Jacqui asked:
So who was the 'best computer person' & what became of him/her?<
In Space Fall, Vila introduces Avon to Blake as the number two man in all the Federated worlds when it comes to computers. To the inevitable question who the number one is, Vila jokes: "Well, the man who caught him, of course."
Like most of Vila's statements, I don't think we should take this one too seriously. If Avon really was that kind of genius, it would have been more profitable for the Federation to *pay* him the 5 million Credits to retain his services.
Marian
Jacqui's question:
Jacqui asked:
So who was the 'best computer person' & what became of him/her?<
I always assumed that he was the person who designed Star One. Not too clever to put it someplace where nobody could find it though--tough to install the new operating system that way.
-(Y)
"Dana Shilling" dshilling@worldnet.att.net wrote:
Jacqui's question:
Jacqui asked:
So who was the 'best computer person' & what became of him/her?<
I always assumed that he was the person who designed Star One. Not too clever to put it someplace where nobody could find it though--tough to install the new operating system that way.
-(Y)
But Star One was created thirty odd years before (and probably planned a little while before that - perhaps the real reason why Ensor fled?)
The way Vila describes the situation the 'best' computer designer was around 'then' (but Avon was discovered by 'other means')
Jacqui
(any connection between the locations of Earth/Star One and Asimov's two Foundations, out in the back of beyond and on Earth is - possibly - purely coincidental) __________________________________________________________________ Get your own FREE, personal Netscape Webmail account today at http://webmail.netscape.com/
Jacqui wrote:
Star One was created thirty odd years before (and probably planned a little while before that - perhaps the real reason why Ensor fled?)
An interesting thought. Do you think he was actually involved, or just worked out that someone of his eminence was likely to be approached, and that it would all end in mindwipe, so he jumped ship before they thought of asking him?
On Mon 11 Jun, Harriet Monkhouse wrote:
Jacqui wrote:
Star One was created thirty odd years before (and probably planned a little while before that - perhaps the real reason why Ensor fled?)
An interesting thought. Do you think he was actually involved, or just worked out that someone of his eminence was likely to be approached, and that it would all end in mindwipe, so he jumped ship before they thought of asking him?
I'm firmly of the conviction that Travis was lying about the 30 years - he just wanted to cause Blake as much distress as possible.
Facts:
Provine was too young to have been involved 30 years ago.
Docholli could not have been on the run for 30 years.
Lureena was way too young to have been there 30 years.
There is other evidence too, but it's too long since I watched the relevent episodes for me to cite it accurately.
I think Star One was built originally as an alien defence system, and then the decision was made to move central control there at a later date.
Judith
At 06:17 PM 6/11/01 +0100, Judith Proctor wrote:
I'm firmly of the conviction that Travis was lying about the 30 years
He said it was moved *from* the big empty room 30 years ago, not that it was moved *to* Star One at that time. It could very well have spent 27 years on Mars in the interim.
Besides (to crib jargon I've picked up on internet street corners) it would be dramatically inappropriate for him to be lying at this point in the narrative (;-p).
--P. -- "You mix your laundry list with your grocery list and you'll end up eating your underwear for breakfast."
Judith said:
I'm firmly of the conviction that Travis was lying about the 30 years - he
just
wanted to cause Blake as much distress as possible. [snip supporting
evidence]
I think Star One was built originally as an alien defence system, and then
the
decision was made to move central control there at a later date.
But I'll never know why it wasn't set up explicitly as a top-secret, elite post with a colony of super-loyalists? Sooner or later, SOMETHING was bound to go wrong or at least need routine maintenance after the lifespans of the Star One denizens.
-(Y)
Dana Shilling wrote:
But I'll never know why it wasn't set up explicitly as a top-secret, elite post with a colony of super-loyalists? Sooner or later, SOMETHING was bound to go wrong or at least need routine maintenance after the lifespans of the Star One denizens.
All right, how's this? Maybe the Star One computer was set up to monitor the technicians and call somebody (somebody with ultra-high security clearance, of course) when enough of them had keeled over? That somebody could then arrange for replacements, and there could be another round of mindwipings as to the coordinates. A chink in the absolute security they were trying to set up, certainly, but one the Federation wouldn't expect to be necessary for many years, given careful medical screening of the technicians. It *would* explain why the Andromedans felt it necessary to duplicate the technicians, assuming they were aware of this fact: they'd have to fool the computer. It could also provide an additional confirmation to Servalan: Avon shot an Andromedan some time before Jenna sent the distress call, which might have registered as the death of a technician. Servalan *might* then just have received a distress signal from Star One and *knew* something was up, which is why she responded as quickly as she did, without questioning what Blake was up to.
I'm not sure I quite buy that myself, but it seems at least vaguely plausible, I think...
On Tue 12 Jun, Dana Shilling wrote:
Judith said:
I think Star One was built originally as an alien defence system, and then
the
decision was made to move central control there at a later date.
But I'll never know why it wasn't set up explicitly as a top-secret, elite post with a colony of super-loyalists? Sooner or later, SOMETHING was bound to go wrong or at least need routine maintenance after the lifespans of the Star One denizens.
Maybe they moved Central every twenty years or so in any case, whenever a systems upgrade was needed. YOu build the new one, transfer all the data (by remote transfer) and then destroy the old one.
Judith
Harriet Monkhouse hflysator@jarriere.demon.co.uk wrote:
Jacqui wrote:
Star One was created thirty odd years before (and probably planned a little while before that - perhaps the real reason why Ensor fled?)
An interesting thought. Do you think he was actually involved, or just worked out that someone of his eminence was likely to be approached, and that it would all end in mindwipe, so he jumped ship before they thought of asking him? -- Harriet
"Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased." - Daniel12.4
I would add that the group we see on Star One would be the 'curent batch' - the staff would have to be replaced from time to time.
Perhaps the Tariel Cell was the equivalent of the shift to microchips - it was only then that the computer power necessary for Star One as a nerve centre for the Federation (as distinct from an extra-galactic monitoring system) was feasible.
Jacqui __________________________________________________________________ Get your own FREE, personal Netscape Webmail account today at http://webmail.netscape.com/
In message 001801c0f185$26b340c0$da8049d5@marian-de-haan, Marian de Haan maya@multiweb.nl writes
Jacqui asked:
So who was the 'best computer person' & what became of him/her?<
In Space Fall, Vila introduces Avon to Blake as the number two man in all the Federated worlds when it comes to computers. To the inevitable question who the number one is, Vila jokes: "Well, the man who caught him, of course."
Like most of Vila's statements, I don't think we should take this one too seriously. If Avon really was that kind of genius, it would have been more profitable for the Federation to *pay* him the 5 million Credits to retain his services.
Only if the Federation recognised that he was worth paying. The writers' notes for the third series suggest that he was an unrecognised genius (not unknown in the Federation, to judge by Coser).
As to the original concept of Avon, from the rehearsal script for Space Fall, at Avon's first line:
AVON: Simple enough. All authorised personnel have their palm prints filed on the computer. The blue sensor plate reads the print. If they conform, the computer opens the door.
(BLAKE LOOKS AT AVON.
HE IS IN HIS MID THIRTIES. INTELLECT- UALLY SUPERIOR, AND KNOWS IT. HE IS A GENIUS WITH COMPUTERS AND ELECTRONICS)
BLAKE: Neat.
AVON: Most computer-based functions are.
VILA: Blake Kerr Avon. When it comes to computers, he's the number two man in all the federated worlds.
BLAKE: Who's number one?
VILA: The guy who caught him.
(AVON GIVES VILA A WITHERING STARE. VILA IS IN NO WAY PUT DOWN)
You've got nothing to be ashamed of. (TO BLAKE) He came close to stealing five million credits out of the Federation banking system.
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