Shuttle-Diplomacy!
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| Shuttle-Diplomacy! An issue of the Marvel Comics series. | ||
|---|---|---|
| Issue No. | 8 | |
| Writer(s) | Bill Mantlo | |
| Penciller(s) | Sal Buscema | |
| Inker(s) | Klaus Janson | |
| Colorist(s) | Ben Sean | |
| Letterer(s) | Clem Robins | |
| Editor(s) | Allen Milgrom and Jim Shooter | |
| Cover Artist(s) | Richard F. Buckler and Klaus Janson | |
| Adaptation of | ||
| Published | October 1979 | |
| Collects | ||
| Collected in | The Memory Machine | |
| Reprints | ||
| Reprinted as | ||
| ISBN | [[Special:Booksources/|]] | |
| Population | {{{population}}} Survivors | |
| Chronology | ||
| Previous | Next | |
| All Things Past and Present | Shuttle-Diplomacy! | Space-Mimic! |
| Purchase | ||
| Available at BOOKSAMILLION.COM - Purchase | ||
| Available at Amazon.com – Purchase | ||
| Available at Amazon.co.uk – Purchase | ||
| Available at Things From Another World - Purchase | ||
Contents
Plot
Trapped in the memory inducer, an unaware Adama continues to sift through his memories searching for details on Earth that he may have seen fleetingly on Kobol. He recollects a time when he and Tigh served as an escort to the Ambassador of Scorpia as part of negotiations with the Council of Twelve. In this story, Adama comes to terms with some of the prejudices he holds towards artificial intelligence.
Summary
- Now trapped in the memory inducer, Adama relives an experience he had while serving under Commander Raynon, the former commander of Galactica. Accompanied by Lieutenant Tigh, Captain Adama are in a hovercar riding through a metropolis on Scorpia. Adama notes his disgust of the Scorpians, but promises Tigh that he won't jeopardize the mission despite his beliefs. As they pass by a skywalk, they see that it buckles, resulting in groups of people needing help. The spectating Scorpians call for the rescue robots, but remain otherwise unwilling to help them directly, while Adama instructs the hovercar's pilot drone to move them to the skywalk. Much to his irritation, the drone refuses to do so, since it is contrary to its instructions.
- The rescue robots arrive, saving all but two of the people trapped on the skywalk while accelerating the collapse. Fearing that the air drones would not reach in time, Adama orders Tigh to take command of the hovercar; Tigh blows off the pilot drone's "head" and Adama jumps out of the hovecar. He manages to swing both the mother and her child upon a nearby roof, where rescue drones catch them. Unable to hold on, Adama falls but lands safely in the hovercar, now under Tigh's control, and they are escorted to the Scorpian embassy.
- Adama and Tigh are brought before Scorpia's ambassador to the Council of Twelve, a figure in a hooded fuchsia robe. Adama notifies her that the Council awaits her presence to sign the mutual defense pact and that a fighter squad will escort her to them. She rebukes this, saying that she will travel in a diplomatic shuttle as is according to her station, noting that she has accepted the fact that two humans have been sent to protect her, and that is about the only concession she will make due to their prejudices.
- When brought to the "pride and joy" of the diplomatic fleet, Adama is incensed over the fact that he'll have robots for crew. There are humans aboard the ship, but they are part of the ambassador's diplomatic staff.
Notes
- The natives of Scopria are heavily reliant on their own technology, and are basically placated through pampering. Their natural human drives, such as heroism, have been effectively suppressed, as exemplified by the skywalk disaster.
Analysis
- Caprica's ban on advanced robotic technology is due to a philosophical belief that there is no substitute for human effort. In the series itself, Apollo tells Boxey that their drones are built with limited intelligence to prevent the Colonials from being attacked by their own robotic constructs, much like the Cylons were over a thousand yahrens ago. However, despite this, the Colonials evidently pursued bio-robotic technologies that could look and act very much human. Further, in the Re-imagined Series, the rise of such technology was banned after the Cylon War due to the effects of that devastating rebellion.
- This comic provides a rare insight into Colonial life before the holocaust, showing us an insight in another culture other than the one seen on Caprica in the series. It should be noted that Scorpia is also the second most developed colony in any separate continuity source. In contrast to the comic, Scorpia is described as the most warmongering and militant of the Twelve Colonies during the war.
- It is extremely illogical that the Twelve Colonies are not all unified well into the 10th millennium of the Thousand Yahren War, despite the fact that the Cylon attacks should have done much to affect Scorpia's society at this juncture, giving the heavily implied massiveness of that war.
- It also appears heavily implied that the ambassador, who is revealed as an android herself, planned for the Scorpians to be placed in harm's way in order to remove them from their apathy.
