[Tak]

Originally Posted by neilcreek

1) When the original Supervision Army ship that was to become the SDF Macross crashed to Earth, was it the case that no aliens were found aboard? If so, why not, where were they?

As revealed in the first episode of SDF Macross, the original Supervision gunship was a trap set to lure the Zentradi, and designed to take out as many Zent warships with it in a suicidal attack. Since no alien bodies were found in the ship, it could be assumed that the original inhabitants of the vessel had escaped prior to setting the latter on autopilot.

Originally Posted by neilcreek

How did the brainwashing persist? Did it pass down the generations? Did the brainwashing become a kind of religion?

Not really brainwashing per se, but more like a mixture of programming, survival and tradition. Remember that Zentradis were programmed to destroy the SA on sight and vice versa. I would think after many millennia, the two sides had probably long forgotten the origins of their struggle just as the Zents had long forgotten what it was like to be 'human'. After eons of blowing each other's brains out, the reasons for their war are really the least of their worries.

Moreover, if we assume that the Protodevlin controlled half of the Stellar Republic's resources, then it is more than likely that the SA possesses the same capacity as the Zentradi, at least when it comes to sheer production capabilities. With millions of satellite factories producing pre-programmed warriors on both sides, to completely rid of the effects of 'brainwashing' is a daunting, if not impossible task.

Originally Posted by neilcreek

Despite the sealing of the Protodevlin, did the Supervision Army continue to innovate and develop new technologies to continue the fight?

Aside from the fact that Zent and SA forces have very different allegiances, they share very similar technology, production capabilities, philosophy, tactics and other attributes.

Originally Posted by neilcreek

There were obviously vast numbers of soldiers in the Supervision Army, were there also civilians? Are there Supervision Army civilisations, planets and colonies?

The shows never provided us with any hint regarding possible Zent or SA 'homeworlds'. We were however, told that both forces are fighting a never-ending war, and explicitly shown that the Zents have a tendency to destroy civilizations and planets. I assume they need to strip planets bare of resources in order to keep the millions of satellite factories in their possession at full capacity.

- Tak