A Star Destroyer encounters the Space Amoeba

OmegaGuy · Post by **OmegaGuy** » 2006-03-20 01:45pm

From TOS "The Immunity Syndrome"

What happens?

SirNitram · Post by **SirNitram** » 2006-03-20 01:47pm

Some long range scans, perhaps dispatching it's support craft for a closer look, then it signals it's superiors that it has found an anomaly. Then, it hyperspaces away.

Why the christ would a warship do anything else?

OmegaGuy · Post by **OmegaGuy** » 2006-03-20 01:49pm

Okay, then a fleet comes in to attack it. Then what happens?

SirNitram · Post by **SirNitram** » 2006-03-20 01:51pm

OmegaGuy wrote:Okay, then a fleet comes in to attack it. Then what happens?

Why the hell would they attack it? Has it attacked them? Is it hostile? Do you regularly chuck grenades at a strange new species of crab you find at the beach?

OmegaGuy · Post by **OmegaGuy** » 2006-03-20 01:56pm

In the episode they stated it would reproduce and eventually take over the galaxy. So it is hostile.

Duckie · Post by **Duckie** » 2006-03-20 02:00pm

The Amoeba is only 1 amoeba with no FTL capabilities (IIRC). Sure, it'll take over the universe some day. But the Amoebas in our distant precambrian ancestry could make the same claim about taking over the world, too.

By the time the Amoeba actually gets anything worthwhile done in the Galactic Empire's area, I'm sure it'll have been long enough that people will notice it. Not when there's just one.

Crossroads Inc. · Post by **Crossroads Inc.** » 2006-03-20 05:54pm

I think He is simply asking what shooting the thing would do. Or conversely, if the Amoeba could 'Eat' an ISD.

Patrick Degan · Post by **Patrick Degan** » 2006-03-20 08:32pm

The Space Amoeba was, what, 15km across? Sinear Fleet Systems should be up to the task of constructing a cage for it.

nickolay1 · Post by **nickolay1** » 2006-03-20 08:33pm

Only 15km? A single HTL shot should handle it, then.

Patrick Degan · Post by **Patrick Degan** » 2006-03-20 08:35pm

Check that —more like 11,000 miles (~15,000 km) across. I hate making schoolboy mistakes like that!

OmegaGuy · Post by **OmegaGuy** » 2006-03-20 08:44pm

I didn't know it was that big

. They might have to bring in the Death Star to deal with it.

nickolay1 · Post by **nickolay1** » 2006-03-20 08:58pm

Several Star Destroyers could BDZ it from a safe distance instead.

Batman · Post by **Batman** » 2006-03-20 09:00pm

Which leaves the question of why they would.

nickolay1 · Post by **nickolay1** » 2006-03-20 09:26pm

Trespassing in Imperial space, of course.

The Silence and I · Post by **The Silence and I** » 2006-03-20 09:36pm

If they were to shoot it, I imagine the fact its insides are liquid would make internal shockwaves quite damaging. Fill a watertight barrel with water, drop a firecracker in and watch the barrel crack under the pressure.

Of course, the Enterprise never got a chance to shoot it, thanks to the energy draining field, but the limits of the creature's rate of power absorption is unknown. It is extremely likely however, that the greater the energy density, the greater the rate of drain--which is why the Enterprise's power systems suffered so quickly compared to the low density energy interactions within the crew's bodies. An Imperial warship would find a large drain on its power systems, but I expect they would get some shots off, or be able to escape the pull if they increased power briefly.

After that, destroying it from beyond the range of the field is merely an matter of applying firepower until it dies.

Kadaeux · Post by **Kadaeux** » 2006-03-20 09:51pm

I reckon they would opt for using ION Cannons against it, the electrical nature of the ION blast would most likely be more damaging over a wide area such as the amoeba is than a HTL.

Kazuaki Shimazaki · Post by **Kazuaki Shimazaki** » 2006-03-20 09:55pm

The Silence and I wrote:Of course, the Enterprise never got a chance to shoot it, thanks to the energy draining field, but the limits of the creature's rate of power absorption is unknown. It is extremely likely however, that the greater the energy density, the greater the rate of drain--which is why the Enterprise's power systems suffered so quickly compared to the low density energy interactions within the crew's bodies. An Imperial warship would find a large drain on its power systems, but I expect they would get some shots off, or be able to escape the pull if they increased power briefly.

Actually, that would be the end of the amoeba - it has to store the ISD's sun-like output someplace, and it'd heat up and die.

Batman · Post by **Batman** » 2006-03-20 09:57pm

As evidenced by nothing whatsoever. Hello?
I realize it's 'let's post stupid garbage and pretend it makes sense' season for SDN but that's beyond pushing it.

The Silence and I · Post by **The Silence and I** » 2006-03-20 10:25pm

Kazuaki Shimazaki wrote:Actually, that would be the end of the amoeba - it has to store the ISD's sun-like output someplace, and it'd heat up and die.

1) Who say's it's an ISD? Could be one of the numerous smaller ships, which have correspondingly smaller core outputs.

2) An ISD's sun-like output is not normal, and represents maximum reactor output. At nearly any point in time the reactor would put out far, far less.

3) Presumably the ameboa can simply stop absorbing energy when it feels "full."

4) While it might bite off more than it can chew, it might also simply grow and divide. You don't know for sure, and neither do I.

LongVin · Post by **LongVin** » 2006-03-20 10:51pm

How bout we just get a supersized case of bacterial disinfectant and dump it on the ameoba?

Kadaeux · Post by **Kadaeux** » 2006-03-20 11:44pm

The Silence and I wrote

1) Who say's it's an ISD? Could be one of the numerous smaller ships, which have correspondingly smaller core outputs.

The title of the thread. What if a star destroyer encountered and amoeba?

The Silence and I · Post by **The Silence and I** » 2006-03-21 12:13am

Kadaeux wrote:The Silence and I wrote
1) Who say's it's an ISD? Could be one of the numerous smaller ships, which have correspondingly smaller core outputs.
The title of the thread. What if a star destroyer encountered and amoeba?

Heh. That's what I get for reading the text of the post, and not the title

Kadaeux · Post by **Kadaeux** » 2006-03-21 12:26am

lol,

I make mistakes like that every now and again as well, tis embarrasing.

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2006-03-21 02:50am

What's the density of the amoeba? That would give us some idea of how much energy it can absorb.

Kazuaki Shimazaki · Post by **Kazuaki Shimazaki** » 2006-03-21 10:13am

The Silence and I wrote:2) An ISD's sun-like output is not normal, and represents maximum reactor output. At nearly any point in time the reactor would put out far, far less.

If I suddenly feel a power drain on my ship, I'd either go all stop (in which case there's nothing to suck) or ahead flank.

3) Presumably the ameboa can simply stop absorbing energy when it feels "full."

If it stops sucking, energy will be forced into it anyway via TL.