Comments on the Wizard of Chiron

[Bearcat]

The story is coming along great. You really have authorial talent. I can't wait to see Bearcat Omega-7 Don't take this to hard but aren't all Morganites supposed to be rich. I know that totally isn't the truth with real life capitalism though.

[Vi Vicdi]

Methis has some competition. Cool. "Good robot / bad robot". Very Asimov.

I think "Lore" from Star Trek was actually pursuing the same agenda: rid the Borg of their "inferior" biological components, making them over into his image.

[Ari Rahikkala]

Great story... I just have to catch up a little(I just found this story). I don't know Wizard of Oz, so the story is fully a surprise for me . But Mouse, I just have to say that you know English better than any other Finn I know(Well, maybe not mentioning my English teacher).

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Today, you see as a new thread starts here! Called "Literature of Centauri". There's small stories or essays on faction philosophies, all under names found from the datalinks. More when I post the first part.

[Raging Mouse]

Sorry about the break in posting, people! I've been having some serious technical problems. Anyway...

[Hunkpapa]

Enjoyed the story.

[Vi Vicdi]

I was a bit put off by the "rock 'n' roll probe team" -- I mean, the Russians tried it, with their bobsled team, and it was a joke. As certain Mafia bosses have learned, fame cripples when ones work requires anonymity.

However, it's still a great story. Two sentient algorithms warring over a young girl who (the reader gets the feeling) has the potential of overshadowing them both some day. Cool.

Is she merely a walking treasure trove of scientific data, waiting for someone to exploit, or is she on the verge of near-godhood in her own right? Will it be she who rescues her father? How will that affect their father / daughter relationship? Wow, heavy stuff for a 9-year-old!

Consider this: the teenager's brain is far more powerful than the pre-teen's. Actual physiological changes in the brain itself trigger a massive increase in computational speed and power. This sets the teenager inexorably on the glidepath to knowing everything, which occurs around age 16. (By around 26 the euphoria of knowing everything gives way to a newfound respect for one's parents.)

Dorothy, meanwhile, has experienced a massive increase in computational power. Since she's still 9 she's obviously not interested in boys or social status or any of the other things older girls are interested in ... so what, then? What are a 9-year-old girl's instincts, amplified by the power to plan and execute on an adolescent level (and beyond), going to make of her?

Ever see a child prodigy on one of those late-night shows? They can think circles around the host, but the slightest off-color remark, the slightest innuendo, the slightest injection of social nuance, totally destroys the illusion. Invariably such subtlety goes right over the kid's head.

Child-actors, on the other hand, who couldn't factor a polynomial, phase right in to the conversation, and invariably know just the right level of social appropriateness for their age, even as they understand every more-adult reference the host might throw their way (not just innuendo, but topics like money, career, midlife crisis, lots of grownup stuff).

Dorothy is experiencing an increase in her mental capability that isn't supposed to happen until later. She is a prodigy, and has led a sheltered life, but she is in the company of people who are perhaps the most-skilled at social manipulation: spies. I am anxious to see how this cocktail you've mixed together turns out!

[Ari Rahikkala]

quote: Originally posted by Vi Vicdi on 04-25-2000 12:08 AM I was a bit put off by the "rock 'n' roll probe team" -- I mean, the Russians tried it,

[Off-topic] Somehow, the Leningrad cowboys just sprang into my mind...

But really, it's quite a complicated problem you have there. Methis tells Dorothy what to do and CC tries to get Dorothy? I'm waiting for the next episode.

[edgecrusher]

oh, sure... spark an jasonian get mentions... what about the rest of us?

------------------
i've become impossible
holding on to when
when everything seemed to matter more
the two of us
all used and beaten up
watching fate as it flows down the path we
have chose

[Raging Mouse]

Not much more to wait now, edgecrusher! You'll be along. Very shortly.

Of course, To all of you, do realize it'll take a while to get you all included. But I'm still open for names. There'll be more than a need for them.

[Famyn]

Must... have... more... Wizard of Chiron...

You can use my name if you want. Don't know what for... although I'm somewhat partial towards... Usurpers...

[Raging Mouse]

I will try and fit you in there, Famyn..


As for the second thread, well... the first one was some 400 K's large, and I was getting impatient waiting for it to load..

[edgecrusher]

will the edgecrusher be a hero, or villain?

------------------
i've become impossible
holding on to when
when everything seemed to matter more
the two of us
all used and beaten up
watching fate as it flows down the path we
have chose

[Raging Mouse]

Something in between those...

[Vi Vicdi]

Wow, another fine chapter. Excellent work!

I got a great laugh out of your portrayal of the Cybernetic soldiers being logically convinced to switch sides. The mental image had me in stitches.

[edgecrusher]

very nice... i hope there'll be more of me to come...