The Maker is one of the fundamental technologies of the Cooperative.[2]
History
Origin
The origin of the Maker dates back to circa 98,300 BC when Cooperative scientists developed the means to generate unlimited energy.[1] This discovery improved the quality of life for Cooperative citizens, but greater change was to come less than 300 years later with the invention of the Maker, a molecular factory that could instantly covert energy into any form of matter and in any quantity.[2][1] The development of unlimited matter fabrication eliminated all forms of material want in the Cooperative and with it much of the crime in that society.[3] Soon, Makers were found everywhere from homes to starships.[2] Thus, the Maker transformed the already advanced Cooperative into a post-scarcity utopia virtually overnight.[1]
The Maker also affected the Cooperative's relations with new races they encountered, especially mature and aggressive ones. In the past, the Cooperative had to marshal massive armadas to repel invasions of their space. Now, the Cooperative would offer Makers as gifts to invaders, who could use the devices to produce desperately needed resources. Such acts of generosity not only averted war, but often resulted in would be invaders becoming full members of the Cooperative.[1]
The Yoongar receive the Maker
This strategy worked perfectly for millennia until the mid-20th Century when the Cooperative was attacked by the Yoongar, a brutal race who wage war for its own sake. Not realizing this, the Cooperative followed standard procedure by giving the Yoongar a Maker as a peace offering. Instead, the Yoongar studied the Maker and then used it to upgrade their warships for a full scale invasion of the Cooperative. These efforts were only partially successful: the Yoongar greatly enhanced their ships' weaponry, but not their rather sluggish speed. Nevertheless, tensions between both sides escalated over the following decades with the Cooperative facing the prospect of its first war in nearly 100,000 years.[1]
This impending war was averted thanks to Rocket, the human sidekick of Icon, a Cooperative citizen turned Earth-based superhero. Rocket suggested the Cooperative could defeat the Yoongar by creating a new enemy for them to fight. Inspired by this clever idea, the Cooperative used Makers to quickly construct self-repairing robotic warships programmed to intercept the Yoongar ships and constantly fight them to a draw. The battle continues to this day as the Yoongar keep vainly trying to beat a foe not seeking to win.[4] The unorthodox defeat of the Yoongar will cause Cooperative scientists and citizens to explore even more applications of Maker technology for centuries to come.
Capabilities
The Maker is a molecular factory consisting of free floating, multi-colored triangular objects orbiting above a circular base.[1] Through means beyond the understanding of Earth science, the Maker taps energy from external sources in order to construct any physical item, molecule by molecule, in a matter of seconds. Items created in this fashion are known as hardware.[2]
The Maker constructing a car
The molecular structure of hardware is stored in data files called software found on the Info Tool, the Cooperative's self-aware computerized database.[2] Because the two technologies are connected, a user can employ the Info Tool as an interface to verbally command a Maker to create specific hardware. Examples of hardware include clothing,[5] food,[2] technology,[2] and even starship components.[4] When the user no longer needs hardware, the Maker will deconstruct the item and convert it back into energy for future use. Naturally, the Maker has eliminated the need for storage areas in homes, vessels, etc.[2]
Sometimes, a user will ask the Maker to create an item whose software is not on file. In such a case, a user must create a new software file on the Info Tool through one of three ways. The first and most reliable way is have the Tool scan an item's molecular structure, which the Maker can use to construct a duplicate item.[2]
The second way is to submit a drawing of the requested item to the Tool, which can then extrapolate a software file for the Maker to follow. The costumes worn by Icon and Rocket were created in this manner.[5]
The final way to create a software file is the user describing to the Info Tool the hardware to be constructed by the Maker. Unfortunately, the Tool can sometimes misunderstand the user's description as demonstrated when the Maker created a literal stuffed bear instead of the teddy bear Rocket wanted.[2] Because users constantly add software to the Info Tool, the type of hardware the Maker can construct is practically limitless.
The Maker can modify constructed hardware by altering its molecular structure according to the whims of its user. A simple example of this was Rocket using the Maker to instantly repair damage her costume suffered in battle.[4]
The Maker can also modify items it did not construct.[6] To do so, the Info Tool scans the item to create software that a Maker will follow to perform the modifications. For example, Icon employed his starship's Maker to build the garage beneath his mansion's swimming pool, where his vessel is stored.[6] The makers installed on Cooperative Construction Vehicles are even more impressive, being capable of transforming barren planets into life sustaining worlds.[1]
Notes
- Icon first described the Cooperative's use of unlimited matter fabrication in Icon #8. This revelation answered how Icon's life pod could so quickly create his and Rocket's costumes in Icon #1. However, the Maker itself was not identified until Icon #31.
See Also
- Appearances of Maker (Dakotaverse)
- Item Gallery: Maker (Dakotaverse)
- Images featuring Maker (Dakotaverse)