So Why Did They...

Discussion in 'Star Trek: Picard' started by Search4, Mar 29, 2020.

  1. SiorX

    SiorX Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Picard is a synth now. Clancy and the other powers that be probably imagined sitting through all of his speeches as he represented himself in court and thought: life's too short; repeal the thing.
     
  2. Search4

    Search4 Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    But Clancy would not have that power. This is a reversal of Federation policy - it has to take much more time and thoughtful argument than what we saw.
     
  3. Gonzo

    Gonzo Guest

    Clearly at least some part of the truth has gone up the grapevine very quickly resulting in an immediate lifting of the ban.

    Even governments can move quickly when they choose to.

    Its much easier and quicker to remove a ban than it is to put one in place, all you have to do is show that the facts behind the ban are wrong and its all over.
     
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  4. Timo

    Timo Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    We probably misunderstood the nature of the "Synth Ban" to begin with. Sapient holograms are clearly still okay, and the everyday lives of ordinary folks aren't affected much. So possibly the average UFP citizen doesn't even know or care that the ban exists, and in fact it is an extremely narrow-scoped technicality that only relates to positronic technology and thus to the specific type of machine men found unreliable at Mars.

    That the machine men were behind the Mars disaster isn't exactly a state secret, yet the ban need not be a broad-strokes political reaction aimed at appeasing the crowds. It would be counterproductive to make people fear artificial intelligences in general, as their lives depend on those. Instead, there'd just be a sort of "we withdraw all the A series androids from the market for the time being" announcement, this "time being" always being marketed as "until we fix the problem", and treated as a matter of some urgency because everybody actually wants the machine men back. Since there was no technical fault to be found, the experts gave up for a decade - but now the fault has been found and the trivial solution identified, and the apparatus that has been itching to reinstate the androids can press their big red button and swing to immediate action.

    Timo Saloniemi
     
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  5. Lt.Smokey

    Lt.Smokey Lieutenant Commander Red Shirt

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    Yes, but no need for this argument to be shown on screen. That last episode was jam packed, as it was. Tidying up that part of the story is a clue to me that we are going in a totally different direction with next season's arc.
     
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  6. Charles Phipps

    Charles Phipps Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Eh, it's a happy ending to let us know this is Star Trek and Picard's efforts were rewarded.
     
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  7. fireproof78

    fireproof78 Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    And that happy ending is a very TNG way of doing it. So, TNG 2.0 after all? :D
     
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  8. Charles Phipps

    Charles Phipps Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    When it's not being Mass Effect.
     
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  9. fireproof78

    fireproof78 Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    I didn't throw up through it so must not be Mass Effect.
     
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  10. Thomas Elliot

    Thomas Elliot Commander Red Shirt

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    I guess it was because Starfleet finally got convinced that it was the Romulans behind the attack. Or more specifically the Zhat Vash. Who were able to get an entire fleet of Romulan ships and soldiers to destroy the synth planet. So Romulans.

    This is what didn't make any sense.
    Starfleet didn't know exactly why their android workers went rogue. They just knew that synth labor turned around and killed 90,000 people and lit Mars on fire. We don't know how this happened but just to be safe, we're banning synths.
    Then Starfleet finds out that their synth workers are easily hacked by their enemies and reprogrammed to kill 90,000 people and light Mars on fire, and destroy their shipyards. AND they find out that there's a super-advanced federation of synths out there who are just waiting to be called by other synths to destroy all organic life in the galaxy. AND they see these evil android Cthulhu synths entering into their galaxy, just waiting to destroy all organic life.
    None of this sounds like new info that would compel a fearful Starfleet to suddenly let go of their fear of synths.

    It seemed less like a natural progression of the story, and more a fast track way for the writers to wrap up Season 1 and make it feel like Picard saved the day.
     
    Last edited: Apr 12, 2020
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  11. Thomas Elliot

    Thomas Elliot Commander Red Shirt

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    That doesn't sound like a very convincing argument from Picard. Of course he's going to say that. From Soji's point of view, he's just trying to save HIS people.
     
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  12. Turtletrekker

    Turtletrekker Admiral Admiral

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    Mass what now?
     
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  13. Makarov

    Makarov Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    A trilogy of sci fi video games that have a very good storyline, similar in some ways to Picard
     
  14. fireproof78

    fireproof78 Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Mass stupidness, a series of games that polluted science fiction art for a while now, and frankly would be nice if it wasn't constantly referenced to other properties that have no relationship to another aside from being science fiction.
     
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  15. Makarov

    Makarov Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    In this case they are more than just both sci fi, people bring it up because there is a strong similarity between the admonition / synth alliance in Picard and the reapers / prothean beacons of Mass Effect.
     
  16. fireproof78

    fireproof78 Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    They are more than just scifi? Then what are they?

    And why not compare Fallout 4's synths, or I, Robot or the like?

    Sorry, I know I sound very sarcastic and impolite. But, I have a very strong dislike of Mass Effect and do not care for its references. I will try to keep my irritation in check, but it coming up here is unnecessary, by my view.
     
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  17. JoeZhang

    JoeZhang Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Classic Trek - quick speech, problem solved, head for warp, fade to black.
     
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  18. Makarov

    Makarov Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Anyone who enjoyed the main plot of Picard should just check it out for themselves if they are looking for a series of games to play, and then make up their own mind if it's good or not. Suggesting they're not related other than both being sci fi is just wrong for exactly the reasons I wrote.

    Sure you could compare the synth ban to the synths storylines in Fallout 4, why not? I'd say it's a good comparison. People who liked that aspect of the show might enjoy that slice of Fallout as well. But in general Fallout is closer to Mad Max than Star Trek most of the time.
     
    Last edited: Apr 13, 2020
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  19. saladdays

    saladdays Captain Captain

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    Just curious (and I legitimately don't know), how has Mass Effect polluted science fiction art?
     
  20. fireproof78

    fireproof78 Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    I will freely admit that the post you quoted as a hyperbolic reaction. I personally love starship art and uniform design and explore that quite frequently on various sites. It seemed (for me) that just looking up uniform design led to more Mass Effect artwork and references. So, probably a confirmation bias but I found it annoying.

    It being referenced again here just brought a lot of that up. There is little about that video game series that appeals to me so having it referenced in relationship to something I actually enjoy is irritating for me.

    Again, personal problem.

    I enjoyed the main plot of Picard. I have no desire to check out Mass Effect.

    The fact that they have similar concepts does not make them related, any more than Fallout 4's synths influenced Picard. Correlation does not equal causation.