Splicers and N.E.X.U.S. Come To Rifts Earth

[LostOne]

If there's already a thread on this, please point me at it. I'm open to feedback, suggestions, etc.

I'm toying with the idea of having Splicer refugees crash on Earth. They traveled a great distance on a generational hive ship. My current thought is to have them crash in the California area beyond the great barrier. This would give them a chance to get a solid foothold, recover, get host armors built up, etc. On their flight across North America they would have glimpsed technological civilizations and possibly are building up their army and defenses hastily under the mistaken belief that N.E.X.U.S. is on the other side of the mountains. Eventually they will be adequately defended and send out scouts to investigate. Once they determine the other side is not evil A.I. but humans on a world that is not infected by the nanoplague they would possibly start diplomatic relations, if needed. Or not.

However the N.E.X.U.S. would be chasing them. I'm operating under the assumption that their departure from their world surprised the N.E.X.U.S. and it was still battling other houses on the planet. But at some point it would come looking I think, or just expand. It will have large spikes crash into the planet and start misting/launching the nanoplague. Within days technological powers will be brought to their knees. Coalition, Triax, Japan, etc.

Is there any real government/entity on Earth that could cure/defeat the nanoplague in a timely manner? Plenty of psychics with telemechancis (I think some of them would become technojackers), advanced alien refugees, Atlantis might have something, etc.

In any case, even if it is cured within weeks, the balance of power would be greatly changed. Coalition and Triax would be overrun by enemies quickly and their military might crippled. Even the wizards and psionics would be hampered as many of their armors and technowizard items and vehicles and tools will be metal. Vampires might surge up out of central America if they realize what is going on. Crazies, Cyborgs and juicers would die without warning.

Chaos.

[Zer0 Kay]

Haven't seen one. My Splicers are in Antarctica. Going with the assumption that the planet the Splicers are on IS Earth that has been reterraformed by the machine. Rifts Earth drifted out a mass of Antarctic ice shelf with an exact volume of earth on the Splicers Earth from the same location but Splicers Antarctica was moved to a tropical location. The land had contained a splice house and a maintenance factory for the machine above it. The land and ice exchange just happens to exactly coincide with the area occupied by man and machine. The maintenance factory is unable to manufacture nanites. Unknown to either splicers or the machine the humans traveled a different dimensional route and passed through the dimensional barrier between nighspawn Earth and the Darklands which destroys all technology. So because of the mirror wall there is no nanoplague in Rifts and the Splicers could use metal again... except they all have a phobia.

So due to this event my Splicers Earth now has a single source of magic. The waters of the newly formed lake.

[LostOne]

I do like the idea of hosting them in Antarctica, except that is so far away from North America it pretty much assures they won't clash with my favorite part of the world (USA region). I need some Splicers vs Coalition and Fed of Magic action. The Splicers are going to have some rough lessons when facing carpet of adhesion and magic net and vampires and the Coalitions longer range weapons and such.

[Blue_Lion]

As I understand it if splicers come to rifts they are still affected by the plague but it does not spread.

It may be possible for magic to cure it, but I know of no tech power that uses anti nanites.

Credits would be an issue and tech cities would be an issue.

[LostOne]

As I understand it if splicers come to rifts they are still affected by the plague but it does not spread.

It may be possible for magic to cure it, but I know of no tech power that uses anti nanites.

Credits would be an issue and tech cities would be an issue.

My scenario specifically brings nanites to everything because N.E.X.U.S. follows the Splicer generation ship with nanite seeding towers it drops on the planet. If I'm bringing the Splicers concept to Earth I'm going to go all the way. The generation ship will have the engineer and everything else Splicer society needs to carry on for generations instead of just a few squads rifting through to Earth without the ability to replace destroyed host armors.

I want to see how the players and Earth societies behave/change and beg the Splicers for their technology to keep societies from collapsing and have a fighting chance once the N.E.X.U.S. dropships start arriving and offloading troops and robot factory ships start landing and gathering resources and churning out more troops.

I think all cities would be an issue once the nanite plague came. Even the magic heavy cities are still going to use metal in construction, vehicles, armor, weapons (since not every guard or officer or adventurer will be a wizard they'll still have tech weapons). I think the only magical weapons that are metal and wouldn't be affected by the nanite plague would be rune weapons that by their nature are indestructible so the plague wouldn't be able to reshape them.

[ShadowLogan]

However the N.E.X.U.S. would be chasing them. I'm operating under the assumption that their departure from their world surprised the N.E.X.U.S. and it was still battling other houses on the planet. But at some point it would come looking I think, or just expand. It will have large spikes crash into the planet and start misting/launching the nanoplague. Within days technological powers will be brought to their knees. Coalition, Triax, Japan, etc.

This applies to the Splicer refugees to (or it actually explains why the crash), but if they arrive via conventional space travel they will encounter the Orbitals. Who won't take kindly to the alien NEXUS or Splicers, and the nano-plague in orbit might be useless if the nano-machines can't manuever in microgravity (or operate properly in the environment). So unless Nexus or the Splicer ships are numerous or that massive, they might get obliterated before they even reach Rifts-Earth.

We know the Arkhons got plastered by the Orbitals when the arrived (SA2), and they are a space military power so it is unlikely the Splicers or NEXUS will be prepared for space battles (I don't have Splicers). Being sublight also means the Orbitals will have had plenty of time to track them and be prepared for them in force. The Splicers/Nexus are also going to have to deal with the debris ring and killer satellites on approach.

Is there any real government/entity on Earth that could cure/defeat the nanoplague in a timely manner? Plenty of psychics with telemechancis (I think some of them would become technojackers), advanced alien refugees, Atlantis might have something, etc.

Republic of Japan actually employs what could be considered a variant of the nanoplauge with their Disolver Warheads, so they might come up with something faster than other blocks.

The question to be considered might be if the Splicer's nanoplauge will behave on Rifts-Earth as it does on Splicer-Earth:
-could the generational level of travel have effected the NEXUS tech in some way (space is a harsh environment)
-how will it interact with the high PPE levels of Rifts Earth? They might be tech, but they could be effected by the ambient PPE (maybe restricted near Ley Lines/Nexus)
-how will it interact with psychics (w/telemechanic type powers)?
-could there be an organism at that level that nana-machines would have to battle that are present on Rifts Earth, but not Splicer Earth? We know Atlantis has microbes it uses, and we know alien plagues have come to the planet in the past. So the nano-plague might encounter "predators" that neutralize it.

[LostOne]

However the N.E.X.U.S. would be chasing them. I'm operating under the assumption that their departure from their world surprised the N.E.X.U.S. and it was still battling other houses on the planet. But at some point it would come looking I think, or just expand. It will have large spikes crash into the planet and start misting/launching the nanoplague. Within days technological powers will be brought to their knees. Coalition, Triax, Japan, etc.

This applies to the Splicer refugees to (or it actually explains why the crash), but if they arrive via conventional space travel they will encounter the Orbitals. Who won't take kindly to the alien NEXUS or Splicers, and the nano-plague in orbit might be useless if the nano-machines can't manuever in microgravity (or operate properly in the environment). So unless Nexus or the Splicer ships are numerous or that massive, they might get obliterated before they even reach Rifts-Earth.

We know the Arkhons got plastered by the Orbitals when the arrived (SA2), and they are a space military power so it is unlikely the Splicers or NEXUS will be prepared for space battles (I don't have Splicers). Being sublight also means the Orbitals will have had plenty of time to track them and be prepared for them in force. The Splicers/Nexus are also going to have to deal with the debris ring and killer satellites on approach.

It could be argued that since the Arkhons had a significant force make it to the surface that they likely did heavy damage to the orbitals before their ships were too damaged and forced to land. There may not be a lot of defenses to attack the Splicers when they get there. But the Splicers also won't have great space combat capability since this would be their first foray into space, so they wouldn't put up much of a fight against minimal crippled Orbital defenses, hence the crash. Also since the Splicer generational ship would effectively be a modified hive organism with propulsion system from something phase worldy (that came through a rift or got too close to the splicer world and shot down by the machines, plenty of spacefaring critters in the Phase World universe). So it may not be as visible to the Orbitals since it wouldn't have any metal or lights or drive plumes (I'm assuming anti-grav or other unseen force for propulsion like from a void whale or void wasp) and just be a black blob against a mostly black void. Effectively a stealth ship. It's been a long time since I read Mutants in Orbit but I think most of the automated defenses track magnetic metal signatures or other large metal objects. I could be wrong. I also wasn't a big fan of that whole concept so I tend to throw it out the window and assume it's all automated pre-rifts military satellites which are likely breaking down and wearing out at this point and after the Arkhons went through greatly reduced in number, no mutants or civilization up there to maintain them.

Is there any real government/entity on Earth that could cure/defeat the nanoplague in a timely manner? Plenty of psychics with telemechancis (I think some of them would become technojackers), advanced alien refugees, Atlantis might have something, etc.

Republic of Japan actually employs what could be considered a variant of the nanoplauge with their Disolver Warheads, so they might come up with something faster than other blocks.

The question to be considered might be if the Splicer's nanoplauge will behave on Rifts-Earth as it does on Splicer-Earth:
-could the generational level of travel have effected the NEXUS tech in some way (space is a harsh environment)
-how will it interact with the high PPE levels of Rifts Earth? They might be tech, but they could be effected by the ambient PPE (maybe restricted near Ley Lines/Nexus)
-how will it interact with psychics (w/telemechanic type powers)?
-could there be an organism at that level that nana-machines would have to battle that are present on Rifts Earth, but not Splicer Earth? We know Atlantis has microbes it uses, and we know alien plagues have come to the planet in the past. So the nano-plague might encounter "predators" that neutralize it.

- I would suspect the N.E.X.U.S. would have some knowledge of the rigors and problems of space travel, since its designers probably had been to their moon. IIRC it's strongly implied this is an alternate Earth far in the future. So it would likely have taken radiation shielding and such into account if that would affect the nanites or other systems.
- I personally would think the PPE would not affect the N.E.X.U.S. tech in any way, since it has no real known effect on tech already on Earth.
- I would assume telemechanics would have little effect on the plague, unless the psychic can focus on microscopic components with their eyes. But if they can, I would imagine telemechanic operation can let them temporarily override the programming but I suspect any attempts to rewrite the code with a virus would simply have the affected nanites get eradicated by the much larger population of non-effected nanites when the two factions encounter each other. I'd also argue that any attempt to write a virus or change the programming on the nanites could be extremely difficult since it originated on another world and may be a completely different thought process and operating system and be difficult to interface with Rifts Earth computer science, if you can even get it deactivated to study in the first place.
- I wonder how machine people would be effected or effect the nanite plague. I'm assuming the machine people have an effective immune system against such things, but it might slow their healing or cause slow constant damage or other negative effects. I can't think of any other forces on earth advanced enough to turn the tide of it unless you go to the Kittani on Atlantis or other alien technological races found there. Chances are if there is a cure to stop the plague it'll only be used on Atlantis and humans would have to learn of it and actively go steal it to deploy it elsewhere. Nice adventure hook. I'm open to other suggestions that would be able to effectively fight the tech nano-plague. Yes, Atlantis uses microbes, but they are very limited in scope, one dose which typically effects one organism for a limited time. They'd have to actively design something that can attack uncounted nanites across their continent (or the globe if so motivated).
- It could also be argued the nanite plague would be comparatively primitive to other nanite technology, since it was the top of the nanite foodchain on the Splicer world and didn't need to compete against anything else. So it is possible that even the Coalition might be able to come up with a counterplague if they had enough warning before their facilities were decimated. It's the surprise attack of the nanite plague that would that would completely catch the world off guard. Designing a cure will take time and be nearly impossible to do with human science before the nanite plague destroys any lab equipment and computers and electron microscopes needed to even see and study the plague. I imagine this is why the Splicers lost on their world and turned to already in development biotech.

[ShadowLogan]

It could be argued that since the Arkhons had a significant force make it to the surface that they likely did heavy damage to the orbitals before their ships were too damaged and forced to land.

The force that made it to Earth arrived in 74PA and was attacked by the Orbitals then (1/3 of the original fleet disappeared, the Orbitals took out 1/4 of the remaining fleet), with a "3rd Wave" appearing almost 30years later (~104PA), this 3rd Wave is part of the 2nd wave that disappeared (1/3) and have been engaged in a war with the Orbitals since.

So depending on when the Splicer/Nexus arrive, Orbitals can be in good shape. And if the Arkhons are at war with the Orbitals, there is the chance they (Arkhons) might not want to let another player (Splicers or Nexus) setup shop.

I would suspect the N.E.X.U.S. would have some knowledge of the rigors and problems of space travel, since its designers probably had been to their moon.

Traveling to the Moon though isn't as demanding as interstellar flight. And if Nexus doesn't know how long the trip is going to be it might not design accordingly.

I personally would think the PPE would not affect the N.E.X.U.S. tech in any way, since it has no real known effect on tech already on Earth.

Maybe PPE was the wrong term, but there is precedent for the dimensional anomalies to impact technology (Space Fold drives of the Arkhons don't work, the SA-Arkhons and Space-Arkhons have great difficulty communicating).

Archie-3 though is mutated, SB1o even postulates the mystic energies might be the cause of the mutation (we know it can mutate organisms).

[eliakon]

I would say, myself, that the Nano-Plague would be the sort of thing that gets the so-called "Powers That Be" ALL acting in concert to destroy it root and branch.
And if that means sterilizing Rifts Earth then so be it.

The reason is that it is 100% a "End of Days" scenario. This is your basic "Code Ragnarok" event that you have to deal with right now, and it crosses every Godzilla Threshold.
The nano-plague is able to turn anything into intelligent killer robots! It seems to have no need for matter supply and can some how draw additional matter and energy from... someplace.
It is, at least to some extent, self replicating...
And will anhiliate any and all technology with out any possible defense...

Yeah, that sounds like this is your basic "Code Ragnarok" event that you have to deal with right now, and it crosses every Godzilla Threshold.

Just my thoughts on this...
I would suspect that the plague would be met with direct divine intervention by the thirty or so pantheons that are linked to Earth.
Then, for desert they would likely track this back to its world of origin and sterilize that one too, just to be safe.

[Zer0 Kay]

I would say, myself, that the Nano-Plague would be the sort of thing that gets the so-called "Powers That Be" ALL acting in concert to destroy it root and branch.
And if that means sterilizing Rifts Earth then so be it.

The reason is that it is 100% a "End of Days" scenario. This is your basic "Code Ragnarok" event that you have to deal with right now, and it crosses every Godzilla Threshold.
The nano-plague is able to turn anything into intelligent killer robots! It seems to have no need for matter supply and can some how draw additional matter and energy from... someplace.
It is, at least to some extent, self replicating...
And will anhiliate any and all technology with out any possible defense...

Yeah, that sounds like this is your basic "Code Ragnarok" event that you have to deal with right now, and it crosses every Godzilla Threshold.

Just my thoughts on this...
I would suspect that the plague would be met with direct divine intervention by the thirty or so pantheons that are linked to Earth.
Then, for desert they would likely track this back to its world of origin and sterilize that one too, just to be safe.

Have you seen the new Godzilla Anime? I dont think it crosses that one. Except if dragons feel icky there how are AIs going to feel? I guess that is what minions are for.

[Shark_Force]

even on a planet completely controlled by nexus, it took time for the nanoplague to begin to work. and that was against humans that had gone soft before NEXUS, which means they had relatively few trained scientists, and they would have been working with only whatever equipment they could scrounge up from salvaging during an apocalyptic event.

deploying the nanoplague against rifts earth would likely be much more of a struggle. rifts is more post-post-apocalypse at this point (that is, the recovery is fairly well under way... the world is still not a safe place, but it has in some places almost totally recovered. the world is becoming much more interconnected; there is a trade network spanning north america and many parts of europe, potentially even extending to russia, for example. people have access to laboratories and diagnostic equipment, new technology is being developed all the time (not everywhere, but in some places), and people are going to notice and investigate what's going on with their technology when it starts acting up, even if they somehow fail to notice the large objects falling out of the sky with all the radars kicking around.

[Colonel_Tetsuya]

Archie is the achilles heel for NEXUS.

He'd be on that nano-plague faster than white on rice. (Am i still allowed to say that?)

Also, a LOT of technology in Rifts Earth makes little to no use of actual ferrous metals. Body armor is largely ceramic composites, and the plague doesn't work on precious metals (which would be powering the circuitry inside the armor, etc). A lot of the weapons aren't metal either or contain very little ferrous metal, and mostly just precious metals. (Wilks laser rifles for instance are plastic and ceramic. Power storage may be metal, but it is likely precious metal and not affected by the plague).

Where it would really hurt would be civilian populations (if it got that far - remember, this stuff doesn't self replicate) where metal is used quite a bit more frequently because it is cheaper than using the super high-tech ceramic and carbon fiber composites. I imagine there's a lot of ferrous metal in the walls of Chi-town, as rebar and support if nothing else. Lots of "consumer" and non-cutting edge vehicles probably use MDC derivatives of steel (like the Mountaineer).

Would it be bad? You bet. But.. as was already stated it took a LONG time for the Nano-plague to get its footing, and that was against people who had no idea how to fight it. Those plague-spreading towers would be dead within days... largely just out of general self interest to the Powers That Be on Rifts Earth. The CS, for instance, is going to destroy the things on sight as they came from outer space. At BEST they might quarantine one to see what it is. But the rest will be destroyed on general principle.

There are also all sorts of magic and psychic powers that can give accurate readings that simply dont exist in the Splicers RPG - All it would take is one psychic with Telemechanics to touch one of the towers to know what it was and what it was for, and that would be that. Everyone will destroy them as soon as they are spotted.

And if you think Splynncryth is going to sit on his patootie and watch his entire trans-dimensional market go up in smoke because of some upstart rogue AI? I dont. ANd he's got PLENTY of minions to put on the task that dont use technology of any kind.

[Blue_Lion]

Archie is the achilles heel for NEXUS.

He'd be on that nano-plague faster than white on rice. (Am i still allowed to say that?)

Also, a LOT of technology in Rifts Earth makes little to no use of actual ferrous metals. Body armor is largely ceramic composites, and the plague doesn't work on precious metals (which would be powering the circuitry inside the armor, etc). A lot of the weapons aren't metal either or contain very little ferrous metal, and mostly just precious metals. (Wilks laser rifles for instance are plastic and ceramic. Power storage may be metal, but it is likely precious metal and not affected by the plague).

Where it would really hurt would be civilian populations (if it got that far - remember, this stuff doesn't self replicate) where metal is used quite a bit more frequently because it is cheaper than using the super high-tech ceramic and carbon fiber composites. I imagine there's a lot of ferrous metal in the walls of Chi-town, as rebar and support if nothing else. Lots of "consumer" and non-cutting edge vehicles probably use MDC derivatives of steel (like the Mountaineer).

Would it be bad? You bet. But.. as was already stated it took a LONG time for the Nano-plague to get its footing, and that was against people who had no idea how to fight it. Those plague-spreading towers would be dead within days... largely just out of general self interest to the Powers That Be on Rifts Earth. The CS, for instance, is going to destroy the things on sight as they came from outer space. At BEST they might quarantine one to see what it is. But the rest will be destroyed on general principle.

There are also all sorts of magic and psychic powers that can give accurate readings that simply dont exist in the Splicers RPG - All it would take is one psychic with Telemechanics to touch one of the towers to know what it was and what it was for, and that would be that. Everyone will destroy them as soon as they are spotted.

And if you think Splynncryth is going to sit on his patootie and watch his entire trans-dimensional market go up in smoke because of some upstart rogue AI? I dont. ANd he's got PLENTY of minions to put on the task that dont use technology of any kind.

Do they ever say the mettle in armor and weapons is precious mettle?

[LostOne]

Do they ever say the mettle in armor and weapons is precious mettle?

It would make sense that that circuitry is precious metal. However I don't believe that military grade environmental armor and weapons are going to be 100% MDC ceramics and plastics. There is going to be fastenings, screws, springs (I assume springs in the trigger assembly for even rail guns and energy weapons and if the spring breaks or crawls away that weapon is disabled), rivets and possibly buckles (if quick release plastic buckles won't work) and such that are probably still going to be metal. Those are going to be on the insides of the armor under the ceramic/plastic armor plates and in the inner workings of the weapon. Those could still be effected by the nanoplague and attack the wielder. Imagine donning your armor and going out into the field to investigate the tower spewing nanites. Your weapon falls apart as little metal worms or insect-like things crawl out of it and start attacking the joints on the fingers of your armor gloves. Meanwhile you feel things crawling around inside our armor as it starts falling apart or coming loose at the fastenings, you hear the seals pop as rivets or whatever fail to hold the armor tight anymore.

[Axelmania]

As I understand it if splicers come to rifts they are still affected by the plague but it does not spread.

This is true, though I've never understood the whys and hows.

Basically:

1) you carry microscopic nanobots, you can't get them off no matter how well you bathe!
2) if you touch some metal, a nanobot will jump off you, eat the metal, divide into 2 nanobots, one will jump back on to you, and the other will go on eating metal and dividing, until the metal becomes a robot and attacks you
3) the nanobots will never leave that robot and go on to make other robots by touching other metal things
4) the nanobots will never leave you to lurk on other organic beings

I'm just not really understanding the programming logic here, seems like an unnecessary self-limitation or handicap. NEXUS is clearly capable of a far more aggressive infestation, there just must be some kind of programming which prevents it from taking full advantage of its capabilities.

What I don't understand though, is if humans from splicers cannot transmit the nanobots to humans from Rifts Earth, then how was it that the nanobots infested all the splicer humans in the first place? Did it have a temporary "jump human to human" phase which ended?

If so then how do newborns get infested? Are the bots somehow able to detect which humans are native to that dimension? Do humans of the Splicers dimension have a special vulnerability in their biology to these nanobots which humans in other dimensions lack? Does traveling to other dimensions interfere with the ability to infect new humans?

If a human from Splicers and a human from Rifts reproduced, would their offspring carry the plague or could they play freely with metal toys?

[Zer0 Kay]

Never mind that... what's this fixation on ferrous metals? If we've made MDC materials it is likely that gold may not be the most conductive material any more. Continually claiming precious metals this and precious metals that is erroneous. First the nanites arent able to effect elemental materials as in as found in nature not the Greek or Asian elements. So iron, copper and tungsten are fine. It isnt a limitation of the nanites. If the machine wanted to completely off life she could reprogram it. It is allowing the little human zoos to exist. Second of precious metals gold is used in circuitry, you'll see copper in a circuit long before Platinum, Palladium or Silver... or I'm pretty sure any other precious metal.

[Zer0 Kay]

Archie is the achilles heel for NEXUS.

He'd be on that nano-plague faster than white on rice. (Am i still allowed to say that?)

Also, a LOT of technology in Rifts Earth makes little to no use of actual ferrous metals. Body armor is largely ceramic composites, and the plague doesn't work on precious metals (which would be powering the circuitry inside the armor, etc). A lot of the weapons aren't metal either or contain very little ferrous metal, and mostly just precious metals. (Wilks laser rifles for instance are plastic and ceramic. Power storage may be metal, but it is likely precious metal and not affected by the plague).

Where it would really hurt would be civilian populations (if it got that far - remember, this stuff doesn't self replicate) where metal is used quite a bit more frequently because it is cheaper than using the super high-tech ceramic and carbon fiber composites. I imagine there's a lot of ferrous metal in the walls of Chi-town, as rebar and support if nothing else. Lots of "consumer" and non-cutting edge vehicles probably use MDC derivatives of steel (like the Mountaineer).

Would it be bad? You bet. But.. as was already stated it took a LONG time for the Nano-plague to get its footing, and that was against people who had no idea how to fight it. Those plague-spreading towers would be dead within days... largely just out of general self interest to the Powers That Be on Rifts Earth. The CS, for instance, is going to destroy the things on sight as they came from outer space. At BEST they might quarantine one to see what it is. But the rest will be destroyed on general principle.

There are also all sorts of magic and psychic powers that can give accurate readings that simply dont exist in the Splicers RPG - All it would take is one psychic with Telemechanics to touch one of the towers to know what it was and what it was for, and that would be that. Everyone will destroy them as soon as they are spotted.

And if you think Splynncryth is going to sit on his patootie and watch his entire trans-dimensional market go up in smoke because of some upstart rogue AI? I dont. ANd he's got PLENTY of minions to put on the task that dont use technology of any kind.

The minions may not use tech but I'm sure not all of those metal parts holding the containment chamber are elemental (again from nature not Greek or Asian) and are likely composites like steel or brass or bronze or electrum... which may be pushing it since supposedly it is naturally occurring gold and silver. I guess it is a question in your game if the machine made a list of all the metals the nanites may infect or rather react to or if it is broadly instructed to react whenever the human comes into contact with a compound metal or rather alloy.

[Colonel_Tetsuya]

Archie is the achilles heel for NEXUS.

He'd be on that nano-plague faster than white on rice. (Am i still allowed to say that?)

Also, a LOT of technology in Rifts Earth makes little to no use of actual ferrous metals. Body armor is largely ceramic composites, and the plague doesn't work on precious metals (which would be powering the circuitry inside the armor, etc). A lot of the weapons aren't metal either or contain very little ferrous metal, and mostly just precious metals. (Wilks laser rifles for instance are plastic and ceramic. Power storage may be metal, but it is likely precious metal and not affected by the plague).

Where it would really hurt would be civilian populations (if it got that far - remember, this stuff doesn't self replicate) where metal is used quite a bit more frequently because it is cheaper than using the super high-tech ceramic and carbon fiber composites. I imagine there's a lot of ferrous metal in the walls of Chi-town, as rebar and support if nothing else. Lots of "consumer" and non-cutting edge vehicles probably use MDC derivatives of steel (like the Mountaineer).

Would it be bad? You bet. But.. as was already stated it took a LONG time for the Nano-plague to get its footing, and that was against people who had no idea how to fight it. Those plague-spreading towers would be dead within days... largely just out of general self interest to the Powers That Be on Rifts Earth. The CS, for instance, is going to destroy the things on sight as they came from outer space. At BEST they might quarantine one to see what it is. But the rest will be destroyed on general principle.

There are also all sorts of magic and psychic powers that can give accurate readings that simply dont exist in the Splicers RPG - All it would take is one psychic with Telemechanics to touch one of the towers to know what it was and what it was for, and that would be that. Everyone will destroy them as soon as they are spotted.

And if you think Splynncryth is going to sit on his patootie and watch his entire trans-dimensional market go up in smoke because of some upstart rogue AI? I dont. ANd he's got PLENTY of minions to put on the task that dont use technology of any kind.

The minions may not use tech but I'm sure not all of those metal parts holding the containment chamber are elemental (again from nature not Greek or Asian) and are likely composites like steel or brass or bronze or electrum... which may be pushing it since supposedly it is naturally occurring gold and silver. I guess it is a question in your game if the machine made a list of all the metals the nanites may infect or rather react to or if it is broadly instructed to react whenever the human comes into contact with a compound metal or rather alloy.

... what Containment Chamber?

I'm talking about things like Tattoo'ed men, Metzla, Dragons, Gargoyles, etc. He's got plenty (literally millions of Gargoyles alone). None of them need to use anything metal at all - ever.

And.. i had forgotten (thanks for reminding me) that the metal only reacts that way when humans touch it. Want this problem over with? Send in the Kydians and Kittani. It's over in an afternoon.

[Colonel_Tetsuya]

Never mind that... what's this fixation on ferrous metals? If we've made MDC materials it is likely that gold may not be the most conductive material any more.

It already isn't Carbon nanotubes are much better conductors. But they are also expensive to produce, and silver, gold, palladium, and other precious metals and rare earth metals are literally just lying there. Far easier to use the material on hand than waste resources creating something new.

Continually claiming precious metals this and precious metals that is erroneous. First the nanites arent able to effect elemental materials as in as found in nature not the Greek or Asian elements. So iron, copper and tungsten are fine. It isnt a limitation of the nanites. If the machine wanted to completely off life she could reprogram it. It is allowing the little human zoos to exist. Second of precious metals gold is used in circuitry, you'll see copper in a circuit long before Platinum, Palladium or Silver... or I'm pretty sure any other precious metal.

... Silver is used in everything electronic. That's why the price of silver has skyrocketed in the last 20 years. Palladium is used as well.

[Khanibal]

As I understand it if splicers come to rifts they are still affected by the plague but it does not spread.

This is true, though I've never understood the whys and hows.

Basically:

1) you carry microscopic nanobots, you can't get them off no matter how well you bathe!
2) if you touch some metal, a nanobot will jump off you, eat the metal, divide into 2 nanobots, one will jump back on to you, and the other will go on eating metal and dividing, until the metal becomes a robot and attacks you
3) the nanobots will never leave that robot and go on to make other robots by touching other metal things
4) the nanobots will never leave you to lurk on other organic beings

I'm just not really understanding the programming logic here, seems like an unnecessary self-limitation or handicap. NEXUS is clearly capable of a far more aggressive infestation, there just must be some kind of programming which prevents it from taking full advantage of its capabilities.

What I don't understand though, is if humans from splicers cannot transmit the nanobots to humans from Rifts Earth, then how was it that the nanobots infested all the splicer humans in the first place? Did it have a temporary "jump human to human" phase which ended?

If so then how do newborns get infested? Are the bots somehow able to detect which humans are native to that dimension? Do humans of the Splicers dimension have a special vulnerability in their biology to these nanobots which humans in other dimensions lack? Does traveling to other dimensions interfere with the ability to infect new humans?

If a human from Splicers and a human from Rifts reproduced, would their offspring carry the plague or could they play freely with metal toys?

I think it has more to do with various types of energy/physics native to a certain dimension. Check out DB: 7

[Nightmartree]

I like the whole "Pantheons would nuke them" route...and remember the machine has a god complex...imagine how it would go if the ACTUAL gods find something using their names...oh and its mucking around on a major dimensional crossroads screaming "I DID IT" while using your name

[SolCannibal]

I do like the idea of hosting them in Antarctica, except that is so far away from North America it pretty much assures they won't clash with my favorite part of the world (USA region). I need some Splicers vs Coalition and Fed of Magic action. The Splicers are going to have some rough lessons when facing carpet of adhesion and magic net and vampires and the Coalitions longer range weapons and such.

Greenland then? None of the books have adressed afaik and might be seen as almost as huge and isolated as Antarctica, while at the same time much, much closer to North America and Europe.