Generation Ship Pleione discovered

Carbucketty

Carbucketty
CMDR Carbucketty reporting in. I've decoded a signal from an abandoned listening post, and it's led me to a sixth lost generation ship: the Pleione, adrift in the Hez Ur system.


I'd spent a few days searching methodically for listening posts, but finding this one was pure chance. If I hadn't nipped across to Felicity Farseer's place to tweak my exploration Anaconda, or decided to try out the slightly ridiculous long-range build I ended up with, I'd never have jumped into that system.


Here's an album of screenshots. Spoiler warning: includes directions, a couple of views of the ship itself, and the rather depressing ship's logs.

Sample screengrab:
Pleione2_small.png
 
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Wyaston Hypatia

Wyaston Hypatia
Whoever wrote that story should have read a basic genetics text book first.
"Male gametes with an XX chromosome"
Some links to help:
https://www.nature.com/scitable/definition/gamete-gametes-311
https://www.nature.com/scitable/definition/haploid-309
The gamete can be X, or Y if male; and X if female.
The combine to give XY (male) or XX (female) when the egg (female gamete) is fertilised by the sperm (male gamete).

Now it is possible that they were only getting Y sperm, but they have a supply of X chromosomes in both the male and female population, so to create X sperm should have been possible for them to do.
 

M. Volgrand

M. Volgrand
Wyaston Hypatia said:
Whoever wrote that story should have read a basic genetics text book first.
"Male gametes with an XX chromosome"
Some links to help:
https://www.nature.com/scitable/definition/gamete-gametes-311
https://www.nature.com/scitable/definition/haploid-309
The gamete can be X, or Y if male; and X if female.
The combine to give XY (male) or XX (female) when the egg (female gamete) is fertilised by the sperm (male gamete).

Now it is possible that they were only getting Y sperm, but they have a supply of X chromosomes in both the male and female population, so to create X sperm should have been possible for them to do.
Click to expand...

Call it science FICTION. The fact: for whatever reason, only XY cromosomes will succeeed on any pregnancy, so no females.
 

Protoenchen

Protoenchen
M. Volgrand said:
Call it science FICTION. The fact: for whatever reason, only XY cromosomes will succeeed on any pregnancy, so no females.
Click to expand...

The reason is: Gametes with X are heavier than Y's. Thats why on earth there are 55% male and 45% female embryos. In space this problem might be extremly more present
 

JesusRocks1988

JesusRocks1988
Quite a sad ending to that one, actually... they left the ship, presumably to grow old and die elsewhere, maybe on one of the nearby planets in the system. They wouldn't have been able to get any further in their lifespans. Crew still died; they just died out. At least it wasn't gruesome like the others, or being sold into slavery by pirates, but it's still a depressing end.

When are we going to find a functioning Gen Ship with a thriving society on board, and no knowledge of the advance of technology?
 

xzanfr

xzanfr
Nice work CMDR Carbucketty!
Sad story but I bet their D&D club was well subscribed.

from pics said:
Note that I took a slight detour on the way to get weapons and shields fitted again. Going alone to check out garbled transmissions about something weird happening seems like a bad enough idea to start with, let alone doing it unarmed.
Click to expand...
You'll be the one surviving the horror movie :D
 

Brian of Ardagh

B
Wyaston Hypatia said:
Whoever wrote that story should have read a basic genetics text book first.
"Male gametes with an XX chromosome"
Some links to help:
https://www.nature.com/scitable/definition/gamete-gametes-311
https://www.nature.com/scitable/definition/haploid-309
The gamete can be X, or Y if male; and X if female.
The combine to give XY (male) or XX (female) when the egg (female gamete) is fertilised by the sperm (male gamete).

Now it is possible that they were only getting Y sperm, but they have a supply of X chromosomes in both the male and female population, so to create X sperm should have been possible for them to do.
Click to expand...

Cloning the female population might have been an answer as well, at least short term although the mention of not having equipment to manipulate the embryo's gender might have precluded cloning as well as creating X sperm.
 

Wyaston Hypatia

Wyaston Hypatia
Brian of Ardagh said:
Cloning the female population might have been an answer as well, at least short term although the mention of not having equipment to manipulate the embryo's gender might have precluded cloning as well as creating X sperm.
Click to expand...
I can understand religious or ethical objections stoping them solving their problem. I would however expect them to have access to the information required, and the resources to manufacture the required equipment - they are supposed to be on the way to colonise a new world after all.
I was really more pointing out the sloppy writing ;)
 
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