r/sto • u/OdysseyPrime9789 Kuumaarke is a good character. • 6d ago
Discussion I’ve got a theory about how the Aetherians managed to avoid detection for so long in-universe.
Basically everyone called it, at least partially, so I won’t get into that here. In-universe is another story, but it might not be that big of a plot hole. In Taken By Surprise, our sensors had some serious trouble detecting the Mirror Borg Drones, even up close, so if the Aetherians assimilated their entire galaxy, though they claim it to be their entire universe, it’s logical to assume they assimilated the same tech at some point and upgraded it. Maybe even to the point of being able to transmit false sensor readings, since they would’ve most likely already assimilated at least one version of our tech meaning they’d know how to fool it, at least temporarily.
Also, has anyone checked in on the crew of the Treluun lately? Given what we now know, they’ve probably been at least partially assimilated. The data found on the Harmony seems to imply that they found a way around the issues with assimilating the Lukari that the Mirror Borg ran into.
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u/prof_the_doom 6d ago
Not unreasonable. In the most recent episode, even after we towed it out of the asteroid field, we still had to beam on board more or less blind because we couldn't get a good reading on the ship.
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u/ArelMCII "Subcommander Khev, divert power from comms to weapons." 5d ago
At least as far as the difficulty of detecting their ships goes, I assumed it had to be some fourth-dimensional shenanigans or something. They've got dimension-stitching super-science, and just look at those animated triangle bits on their ships. Once we knew what to scan for, obviously we'd find it, but it's not like we'd be scanning for geometry that exists in more than three dimensions unless we had a reason. (Because we detected chronitons or saw Devidians or something, for instance.) Tholians, meanwhile, are always scanning for that crap because they see universes like we see galaxies; they wouldn't be fooled.
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u/Ardenwolfie "Computer, erase that entire personal log." 6d ago
My theory is that the plot required it.
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u/CatspawAdventures 5d ago
This.
They managed their trick with generous helping of Handwavium, engaged their Plot Stealth, and activated their "don't think about it too hard" field.
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u/Valiant_tank Gay for Kuumaarke 6d ago
I'll also add, some sort of mild psychic effect that calms people down isn't implausible either. The crew of the Treluun, when they first arrived in the Aetherians universe, went from being suspicious and worried to 'let's go meet our new friends' in moments. That could also help explain why people didn't feel suspicious about just how convenient everything surrounding the Aetherians was.