Was it inevitable the Invid Sensor Nebula detecting the FOL?

[Alias]

So I just finished watching Robotech:The Masters and was wondering if the Invid Sensor Nebula would still detect the Flower of Life even if Zor hadn't crashed the Mothership into the mound containing the FOL.

[tobefrnk]

What a great question! In my opinion, we just don't know enough about how the sensor nebula works so we can really only speculate. If it detects any amount of Protoculture, then it most certainly would've detected the FoL buried in the mounds. Invid Protoculture Targeting can see through walls so it might be safe to speculate that a cosmic sensor nebular would be able to see through the "shielding" of the mounds. The question is, would the concentration of flowers in the mound have triggered a migration response from the Invid? Would the levels detected in the mound be enough, or would a planet wide presence be needed for the Invid to expend their own resources to make the journey?

[DocTom]

I'd say it was Zor's fault. The genius of the Robotech is how it all links back to Zor.

[Seto Kaiba]

So I just finished watching Robotech:The Masters and was wondering if the Invid Sensor Nebula would still detect the Flower of Life even if Zor hadn't crashed the Mothership into the mound containing the FOL.

Even if it didn't detect the flowers of life escaping containment in the wreckage of the SDF-1, it probably would've picked up on the residual protoculture discharge from the simultaneous loss of millions of Zentradi ships in Earth orbit.

That was a boom big enough that the Masters saw it from another galaxy...

[Lt Gargoyle]

i'll say yes for all those reason and the fact that we need it to find it for plot device.

could the sensor nebula discerned the difference in all these situations and if any of them might have changed the Invids reaction.

[glitterboy2098]

given that the Robotech Master's were concerned with the Nebula's appearance well before they learned the matrix had broken and FOL had sprouted from it, much less before the FOL was spread around, i'd say the nebula might well have been able to detect the FOL in the mounds. but i suspect they were mostly concerned with the fact it would detect two very large protoculture using star fleets in one place, and that would attract the attention of the Invid to Earth. the FOL spreading and becoming a garden world just made things worse.. taking earth from "world the invid might want to attack to prevent from growing into a threat" to "look a new homeworld!"

i do not think the master's were all that concerned about the ultimate fate of earth.. but the Nebula and the likely hood it would detect PC using military forces alrge enough to attract invid attention put a timelimit on their operations even stricter than their own fuel concerns.

[Alrik Vas]

I say no. Force of Arms happened on a Thursday, and we all know that's the Regis' shuffleboard day. Can't be bothered, totally would have missed it.

[ShadowLogan]

So I just finished watching Robotech:The Masters and was wondering if the Invid Sensor Nebula would still detect the Flower of Life even if Zor hadn't crashed the Mothership into the mound containing the FOL.

Yes. Even BEFORE Zor Prime attempted to destroy the FoL at SX-Pt83 at the end of Ep60, characters make the statement that the Invid are on the way.

[Chronicler]

So I just finished watching Robotech:The Masters and was wondering if the Invid Sensor Nebula would still detect the Flower of Life even if Zor hadn't crashed the Mothership into the mound containing the FOL.

Yes. Even BEFORE Zor Prime attempted to destroy the FoL at SX-Pt83 at the end of Ep60, characters make the statement that the Invid are on the way.

True. The Zent fleet folding in one system and then being totaled would have drawn the attention of the Regess. I mean why would the cloud be heading to our system in the first place?

Plus if Dumbas- I mean Zor didn't blowup the wreckage the Invid would have just made a smash and grab.

[drewkitty ~..~]

Once the earth was seeded via the crashing of hundreds? thousands? of zentradie ships it was inevitable that the invid would come to earth.
The masters' zor clone's actions only just spread them about more.


In the novels it talks about the Regess obtaining Cabel's Zor Clone 'Rem' and getting hints on where to search from the PCPM from Rem's mind.

[thorr-kan]

Yes. The Shapings demanded it.

[Chronicler]

Once the earth was seeded via the crashing of hundreds? thousands? of zentradie ships it was inevitable that the invid would come to earth.
The masters' zor clone's actions only just spread them about more.


In the novels it talks about the Regess obtaining Cabel's Zor Clone 'Rem' and getting hints on where to search from the PCPM from Rem's mind.

Didn't think Zent ships had FoL seeds on them. Also never really read past the first two omnibus of the novels (first one I own the other was a library copy). But I do agree with both scenarios because ether way having the grand fleet being in one location would be enough to pip the interest of anyone when word (or sensors) gets out.

[drewkitty ~..~]

Protoculture is Invid Flower of life.
Zentradie ships ran on Protoculture
Crashed ships leak Protoculture.
Protoculture grows back into IFoL

There are indications of this in both the masters and macross generations of the show that PC needs to be specilly contained.
In the masters gen it shows a 'contained plant' that the masters were going to revitalize the PC production matrix that Zor hid in the Macross.

[ShadowLogan]

Plus if Dumbas- I mean Zor didn't blowup the wreckage the Invid would have just made a smash and grab.

I doubt the Invid would have just made a smash and grab if Zor didn't blowup the wreckage. They wanted the Flowers after all, and the flowers are very picky about where they want to grow, so the Invid would have stayed,they might not have had reason to occupy the whole planet though. For a smash-and-grab, Zor would have to have been successful in his attempt to destroy the Flowers that the Invid wanted.

[Rabid Southern Cross Fan]

Yes. Even BEFORE Zor Prime attempted to destroy the FoL at SX-Pt83 at the end of Ep60, characters make the statement that the Invid are on the way.

Ayep. The Masters state that the Invid are already on their way. It makes their dialogue about the Earth forces preparing nothing for the Invid make sense. If they were a year (or more) away, why would The Masters show that much concern (or wonder why the ASC isn't gearing up to fight the Invid).

[glitterboy2098]

Protoculture is Invid Flower of life.
Zentradie ships ran on Protoculture
Crashed ships leak Protoculture.
Protoculture grows back into IFoL

There are indications of this in both the masters and macross generations of the show that PC needs to be specilly contained.
In the masters gen it shows a 'contained plant' that the masters were going to revitalize the PC production matrix that Zor hid in the Macross.

specifically, Protoculture is a molecule refined from the flower of life. and the master's say that they will convert the spores of the FoL in the mound along with their last unmutated sample to make more protoculture.
the narrator also discusses how the spores will spread the FoL to whole planet.

it seems very unlikely that zentreadi ships had any of the spores or FoL onboard, making it unlikely for them to have sprouted any on earth from the crashes. they would have the processed fuel, only.

the master's had both the fuel and samples of the plants. the "matrix" PC Factory in the ruins of the SDF-1 had samples of the flower on and in orrder to make more PC from it's spores.

[devillin]

Was it in the Comico comics or the books that it was mentioned that part of Rick's mission when he was doing patrols during the "Reconstruction Blues" time period was to search for and eradicate any FoL that he might find among the wreckage of crashed Zentraedi warships?

[Kagashi]

Yes. Fixed point in time. So sorry.

[Chronicler]

Yes. Fixed point in time. So sorry.

I see what you did there.

[ilexgarodan]

I'd say that yes, the Sensor Nebula would have picked up the FoL in the ruins of Macross City. I'm also of the mind that, if Zor hadn't spread the flowers' spores by destroying the Masters' flagship over the ruins, the Regess would have only set up base at Reflex Point, and stayed there to harvest the flower. Since there would be no FoL outside that area, it would have been a much more localized invasion. The UEEF wouldn't have had as much trouble as they did trying to liberate the planet.

[The Artist Formerly]

i'll say yes for all those reason and the fact that we need it to find it for plot device.

could the sensor nebula discerned the difference in all these situations and if any of them might have changed the Invids reaction.

It was in the script in other words.