phkb wrote: ↑Wed Oct 18, 2023 12:43 am
Cholmondely wrote: ↑Fri Oct 14, 2022 12:29 pm
At the moment, you are approached on docking by Amnesty Intergalactic asking if you would like to free your slaves.
I'd much prefer to see an earlier ethical stage in the process.
It would be nice to first have the option of doing so myself, being proactive and either just freeing them on arrival (ensuing pandemonium... who are all these people? Where did they come from...) or contacting AI myself and handing the slaves over to them.
So, let me see if my understanding is correct.
Current system (with Smugglers installed): When you dock with slaves, you are asked if you want to hand them over to Amnesty Int, or deal with GalCop.
New System (with Smugglers installed): When you dock with Slaves, you are asked if you want (a) to free the slaves yourself (with no reward), (b) head over to Amnesty Int to have them repatriated (for a token reward), or (c) deal with Galcop (for a penalty). Is that correct?
To be honest, I'm not too fussed. I feel that the various OXPs should enable/allow players to make ethical choices, rather than hinder such. And I feel that a deontological approach (no reward) is rather more ethical than a consequentialist/utilitarian one (rewards galore!).
Reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outline_of_ethics (see under "Normative Ethics" - warning: this page might well be mangled if you read it much later than this post. It might be helpful to "View History" and go back to look at the older 9th October 2023 version of it!)
Premiss #1
Jannah Berihn's Cobra Mk.3 interior sketch (
note ability to access cargo hold from inside ship)
See https://wiki.alioth.net/index.php/Cobra_Mk.3_(Oolite) for more diagrammes
Premiss #2
Life Support
Life Support systems comprise of the atmospheric processing systems, the waste management systems and the recycling plant. These systems are all tied together through a central core system containing a molecular resequencer that purifies and cleans the matter that is passed through it.
The atmospheric system is the most advanced part of the system, including complex monitoring and control routines that constantly sample the air quality. It immediately isolates foreign bodies, including viruses, bacteria and other non-standard particles, then filters them out to the resequencer.
Likewise, waste matter is passed to the resequencer and recycled through the system to wherever it is needed. It is this system that powers the food processors onboard the ship.
The life support system fitted to Cobras, and indeed most other ships, operates at a tenth of its maximum capacity. This allows for power outages and permits the addition of additional passenger berths without the need to upgrade the life support systems.
From
https://wiki.alioth.net/index.php/Pilot ... nce_Manual
Premiss #3
The innumerable references in the lore to
Slaves being kept in cyrogenic suspension inside their cargo containers.
Conclusion
But, thinking of the lore and the game mechanics as I understand them, it may well be possible to release the slaves from cyrogenic suspension (if it is simple enough
or one has the skills
or one is in a larger ship with
crew including engineers or stevedores/cargo handlers (Anaconda, Boa, FdL, Moray, Python
etc.).
In such a case it may be possible to free the slaves while the ship is in flight. One could then eject the incriminating cargo containers and avoid the customs chappies. Space would be tight on a Cobra. It would be impossible in an Asp. But bags of room in an Anaconda!
One would then need to perform the paperwork on arrival at the station to register the freed slaves (this could be handled by the local Amnesty InterGalactic representative) and would obviate the current interaction with customs/Amnesty InterGalactic.
Otherwise the tripartite "New System" choice suggested at the top makes sense. And just perhaps in some systems there might not be the rewarding 20₢ option either
(not enough money or demand to pay for a local agent, or the local agent has been subverted/assasinated)...