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Thread: Soul of a Starship

  1. #1

    Soul of a Starship

    Maritime philosophy issue,
    Now as far as I can tell ships in the real world are considered to have 'souls' (so to speak) directly related to the ships bell. As Trek is roughly based on 19th/20th century maritime traditions could the same be said for Starfleet, do ships have a bell (or some other object) that represents the ship's soul or spirit.
    If you have no idea what I'm talking about, that's OK, the soul of a ship is one of many navel superstitions that exist in the real world. You could also listen to the Gordon Lightfoot song about the Edmond Fitzgerald.
    Phoenix...

    "I'm not saying there should be capital punishment for stupidity,
    but maybe we should just remove all the safety lables and let nature take it's course"

    "A Place For Everything & Nothing In It's Place"

  2. #2
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    Arrow Re: Soul of a Starship

    Originally posted by Phoenix

    Maritime philosophy issue,
    Now as far as I can tell ships in the real world are considered to have 'souls' (so to speak) directly related to the ships bell. As Trek is roughly based on 19th/20th century maritime traditions could the same be said for Starfleet, do ships have a bell (or some other object) that represents the ship's soul or spirit.
    If you have no idea what I'm talking about, that's OK, the soul of a ship is one of many navel superstitions that exist in the real world. You could also listen to the Gordon Lightfoot song about the Edmond Fitzgerald.
    I always thought it was those dedication plaques that represent the soul of the starships, which includes the date the ship's keel(?) was laid and what shipyard he was built.
    Anyhoo, just some random thoughts...

    "My philosophy is 'you don't need me to tell you how to play -- I'll just provide some rules and ideas to use and get out of your way.'"
    -- Monte Cook

    "Min/Maxing and munchkinism aren't problems with the game: they're problems with the players."
    -- excerpt from Guardians of Order's Role-Playing Game Manifesto

    A GENERATION KIKAIDA fan

    DISCLAIMER: I Am Not A Lawyer

  3. #3
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    and of coruse the possability of the starship 'waking up' puts a whole new twist ont his idea....
    A brave little theory, and actually quite coherent for a system of five or seven dimensions -- if only we lived in one.

    Academician Prokhor Zakharov, "Now We Are Alone"

  4. #4
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    Originally posted by BouncyCaitian
    and of coruse the possability of the starship 'waking up' puts a whole new twist ont his idea....
    Been there, done that.
    A little something of my own composition...
    (best when sung to the tune of 'Kellswater.')

    One Little Ship

    The Ophelia sailed from New Haven,
    With silver and salt in her hold,
    The Captain was a young man, but seasoned,
    And the crew were all valiant and bold.

    They set out to carry their cargo
    Through the straits to the south of Cape Horn,
    They took on provisions aplenty
    But they were not prepared for the storm.

    A hurricane hit off Barbados
    The tiny ship tattered and tossed
    And before the tempest subsided
    The crew of Ophelia was lost.

    Ophelia, she drifted for hours
    But nary a man could she see
    She followed her course out of honor
    And love for her lost family.

    From Atlantic to Pacific Ocean,
    Up the west coast to Mulholland Bay,
    The Ophelia sailed into the harbor
    After seven long months and a day.

    But the men of Mullholland, they feared her,
    They could not understand what she'd done,
    And they chased her back out to the ocean,
    With the Bible, the torch and the gun.

    There's a lonely ship out on the ocean,
    And she does not know which way to steer,
    She will wander the seas 'till forever,
    When she cries...

    No one will hear...
    "It's hard being an evil genius when everybody else is so stupid" -- Quantum Crook

  5. #5
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    Re: Re: Soul of a Starship

    Originally posted by REG
    I always thought it was those dedication plaques that represent the soul of the starships, which includes the date the ship's keel(?) was laid and what shipyard he was built.
    I like that. Our Constitution had the original ship's bell from the US frigate on board. But the dedication plaque idea is a nice touch.
    "War is an ugly thing but not the ugliest of things; the decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feelings which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. A man who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself."

    John Stuart Mill

  6. #6
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    I've always felt that ships heart and soul are in their crews.
    tmutant

    Founder of the Evil Gamemasters Support Group. No, Really.

  7. #7
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    Arrow

    No, the crew are the lifeblood.
    Anyhoo, just some random thoughts...

    "My philosophy is 'you don't need me to tell you how to play -- I'll just provide some rules and ideas to use and get out of your way.'"
    -- Monte Cook

    "Min/Maxing and munchkinism aren't problems with the game: they're problems with the players."
    -- excerpt from Guardians of Order's Role-Playing Game Manifesto

    A GENERATION KIKAIDA fan

    DISCLAIMER: I Am Not A Lawyer

  8. #8
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    All the ships in my RPG campaigns have souls. If it's a "realistic" campaign like Star Trek, I just offer an occasional hint that the ship is looking out for the characters. In my Star Wars campaign, the ship's computer is an AI with her own personality, something like Andromeda (but I had the idea first!). In a fantasy campaign, I made the ship's soul easier to touch for the person at the helm.

    I can't say I ever decided the soul was concentrated in one item like the ship's bell, but I am sticking with my idea that it's easier to sense the ship's personality at the helm.
    + &lt;&lt;&lt;&lt;<

    Blessed be the Lord my strength, which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight. Psalm 144:1

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    I once had a (fantasy/DnD) story idea in which the 'Spirit' of the ship was represented as the Ideal Sergeant, who was the Chief of the Boat. If I'm not mistaken, the CotB has a central role in coordinating and running the ship, but isn't an officer or specialist.
    The darkness inside me is a lot scarier than the darkness out there....

  11. #11
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    If that story is set on a sailing ship, you might want to refer to the character as the boatswain (or bosun, or bos'n; all spellings are accepted and pronounced the same). Traditionally, his job was to maintain the ship's rigging and also keep the crew disciplined. He is usually considered the most senior of the crew apart from the officers. The biggest, strongest bosun's mate was the one picked to wield the cat o' nine tails when a crewman was flogged.
    + &lt;&lt;&lt;&lt;<

    Blessed be the Lord my strength, which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight. Psalm 144:1

  12. #12
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    Voyager nearly went so far as to say the plaque was the ship's soul in Equinox, when Janeway was in psycho-death-bitch mode.

    "All these years, all these battles - this thing's never fallen down before..."
    "That might have been the biggest mistake of my life..."

    "It is unlikely. I predict there is scope for even greater mistakes in the future given your obvious talent for them."

    Vila and Orac, Blake's Seven

  13. #13
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    Originally posted by Capt.Hunter
    "All these years, all these battles - this thing's never fallen down before..."
    And still, Janeway didn't get the message....
    The darkness inside me is a lot scarier than the darkness out there....

  14. #14
    The message that she ship was not happy with her choices, or the fact she betrayed the ideas of the Federation...
    Phoenix...

    "I'm not saying there should be capital punishment for stupidity,
    but maybe we should just remove all the safety lables and let nature take it's course"

    "A Place For Everything & Nothing In It's Place"

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