The Ur-Quan Masters Discussion Forum

It can be assumed that the Ur-Quan still possess Excruciator technology.  Would they use them on their battle tralls (at least on the fighter pilots)?

why would they?

the reason for the Excruciators was to release them from the dynarri. all it does is stimulate the pain centers.

and in SC3 the ur-quan said it would kill a human.

Yeah, but they said THEY'D kill a human (you). They were wrong that time too.

It doesn't seem to me like being in extreme pain is a good thing for a fighter pilot that requires skill and concentration.

Anyway, the excruciators probably weren't real complicated devices... it's like they say in SC3, jabbing themselves with a sharp object got the job done too.

You mean SC2.. right?

aside from the fact there is no SC3 (:P) the Kzer-Za say they cut themselves.. or was it the Melnorme?


oh well!

Well, I only remember them describing the excruciators in SC3, but I could be wrong.

Did they ever describe what the excruciators actually did besides cause intense pain.  It seems to me that it would be more practical that the device give electric shocks or something.  That way no permanent damage would be done (except psychological).  Also you wouldn't have to move the thing after it tore through to the bone like if it were a stabbing device.

If it helps, Mr. Kohr-Ah mentions in SC2 after "the words"...


For thousands of years, we were unthinking slaves to the Dnyarri.  Like the five other surviving races of the old Milieu, we had no choice.  The Dnyarri's compulsion was too strong to resist.  But the Dnyarri were not satisfied with their slave races.  The Yuli and the Drall were inferior, they decided
so they instructed us to incinerate their worlds, and we did.
The Dnyarri had a special liking for us Ur-Quan so they began to tinker with our genes... to improve us, their favored slaves.
Their efforts split the Ur-Quan into two sub-races.  The Green Ur-Quan, effete scientists and bureaucrats  and the Black Ur-Quan, their Effectuators, the builders, the fighters, the doers.
The Kohr-Ah are the Black Ur-Quan. The Kzer-Za are the Green.  I grow tired of talking, alien, and your time grows short.  I will continue for but a moment longer.
When we discovered that intense pain could block the Dnyarri's mental powers we were able to destroy them, but it took years.  Can you imagine, alien, what it must have been like to wear an excruciator?  To live in endless screaming pain for months on end? No you cannot.


The Melnorme also mentions this in SC2 as part of "ancient history" that you can buy from him:


As they gained longer and longer periods of control, the Ur-Quan developed new tools and weapons to destroy their evil masters. The most gruesome of these devices was the Excruciator a mechanism which was inserted directly into the brain, and generated a constant stream of agony.

There was also some mention somewhere about them being inserted directly into the brain. Neat.

I need one of those for my little brother. Agonizer booths are for pussies.

Maybe not useful for them while flying, but as an effective threat : Go do your best, and the one of you that performs the poorest gets an hour in the excruciator. As has been stated above, the most advanced ones just sent a constant stream of agony into the brain, probably by stimulating the pain centers. So the slaves wouldn't take any physical damage, but they would fear it nonetheless

I should buy me one of those and when performing scientific research on hunams I could punish the failures, bwaaahaaaaahaaaaaaaa!

Uh - never mind, I never said that  8)

(Just reminded me of that scene in Ghostbusters...)

"The effect?  I'll tell you what the effect is!  It's pissing me off!"

I do wonder how the whole Dnyarri-compulsion slave-link works.

Obviously the Dnyarri aren't attaching themselves to the victim's brain. So they control it from afar... Now, what's this "link" between them? how is it established? why can't the Dnyarri just compulse the victim to kill itself, or disconnect easily whenever they wanted? or maybe they can? hmm!

BTW, the Texan Dnyarri from SC2 is said to eat the Umgah! eewww!!!!
because Talking Pet mad... REAL mad! How mad, you ask?
Blowing up planets and eating juveniles mad! That how mad.

Fried Umgah-juves fried in olive-oil served as a side-dish are great!

Just wanted to state that I think Sudo_Nyym's commetnwas the best in a loong while. I almost fell off my chair laughing! I can just imagine the test person, ready to berserk when the scientist ask about the effect  ;D

GM: Where in GB did they preform experiments on hunams and use anything remote to excruciators? i must have missed that

At the very beginning of Ghostbusters I - Dr. Venkman is still employed at the university and does supernatural potential. A wrong answer while guessing the symbol on a card earns you an electric shock  :D

As for you, Sudo_Nym, you definitely earned your $5,-! Thanks for volunteering  ;)

http://www.xenafan.com/movies/ghostbusters/

check the second .wav and you will know!

I can't remember quite where I got this impression, but I always thought that the Dnyarri could disconnect from their slaves whenever they wanted, they just didn't because they knew that if a slave got free, it would fight back against the Dnyarri.  The Dnyarri couldn't compel a slave to kill itself (or they could, but wouldn't) because if a slave died while the Dnyarri was linked to it, the Dnyarri would die too.  The reason why the Excruciators worked was because a Dnyarri felt all the pain that a slave was feeling, and would die if the slave died.  So the Ur-Quan put themselves in horrible pain, convincing their Dnyarri masters that they were about to die, and then fought back in their free moments.

I don't think the excruciators convinced the Dnyarri on a rational level that their slaves were about to die - but it did activate an un-override-able retraction reflex.

Outstanding!!  I'm gonna eat tonight!

I was once supposed to be a part of a psychological test, but when I showed up for it, nobody was there.  It has occured to me that they were recording my every move and that was the experiment.  Also, I never got the 50 bucks they promised me... those swine.

I went in for some scientific tests once...  they made me put some shampoo in my hair and tell them the results for 20 bucks.  Now I have a bright green glow year-round...

I guessthey tested it on humans so that they could put on the package "Not Tested on Animals."

I once went in for a Psych experiment. They told me to put my hand in cold water and record how uncomfortable it was, as time went on (they had a special sheet for this purpose)

For some people, they lied about how long it would be. I was told the truth, as it turns out.

I did get the $15 they offered...

Personally, I was a swimmer in high school, so sticking my hand in ice water was kind nostalgic rather than excruciatingly painful. Maybe the Ur-Quan would feel the same if they tried one on again - Ah, the good old days when we were beating the crap out of the Dnyarri... (HA! I knew I could get us quasi-back on topic!)
Well, maybe not.

Good try, maybe it will work.

As for the green glow - are you sure it was shampoo?

I probably should have caught on when I realised the other people in the room were wearing bio-hazard suits...

LOL! I can see them tell you it's to keep the experiment clean from outside influences.

As for you, Sudo_Nym - I bet the really did record your every move and are still watching that video tape whenever their scientific research gets too boring  ;)

Have you seen any suspicious ppl lately Sudo_Nym? They might STILL be recording you're every move... That's why I never leave the house and wear tinfoil on my head. It keeps them all out.

As for the serious part, I agree with Death_999, I seem to recall it ebing mentioned that they were "unable" to control slaves in great pain, a reflex that proved fatal to them.

kinda strange that the Taalo didn't help out the freed Ur-Quan slaves. I guess there was no time to get to em' huh?

The Taalo were exterminated even before the Ur-Quan were divided into their subspecies, so Kzer-Za's discovery had not been made yet.

o really? hm that sucks.

The Taalo slid to *pretty space* so now the ORZ can chasing them. [grammatical errors intended]

From the chat with TFB:
"<Fwiffo> the taalo live!"

'nuff said.

Well of course I meant "supposedly exterminated," cuz the Taalo live!

But just because they could slide to pretty space doesn't mean they can easily slide back. Or else why haven't they done so?

edit: which I just realized is what EkcoTimer said. Guess I wasn't thinking when I read that, sorry. =)

I quite possibly imagine it drove every single last one of them completely insane, and utterly altered their mindset towards other species (as they state) and changed their society's outlook completely. Even newborn Kohr-Ah would be indoctrinated into the 'hate-other-races-from-birth' outlook.

...and I still retain my inner belief that FRIED is a psionic blast that is triggered by a strong current fed directly into the Kohr-Ah's pain center.

Lies! Propaganda! THEY are using the tinfoil hats to get to you! Why do you think it's at a point, hmm? Why is it made out of conductive metal, eh? BECAUSE IT IS AN ANTENNA!! THEY know people will try to put on metal hats and that's when THEY will get them! You have bought into THEIR propaganda machine!

Somebody has been watching "Fletcher's Vision" one time too often, huh?
They do not exist.
Let me assure you that they are just an imagination.
They cannot look into your head, even if you put a copper cable right into your brain stem...
And they will not use Excruciators on you, unless they think you are an Ur-Quan possessed by a Dynarri...

(And stop posting the truth here, or somebody might get into trouble with them - not saying that they really exist!)

Being a bit of a masochist IRL, I wonder what the long term effects of having an Excruciator (with a significantly reduced power output) would be.

Itching.

Lots and lots of itching.

Joy, I'd flay myself alive.

I think the lasting effects would be devestating.  A child exposed to the effects of the excruciator might result to violence and crime because of his brutal upbrining.  It would scar someone for life...

Well not only the child, but the society in general.
With the only role models being creatures totally insane from years and years of constant pain, I imagine a lot of their sociological behavior would permanently be altered to reflect that impact that the Dnyarri war had on their forefathers.

Well, that was what I was basically saying before, anyway.

Well, that and constant appearances on Jerry Springer...

*nods* You can trace back all alien races' antisocial tendencies back to child abuse.


See? All you need are the Pkunk to end all alien wars!

Imagine the Pkunk trying to negotiate peace with the Kohr-Ah...  "We come in peace.  Let us be one.  Together we can live in peace as harmonic brothers in the galactic family."

Kohr-Ah: "You must die now."
*BOOM*

No more Pkunk...   :'(  This sort of reaction to peace and love is obvious proof as to the excruciators' true effects.  Like a traumatic moment from childhood, I'm sure the Kohr-Ah are haunted by their enslaved past just as the Ur-Quan are.  Who wouldn't be afraid of psychic brain-frogs?

Oh, I have faith that the Pkunk would survive their reunification---er, annihilation with the Kohr-Ah.

...actually, I don't. The Kohr-Ah are pretty thorough.

Damn psychic brain frogs. Actually, to be honest, I'd feel quite violated after being brain-raped for thousands of years and years. Destroying every living thing that had even the remotest -possibility- of reducing me to such a -humiliating- state ever again?

You'd be damn right I'd be all for it.

(The Syreen...would be first on my list.)

What's wrong with the Syreen?  What did they ever do to you?  They can't help it that they're blue, beautiful and have perfectly-sculpted bodies!  We can't hold it against them that they're creatures of perfection!

It's what makes them my favourite, after all.   8)

Ignoring the SC3 Syreen, yes, I'd have to say Talana (the only other visible example of a Syreen we have) is quite a physically beautiful being.

That having been said, that whole psychic-enslavement technology of theirs puts them first on the kill-list.

The Melnorme would probably be second--after all, any race who managed to get away from our killing grasp is going to be especially careful in keeping themselves safe from us long enough to develop mind-control technology.

This -cannot- be tolerated. The filth -must- be cleansed.

Are you sure you haven't used an excrutiator before?  I think you too have been warped by the pain and suffering it causes!  Your mind is warped... don't go into the light!

I'd say your choices of races to slaughter is good, but I'd beware those sneaky Utwig...  with all their bombs and precursor devices, they have tricks up their wrinkled sleeves.

No, it would be the Umgah. Any race with the potential to reactivate any Talking Pets into Dnyarri...

Must be cleansed. In fact, they are no longer filth. They are a threat. Threats deserve greater attention than filth.

Someones not been sleeping enough, have they?

On a side note to your cleransing frenzy, how would the Kohr-Ah deal with a "rational" ilwrath? I mean, they could cloak dozens of ships and hide in them, or escape to somewhere else. Well, they'd be seen in HS, but at the very least, they should be able to hide in system...

Destroy everything...
Destroy destroy destroy...

Park a dozen ships outside the system for a week if you have to... but destroy....

I think somebody needs a hug..  ;)

Just warn me before you give her a hug... I wanna be a couple hundred feet back before you do.

I think sometimes, a race just has to go out and cleanse the universe.  You know, have some fun with it.  I don't think excruiators had anything to do with it.  Who cares if they suffered tremendously trying to earn their freedom?  They just need to let off some steam, y'know?  Eat some alien flesh...  it happens to the best of us.

Exactly. A race needs to go out and "clean up" their galactic backyard ever few thousand years. Convenient and plausible excuses are few and far between.

Oh I welcome hugs.. it makes it easier to pick clean your bones when you are near. And remember, I shall fondle your skeletal remains lovingly for years to come!

Now that is fraky. Fondling skeletons? NO wonder you don't neliev e in love ;)

As for destruction, I think it's purely therapeutic. Once everyone else is dead, people usually feel a lot betetr. And we don't want to stop people from feeling better do we? even if the people are huge black caterpillars...

...  wow.  You have strange fetishes.

And hey, what's wrong with the T.O.?  I know it's no L.A., but Toronto's got its perks!  Well, that's ignoring the whole SARS problem up there right now.  I live about an hour away from Toronto, in the quaint cities of Kitchener-Waterloo. Well, the latter to be more exact.  Wow, I just crossed over topics.  You said you were in Toronto in another post... hopefully you can follow that, lol.    ;D

By the way, I hate hugs... :P

Huge black feral caterpillars rule all! Not Pkunk!

And hrmm... yeah, the skeletal trophy fondling thing might be part of the whole inability to accept love thing.

Toronto? It's boring when you don't have any money. Can't even go to the beach...

You hate hugs? Don't worry, you'll feel different after you have been 'cleansed'.

Yeah, Toronto really sucks if you're broke... you need money.  That's probably why everyone in the rest of Canada hates the city.  If you like New York, without all the mugging and dirty stuff, then Toronto's your place.

I'm sure he will. Not having any flesh or nerves, or come to that, any life at all tends to change peoples perception of most things...

Tell me Luki, what is your perception of the universe around you, as a metal space vessel construct?

*also wonders what 999's perception is, being by far the smallest Kohr-Ah to not grace a monitor*

We are so off the excruciator topic here it almost hurts. Let me therefore add to the thread that I believe that such devices could be useful in quite a lot of the SC civilizations... To strengthen spathi resolve for example. Or the Umgah would enjoy it just as an practical joke.

As for how I percieve reality... I'm a ship, floating in an almost empty infinity...Sometimes my masters force me to battle, though I do not wish to, soemtimes they just make me travel through the void. I observe the planets teeming with life, from far off or from orbit, but I can never join in that. I am always alone in the cold and the dark...

Being a guardian is pretty depressing.

HAR HAR HAR!

Ahem. Don't forget, there might be a 'training period' where all Kohr-Ah in their maturing years are forced to be implanted with such a device for a certain period of time, to grant them understanding of what incredible torment they might be forced to re-experience for all eternity, if they were to fail in their cleansing of the universe.