Ships sentience

[mattrox]

 I was curious what everyone else thought about the ship being more than just a ship and why it is happening? Is it the ship itself, is it because of the age of the ship. Or is it because of the core crystal which is estimated in the thousands as far as age? Or perhaps some combination of the both of them? I sort of lean towards it having to do with the crystal more than the ship itself.  I think it just happens to take form as the ship because that is what its state of being is.

 BTW I really loved the conversation with Folly and Predator.  Plus all the actions that reflected the feeling of Predator mirrored on Grimm's expression.

[knnn]

I think think there' somewhat of a consensus around here that it's the core crystal, though it's personality comes from the fact that it's on an attack ship. 

Remember the entity that Folly felt in the Great Library?  The claim was that people put part of their soul into books and with enough of them, it can coalesce into some form of consciousness.   Thus it has been posited by some that the Predator's power crystal is somehow absorbing parts of the souls of all the crewmen on board over the last thousand years (and that is why it becomes more powerful).   Remember how Grimm talks about a "myth" that if a warship ever gets used as a mere windlass then it's crystal becomes less powerful?  This would fit in well with this theory.

Finally, consider the great "Other" that Folly encounters that is trying to kill everyone.  Obviously it could be anything, but Occam's Razor suggests that this is another giant crystal that is hidden somewhere on the surface (remember that crystals are "grown" in vats - maybe one can grow on the planet).  It's not impossible that the fears and superstitious parts of the souls of all the humans in all the spires have slowly seeped into this crystal, slowing creating an incredibly powerful adversary that is malevolent and vengeful.

[nedserD C B yrraH]

I agree the core crystal is important to the identity of Predator. I think it has more to do with the interaction of the power core crystal and the ether. There are etheric mental disorders that affect the mind if you don't wear your goggles. Etherealists can handle the ether direct, but go mad. This leads me to assume that the ether affects cognition and awareness. Combine that with the fact the power crystals are the only ones that don't degrade and actually improve over time. If writers can leave smears of their souls, then surely fighting men and women in life or death situations leave some part of themselves as well. Given Predator's advanced age there will be lots of soul smears plus more exposure to ether than almost any other ship. This results in her full, developed personality and, I think, this ties into the individual calls of the ships, as well.

[Mith]

What I find interesting is that the other attack ship (the one that Grimm's wife captains) is hinted at to also have such a personality. 

As for the plot, it fits with the general tradition of ships being personal entities with the captain being the mind and soul of the ship itself, as well as the tradition of a name (see the military names passed on to the next generation with all the reputation of the generations before.)

[nedserD C B yrraH]

Mistshark is very fast ship which would imply an old power core as well. It seems to me that the power crystals are like a brain and the other systems are like other organs.  They can be replaced and Peddy or Misty (Calliope would kill me for that) would maintain their original personality, but if the core got damaged it would alter it a great deal more.

[Dresden vs Cavendish]

if the sentience is in the crystal, if u transfered preddy's crystal to a battlecruiser wud the personality stay the same ?

[nedserD C B yrraH]

It certainly could. Changing the lift crystal, the trim crystals and at least one gun did not seem to affect Grimm's relationship with Preddy. Kinda like getting new hardware but using the original CPU. But that's just my opinion

[Dina]

Mistshark is very fast ship which would imply an old power core as well. It seems to me that the power crystals are like a brain and the other systems are like other organs.  They can be replaced and Peddy or Misty (Calliope would kill me for that) would maintain their original personality, but if the core got damaged it would alter it a great deal more.

I agree with that.

[nedserD C B yrraH]

At the same time, the way a battle cruiser fight's is completely different from the way a smaller vessel fights. I think her personality could also begin to alter slowly, but considerably. Looking forward to learning more.

[DavicusPrime]

Late to the game...  But my two bits,

I agree with what folks have been speculating regarding the Core Crystal as the likely vessel that contains the ship's identity.  But I think what makes up that identity encompasses every aspect of the ship, it' crew and the crystal's history.  The main hint I base that on is the way Grimm describes the Itasca as a storied ship.  The Itasca has a history and reputation that makes it a high value target/trophy.  Perhaps that logic could also be applied to the strength of the ship's personality.  Also, Grimm mentioned that a ship's performance was seemed to be enhanced when it's captain treated it as a living thing.

What defines the ship's personality?  My thinking is that the personality is defined as the Core absorbs meaning from the ship's name and purpose, as well as the crew's expectations and beliefs regarding the ship, especially the captain's.  Plus, based on Lady Lancaster's comment about the crystals at the vattery behaving differently, perhaps the crystals already have an intrinsic personality that develops as they are formed?  So my guess is that the personality is built on the crystal + The ship (design and name) + the commander and crew + history.

Random supporting observations:
The Preddy and Grimm seemed to be in sync such that Preddy claimed that he heard her the best and Folly noted that Grimm and the ship were one in the same.  My guess is that there is a symbiotic connection between ship and commander.  And also with the crew to a lesser extent.

Each ship has a unique "battle cry" that seems to correlate to it's name and/or personality.  No mention was made whether or not the name is given before or after it's maiden voyage.  So if the name influences the personality or if the personality drives the naming is not yet defined.

When the Preddy's dive song kicks in, the crew is almost compelled to join in.

Journeyman's weirdly intimate relationship with Preddy may be more important to the fact that he can squeeze more performance out of her systems than his technical skills.

Random thought...  How messed up must the Glorious be considering how incompetent it's commander is?

-DavicusPrime

[Dina]

I wonder is Cavendish can do something with the ship themselves.

Also, I'd like Gwen having some influence over Preddy in the future.