Planetary Mass Computers

[AlexanderHowl]

At TL12, a planetary mass computer should have a Complexity of 33 and have storage in the 10^47 byte range. What could a civilization do with that much computing power? How would you use such an artifact in your games?

[whswhs]

Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl

At TL12, a planetary mass computer should have a Complexity of 33 and have storage in the 10^47 byte range. What could a civilization do with that much computing power? How would you use such an artifact in your games?

I don't think it could exchange signals between components fast enough to make that complexity useful. The earth is about 40 milliseconds across, and that's a long, long time for even a present-day computer chip.

[Andreas]

Without super science, a very large part of that computer would likely have to be dedicated to heat management. Even if we ignore that, it would most likely only be Complexity 33 for certain kinds of computations. Even at the speed of light, the communication times between different parts of the computer becomes huge for such tasks.

That said, there are plenty of potential uses for Complexity 33 computers. More accurate simulations, and certain math problems etc.

Originally Posted by whswhs

I don't think it could exchange signals between components fast enough to make that complexity useful. The earth is about 40 milliseconds across, and that's a long, long time for even a present-day computer chip.

There are plenty of useful computations for such a large computer. There are after all computations being done today distributed over the internet. At the very least, such computers are useful for embarrassingly parallel tasks.

[Bengt]

I'd have it run a simulation of some kind, if it's large and detailed enough you can justify any size of computer.

Either have the PCs start in the simulation and the planet computer be the big reveal, or have them search for it and jack in to do something inside.

[Bengt]

It can be an AI character that started out more modest in size but has added more and more to itself over the millennia just for the hell of it. Plotwise it could fit both as leader for a political entity or a sage.

Another, biologicals can ascend to a higher plane of existence, but you have to do a lot of math. The planet mass computer has been left behind by some precursors who did just that, if you can find it and figure out how it works you can too.

To avoid problems with heat and gravity the planet mass computer can take the form of an asteroid belt, you get higher latency between parts but it takes less superscience to work at all.

[AlexanderHowl]

Well, waste heat assumes unnecesssry resistance. At TL12, I imagine that the paths within the entire computer will be superconductivity (assuming that it uses electricity). At TL12, it may use entangled particles for communication rather than electricity, which would reduce waste heat tremendously.

Or the computer could be specifically designed to function at 10,000 F, under pressures that keep its components solid despite the heat, allowing it to appear to be a normal planet, which would allow a planet like the Earth to be a computer (though one more sophisticated and more powerful than posited by the Hitchhiker's Guild). The existence of life on the surface of such a computer world would be no more significant than the existence of dust mites on the surface of a laptop, as the surface of the planetary computer would just exist to protect it from damage from asteroid impacts.

[Phantasm]

Smartassed answer: Figure out the question to which "42" is the answer to life, the universe, and everything.

Originally Posted by Bengt

I'd have it run a simulation of some kind, if it's large and detailed enough you can justify any size of computer.

Either have the PCs start in the simulation and the planet computer be the big reveal, or have them search for it and jack in to do something inside.

The Matrix has you, Bengt. :)


Seriously, though, a computer of that size is likely more like the planet Cybertron or Unicron, using smaller AIs acting as an "immune system" of sorts. The massively parallel computing possible with a system of that Complexity and data storage could use the smaller rat- to whale-sized AI units as part of the simulation


Alternatively, it's a repository for the minds of the Precursors, who may not want to come out of the simulation they've been in for the last few eons.

[Vaevictis Asmadi]

Originally Posted by Phantasm

Alternatively, it's a repository for the minds of the Precursors, who may not want to come out of the simulation they've been in for the last few eons.

For some reason this just makes me laugh. The Precursors have descended to a lower plane of existence: they've been playing a video game for 40 million years.

And that, in turn, reminds me of Exalted and the Games of Divinity.


Or it could be like the artificial world the Geth are trying to build in Mass Effect: a race of individual AIs who melded together into one hive mind AI. You could combine it with the Cybertron concept, too. After they achieve their Instrumentality, the AIs realize that for some reason they need individualized AI components to provide some sort of maintenance or immune system. Maybe subgroups of the hive mind get selected for temporary immune system duty, like a jury duty system. Or maybe they built a slave race/caste of lesser AIs to do that, but after a defined period of service each of these servants gets to "ascend" and join itself to the hive-mind as well.

[Mysterious Dark Lord v3.2]

Building it on a geologically inactive planet would be best, using the cold mass of the planet as a heat sink.

If a human mind is considered a Complexity 6 program, then a Complexity 33 system could run 2x10^26 minds. Which means you could have quadrillions of minds in a full-sensory virtual environment and have processing power left over.

It's use is fairly obvious.

[Anaraxes]

Originally Posted by Mysterious Dark Lord v3.2

It's use is fairly obvious.

We'd finally have enough processing power to automate the spelling and grammar pedantry on the Internet.