Weaponized Replicators

[PicardSpeedo]

Ok, here's something I've been wondering for a long time - what is the 'remove' capability of the average replicator?

In Star Trek: The Next Generation, we see instances in which our favorite characters clean up after a meal by picking up the dirty dishes placing them in the replicator, and de-replicating them. This is apparently such a common practice by the 24th century that teenagers of that time - Jake Sisko, specifically - are too lazy to do it - at one point, Ben Sisko criticizes his son for leaving dishes everywhere.

So we know that replicators must be very good at deconstructing matter. Why, then, have we never seen them weaponized?

There's been innumerable episodes in which one of Our Heroes was trapped in their quarters with a bad guy and had to fight back. But never did we see anyone try to shove the bad guy's head in the replicator alcove and tell it to deconstruct.

In cases of 'the evil device is on the ship,' no one ever thinks to use the replicator as an avenue out of the situation.

And in applications where matter de-replication would be really useful, such as in a rescue situation, or where an especially powerful weapon is needed, replicator technology is never given a thought.

Why is this?

 

[ALF]

Don't have the TNG Tech manual handy but my guess is it may describe some basic safety features of the device, standard issue across all matter re-sequencers: holodeck, transporter included. They don't re-sequence matter if life is detected.

On a side note - this thread title would be a killer band name.

 

[PicardSpeedo]

So, safety protocols I can understand. We wouldn't want a replicator to get the devil in it and accidently take somebody's arm or fingers off as they were putting their dishes away. And we certainly wouldn't want Worf to have any opportunities to dereplicate Spot when he finally got sick of babysitting the cat.

But when we're talking about dealing with Lore's bomb that somebody finds taped under Data's desk or purpose-building a dereplication weapon, we're specifically talking about scenarios in which living organism protocol either wouldn't apply or would be purposefully overridden. Yet, we never saw this done. Why is this?

 

[JesterFace]

On a side note - this thread title would be a killer band name.

I can play guitar.

 

[Guy Gardener]

Surely de-replicating = Plicating?

 

[Mojochi]

Basically you're talking about a disintegration weapon, which is a pretty standard application of matter/energy transferrence. I have to assume Star Trek avoids it, because it might be a little too on the nose for other sci-fi that has existed before Star Trek.

But in-universe, they also forbid cloaking tech. A disintegration weapon has a very serious permanency to it, & as we know about their phasers, they much prefer a weapon that can be as nonlethal as possible. So it's possible they consider that application too cruel to pursue, even if it might serve to be used on nonliving things

 

[PicardSpeedo]

Basically you're talking about a disintegration weapon, which is a pretty standard application of matter/energy transferrence. I have to assume Star Trek avoids it, because it might be a little too on the nose for other sci-fi that has existed before Star Trek.

But in-universe, they also forbid cloaking tech. A disintegration weapon has a very serious permanency to it, & as we know about their phasers, they much prefer a weapon that can be as nonlethal as possible. So it's possible they consider that application too cruel to pursue, even if it might serve to be used on nonliving things

But a disintegration weapon that can ALSO make a mean cup of coffee seems so marketable! Especially if it could reclaim the matter it converted, as is done with both the replicators and - I'm not even joking about this - the toilets on starships.

At minimum, that seems less wasteful than a phaser set to the maximum kill setting, which is described as being able to effect "heavy geological disruption."

At least with weaponized replicators, that Borg you vaporize today can be reconstituted as Riker's cheeseburger tomorrow.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

You could also send a giant swarm of self replicating mines after an enemy shipyard.

There's a lot of other applications of Trek technology the writers ignore because it'd break the universe.

Or, build an army of self replicating Datas.

 

[Timo]

The replicator obviously has all this capacity built in. But it takes a Klingon Imperial Intelligence agent to unlock that capacity and turn on the sneaky transporter mode, as in "Visionary".

Safety protocols, is all.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Eman1986]

It’s possible as it was shown in the DS9 episode Civil Defense, where the cardassian computer initiates a security system against an assumed worker uprising. The replicator in Ops creates a rapid firing phaser weapon which begins to disintegrate redshirts left and right.

Why we haven’t seen it anywhere else, I assume there is a safety built in into the average crew quarters to prevent the replication of weapons. I mean, as you mentioned, kids use the replicators.

 

[Timo]

But do kids use guns?

We never hear of a restriction on the carrying of weapons in the Federation. All sorts of frontier colonists and researchers and bartenders and whatnot have them. Our Starfleet heroes keep them in desktop drawers, and they can be rather simply obtained from racks (not really "lockers", even) on places like Sickbay or Galley.

Are such guns perhaps locked against misuse rather than against access? Remotely shutting them down is established in "A Matter of Time"; remotely locking them on mild stun is likely to be doable, too. Stun can kill or otherwise harm the victim if the user puts his mind into it, but harmless stun might also exist as a thing. And everybody having access to stun guns might achieve what access to lethal weapons never has - a society of very polite people.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[thribs]

LoL! Sounds like something Bond would do to someone.

 

[Eman1986]

But do kids use guns?

We never hear of a restriction on the carrying of weapons in the Federation. All sorts of frontier colonists and researchers and bartenders and whatnot have them. Our Starfleet heroes keep them in desktop drawers, and they can be rather simply obtained from racks (not really "lockers", even) on places like Sickbay or Galley.

Are such guns perhaps locked against misuse rather than against access? Remotely shutting them down is established in "A Matter of Time"; remotely locking them on mild stun is likely to be doable, too. Stun can kill or otherwise harm the victim if the user puts his mind into it, but harmless stun might also exist as a thing. And everybody having access to stun guns might achieve what access to lethal weapons never has - a society of very polite people.

Timo Saloniemi

Pretty sure its up to the jurisdiction of the station or colony. In TOS you saw federation colonists with weapons. But on a station, say like DS9, you rarely saw a random person carrying around a weapon. So, I assume there its illegal. The times we see a non bajoran or non starfleet person with a weapon, that person gets the weapon taken away or is taken out by Odo or someone else. Hell, it seemed rare to even see Starfleet or bajoran personnel carrying phasers except if they were members of security or militia. Weapons seemed locked tight in the armory.

It is pretty silly that with all that tech on the station, starfleet and the bajoran seemed terrible at detecting weapons being smuggled in. How many times were weapons successfully smuggled in, be it by pirates, Mercs, assasins or Quark and his associates?

 

[Timo]

Pretty sure its up to the jurisdiction of the station or colony. In TOS you saw federation colonists with weapons.

TNG and DS9 colonies, too.

But on a station, say like DS9, you rarely saw a random person carrying around a weapon.

But only on DS9. Odo seemed to be really strict about that - unlike starship captains, who leave the guns lying around for anybody to get.

"Captive Pursuit" shows there are weapons scanners everywhere, courtesy no doubt of the paranoid Cardassians. Their misuse in that episode may well have created a bit of a backlash, though...

So, I assume there its illegal.

Odo says as much, although whose law Odo adheres to is far from established. Bajoran? Federation? Cardassian? Or just his own code of justice, stemming from that inborn Changeling need to see all Solids rendered harmless?

It is pretty silly that with all that tech on the station, starfleet and the bajoran seemed terrible at detecting weapons being smuggled in. How many times were weapons successfully smuggled in, be it by pirates, Mercs, assasins or Quark and his associates?

That's an interesting question all right. Several times, we saw Cardassian handguns, typically brought in by Cardassians who would know all the backdoors (say, "Profit and Loss"). The folks who abducted Dax in her titular ep didn't bring guns even though they would probably have needed those. Assassins generally worked with explosives, poisons or sabotage, or the occasional blade. Klingons simply came in by force. Pirates and mercenaries? I can only recall one bunch that got in armed, using the all-jamming storm as a cover in "Invasive Procedures". Oh, and yes, Quark's associates (including business ones from "Business as Usual") - but Quark would know all the backdoors, too.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

But never did we see anyone try to shove the bad guy's head in the replicator alcove and tell it to deconstruct.

Yeah, because whatever you put into the replicator eventually comes out again in the form of food or goods. You'd have to empty the place where raw material is stored and get rid of it. That or never tell anyone what they're eating, technically.

Okay, now that sounds like an awkward episode ending. "So, technically, we're eating him?" "Only technically." (Loud laughter and uneasy expressions all around)

 

[PicardSpeedo]

Yeah, because whatever you put into the replicator eventually comes out again in the form of food or goods. You'd have to empty the place where raw material is stored and get rid of it. That or never tell anyone what they're eating, technically.

Okay, now that sounds like an awkward episode ending. "So, technically, we're eating him?" "Only technically." (Loud laughter and uneasy expressions all around)

And then Data goes, "You could say...he'll always be a part of us."

*cue exterior shot of the Enterprise-D cruising away, with laughter in the background, as the executive producer credits fade in and jaunty music plays*

 

[XCV330]

It makes Robert Picard seem very wise for not wanting a replicator in his chateau (who then goes on to burn to death in a fire, with his son)

 

[PicardSpeedo]

It makes Robert Picard seem very wise for not wanting a replicator in his chateau (who then goes on to burn to death in a fire, with his son)

If he'd had a replicator, wouldn't he have been able to replicate a fire extinguisher, or several thousand gallons of water, and thus survive the fire?

 

[XCV330]

If he'd had a replicator, wouldn't he have been able to replicate a fire extinguisher, or several thousand gallons of water, and thus survive the fire?

He would have given it his best pop-eye stare and gruffly said "non!" while his son tried to re-enact stop-drop-and-roll-on-a-starship.

"Zut alors!, Rene, as we die here with British accents, I feel as if we are incinerating as nothing more than a cheap plot gimmick that will be forgotten. As we both conflagurate, I am happy that my brother will have to endure two really not-great movies and one pretty good one. I shall miss the mud. The old ways are best. Sinthehol.. merde! My only regret is that I am in too much pain to throw the replicator in this bonfire of lack of vanities!" crackle crackle

 

[PicardSpeedo]

He would have given it his best pop-eye stare and gruffly said "non!" while his son tried to re-enact stop-drop-and-roll-on-a-starship.

"Zut alors!, Rene, as we die here with British accents, I feel as if we are incinerating as nothing more than a cheap plot gimmick that will be forgotten. As we both conflagurate, I am happy that my brother will have to endure two really not-great movies and one pretty good one. I shall miss the mud. The old ways are best. Sinthehol.. merde! My only regret is that I am in too much pain to throw the replicator in this bonfire of lack of vanities!" crackle crackle

Oh my god, I laughed so hard when reading this.

 

[Guy Gardener]

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