Miscellaneous Loroi question-and-answer thread

[cacambo43]

Since this comic is principally from Alex's point of view, I guess we really won't be getting any inside looks or "listens" to what any of the Loroi are sending to each other about ... well anything, really, will we?

CJSF

[Arioch]

Hi, a question occurred to me, but I'm at work so I don't have the time to see if it's been covered before, so apologies if this has been answered in the past...Do the Loroi have any particular rites when dealing with their fallen comrades in space? Would they receive the equivalent of burial at sea, or perhaps put in cold storage until they can be returned to their homeworld?

Most Loroi subcultures cremate their dead... funerary pyres seem to have been a common aspect of many Earthbound warrior cultures. In addition to the pragmatic aspects of cremation vs. burial, it prevents desecration of the bodies of the honored dead. Details of the ceremonies would differ by subculture. Most would, I think, dispose of the ashes in some manner so that they could not be easily found, and if there is any memorial marker to the deceased, it would be an empty cenotaph.

In the Loroi fleet, pragmatism would dictate that casualties be jettisoned in most cases, but not before being incinerated, so that a warrior's body is not subjected to the indignity of floating in space for eternity.

Since this comic is principally from Alex's point of view, I guess we really won't be getting any inside looks or "listens" to what any of the Loroi are sending to each other about ... well anything, really, will we?

As currently planned, there will be a few scenes that are not from Alex's point of view, but there is no current plan to directly show the reader the content of a telepathic discussion between Loroi.

[Hālian]

[T]here is no current plan to directly show the reader the content of a telepathic discussion between loroi.

[fredgiblet]

In the Loroi fleet, pragmatism would dictate that casualties be jettisoned in most cases, but not before being incinerated, so that a warrior's body is not subjected to the indignity of floating in space for eternity.

What about aiming for the sun?

[Arioch]

What about aiming for the sun?

I think that most of the time, it would take very significant delta-v to hit the system primary from whatever course through a system that a starship is likely to be on. You'd have to either change the ship's vector to a temporary collision course with the star, or else load the remains into an AMM or torpedo, either of which is way too much trouble from the Loroi point of view.

I think it's probably more likely that waste (along with any corpses) is stored on-board after being incinerated rather than being jettisoned, until it can be offloaded at port and safely disposed of. Spacecraft likely have to adhere to strict rules about creating as little space debris as possible.

[Smithy]

I always felt the Loroi would be more of a cinerary urn like culture, especially considering their penchant for large grandiose mosaics. So I definitely got the feel of a ceramics focused arts culture, a bit similar to the Romans and Greeks who both made wide use of cinerary urns and mosaics (and other high art in the ceramic medium), while being also quite militaristically inclined. Plus the strong ancestral ties the Loroi exhibit, I could see large family Columbariums to honour the glorious dead. With lushly decorated copper and cobalt glazed urns, with all sorts of achievements scrawled across them.

I'm not entirely sure you would need to jettison ashes though, as I've had personally the rather oxymoronic task of spreading ashes they don't really take up much space. I'm pretty sure you could pack the Tempests entire 800 strong crew in ash form into the cell they kept Alex in (A mildly bizarre thought I have to add...). Or are there perhaps taboos about "storing the dead", or maybe it's simply not logistically reasonable to return to dead back to their home planets on replenishment tankers?

[Murica]

Who is the lowest on the lorii cast system? Do the lorii have an untouchable group?

[Hālian]

Civilians are lowest on the loroi totem pole. I don't know if they're untouchable or outcaste per se but there is a negative stigma attached to civilian life, as it's usually heavily implied that civilian loroi are failed soldiers.

[Jakelope13]

How does the Loroi shield technology work? Is it that shield generators, when detecting an approaching warhead, generates a localized distortion (magnetic, gravitic, etc.) immediately in front of the warhead, causing it to explode from the impact? Or do the generators create two semi-permanent 'bands' of energy which contain between them some foreign (or exotic) matter, which absorbs/diffracts incoming weapons fire?

I'd imagine that the first kind of shield would be far more active, but is easily penetrated (you just need your weapons moving faster than the shield systems can react), whereas the second shield could simply be turned on and left alone, although it would require much larger stores of material to fill in the space between the bands (basically, the more fire the shield takes, the less matter would be contained). To be fair, though, I figure that the second shield system would be a massive pain to operate within an atmosphere, due to the exotic matter suspended in the shields and all.

[Arioch]

The entire civilian class is considered of lower status than the warrior class. The lowest rung on the civilian ladder would be the folks who collect waste and clean the latrines and sewers. But they are not literally "untouchable."

How does the Loroi shield technology work? Is it that shield generators, when detecting an approaching warhead, generates a localized distortion (magnetic, gravitic, etc.) immediately in front of the warhead, causing it to explode from the impact? Or do the generators create two semi-permanent 'bands' of energy which contain between them some foreign (or exotic) matter, which absorbs/diffracts incoming weapons fire?

Defensive screens are projected electromagnetic fields that are primarily effective against beam weapons, and specifically beam weapons with a net positive or negative charge (such as ion beams or plasma). They have very little effect against kinetic weapons, and do not operate in atmosphere.

[Absalom]

How does the Loroi shield technology work? Is it that shield generators, when detecting an approaching warhead, generates a localized distortion (magnetic, gravitic, etc.) immediately in front of the warhead, causing it to explode from the impact? Or do the generators create two semi-permanent 'bands' of energy which contain between them some foreign (or exotic) matter, which absorbs/diffracts incoming weapons fire?

Defensive screens are projected electromagnetic fields that are primarily effective against beam weapons, and specifically beam weapons with a net positive or negative charge (such as ion beams or plasma). They have very little effect against kinetic weapons, and do not operate in atmosphere.

Though if a ship kept one up while skimming an atmosphere at speed, I'm certain that the result would be very pretty right up until the point that something broke (depending on the reason, possibly a career).

[GeoModder]

In the Loroi fleet, pragmatism would dictate that casualties be jettisoned in most cases, but not before being incinerated, so that a warrior's body is not subjected to the indignity of floating in space for eternity.

Does this 'indignity' extend to civilian Loroi -and alien remains as well?
Just wondering because the 51st Strike Group has quite a number of Terran bodies in storage now. And I assume those won't be transported by the Highland shuttle, nor the wreckage gathered from the Bellarmine.
Which reminds me, is the 51st Strike Group supposed to go to battle again with all it collected from the Bellarmine?

[Arioch]

Does this 'indignity' extend to civilian Loroi -and alien remains as well?

Loroi military starships rarely have civilians (Loroi or alien) aboard, so it's not a common situation. Planetside remains are dealt with according to local custom; usually this means cremation and disposal of the ashes. The human remains collected from the Bellarmine wreckage will not be disposed of, but taken back and studied along the rest of the human artifacts.

Just wondering because the 51st Strike Group has quite a number of Terran bodies in storage now. And I assume those won't be transported by the Highland shuttle, nor the wreckage gathered from the Bellarmine.
Which reminds me, is the 51st Strike Group supposed to go to battle again with all it collected from the Bellarmine?

There are some on board the Highland shuttle. The rest is scheduled to be offloaded to the supply convoy.

[Hālian]

How long does the average loroi sleep?

What are the literal translations of the castes and ranks (e.g. mizol "left hand")?

What does traditional loroi architecture look like?

[Arioch]

How long does the average loroi sleep?

For as long as you let her.

What are the literal translations of the castes and ranks (e.g. mizol "left hand")?

Soroin is an archaic term for "warrior" (for which there are many synonyms, including Loroi, Tiris)
Listel means "observer"
Most of the titles are fairly literal (Torret means "captain (of a ship)").

What does traditional loroi architecture look like?

That's like asking what traditional human architecture looks like. There are different traditions.

[fredgiblet]

What does traditional loroi architecture look like?

To expand a little bit on Arioch's answer remember that the Loroi started on three separate worlds, in addition to that each world likely had it's own nations for most of the worlds history (possibly even to this day?) stretching back long enough for each to develop it's own traditions. Loroi aren't really a typical monoculture even today given what we've been told about culinary traditions on the different worlds.

[Hālian]

D'oh

Well, then.. the architecture of whichever country Torridas is in (I remember you saying something about it, but can't recall).

[Arioch]

(The Teidar Sepeit at Toridas)

[GeoModder]

Foamy...

[Murica]

Do the lorii have a militia system? In other words if some members warrior caste were cut off would they be allowed by there honour code to conscript civilian caste members into a militia?