Miscellaneous Loroi question-and-answer thread

[Arioch]

Is there security systems on Tempest, such as cameras, microphones, it is possible - automatic turrets? Or Loroi didn't think they needed on board?

Audio and video recording devices are so small and inexpensive that they're built into nearly every device, and so nearly every part of the ship will have some kind of surveillance. There is not much need for automated guns, but some points in the interior (such as the exit from the detention area) do have "kill zones"; airlock sections that can be sealed off, vented or flooded with gas, or subjected to a variety of lethal forms of radiation.

[Hālian]

Will we ever learn more about the order into which male kinetics are recruited?

[fredgiblet]

I always tell my Shadowrun buddies that it's probably what essence loss feels like.

How close were you to being a cyberzombie?

[Arioch]

Will we ever learn more about the order into which male kinetics are recruited?

Probably not any time soon.

[ShadowDragon8685]

Arioch, do Tabeni Loroi have any tradition of sea shanties?

[Arioch]

Arioch, do Tabeni Loroi have any tradition of sea shanties?

No, they don't sing.

[ShadowDragon8685]

Arioch, do Tabeni Loroi have any tradition of sea shanties?

No, they don't sing.

Loroi in general, Tabeni in general, or Loroi mariners? Because I thought singing was one of the forms of Loroi artistic expression?

[Sweforce]

Arioch, do Tabeni Loroi have any tradition of sea shanties?

No, they don't sing.

I understand if they do not sing orally but not even in sanzai? At least they have story tellers that let them relive old memories but a communal version? Nope? What do they do for fun then? Have they even invented fun as a concept?

[Absalom]

Arioch, do Tabeni Loroi have any tradition of sea shanties?

No, they don't sing.

Loroi in general, Tabeni in general, or Loroi mariners? Because I thought singing was one of the forms of Loroi artistic expression?

You're thinking of the Barsam Troubador-Clerics, not the Loroi. The closest that the Loroi might come is some sort of factual trash-talk as an opening salvo of a battle.

Loroi do music, and tele-plays, but singing is not one of their things.

[Arioch]

Arioch, do Tabeni Loroi have any tradition of sea shanties?

No, they don't sing.

Loroi in general, Tabeni in general, or Loroi mariners? Because I thought singing was one of the forms of Loroi artistic expression?

Not sure where you would get that impression. The Loroi are not a vocal culture; they don't have any native tradition of song. Speech is formal to the Loroi, and not generally though of as artistic (quite the opposite). The Barsam and other alien cultures have exposed the Loroi to song, and some Loroi may enjoy it for musical value, and some few may even learn to sing, but this is considered in Loroi society to be a foreign affectation.

I understand if they do not sing orally but not even in sanzai? At least they have story tellers that let them relive old memories but a communal version? Nope? What do they do for fun then? Have they even invented fun as a concept?

Telepathy has nothing at all to do with using your voice as music. You can use telepathy to tell stories or have communal discussions or a wide variety of different things, but this is not "singing."

[Tamri]

Loroi in general, Tabeni in general, or Loroi mariners? Because I thought singing was one of the forms of Loroi artistic expression?

Not sure where you would get that impression. The Loroi are not a vocal culture; they don't have any native tradition of song. Speech is formal to the Loroi, and not generally though of as artistic (quite the opposite). The Barsam and other alien cultures have exposed the Loroi to song, and some Loroi may enjoy it for musical value, and some few may even learn to sing, but this is considered in Loroi society to be a foreign affectation.

I understand if they do not sing orally but not even in sanzai? At least they have story tellers that let them relive old memories but a communal version? Nope? What do they do for fun then? Have they even invented fun as a concept?

Telepathy has nothing at all to do with using your voice as music. You can use telepathy to tell stories or have communal discussions or a wide variety of different things, but this is not "singing."

Yeah, they "scrumptious think" instead.

[E=M.C^2]

In panels 21-2 and 33-1 it seems both Beryl and Fireblade are using a right-hand gesture with fingers folded; expressing a request or authorization to come (to bring a blanket in page 21-2, or to enter the holding cell in 33-1).

In general, Lorois seem to use a lot of "non-senzai" communication gestures. At first I find it odd to have people capable of an unambiguous, and physically indiscernible, mean of communication resort to this. Of course this is a pure and very entertaining fiction and such gestures add to the dramatic effect carried by the personae.

Do Lorois have specific "natural" gestures they may use instead of, or in addition to, senzai ?

[Tamri]

Is there simulators aboard Loroi ships, allowing to simulate different control scenarios of the ship (battle, maneuvers, jumping, etc.), or a similar engineering is only in the educational institutions? And if there are, about how she looks (imitation room, virtual reality, or a software emulator like a computer game)?

[Arioch]

In panels 21-2 and 33-1 it seems both Beryl and Fireblade are using a right-hand gesture with fingers folded; expressing a request or authorization to come (to bring a blanket in page 21-2, or to enter the holding cell in 33-1).

In general, Lorois seem to use a lot of "non-senzai" communication gestures. At first I find it odd to have people capable of an unambiguous, and physically indiscernible, mean of communication resort to this. Of course this is a pure and very entertaining fiction and such gestures add to the dramatic effect carried by the personae.

The decision is first and foremost a storytelling one; since most of the Loroi don't speak, the only way they can convey information to the reader is via gesture and facial expression. But I think it also fits the Loroi character; they are a people who obviously care a lot about visual aesthetics and expression. Having a very capable spoken language system doesn't stop us from using gesture, either. In our case, although gesture does supply extra information, I think it's really a holdover from pre-language communication that goes deep into a prehuman past.

Whether the Loroi evolved naturally or were created as a copy of an existing organism, they do seem to have a number of "vestigial" behaviors that may not make strict sense for a telepathic species, suggesting that either they or their ancestors (or whatever model they were based on) did not always have telepathy. Laughing out loud, for another example.

Do Lorois have specific "natural" gestures they may use instead of, or in addition to, senzai ?

Not sure what you mean by "natural", but there are a number of different gestures used by the Loroi throughout the comic; pointing, sweeping of the hand, beckoning, clenching of the fist, crossing the arms, etc.

Is there simulators aboard Loroi ships, allowing to simulate different control scenarios of the ship (battle, maneuvers, jumping, etc.), or a similar engineering is only in the educational institutions? And if there are, about how she looks (imitation room, virtual reality, or a software emulator like a computer game)?

You can run all kinds of simulations or drills, but they would be mostly done using the real equipment instead of a dedicated simulation room. When you're piloting the ship for real, you're looking at a computer-generated representation anyway.

[Sweforce]

Is there simulators aboard Loroi ships, allowing to simulate different control scenarios of the ship (battle, maneuvers, jumping, etc.), or a similar engineering is only in the educational institutions? And if there are, about how she looks (imitation room, virtual reality, or a software emulator like a computer game)?

You can run all kinds of simulations or drills, but they would be mostly done using the real equipment instead of a dedicated simulation room. When you're piloting the ship for real, you're looking at a computer-generated representation anyway.

So the loroi are doing what the humans are doing of economical reasons. Sometimes running a scenario could be dangerous if something real should happen. Do the Tempest and/or other capital ships have auxiliary bridges reade to take over in case of an emergency? If so thease can be used for training in the field and naturally save the ship if the main bridge get taken out. Star Wars "The return of the Jedi" shows us a Super Star Destroyer taken out by a fighter crashing into the bridge. Perhaps they didn't have an auxiliary bridge or it just didn't have time to take over. Still it is nice to have backup systems. There are references in Star Trek that the entire ship can be operated from engineering. With networking options I could see the Tempest being run from the cockpit of the Highland Shuttle so an auxiliary bridge could be run from another ship even.

[SVlad]

Star Wars "The return of the Jedi" shows us a Super Star Destroyer taken out by a fighter crashing into the bridge.

The Tempest command center is located deep inside the ship. So if something will manage to blow it, it would have already blown a through-hole in the middle of the ship. The ship will already be doomed with such damage.

[Arioch]

Do the Tempest and/or other capital ships have auxiliary bridges reade to take over in case of an emergency?

Yes, of course, there are multiple locations from which a ship can be controlled if necessary. The consoles are just computer terminals; if you have the right security access, almost any of them can be configured to run whatever function you need, or switch from "live" data to simulated data. Both of these features would be a requirement for any functioning warship; flexibility and redundancy are vital to survive a fight, because things are going to go wrong.

Star Wars "The return of the Jedi" shows us a Super Star Destroyer taken out by a fighter crashing into the bridge. Perhaps they didn't have an auxiliary bridge or it just didn't have time to take over.

Aside from the absurdity of such a large vessel having no auxiliary control (and the bridge being placed in such a vulnerable position), even if the ship had lost control, there's nothing that should have made it suddenly veer to one side and drop out of the sky. It's just bad Hollywood writing.

[dragoongfa]

The only effect destroying the bridge has is potentially killing or incapacitating the command staff. As Arioch put in such an environment all computer consoles can be used to 'command' the ship if the bridge is completely out.

Take out the command staff however and the ship ends up having to leave the battlefield due to its inability to be properly commanded without staff that knows that battle plan and the various protocols regarding high level command and control.

[Arioch]

Take out the command staff however and the ship ends up having to leave the battlefield due to its inability to be properly commanded without staff that knows that battle plan and the various protocols regarding high level command and control.

The Loroi chain of command runs all the way to the bottom, so as long as the ship still has communication with the rest of the fleet, the unit should still be able to fight. However, as was mentioned, since the command center is located in the core of the ship, a hit that takes out the command staff is also going to leave the ship in a very sorry state.

[dragoongfa]

I didn't mean it in the chain of command sense but in the 'need to know' sense that must exist even in the Loroi military.

I doubt that the chief engineer of a Loroi warship knows the full details of the established battle plans of any engagement, so her just making sure that the damaged ship doesn't get in the way as it limps away is the best possible course of action she can be expected to take.