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Author Topic: Why do the Melnorme want biologicals?  (Read 11579 times)
ErekLich
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Why do the Melnorme want biologicals?
« on: February 12, 2003, 07:17:39 pm »
Why do the Melnorme want biological data?

I mean, think about it.  They take the umpteenth creatrue of the same type that you've stunned, no matter what.  Why?

What "potentially ominous, long range plan" do they have with these poor creatures?

Any theories?
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Re: Why do the Melnorme want biologicals?
« Reply #1 on: February 12, 2003, 07:24:00 pm »
I can only wonder if their past has anything to do with it. As the Mael-Num they were part of the Sentient Milieu and were about to get toasted when the first doctrinal war took place. So they escape and start wandering the galaxy.

A key question is whether they were biology nuts while a part of the Milieu or if that was something that developed afterwards. I can't even begin to hazard a guess.

If it was like that before, then maybe they're just continuing their culture the best they can.

If it was something that developed afterwards... you got me. I haven't a clue.

I would assume that in either case, they accept the same types of creatures simply for reference or maybe to try to find some kind of pattern of development in the galaxy.
« Last Edit: February 12, 2003, 07:24:50 pm by Matticus » Logged
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Re: Why do the Melnorme want biologicals?
« Reply #2 on: February 12, 2003, 07:54:18 pm »
Quote
Why do the Melnorme want biological data?

I mean, think about it.  They take the umpteenth creatrue of the same type that you've stunned, no matter what.  Why?

Well, two individuals of the same species can differ quite a lot in e.g. genetic structure (assuming they have genes in the first place) and a lot of other aspects. When attempting to analyse a species, it would seem reasonable to gather a representative sample to establish ranges of variation.
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What "potentially ominous, long range plan" do they have with these poor creatures?

Any theories?

Theory A: They're looking for suitable lifeforms for a planet they intend to colonise, terraform or something like that.

Theory B: They're looking for lifeforms suitable for manipulation into something useful and/or destructive.

Theory C: Someone is paying them a lot for biological data.

Theory D: They're biology nuts.

Theory E: They want to rid the galaxy of life. The Kohr-Ah are already working on the sentient life, so all they need is someone to handle the non-sentient life. Scary possibility: the Melnorme turned the Ur-Quan into xenophobic nutcases (although the traditional Dnyarri theory seems to contradict this).

Due to the lack of hard data on the Melnorme, all of these theories seem plausible.
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Re: Why do the Melnorme want biologicals?
« Reply #3 on: February 12, 2003, 08:10:53 pm »
Theory F: The Melnorme are working on:
The Isle of Dr. Mael-Num-eau!
They are trying to figure out what combination of xeno DNA will render the Ur-Quan less hostile, or possibly reverse the Dnyarri's genetic manipulations.

Theory G: They are worried that the Kohr-Ah will go MORE so and wipe out all life period. Thus their mission is in the form of preservation - a set of backups, just in case...
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Re: Why do the Melnorme want biologicals?
« Reply #4 on: February 12, 2003, 08:29:01 pm »
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They take the umpteenth creatrue of the same type that you've stunned, no matter what.  Why?

For the same reason scientists put markers on a thousand different birds or animals and follow their actions over a long period of time, even when they are the same species:  To track their sexual activites and tape them for re-runs on the Discovery Channel.
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Re: Why do the Melnorme want biologicals?
« Reply #5 on: February 12, 2003, 08:32:50 pm »
I'm hoping for a Noah's arc kind of thing, only with modern outsourcing techniques. Maybe they're going to pay me to put them back where I found them after the war's over?  Roll Eyes

Otherwise, I'd feel guilty about strip-mining the galaxy of all life. And all usefull minerals. Er, all minerals that are laying around on the surface in convenient dot form.  Wink
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Re: Why do the Melnorme want biologicals?
« Reply #6 on: February 12, 2003, 08:38:36 pm »
Quote

For the same reason scientists put markers on a thousand different birds or animals and follow their actions over a long period of time, even when they are the same species:  To track their sexual activites and tape them for re-runs on the Discovery Channel.



Oh, I thought you were going to say "because replication is the easiest way to reduce noise, and repeatability is the only assurance of a scientific result"...
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Re: Why do the Melnorme want biologicals?
« Reply #7 on: February 12, 2003, 10:29:03 pm »
Theory H: They have a sample of Precursor DNA, and want to find animals which have similar patterns so that they can find the world where the Precursors developed. (Although they don't ask you _where_ you got your data from).

Theory I:  They traced a certain DNA marker to any Precursor terraforming Biots, and want to find as many biots as they can.

I'm surprised that they don't want the Mycon Egg casing
« Last Edit: February 12, 2003, 10:31:08 pm by Culture20 » Logged
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Re: Why do the Melnorme want biologicals?
« Reply #8 on: February 12, 2003, 11:19:13 pm »
Theory J: they EAT them! muhahahah! Steak-ala-weird-purple-octopuse-aliens!
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Re: Why do the Melnorme want biologicals?
« Reply #9 on: February 12, 2003, 11:30:59 pm »
Actually, how do we know that we're capturing the same species of animals over and over and over?

Maybe SC uses the Star Trek system: some of the purple octopusses have earrings, some have dots on their neck, some have bumps on their forehead, some are slightly greenish with pointy ears, etc.
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Re: Why do the Melnorme want biologicals?
« Reply #10 on: February 13, 2003, 12:09:46 am »
Star Trek.  Heh heh.  That system spawned one of the few humerous lines in SC3 (made by the Exquivans):
Not entirely accurate:
"It is said their exists a portion of the universe in which the differences between sentient beings are little more than forehead appliques"
« Last Edit: February 13, 2003, 12:15:08 am by Culture20 » Logged
ErekLich
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Re: Why do the Melnorme want biologicals?
« Reply #11 on: February 13, 2003, 12:18:56 am »
Then of course there's the United Federation of Worlds.

And the Utwig have a line about the Kohr-Ah:

"they exist to seek out new civilizations.  Then anihilate them."

EDIT:  Love those theories!
« Last Edit: February 13, 2003, 12:19:17 am by ErekLich » Logged
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Re: Why do the Melnorme want biologicals?
« Reply #12 on: February 13, 2003, 01:27:26 am »
They have Umgah envy?  Tongue
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Re: Why do the Melnorme want biologicals?
« Reply #13 on: February 13, 2003, 01:55:32 am »
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Theory H: They have a sample of Precursor DNA, and want to find animals which have similar patterns so that they can find the world where the Precursors developed. (Although they don't ask you _where_ you got your data from).

They don't really ask about the rainbow world locations either; they seem to just look at our log (they say something about that). They may be able to look at our log to find out where we got our critters as well.
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Re: Why do the Melnorme want biologicals?
« Reply #14 on: February 13, 2003, 10:20:43 am »
Maybe they are tracking mutation rates, or are attempting to map some sort of universal genetic similarity.  Smiley
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