On the Dissolution of the Unity

[MysticWind]

Do you like Michael Ely's idea of how the ship fell apart?

I really don't like the idea of Spartan terrorism leading to a shipwide revolt. It places a great amount of blame on their faction, and so makes them the bad guys. I'd also think it would have been cooler had the Spartans decided on their own name and culture after they landed.

So how do you think it got destroyed?

[WotanAnubis]

The reactor did malfunction, there was eventual in-fighting, the crew split up and someone did murder Captain Garland.

As to how it happened, I don't know, but as I said earlier, I don't really like Ely's story either.

- The Spartans are too villainous.

- Yang murders someone in cold blood (which, I know, he is fully capable of, but this too makes him a villain in the story, though this side-plot never really gets resolved).

- While Miriam is indeed highly religious and dogmatic, she does not appear to have a single aggressive bone in her body, which makes her well-known in-game behaviour a bit puzzling.

However, I'm not about to create my own canon, so I'm sticking to the first four points I mentioned at the beginning of the post as Facts and everything else as speculation.

[Kataphraktoi]

Actually a progenitor mine set millenia before by a visiting caretaker fleet attacked the ship. The other 2 in orbit held back, but it was damaged so it went crazy. Fortunatly those other two mines later sneaked up on the usurper flagship while it was attached to the space elavator.

/spartan chronicles pwn

The saboteurs is just BS and lies spread about other factions

[Leon Trotsky]

Originally posted by WotanAnubis
- While Miriam is indeed highly religious and dogmatic, she does not appear to have a single aggressive bone in her body, which makes her well-known in-game behaviour a bit puzzling.

One must make the distinction between Miriam's character according to the Datalinks and in-game behaviour because of its AI. That's the only case I see an important difference; reading the quotes I figure Yang expanding human settlements as there is no tomorrow; Deirdre avoiding frontal conflict with other humans, Morgan building up wealth and making profit out of others without resorting to (more evident forms of) violence, Spartans raising an elite army and picking fights with "energy fattened indolents", and so on.

[Illuminatus]

What I don't like about the Ely's story? The supernatural powers of Sheng-Ji Yang.

[Lazerus]

I was going to give an opinion then realised it may be biased

[Illuminatus]

Originally posted by Lazerus
I was going to give an opinion then realised it may be biased

Original opinion by Lazerus
Are you claiming they're false ?

Yang doesn't have supernatural powers. I do, however.

[Lazerus]

nice catch

[Hydro]

Hmmm. I always like Ely’s story of the Unity tragedy. To me it was in character for the Spartans to try to take over just before landing – they could have had the whole enchilada if it had succeeded. That kind of payoff is worth the risk, and I can see Santiago doing that in a heartbeat. She’s amoral anyway, so who cares about some sanctimonious ideas of ‘good’ and ‘evil’? Her credo: might makes right.

Miriam is a bit more problematic. My take is that the trials of Planet changed her somewhat, and that she sought refuge in her faith. Her quotes in Datalinks seem to support this for me.

The other Unity leaders seem pretty similar between Ely’s Unity what we see on Planet. I’m not sure if or how the other somewhat loopy SMAX factions fit, but that can be rationalized with a bit of storytelling.

Hydro

[Corvi #6]

I've never read the books (ive heard some very bad reviews of them) but i never took santiago for amoral. I always felt she had a very strong sense of right and wrong, and really believes all that 'armed peace' crap she keeps spouting about. Sure, she's paranoid, but i always took the spartans to be more like anarchists than fascists.

As for Yangs magical powers, well if I ever met him I'm sure i'd agree with anything he said!

[Lazerus]

anarchists in a strict military regime ?
considering she uses the old spartan method of killing children who aren't strong enough, and would therefore waste resources that could be used to train a stronger child, she's clearly amoral.

[WotanAnubis]

Originally posted by Lazerus considering she uses the old spartan method of killing children who aren't strong enough, and would therefore waste resources that could be used to train a stronger child, she's clearly amoral.

Where is it stated that that's official Spartan policy? (And, also, why isn't this negatively affecting the Spartan Growth rate.)

[Corvi #6]

well, anarchists may be stretching the point. i certainly saw them as very freedom-conscious, tho. after all, her folloers are all armed to the teeth, so she can hardly boss them around. thats the whole basis of thier philosophy, as i saw it.

[WotanAnubis]

Originally posted by Corvi #6
i certainly saw them as very freedom-conscious, tho. after all, her folloers are all armed to the teeth, so she can hardly boss them around. thats the whole basis of thier philosophy, as i saw it.

They are armed to the teeth. But also highly discplined. They have no problem with police control.

So they may perhaps be freedom-conscious, they also have no problem curtailing that freedom should it prove necessary.

[Illuminatus]

Originally posted by WotanAnubis



Where is it stated that that's official Spartan policy? (And, also, why isn't this negatively affecting the Spartan Growth rate.)

Here. Read the description of the Spartans, it is one of the first things described. Also, it is stated that Spartan state is in theory, a military dictatorship, although the military hierarchy is open to civilian ideas and complaints.