A Story using Nanites

I've been a bit stuck as to my next adventure, but in reviewing some recent notes, I found that one of my players (our devious and clever Cardassian Ops Officer) has been studying the use of nanites, as a means of defense against the Borg (who we recently ran into). Here's what he wrote:

Veroz is going to start working on a set of Anti-Borg Nanites. He will also look at other applications for Nanites.
1. Ship communication and manipulation of systems away from a station
2. Enhanced mental abilities
3. Healing
4. Weapon use locked to genetic pattern of owner
5. Systems invasion, electronic lock picking, computer hacking, image manipulation of security systems
6. Systems self repair
7. Protection from other nanite invasion or invasion of microscopic entities
8. Note this will be a ongoing side project not taking up all of his free time. He will start a computer search on existing information

As the saying goes "sometimes this stuff just writes itself!" :D

I think I'll do a story about these nanites getting out of control, which should give a serious challenge to the group.

Feel free to pitch ideas and input on what kind of nastiness these nanites could inflict upon our ship and her crew! :)

Just remember that if it were easy to get nanites to do all that, everybody would be doing it. Presumably, the Federation's finest minds have been working with nanites for decades and nanites are not yet standard issue equipment, so it's highly unlikely that one Ops officer playing with them as a part time hobby will make them the do-everything cure-all he's looking for. IOW, things will go wrong. Which makes for better stories anyway.

The problem with Anti-Borg nanites is that to combat the collective they need to be able to outsmart the colllective and countter adapt to any adaptation.

In shor its the moment when La Forge asks the Holodeck/Computer to create a character that can outsmart Lt. Commander Data.

It may well be on the UFP' side of the battle, but the end result might not be what was wanted...

You guys are thinking the same way I am. :p

I'm thinking that at first it will look like everything is going according to plan, but then the nanites will start to have a life of their own. Over time they could even take over ship's systems and turn the very ship against the characters!

Wasn't there an early TNG episode where nanites (an experimental project by Wesley, IIRC) did precisely this (achieving sentience and taking control of the ship) ? I think they managed to reach an agreement.
It's been a while I saw this episode so my memories are a bit hazy, but it could be some good inspiration (maybe also your PC will stumble upon a report of this incident when devising his own nanites).

You know, C5, you might be right. I remember the story with the Exocomps, but there might have been one dealing with nanites, too. I'm heading to Memory Alpha to go check now. Thanks for the idea! :)

I love going right to the source for ideas and inspiration, and have done so in my campaign for such things as the Borg and Iconian Gateways before.

You were absolutely right! The episode is entitled "Evolution", TNG 3x01.

Glad to have been of help :)
I'd have thought the episode was even more early than that, actually.

Last night I watched "Evolution" again, and it really helped (so thanks!).

Also, over on the CODA Trek Yahoo email list some fabulous people contributed a brilliant two-page document that details a nanite infestation aboard a starship. Some if it is system specific, but I would imagine any GM could easily turn it into something they can use.

Check out the thread called "Nanites" in the CODA section if you'd like to take a look. :)

I think I mentioned this all ready. Years and years ago. A ship that was made entirely by nanites as though it were a living thing with each nanite acting as a biological cell.

Ah yes, here it is.

Click me

I would like to see the Variable Geometry Hull made into a ST CODA Trait.

As I've mentioned before, one of my players unleashed nanites onto our PC's ship (inadvertently). He tried to do too much with them (in my opinion), and - after getting some great help from others on some ideas - we ended up with a ship with nanites running amok.

So now the PCs are headed for the nearest Starbase, though they really haven't figured out the cause (the nanites); I know at least one of the players suspects, though his character does not.

As I was thinking on things last night (couldn't sleep), I began to consider turning things into a mystery. One of the new PCs is a Sherlock Holmes type Security investigator, so I'm thinking it might be fun to add/compound on the problem with the nanites and turn it into something bigger. The PC who started experimenting with the nanites is a Cardassian (and recently promoted to First Officer, at least temporarily). I'm thinking perhaps a Bajoran or Maquis crewmember set him up, allowing his nanites to spread and framing him to implicate him in attempting to destroy/compromise the ship (to ruin the career of the Cardassian).

Though I've got over 30 years experience as a GM, I haven't done much in the way of a mystery like this. I've had a PC framed before, but it's been awhile, and I'm wondering how challenging it will be to do in Trek.

Any ideas and opinions would be greatly appreciated! :)

...What if he actually did do it? Is the era such that they might have an Obsidian Order-implanted alternate identity or subconscious control pattern? Were they or their parents (ostensibly) dissidents? They might be subconsciously laying the pattern that implicates the Bajoran or Maquis crewmember (a reverse-frame!).

Or he did it, but the source of the impulse is an alien life-form which uses high-tech civilisations as part of its reproduction cycle: the matured form of the previous generation's form implants the ability to create the next generation as a subconscious 'seed' in one or more advanced sentient beings, who then act out the impulse later in life, giving rise to the next generation of these meta-creatures.

Those are some fascinating ideas, TK. I'm going to have to really contemplate those, as that's a really intriguing concept.

The campaign is right now in 2381, and I suppose anything is possible. I've already begun creating the Bajoran Lt. who was going to frame him, but maybe he deviously did it himself and made it look like the Bajoran set him up! :eek:

Or you could actually have them "evolve" by absorbing some of the base programming of the Collective...such as the drive to achieve "perfection" by taking what is better...by adding the biological and technological distinctiveness of the Borg to their own...:)

...throw in a time-loop of some kind, throwing these nanites back a thousand years into the past...and into the Delta quadrant, and...well, you can see where this is going. :)

That could certainly heap some guilt on the PC, couldn't it? ;)

"Don't worry about it, your character simply (and inadvertently) created the Borg!" :eek:

Or maybe the Borg were "independently" created by species across the Galaxy...

Could the nanites have engineered their own release ? Hacking the computer to feed false informations to the PC, who released them thinking he was doing something more innocuous (think rewiring the "Open" and "Close" buttons ;))

Also, what are the abilities of the nanites ? Can they interact with organic life (at the cellular level) ?
It may be quite far-fetched, but I would see them taking a kind of map of the PC's mind, and ending up trying to communicate by using whatever thought they found in his mind, including, say, the fear/guilt of being accused by Bajorans.

Ooh, I really like that C5. Thanks so much for the great ideas, all! :cool:

Using many of the ideas here, here's the basic plot I've come up with (hopefully it makes sense). One thing not mentioned here is that - depending on what the PCs do - the nanites might form into a ship towards the end of the story. In the plot described below, Veroz is Lieutenant Commander Veroz Pa'dar, the Cardassian Ops Officer (and acting First Officer); Latha is Bajoran Lieutenant and medic Latha Antos.

A nanite is a microscopic robotic device and a form of nanotechnology. A nanite is built by manipulating atoms and contains gigabytes of computer memory. It is small enough to enter living cells and can be programmed to do numerous tasks. Nanites are used by the Federation for medical purposes and are designed to work inside nuclei during cellular surgery. When they are not used, nanites are stored in a non-functional state. When necessary, nanites can be destroyed with a burst of high-level gamma radiation.

Veroz began exploring and experimenting with nanites. He did trials in the holodeck, coordinating with numerous personnel in both Medical and Engineering. He then set up a lab in Medical where he did more research; this included contacting someone on Cardassia and experimenting on himself. Though he attempted to be very careful, work with these dangerous devices got out of hand. The nanites became more and more intelligent, and one manipulated the very computer system it was interacting with, forcing its way out of isolation and joining another. The two worked in tandem and joined yet another one, and this continued until more than a dozen individual nanites were working together. The microscopic robots engineered their own release and continued to join forces, some escaping into the ship’s systems to wreak havoc in bizarre ways for several weeks.

Meanwhile, Veroz acted under influence from an alien life form (done years earlier). This life form (previously undiscovered), uses high tech civilizations as part of its reproductive cycle. The mature form of the previous generation implants the ability to create the next generation as a subconscious 'seed' in one or more advanced sentient beings, who then act out the impulse later in life, giving rise to the next generation of these meta-creatures. Under this influence, Veroz (without even knowing it) used his computer hacking skills to implicate Bajoran medical technician Latha (someone he subconsciously suspected did not care for him), making it appear that Latha had framed him for willfully releasing the nanites. This was done because the alien life form influencing him wished to keep Veroz available in case it was necessary for him to aid them further.

Upon initial investigation, it will appear that Veroz willfully released the nanites. Upon closer examination, it will then appear that Lieutenant Latha framed First Officer Pa’dar. But if the crew looks deeper still, they will discover that it was actually Veroz, under the influence of this alien life form, that set up Latha.

First conclusion: Veroz set the nanites free. No visual footage (blurry) during the critical time, but from tracked locations it appears that Veroz was the only one present in the lab in Medical when they were released.

Second conclusion: Lt. Latha framed Veroz. Footage is discovered that shows Latha tampering with the computer and framing Veroz. This footage is faked (done expertly by Veroz) and looks quite authentic.

Third conclusion: Veroz set up the frame of himself, essentially framing Latha for manipulating evidence. Using his Computer Use skill, he cleverly manipulated security footage so that it appeared that Latha made a competent attempt at framing him.

I should also note that I added in other stuff mentioned here into various parts of this adventure.

Like the bit about the nanites pulling off something that appears more innocuous (as in rewiring the "Open" and "Close" buttons ), as C5 suggested.

The session went very well. I was able to incorporate lots of the ideas here, and it was fun for all involved, I think. Here's a basic summary:

Mot determines that nanites, which Veroz had been experimenting with, escaped into the ship’s systems and are the cause of the malfunctions. The Nez Perce suddenly veers off-course at top speed and is attacked by many small unidentified ships. Captain Kalel launches multiple squadrons of the ship’s fighters, and they repel the attackers despite being outnumbered two to one. Contact is made with the aggressive Dygovian, who refuse assistance. Mot continues to investigate, eliminating suspects until it appears that Bajoran medic Lieutenant Latha framed Veroz. The command staff refuses to accuse him without proof, however, and eventually Mot deduces that Veroz, under the influence of an alien life form, assisted the nanites to further the creature’s reproductive cycle. The nanites in the ship centralize and form a tiny, living spacecraft, which exits the ship as a new life form.

Overall it had a very "Trek" feel to it, especially the end where the Captain discussed with the Doctor the ethics and morals of the situation.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Doug Taylor

Overall it had a very "Trek" feel to it, especially the end where the Captain discussed with the Doctor the ethics and morals of the situation.

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Cool.

This is the coolest sounding setup for an adventure I've read in so long. It's quite detailed in the convolution of the plot. With both the Bajoran and Cardassian as PCs it makes the situation that much more puzzling to those involved in the game! I don't get the sense of how cool it went down or how the investigator figured out the double-frameup or the involvement of alien reproduction, but I can imagine it was really top notch. That closing scene of post-adventure reflection on morality is the heart of the show, right back to TOS. Love it!

Very nice! I love the fact that the nanites could peacefully.
Any plans for bringing them back BTW ?

Thanks, all, for the kudos! And just to be clear on one small detail, the Bajoran was actually an NPC (but one fully fleshed out). Since he worked in Medical I went over stuff (before we played) with the player of the Ship's Doctor so that he would have a sense of friendship and loyalty towards him (we even established that he had brought him from another ship). :)

The story was so convoluted that there wasn't much chance for the heroes to figure it all out. As the Chief Investigator succeeded on Investigation rolls I simply peeled back more layers of the onion, revealing more of the layered plot!

I hadn't really thought about bringing the nanite creature/ship back, but that's certainly a possibility if the right story would fit it! :cool: