7.7 Replicator Systems

Recent advances in transporter-based molecular synthesis have resulted in a lot of spin-off technologies; chief amongst these are the food replicators. There are three main replication systems on board the Camelot; Food synthesizers, hardware replicators and mass weapons replicators. Food and weapon replicators are optimized for a finer degree of resolution because of the necessity of accurately replicating the chemical composition of food and the design of the weapon. Hardware replicators are set for lower resolution to save on power and memory. A number of specialized replicators exist throughout the ship, such as sickbay, genetics lab and science labs for synthesis of pharmaceuticals, scientific supplies and DNA base codes.

These systems operate by using a phase-transition coil chamber in which a measured quantity of raw material is dematerialized in a manner similar to that of a transporter. However, a quantum geometry transformational matrix field is used instead of a molecular imaging scanner, to modify the matter stream to conform to a digitally stored pattern matrix. The matter stream is then routed through waveguides to the desired location.

Replicators are used to produce most of the items needed onboard the ship at any given moment, and as such storage space is not exactly a prime concern. However, certain types of compounds and space parts are not replicatable and dictate storage in a cargo bay. Additionally, significant stores of critical spares and consumables are maintained for possible use during Alert situations when power for the replicators may be unavailable.