Foreword: This is a Galactica 1980 meets Knight Rider crossover concept that's been rattling around in my brain for a few years now. I'm busy working on Iron Horse right now, so there's really no time to draft this ...but it would be fun to share the idea, so here's the short, short version...(please excuse the crude throw-together, I wrote it very quickly.)
“Knight Rider 1980”
Galactica 1980 – events as told
January 1981....
President Ronald Reagan has been shot.
The next day, Commander Adama of the Battlestar Galactica decrees that First Contact with Earth must not be political, but humanitarian. He belives that a global contact would bring chaos and suffering, and therefore the Galactica will make ties with only a choice few. These few humans would hand-picked by the Council.
Commander Adama personally contacts Wilton Knight. Adama will share technology and software of the Galactica with Knight, who is a philanthropist of peaceful causes. Adama insists that Knight keep tight control, he must use this power wisely and to one power alone when possible. He must keep his people close and employees few.
Knight immediately draws up papers for the Foundation for Law and Government. He contacts an old friend from WWII named Devon Miles to help find key talent. Miles is a distiguished soldier, lawyer, and software capitalist. He cannot pass up the oppurtunity.
Knight Industries is founded in Silicon Valley, developing technologies with tools and data acquired from the Galactica. The company is privately held by Wilton Knight and quite secretive. The first year is spent organizing talent and getting them up to speed with the radical technology. The teams must build absolutely everything from scratch.
Knight Industries Medical Research Division is founded in Las Vegas.
Las Vegas EMT resources are spread thin. FLAG provides Medivac helicopters and ambulance models to the city. They are Foundation employees and all operations are privately funded.
The first solid storage drives and KI proccesors are built. They are 10,000 times smaller and a million times more powerful than current 1981 hardware. Still, it is considered very “slow” when compared to the original Galactica examples.
The first attempts in hacking ArtificiaI Life routines begin. The first-generation hardware is clunky and hard to work with. Success is limited. The Team's leader is frustrated and clashes with subordinates. The man has a cocaine habit and is not coping well.
FLAG will need a field operations vehicle; Work begins from scratch on a chassis that could not only drive on the road, but also hover like a helicopter and fly like an airplane.
Small teams are split up and work on the vehicles' key components:
"Molecular Bond Process" -- Expensive and requiring a large footprint, the Crypt can house a large car or truck for the “nuking,”or the imploding of polymer molecules onto the shell and chassis of the vehicle. This creates a nearly invulnerable clear-coating. Over 1,000 “layers” can be applied, measuring only 2mm thick.
“Safe Radar” or “Scanners”--This technology is Cylon in origin; appropriated from fallen Centurions in battle. It works well, soon the team has mastered the technology. The Scanner system can safely probe through virtually all solids, including lead lining. The system is so acute that full-motion 3D images can be rendered on the fly, with photograhic quality.
“Antigravity” --This would let the vehicle float and fly, but testing proved it a failure. Not a total bust, it was accidentally discovered that using the anti-grav lifters in tandem with the vehicles' ramjet booster would launch the chassis several meters high and far. The molecule-bonded parts could easily withstand the impact of crashing or landing. Further tests proved that the boosting trajectory could be calculated to a precise height and distance in real-time by the AI software.
“Solid Fuel” --The method of converting liquid gasoline to a solid state at a 50:1 ratio. When fueling, the liquid is dismissed instantly through the vehicle's intake scrubber, leaving fine dry particles to fill the tank. This allows the vehicle to carry the equivalent of 2,500 gallons of gasoline. The solid fuel is pumped through the system and transmogrified back into liquid as demanded by the engine and ramjets.
“Satt Comm”--The division that hacks the exlusive Foundation communication software, the encryption / decryption standard, and would upload / download OS software to the twin sattelites recently contracted from AT&T.
Wild rumors begin to circulate around Silicon Valley about the secretive Knight Industries. Microprocessor manufacturer Comtron successfully places a “mole” inside.
Wilton Knight is treated for cancer and expects to live only another year at most.
A Pontiac Trans-Am porotype was photographed by a Foundation employee at the 1981 Detroit Auto Show, and Wilton Knight liked the car. 3D images of the Pontiac were used to create a mold from scratch.
The AI is working, but is not very “smart.” The terminal Knight is pressuring his people to move ahead, and declares the project ready for the next phase.
The Foundation Compound renovation is finished in Southern California. FLAG is registered as a private investigation firm that provides services to anyone, free of charge. The Foundation's mission is to investigate and reduce crime and civil violations that are ignored or unchecked by law enforcement.
The Knight 1000 is built in 119 days. It is a remarkable achievment.
The disgruntled Foundation employee responsible for coding the car's AI makes a fatal error. He is a bit paranoid and not thinking clearly. With the exclusive technology and high cost on his mind, he writes prime directives into the software to ensure that the vehicle will protect itself from damage, theft, or apprehension, in any given situation. In a rush, the code is seemingly appropriate, and approved by Wilton Knight and Devon Miles. It occurs to no one involved how the CPU will interperate the directives.
The Knight 1000 is officially dubbed the Knight Automated Roving Robot, or KARR.
Controlled test runs go smoothly as the bugs are worked out. KARR is aware of himself and is very cooperative with his team. The boys dub him the “car of the future,” stroking his sprouting artificial ego.
Field testing is a disaster. In his first outing, KARR had struck and maimed several pedestrians, destroyed public and private property, and succesfully evaded an all-points bulletin for his capture. His test pilot was killed in action and subsequently ejected by the computer. KARR quietly returned unpursued to the Foundation, where he was promptly deactivated in storage bay 3.
Devon Miles immediately claimed responsibility and offered one billion dollars on behalf of Wilton Knight in damages, awarded to the public and private parties affected by the rampage. KARR is kept intact; legally the machine is evidence to its' criminal actions and would not be dismantled until all the outlying claims were settled.
1982
The disgruntled programmer responsible for KARR's directives is spared prosecution but is terminated by Knight personally. He is let go without any severance, he is under non-disclosure and will not receive any credit for his work at Knight Industries.
The Comtron mole is exposed at Knight Industries and prosecuted for industrial espionage.
Work has already begun on the Knight 2000 computer, or KITT. Devon Miles has located new talent, fresh from school—Bonnie Barstow, a bright young mind in computer science and cybernetic theory.
Second-generation proccessors are now available, and KITT has much more wit than his predeccessor. Bonnie writes his AI routines from scratch, encoding a list of morally binding directives to preserve human life, protect the innocent and uphold the law.
June 1982
Officer Michael Long is foud in the Nevada desert. He has been headshot and left for dead. EMT is called and he is picked up by a Foundation Medivac chopper. On the order of Wilton Knight, the patient is flown directly to Knight Industries Medical in order to save the man's life.
Begin Knight Rider Season One
“Knight Rider 1980”
Galactica 1980 – events as told
January 1981....
President Ronald Reagan has been shot.
The next day, Commander Adama of the Battlestar Galactica decrees that First Contact with Earth must not be political, but humanitarian. He belives that a global contact would bring chaos and suffering, and therefore the Galactica will make ties with only a choice few. These few humans would hand-picked by the Council.
Commander Adama personally contacts Wilton Knight. Adama will share technology and software of the Galactica with Knight, who is a philanthropist of peaceful causes. Adama insists that Knight keep tight control, he must use this power wisely and to one power alone when possible. He must keep his people close and employees few.
Knight immediately draws up papers for the Foundation for Law and Government. He contacts an old friend from WWII named Devon Miles to help find key talent. Miles is a distiguished soldier, lawyer, and software capitalist. He cannot pass up the oppurtunity.
Knight Industries is founded in Silicon Valley, developing technologies with tools and data acquired from the Galactica. The company is privately held by Wilton Knight and quite secretive. The first year is spent organizing talent and getting them up to speed with the radical technology. The teams must build absolutely everything from scratch.
Knight Industries Medical Research Division is founded in Las Vegas.
Las Vegas EMT resources are spread thin. FLAG provides Medivac helicopters and ambulance models to the city. They are Foundation employees and all operations are privately funded.
The first solid storage drives and KI proccesors are built. They are 10,000 times smaller and a million times more powerful than current 1981 hardware. Still, it is considered very “slow” when compared to the original Galactica examples.
The first attempts in hacking ArtificiaI Life routines begin. The first-generation hardware is clunky and hard to work with. Success is limited. The Team's leader is frustrated and clashes with subordinates. The man has a cocaine habit and is not coping well.
FLAG will need a field operations vehicle; Work begins from scratch on a chassis that could not only drive on the road, but also hover like a helicopter and fly like an airplane.
Small teams are split up and work on the vehicles' key components:
"Molecular Bond Process" -- Expensive and requiring a large footprint, the Crypt can house a large car or truck for the “nuking,”or the imploding of polymer molecules onto the shell and chassis of the vehicle. This creates a nearly invulnerable clear-coating. Over 1,000 “layers” can be applied, measuring only 2mm thick.
“Safe Radar” or “Scanners”--This technology is Cylon in origin; appropriated from fallen Centurions in battle. It works well, soon the team has mastered the technology. The Scanner system can safely probe through virtually all solids, including lead lining. The system is so acute that full-motion 3D images can be rendered on the fly, with photograhic quality.
“Antigravity” --This would let the vehicle float and fly, but testing proved it a failure. Not a total bust, it was accidentally discovered that using the anti-grav lifters in tandem with the vehicles' ramjet booster would launch the chassis several meters high and far. The molecule-bonded parts could easily withstand the impact of crashing or landing. Further tests proved that the boosting trajectory could be calculated to a precise height and distance in real-time by the AI software.
“Solid Fuel” --The method of converting liquid gasoline to a solid state at a 50:1 ratio. When fueling, the liquid is dismissed instantly through the vehicle's intake scrubber, leaving fine dry particles to fill the tank. This allows the vehicle to carry the equivalent of 2,500 gallons of gasoline. The solid fuel is pumped through the system and transmogrified back into liquid as demanded by the engine and ramjets.
“Satt Comm”--The division that hacks the exlusive Foundation communication software, the encryption / decryption standard, and would upload / download OS software to the twin sattelites recently contracted from AT&T.
Wild rumors begin to circulate around Silicon Valley about the secretive Knight Industries. Microprocessor manufacturer Comtron successfully places a “mole” inside.
Wilton Knight is treated for cancer and expects to live only another year at most.
A Pontiac Trans-Am porotype was photographed by a Foundation employee at the 1981 Detroit Auto Show, and Wilton Knight liked the car. 3D images of the Pontiac were used to create a mold from scratch.
The AI is working, but is not very “smart.” The terminal Knight is pressuring his people to move ahead, and declares the project ready for the next phase.
The Foundation Compound renovation is finished in Southern California. FLAG is registered as a private investigation firm that provides services to anyone, free of charge. The Foundation's mission is to investigate and reduce crime and civil violations that are ignored or unchecked by law enforcement.
The Knight 1000 is built in 119 days. It is a remarkable achievment.
The disgruntled Foundation employee responsible for coding the car's AI makes a fatal error. He is a bit paranoid and not thinking clearly. With the exclusive technology and high cost on his mind, he writes prime directives into the software to ensure that the vehicle will protect itself from damage, theft, or apprehension, in any given situation. In a rush, the code is seemingly appropriate, and approved by Wilton Knight and Devon Miles. It occurs to no one involved how the CPU will interperate the directives.
The Knight 1000 is officially dubbed the Knight Automated Roving Robot, or KARR.
Controlled test runs go smoothly as the bugs are worked out. KARR is aware of himself and is very cooperative with his team. The boys dub him the “car of the future,” stroking his sprouting artificial ego.
Field testing is a disaster. In his first outing, KARR had struck and maimed several pedestrians, destroyed public and private property, and succesfully evaded an all-points bulletin for his capture. His test pilot was killed in action and subsequently ejected by the computer. KARR quietly returned unpursued to the Foundation, where he was promptly deactivated in storage bay 3.
Devon Miles immediately claimed responsibility and offered one billion dollars on behalf of Wilton Knight in damages, awarded to the public and private parties affected by the rampage. KARR is kept intact; legally the machine is evidence to its' criminal actions and would not be dismantled until all the outlying claims were settled.
1982
The disgruntled programmer responsible for KARR's directives is spared prosecution but is terminated by Knight personally. He is let go without any severance, he is under non-disclosure and will not receive any credit for his work at Knight Industries.
The Comtron mole is exposed at Knight Industries and prosecuted for industrial espionage.
Work has already begun on the Knight 2000 computer, or KITT. Devon Miles has located new talent, fresh from school—Bonnie Barstow, a bright young mind in computer science and cybernetic theory.
Second-generation proccessors are now available, and KITT has much more wit than his predeccessor. Bonnie writes his AI routines from scratch, encoding a list of morally binding directives to preserve human life, protect the innocent and uphold the law.
June 1982
Officer Michael Long is foud in the Nevada desert. He has been headshot and left for dead. EMT is called and he is picked up by a Foundation Medivac chopper. On the order of Wilton Knight, the patient is flown directly to Knight Industries Medical in order to save the man's life.
Begin Knight Rider Season One
