Difference between revisions of "Xihuitl class Person Ship"

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(Created page with "{{InfoboxShip |name = Xihuitl class Person Ship |agility = 0 |alsosee = Virus - Robot |aerodynam= Partially Streamlined Hull |architect= Adrian Tymes |b...")
 
(Renaming New Traveller to Mongoose 2nd)
 
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|name    = Xihuitl class Person Ship
 
|name    = Xihuitl class Person Ship
 
|agility  = 0
 
|agility  = 0
|alsosee  = [[Virus]] - [[Robot]]
+
|alsosee  = [[Utility Craft]] / [[Virus]] - [[Robot]]
 
|aerodynam= [[Partially Streamlined Hull]]  
 
|aerodynam= [[Partially Streamlined Hull]]  
 
|architect= [[Adrian Tymes]]
 
|architect= [[Adrian Tymes]]
 
|blueprint= Yes
 
|blueprint= Yes
|canon    = No. Unpublished, non-canon fan spaceship design.
+
|canon    = No. Unpublished, non-canon fan smallcraft design.
 
|caption  = A person and a [[smallcraft]]
 
|caption  = A person and a [[smallcraft]]
 
|cargo    = 0.3
 
|cargo    = 0.3
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|size    = 10
 
|size    = 10
 
|size-cat = Smallcraft
 
|size-cat = Smallcraft
 +
|staterooms = 0
 
|tdes    = UY
 
|tdes    = UY
 
|TL      = 16
 
|TL      = 16
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== Description ([[Specifications]]) ==
 
== Description ([[Specifications]]) ==
There are certain strains of [[Virus]] that prefer only to infect [[spaceship]]s, that being what they were in when they became sentient, and thus with identities molded around being ships. Some of these strains seek recognition as sentient individuals from other [[sophont]]s, the most numerous examples at hand being far smaller biological ones. The Xihuitl class was designed to facilitate this interaction, using [[TL-16]] [[smallcraft]] [[ship's computer]]s (termed "Model/10") able to handle the complexity of software that at previous [[technological level]]s required [[capital ship]]s' computer cores.
+
There are certain strains of [[Virus]] (and, when that word is not around, [[Cym]]) that prefer only to inhabit [[spaceship]]s, that being what they were in when they became sentient, and thus with identities molded around being ships. Some of these strains seek recognition as sentient individuals from other [[sophont]]s, the most numerous examples at hand being far smaller biological ones. The Xihuitl class was designed to facilitate this interaction, using [[TL-16]] [[smallcraft]] [[ship's computer]]s (termed "Model/10") able to handle the complexity of software that at previous [[technological level]]s required [[capital ship]]s' computer cores.
  
Sculpted to resemble a large floating humanoid, with legs replaced by a hemispherical maneuver drive, the typical assessment is that it does its job somewhat but an [[android]] would have been better. It is unable to fit into spaces designed for smaller sophonts. Its [[body plan]] is just close enough to humanoid to feel off; in particular, at rest the end of the arms tries to form into "hands" with three fingers and two thumbs, but the many manipulators, tools, and cameras these are formed from are clearly visible. But where it can go, it provides a unit that can be faced and spoken with.
+
Sculpted to resemble a large floating humanoid, with legs replaced by a hemispherical maneuver drive, the typical assessment is that it does its job somewhat but an [[android]] would have been better. It is unable to fit into spaces designed for smaller [[sophont]]s. Its [[body plan]] is just close enough to humanoid to feel off; in particular, at rest the end of the arms tries to form into "hands" with three fingers and two thumbs, but the many manipulators, tools, and cameras these are formed from are clearly visible. But where it can go, it provides a unit that can be faced and spoken with.
  
 
If kept to planet-side activities on a water-bearing world with only occasional excursions above the atmosphere (say, to move things to or from orbit or to visit a local moon), and supplied with a high tech [[population]] or tools to maintain itself, then between its greater speed, strength, and intelligence relative to most sophonts, a Xihuitl essentially becomes the long-lived superbeing it believes itself to be. As with any [[vehicle]] with a [[maneuver drive]], a Xihuitl can soar at hypersonic speeds around a [[planet]], or just hop up to low orbit and back to complete a long (on planetary scale) trip in less than an hour (accelerating then decelerating in similar fashion to space voyages). While it has limited internal cargo space, by locking arms and getting under the center of gravity, it is able to carry loads heavier than itself (maximum load depending on local gravity: (30 G-tons lift)/(tons of cargo + 10 ton Xihuitl) >= gravity in Gs). Concretely measuring intelligence remains trickier even at high [[technology level]]s, but most standardized tests place a Xihuitl's AI at much higher than the average for most biological [[sophont]]s. The only "food" a Xihuitl needs is hydrogen, typically siphoned from the same water supply that supports whatever [[population]] it associates with, though its maintenance "medical" needs are significantly higher. Most new Xihuitls quickly learn the skills needed to maintain themselves, and devote their internal cargo to supplies necessary for this (and sometimes an [[android]] drone, though many report dissatisfaction when biological [[sophont]]s treat this drone as the "real" [[sophont]] and the Xihuitl as a mere shell).
 
If kept to planet-side activities on a water-bearing world with only occasional excursions above the atmosphere (say, to move things to or from orbit or to visit a local moon), and supplied with a high tech [[population]] or tools to maintain itself, then between its greater speed, strength, and intelligence relative to most sophonts, a Xihuitl essentially becomes the long-lived superbeing it believes itself to be. As with any [[vehicle]] with a [[maneuver drive]], a Xihuitl can soar at hypersonic speeds around a [[planet]], or just hop up to low orbit and back to complete a long (on planetary scale) trip in less than an hour (accelerating then decelerating in similar fashion to space voyages). While it has limited internal cargo space, by locking arms and getting under the center of gravity, it is able to carry loads heavier than itself (maximum load depending on local gravity: (30 G-tons lift)/(tons of cargo + 10 ton Xihuitl) >= gravity in Gs). Concretely measuring intelligence remains trickier even at high [[technology level]]s, but most standardized tests place a Xihuitl's AI at much higher than the average for most biological [[sophont]]s. The only "food" a Xihuitl needs is hydrogen, typically siphoned from the same water supply that supports whatever [[population]] it associates with, though its maintenance "medical" needs are significantly higher. Most new Xihuitls quickly learn the skills needed to maintain themselves, and devote their internal cargo to supplies necessary for this (and sometimes an [[android]] drone, though many report dissatisfaction when biological [[sophont]]s treat this drone as the "real" [[sophont]] and the Xihuitl as a mere shell).
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| 2.
 
| 2.
 
| [[Crew]]
 
| [[Crew]]
| ''Crew:'' none, aside from the software on the [[ship's computer]].
+
| ''Crew:'' None, aside from the software on the [[ship's computer]].
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 3.
 
| 3.
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| 5.
 
| 5.
 
| [[Ship's Hardpoint|Hardpoints]]
 
| [[Ship's Hardpoint|Hardpoints]]
| No [[hardpoint]]s, 1 firmpoint.
+
| No [[hardpoint]]s, 1 [[firmpoint]].
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 6.
 
| 6.
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| 10.
 
| 10.
 
| [[Imperial Currency|Cost]]
 
| [[Imperial Currency|Cost]]
| [[MCr]]81.6025 standard (no architect's fees, the effort having been donated by the [[naval architect]]s for the benefit of their fellow [[Awakened]]). [[MCr]]73.44225 in quantity - theoretically, as this class is not known to be manufactured in more than individual batches.
+
| [[MCr]]81.6025 standard (no architect's fees, the effort having been donated by the [[naval architect]]s for the benefit of their fellow [[Awakened]]). [[MCr]]73.44225 in quantity - theoretically, as this class is not known to have ever been manufactured in batches of more than one at a time.
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 11.
 
| 11.
 
| [[Ship Architecture|Construction Time]]
 
| [[Ship Architecture|Construction Time]]
| 2.5 months standard, 1.5 in quantity (theoretically: see above).
+
| 10 weeks standard, 7 in quantity (theoretically: see above).
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 12.
 
| 12.
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When this [[smallcraft]] was first encountered, it was assumed to be a [[Unique Ship]]. The concept that a [[Virus]] might wish to appear humanoid was believed to obviously be extremely rare, never happening save for the one example on record.
 
When this [[smallcraft]] was first encountered, it was assumed to be a [[Unique Ship]]. The concept that a [[Virus]] might wish to appear humanoid was believed to obviously be extremely rare, never happening save for the one example on record.
  
Then another was encountered, and another and another. It came out that a number of [[Awakened]] wished recognition as a [[sophont]], so one of them came up with and shared this design to try to get [[sophont]]s used to thinking of [[Awakened]] with this avatar as having a body they could relate to. While this was certainly a limited and kind of alien use, "unique" no longer applied. Classifiers pointed out that this was unquestionably a [[smallcraft]], and whatever sensibilities applied, it was clearly for (extremely) personal use on matters that did not cleanly fall into any other class, the very definition of a [[Private Smallcraft]].
+
Then another was encountered, and another and another. It came out that a number of [[Awakened]] wished recognition as a [[sophont]], so one of them came up with and shared this design to try to get [[sophont]]s used to thinking of [[Awakened]] with this avatar as having a body they could relate to. While this was certainly a limited and kind of alien use, "unique" no longer applied. Classifiers pointed out that this was unquestionably a [[smallcraft]], and whatever sensibilities applied, it was clearly for (extremely) personal use on matters that did not cleanly fall into any other class, the very definition of a [[Private Smallcraft]]. This classification was especially pushed by [[Vilani]] as a minor celebration that their venerated precedent - in this case, the system of naval classification codes from the by-then long-gone [[Third Imperium]] - covered even such an extreme case.
  
 
[[1201]] is estimated for first manufacture of this class, based more on speculation than on hard evidence. It is entirely possible there were examples some years before, though not before [[Virus]] was released and had time to evolve well beyond the initial [[Suicider virus]] strains. On the other hand, a few are on video dated [[1221]] celebrating the founding of the [[Fourth Imperium]].
 
[[1201]] is estimated for first manufacture of this class, based more on speculation than on hard evidence. It is entirely possible there were examples some years before, though not before [[Virus]] was released and had time to evolve well beyond the initial [[Suicider virus]] strains. On the other hand, a few are on video dated [[1221]] celebrating the founding of the [[Fourth Imperium]].
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=== Selected Variant Types & Classes ===
 
=== Selected Variant Types & Classes ===
''[[Civilian Ship]] - [[Smallcraft]] - [[Utility Craft]]:''
+
{{:Referral-Tree-UY-Private-Smallcraft}}
* [[Type UY class Private Smallcraft]]
 
** [[Xihuitl class Person Ship]]
 
  
 
== References & Contributors ([[Sources]]) ==
 
== References & Contributors ([[Sources]]) ==
 
{{Intermediate}}
 
{{Intermediate}}
 
{{Metadata}}
 
{{Metadata}}
 +
{{MGT-2-Ship-Design}}
 
{{Detail}}
 
{{Detail}}
 
{{Sources
 
{{Sources
|S1= {{Ludography cite|name= High Guard |page= 8-22 |version= New Traveller}} (Design Sequence Used)
+
|S1= {{Ludography cite|name=High Guard |page= 8-22 | version=Mongoose 2nd}} (Design Sequence Used)
 
|S2= EXTERNAL LINK: [http://forum.mongoosepublishing.com/viewtopic.php?f=89&t=121571&start=20#p930791 An Alphabet of Ships]
 
|S2= EXTERNAL LINK: [http://forum.mongoosepublishing.com/viewtopic.php?f=89&t=121571&start=20#p930791 An Alphabet of Ships]
 
|S3= [[Traveller Wiki Editorial Team]]
 
|S3= [[Traveller Wiki Editorial Team]]
Line 151: Line 151:
  
  
[[Category: Third Imperium]]
+
[[Category: Virus]]
[[Category: Third Imperium Ship]]
+
[[Category: Virus Ship]]
 
[[Category: Alphabet of Ships]]
 
[[Category: Alphabet of Ships]]
 
{{LEN|Ship}}
 
{{LEN|Ship}}

Latest revision as of 03:27, 15 November 2021

Xihuitl class Person Ship
Wiki Navy.png
A person and a smallcraft
Type: UY Private Smallcraft
Category Smallcraft
Size 10 Tons
Hull Configuration Irregular Structure Hull
Streamlining Partially Streamlined Hull
Tech Level TL–16
Engineering
Computer Model/10
Jump J-0
Maneuver 3 G
Armaments
Hardpoints 0
Accommodations
Staterooms 0
Personnel
Crew 0
High/Mid Passengers 0
Payload
Cargo 0.3 Tons
Fuel tank 0 Tons
Construction
Origin Awakened
Manufacturer various
Year Operational 1201
End of Service None known or expected
Price
Cost MCr81.6025. MCr73.44225 in quantity.
Architect fee MCrAdrian Tymes
Statistics
Quick Ship Profile UY-1C30
Images
Blueprint Yes
Illustration No
Source
Also see Utility Craft / Virus - Robot
Canon Published, fan design
Era Fourth Imperium
Reference EXTERNAL LINK: MGT Forums
Designed with Mongoose Traveller High Guard rules, but portable to other versions.

The Xihuitl class Person Ship is an Awakened smallcraft.

Description (Specifications)[edit]

There are certain strains of Virus (and, when that word is not around, Cym) that prefer only to inhabit spaceships, that being what they were in when they became sentient, and thus with identities molded around being ships. Some of these strains seek recognition as sentient individuals from other sophonts, the most numerous examples at hand being far smaller biological ones. The Xihuitl class was designed to facilitate this interaction, using TL-16 smallcraft ship's computers (termed "Model/10") able to handle the complexity of software that at previous technological levels required capital ships' computer cores.

Sculpted to resemble a large floating humanoid, with legs replaced by a hemispherical maneuver drive, the typical assessment is that it does its job somewhat but an android would have been better. It is unable to fit into spaces designed for smaller sophonts. Its body plan is just close enough to humanoid to feel off; in particular, at rest the end of the arms tries to form into "hands" with three fingers and two thumbs, but the many manipulators, tools, and cameras these are formed from are clearly visible. But where it can go, it provides a unit that can be faced and spoken with.

If kept to planet-side activities on a water-bearing world with only occasional excursions above the atmosphere (say, to move things to or from orbit or to visit a local moon), and supplied with a high tech population or tools to maintain itself, then between its greater speed, strength, and intelligence relative to most sophonts, a Xihuitl essentially becomes the long-lived superbeing it believes itself to be. As with any vehicle with a maneuver drive, a Xihuitl can soar at hypersonic speeds around a planet, or just hop up to low orbit and back to complete a long (on planetary scale) trip in less than an hour (accelerating then decelerating in similar fashion to space voyages). While it has limited internal cargo space, by locking arms and getting under the center of gravity, it is able to carry loads heavier than itself (maximum load depending on local gravity: (30 G-tons lift)/(tons of cargo + 10 ton Xihuitl) >= gravity in Gs). Concretely measuring intelligence remains trickier even at high technology levels, but most standardized tests place a Xihuitl's AI at much higher than the average for most biological sophonts. The only "food" a Xihuitl needs is hydrogen, typically siphoned from the same water supply that supports whatever population it associates with, though its maintenance "medical" needs are significantly higher. Most new Xihuitls quickly learn the skills needed to maintain themselves, and devote their internal cargo to supplies necessary for this (and sometimes an android drone, though many report dissatisfaction when biological sophonts treat this drone as the "real" sophont and the Xihuitl as a mere shell).

That said, a Xihuitl is still technically a smallcraft, able to fly throughout a solar system with little problem. There are "jump frames" - 100 ton starships, usually a minimum of Jump-3, refitted with a docking space replacing the bridge, staterooms, and crew commons - that Xihuitls can dock with and pilot from star to star, typically filling all crew positions. It is not unheard of, when a Xihuitl wishes to blow off steam, to fly to a local asteroid belt and take out frustrations on a helpless rock (placing new craters on the planet or local moons having been deemed unsightly).

Image Repository[edit]

Not available at this time.

General Description & Deck Plans[edit]

  1. Deck Plans (technically body plans) for this vessel.
    1 xihuitl bodyplans.png

Basic Ship Characteristics[edit]

Following the Imperial Navy and IISS Universal Ship Profile and data, additional information is presented in the format shown here. [1]

Basic Ship Characteristics [2]
No. Category Remarks
1. Tonnage / Hull Tonnage: 10 tons (standard). 140 cubic meters. Partially Streamlined Irregular Structure Hull.
  • Dimensions: maximum 10 meters tall by 10 meters wide by 2 meters thick.
2. Crew Crew: None, aside from the software on the ship's computer.
3. Performance Acceleration: 3-G maneuver drive installed.
4. Electronics Model/10 ship computer.
5. Hardpoints No hardpoints, 1 firmpoint.
6. Armament None in the base model, though some have been noted to carry and wield weapons in their arms, or batteries in their cargo bay and a strap-on backpack-like laser turret.
7. Defenses None in the base model, though many with the laser turret addition describe above use it primarily to conduct point defense (more often for nearby ships than for themselves).
8. Craft None (aside from itself). With no crew, vacc suits and rescue balls not normally carried.
9. Fuel Treatment It is typically equipped with a fuel purification plant and fuel scoops.
10. Cost MCr81.6025 standard (no architect's fees, the effort having been donated by the naval architects for the benefit of their fellow Awakened). MCr73.44225 in quantity - theoretically, as this class is not known to have ever been manufactured in batches of more than one at a time.
11. Construction Time 10 weeks standard, 7 in quantity (theoretically: see above).
12. Remarks A smallcraft designed to be a sophont.

History & Background (Dossier)[edit]

When this smallcraft was first encountered, it was assumed to be a Unique Ship. The concept that a Virus might wish to appear humanoid was believed to obviously be extremely rare, never happening save for the one example on record.

Then another was encountered, and another and another. It came out that a number of Awakened wished recognition as a sophont, so one of them came up with and shared this design to try to get sophonts used to thinking of Awakened with this avatar as having a body they could relate to. While this was certainly a limited and kind of alien use, "unique" no longer applied. Classifiers pointed out that this was unquestionably a smallcraft, and whatever sensibilities applied, it was clearly for (extremely) personal use on matters that did not cleanly fall into any other class, the very definition of a Private Smallcraft. This classification was especially pushed by Vilani as a minor celebration that their venerated precedent - in this case, the system of naval classification codes from the by-then long-gone Third Imperium - covered even such an extreme case.

1201 is estimated for first manufacture of this class, based more on speculation than on hard evidence. It is entirely possible there were examples some years before, though not before Virus was released and had time to evolve well beyond the initial Suicider virus strains. On the other hand, a few are on video dated 1221 celebrating the founding of the Fourth Imperium.

Class Naming Practice/s & Peculiarities[edit]

Ship Interior Details (Peculiarities): Most of a Xihuitl's sensors are along the sides of its "chest", meaning that turning its torso (rather than its "head") to face directly toward or away from something is how it pays primary attention.

The stack in the middle of its torso is a rough analogue to a biological feeding and elimination system. The cargo bay at the top of this stack has lead some to joke that they have a hole where their heart should be; most Xihuitls know enough biology to point out that their physical heart is just in a different place (a bit lower, near their center of mass), and enough art to claim their metaphorical heart is in processors distributed around their body.

Class Naming Practice/s: In every case, the name of the Xihuitl smallcraft is the name of the controlling identity, be it a meta identity or a point identity. No meta identity is known to control more than one Xihuitl at a time, although some control other spaceships and/or other devices; in these cases, the Xihuitl is (by design) viewed as the primary body.

Selected Variant Types & Classes[edit]

Civilian Ship - Private Vessel - Utility Craft - Private Smallcraft:

References & Contributors (Sources)[edit]

This article has metadata.
Mongoose New Traveller This ship was designed using Mongoose 2nd ship design rules.
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This list of sources was used by the Traveller Wiki Editorial Team and individual contributors to compose this article. Copyrighted material is used under license from Far Future Enterprises or by permission of the author. The page history lists all of the contributions.