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The Supercomputer complexes
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The Supercomputers of the series, Franz Hopper's excepted, are located in places where they are useful. Therefore, they can mainly be found in scientific or military facilities.
Let us immediately kill the joy and give some criticism: given the cost of those machines, it is very unlikely that they were left in abandoned bases such as the ones in New Mexico and Siberia.
These Supercomputers generate only one Sector each.
This underlines the idea that our heroes' Supercomputer is, by far the most powerful machine at a global scale. Not only can it generate a whole world with five Sectors, but it can also launch returns to the past, which other Supercomputers cannot do. Another significant fact: it is able to manage the scanners as well as the materialisation and virtualisation processes. These protocols, though they are part of running Lyoko, are a pretty feature. They require tremendous amounts of energy and what's more, require an exponential memory since it must contain our heroes' memories and all the information concerning their bodies, converted into digital data.
Except for Hopper's machine, Supercomputers are mainly used to perform calculations of an incredible complexity and length, as you can guess. Nowadays, those are used by the military, meteorologists, or researchers (like NASA, for instance).
If you want to know more about Supercomputers, you can check various sites like Wikipedia; but to look at the technology from the perspective of the series, check Mister Gui's file and Korki's “XANA and the Supercomputer”, “Lyoko” and “the scanners”.
Their location is consistent with the Sector they generate. Thus, out of four Replikas we saw, the Ice Sector was generated by a computer located in the Arctic Circle, the Forest Sector in a jungle, the Desert Sector in a...well, desert, and the Replika of Sector Five was in a space station. There is absolutely no reason why it should be necessary, and it was probably decided by the writers to reinforce the coherence of the episodes.
Since we now know that XANA controlled hundreds of Replikas, we can have fun trying to guess the likely locations for all the Supercomputers XANA had infected.
Those that generate Ice Sector Replikas could be found in other parts of Siberia, in bases or abandoned factories of the former USSR. Another believable place would be the Antarctic. This continent (though this designation is controversial) is scarcely populated and different countries hold parts of it (mainly Australia, the United Kingdom and France) where they installed research facilities.
The Replikas of the Mountain Sector could be located almost anywhere. You don't need to go very high up to encounter military bases (for instance, Mont Verdun, on the hills near Lyon). On the heights, the most common bases are weather stations.
The Desert Replikas are generated by Supercomputers whose localisation is less easy to figure out. Of course, we are not short of American deserts where there could be military bases: the area of only one American desert can be equal to that of France! That's plenty of room.
In the Sahara, we can come across weather stations once in a while, but it is unlikely that they were equipped with such machines.
The Replikas of the Forest are probably located in the Amazon rainforest, or in equatorial Africa.
As for those that generate Carthage, it's anyone's guess: they could be undersea, in other space stations or even in great cities, why not?
If you want to know what XANA was up to in those facilities, visit the pages 2 and 3 of its section. | | |
 | The Bases visited by the heroes | |
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The Supercomputer in the Amazon
Replika generated: Forest
Localisation: Amazon Forest, Brazil
Output: Cybernetic spiders
Defences: Xanafied scientists and cybernetic spiders
Facility destroyed by: Ulrich and Odd
This was the first facility visited by our heroes. We remember how surprised Odd and Aelita were when, after the Teleportation, they found themselves in the middle of the jungle, wearing their virtual outfits!
Indeed, this base was located in the Amazon rainforest, inside a facility covered in lichen and other plants.
Given its equipment – vivariums and such – the base was most likely dedicated to studying the flora and fauna of that endangered region of the world.
Given the naturally hostile environment (I won't linger on boas, tarantulas and other animal monstrosities that can be encountered in this forest), the base is equipped with a top-quality security system.
The doors are self-closing, there is a whole-building alarm system, and some rooms are secured with entry codes. Odd and Aelita, then Ulrich and Yumi, must confront all of these obstacles (with various levels of success and finesse...).
The Supercomputer itself sure is one of the best protected in the series. It is surrounded by a forcefield for withstanding external attacks.
During their first mission, after doing a bit of exploration, discover the room where the computer is and manage to destroy the field generator, but they are deteleported before they can proceed to the coup de grâce. The xanafied scientists of the facility cost them too much time (episode 78 “Lab Rat”).
Ulrich and Yumi proceed less brilliantly (episode 79 “Bragging Rights”). While Aelita had to use her Creativity power to open the door that protects the Supercomputer room, Ulrich simply breaks the console controlling the door. This piece of strong-arm tactics turns out to be pretty ineffective, since our heroes are now unable to access to the computer. The Teleported Lyokowarriors then turn against the Supercomputer's power generators; Ulrich destroys one, but he then realises that a backup generator unfortunately takes over.
Then, Yumi and Ulrich are deteleported by the cybernetic spiders made by XANA.
In the end, after a splendid fight, Odd is the one who finally manages to destroy the backup generator.
The Supercomputer in New Mexico
Replika generated: Desert
Localisation: New Mexico, United States of America
Output: Robotic components
Defences: Teleported Kankrelats
Facility destroyed by: Ulrich
This Replika was discovered by Ulrich and Aelita.
However, their first mission is very short and it is mainly about exploring and seeing that XANA is manufacturing printed circuits, in an abandoned military base in New Mexico. However, our two heroes are forced to go back to Lyoko, then to Earth, to protect Jeremy and the Supercomputer from William (episode 81 “A Lack of Goodwill”). So they deteleport each other.
The heroes then come back to this base: Ulrich and Yumi go together and immediately have to face Teleported Kankrelats, until they get to the Supercomputer room, which has been infested by the little creatures.
Bravely fighting their way through, they take the time to gather information and find out that the circuits are meant to control robots such as the spiders they have seen in the Amazon.
Yumi is then needed on Lyoko to protect the Skid from William so she deteleports. As for Ulrich, after a splendid kata, he gets rid of the Kankrelats that dwell in the Supercomputer room and thrusts his twin blades into the computer, wrecking it completely (episode 83 “Hard Luck”).
The Supercomputer in the space station
Replika generated: Sector 5
Localisation: In orbit
Output: Spiky floating balls
Defences: Spiky floating balls
Facility destroyed by: Yumi and Odd
Odd and Yumi write a new page in history: they are the first polymorphic spectres to go into Space. The Supercomputer that generates the Replika of Carthage is indeed located in a space station that hasn't been opened yet.
After enjoying the view of our planet from the skies, Odd and Yumi head for the computer they must destroy. Their main concern is not to leave any trace: since the station is just about to be inaugurated, they can't afford it. Before they have the chance to think it over, they are attacked by floating balls that are covered in spikes. They flee though the station, until Odd activates a lever that opens an airlock and ejects them into outer space.
Once they're back near the machine they have to destroy, our heroes break a water pipe and watch the H2O spread throughout the station, touching the electrical components of the Supercompter and sabotaging everything (episode 87 “A Space Oddity”).
The Supercomputer in Siberia
Replika generated: Ice
Localisation: Sakha Republic, Russia
Output: Cyborgs
Defences: Xanafied William, cyborgs
Facility destroyed by: Nobody
The last of XANA's Supercomputers our heroes find is Soviet. Yumi and Odd discover it in an abandoned facility in Siberia, in the Sakha Republic to be precise.
After going though the factory and crossing swords with an unleashed xanafied William, our two Lyoko Warriors discover brains floating in a greenish liquid.
They find the Supercomputer, but unfortunately the mission is aborted as an emergency reaction to the appearance of a new monster on the Replika: the Kolossus. The new priority is now to come back to the Skid and get it to safety (episode 92 “Cold Sweat”).
Another mission takes place in that base. The objective, however, won't be to destroy the computer, but to use it to launch a program that could bring William back to Earth for good (episode 93 “Down to Earth”).
Odd and Aelita then discover a whole army of cyborgs created by XANA. Odd, then Aelita, keep them at bay and hold them back long enough for Aelita to launch the program from a terminal before she is deteleported.
On the Replika, the mission ends in a tie: William is back, the Skid is lost.
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