Using blurbs to reconstruct the official SMAC story

[korn469]

ok we have that nice long set of blurbs if you read the blurbs carefully you find out a few things...
[*]the Spartan Federation gets destroyed[*]the UoP builds the voice of planet[*]the Gaians win the game by transcendence

so in your opinion when a specific faction is credited to the blurb do you think that they were the first to build a facility, utilize a tech nology or build a secret project? Is that a valid argument to make? Because that is what i am assuming...

So using that definition we get the following scenario in terms of secret projects...

[korn469]

Gaians

The Weather Paradigm

quote: I shall not confront Planet as an enemy, but shall accept its mysteries as gifts to be cherished. Nor shall I crudely seek to peel the layers away like the skin from an onion. Instead I shall gather them together as the tree gathers the breeze. The wind shall blow and I shall bend. The sky shall open and I shall drink my fill. ^ ^ -- Gaian Acolyte's Prayer

The Empath Guild

quote: Symbols are the key to telepathy. The mind wraps its secrets in symbols; when we discover the symbols that shape our enemy's thought, we can penetrate the vault of his mind. ^ ^ -- Lady Deirdre Skye, ^ "Our Secret War"

The Citizens' Defense Force

quote: As the writhing, teeming mass of Mind Worms swarmed over the outer perimeter, we saw the defenders recoil in horror. "Stay calm! Use your flame guns!" shouted the commander, but to no avail. It is well known that the Mind Worm Boil uses psychic terror to paralyze its prey, and then carefully implants ravenous larvae in the brains of its still-conscious victims. Even with the best weapons, only the most disciplined troops can resist this horrific attack. ^ ^ -- Lady Deirdre Skye, ^ "Our Secret War"

The Xenoempathy Dome

quote: I believe Planet will talk to us if we are willing to listen. These fungal stalks behave as multistate relays: taken together, the neural net connectivity must be staggering. Can a planet be said to have achieved sentience? ^ ^ -- Lady Deirdre Skye, ^ Arguments in Council

The Pholus Mutagen

quote: ^ We welcome you, earthdeirdre and earthwheat and earthtree as ^ honored guests, for you add great power to our ancient song-- ^ planetfungus and planetworm and planetmind sing and play ^ here, and you are welcome among us. ^ ^ -- Lady Deirdre Skye, ^ "Conversations with Planet"

The Telepathic Matrix

quote: ^ From the delicate strands, ^ between minds we weave our mesh: ^ a blanket to warm the soul. ^ ^ -- Lady Deirdre Skye, ^ "The Collected Poems"

Ascent to Transcendence

quote: No longer mere earthbeings and planetbeings are we, but bright children of the stars! And together we shall dance in and out of ten billion years, celebrating the gift of consciousness until the stars themselves grow cold and weary, and our thoughts turn again to the beginning. ^ ^ -- Lady Deirdre Skye, ^ "Conversations with Planet"

[korn469]

The Hive

The Virtual World

quote: What do I care for your suffering? Pain, even agony, is no more than information before the senses, data fed to the computer of the mind. The lesson is simple: you have received the information, now act on it. Take control of the input and you shall become master of the output. ^ ^ -- Chairman Sheng-ji Yang, ^ "Essays on Mind and Matter"

The Ascetic Virtues

quote: Learn to overcome the crass demands of flesh and bone, for they warp the matrix through which we perceive the world. Extend your awareness outward, beyond the self of body, to embrace the self of group and the self of humanity. The goals of the group and the greater race are transcendent, and to embrace them is to achieve enlightenment. ^ ^ -- Chairman Sheng-ji Yang, ^ "Essays on Mind and Matter"

[This message has been edited by korn469 (edited April 21, 2000).]

[korn469]

The UoP

The Human Genome Project

quote: To map the very stuff of life; to look into the genetic mirror and watch a million generations march past. That, friends, is both our curse and our proudest achievement. For it is in reaching to our beginnings that we begin to learn who we truly are. ^ ^ -- Academician Prokhor Zakharov, ^ "Address to the Faculty"

The Space Elevator

quote: In one moment, Earth; in the next, Heaven. ^ ^ -- Academician Prokhor Zakharov, ^ "For I Have Tasted The Fruit"

The Singularity Inductor

quote: What actually transpires beneath the veil of an event horizon? Decent people shouldn't think too much about that. ^ ^ -- Academician Prokhor Zakharov, ^ "For I Have Tasted The Fruit"

The Voice of Planet

quote: Imagine the entire contents of the planetary datalinks, the sum total of human knowledge, blasted into the Planetmind's fragile neural network with the full power of every reactor on the planet. Thousands of years of civilization compressed into a single searing burst of revelation. That is our last-ditch attempt to win humanity a reprieve from extinction at the hands of an awakening alien god. ^ ^ -- Academician Prokhor Zakharov, ^ "Planet Speaks

[korn469]

Morgan

The Merchant Exchange

quote: Human behavior is economic behavior. The particulars may vary, but competition for limited resources remains a constant. Need as well as greed have followed us to the stars, and the rewards of wealth still await those wise enough to recognize this deep thrumming of our common pulse. ^ ^ -- CEO Nwabudike Morgan, ^ "The Centauri Monopoly"

The Longevity Vaccine

quote: I plan to live forever, of course, but barring that I'd settle for a couple thousand years. Even five hundred would be pretty nice. ^ ^ -- CEO Nwabudike Morgan, ^ MorganLink 3DVision Interview

The Network Backbone

quote: Of course we'll bundle our MorganNet software with the new network nodes; our customers expect no less of us. We have never sought to become a monopoly. Our products are simply so good that no one feels the need to compete with us. ^ ^ -- CEO Nwabudike Morgan, ^ Morgan Data Systems press release

The Living Refinery

quote: We estimate that during the next mission century most of Planet's industries will be moved off-planet to Nessus Prime and other orbital facilities. Many of our industries will benefit greatly from the low gravity environments available in space, particularly those involving genetically engineered microbes. ^ ^ -- CEO Nwabudike Morgan, ^ "The Centauri Monopoly"

[korn469]

Spartans

The Command Nexus

quote: Information, the first principle of warfare, must form the foundation of all your efforts. Know, of course, thine enemy. But in knowing him do not forget above all to know thyself. The commander who embraces this totality of battle shall win even with the inferior force. ^ ^ -- Spartan Battle Manual

The Neural Amplifier

quote: Against such abominations, we organize our defenses on the principle that one strong and able mind can shield the many. ^ ^ -- Spartan Battle Manual

Maritime Control Center

quote: It is altogether fitting that we who have sailed the deeps of space now return again to the sea. This is in many ways a water planet, and it can be ruled from the waves. With sea power, rugged terrain can be bypassed and enemy strongholds isolated. Once naval superiority is achieved, Planet is ours for the taking. ^ ^ -- Col. Corazon Santiago, ^ "Planet: A Survivalist's Guide"

The Cyborg Factory

quote: ^ A handsome young Cyborg named Ace, ^ Wooed women at every base, ^ But once ladies glanced at ^ His special enhancement ^ They vanished with nary a trace. ^ ^ -- Barracks Graffiti, ^ Sparta Command

The Dream Twister

quote: ^ Mary had a little lamb, ^ Little lamb little lamb, ^ Mary had a little lamb, ^ whose fleece was white as snow. ^ ^ -- Assassins' Redoubt, ^ Final Transmission

The Nano Factory

quote: Industrial Grade Nano-Paste, Planet's most valuable commodity, can also be one of its most dangerous. Simply pour out several canisters, slide in a programming transponder, and step well away while the stuff cooks. In under an hour the nano will use available materials to assemble a small factory, a hovertank, or enough impact rifles to equip a regiment. ^ ^ -- Col. Corazon Santiago, ^ "Planet: A Survivalist's Guide"

The Cloning Vats

quote: We shall take only the greatest minds, the finest soldiers, the most faithful servants. We shall multiply them a thousandfold and release them to usher in a new era of glory. ^ ^ -- Col. Corazon Santiago, ^ "The Council of War"

[korn469]

The Believers

The Planetary Transit System

quote: As distances vanish and the people can flow freely from place to place, society will cross a psychological specific heat boundary and enter a new state. No longer a solid or liquid, we have become as a vapor and will expand to fill all available space. And like a gas, we shall not be easily contained. ^ ^ -- Sister Miriam Godwinson, ^ "But for the Grace of God"

The Universal Translator

quote: And the Lord said, "Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech." ^ ^ -- The Conclave Bible, ^ Datalinks

The Self-Aware Colony

quote: Will we next create false gods to rule over us? How proud we have become, and how blind. ^ ^ -- Sister Miriam Godwinson, ^ "We Must Dissent"

Clinical Immortality

quote: And the Lord God said, "Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever, we must send him forth." Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. ^ ^ -- The Conclave Bible, ^ Datalinks

The Bulk Matter Transmitter

quote: And what of the immortal soul in such transactions? Can this machine transmit and reattach it as well? Or is it lost forever, leaving a soulless body to wander the world in despair? ^ ^ -- Sister Miriam Godwinson, ^ "We Must Dissent"

[korn469]

The U.N.

The Planetary Datalinks

quote: As the Americans learned so painfully in Earth's final century, free flow of information is the only safeguard against tyranny. The once-chained people whose leaders at last lose their grip on information flow will soon burst with freedom and vitality, but the free nation gradually constricting its grip on public discourse has begun its rapid slide into despotism. Beware of he who would deny you access to information, for in his heart he dreams himself your master. ^ ^ -- Commissioner Pravin Lal, ^ "U.N. Declaration of Rights"

[Basil]

Heyas,
Nice work, I've been wondering about this too.

A couple of comments: I read the quote on the Self-Aware Colony as meaning that someone else got it, and Miriam disapproves (doesn't she always?). And I read the quote on Lab 3 as being a University experiment into mindworms that had a disaster all on its own, without any interference from the Gaians - the Gaians are only mentioned because it's not like any other faction is going to disagree with exterminating mindworms.

We also know that the Hive seems to have invented Genejacks (Genejack factory blurb "My gift to industry is the genetically engineered worker, or Genejack." - Chairman Yang, "Essays on Mind and Matter"), and that the UoP seems to have researched it later (!) (other factions' "Genetic Inspectors" are investigating the UoP in a way reminiscent of the UN investigating Iraq in the Retroviral Engineering blurb).

It's fun to speculate on this. (On a humorous note, Miriam speaks the blurb for Information Networks...).

[BustaMike]

Good stuff; however, I have one disagreement. The Spartans did not build the Dream Twister. Assassins' Redoubt was conquered by someone (most likely the Gaians) using the Dream Twister. They went insane because someone was using it on them. That's my theory anyway.

[korn469]

these secret projects did not have a faction leader to go with them but i will give my best guess

The Supercollider

quote: ^ God does not play dice. ^ ^ -- Albert Einstein, Datalinks

Diedra reads the quote for this one so it is very likely that the Gaians built this one

The Hunter-Seeker Algorithm

quote: If I determine the enemy's disposition of forces while I have no perceptible form, I can concentrate my forces while the enemy is fragmented. The pinnacle of military deployment approaches the formless: if it is formless, then even the deepest spy cannot discern it nor the wise make plans against it. ^ ^ -- Sun Tzu, ^ "The Art of War", Datalinks

that is the guy who reads all of the quotes for the morgan faction when they are not by Morgan himself...so it is most likely that morgan built the HSA

The Theory of Everything

quote: The Earth is the cradle of the mind, but one cannot stay in the cradle forever. ^ ^ -- Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, ^ The Father of Rocketry, Datalinks

ok that is zak reading the quote so i would say most likely the UoP built this one
[This message has been edited by korn469 (edited April 21, 2000).]

[korn469]

ok here is the last thing to leave you with for now...

Gaian's and transcendence

Transcendent Thought

quote: ^ Eternity lies ahead of us, and behind. ^ Have you drunk your fill? ^ ^ -- Lady Deirdre Skye, ^ "Conversations with Planet", Epilogue

epilogue implies that she is writing this after the Gaians have achieved transcendence

The Dream Twister

quote: ^ Mary had a little lamb, ^ Little lamb little lamb, ^ Mary had a little lamb, ^ whose fleece was white as snow. ^ ^ -- Assassins' Redoubt, ^ Final Transmission

final transmission is obvious...it didn't transmit anything else ever, so obviously it was destroyed, two other things to consider assassins redoubt implies that it is some kind of fortress for spartan covert activities, and the quote from mary had a little lamb could only mean two things...either they went insane and destroyed themselves or it was some kind of code

Tachyon Field

quote: The klaxon began to wail, but we felt the reassuring tingle of the Tachyon Field crackling to life around us, encasing the entire base in its impenetrable glow. ^ ^ -- Spartan Kel, ^ "The Fall of Sparta"

well it came from a book called the fall of Sparta so that speaks for itself and it leads us to the next quote

Headquarters

quote: As we approached we were confronted by the ruined splendor of Sparta Command. The true immensity of the place became instantly apparent as our Quantum Tank crunched over the rubble and parked next to a shattered bunker, but the extent of the destruction took weeks to assess. The shielded datacore had sustained several massive breaches and smoke still billowed from the numerous cannon ports. There were few signs of human life. ^ ^ -- Lady Deirdre Skye, ^ "Our Secret War"

obviously Sparta Command was destroyed...the most likely candidate is the gaians

also the Gaian's and the UoP are at war and apparently the Gaians destroyed Lab three

Temple of Planet

quote: Let the Gaians preach their silly religion, but one way or the other I shall see this compound burned, seared, and sterilized until every hiding place is found and until every last Mind Worm egg, every last slimy one, has been cooked to a smoking husk. That species shall be exterminated, I tell you! Exterminated! ^ ^ -- Academician Prokhor Zakharov, ^ Lab Three aftermath

[Qilue]

I first thought The Bulk Matter Transmitter would have been UoP given it's non-mystical nature, but the quote from the Psi Gate (which becomes available with the same tech) is also spoken by Miriam

Psi Gate

Go through, my children! The time of miracles is upon us. Let
us cast off sin and walk together to the Garden of the Lord.
With God's mercy we shall meet again on the other side.
^
^ -- Sister Miriam Godwinson,
^ "Last Testament"

[Fistleaf]

How about the SMACX blurbs?
Obviously, the Drones built the Cloudbase Academy. Cha Dawn built the Planetary Energy Grid. The Nethack Terminus by the Data Angels. The Manifold harmonics by Hminee.

[Enigma]

It has been quite a while since I have listened to all of the quotes in a game because my sound does not work very well, not to mention the sound stutters horribly when it does work.

Korn-

I agree with you the the Spartans did die, that seems quite logical. Also note several minor details that are not exactly in the game, the default faction when you do a quick start before starting any games is the Gaians, and the Brian and Sid factions both are essentially the Gaians. It is obvious that the bigwig Firaxians have a hankering for our favorite Greenie, since they are the ones who originally wrote the "official" plot doesn't it make sense that it would be Deidre that transcends in the end?

I have a faint suscpicion that Miriam did an invasion near the end of the game, perhaps on Zack, perhaps not. She gets quite upset- rather preachy- near the end of the game about high technology. In the Psi gate quote it seems that she is launching an invasion with one against the foul technology users of the University.

Speaking of the UoP I disagree that the Gaians fought them, the Temple of Planet quote implies that Zack tried to eradicate native life with disastorous results, NOT that she attacked him! The silly religion part is a loving poke- not related to a war between the two of them.

I can not remember the quote, but I *know* I heard Morgan make a quote somewhere that goes something like this-

"When all the cards are down, he who controls the flow of energy is the one who is in power. In the past this was called the power company. We intend to give this a whole new meaning"
CEO Nwabudike Morgan
The Centauri Monopoly


I take it from this quote that Morgan was in the process of cornering the global E market- if/when Deidre transcended. I did not notice many quotes at all with either the PK or the Hive in the late game... are we to take that their empires faded?
[This message has been edited by Enigma (edited April 24, 2000).]