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trans_pilgrims2011-02-19 09:50 pm
cityship) wrote in trans_pilgrims2011-02-19 09:50 pm
Setting FAQ
Hey guys! There are a number of questions we get a lot about the setting which don't really seem to be clearly answered by the information available, so we decided to set up a Setting FAQ. Included are answers to questions we get often, but if there's a question about the setting that you have that isn't included, feel free to ask in the comments and we'll reply with the answer.
Q: How does translation work?
A: Stacy, at one point or another—be it when your character was in the pods, eating slop, or getting one of the regular water injections—has slipped your character special microbes that traveled through their bloodstream, eventually settling in your character's brain near the language center, where they create a colony to continually produce more microbes as older ones degrade. These microbes are linked to Stacy's Translation Engine, and process incoming speech into a form the character's mind can comprehend. The Translation Engine also uses an enhanced Artificial Intelligence to automatically translate things your character says into something appropriate for the situation (for example, when speaking to someone without translator microbes, it would cause your character to unknowingly speak that person's language). The Translation Engine is programmed to convey meaning, and not directly translate speech, and there for somethings might not be translated directly. For example, a character cursing in another language wouldn't be translated, while certain words might be indirectly translated to help get the intended meaning across. For characters in which microbes would not work (robots, for example), suitable facsimiles were created specifically for the character.
Q: How do the Plant Suits and Thorn Armor work?
A: Both types of Plant Suits are living beings, with a rudimentary nervous system and circulatory system. They can breathe in nearly any kind of environment, and consume dead skin cells and unnecessary body hair for sustenance. Neither kind is capable of thought or feeling, and all actions are solely automatic reactions. Both kinds can be quickly reduced to a small wristband by pressing a small, jewel-like growth on the back of the wrist. This allows one person to wear both kinds of suits at once, having one deployed regularly while the other is reduced to a wristband. The Thorn Armor variant has the feature of alterable colors, normally used to denote ranks and departments for GIA personnel, and the colors are viewable in both deployed and undeployed forms. The Thorn Armor is thicker and tougher than the regular Plant Suit even when undeployed, and when deployed, it's armored carapace can withstand several repeated shots from conventional or even Plasma weaponry. When fully deployed with its head covering, a character wearing Thorn Armor can survive even in a vacuum or an irradiated environment, and the Thorn Armor can provide oxygen to its wearer for several hours.
Q: How big is Stacy?
A: Stacy is the size of a small moon (her exact size really depends on what the plot dictates). To deal with the gravitational problems this could cause, Stacy uses gravitational dampeners to lessen her pull on nearby celestial bodies, particularly planets she's orbiting.
Q: How big is the City?
A: The city has approximately the same square mileage as Rhode Island. The ceiling of the City is approximately a mile high, though the general upper limit for buildings in the city is typically a half-mile to allow for flight above the City.
Q: How big is the Hangar?
A: As big as it needs to be for plot. Theoretically, it can hold all the vehicles all of the characters owned, currently own, or will come to acquire in the future. However, the upper limit on size for an individual vehicle is the same size as the U.S.S. Enterprise from Star Trek: TNG.
Q: What is the food situation?
A: Stacy provides everyone with what most of the crew has deemed slop in the Mess Hall. It's greyish-green, has a consistency much like jello, and doesn't taste very appetizing; it is, however, extremely healthy, configured for every character's particular dietary needs. It's served on trays much like hard tortillas, which are also edible.
A way to get around the taste of the slop is to go to the Sensoriums, where the mind can be tricked into thinking it's whatever food your character wants. It's still slop, though, and trying to take the food out of the Sensoriums will make the illusion disappear.
HOWEVER. There is real food available on Stacy, though it's in short supply.
Fruits and vegetables, both alien and familiar, can be found in Hydroponics, though she won't let you eat the chipped animals (Which is about 90% of them; the younger ones are much less likely to be chipped. No one's figured this out yet.).
The lounge is where the majority of the food that's collected on shore leaves for the entire crew is stored, and there is a kitchen attached for cooking. Due to the size of the crew, how much food is required to feed that many people, and not knowing when the next shore leave may be, the stores are typically used sparingly to make them last longer.
The W.I.T.C.H. bus has some food stores as well, as does Mr. Smoothie and the Drunken Dragon tavern.
The tavern does not provide food to the general public, though. Kang saves it for special occasions and for bartering. The tavern does serve drinks, alcolic and non, though.
Another place to get drinks is at the Atori Teahouse.
Food stores can be found in some of the buildings of the City, but overall, they're small, and won't last for more than maybe a few days.
Q: How does translation work?
A: Stacy, at one point or another—be it when your character was in the pods, eating slop, or getting one of the regular water injections—has slipped your character special microbes that traveled through their bloodstream, eventually settling in your character's brain near the language center, where they create a colony to continually produce more microbes as older ones degrade. These microbes are linked to Stacy's Translation Engine, and process incoming speech into a form the character's mind can comprehend. The Translation Engine also uses an enhanced Artificial Intelligence to automatically translate things your character says into something appropriate for the situation (for example, when speaking to someone without translator microbes, it would cause your character to unknowingly speak that person's language). The Translation Engine is programmed to convey meaning, and not directly translate speech, and there for somethings might not be translated directly. For example, a character cursing in another language wouldn't be translated, while certain words might be indirectly translated to help get the intended meaning across. For characters in which microbes would not work (robots, for example), suitable facsimiles were created specifically for the character.
Q: How do the Plant Suits and Thorn Armor work?
A: Both types of Plant Suits are living beings, with a rudimentary nervous system and circulatory system. They can breathe in nearly any kind of environment, and consume dead skin cells and unnecessary body hair for sustenance. Neither kind is capable of thought or feeling, and all actions are solely automatic reactions. Both kinds can be quickly reduced to a small wristband by pressing a small, jewel-like growth on the back of the wrist. This allows one person to wear both kinds of suits at once, having one deployed regularly while the other is reduced to a wristband. The Thorn Armor variant has the feature of alterable colors, normally used to denote ranks and departments for GIA personnel, and the colors are viewable in both deployed and undeployed forms. The Thorn Armor is thicker and tougher than the regular Plant Suit even when undeployed, and when deployed, it's armored carapace can withstand several repeated shots from conventional or even Plasma weaponry. When fully deployed with its head covering, a character wearing Thorn Armor can survive even in a vacuum or an irradiated environment, and the Thorn Armor can provide oxygen to its wearer for several hours.
Q: How big is Stacy?
A: Stacy is the size of a small moon (her exact size really depends on what the plot dictates). To deal with the gravitational problems this could cause, Stacy uses gravitational dampeners to lessen her pull on nearby celestial bodies, particularly planets she's orbiting.
Q: How big is the City?
A: The city has approximately the same square mileage as Rhode Island. The ceiling of the City is approximately a mile high, though the general upper limit for buildings in the city is typically a half-mile to allow for flight above the City.
Q: How big is the Hangar?
A: As big as it needs to be for plot. Theoretically, it can hold all the vehicles all of the characters owned, currently own, or will come to acquire in the future. However, the upper limit on size for an individual vehicle is the same size as the U.S.S. Enterprise from Star Trek: TNG.
Q: What is the food situation?
A: Stacy provides everyone with what most of the crew has deemed slop in the Mess Hall. It's greyish-green, has a consistency much like jello, and doesn't taste very appetizing; it is, however, extremely healthy, configured for every character's particular dietary needs. It's served on trays much like hard tortillas, which are also edible.
A way to get around the taste of the slop is to go to the Sensoriums, where the mind can be tricked into thinking it's whatever food your character wants. It's still slop, though, and trying to take the food out of the Sensoriums will make the illusion disappear.
HOWEVER. There is real food available on Stacy, though it's in short supply.
Fruits and vegetables, both alien and familiar, can be found in Hydroponics, though she won't let you eat the chipped animals (Which is about 90% of them; the younger ones are much less likely to be chipped. No one's figured this out yet.).
The lounge is where the majority of the food that's collected on shore leaves for the entire crew is stored, and there is a kitchen attached for cooking. Due to the size of the crew, how much food is required to feed that many people, and not knowing when the next shore leave may be, the stores are typically used sparingly to make them last longer.
The W.I.T.C.H. bus has some food stores as well, as does Mr. Smoothie and the Drunken Dragon tavern.
The tavern does not provide food to the general public, though. Kang saves it for special occasions and for bartering. The tavern does serve drinks, alcolic and non, though.
Another place to get drinks is at the Atori Teahouse.
Food stores can be found in some of the buildings of the City, but overall, they're small, and won't last for more than maybe a few days.