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PICA updates

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Re: PICA updates
Post by Keith_w   » Sun May 31, 2015 6:51 am

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McGuiness wrote: quote="MTO" quote="captinjoehenry"
i was referring to the fact that the OBS would most likely be able to detect the automated mine as in order for it to function it would most likely be using industrial robots which are not as stealthy as the military gear they have been using up till now and in order to make a stealthy auto mine OWL would most likely have to do a fair bit of R&R now this is not necessarily hard but i would guess it would take a while./quote They have nannites! They don't need robots to mine! /quote Actually, both viewpoints may be true. TF tech may indeed have nannites that can dissolve the minerals that surround the ones they're mining. However, those nannites would need to be constantly directed and replenished, which would require a "nannite fabber" and controlling equipment, which could be an all-in-one mechanical creation of some sort.

It would still require a goodly amount of energy to create the needed nannites and to refine the ore so that only the bare minimum of required elements need to be sent to OWL. This all happens under the watchful eye of the OBS after all, even if most of it happens well under ground. So it would probably need a fusion-powered mining "robot" even if it uses nannites, and stealthed transports to carry the mined materials back to OWL.

And that's a sneaky way of doing it! If TF tech can't mine using nannites, then a bunch of robots would be required, and the odds of the OBS noticing would go up considerably, even with a deep shaft mine.

It may not come up in the series, but someday OWL is really going to need to create something for which he doesn't have the needed materials, and he's going to need to get them somehow. The OBS may need to be removed before that's possible, but the thought of mining right under the nose of the OBS is certainly intriguing! :lol:

We already use microbes to extract copper, gold and uranium. There is no reason that the TF could not enhance the technique to extract even more minerals.
http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-17406375
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A common mistake people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools.
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Re: PICA updates
Post by Isilith   » Sun May 31, 2015 7:22 am

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No one has touched on the most important reason to start gathering materials and expanding the production base. So we can make PICA's for Cayleb and Sharleyan to be transferred into when they are much older. ( Or in case of an accident or assassination )
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Re: PICA updates
Post by Imaginos1892   » Fri Jun 05, 2015 9:19 pm

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I suspect that the depleted supplies are not raw materials but extremely complex components like, oh, molecular circuit modules, actuators, fusion reactor control bits, electronic "nerves", etc. OWL would have to make the machines to make the machines to make the....up through 10 or 15 generations and he's got a lot of other things to do.

As for backing up Merlin without the high-speed interface, why can't it be done "in the background" while he's doing other stuff? He's in pretty much constant contact with OWL anyway.
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If this ended well, it wouldn't be on "Funniest Home Videos".
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Re: PICA updates
Post by n7axw   » Fri Jun 05, 2015 10:20 pm

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I don't see Merlin as being overly concerned about updating his interface. It was more of an issue in the beginning when he was the only one with access to the snarcs and the data bases in the cave. But now there is Nahrman and Nimue. Owl has come to self awareness and has become more intuitive. These can operate in the compressed mode. In addition to that members of the inner circle are helping with the snarcs.

Merlin doesn't have to carry the load on this alone any more. I would be honestly surprised if he did anything about the interface. While it would undoubtedly be handy to have the high speed interface restored, the potential payoff probably isn't worth the time and fuss to say nothing about whatever risk there might be to his current persona.

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When any group seeks political power in God's name, both religion and politics are instantly corrupted.
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Re: PICA updates
Post by Sounour   » Sat Jun 06, 2015 8:22 am

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McGuiness wrote:...

And that's a sneaky way of doing it! If TF tech can't mine using nannites, then a bunch of robots would be required, and the odds of the OBS noticing would go up considerably, even with a deep shaft mine.

...


We are talking about quantities of elements which are sufficient to build a PICA. Since a PICA weight not that much more than human, let's assume ca. 100kg or 200lb for you americans ;)

And assuming that most of a PICA is made of "normal" elements like carbon, iron or gold, the ammount of rare elements is very small. Assuming the rare elements are used in a similar proportion to rare elements in modern electronics it's a matter of gramms or ounces at most which are needed.

These quantities should not require a major industrial operation.

No, the really sneaky way would be to pay Harchongese bureaucrats or whoever owns the area where it's found, to mine the ores. Or if it's already mined simply buy some. Ship it to a warehouse and pick it up by shuttle.

When you want to build a destroyer, that's something else altogether.
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Re: PICA updates
Post by C. O. Thompson   » Mon Sep 28, 2015 4:50 pm

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I wish that I had seen your post sooner. I could have set the record straight sooner... ;)

First of all Abe Lincoln said "the problem with quotes was on Facebook..."

Secondly, it seems impossible that materials cannot be replaced even if the only place they are available is off the surface of Safehold.

I also with think that with Owl and Narman digging into the obscure files, we expect them to come up with an effective interface for NEATs and that they will start to manufacture anti age nano along with more PICAs

Just my 2 ¢

Charlie



fallsfromtrees wrote:
ETathome wrote:Can Owl replace the material? If the stock in question was easy to replace, wouldn't it be mentioned? Ultimately, we don't know what elements of the periodic table are present on Safehold. Most common elements have been mentioned already, but what about the less common ones?

I can accept the notion of time and story being why he doesn't do it. My original notion was to make a personality recording. Reformat the PICA, then restore the personality. I didn't think about how long a recording would take.

If OWL can't replace the materials, because they are not present, then they are in trouble, because it almost certainly will not be possible to build the ships required to fight the Gbaba.
Last edited by C. O. Thompson on Mon Sep 28, 2015 4:57 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Just my 2 ₡ worth
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Re: PICA updates
Post by C. O. Thompson   » Mon Sep 28, 2015 4:54 pm

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Good point but there was discussion in these chat rooms or maybe a snippet about making a duplicate OWL when trying to open the file in Pyters key.

If the time is fast approaching to make the machines that make the machines... let the games begin

Just my 2 ¢

Charlie


Imaginos1892 wrote:I suspect that the depleted supplies are not raw materials but extremely complex components like, oh, molecular circuit modules, actuators, fusion reactor control bits, electronic "nerves", etc. OWL would have to make the machines to make the machines to make the....up through 10 or 15 generations and he's got a lot of other things to do.

As for backing up Merlin without the high-speed interface, why can't it be done "in the background" while he's doing other stuff? He's in pretty much constant contact with OWL anyway.
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If this ended well, it wouldn't be on "Funniest Home Videos".
Just my 2 ₡ worth
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