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[MegaSovereign]

- Supported by the game.
- Easily inferred
- Pure speculation

What does the Crucible do?

• The Crucible exploits the mass relay network. The Crucible uses the mass relays to transfer energy across the galaxy with little regard to distance.
• Since the Citadel is the center/command station of the mass relay network, the Crucible can use it to better exploit the mass relays. Hence previous cycles later incorporating the Citadel into the Crucible's design.
• The Catalyst says that the Crucible is a little more than a power source, confirming that the functionality/targeting of the Crucible is mostly done through the Citadel
• In the Control ending, the Crucible is used to hack the Reapers' consensus to override the Catalyst's control over them. Shepard now replaces the Catalyst.
• In the Destroy ending, the Crucible sends out an energy wave that targets all synthetics. What gets destroyed depends on the EMS. With low EMS the Crucible fails to function properly and causes an unpredictable level of damage to both organics and technology throughout the galaxy. With mid-level EMS the Crucible damages all technology. With high EMS the Crucible only destroys technology holding AIs, machines that contain programs with adaptive or quantum coding.
• In the Synthesis ending, Shepard's organic energy is broken down and then dispersed to merge organic and synthetic life into a new framework/DNA. The Crucible's beam is a well-developed mass spectrometer, and Shepard's leap into the beam is what gives the Catalyst a complete picture of what makes him tick. The Crucible's blast is actually a burst of gamma radiation designed to create classical matter from dark matter. The Crucible emits virtual particles capable of manipulating the quantum foam to assemble this newly created matter into functional structures. Artificial viruses might explain how this technology would integrate with its host.**
• Time slows down the closer you get to the speed of light. The Crucible using dark energy could mean that time would reverse itself for it and therefore the effect would be noticeable in the past even if the wave was going well beyond the speed of light.
• Dark Energy is the type of energy that is produced (altered) by Eezo to produce Mass Effect fields, allowing for faster than light travel and manipulating the mass of various objects. However, the Crucible is more of a conventional device considering its power sources.*
• In short, the Crucible/Citadel mechanism is basically a giant Mass Effect gun, more or less. Or it is a sawn off Mass Relay. In any event, it is a traditionally powered (fusion) mobile installation that interacts with the Relays and uses a huge amount of Element Zero. *

*ABCold's contribution
**Taken from WardenAlex's thread "How Stuff Works: Synthesis Edition" (social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/355/index/13087142)
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What powers the Crucible?

• One of the main power sources of the Crucible could in fact be dark matter, or the power sources could readily alter dark matter.
  Source:

  Prothean Data Files
  These Prothean discs were found years ago on Eden Prime, recovered a few months before the discovery of the Prothean Beacon in 2183. For years the data on the discs was incomprehensible, until the Crucible's blueprints provided the key to understanding the equations. Locked inside the discs were theories on dark matter meant to be used with the Crucible's main power source.
  

• Eezo could also be something that fuels the Crucible, at the very least it is fundamental to the function of the Crucible.
  Source:

  Element Zero Converter
  Element zero refineries are large industrial facilities that remove impurities from the element, also called eezo, before it is used to fuel starships or gravity generators. It's an important process, as sending an electrical charge through impure eezo can cause the element to explode. By setting up a conversion facility beside the Crucible, eezo can be mined, refined and supplied to the project in record time.
  

• The Reaper Brain could skyrocket the processing power of the Crucible. More processing power could make it easier for the Crucible to hack the firewalls of the Reapers' main computer systems.
  Source:

  The Reaper Brain
  The Illusive Man salvaged the most valuable part of the human proto-Reaper under construction by the Collectors: its central processor. This "brain" has been reactivated for use as a computational device, crunching unheard amounts of data in nanoseconds. The Crucible's engineers are dissecting the processor, working in strictly supervised, drone-assisted shifts. While direct contact with Reapers is dangerous, the engineers feel the risk is worth the potential discovery of vulnerabilities in Reaper construction.
  

• The Reapers main power source (the heart) could also help power the Crucible. More energy/raw power could make it easier for the Crucible to destroy the Reapers.
  Source:
  

  The Reaper Heart
  After Commander Shepard destroyed the Collector base, Cerberus spent months picking through irradiated rubble for anything useful. The human proto-Reaper the Collectors were building lay in pieces. But its incomplete core survived. The power cell would have been capable of fueling a full-fledged Reaper. After studying the device, Cerberus modified it to fuel the Illusive Man's base. Alliance engineers believe they can use the core similarly to power the Crucible.
  

• The Crucible uses interferometric arrays to track solar systems with Reaper activity.
  Source:

  Interferometric Array
  Normally interferometric arrays are used to analyze planetary landmasses, or to determine the astrophysical properties of stellar systems. The powerful array salvaged from the Hercules system can be used for something much more ambitious: the Crucible tunes into the mass relays' command switches. Installing the interferometric array into the Crucible's systems results in a real-time map of the entire galaxy, including the position of each and every Reaper in the Milky Way.

For those interested in the description of Crucible War assets.

Modifié par MegaSovereign, 25 novembre 2012 - 06:40 .

[arial]

good work OP, Ill give this a read during my break at work tmr

[MegaSovereign]

arial wrote...

good work OP, Ill give this a read during my break at work tmr

I used your idea of the Crucible using dark energy in relation to time, if you don't mind.

[MegaSovereign]

FTL forums?

[o Ventus]

What if you don't get any of these assets?

[MegaSovereign]

o Ventus wrote...

What if you don't get any of these assets?

I don't think the Crucible needs these assets to work. Some of the assets you find, like the interferometric arrays are just improvements to the ones that are gonna be built anyways. Other assets like the Reaper Heart/Brain are dependent on whether or not you kept the Collector base. I put the quotes to those descriptions as a source read.

The meat here is that the Crucible uses the mass relay network to transfer energy. No matter which assets you do or don't get, things like that won't change.

Modifié par MegaSovereign, 14 juin 2012 - 05:55 .

[arial]

MegaSovereign wrote...

arial wrote...

good work OP, Ill give this a read during my break at work tmr

I used your idea of the Crucible using dark energy in relation to time, if you don't mind.

good job man, just read it.

great work man

[Blacklash93]

I'm still convinced it was a giant drug bong.

[MegaSovereign]

Blacklash93 wrote...

I'm still convinced it was a giant drug bong.

Lol

Maybe the Protheans were trying to get high on their final hours, so they devoted all their resources into building the Crucible.

[Jonata]

Very useful and tech-savvy.

[MegaSovereign]

Bump for those interested.

[saracen16]

Very interesting. Thanks, OP.

[lordofdogtown19]

 

[capn233]

Good compilation

MegaSovereign wrote...

Dark Energy
Published years ago by Dr. Conrad Verner, this doctorial dissertation on xenotechnology is a lengthy but intriguing argument that dark energy causes a minute but empirically observable difference in the passage of
time. Hotly debated when first published, the paper's theory is supported by recent data. The dissertation illuminates several instructions left by the Protheans on how to build the Crucible.

-Time slows down the closer you get to the speed of light. The Crucible using dark energy could mean that time would reverse itself for it and therefore the effect would be noticible in the past even if the wave was going well beyond the speed of light.

Now for something that may simply prove that I don't understand the above.

It is more apt to think of an object with mass has having a total velocity in spacetime that has a constant vector sum, but as you increase the space velocity portion, you reduce the velocity portion through time.

Interestingly, in the Mass Effect universe, they somehow got around time dilation using mass effect fields, but clearly something like Normandy isn't going back in time when it jumps to FTL through exploitation of mass effect.  I would have expected that someone would have posited that the dark energy is affecting the "passage of time" when they realized that a trip that took 2 hours for them also appeared to take 2 hours from the perspective of an observer on Earth before Dr Verner also stated it.  So I suppose we should actually believe he claimed that two observers in the same reference frame with relative velocity of zero, but one at higher dark energy field strength, will experience different passages of time.

In any event since this is combining imaginary physics with real (but hard to comprehend based on everyday experiences) physics, perhaps it is not worth overthinking it.  But I would simply remove the bit about time reversing itself from the post since there isn't really anything in game that hinges on time travel, nor do they necessarily need that war asset to have the "best" outcome with the cruicible.  I simply think that gives them a better understanding of how to fine tune the dark energy waveguides, or whatever piece of technobabble you want to throw in (although inventing technobabble isn't necessary).

Modifié par capn233, 01 juillet 2012 - 04:47 .

[MegaSovereign]

capn233 wrote...

Good compilation

MegaSovereign wrote...

Dark Energy
Published years ago by Dr. Conrad Verner, this doctorial dissertation on xenotechnology is a lengthy but intriguing argument that dark energy causes a minute but empirically observable difference in the passage of
time. Hotly debated when first published, the paper's theory is supported by recent data. The dissertation illuminates several instructions left by the Protheans on how to build the Crucible.

-Time slows down the closer you get to the speed of light. The Crucible using dark energy could mean that time would reverse itself for it and therefore the effect would be noticible in the past even if the wave was going well beyond the speed of light.

Now for something that may simply prove that I don't understand the above.

It is more apt to think of an object with mass has having a total velocity in spacetime that has a constant vector sum, but as you increase the space velocity portion, you reduce the velocity portion through time.

Interestingly, in the Mass Effect universe, they somehow got around time dilation using mass effect fields, but clearly something like Normandy isn't going back in time when it jumps to FTL through exploitation of mass effect.  I would have expected that someone would have posited that the dark energy is affecting the "passage of time" when they realized that a trip that took 2 hours for them also appeared to take 2 hours from the perspective of an observer on Earth before Dr Verner also stated it.  So I suppose we should actually believe he claimed that two observers in the same reference frame with relative velocity of zero, but one at higher dark energy field strength, will experience different passages of time.

In any event since this is combining imaginary physics with real (but hard to comprehend based on everyday experiences) physics, perhaps it is not worth overthinking it.  But I would simply remove the bit about time reversing itself from the post since there isn't really anything in game that hinges on time travel, nor do they necessarily need that war asset to have the "best" outcome with the cruicible.  I simply think that gives them a better understanding of how to fine tune the dark energy waveguides, or whatever piece of technobabble you want to throw in (although inventing technobabble isn't necessary).

Yes ofcourse, this is an optional asset and is not required for the Crucible to be successfully activated.

It's just one way it could improve its accuracy to get you the best outcome.

Modifié par MegaSovereign, 01 juillet 2012 - 08:30 .

[ABCoLD]

Dark Energy is the type of energy that is produced (altered) by Eezo to produce Mass Effect fields, allowing for faster than light travel and manipulating the mass of various objects.

However the Crucible is a more conventional device. Key excerpts and notes are:

Emergency Fuel Pods...
When activated, the Crucible's fusion reactors consume entire oceans of helium-3.

Advanced AI Relays...
Xen used the valuable technology to write a custom VI that oversees the energy output of the Crucible's fusion reactors and adjusts itself automatically.

But what does the Crucible do!?

Interferometric Array...
The powerful array salvaged from the Hercules system can be used for something much more ambitious: the Crucible tunes into the mass relays' command switches. Installing the interferometric array into the Crucible's systems results in a real-time map of the entire galaxy, including the position of each and every Reaper in the Milky Way.

Prothean Data Files...
Locked inside the discs were theories on dark matter meant to be used with the Crucible's main power source.

Element Zero Converter....
By setting up a conversion facility beside the Crucible, eezo can be mined, refined and supplied to the project in record time.

Shadow Broker Starship Tech...
The ship ingeniously drew its power from the thunderstorms raging constantly on the planet it orbited, relying on an interlocking system of kinetic barriers, grounding rods and capacitors to avoid being ripped apart. These systems have repurposed for sections of the Crucible that require the safe discharge of tremendous amounts of energy.

In short, the Crucible is basically a giant Mass Effect gun, more or less. Or it is a sawn off Mass Relay. In any event, it is a traditionally powered (fusion) mobile installation that interacts with the Relays and uses a huge amount of Element Zero. Or so we are led to believe. I'm not sure how big the thing's EeZo core is cause the visual design was ridiculous.

Modifié par ABCoLD, 02 juillet 2012 - 08:02 .

[ABCoLD]

Interestingly, there is no known connection between Element Zero and efficient energy production. Which further muddies the fact that in the end it turned out that the Crucible was nothing more than a huge battery to power existing systems within the Citadel itself.

In other words what we know of the system's design and intended use are invalidated in the last ten minutes of the game. Sounds familiar!

[MegaSovereign]

ABCoLD wrote...

Dark Energy is the type of energy that is produced (altered) by Eezo to produce Mass Effect fields, allowing for faster than light travel and manipulating the mass of various objects.

However the Crucible is a more conventional device. Key excerpts and notes are:

Emergency Fuel Pods...
When activated, the Crucible's fusion reactors consume entire oceans of helium-3.

Advanced AI Relays...
Xen used the valuable technology to write a custom VI that oversees the energy output of the Crucible's fusion reactors and adjusts itself automatically.

But what does the Crucible do!?

Interferometric Array...
The powerful array salvaged from the Hercules system can be used for something much more ambitious: the Crucible tunes into the mass relays' command switches. Installing the interferometric array into the Crucible's systems results in a real-time map of the entire galaxy, including the position of each and every Reaper in the Milky Way.

Prothean Data Files...
Locked inside the discs were theories on dark matter meant to be used with the Crucible's main power source.

Element Zero Converter....
By setting up a conversion facility beside the Crucible, eezo can be mined, refined and supplied to the project in record time.

Shadow Broker Starship Tech...
The ship ingeniously drew its power from the thunderstorms raging constantly on the planet it orbited, relying on an interlocking system of kinetic barriers, grounding rods and capacitors to avoid being ripped apart. These systems have repurposed for sections of the Crucible that require the safe discharge of tremendous amounts of energy.

In short, the Crucible is basically a giant Mass Effect gun, more or less. Or it is a sawn off Mass Relay. In any event, it is a traditionally powered (fusion) mobile installation that interacts with the Relays and uses a huge amount of Element Zero. Or so we are led to believe. I'm not sure how big the thing's EeZo core is cause the visual design was ridiculous.

Interesting. I'll update the OP with this.

ABCoLD wrote...

Interestingly, there is no known
connection between Element Zero and efficient energy production. Which
further muddies the fact that in the end it turned out that the Crucible
was nothing more than a huge battery to power existing systems within
the Citadel itself.

In other words what we know of the system's
design and intended use are invalidated in the last ten minutes of the
game. Sounds familiar!

The Crucible being revealed as "little more than a power source" wasn't that surprising. I always thought that the Citadel itself coordinates its energy.



In your gun analogy, I guess you could say the Crucible is the bullet and the Citadel is the trigger.

Modifié par MegaSovereign, 07 juillet 2012 - 03:05 .

[DirtyPhoenix]

<p>nice read <img alt="{smilie}" src="/images/forum/emoticons/sideways.png" /> Someone help me understand which way does the citadel tower point. Does it point towards the arms or away from it?</p>

[MegaSovereign]

pirate1802 wrote...

<p>nice read <img alt="{smilie}" src="/images/forum/emoticons/sideways.png" /> Someone help me understand which way does the citadel tower point. Does it point towards the arms or away from it?</p>

Towards.

[MegaSovereign]

Updated.

[CaptainFlan]

Re: "particle accelerator"

Check your terminology. I think you're going for a different notion here. Particle accelerators smash particles together.

Re: "[T]he Crucible is basically a giant Mass Effect gun, more or less. Or it is a sawn off Mass Relay."

Following your analogy and considering the in-game explanations, since the Citadel is itself a relay, wouldn't the Crucible be more like the gunpowder in a bullet of a gun? Haha.

Neat post!

[Grimwick]

I can't believe I missed this post but... still largely space magic.

A few of your explanations are very hard to believe or use space magic to alter reality.

[MegaSovereign]

Grimwick wrote...

I can't believe I missed this post but... still largely space magic.

A few of your explanations are very hard to believe or use space magic to alter reality.

Welcome to sci-fi? 

[MegaSovereign]

CaptainFlan wrote...

Re: "particle accelerator"

Check your terminology. I think you're going for a different notion here. Particle accelerators smash particles together.

Re: "[T]he Crucible is basically a giant Mass Effect gun, more or less. Or it is a sawn off Mass Relay."

Following your analogy and considering the in-game explanations, since the Citadel is itself a relay, wouldn't the Crucible be more like the gunpowder in a bullet of a gun? Haha.

Neat post!

In the analogy the Citadel would be the trigger.