Well of Souls Forums

icekatze wrote:hi hi

If metacognition is the bar we're using, then our sample size for the discussion is exactly 1.

That isn't really true. Or at very least, we have strong indications to doubt it. In any case, Grey African Parrots aren't sapient, and they certainly aren't intelligent compared to humans.

What does that even mean? "Particularly high intelligence, all things considered." African Greys have intelligence on par with human children, they're one of the most intelligent animals on Earth, all things considered. What is the bar for intelligence we're using here? Do only fictional species fr...

It's a smart bird. But that doesn't make it particularly high intelligence there, all things considered.

Arioch wrote:I imagine that most Loroi accents would sound vaguely Eastern European.

It's gratifying to know that my inadvertent imaginings were actually on the money. Spiral and Talon particularly have the manner of speech one tends to associate with Eastern European/Russian speakers.

Oh, damn, I didn't check the lexicon first. Cheers, Dragoon.

In page 101, Beryl mentions a 'cultural selan '. What does that particular Loroi word mean? I assume it's something to the effect of 'practises/mores/codes/taboos'? Or is there a particular reason why the word was not translated?

IIRC it was meant to very much be a black box sort of science. They know just enough to make it work, and to construct things like psionic amplifiers for Unsheafed and Farseers. Beyond that, it continues to defy easy investigation or categorisation.

IIRC they can see some distance across the steppes, but the Umiak mass their forces further behind their lines. Forces on the frontline are all detectable, but staging areas further back are too far away.

I personal was thinking of the Hiigaran symbol, with the angel moon protected by the wings. Not so dissimilar to this one, with the wings of the Stillstorm protecting the 3 Loroi homeworlds.

Of course, given Arioch's background, I'd say this wasn't coincidental.

Beyond Good and Evil got a sequel announced.

there are good reasons to believe that dedicated engineering will be able to surpass the naturally occurring in some metrics that are useful. While true, that's also such a broad truism that's it's next to useless for actual discussion. The challenge required to spoof radio commands, or even person...

Considering that the Loroi don't trigger OUR Uncanny Valley responses, I'd say we're on the good side of the uncanny valley.

God that was a broken ability. Man, if the Elerians didn't have godawful civics, they'd be unstoppable. Mind control and qmniesent...

The previous circumstances of their genocide were NOT philosophical, but based upon an existential threat to their species, based on malicious sustained actions, and active involvement on the part of the Umiak. The Humans raise certainly abstract questions concerning the origins of the Loroi. The Lo...

hi hi Over the last ten years, I've been seeing science and technology knocking down obstacles that people said they'd never accomplish, one after the other. "Computers can beat someone at chess, but they'll never beat someone at go . Machines can lay pavement, but they'll never be able to build a ...

Yeesh, the 1850s called, they want their gender determinism back.

You could say the same thing about human females in the military, and yet that doesn't stop all sorts of say, sci-fi or fantasy soldier women being held up as attractive.

Historically speaking, they've almost entirely been novelties or rarities rather than a military/combative mainstay. Point is, we have plenty of stories about attractive warrior women. Maybe the Loroi have something similar kicking around the backs of their minds, even if socially it's out of left f...

I don't know. Amazons are a pretty persistent human literary trope. It might even be a Loroi equivalent of the attraction to tomboys. They have the sort of bits that (in this case) Loroi warrior's like, but he's also got more in common with them than the usual delicate beauties the Loroi ladies woul...

It's easy to interpret Beryl's reaction as one of jealousy (and that misinterpretation is, of course, a deliberate storytelling device on my part), but that's not really what's going on. Beryl is being protective; Alex is her responsibility, and he has been mistreated by other Loroi in the recent p...