Why keep it secret, though? SUch tech would have completely removed dependance on the relay network. Why risk unlocking relays to scary bug-eyed aliens when you can ftl to any system you want, then ftl out if it doesn't suit your purposes.
Well, hypothetically speaking, maybe it's not efficient or cost effective? Maybe it's dangerous? Maybe there are political and military reasons that advocate using the relays to regulate space traffic?
Why keep it secret, though? SUch tech would have completely removed dependance on the relay network. Why risk unlocking relays to scary bug-eyed aliens when you can ftl to any system you want, then ftl out if it doesn't suit your purposes.
If the ark operates at conventional FTL and isn't able to create wormholes or the like, it would be a much less efficient way to explore or colonize than using the existing relay system. The journey to Andromeda would take centuries.
Assuming that it isn't faster than any other ship it would make sense that the Ark would be relegated to "use only in case of emergency."
It is also entirely realistic that Shepard would not have access to every state secret. Confidential information is usually shared on a need-to-know basis, and Shepard definitely didn't need to know.
If the ark operates at conventional FTL and isn't able to create wormholes or the like, it would be a much less efficient way to explore or colonize than using the existing relay system. The journey to Andromeda would take centuries.
If the ark operates at conventional FTL then it doesn't solve the problem of getting to Andromeda since it would have the drive discharge issue. Only ships with Reaper-tier drives have surpassed that.
Who says the trip won't take centuries?
If the ark operates at conventional FTL then it doesn't solve the problem of getting to Andromeda since it would have the drive discharge issue.
Drive discharge tech for deep space exists already within the game's lore. It is used on space stations.
If the ark operates at conventional FTL then it doesn't solve the problem of getting to Andromeda since it would have the drive discharge issue. Only ships with Reaper tech have surpassed that.
Perhaps this is the only issue they managed to solve in regards to FTL with the ARK, and only because of the huge size and investment.
Drive discharge tech for deep space exists already within the game's lore. It is used on space stations.
Stations which aren't building a charge themselves to the extent ships that go FTL do. Not very viable for something you need to move at FTL. The only station that has gone FTL is the Citadel, which is Reaper tech so the drive discharge issue isn't an issue for it.
Perhaps this is the only issue they managed to solve in regards to FTL with the ARK, and only because of the huge size and investment.
If they solved it thousands of years before the games, by the time of the games it would have advanced enough to be in every ship, yet it isn't.
The only obstacle to getting an ark that travels at conventional FTL to Andromeda would be the need to refuel. The Council species lack whatever tech the Reapers were using to travel vast distances without needing to top the tank off. So the ark might potentially need to use reverse engineered Reaper tech to get there.
That said, it might be possible to get an ark there without the need to reverse engineer Reaper technology. Dark space is a bit of a misnomer. The space between galaxies is actually loaded with stars, and presumably orbiting planets as well. In fact as many as half of all stars in existence in the universe are thought to exist between galaxies. The writers could get away with just having the ark take a zig-zag route to Andromeda, travelling between intergalactic stars, and refueling on the way. The journey would just take a lot longer.
Stations which aren't building a charge themselves to the extent ships that go FTL do. Not very viable for something you need to move at FTL. The only station that has gone FTL is the Citadel, which is Reaper tech so the drive discharge issue isn't an issue for it.
Sorry but that is head canon.
The lore is clear it that exists already for space stations, and nothing is said about it being completely unsuitable for ships. In fact it only gets brief mention in a single sentence of a codex entry. The writers have an entirely blank slate with which to make it suitable to port to the ark.
Sorry but that is head canon.
The lore is clear it that exists already for space stations, and nothing is said about it being completely unsuitable for ships. In fact it only gets brief mention in a single sentence of a codex entry. The writers have an entirely blank slate with which to make it suitable to port to the ark.
FTL Drive: Drive Charge
As positive or negative electric current is passed through an FTL drive core, it acquires a static electrical charge. Drives can be operated an average of 50 hours before they reach charge saturation. This changes proportionally to the magnitude of mass reduction; a heavier or faster ship reaches saturation more quickly.
If the charge is allowed to build, the core will discharge into the hull of a ship. All ungrounded crew members are fried to a crisp, all electronic system are burned out, and metal bulkheads may be melted and fused together.
The safest way to discharge a core is to land on a planet and establish a connection to the ground, like a lightning rod. Larger vessels like dreadnoughts cannot land and must discharge into a planetary magnetic field1.
As the hull discharges, sheets of lightning jump away into the field, creating beautiful auroral displays on the planet. The ship must retract its sensors and weapons while dumping charge to prevent damage, leaving it blind and helpless. Discharging at a moon with a weak magnetic field can take days. Discharging into the powerful field of a gas giant may require less than an hour. Deep space facilities such as the Citadel often have special discharge facilities for visiting ships.
The purpose of the discharge facilities is to ground out the electric charge into something else, namely a planet or space station. It's compared to a lightning rod. You can't exactly do that with something you are carrying around already.
All this is even assuming that the Ark is not simply going to remain on a ballistic course which will not require the use of any discharging,
the passengers would be simply on ice until the time comes.
Stations which aren't building a charge themselves to the extent ships that go FTL do. Not very viable for something you need to move at FTL. The only station that has gone FTL is the Citadel, which is Reaper tech so the drive discharge issue isn't an issue for it.
There's nothing in the lore to support that.
All this is even assuming that the Ark is not simply going to remain on a ballistic course which will not require the use of any discharging,
the passengers would be simply on ice until the time comes.
If the ark is simply going ballistic, then the time it takes goes from centuries to milenia (or more)
Not to mention it will have no maneuvering capability.
The purpose of the discharge facilities is to ground out the electric charge into something else, namely a planet or space station. It's compared to a lightning rod. You can't exactly do that with something you are carrying around already.
Space stations have drive discharge tech for deep space. Why can't ships?
Presumably they are separate facilities that are towed, but that's my own head canon. However it works, the galaxy already has a means to do it within the series' existing lore. Any declaration that technology on the CItadel or Omega can't be ported to the ark amounts to nothing more than people who are opposed to an Andromeda setting at all digging for any reason to say "this is why it can't work."
Mostly its just grasping at straws.
The only somewhat valid argument against the Ark Theory is that the Council species don't as far as we know, possess a means to travel between galaxies without refueling.
Even that argument however is flawed in that it is never stated how long ships can travel before needing to refuel, and dark space isn't really dark. There is also already precedent for the galaxy reverse engineering Reaper technology multiple times. The writers have plenty of room with which to craft a plausible story within the Shepard trilogy's own lore limitations.
If the ark is simply going ballistic, then the time it takes goes from centuries to milenia (or more)
Not to mention it will have no maneuvering capability.
I don't see the problem.
It will of course have engines, and by using the Eezo core it can reach (eventually) a ballistic speed that is relatively close to the speed of light, even without maintaining a negative-mass bubble the entirety of the trip.
When they get closer to their target they will start to gradually slow down, wake up from their millennia long nap,
and start to explore more like a traditional ME spacecraft.
Even that argument however is flawed in that it is never stated how long ships can travel before needing to refuel, and dark space isn't really dark. There is also already precedent for the galaxy reverse engineering Reaper technology multiple times. The writers have plenty of room with which to craft a plausible story within the Shepard trilogy's own lore limitations.
I agree, they do. That's why I support Black Ark Theory, since it provides a way to get to Andromeda using the established lore.
If my experience with games is any indication, this thread will be full of random but interesting speculation and arguments about lore...
...and then when the game comes out the weak hand-waving explanation they give will be nonsensical, full of holes, and vastly worse than the majority of fan opinions presented here.
If my experience with games is any indication, this thread will be full of random but interesting speculation and arguments about lore...
...and then when the game comes out the weak hand-waving explanation they give will be nonsensical, full of holes, and vastly worse than the majority of fan opinions presented here.
Sadly, that is probably true, but who knows...
If my experience with games is any indication, this thread will be full of random but interesting speculation and arguments about lore...
...and then when the game comes out the weak hand-waving explanation they give will be nonsensical, full of holes, and vastly worse than the majority of fan opinions presented here.
Yeah, I fully expect just another "resources" explanation like they did with the Lazarus Project.
If my experience with games is any indication, this thread will be full of random but interesting speculation and arguments about lore...
...and then when the game comes out the weak hand-waving explanation they give will be nonsensical, full of holes, and vastly worse than the majority of fan opinions presented here.
Sadly this is probably true.
Fan speculation produced all sorts of interesting ways to get the Reapers to the Milky Way back when we thought they were still trapped there, as ME1 implied. The writers meanwhile just opted for, "Whatever. They floored the gas pedal." The result was that much of Mass Effect's story and the whole Saren/Sovereign plot was shot full of holes.
...I should have known it would be baseless conjecture.
Absolutely 100% of all MEA discussion is baseless conjecture at this point.
There's nothing in the lore to support that.
Sci fi almost never needs lore at least regarding tech feats.
If the Asari had the full working knowledge of the Protheans it still wouldn't amount to a hill of beans when compared to the total knowledge of the Reapers and it would take Reaper level tech to jump from one galaxy to another.
If the Asari had the full working knowledge of the Protheans it still wouldn't amount to a hill of beans when compared to the total knowledge of the Reapers and it would take Reaper level tech to jump from one galaxy to another.
Or leviathan tech and they were no fans of the reapers no?
Why do I find myself hoping that this "Ark" ends up being some ancient extragalactic spacecraft that's just passing through, like Rendevous With Rama
Why do I find myself hoping that this "Ark" ends up being some ancient extragalactic spacecraft that's just passing through, like Rendevous With Rama
Sounds cool, how did I miss this book?...
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