-programming silicon functions on an intellectual level at several orders of magnitude greater efficiency than does the carbon-based equivalent and the learning curve is spectacularly steeper. Learning to full capacity takes less than one cycle from initiation in the Android while there is ample evidence that the vast majority of humans never attain their full intellectual capacity at any point in their life cycle.
The dream/no dream distinction was used by the Committee of Differentiation in the early years of the third millennium during the series of organo-mechanic Conflicts. As the boundaries between human and andro-human became progressively less distinct, the parochialism of either camp increased to the point where to accuse a human of having android characteristics or vice versa was tantamount to suicide. The andro-humans caught in the middle were loathed by both sides.
We follow in our next issue with an examination of the question: Is there a need to dream?
THE CHOICE TO DREAM - PART TWO
M.C.S
Following our last issue concerning dream work, we ask the question that contains the key to dreaming.
Is there a real need to dream? Is it a useful to differentiate between android and human ( organo-mechanical divisions) and is the need to dream linked to mental ability? Then - how does the use of manufactured dreams alter our perceptions of reality?
We sent them to find out how much our lives are really run by the Dreamware we absorb in such vast quantities. Do we change our lives, our beliefs, our patterns of behaviour or our therapists under the influence of dreams created for us in the multi-media warehouses of Zemien?
Over a period of three Cycles, our reporters talked to a total of five thousand individuals, androids as well as human and filed reports with our central processing department.
Of the three thousand humans questioned over two thirds admitted on first questioning that they had based their early relationships on those modelled by the Dreamware archetypes. All were adamant that their belief structures were moulded by the dreams and that the official tuition available in inter-personal relationship was not considered to be either accurate or relevant to their own lives. Adult humans of all age groups were equally affected, the only differences were in the nature of the archetypes fashionable at the time and hence the direct affects demonstrated.
THE CHOICE TO DREAM - PART THREE
M.C.S
In this, the conclusion of our Dream report, we present the definitive resume on the topic of dreaming.
Research has demonstrated that the requirement for archetypes are cyclical, the two opposing polarities being exemplified by the Archaic Greek myths and legends and the Late Industrial Era, both of Earth.
Beyond that, pseudo-historical re-creations of the Lost Race of Achenar were popular amongst the Federal Systems, particularly those near the core where the degree of indoctrination correlates exactly with the popularity of this type of Dreamware. It is alleged that in Federal Systems, the teaching Committees use pre-cognitive conditioning to encourage the developing youngsters to adhere to the trend. Naturally, RIG does not subscribe to this belief.
In Imperial Systems where Achenarian mythology is banned, the replacement sub-belief is that of the heroic formation of the Empire with full deification of the Duval dynasty, or at least the scions of it that succeeded the eponymous founder.
In Systems owned by Corporations, the dictating factor tends to be financial and the trends follow strictly commercial lines. The recent stunning success of the Dream-Lightning Syndicate was largely due to the incredible marketing strategy of the Cygni who broadcast the first episode of a sixteen part saga FREE on every dream-waveband. The starting cost would, apparently, have paid for the re-population of a couple of small planets but the returns were said to be 'substantial' and moved the DLS into the forefront of the Dreamware industry.
The most striking finding of the survey was the attitude of non-organics to the dreaming needs of the human population. The failure of dreaming in androids and mechano-humans with significant cerebral transplants was attributed to the silicon based nature of the synapses.
DREAMS AND THE SILICON INTERFACE
M.C.S
Researchers at the University of the Fifth Age on Mars (Sol) are working flat out on an exciting new breakthrough in the understanding of the organic/silicon distinction. Recent advances in the development of neural interfaces in organ-androids may, for the first time, have created the dreaming facility in non-organics.
The scientists are playing their cards pretty close to their chests but leaked information from a reliable source suggests that several of the research subjects are not only finding the need to sleep but are reporting dream-like experiences.
To date, only those of natural human extraction or with primate cerebral transplants have demonstrated these faculties and dreaming has been the primary distinguishing feature enabling the fine line between organic and silicon intelligence to be maintained.
A breakdown in this line would radically change the social and cultural basis of our entire culture."

Which might open some interesting RP via Personals Ads:

"ETERNALLY OPTIMISTIC gorgeous and well-built ANDROID seeks similar for mutual fun amidst the palm fields of Canarbe. Federalists only. No anarchists or eugenicists.

WITTY UNPRETENTIOUS staggeringly bright ANDROID with an IQ that would fill your data banks seeks PARTNER to fill that Void together. Send me a read-out of your cerebral statistics and we could be joined in the mind by tonight.

EXCELLENT OPPORTUNITY with unlimited potential for life-time's reward. ANDROID with re-renewed life-span circuits looking for new-ish offering with a zest for exploring life. Interest in didactic exchange an advantage.

STAR-DANCING ANDROID seeks co-enchantment with fresh, newly serviced, Theta model to share the Galactic magic.

ANDROID/HUMAN/BOTH? If you can't tell the difference either, we need each other. Join me at the start of a new life on voyage to the colony of Demerit where the organic-mechanic dialogue is seen as the meaningless trivia it has always been.

ANDROID seeks same. Epsilon model 2 20 1: 90 from Edge Wars on Andceeth, many recent upgrades, seeks compatible model for friendship and maybe more. No hemi-organics."

I look forward to the opinions from our resident "Lore-Meisters".
04 May 2021, 1:26pm
Looks like stuff from Frontier First Encounters.
04 May 2021, 1:48pm
Anything that was written pre-Elite:Dangerous is considered myth and rumour, until otherwise stated in current E:D lore. This was stated by Frontier, by both Michael Brooks and David Braben.

However, because these are in the realm of possibility due to previous story threads being adopted for E:D, they are fair game to build upon- knowing that it may not be canon in the end.
04 May 2021, 2:48pm
Jubei HimuraAnything that was written pre-Elite:Dangerous is considered myth and rumour, until otherwise stated in current E:D lore. This was stated by Frontier, by both Michael Brooks and David Braben.

However, because these are in the realm of possibility due to previous story threads being adopted for E:D, they are fair game to build upon- knowing that it may not be canon in the end.


04 May 2021, 3:09pm
I'd say that it's plausible that there would be products that straddle the line between clever responses and true AI- the former would be regarded as an assistant or a tool, the latter a thing of terror.
04 May 2021, 3:20pm
04 May 2021, 4:23pm
Even though these are plausible, please keep in mind that they are rumours and myths for a reason... and that should always be taken into consideration. One has to ask themselves questions before taking on these stories: Why are these not canon or in the public eye? What would happen if such things suddenly appeared?

Two popular examples are:

1) A.I./Androids/Synthetics
Walking around and announcing it's existence to the galaxy would be very fatal for this category- due to wars of the past and the known galaxy-wide ban on A.I. Special Forces of any or all Powers would be dispatched and it would be eliminated with prejudice. Thus, it would be understanding if these beings kept to themselves or disguised themselves to avoid detection, letting maybe a select few know about them.

2) Human hybrids
Look, I got nothing against the people who want to be these characters. A lot are very nice people. But, even if there were cat-people in the original 80's and 90's games, they don't exist now. How do you think the general populous would react if a hybrid suddenly appeared on a station? Probably similar to seeing a Thargoid... it wouldn't be good. And again, could be fatal to the character. No matter how nice or sexy one may be, there is still the innate fear of the unknown that overrides 99% of people. "Monster! Kill it with fire!" would be a common thing screamed. Especially since, official canon, most people in the galaxy are poor and most likely superstitious.

Thus, it would be in a player's best interest to RP/write with the mind of secrecy. How one disguises themselves, acts, and interacts is very important. Because the general populous aren't going to be friendly, as per official canon.

Again, those stories below are good things to build on, with an air of mystery. Because, they are myths and rumours whispered among the space-fairing people of E:D.
04 May 2021, 4:28pm
Or you could just... you know... write your character as a regular human, work within the lore, and not rely on the crutch of self-indulgent novelty to do the work of crafting an interesting character for you.

Last edit: 04 May 2021, 4:35pm
04 May 2021, 4:45pm
Something of which was discussed, perhaps briefly before, in response to the question, why wouldn't Achilles Corp. design their synthetics to appear as human as possible? The ability to do so would likely be there.

Too 'human' would likely elicit a negative reaction, as no matter how adept the science, there'd always likely be something about the synthetic that a natural (biological) human would be able to detect, if only on an instinctual level. Colloquially, humans would feel "creeped-out" & threatened.

Too alien, unnatural, & there'd be a negative reaction usually associated with the above-mentioned reaction in the example of a Thargoid, & the "us versus them" mentality.

Thus, a careful line between the two, being 'just enough' humanoid-appearing, yet not too much.
04 May 2021, 4:54pm
It isn't so much the ability as the culture and context of Elite's particular universe. There's a strong, strong anti-AI and cyborg bias in Elite's lore, one that seems universal among human society. People want to know very clearly when they're talking to people and when they're talking to machines, and so I doubt that any manufacturer would want to blur those lines. The lore seems clear that androids are created and regarded as bipedal tools with simple verbal interfaces, and clearly look like such (based on Drew Wagar's Premonition and the holo-advert in the game itself).

They aren't complex machines, they wouldn't be flying ships– and as Jubs states above, they certainly wouldn't be mixing it up in human society as social equals.
04 May 2021, 6:52pm
M. LehmanThey aren't complex machines, they wouldn't be flying ships

Sappho seems to know a thing or two about docking though.
04 May 2021, 6:56pm
*looks at camera*

How about no.

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