The Tartarus - Prisoner Transport Deckplans

[Turgenev]

I've been re-watching the first season of Blake's 7 and I got the idea of drawing up a prisoner transport ship. Here's my work in progress for the prisoner level of the ship. I still have to add some more details here & there but this should give you an idea of how it is going to look. The next level will be the ship command and crew area, hyperspace drive, a couple defensive weapons, etc.

tartarus-lowerdeck-v1.jpg

I picture the cells to have an energy barrier as a door. Each cell has a small area where food (or food tablets) are dispensed and a small area for waste removal. The cells are otherwise spartan in nature. The solitary block has no food dispenser and has only a drain in the floor for waste removal. The cells hold 1 prisoner each with each cell block holding 25 prisoners for a total payload of 50 prisoners. The purpose of this ship is to transport prisoners to penal colonies/stations/what-have-you. This ship could also be used as a slaver ship.

[Steel General]

For some reason I kept reading this as 'Tardis', and I was thinking... "Oooh he's doing Dr. Who stuff now, how cool".

Then I read it more carefully and had to give myself the proverbial *smack to the forehead*. Another great plan Turgenev.

[Turgenev]

LOL! Well, I am a HUGE Doctor Who fan so you never know. Actually any of my ship plans could be used in the Doctor Who universe set in the earth's future. Many years ago, I mapped out the TARDIS that my own Time Lord character had so maybe that is an idea for something to recreate in the future.

[Sigurd]

Go ahead map the Tardis.... I want to see the _inside_ ...





Sigurd

[Xyll]

Wouldn't mapping the Tardis inside be like mapping the 666 layers of the abyss?

Very nice map BTW

[Talroth]

I've always wondered why cell doors in Science Fiction are always something that fails when the power goes off.

What ever happened to good old METAL doors and bars? Like really, a metal door, with a metal lock bar, does NOT easily open if someone trips the wrong breaker.

But I like the layout for the most part, but I think you should be able to cram far more criminals in there.

My personal favorite method for holding inmates for sci-fiction transit is in small life support pods. Stack them in like cord wood, and if anyone manages to get too wound up in their small coffin sized cells, then just lower their life support levels till they go back to sleep.

[Turgenev]

I've always wondered why cell doors in Science Fiction are always something that fails when the power goes off.

What ever happened to good old METAL doors and bars? Like really, a metal door, with a metal lock bar, does NOT easily open if someone trips the wrong breaker.

That's a good point and one I'm going to think about.

But I like the layout for the most part, but I think you should be able to cram far more criminals in there.

I could see anywhere from 2 - 3 prisoners per cell. I assume slavers would fill the cells to max capacity. The cells are 5 ft wide and about 7 - 8 ft long. In the final write-up, I will probably include a range of prisoner capacity (i.e. 50 - 100 prisoners).

My personal favorite method for holding inmates for sci-fiction transit is in small life support pods. Stack them in like cord wood, and if anyone manages to get too wound up in their small coffin sized cells, then just lower their life support levels till they go back to sleep.

My wife mentioned about putting all prisoners to sleep in cryogenic pods but I mentioned that the power requirements were too high and expensive and it was cheaper to treat the prisoners as rodents in a cage. I picture this prisoner transport ship as having various security measures set up including gas flooding the cell block rending all unconscious.

[Turgenev]

Wouldn't mapping the Tardis inside be like mapping the 666 layers of the abyss?

Exactly.

Very nice map BTW

Thanks Xyll.

[ravells]

Re the prisoners escaping: I think that the reason why is because many books / films would be very boring if the prisoners did not escape.

Great plans, Turgenev! I could rep you all day for these but it won't let me for the time being!

[alaskanflyboy]

The idea is probably that all the doors on the ship are designed to open when the power fails so that they are not sealed. In grand cost-saving fashion, they just bought the same door-opening mechanism in bulk, including the ones for the cell door. Or it could be Ravells' thought. Yeah, it's probably Ravell's thought.

My first thought when looking at this map, though, was; the crew sure sits closer than the prisoners to radioactive stuff that can potentially make them sterile for life.