Undead pseudoscience

[Thrudd]

I am attempting to come up with a plausible pseudoscience/super science explanation for AD&D style undead, including clerics' ability to turn them.

My initial thought is nano bots which possess the dead body and not only animate it but also generate the various special powers like increased toughness, ability to paralyze, etc.

The question is, what would these nanobots have been designed for originally so that
a.) they only possess dead bodies
b.) they consume human flesh and blood but don't consume plants or other food.
C.) they lose power or are killed by sunlight

my initial idea is that this technology was originally designed as an experiment in physical immortality, eons ago, which was discarded because it never worked as intended. Since then, the nanites have been evolving like a virus, working around the constraints programmed into their DNA to find a way to spread and reproduce. After a very long time, there are several strains that have each evolved different survival strategies.

Cleric's ability to turn or rebuke comes from the ability to psychically broadcast specific frequencies that shut down or override the nanites. This ability is passed down as an ancient tradition; it really comes from tapping into the psychic server that clerics believe is God, and accessing the information from the creators of the nanites.

Does it make sense that radiation in the high UV range might be able to disrupt the operation of the nanites in some way? Why would that be, were they designed in a place or time where there was little to no uv radiation?

They require energy to replicate, obviously, but why does that have to come from blood or flesh?

Why only dead bodies? My idea was that they were specifically programmed not to interfere with functioning neurons.

I have not figured out how skeletons would work, so they probably would not be in the game as is.

The increased strength and resistance of undead comes from the nanites forming a nanotube or graphene-like structure that sheaths the muscles and skin.

So science folks, any ideas?

[sktarq]

Another very pseudo pseudo-science root to work from would be dark energy. Access to

Also the sun gives out far more than UV-hell it could be radio wave issues. Also how would nanittes explain banshees, ghost, wraiths, shadows, and other non corporal undead?

[Thrudd]

Another very pseudo pseudo-science root to work from would be dark energy. Access to

Also the sun gives out far more than UV-hell it could be radio wave issues. Also how would nanittes explain banshees, ghost, wraiths, shadows, and other non corporal undead?

Nanites that have evolved the ability to form a body of variable density (kind of like the Vision). They would have a greater density of nanites than lesser undead like zombies and ghouls. their attacks might consist of nanites actually invading their victim and draining power. If they kill their victim, they consume all the matter and convert it into enough nanites to form another wraith body.

Vampires would probably be the most advanced (as would be indicated by their HD in the game), they have the ability to convert from physical to incorporeal and back again.

[Balyano]

Perhaps the nanites are made of a collection of proteins and RNA. UV radiation denatures the proteins. Perhaps the creators designed all their proteins to be rendered inoperable by UV and some of them act as accelerants causing flesh to ignite and burn and others decompose in the presence of UV into enzymes that attack the normal proteins found in the nanites. This is a safety measure to prevent environmental contamination and plague. Likewise they only affect dead material because the immune system attacks them. Corpses have no immune response. Some years ago the tiniest radio ever made was made of a carbon nanotube and some protein. Could both send and receive and the song ''Good Vibrations'' was the one mentioned for the experiment. This could mean that the nanites were originally controlled through radio wave signals. Clerics might be able to produce a radio signal, one code might tell them to self destruct, or run away, or bow down, or attack your enemies. Perhaps clerics gain this ability through some special ritual. During the ritual they are injected with a some nanites of another variety that colonize the neural tissue and have their own built in radio.

[Thrudd]

Perhaps the nanites are made of a collection of proteins and RNA. UV radiation denatures the proteins. Perhaps the creators designed all their proteins to be rendered inoperable by UV and some of them act as accelerants causing flesh to ignite and burn and others decompose in the presence of UV into enzymes that attack the normal proteins found in the nanites. This is a safety measure to prevent environmental contamination and plague. Likewise they only affect dead material because the immune system attacks them. Corpses have no immune response. Some years ago the tiniest radio ever made was made of a carbon nanotube and some protein. Could both send and receive and the song ''Good Vibrations'' was the one mentioned for the experiment. This could mean that the nanites were originally controlled through radio wave signals. Clerics might be able to produce a radio signal, one code might tell them to self destruct, or run away, or bow down, or attack your enemies. Perhaps clerics gain this ability through some special ritual. During the ritual they are injected with a some nanites of another variety that colonize the neural tissue and have their own built in radio.

Yes, that's good. I had assumed they would be made of designed DnA or RnA. Question, though, what could you do with these nanites if they can't survive UV exposure or the body's normal immune response? The safety measures would restrict their applicability. I'm having trouble locking down their original purpose, which admittedly may be quite different from how they evolved over the course of many millennia, or even millions of years.

[SkipSandwich]

Perhaps the nano-bots were originally intended to be a life-support device? They were created to stabilize the condition of critically injured patients so that they could be safely moved to a treatment facility, when a freak accident that destroyed most of the lab revealed they were a little too good at 'preserving the condition of the patient', allowing them to keep the body alive long after the brain has lost function. Zombies are aggressive and driven to attack other humans because the nano-bots are pretty stupid and simply following commands to 'preserve humans' in the only way they know how.

A living carrier of the nano-infection gains the benefit of the Diehard and Rapid Metabolism feats while alive, but rises as a zombie 1d4+1 rounds after death.

As for turning undead, among the cataloged abilities of human psychic phenomena, is the ability to generate light with a particular EM radiation signature. This light is mostly harmless though it causes discomfort in certain (evil-aligned) people, and can cause mild errors in electronic equipment. However, the nano-machines, being so small, are actually destroyed by such pulses, causing erratic behavior or complete shut-down with a strong enough pulse.

Attempting to 'turn' a living carrier will either cause them to be 'dazed' for 1 round or cure their infection on a 'destroyed' result.