Well of Souls Forums

Arent wrote: ↑

Wed Jul 21, 2021 10:02 am

And AFAIK we also don't know yet, whether all humans are shielded from the Loroi telepathy or only Alex.

Humans are indeed immune, otherwise the Loroi farseers would've detected the Bellarmine instantly.

Let's see if Aex can detect the Umiak next. Or maybe even the telepathic jamming device and the Umiaks hiding behind it, too? That would certainly be the edge the Loroi need right now. Well, either that or the ability to telekinetically crush the Shell ships from distance.

Cthulhu wrote: ↑

Wed Jul 21, 2021 12:03 pm

Arent wrote: ↑

Wed Jul 21, 2021 10:02 am

And AFAIK we also don't know yet, whether all humans are shielded from the Loroi telepathy or only Alex.

Humans are indeed immune, otherwise the Loroi farseers would've detected the Bellarmine instantly.

Let's see if Aex can detect the Umiak next. Or maybe even the telepathic jamming device and the Umiaks hiding behind it, too? That would certainly be the edge the Loroi need right now. Well, either that or the ability to telekinetically crush the Shell ships from distance.

Well, technically immunity to detection and immunity to telepathic contact can be separate from each other. We also haven't seen yet whether all humans are undetectable when this close to telepaths.

What we can be pretty certain about however is that the Loroi can sense the Umiak still. First of all, Tempo was the one to give the signal whether the Umiak were bording or not. I don't think she got that from the scraping sounds alone.
She was also able to connect with the hard trooper just fine.

Werra wrote: ↑

Wed Jul 21, 2021 3:11 pm

Well, technically immunity to detection and immunity to telepathic contact can be separate from each other. We also haven't seen yet whether all humans are undetectable when this close to telepaths.

Theoretically, yes, but I think that in this story, it works on the same principle. Also, Arioch once said that this telepathic immunity is indeed Humanity's racial trait.

Werra wrote: ↑

Wed Jul 21, 2021 3:11 pm

What we can be pretty certain about however is that the Loroi can sense the Umiak still. First of all, Tempo was the one to give the signal whether the Umiak were bording or not. I don't think she got that from the scraping sounds alone.
She was also able to connect with the hard trooper just fine.

I mean not the Umiak right here, but the ones hiding behind the fleet-Lotai at interstellar distances.

Cthulhu wrote: ↑

Wed Jul 21, 2021 3:45 pm

I mean not the Umiak right here, but the ones hiding behind the fleet-Lotai at interstellar distances.

Our fearsome party is right now in the middle of an Umiak fleet... but they don't have a Farseer at hand to tell them that.

GeoModder wrote: ↑

Wed Jul 21, 2021 4:04 pm

Our fearsome party is right now in the middle of an Umiak fleet... but they don't have a Farseer at hand to tell them that.

I mean that way Alex will be at least somewhat helpful after they are rescued. Maybe he can even teach other farseers how to find the hidden bugs under their mattresses. Right now, he is at the level of high value cargo.

Cthulhu wrote: ↑

Wed Jul 21, 2021 3:45 pm

Werra wrote: ↑

Wed Jul 21, 2021 3:11 pm

Well, technically immunity to detection and immunity to telepathic contact can be separate from each other. We also haven't seen yet whether all humans are undetectable when this close to telepaths.

Theoretically, yes, but I think that in this story, it works on the same principle. Also, Arioch once said that this telepathic immunity is indeed Humanity's racial trait.

Mmh, that's a strong deviation from humans' master of orion traits. So it could be that Alex' ability is not unique to him, but also a general trait of humans.

Thanks for pointing out that the Bellarmine was not detected, I had forgotten that.

Cthulhu wrote: ↑

Wed Jul 21, 2021 4:26 pm

GeoModder wrote: ↑

Wed Jul 21, 2021 4:04 pm

Our fearsome party is right now in the middle of an Umiak fleet... but they don't have a Farseer at hand to tell them that.

I mean that way Alex will be at least somewhat helpful after they are rescued. Maybe he can even teach other farseers how to find the hidden bugs under their mattresses. Right now, he is at the level of high value cargo.

Somehow, a comic about a Loroi male/farseer would be funny/interesting. Maybe similar to the 'protected men' or 'world's end harem'.

These kinds of stories tend to be successful with both male and female audiences

Arent wrote: ↑

Wed Jul 21, 2021 6:37 pm

Mmh, that's a strong deviation from humans' master of orion traits. So it could be that Alex' ability is not unique to him, but also a general trait of humans.

Thanks for pointing out that the Bellarmine was not detected, I had forgotten that.

Wait, how did both sides fail to detect the EM emissions of Bellamarine before she got hit? Fog of War?

Dan Wyatt wrote: ↑

Wed Jul 21, 2021 7:26 pm

Wait, how did both sides fail to detect the EM emissions of Bellamarine before she got hit? Fog of War?

Not the fog of "war", but the "fog" of the proplyd. The Bellarmine was hiding in there, and the Loroi were too busy killing Umiaks to notice the small radiation spike from the jump or the attack. They did notice it later, though, going through their sensor logs.

The light is centered around her body, there is a second smaller halo on her head I admit but the light is mostly coming from her body including her arms where the light rays show it quite clearly.

Arent wrote: ↑

Tue Jul 20, 2021 2:57 am

MBehave wrote: ↑

Mon Jul 19, 2021 10:01 pm

Possible, yet none of the other Loroi but Fireblade is burning bright and Fireblade is not the one controlling the Umiak.
If its general sense I would think Alex would see 2 bright Loroi not just one and that all the other Loroi are a different colour.

It's her amplifier that burns bright. It's quite obvious in the image.

MBehave wrote: ↑

Wed Jul 21, 2021 8:47 pm

The light is centered around her body, there is a second smaller halo on her head I admit but the light is mostly coming from her body including her arms where the light rays show it quite clearly.

Arent wrote: ↑

Tue Jul 20, 2021 2:57 am

MBehave wrote: ↑

Mon Jul 19, 2021 10:01 pm

Possible, yet none of the other Loroi but Fireblade is burning bright and Fireblade is not the one controlling the Umiak.
If its general sense I would think Alex would see 2 bright Loroi not just one and that all the other Loroi are a different colour.

It's her amplifier that burns bright. It's quite obvious in the image.

Well, yes, you could ask why Alex should be able to 'see' the entire body of psionic creatures - and not just, for example, the brain.

I would suspect it's just for simplicity/visual appeal. I don't think there is a deep reason behind it.

Actually, Alex see even guns in hands of Loroi.

Arent wrote: ↑

Wed Jul 21, 2021 9:18 pm

MBehave wrote: ↑

Wed Jul 21, 2021 8:47 pm

The light is centered around her body, there is a second smaller halo on her head I admit but the light is mostly coming from her body including her arms where the light rays show it quite clearly.

Arent wrote: ↑

Tue Jul 20, 2021 2:57 am

It's her amplifier that burns bright. It's quite obvious in the image.

Well, yes, you could ask why Alex should be able to 'see' the entire body of psionic creatures - and not just, for example, the brain.

I would suspect it's just for simplicity/visual appeal. I don't think there is a deep reason behind it.

Don't think there's much need of one, from what we've seen so far. He knows more or less where they are and what their positions are. If there's any directionality to what he's picking up, or even just some ability to distinguish Fireblade's presence from the others, his brain can probably fill in the gaps...it can get quite creative about that kind of thing.

Now, if he starts interpreting sign language via his new sense, that says something more...

SVlad wrote: ↑

Wed Jul 21, 2021 10:37 pm

Actually, Alex see even guns in hands of Loroi.

You are right! I forgot about it!

Arioch wrote: ↑

Tue Jul 20, 2021 8:02 am

A full-replacement cyborg probably doesn't have its original mouthparts, so the sound would be synthesized.

Arioch, do weapons have a psi-imprint? If Alex can see the blasters' imprint, can the Lorois sense the same?

Dan Wyatt wrote: ↑

Thu Jul 22, 2021 1:15 am

Arioch, do weapons have a psi-imprint? If Alex can see the blasters' imprint, can the Lorois sense the same?

No, inanimate objects don't have a telepathic signature.

It would be inappropriate for me to talk more specifically about what Alex is perceiving, but I'll just caution against reading too much into these images. People imagine strange things in the boundary between wakefulness and sleep.

Arioch wrote: ↑

Thu Jul 22, 2021 2:34 am

Dan Wyatt wrote: ↑

Thu Jul 22, 2021 1:15 am

Arioch, do weapons have a psi-imprint? If Alex can see the blasters' imprint, can the Lorois sense the same?

No, inanimate objects don't have a telepathic signature.

It would be inappropriate for me to talk more specifically about what Alex is perceiving, but I'll just caution against reading too much into these images. People imagine strange things in the boundary between wakefulness and sleep.

Yepp, some things should be left to the imagination of the readers.

Half joking, but...
What if what is going on and Alex is turning his minds perception away from the shadows on the caverns wall, and seeing the fire in Plato's cave, thus he would be looking at the numina of the Lori and the objects they are holding?

Arioch wrote:It would be inappropriate for me to talk more specifically about what Alex is perceiving, but I'll just caution against reading too much into these images. People imagine strange things in the boundary between wakefulness and sleep.

My guess is that all of them are in telepathic contact with each other. Thus they're constantly sending a low stream of data, such as position, to everybody else. These sendings wouldn't be tightly focused and so also reach Alex. After possibly hours of exposure to this, sensory deprivation and decreasing wakefulness, he starts noticing the weaker signatures too.

Or Umiak rhymes are so hot, they expose any thot.

1. All intelligent lifeforms have a psi-signature. Let's assume that those outlines are caused by what the respective minds acknowledge as their current form. Otherwise, we would realize it's done for visualization purposes, which would break immersion.
2. Whatever Alex is seeing now is obviously a prelude to something grander, yet its revelation is scheduled for the next page(s). Let's not squeeze Arioch for any potential spoilers, shall we?