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Old 09-11-2019, 11:36 AM   #1
Maximum7
 
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Default Which of these technologies (listed below) can work in Star Wars?

Basically I’m workshopping science and tech and I would like an opinion on whether these things are doable in the Star Wars galaxy based on existing tech that we already know of in Legends or Canon. Write yes (which means it can easily be done) or write no (meaning it would take scientists some effort to create). You can write a little explanation as to why if you wish. I will provide some info for each. Some are self explanatory.

1.) Optical neurons- Optical computing with the creation of a computer that has artificial neurons.

2.) Virtual offspring- Creating a sentient being that grows and lives in a computer program

3.) Droid-Human hybrid- Created in vitro

4.) Dream linking- Linking sentients dreams

5.) Hyperneurons- Artificial neurons with billions time the processing power of regular neurons. Help to increase memory due to enhanced longevity.

6.) Gel computing- Computing with a gel substance medium

7.) Smart bacteria

8.) Universal snakebite antidote- Can cure any snake bite from the trillions of snake species in the galaxy.

9.) Being able to see photons

10.) Reaction-less Drive

11.) Gene splicing human consciousness into plants

12.) Computer that displays thoughts

13.) Guided reciprocating deflector shield- Shield that bounces laser blasts back.

14.) Synthetic life kit - A DIY life creation kit

15.) An entire Artificial continent grown by genetically modified coral

Last edited by Maximum7; 09-11-2019 at 12:24 PM.
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Old 09-11-2019, 01:12 PM   #2
Anaraxes
 
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Default Re: Which of these technologies (listed below) can work in Star Wars?

Wookiepedia would be a good place to start for a list of existing SW technologies.
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Old 09-11-2019, 09:05 PM   #3
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Default Re: Which of these technologies (listed below) can work in Star Wars?

I’ll give a few of these a shot. I should note I know very little of the canon that isn’t either in the movies or in a few video games.

2) Probably not. The only AI we see are droids, and those seem to be inseparable from their hardware (Solo spoiler: [fnord] when L3-37 is destroyed, Lando has to permanently install her neural core into the Millennium Falcon to merge the two, rather than being able to just upload her). Note you could make a droid “child,” as droids can learn and change if you don’t wipe their memories from time to time.

3) Yes... sorta. I know you could speedgrow a child, like the clone troopers, and extensive cybernetics are certainly possible (see General Grievous and, to a lesser extent, Darth Vader). Combining the two, you could make a to-order cyborg, with at least some of the augmentations being linked to a droid (who’s neural core would be in one of the augmentations). The question is how the two would communicate - a Metal Gear Solid style “bone phone” would allow them to speak silently, and literally being combined from birth would let them operate almost like a single entity, but may not be what you want when you say “hybrid.” If they can communicate on a deeper level - a human using an integrated droid neural core as though it were another part of his brain, say - that would certainly count, but I’m unaware of anything like that in canon.

8) No. “Important person will die unless you find this super-rare substance to use to make an antidote” adventures are far too in-genre to allow a shortcut like this. Note this is less a technological restriction than a narrative one.

10) Maybe. It’s physically possible in the setting - see Leia’s Mary Poppins impersonation in Last Jedi - but may be appropriate to restrict to those who are force sensitive, which technology can’t duplicate.

12) If you can make a “true” hybrid in case 3, yes, although it may require a neural implant. If you can’t, probably a no.

13) Yes, provided you can make a droid that thinks fast enough to reangle the shields. Shields are already able to bounce blaster bolts, so it should be possible to aim the bounce (Jedi pull this off with their lightsabers due to precognition, but sufficiently fast reflexes should be able to manage as well). Note, however, this probably only works against relatively weak bolts - shields seem to absorb antiship bolts rather than deflecting them.
Do note blasters aren’t lasers, although they’re sometimes referred to as such (I think the explanation for the poor nomenclature is something like “turbolasers use lasers to heat up the tibanna gas).
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Old 09-11-2019, 09:08 PM   #4
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Default Re: Which of these technologies (listed below) can work in Star Wars?

Bah, should’ve hit preview to make certain I closed off that fnord tag. I’d edit it in, but that privilege is currently in hock. Apologies for the spoiler.
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Old 09-12-2019, 07:42 AM   #5
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Default Re: Which of these technologies (listed below) can work in Star Wars?

#15 feels very much within the realm of star wars. They should be able to do some genetic tinkering, and the result is oh so star wars.
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Old 09-12-2019, 07:45 AM   #6
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Default Re: Which of these technologies (listed below) can work in Star Wars?

Star Wars definitely is a universe that runs on "Rule of Cool".
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Old 09-12-2019, 08:02 AM   #7
Celjabba
 
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Default Re: Which of these technologies (listed below) can work in Star Wars?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Maximum7 View Post
4.) Dream linking- Linking sentients dreams
No, that's the domain of the Force.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Maximum7 View Post
5.) Hyperneurons- Artificial neurons with billions time the processing power of regular neurons. Help to increase memory due to enhanced longevity.
That would fit Star Trek technobable more, I think.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Maximum7 View Post
6.) Gel computing- Computing with a gel substance medium
Probably, but why ?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Maximum7 View Post
8.) Universal snakebite antidote- Can cure any snake bite from the trillions of snake species in the galaxy.
Unlikely, but not impossible.
A pharma-droid able to synthetise 6 millions forms of anti-venom is more fitting.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Maximum7 View Post
10.) Reaction-less Drive
Yes. The Repulsor lift, for one.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Maximum7 View Post
13.) Guided reciprocating deflector shield- Shield that bounces laser blasts back.
Yes

Quote:
Originally Posted by Maximum7 View Post
14.) Synthetic life kit - A DIY life creation kit
Non-sapient : very likely as a child toy for some species !

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Originally Posted by Maximum7 View Post
15.) An entire Artificial continent grown by genetically modified coral
Yes, definitively.
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Old 09-12-2019, 11:48 AM   #8
David Johnston2
 
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Default Re: Which of these technologies (listed below) can work in Star Wars?

[QUOTE=Maximum7;2284554Basically I’m workshopping science and tech and I would like an opinion on whether these things are doable in the Star Wars galaxy based on existing tech that we already know of in Legends or Canon. Write yes (which means it can easily be done) or write no (meaning it would take scientists some effort to create). You can write a little explanation as to why if you wish. I will provide some info for each. Some are self explanatory.

1.) Optical neurons- Optical computing with the creation of a computer that has artificial neurons.
[/QUOTE]

That actually might be how droids actually work. They have very humanlike intelligence.

Quote:
2.) Virtual offspring- Creating a sentient being that grows and lives in a computer program
Probably not. Artificial personhood seems to be the product of having a mobile body in Star Wars.

Quote:
3.) Droid-Human hybrid- Created in vitro
No.

Quote:
4.) Dream linking- Linking sentients dreams
Probably not without some brain surgery to implant some electrodes.


Quote:
5.) Hyperneurons- Artificial neurons with billions time the processing power of regular neurons. Help to increase memory due to enhanced longevity.
No.

Quote:
6.) Gel computing- Computing with a gel substance medium
It's the kind of thing I could see in an isolated culture like Kamino with divergent technology.

Quote:
7.) Smart bacteria
Trivia note. That was Lucas's concept for what the Whills were.

Quote:
8.) Universal snakebite antidote- Can cure any snake bite from the trillions of snake species in the galaxy.
No. A single antidote isn't going to cover all hemotoxic and neurotoxic venoms


Quote:
9.) Being able to see photons
Don't we all do that anyway?

Quote:
10.) Reaction-less Drive
Already standard.

Quote:
11.) Gene splicing human consciousness into plants
What would be the point? Star Wars would already have plants with human consciousness as aliens.

Quote:
12.) Computer that displays thoughts
With brain surgery, sure.


Quote:
13.) Guided reciprocating deflector shield- Shield that bounces laser blasts back.
Doesn't sound unreasonable.


Quote:
14.) Synthetic life kit - A DIY life creation kit
Wildly beyond any biological technology we've ever seen in Star Wars.

Quote:
15.) An entire Artificial continent grown by genetically modified coral
Doesn't seem like a problem.

Last edited by David Johnston2; 09-12-2019 at 01:57 PM.
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Old 09-15-2019, 07:02 AM   #9
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Default Re: Which of these technologies (listed below) can work in Star Wars?

Realistic answer:

Does the writer need this to exist for his planned plot? Then yes.
Does the writer need this to not exist for his planned plot? Then no.
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Old 09-15-2019, 04:48 PM   #10
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Default Re: Which of these technologies (listed below) can work in Star Wars?

2: Depends on if droids are considered sentient.

7: Depends on definition of Smart Bacteria. Doubtful a single cell could be intelligent. Now a hive mind of billions of cells linked by the Force might be possible.

8: No. The antidote for the bite of the Giant Crusher snake on planet Gobble 1 would involve being able to reassemble the mush of the former being that just got bit and crushed to goo. The antidote for the bite of the Searing Plasma snake on Voodoo 2 would have to capture the escaped gases after the victim explodes in plasma fire from the atomic level reaction started by the bite.

9: Pretty much how the Mark I eyeball works.

11: Probably. Folks are already doing Human/Monkey gene splicing today so given the tech advances of SW, would have to assume Human/Plants possible there.

14: Yes. Pretty close to artificial bacteria today on Earth so can't imagine not being able to do it in the SW universe.
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