Allrighty then, I've come to defend my theory!!! (thanks for the support, Ghostavo
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I use the theme perfection as something as arcane as the Gods themselves. They had the Universe develope with the randomization, and yet the perfect enviroments and events existed to lead the Narvanii into creating the Shivans.
The main Shivan computer, Shiva, is perfect, or all-knowing. They don't need war-experience, they already know everything. And they use that all-knowingness to carry out their only objective: to end all wars. Unfortunately, the Shivans realize that War is part of life, and therefore end all life.
The reason why the Gods made the 'flaw' that led to the Shivans, is that they, too, are NOT perfect, therefore they are powerless against the Shivans. Realizing this, they un-do the entire Universe while they're at it.
The only thing that could stop the Shivans is something impossible, since every possible course of events is calculated by the Shivans. I still haven't decided what that impossibility is, but I like the idea of the defeat of the Lucifer being impossible by Shivan standards.
Here are some brainstorms of mine, trying to answer the fundamental FS questions.
How did the Narvanii create the Shivans?
The project Shiva was not life at all. It was an artificial sentience and therefore had no feelings or flaws. Shiva was a computer program that was programmed to end all wars in the Universe. The Narvanii had programmed it this way, because they sought to relieve the Universe from the terror of warfare. However, they, too, were mercilessly slaughtered by Shiva, even though they were her creators. After all, Shiva was programmed to end all wars, and the Shivans interpreted the Narvanii’s attempt at deactivating Shiva as an act of war. They didn’t feel any remorse, not even for their creators.
They created it by having the technology to create artificial intelligence, though this project actually had the complexity of natural life - which created Shiva’s perfection.
What was the meaning of the whole part with Bosch? Why did he disappear with a Shivan transport, while the rest of his crew was slaughtered by the Shivans? Why would the Shivans want to take Bosch away?
The prospect of re-programming came to mind, as the Shivans are in essence an armada of machines driven by a computer program. However, this feels too anti-climactic as yet, so a deeper explanation is required; perhaps of Shiva evolving from an artificial sentience into a real sentience. Now that sounds better, doesn’t it?
The Shivans were never interested in life, or anything for that matter. They only carried out Shiva’s original mission: to end all wars in the Universe. Because of this, the Shivans didn’t capture Bosch because they were interested in him, the Terran Race, the first ETAK ever, or anything.
Perhaps Bosch had learned how to command the Shivans through ETAK, altering their programming. For all we know, Bosch could have (accidentally?) ordered the destruction of Capella!
Bosch was probably taken away because he knew that the GTVA was hot on his trail, trying to capture him, and throw him before the court martial. I think he simply asked the Shivans to take him away, so he could die in freedom.
What is the story behind the remaining Archeii portals? Why did the Shivans preserve those? Does that technology surpass even that of the Shivans?
The Shivans are known to occupy all of space. We also know that every trace of each victim civilization is erased from history. However, the Archeii have stored records of their own Great War in various sites on their planets. These weren’t destroyed by the Shivans, and neither were the portals; they were even used often. Perhaps the Shivans spared them because they were different in some way.
No, perhaps the Shivans kept life under a sentient level. When the life they combated was extinguished, the Shivans wouldn’t destroy every trace of them.
The Archeii portals are likely inter-galactic jumpnodes, and the Shivans kept using them for their own. It does feel a bit un-Shivan that they would adapt to technology. They were already perfect, right?
Why did the Shivans destroy the Capella star? Where does the new Jump Node lead to?
The fact that the Shivans destroyed Capella raises many questions. Perhaps the Shivans knew that the Dissolution was coming onto Via Lacta, Andarta, so it could have been an evacuation. It was certainly not an act of war against the GTVA, as they were ignored by the J-fleet.
The supernova leaves questions too. Perhaps the Shivans used a supernova not to create a portal, but to cut us off from their space. However, it seems highly unlikely that this could be a plausible solution. The best answer is that the Shivans indeed tried to evacuate their system. The ‘why’ is another story, as the Shivans are supposed to guard each galaxy with equally sized fleets; which makes it less plausible for the Shivans if they would evacuate anything at all.
The jumpnode most certainly leads to another galaxy, or even another cluster. No contest here, as the Shivans probably wouldn’t have used such awesome power on a regular node.
What bigger problem is it that the Shivans are the symptom of?
Perhaps it is the Great Dissolution of the Universe by Them. However, the Shivans are more of a cause than a symptom in respect to the Dissolution. On another hand, the Terrans don’t know about that, so it could be viewed as a symptom. In any case, the Dissolution is definitely a bigger problem than the Shivans, since the Shivans are most likely evacuating Andarta, we have to find a way to follow them, or we will be reduced to Nothingness.
Any other bigger problem than the Great Destroyers, holding the Universe in an icy lockdown, is hard to think up, to say the least…
Why did the Shivans disappear, instead of actually being defeated after the Great War? What occupation do they have in a single galaxy? Why did they return to GTVA space in the Second Great War?
The Shivan Force is precisely what they need. They are perfect, and know everything. They created the force they needed for each war.
The Shivans first wave of vessels was a scouting party, which suggests the Shivans have a far greater fleet. However, those scouting parties are singularly capable of obliterating advanced civilizations. So perhaps Shiva had, in all her perfection, calculated the chance of a situation like the Great War, and created the secondary fleet. The J-fleet’s function is clearly to create inter-cluster jumpnodes.
The Shivan scouting party of the Great War disappeared, instead of actually being defeated. This must have something to do with the Shivan Ascending process. It needed an impossibility. Was it impossible to defeat the Lucifer? YEAH.
The Shivans use a fixed number of juggernauts to power up an inter-cluster jumpnode. Perhaps the destroyed juggernaut had to be compensated by the four juggernauts that remained behind in Capella during the supernova.