Plastic Universe

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Throughout the Lego universes the Technic and Minifig races live in varying states of civilization and harmony. This treatise describes the situation as it was observed in one such universe, namely Slink's Universe.

Figure History in Slink's Universe

It is not known for certain how the division between the races of figures arose although it is evident from discontinued specimens that the Minifig species has been in existence longer than the Technic species. There is some speculation that the Technics arose from the branch of Minifigs most versed in technology, the Town Minifigs. The Town Minifigs can be distinguished from the more technologically primitive Minifig cultures by their use of the nonbustion engine and plastronic computers. The nonbustion engine was a steadier form of power than either muscle-power or magic. This enabled the Town Minifigs to master sea, land and air travel. When the plastronic computer was invented, the fine control this technology offered enabled the Town Minifigs to enter the ultimate hostile environment of space.

Somewhere along the line the Town Minifigs developed the concept of holes. After having made plates and beams with holes, axles for the holes, and connectors, gears and pulley wheels for the axles, some of these Town Minifigs at last applied the principle to themselves. Making holes in their limbs enabled them to become larger using less material than might be expected. Since it was thought that being larger would enable them to acquire treasure more easily in the never ending Minifig faction wars they did this quickly, without much thought and without any intermediate steps. A factor of two in height was chosen for simplicity, and these Minifigs made themselves over into Technics. Unfortunately they failed to consider that all the weapons were still Minifig size. Although they were able to bribe or overawe, and thus dominate, the Town Minifigs with their technology into acting as workers in their Technic factories, the heavily armed Wild Minifig populations had no problems either resisting or evading the clumsy Technic efforts at conquest. When the Technics spread from their planet of origin, stacked into their relatively tiny shuttles, they carried the domesticated Town Minifigs with them.

Figures in Slink's Universe live on plasticizer produced by quadrupeds combined with plastic powder mined from the BUMPs or taken from other Lego sources. The resulting paste if colorless is colored appropriately for the figure consuming it with trace materials, and then the paste is formed into foodlike shapes. Incompatability of colors will lead to a muddy, run-down appearance in the figures. Colorless plastic powder is also vital for plastronic computers. BUMPs are very difficult to mine and so the more easily obtained pre-colored sources are frequently used instead. Getting a properly balanced diet of colors can be quite a task for figures with many or rare colors in their makeup. The quadrupeds live by grazing on baseplate. The plasticizer which can be collected from them when taken pure is an inebriant for figures, making them feel all oozy when taken in excess.

Technically advanced Minifigs require rubber for tires in addition to the normal plasticizers and plastics consumed by all figures. The Technic civilization is further doubly dependent on rubber, for the rubber boosters used on their vehicles and for their rubber stun weapons. Huge Rubber-Leafed Palm plantations are cultivated on Technic planets to supply the material for the rubber factories. Here is the story of one planet where this went very badly awry.

Planet Techfall - [Author's Note: The Techfall trading center was built over one weekend, with almost every 2x4 brick that I owned at the time plus as much Freestyle bits as I could find use for. My non-Technic inventory at that time was 2 Basic bins, 4 Freestyle bins, 3 Basic buckets, 1 Freestyle bucket, and one-half Tyco bucket of miscellaneous Lego. I used every baseplate I owned including the one darker green one from the Amusement Park set. I did it for a break from struggling with robot bumpers and when I found that my husband didn't laugh outright I decided to continue acquiring non-Technic components just for fun. I did add the furnishings in the canned plastic store just before taking these pictures, but since I used stuff I already owned on that weekend, it still fits.]

  1. Historical Perspective
  2. The Rescue

Originally the Wild Minifigs continued on the home planet with their pre-nonbustion engine technology. This was always an annoyance to the Technics as the Wild figures interfered with the sports circuit by constant raids on race meets and regattas. After CyberTechnics were developed it became the practice to stun Wild Minifig colonies with rubber missiles and carry them to areas where they could be converted into docile workers in Technic factories. The capture was not easy by any means, however, and Wild Minifigs responded by reconciling their tribal and clan differences and making a united final stand against the Technics.

After the Techfall inhabitants were rescued, they were returned to the home planet. The Techfall Technics described to the governing body of all Technics, The Racing Commission, the abysmal failure of the Technic lifestyle in terms of planet resource management. They emphasized what a burden of gratitude they bore towards the Techfall Minifigs for eventually saving the lives of those who had survived, by use of pre-nonbustion engine technology. After due deliberation The Racing Commission decided that they really preferred racing to governing planets, and if giving over planetary control to the Minifigs was what it took to guarantee their version of The Good Life, then so be it. All the planets colonized by the Technics, which had been chosen primarily for their flat terrain for ease of building race tracks and garages, were likely to follow the pattern of Techfall in due time. These planets would be surveyed and those which were sustainable as racing worlds would be converted fully into such. Control of the home planet would be returned to the Minifigs and the Minifigs would be given all the technology needed for space travel and also all other Technic advances, as long as they agreed to supply the Technics with what they needed for their sports. All the Technics asked in return was to be allowed to play with their machines in peace.

In addition the Wild Minifigs would no longer be harvested. The Techfall Minifigs, with their dual outlook on life, would be sent to forge a treaty with the Wild Minifigs. It was hoped that trade could be established between Wild and Town Minifigs, thus eliminating the need on the part of the Wild figures to raid the Town settlements for supplies. The Techfall Minifigs eagerly agreed to this, particularly since they had left all of their plasticizer on Techfall and they had heard rumors of a delightful improved version drunk by the Wild figures. What follows is the complete story of the home planet.

Planet Redoubt - [Author's Note: This started as the result of a huge buying binge during the week surrounding Christmas. I actually began cleaning up the dining room for the first time in about 5 years in order to build this. It is not at all complete. I hope to finish cleaning the dining room and expand the project to the entire table. There will be problems with some portions because I want varying altitudes including underwater and I can't see how to do this at the present time. I suppose masses of ordinary bricks might do the trick but do I really want to spend my time building huge rectangles? We'll see. If only the raised baseplates were good for something. You can stack BUMPs for bigger rock formations, and clamp flat baseplate in the wall structure for upper floors, but it seems to me that the raised baseplates are totally useless outside of single sets because of the smooth gaps formed by adjacent moldings. P.S My buying binge has turned into a habit. I've already had to point out to my husband that this is cheaper than my foray into saltwater fish and that Legos don't die when the power is off overnight. He believes the latter. I'm not so sure he believes the former. He may be right over the long haul. :)]

  1. Planetary Map
  2. Timeline
  3. Northern Mystery
  4. Redoubt Village
  5. Bushtown Spaceport and Oasis
  6. Offshore Industries
  7. The Mustard Clinic
  8. Rubber-Palm Trees
  9. Technic/Town Civilization