> Also also, this isn't the flaw I was thinking of, and I'm not convinced that this *is* a flaw in itself, so everyone better keep looking :-)

Okeydoke, try this on for size. If the Envoy ship is so entirely automated and restrictive in its mission, such that the program cannot be modified on an as-needed basis, nor the ship's communications to the outside world altered in any way -- what is the point in having ANY humans on board as "ambassadors", let alone THREE humans?