Suspicous Similarities

Discussion regarding the Outsider webcomic, science, technology and science fiction.

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htabdoolb
Posts: 4
Joined: Sun Jul 20, 2014 1:08 am

Suspicous Similarities

Post by htabdoolb »

So we know that some, perhaps most of the Loroi that Alex has encountered find the apparent physical similarities between humaniti and the loroi to be suspicious. However, were I Alex, I think that those same similarities would lead my mind down paths that would inspire far more suspicion of the Loroi than they have of him.

From the Orgus, Humanity and Alex know that the Loroi are supposedly telepathic. The extent and depth of this telepathy is probably unknown to Orgus, considering that they don't even seem to know what the Loroi look like. Now, consider the scenario that Alex finds himself in: he is alone, aboard an alien vessel, with aliens that have unknown mental abilities, that just happen to look like extremely attractive, exotic females of his own species. Oh, and their species is short on males. I don't know about you, but this situation would bury the needle on my paranoia-o-meter deep into the red.

Alex's supposed "resistance" to their telepathy actually only adds fuel to the suspicion fire. What is the best way to run a con on someone? Convince them that they are too intelligent/world wise to be conned, play on their vanity: humans are exceptional, so of course humans are resistant to telepathy. Even if humans are resistant to telepathic information mining, they could still be susceptible to audio, visual, and textual illusions, making it much easier to trick and beguile information out of him that he wouldn't ordinarily give up.

I think that it is very possible that Alex's perceptions are being manipulated. He is apparently surrounded by attractive, young females to put him at ease, despite being treated like a prisoner. All of these females have an interest in him, in one way or another, playing on his hubris. What the Loroi actually look like, what their motivations are, and what they intend for Alex is anybody's guess, but I think it is safe to assume that they're trying to wring as much information out of him as possible.

This line of thought actually leads to another point: why is the war being fought? The universe is big. The universe is really, really big. Even if there is thousands of sentient species in our galaxy alone and we assume that inter-galactic travel is impossible, that would still mean that each species has millions of stars to explore and colonize before needing to fight one another other over territory. Obviously some planets and systems would be much more valuable than others, but given enough time, any system could be made into a viable place to live.

So if territory isn't a concern, then why fight the war? One possibility is that the Umiak see the dread possibilities of a telepathic master species ascending to a dominant position. An unfettered Loroi empire would forever make freedom an illusion. No dissent or rebellion would be possible if your occupiers can read your thoughts and intentions with a casual glance or touch. The Umiak are fighting a war of desperation, pushing their planets, industrial capacity, and allies to the absolute limit in an attempt to put out a small brush fire before it becomes a raging inferno consuming all in its path.

Of course, WE know that the Loroi aren't brain eating telepathic parasitic crustaceans, because we can read the insider articles and forum discussions and posts by the artist, but Alex, the rest of humanity, the Umiak, and all of the other species in the Outsider-verse don't have access to those. To them, my late night musings are a very real possibility. Although, if all the Loroi insider pages are a meta attempt to completely catch the audience off guard with a reveal similar to my speculations, that would probably be the best storytelling trick in history, ha ha.

Zakharra
Posts: 165
Joined: Fri Mar 25, 2011 3:46 am

Re: Suspicous Similarities

Post by Zakharra »

There's a slight problem with that theory, Alex isn't at easy. He's wound tighter than a collage student with two days to write a 100 page essay, with citations and source material. He's not exactly at ease because he is the only human left of his ship.

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