Revolution - season 1 part 2 -

[Mister Fandango]

(wrong word. These things are the size of dust particles)

No, they're more magical than that. They're "the size of a virus."

Which, despite having been widespread enough to wipe out all electrical systems in a few minutes, no one ever noticed. Not even the people who regularly look at things "the size of a virus."

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

And apparently they're smart enough not to stop the natural electrical signals that occur in human bodies (i.e. brain waves)...

 

[Anwar]

We had a thunderstorm earlier in the show. These things are designed to affect only artificially generated electricity.

 

[auntiehill]

So, how is it that the pendants block them? Do they kill the little virus-bots? Do the little virus bots simply reproduce and overwhelm the pendants area of affect or what?

And Aaron had that pendant from the beginning. It took the baddie THAT long to finally track them down?

 

[Mister Fandango]

That's not that hard to interpret. The super-indestructible (they must be made out of pure nanitetanium!) amulets simply send out a command in the immediate area that tells them to stop, with the software needed being found on the flash drive itself.

Why it takes such a special amplifier to boost the signal, however... <shrugs> Not sure why they can't just copy the thumb drives either, but... it's all okay, yanno. Scientists!

 

[auntiehill]

So, is there no static electricity when you walk across the carpet in your socks?

 

[Borgminister]

In the final analysis, this is a bad soap opera, and I'm finally done, although I've threatened that before.

At least The Following has some good creep factor going to accompany the tired cliches. The baddie is not an Anthony Hopkins, but given semi-decent material can be convincing.

 

[Marten]

We had a thunderstorm earlier in the show. These things are designed to affect only artificially generated electricity.

A thunderstorm works rougly the same as a battery, don't they? Electrons move from one side to the other. I could have bought it if there is a limit to the strength of the current the nanites allow, but the artificial electricity is just strange.

 

[DarthTom]

The nanites spread over the entire world in a matter of seconds? Do they move through warp space or something?

Meh. The nanites take over the Enterprise computer very quickly.

Oh and the 'black gue," in the film Promethius is able on a planetary scale to not only re-write the DNA of earth but also control natural selection.

It's a suspension of disbelief I can live with. Besides to paraphrase what someone once said, '...science you don't know or understand will appear like magic.'

 

[DarthTom]

In the final analysis, this is a bad soap opera, and I'm finally done, although I've threatened that before.

At least The Following has some good creep factor going to accompany the tired cliches. The baddie is not an Anthony Hopkins, but given semi-decent material can be convincing.

Well, Falling Skies will be back on soon which is also 'bad soap opera,' and lets face it Borgminister, there just ain't that much even medicore TV that's sci-fi/fantasy based on right now to watch.

I'll take Revolution over watching ST reruns.

 

[Rhaven]

I'll accept that these are very special, almost magical nanites. I don't think all has been revealed about them just yet.

 

[137th Gebirg]

It is possible that the nanites had already been deployed, semi-dormant, for several years, with the intent of eventually performing some kind of unified task. They had just enough internal power to replicate geometrically for a limited period of time and then stopped, waiting for a signal. The "Tower" was given the "order" and the single electronic communication bounced off all the comm satellites in orbit, waking up the nanites and activating them to their full energy-sucking potential. They may all have mini GPS transceivers, restricting certain groups to certain locales. That way, they could either be given individual group orders to attack certain nations, or a back door "scorched earth" order (that DOD boy obviously had programmed into the system) to wipe out everything on the planet.

It may not fully conform to the established plot (and what exactly happened at the tower does remain something of a mystery), but at least no magic is needed to rationalize the "global power outage in seconds" thing.

 

[Guy Gardener]

Why did you say "is it possible"?

 

[137th Gebirg]

I didn't.

 

[Guy Gardener]

Oh, you didn't.

Sorry.

It's late.

Falling asleep.

 

[DarthTom]

It is possible that the nanites had already been deployed, semi-dormant, for several years, with the intent of eventually performing some kind of unified task. They had just enough internal power to replicate geometrically for a limited period of time and then stopped, waiting for a signal. The "Tower" was given the "order" and the single electronic communication bounced off all the comm satellites in orbit, waking up the nanites and activating them to their full energy-sucking potential. They may all have mini GPS transceivers, restricting certain groups to certain locales. That way, they could either be given individual group orders to attack certain nations, or a back door "scorched earth" order (that DOD boy obviously had programmed into the system) to wipe out everything on the planet.

It may not fully conform to the established plot (and what exactly happened at the tower does remain something of a mystery), but at least no magic is needed to rationalize the "global power outage in seconds" thing.

Good thinking. And that explination fits within mostly of the established plot. That is except for the landing lights as the planes fell but I'll accept the minor discontunity.

A great example in Star Trek is the holodecks. How did 6 or 8 people interact on a holodeck in Quark's bar in a room than appeared to be no larger than 15' x 15'? Well they couldn't. But we suspend our disbelief with holodecks and spatial constrictions just like we do with other things on other shows.

 

[SG-17]

That's not that hard to interpret. The super-indestructible (they must be made out of pure nanitetanium!) amulets simply send out a command in the immediate area that tells them to stop, with the software needed being found on the flash drive itself.

Why it takes such a special amplifier to boost the signal, however... <shrugs> Not sure why they can't just copy the thumb drives either, but... it's all okay, yanno. Scientists!

I think that is tells the nanites in the immediate area to expel electricity rather than absorb it. This would explain how stuff that the batteries have been dead for years can turn on.

 

[tighr]

I think that is tells the nanites in the immediate area to expel electricity rather than absorb it. This would explain how stuff that the batteries have been dead for years can turn on.

By what, osmosis? The batteries just recharge themselves via induction?

 

[SG-17]

I never said that the batteries get recharged. The nanites power the devices themselves.

 

[Mister Fandango]

I'd just like to know how these nanites have remained functioning -- fully functioning, else devices would have at least flickered on and off repeatedly on a regular basis -- for more than fifteen years without any source of power.

Actually, I'm just going to stop thinking whatsoever. With the indestructable cheap plastic amulets, the all-powerful and hyper-intelligent nanites, and nonsensical state of the world, this show just isn't even worth trying to figure out.