ORICHALCUM UNIVERSE: Intro and brief summary...

[Johnny1A.2]

Originally Posted by Jasonft

Now this is interesting. Particularly combined with your earlier comment about the Primordials knowing more than they let on. I'm not sure if this has ever been mentioned before - I thought the Flux was a force of the universe like Gravity or Magnetism.

Well...yes and no.

This was described in the Atlantis thread, but what it amounts to is that there is a cosmic intelligence associated with the Universe as a whole (and the Universe in this context means more than one plane of existence, not just the spacetime we perceive directly), and that intelligence has its own psionic field, just as individual humans do. That field permeates most of the Universe.

That cosmic intelligence the Atlanteans called by a word that might translate as 'the Matrix'. The psionic field it generates is called the Flux (that's the best English translation of the Atlantean word).

What mortal fluxons do is tap into that psionic field of the cosmic intelligence, and redirect a minute fraction of its potential for their own goals. As for how minute, it's hard to express the gap between a consciousness that spans the Universe and a mortal. The gap is not infinite, the Matrix is not God. But the gap is so big that nothing in mortal experience can express it clearly.

Imagine for a moment an intelligence bacterium that lived in the body of a blue whale, and worked out a way to tap a tiny fraction of that whale's strength for its own use. But also keep in mind that gap between bacterium and whale is smaller than the gap between human and Matrix in scale.

But because the Flux reflects the internal activities of that cosmic mind, it does reflect a living and thus basically unpredictable dynamic.

[D10]

Originally Posted by Johnny1A.2

Well...yes and no.

This was described in the Atlantis thread, but what it amounts to is that there is a cosmic intelligence associated with the Universe as a whole (and the Universe in this context means more than one plane of existence, not just the spacetime we perceive directly), and that intelligence has its own psionic field, just as individual humans do. That field permeates most of the Universe.

That cosmic intelligence the Atlanteans called by a word that might translate as 'the Matrix'. The psionic field it generates is called the Flux (that's the best English translation of the Atlantean word).

What mortal fluxons do is tap into that psionic field of the cosmic intelligence, and redirect a minute fraction of its potential for their own goals. As for how minute, it's hard to express the gap between a consciousness that spans the Universe and a mortal. The gap is not infinite, the Matrix is not God. But the gap is so big that nothing in mortal experience can express it clearly.

Imagine for a moment an intelligence bacterium that lived in the body of a blue whale, and worked out a way to tap a tiny fraction of that whale's strength for its own use. But also keep in mind that gap between bacterium and whale is smaller than the gap between human and Matrix in scale.

But because the Flux reflects the internal activities of that cosmic mind, it does reflect a living and thus basically unpredictable dynamic.

Such a well described mechanic

Here is a wild question, was ever a situation where mortals faced an Eldren and won ?

[Johnny1A.2]

Originally Posted by D10

Such a well described mechanic

Here is a wild question, was ever a situation where mortals faced an Eldren and won ?

Define 'win'.

It's very nearly impossible kill an Eldren. It's possible in principle to disrupt one sufficiently that it won't reform soon enough to matter, or to capture one.

There have been rare moments in the OU where a mortal defeated an Eldren at some specific thing, or frustrated one's plans. If you mean beat one in battle...

[D10]

Originally Posted by Johnny1A.2

Define 'win'.

It's very nearly impossible kill an Eldren. It's possible in principle to disrupt one sufficiently that it won't reform soon enough to matter, or to capture one.

There have been rare moments in the OU where a mortal defeated an Eldren at some specific thing, or frustrated one's plans. If you mean beat one in battle...

Yeah that was what I meant, hehe.

Another question, is orichalcum used to fuel anything? I know FTL drives dont burn the orichalcum, you can waste it building super FTL missiles, but is there something that actually consumes it to power a process?

[D10]

Originally Posted by Johnny1A.2

Define 'win'.

It need not be a single mortal. Lets say, an incredibly advanced civilization (imagine the highest TL you can think of), with knowledge of the Eldren, desire to beat one in combat, they are not crazy so lets say they pick a newborn.

Assuming access to flux and resources as if we were dealing with a galatic power. What can be done?

Is it possible to build jammers or something that will prevent it from fleeing? To build weapons that stun/harm him? To build a prison/trap?

What could the might of such a civilization hope to accomplish against the equivalent of a newborn baby Eldren?

[Johnny1A.2]

Originally Posted by D10

Yeah that was what I meant, hehe.

Another question, is orichalcum used to fuel anything? I know FTL drives dont burn the orichalcum, you can waste it building super FTL missiles, but is there something that actually consumes it to power a process?

Nope. It's not a fuel, or a consumable, it's a component.

Originally Posted by D10

It need not be a single mortal. Lets say, an incredibly advanced civilization (imagine the highest TL you can think of), with knowledge of the Eldren, desire to beat one in combat, they are not crazy so lets say they pick a newborn.

Assuming access to flux and resources as if we were dealing with a galatic power. What can be done?

Is it possible to build jammers or something that will prevent it from fleeing? To build weapons that stun/harm him? To build a prison/trap?

What could the might of such a civilization hope to accomplish against the equivalent of a newborn baby Eldren?

Well, as I said, they could potentially 'disrupt' it, rendering it powerless, or unconscious, until it could reform and recover. If they did it well enough, that might take millennia or longer. Putting one down for 100,000 years is pretty close to a victory condition for a mortal.

They can be captured, in various ways, though it's not easy, and you want to make sure you do it in such a way that other Eldren don't decide to intervene.

In theory an Eldren could die, but in practice that's very, very hard. The conditions necessary to actually permanently kill one are so dire that it's not likely to arise at mortal hands.

[D10]

Originally Posted by Johnny1A.2

Nope. It's not a fuel, or a consumable, it's a component.




Well, as I said, they could potentially 'disrupt' it, rendering it powerless, or unconscious, until it could reform and recover. If they did it well enough, that might take millennia or longer. Putting one down for 100,000 years is pretty close to a victory condition for a mortal.

They can be captured, in various ways, though it's not easy, and you want to make sure you do it in such a way that other Eldren don't decide to intervene.

In theory an Eldren could die, but in practice that's very, very hard. The conditions necessary to actually permanently kill one are so dire that it's not likely to arise at mortal hands.

Got it. They are a dangerous bunch, hehe.

[Jasonft]

Originally Posted by D10

Got it. They are a dangerous bunch, hehe.

There are a great many very dangerous things living (I use the term loosely) in this universe. Most of them are effectively immortal and plan things on a timescale that makes my head hurt.

[Johnny1A.2]

Originally Posted by Jasonft

There are a great many very dangerous things living (I use the term loosely) in this universe. Most of them are effectively immortal and plan things on a timescale that makes my head hurt.

Yes. We live in a big, big, big universe, in both space and time. It's not a cozy place. Neither is the OU.