Ships Should Be Indestructable
- Thread starter All Seeing Eye
- Start date
Despite the magic of nanoprobes, I really don't think it has ever been concretely established that they are literally self-replicating. If they're self-replicating, why do the Borg have to perform surgeries to finish the assimilation process? If they were self-replicating, Borg civilization might look a heck of a lot more like the Replicators from "Stargate." I could buy nanoprobes "reproducing," where you might get a very slow replacement process via the combined resources of two or more nanoprobes akin to human reproduction, but not the instant multi-replication that most people seem to be talking about.
Yeah, I never got the idea that they were self-replicating. Especially considering all the crap the EMH went through in repgrogramming them to fight 8472 one by one in "Scorpion" instead of just reprogramming one and ordering it to replicate a thousand more. I think there were several other instances where getting quantities of them were an issue. The EMH did extract some from Seven on several occasions to use without worry, so either he extracted such a minute number that it didn't matter, or they would be replaced somehow. Having to replace them in regeneration isn't a bad idea - alternately they might have to shut down and cool off and thus the regeneration process. It may be the intention that nanoprobes are like blood cells, and a specific Borg implant produces more, without having them replicate themselves.
Yeah, I never got the idea that they were self-replicating. Especially considering all the crap the EMH went through in repgrogramming them to fight 8472 one by one in "Scorpion" instead of just reprogramming one and ordering it to replicate a thousand more. I think there were several other instances where getting quantities of them were an issue. The EMH did extract some from Seven on several occasions to use without worry, so either he extracted such a minute number that it didn't matter, or they would be replaced somehow. Having to replace them in regeneration isn't a bad idea - alternately they might have to shut down and cool off and thus the regeneration process. It may be the intention that nanoprobes are like blood cells, and a specific Borg implant produces more, without having them replicate themselves.
Don't they only have the ability to be able to produce a certain amount of replicator matter?
All Seeing Eye
Admiral
They could store a lot more replicated matter on the ship in a much tinier area than they could ever store by stockpiling weapons and hull sections.
Also after the destruction of an enemy ship you could salvage matter and store it as replicator matter for future use to replenish your stocks.
Which begs to wonder....what if the enemy starts making ships with some sections of a substance that reacts "violently*" with your ship's replicator energy?
*violently--blows your ship to heck...
All Seeing Eye
Admiral
Now you're just making shit up to try and oppose my idea. Yes they might use some never seen non-canon "substance" that reacts violently to replicator energy.
OR they might design a compressed subspace anti-tetryon beam phased on the subatmoic level to defract the replicator streams. 
Assuming your premise is that ships could repair damage via replicating replacements on the spot, youre little theory has a couple of holes.
Assuming the damage is caused by combat versus a rogue comet or collision, a smart enemy is going to compromise your power systems.
To replicate and install matter into the designated areas requires a LOT of energy, and in a firefight thats the first thing youll have to give up. Loose main power, and youre back to reparing things the old-fashioned way. Or conversely you can drop your shields and self-repair....right before the enemy blows your nightengale ship to pieces.
Sounds like something that'd be sold under the Corbomite™ name brand.
....like building an indestructable ship out of Legos?...which kinda sounds cool...
Nope....just testing your concepts....
All Seeing Eye
Admiral
No offense but how easy is that? not very, otherwise the enemy would always compromise your power systems because the entire ship runs on power. You're not thinking logically at all. Phasers wont even fire and shields wont even function if the power systems are compromised, get where i'm going with this?
I've already explained above that the extra power requirements could be met by either a larger warp reactor or an extra warp reactor. You see you will need more power but your ship pretty much becomes unstoppable making it more than worth it to carry the extra reactor onboard.
See also my other thread which when used in conjunction with this idea makes the idea even more successful.
Yeah, it depends on the context you mean by 'self-replicating'. It was always my thought that Borg nanoprobes did create more of themselves, but they 'manufactured' them on-site using the assimilatee's own biomatter. My suggestion (which was half-in-jest, since I realize the total implausibility of it) was that the nanoprobes instead 'replicate' themselves like the self-replicating minefield did, without using surrounding matter, just summoning the energy to create it directly from its own reserves...
There's several problems with that idea, obviously, cool as it is... Much more logical to do it the way the Borg do it to begin with, by using the subject's own biomass against them... Though it does make one wonder just where they get the material to makes some of the implants that spring up once assimilation begins. Yeah, they use surgery to add the major prosthetics, but even the minor ones that spontaneously appear would seem to require a lot of metals and such that probably don't occur naturally in humanoid bodies...
Don't know if anyone has looked yet, but this is from MA
http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Assimilation
http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Assimilation
Holograms are basically specialized force fields. Unless I'm completely misremembering, nomral force fields aren't that hot at standing up to sustained fire, especially capital ship level weapons. I'd also imagine that hologram forcefields, being highly specialized for their job, would be even less likely to stand up to that kind of firepower.
Depending how much energy you pump into the fields so they can resist higher levels of incoming fire.
But for example ... creating holographic hull plating would not really be any more efficient from the self-forming force-fields that are used to close hull breaches to begin with (which were already shown to exist on Federation ships in the 24th century).
As for using replicators and transporters to repair the ship ...
A valid idea worth exploring, but they would have to overcome the power requirements for such a task as replicators had a tendency of being power intensive.
Well ... not so much ever since the 'Void' episode in Season 7 where the Voyager crew found a way to triple their replicator efficiency and use 50% less power compared to what they were using before.
When the ship exited the void, the replicators have probably utilized less than 50% of power compared to before.
So I think that repairing internal systems via transporters/replicators combination is plausible ... but for larger hull breaches, it would still take time ... but even with the more efficient replicator system, it may take some time to repair the damage because the energy requirements might still be taxing (which also depends on the damage that the ship took).
But for example ... creating holographic hull plating would not really be any more efficient from the self-forming force-fields that are used to close hull breaches to begin with (which were already shown to exist on Federation ships in the 24th century).
As for using replicators and transporters to repair the ship ...
A valid idea worth exploring, but they would have to overcome the power requirements for such a task as replicators had a tendency of being power intensive.
Well ... not so much ever since the 'Void' episode in Season 7 where the Voyager crew found a way to triple their replicator efficiency and use 50% less power compared to what they were using before.
When the ship exited the void, the replicators have probably utilized less than 50% of power compared to before.
So I think that repairing internal systems via transporters/replicators combination is plausible ... but for larger hull breaches, it would still take time ... but even with the more efficient replicator system, it may take some time to repair the damage because the energy requirements might still be taxing (which also depends on the damage that the ship took).
All Seeing Eye
Admiral
This is why the idea of having the hull comprising of blocks makes more sense. When the blocks are blown of the blocks are replaced and fit together.
I agree.
Actually ... there's more to it.
Ships hulls usually have an aztec pattern (you know, the panels that shine under specularity when exposed to direct source of light) to them ... indicating that they were assembled in small blocks.
Furthermore, if a block of aztec patterns is damaged, the ship can transport the damaged section by converting it into energy, transfer it into the replicator system and use that energy (along with any surplus from the core) to recreate new aztec panels in a pattern (well essentially, manipulating the pattern structure which is well within their capabilities) and just materialize them into place.
Federation ships are supposed to be able to repair themselves ... this was firmly established in TNG by Riker, but dropped in later seasons and shows to increase the 'drama'.
While I agree that systems require a crew to maintain them, repairing minor hull breaches and internal systems should be within the ship's technological capabilities for the most part, and the crew would be able to conduct numerous repairs faster.
This was maybe evident in Season 7 of Voyager in 'Worforce'.
The EMH (well, ECH) was forced to repair the ship on his own ... but it was a slow process for the most part and the ship didn't seem to be able to repair itself to assist the doc.
Otherwise he'd be done much faster.
Then again, when Neelix, Chakotay and Kim joined up, they were able to assist the ECH with the repairs and the ship was brought back up to specs fairly fast.
It was possible the EMH didn't have the knowledge on how to repair the self-repair mechanizm ... and with the rest of the ship being badly damaged ... perhaps they can get away with it.
Well. That's that then, I suppose.
All Seeing Eye
Admiral
Why don't they just build Trek starships out of the same stuff they make the indestructable little black boxes on airplanes with?
Because the indestructible black boxes might be able to survive a crash or a fire but they certainly arn't designed to withstand particle weapons fire and matter/anti-matter explosions.
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