Yep, the damn chittering is turning Alex into a telepath
Seriously, I have a working theory (that I planned to use in a story) that certain states of mind would allow the Lotai to be pierced/lowered a little.
There are more than a few rituals throughout the world that bring one's mind into a state that is best described as hyperactive mania, those who experience it describing it as a 'transcendence of the mind' allowing them to experience the world differently.
A few important things are revealed on this page.
1. The shuttle seems to be within the Umiak ship now.
2. Tempo must have convinced the hardtrooper that the vestibule is empty and then have hid somewhere else.
3. Alex can sense other Loroi than just Fireblade if his mind is emptied.
To me this shows not that Alex is a telepath, but that he can receive the signals the Loroi are putting out. Or some of the Loroi would react to this.
Apparently it works like a camera. Strong signals can be perceived almost instantly, while weak signals require a long exposure time.
Also, despite fondling his spacesuit for hours and thus enjoying the benefits of a far stronger connection, Beryl still didn't receive any mention from Alex.
You would assume that after Fireblade, the one Loroi touching him would appear first. Beryl = worst girl
Oh, he might sense Beryl yet. But since she is touching him, she should have appeared long before the others if her signal was as strong as the others. You know Alex would have made a special mention of the first other Loroi he was able to sense.
What I really want to see is his reaction to Tempo. Especially when she finally makes a serious attempt of breaching his Lotai reaching out to him.
Hmm, are we sure Cloud is still alive? After Arioch telling someone in another post that laser pistols make a "krak" sound, and seeing that very sound on page 204, I'm expecting her to be gone.
I could be wrong, of course. "KRAK" could've been from the shuttle being opened up (the air pressure dropped afterwards). Hopefully, Tempo's plan had included a way to keep her alive.
Edit:
What I really want to see is his reaction to Tempo. Especially when she finally makes a serious attempt of breaching his Lotai reaching out to him.
Let's see if he can actually sense the other Loroi's presence, or if he is like a targeting radar, highlighting objects that are reflective. I guess Fireblade is the strongest blip, either because she has the biggest psi-signature or because he is attuned to her frequencies.
Lets be fair to Beryl, she is just doing what she is supposed to. Is she doing something we perceive as bad, yes, but from (reasonable) perspective of the Loroi, she is just being cautious, not malicious, she still likely, likes Alex, but her people are at risk. Now Talon on the other hand, she seams to be completely unguarded and just going with the flow, as well as best girl.
Is this how Khalkha divisions sustain themselves? By salvaging wreckage for supplies?
Not gonna happen, the Loroi ships will rather self-destruct, than be boarded and captured. Also, the usual AM blast after a ship or station founders leaves little usable wreckage behind.
But even if they do find something, it's not like the spare parts will adhere to the same standards or that the clothing will fit.
Highland 7 is a hybrid shuttle that's also usable in an atmosphere. She's not only large, but also speedy. When the Umiak entered the system, she was en route from SG 51 to a courier ship, while the unit she belonged to was docked at a supply depot. That signals high value cargo.
Of course the Umiak will salvage that one.
Yep, the damn chittering is turning Alex into a telepath
Seriously, I have a working theory (that I planned to use in a story) that certain states of mind would allow the Lotai to be pierced/lowered a little.
Well, but he is perceiving *them*, not the Loroi getting access to his mind. So, Alex apparently is really some kind of telepath/whatever. Or Humaniti in general is weird.
Yep, the damn chittering is turning Alex into a telepath
Seriously, I have a working theory (that I planned to use in a story) that certain states of mind would allow the Lotai to be pierced/lowered a little.
There are more than a few rituals throughout the world that bring one's mind into a state that is best described as hyperactive mania, those who experience it describing it as a 'transcendence of the mind' allowing them to experience the world differently.
Looks like I got extremely close to the mark.
I am starting to think that it's a situation that his brain is slowly starting to learn how to process this previously unknown input - a bit like a human infant does not see clearly when it's born (supposedly anyways). Who knows what would have happened if Alex would have been raised in an environment that Loroi were present in his daily life...
We believe the human brain 'reorganizes' itself during dreams - storing important memories, deleting unimportant ones, and other stuff. Perhaps this telepathic ability is related to these functions in an humanl. But I do like this development.
Regarding Beryl, note that Alex says he 'sees' the Loroi. So whatever this input is, it could be his brain is processing it as thought it were from his eyes - kind of like when you are in a truly dark room (or a cave, say) and wave your hand in front of your face. There's no light, you can't actually see your hand, but your mind expects your hand to be there and many people would swear they see their hand there. So it may be something like that right now, but that means that with Beryl behind him, Alex might not 'perceive' her.
I guess Fireblade is the strongest blip, either because she has the biggest psi-signature or because he is attuned to her frequencies.
Since the headband/amplifier is strongly illuminated in the picture, this indicates that the amplifier might play a role.
Yeah, the PsiAmp is shining bright like a star, the silhouette of Fireblade is being illuminated by it like a reflection nebula, to Alex, unamplified Fireblade might be 'Dim Reddish' in color.
