I just started rewatching the Episodes and I am almost done with the 1st Saga, however I am a little bit confused about Protoculture. What is Protoculture suppossed to be? In the 1st series, the humans went from not knowing what Protoculture was to using it as a power source without ever having ever explaining it. So is protoculture a fancy word for power source or is it something else? It seems a bit cofusing at times.
shareProtoculture is a power-source that originates from the Invid Flower(s) of Life, hence it also serves as a vital foodstuff element to the ancient Invid race. The Zentraedi had an ample supply of it from the start of the series, but it was inevitably limited as the power's primary source laid formant within the SDF-1, Zor's original battle-fortress. This is the Protoculture Factory/Matrix and once the Zentraedi are defeated at the First Robotech War's close, the supply gets far more limited with the destruction of their millions of ships and eventually the capture of their factory satellite by the humans.
The Robotech Masters, the Tiresian superiors to the Zentraedi, have an even more limited amount of Protoculture at their disposal to the point where they can't even attain light-speed without the supply given to their giant armada. The humans do start experimenting with Protoculture-empowered chips in the First Robotech War's aftermath and while capturing the Zentraedi satellite, this doesn't really lead anywhere as they continue relying primarily on their own natural resources, totally unaware of the priceless Protoculture Matrix within the SDF-1's remains. This ultimate Factory stays buried within a final lingering chunk of the SDF-1, alongside chunks of the SDF-2 and Khyron's ship, at the Reflex Point designated by the RDF, REF, and UEG as SX-Point 83.
At some point between 2030 and 2038, the space-based REF lead by Rick Hunter and Emil Lang begins relying on Protoculture-fueld technology as well, viewing it superior to what their own natural resources could do (and with good reason given how nearly defeated the UEG was on Earth by the Masters).
Be sure to watch Robotech: The Sentinels between The Macross Saga and The Masters, as it fills in a few gaps set in December 2022, while The Macross Saga ends in January 2014 and The Masters begins in January 2029. The New Generation will also have a decade-length gap following its prior arc, though a few flashbacks featured at the start of Love Live Alive do help connect the dots a tad more. The Shadow Chronicles and Love Live Alive will then be set after The New Generation.
Superman & The [Red-Blue] Blur = The Man of Steel
It seemed like they were mixing it up, considerably, in the first saga of Robotech. At one point, they make references to it being some mystical social force. Then it was referenced in terms of being "love" and bringing Max and Miriya's baby into the world. And by the end, it seems they finally settled on it being a power source.
What's odd is that they could have reconciled the concept when they re-scripted much of the original to interweave them into Robotech. But it's as though the scripting were being done as the episodes moved along.
Anyone have any insight about this inconsistency?
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