How how can you justify having a race of aliens in space who are all clearly too stupid to master basic trigonometry, much less FTL engines, without saying they stole the tech from a smarter race?
>>47334313
>Pic related
"Then shall thou anoint the gears with the Holy Ointment of WDee-Fourty, while repeating the holy chant 'Why isn't this FUCKING thing WORKING?'"
>>47334313
Technology dependencies. They progressed past their means, creating clone vats, planetary defense stations, etc that withstood even as they regressed into lesser beings. Could even be like Wall-e, AI taking the reins.
The 40K imperium is like this, sort of.
If you arent looking for 'stolen'
>>47334313
They're the slave and/or working class/caste, only instructed on how to do their individual jobs, nothing more, nothing less.
>>47334373
Or this.
>>47334380
Or this.
Their own biology is advanced technology. That means living spaceships. They don't need to understand how their biology works to just it like they were born to.
>>47334313
Read Blindsight by Peter Watts, and The Madness Season by CS Friedman. Both feature sub-intelligent races that have full on interstellar travel done in completely different manners.
>>47334508
Beat me to it
That said, living vehicles creep me the fuck out
Someone gave them the ships for a laugh.
>>47334313
It is broken.
>>47334313
Space Magic. Probably space magic.
>>47334549
Can you make it go?
>>47334313
>Hey Johnny Truck-Driver, that's a cool International you're running. Let's see you strip the engine.
>Hey kiddo, that's a nice cell phone. Let's see you build one from scratch.
>Hey sweetheart, that's a cool GPS. Can you actually read a map?
Chances are, in a setting with day to day life in space, most people wouldn't know how the tech functions, just enough to use it and/or maintain it.
>>47334373
>>47334380
People who work in science is actually more stupid that what tv makes us believe. Every lab has rituals that make the machines work better and keys most of us do not know what do they do.
The "he is a genetic engineer with a degree in precision mechancics who can repair anything in an hour" is just a tv meme.
Their population are far stupider than ours, but their savants conversely far supass ours. The result is that their greatest minds bump up the tech levels a bit and try to leave a shitton of blueprints and dumbed manuals for their engineers and tomes of knowledge for their successors to learn from and surpass, using theirancestral and peer studies and intrensic ablities to push the tech level even higher, using salvaged equipment and forign thinkers more for filling gaps than to steal from.
>>47334549
>>47334564
Imagine a random person on the street with a smartphone that isn't working. They don't speak english, so you're having to rely on computer translations to talk with them.
Would they be able to tell you anything more than the Pakleds could ?
>>47334313
They discovered that they're planet is a long forgotten storage unit from a higher now extinct species.
It's not stealing if they're dead.
District 9. The species has advanced tech, but all we encounter are the dumbshit leaderless worker caste.
>>47334313
They used to be smarter, but then invented AIs that did everything for them and their comfort and lack of engagement made them stupider.
The AIs digilently do theor job for their stupider masters.
"Stole the tech from a smarter race" is not a single thing, it's a whole category. The Klingons iirc had some alien ship crash on their planet. They killed the aliens, rwverse-engineered the tech, and set out a conquering. It's the reason why the birds of prey from TOS trek are the same as the birds from TNG era. Klingons barely understand their tech, and none of them want to be scientists anymore.
On the flip side, the ferengi bought FTL from another race. It's implied to have been a legitimate business strategy (by ferengi standards anyway).
Humans invented warp drive on our own, but we then got a LOT of help from the Vulcans. Then the Vulcans proceeded to get in the way and tried to stop us from progressing too fast.
Oh, and the krikkit empire from HGTTG. Somebody else straight-up GAVE THEM a ship to reverse-engineer, as part of a plan to manipulate them.
>>47334313
they just have life SO MUCH BETTER THAN US.
Like, their planet just has hyperspace crystals all over the place. They were in space by the time they invented boats and tar.
>>47334992
It wasn't a crash. The Klingon Homeworld was *invaded*. Sometime around their late-industrial period, I think. The Klingons won the ground war and took the invader's tech as spoils of victory, then pushed outward and secured their home system.
>>47334992
Anne McCaffery wrote a series of books (not the Pern books she's famous for) about humans developing space flight by using telekinetic psychics, augmented by massive generators on planets, to teleport/fling human starships to other solar sytems faster than light. Other races have FTL and no psychics. Humans want that FTL tech since psychics are rare, and the other races want to know how the hell humans are getting around faster than them and outmanuvering their fleets and sensors.
>>47334533
Quiet. You'll hurt Moya's feelings!
![1444817726467[1].png](https://i.imgur.com/oqSHGqK.png "1444817726467[1].png")
>>47334313
There are two races on a given planet or system: a hyperintelligent master race and scum too stupid to master basic trigonometry. The former allows the latter to exist because they feel sorry and somehow responsible for the latter's retardation.
Failed uplift attempt. One species reached the end of their viable civilization and transitioned into eternal AI units, or just went extinct. One of their last projects was uplifting some life forms from their homeworld in the hopes that their 'children' would make a better go of it. They failed. The uplifts got the full technical specs of everything their progenitors wanted to give them, with only a marginal increase in brain power. They can instinctively create and maintain advanced tech from the blueprints hardwired into their heads, but they have no idea how any of it works since they're mostly about as smart as border collies.
>>47334313
They were given the technology by an another race as a part of a mercenary arrangement.
>>47334436
>They're the slave and/or working class/caste, only instructed on how to do their individual jobs, nothing more, nothing less.
Like Earth, 2016
>>47334313
They are a slave race.
>>47334992
>>47335013
The Klingons were indeed invaded. One of the problems though, with Star Trek, is that we don't often see anyone but the Klingon warrior caste.
On Enterprise, there was a (bad) episode where Archer gets sent to Rura Penthe, and he meets a Klingon lawyer who isn't part of the warrior caste, and whom the warriors treat like garbage.
>>47335454
>Like Earth, [current year]
Fixed.
>>47334313
Protoss from starcraft universe are stupid as fuck, all their tech are just left overs from other advanced race and all of it have AI so even this stupid mothefuckers with tribalism can operate arriving carriers.
>>47334313
You can have them outwardly idiotic but with each individual having some field in which they naturally excel. A race of idiot savants that are near complete failures at all but one thing, with that one thing varying from one individual to another. Though that might cap them at some level, they might develop AI that can cover the gaps, and help integrate the ideas of different fields.
Alternatively the race is actually incredibly intelligent, but require something to fuel their intelligence and become idiots without it. Farscape did this with the Scarrans, though that was mostly that the reserved the material for the higher ranked individuals. However you could have it that a group gets lost and while unable to resupply they are left with just enough intelligence to not kill themselves.
Just make them Japanese.
>>47335182
hurting moya's feelings is notoriously a dangerous expercise
>>47335454
The vast majority of people in the industrialised world are taught far more in school than they'll need, learn, or want. The second following form the third. And should you have the desire to learn more, then you can find huge amounts of information for a small to no cost in libraries, online, etc.
>>47334631
>People who work in science is actually more stupid that what tv makes
>People who work in science is actually more stupid
>People who work in science is
>is
>>47335515
Isn't there an episode in DS9 where Worf is on trial and the prosecutor is a Klingon lawyer?
>>47335824
Well. They're pretty wrong about Bayonetta.
>>47335824
>why can't Americans make Japanese characters who aren't ninjas/yakuza?I dunno, why are all the American characters over there dumb blondes or cowboys?
>>47336103
Or huge black rapist-murderers.
Can't forget those.
>>47336103
>>47336204
Most likely because of the Marines at Okinawa.
It's always the Marines from Okinawa.
>>47336080
The west isn't very enthusiastic about bayonetta because they're boring button mashing games with shit gameplay.
Their only value is as fapbait.
>>47336080
Bayonetta is used goods though.
>>47334313
Does telepathic slavery count as stealing?
>>47334313
In the infinite vastness of the universe, there was always a chance that someone would accomplish by mere chance what others mastered with skill. They're just unnaturally lucky. Turns out that being able to count to potato is in fact PRECISELY what you need to be able to do to design and operate an FTL drive.
>>47336401
I have always liked that idea. I wanted to do a setting based on backwards or early religions disappearing due to making random sacrifices and ritual until sonething otherworldly happens. Pagans and South Africans and the odd Satanic worship or voodoo guy now and then. Too bad i dont play any games that itd be useful for.
>>47334631
>Every lab has rituals that make the machines work better and keys most of us do not know what do they do.
Not knowing what each button does is not a stupid.
Touching buttons that you don't know what they do is.
>>47336708
>Touching buttons that you don't know what they do is.
Maybe something bad... maybe something good...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knLzNk0QeoQ
>>47334313
...They bought it?
...Buying isn't stealing, anon. Neither is trading.
>>47334313
just because they're low INT doesn't mean they have low CHA
they could have conned their way into high technology
or maybe their entire Space Exploration Program is a reality show for another race
>>47334373
Oh fuck I had me a giggle. I'd love to be a tech-priest. I'd have a good time being a technological religious zealot.
>>47337172
>just because they're low INT doesn't mean they have low CHA
This. Plus maybe they sucked a lot of dick.
>>47337094
>>47337172
this is a pretty good idea. They're dim, but they're also business-savvy.
>>47336266
basically all women are
ANY WAY I WANT SUCKA
>>47335824
whats up with them and Koreans?
>>47338201
Neighboring countries tend to hate one another. It's like asking what's up with the british and the french.
>>47338201
>>47338230
It doesn't help that Korea has been invaded by the Japanese a couple of times (most recently during WW2).
They act like the own the place, and as a result, the Koreans aren't exactly fond of them. The Japanese treat the Koreans the way the US treats Mexicans. It's okay to come over and work shit jobs, but you won't be dating the boss's daughter.
>>47334862
As a person who has in all seriousness done with with many people in many languages, yes. By far, yes.
>>47334613
>an entire race who are ALL clearly too stupid to
Gotta read them words, son.
>>47335824
>>47336080
>>47336103
This image makes me extremely salty because what the captions say are completely not at all what the futaba fucks saying. I am getting very mad. It's not even funny misinformation, it's actual misinformation.
Anons, requesting permission to sperg.
>>47339375
Make it so.
>>47334313
Were these guys that took Geordie hostage and kept shooting him? Was kek worthy.
Read The Road Not Traveled. Turns out FTL is actually real fucking simple (we're talking "slightly more complicated than a windmill" simple), and humans have just managed by pure coincidence to not happen on it. Most starfaring races are medieval besides for it.
>>47334631
I've worked in a lab, can confirm.
>>47334531
Also, read Blindsight, just because it's fucking brilliant.
>>47335824
>Just make them imageboard users
FTFY
>>47340082
Thanks, I'm going to look into watts. here's to lurking
>>47335182
>>47336001
especially when her son is aroundwhen he's not throwing a bitch fit of course
>>47340278
Talyn was pretty much the /b/ of spaceships.Accidentally concieved and easily affected schizophrenic autist with far too much destructive power and mommy issues.
>>47336046
Different anon
I did terribly in English for Engineers to.
>>47334313
The Jokaero from 40k are a nice example. They are essentially big dumb Orangutans in star ships. They "Build" things without really understanding them.
>>47340403
The Orcs of 40K have knowledge of advanced forcefields and Starships hard-coded into their DNA. They have no idea how any of it works, just what the ancient race that created them decided they needed to be effective shock troopers.
>>47334313
Their tech literally runs on magic. Oh, wait, this is sci-fi, I should have said "psychic powers."
>>47334313
Have them stumble upon it.
Have them be the remains of a smart race who has declined, such as the Engineers in Ringworld.
Have them have an abundance of resources that allow them to easily make things. Maybe a rock that when hit with something it goes fast. They strap a cart to it and have hyperspeed.
>>47334313
YA CALL'D US HUMIE?
>>47340856
Orks aren't stupid, they're crude but not stupid.
>>47339375
This embodiment of anonymity approves your request.
So Kroggen?
>>47334313
FTL and spacefaring technology might actually be really simple, and we've just glanced over it ourselves. For instance, we've had the material and technological means to create table top roleplaying games since nearly the dawn of human civilization, but it didn't actually happen until last century. Maybe we've just overlooked something that trivializes FTL.
It could also be that the means to access FTL is unrelated to science, instead being an innate or arbitrary force that the race in question has circumstantial benefit from. So maybe FTL devices are powered by eroticum, which is in great abundance on their homeworld.
