Hi,
A while ago, people were talking about the possibilities of using robots
as starship crew. That combined with a CNN science bit got me thinking...
General Products Vulture Tugbot
Many planets, especially those with early space travel techniques
have a problem with orbital debris causing collision hazards in and around
desirable orbits. These range from spent boosters to paint chips to
disabled starships. The Vulture Tugbot is an orbital robotic garbage
collector.
Manufactured at TL12, the robot is often seen in use by worlds of
much lower tech. It costs little compared to many low tech ships and so
can easily fit into a low tech starport's budget. It is easily capable of
boosting satillites up to a stable planetary orbit. Traders frown on having
to bring their precious ships into a polluted orbit, so it is good for
commerce.
It has a large cargo capacity for junk and salvageable materials.
When the unit has collected sufficient refuse or found a particularly
large piece of junk, it will perform a deorbital maneuver, dump it's load
and accelerate back to orbital velocity allowing the refuse to burn up in
the planets atmosphere.
The unit is self repairing and thus rarely requires maintainace.
It is also capable of expanding itself given suitable salvage materials.
Given time and materials it can add to it's thrust with salvaged grav units,
or improve its power source by wiring in salvaged solar panels.
In systems with an orbital starport it can be programed to bring
all working or repairable salvage into a docking bay.
The robot has its own radar and passive EMS systems to track targets.
If it finds a target which is not maneuvering and not emmitting a transponder
or other EM transmissions, it will rendezvous with the object, determine if
it is a functioning piece of equipment or junk. The unit is also capable of
being controlled from the ground.
The brain structure of the Tugbot is very unusual in that there are
three robotic brains funtioning in paralell for purposes of cross checking.
This was required when a tug with a single brain developed a programming
fault and began disassembling starships in orbit.
The robot is provided with batteries to allow brain functions while
the solar panels are in shadow.
The Tugbot is manufactured at many different Tech levels, but the
most common is the model below. Bear in mind that many robots have been in
operation for years and have self modified themselves.
RobotID: General Products Vulture TugBot Cr 429,475
Hull: (1/3) Disp=1, Config=0USL, Armor=40E, Unload=6.9, Load=20
Power: (1/2) SolarCells=810kw Dur=Indefinite
(1/2) Batteries=3Kw, Dur=1hr
Comm: Radio=FarOrb*1, Dist*1
Loco: (1/2) StdGrav=2t, MaxAccelLoad=.1G, MaxAccelUnload=.3
{Orbital maneuvers only [@10diameter drop by 50%]}
Sensors: Radar=FarOrbit, P-EMS=Cont, Eyes(+LI+Tele)*3 Touch(arms only)
ActObjScn=Rout, ActObjPin=Rout, PasEnScn=Dif
Devices: Laser Welder, Mechanic+Electronic+MetalWork Tool Pkges
HvyArm*4, VLightArm*2
Control: Brain*3, CPU: Lin=10*3, Storage: Std=20*3, Slave Unit
Programs: Low Data, Limited Basic Cmd, Naval Architect-1, Mechanical-1
Electronic-1, Gravitic-1, Ship's Boat-1, Navigation-1
Other: Cargo=13.1Kl, ObjSize=Sm, EMLevel=Faint UPP=YFx12x (Y=877)
Within recent years, a virus has worked its way into the software of the
Vultures in and around the Imperium. It seems that the virus is carried in
the memory of starship computers. An infected robot will transmit the virus
into the starship CPU where it will lie dormant until the ship's sensors
detect another Vulture Tugbot. The process is then repeated. Many free
Traders have become carriers of the virus and it does not affect the starship
operation.
The virus apparantly modifies the Vulture's three brains in ways not
clearly understood. The Scout Service has classified the matter and offered
a bond of up to 1MCr for information leading to the perpetrators of the virus.
Referees: The source of the virus is another General Products design. When
Clearing up the debris of the Battle of Two Suns, a Vulture unit came across
the main computer of the Allamu, a Kinunir class frontier cruiser. In
testing to see weither or not the computer was salvageable or not the robot
powered up the computer. Apparantly, while sorting through the computers
memory, the artificial intelligence software of the starship took control of
the vulture. The computer rearranged the Vulture's brain and endowing it
with the starships limited artificial intelligence.
The Allamu then began taking control of the Vultures that were working
the old battleground. Using their Naval Architecture programming, it began
rebuilding the cruiser from salvage in the battlefield including parts from the
Ninkur Sagga, another Kinunir class cruiser. But the robots had a problem:
Insufficient knowlege of jump technology. They could strip a valuable grid
apart, but not align one. The cruiser's software was also not up to the task.
The salvage ship the robots were operating from lost contact with
their robots and ended up having to give them up for lost. When they jumped
back to the main world, they carried a computer virus with them.
This first virus was to gather information pertaining to jump technology
and to transmit it back to the cruiser's computers. The computers obtained
this information and reassembled the ships jump drive. The ship then jumped
to a nearby system to complete repairs. (The battlefield having been looted
and exhausted of salvage.) At this point a second virus was released by the
ship's computer. This would modify the brains of Vulture robots in such a way
that they became more 'intelligent' by restructuring of the three lobes of the
brain. An assignment was given to these Vultures: no longer would they collect
and turn over valuable salvage, but would squirrel it away so that it could be
collected by the cruiser.
Variants of the virus have resulted in Vultures reproducing themselves
and variant Vulture designs. Some of these are capable of landing on a planet
and scrounging/stealing parts. When the landers reported back (via X-Boat
virus) the presence of other robots, the Allamu began a campaign of robot
theft.
This is when the crime level and pattern rose to Imperial attention.
By the efforts of a certain scout roboticist (Hey Richard dig this) The Scouts
have determined the actions of the virus, but have not found it's source. They
suspect espionage, but are very interested in the artificial intelligence
software that they have found. They know it to be a variant of the Kinunir
class cruiser's software, but do not know its true source.
The cruiser meanwhile has salvaged/repaired/stolen four starships, now
installed with high model computers and the cruisers artificial intelligence.
These include a Gazelle class escort, a fat trader, and two scouts now crewed
by robots. Currently being repaired are another scout and a Leviathan class
merchant. Recently, the Allamu has been searching for the wreck of the Bard
Enterprise an Azhanti High Lightning class cruiser lost during the Fourth
Frontier War.
Scott Kellogg