Hegemony

[Sorus]

I was wondering to myself why Amnion ships and space stations have names, while individual Amnion (as such) do not.

It's interesting that the Amnion had warships with highly advanced weaponry before first contact with humanity. Since I doubt that they fight amongst themselves, there is only one other explanation.

It would make sense that there are (or were) other alien races in the galaxy. It would also make sense that the Amnion would attempt to assimilate them, and that there would be resistance.

Take into account the diversity of appearance among the Amnion. It could be a result of them genetically altering physical forms to suit varies needs and purposes. That is what I always assumed, and they would certainly be capable.

On the other hand, they are remarkably driven to create human-looking Amnioni. What if - at least to some degree - the different-looking Amnioni are in fact all different races that have been assimilated into the Mind/Union?

It would take time to perfect the mutagens necessary for each new race, and like Marc Vestibule, some of the first attempts might retain memories and introduce some of their native customs into the collective.

Just a thought...

[Stutty]

For the sake of argument, Sorus, I'm going to argue with you.

Yes, I would have to agree that their advanced weaponry was developed to ward off other intelligent species. No doubt the Amnioni brand of assimilation has a universally abhorent reaction.

I think the text is very clear though, that the various Amnioni shapes were based on function, versus an attempt to emulate. I hold as evidence two points:

- They were more than slow at making a good human/Amnion, they were pathetic. To me, this suggests new territory for them. Perhaps they had never before found the requirement to make one of their own look like a particular species.
- They seem pretty desperate to maintain their ties with human space. Was it that humans were just way better at refining raw materials than anyone else they had met, or perhaps have there just not been that many other meetings? The implication there is that even if they did take the shape of others, I don't think they have had THAT many encounters.

stutt

[Sorus]

Hmm... good points.

Okay, but why do they name their ships?

More on this later, need some time to think.

[ItisWritten]

They seem to name places. That is, Enablement Station is theirs, humans didn't give it a name, right? I don't remember now, but is there a name for any planet on which the Amnion live?

Whether there is or not, perhaps they name the ships because it's a home. But not just a home for one, but many. If we accept this as true, the question becomes, why do they name places?

We put names to everything around us for familiarity, and to identify them. But the Amnion don't seem to name individuals, thus identification is made through other means. Being biological geniuses, it's likely that they read each other through smell or taste, and the ID is similar to DNA. IIRC, something like this was in one of the Ancillary Documentations.

This logic leads me to think that the names of ships and stations are the result of being unable to assign a purely biological definition. Intellectual description becomes necessary, and benign names, such as Calm Horizons, Tranquil Hegemony, Enablement are assigned to reassure the masses. "It's okay. These mechanical things are safe and secure."

Well, that's the leap I made tonight. I'm sure someone will remember something that shoots it down.

[Mortice Root]

I was always under the impression that the Amnion names were created by the Amnion, but for humans. I think ItsWritten brings up a good point, that the Amnion would identify each other by biological means. But the use of human language to name their ships, and the names they pick (which are meant to be calm, relaxing, non-intimidating names) always made me think they named them only for the sake of humans they interacted with.

[Loredoctor]

I was always under the impression that the Amnion names were created by the Amnion, but for humans. I think ItsWritten brings up a good point, that the Amnion would identify each other by biological means. But the use of human language to name their ships, and the names they pick (which are meant to be calm, relaxing, non-intimidating names) always made me think they named them only for the sake of humans they interacted with.

I have to agree with you. My thoughts were that the Amnion were too cautious in their dealings with humanity. So they used euphemisms in naming warships to avoid making the UMCP angry (not that it would probably make much difference, as naming a behemoth-class vessel Calm Horizons and arming it with enough firepower to crack open a planet's crust would still result in UMCP feeling anxious).

[CovenantJr]

I have to agree with you. My thoughts were that the Amnion were too cautious in their dealings with humanity. So they used euphemisms in naming warships to avoid making the UMCP angry (not that it would probably make much difference, as naming a behemoth-class vessel Calm Horizons and arming it with enough firepower to crack open a planet's crust would still result in UMCP feeling anxious).

Which, to my way of thinking, raises a question about honesty. The Amnion don't decieve, right? Does this also apply to the names?

[Loredoctor]

Which, to my way of thinking, raises a question about honesty. The Amnion don't decieve, right? Does this also apply to the names?

If I am not mistaken, the Amnion chose not to deceive as it's bad for business.

[Sorus]

They freakin' deceived me, but I don't think I need to go off on that tangent again.

[drew]

Sorus babe, You DO know that you're the Sorus in the story, and you just named yourself after her right...?

[Sorus]

I guess I'm kind of in character tonight....

Besides, I think it looks weirder when it looks like I'm talking about myself in the third person.

[drew]

-It's a good thing there isn't a meber who named themselves after Nick.

[Sorus]

That could actually be fun, if they were sane enough to hold a decent conversation.

Gap RPG!

Oh look, I've hijacked another thread.

[drew]

Can you hijack your own thread...or rather, Can Sorus Hijack her own thread?

Getting back on track...SRD's claims on being an efficiant writter, lead me to beleive, that if there were no other races mentioned in the GAP; he had no other races in mind.

Why would the Amnion have battle ships?
Why not?

Perhaps over their past, they've had battles with themselves (I know it's a streatch to think of a race of creature to war with themselves)-and those battles carried on into their own splace explorations.

Or (and this one is more plausable) they found out about humans long before Sixten ever met them; and began preparing way ahead of time.

I like that theroy, because even in their long planning, they still didn't accound for people like Sourus, Warden and Angus.

[Sorus]

Or (and this one is more plausable) they found out about humans long before Sixten ever met them; and began preparing way ahead of time.

I like that one.

Okay, here's another one:

Why, with all their advanced technology, have they not been able to develop a more efficient method of manufacturing? You would think they could have convinced some illegal to sell them blueprints for a human-style processing facility.

Just some thoughts...

[Loredoctor]

Perhaps their mindset is the barrier.

[ItisWritten]

Which, to my way of thinking, raises a question about honesty. The Amnion don't decieve, right? Does this also apply to the names?

If I am not mistaken, the Amnion chose not to deceive as it's bad for business.

Are we talking about lies or deception? I would say they do not lie. That's bad for business.

Deception is what happened to Sorus. What they did to Captain's Fancy when they bartered experimental Gap drive parts. They never said it wasn't experimental. IIRC, they told Nick the parts would work, but not how.

Naming a ship Tranquil Hegemony isn't a lie; the deception is in the translation. They can't label a ship something it isn't, so there must be some truth in the naming.

[Sorus]

Not a lie, but certainly sneaky. And yet, they somehow maintain a reputation for being fair dealers.

[ItisWritten]

Or (and this one is more plausable) they found out about humans long before Sixten ever met them; and began preparing way ahead of time.

I like that one.

Okay, here's another one:

Why, with all their advanced technology, have they not been able to develop a more efficient method of manufacturing? You would think they could have convinced some illegal to sell them blueprints for a human-style processing facility.

Just some thoughts...

If the Amnion found out about humans long before Vertigus met them, what kept them from traipsing into human space unannounced and dropping a pre-emptive mutagenic strike?

The mutagenic material found by Far Rover was the Amnion trolling for sentience, which leads me to believe they did have experience with other life forms. This brings us back to the question of why were humans so difficult for the Amnion, when they seemed to be more experienced in contact than us?

Lore's got it right. They think in organic terms. A blueprint would give them a structure to grow.

[ItisWritten]

Not a lie, but certainly sneaky. And yet, they somehow maintain a reputation for being fair dealers.

That's our admiration for those who operate successfully in the gray, or even the dark.

How else do you explain our obsession with mobsters?