[Fan Fiction] Notes and discussion for "A sword that wields itself"

[Snoofman]

Uh-oh?!

Has their luck just run out? Or did have the Umiak realized they’ve been dooped?

[Cthulhu]

It would be far too strange if the humans could really just do as they please. The setting of the role reversal means that they are more advanced, of course, but not by that much. Some technologies are also highly experimental stuff, so the risk of failure was always there.

[Bamax]

Uh-oh?!

Has their luck just run out? Or did have the Umiak realized they’ve been dooped?

Essentially your first comment.

As for the Umiak, only what their supreme commander thinks matters, as I realky doubt Umiak star navy are the type to disobey orders.

He suspects they be not what they appear to be, but he is not absolutely certain.

In other words, he is totally rational.
It would seem that the only way to deceive him would be with a surprise or knowing something he does not already know.

Another way would be to gain his trust and then quadruple double-cross him, but that is hardly an option for an outsider like Alex.

[Cthulhu]

As for the Umiak, only what their supreme commander thinks matters, as I realky doubt Umiak star navy are the type to disobey orders.

He suspects they be not what they appear to be, but he is not absolutely certain.

In other words, he is totally rational.
It would seem that the only way to deceive him would be with a surprise or knowing something he does not already know.

Another way would be to gain his trust and then quadruple double-cross him, but that is hardly an option for an outsider like Alex.

The Commander is rational, of course. He (it?) may not even be particularly suspicious regarding the deception, the Umiak are not known to be particularly creative, after all.

The point is that, it's just a single ship. No matter how advanced, or what the "alien" claims to be, the likelihood of some sort of interference or intervention is highly improbable. Therefore, Ixitixil-Kittikik-tikkikal-16 is most likely going to concentrate on their primary goal, the Union fleet. Or maybe that little scheme to trigger its paranoia was too successful?

Or, the Umiak might not be the only problem our heroes could face, you know?

[Bamax]

As for the Umiak, only what their supreme commander thinks matters, as I realky doubt Umiak star navy are the type to disobey orders.

He suspects they be not what they appear to be, but he is not absolutely certain.

In other words, he is totally rational.
It would seem that the only way to deceive him would be with a surprise or knowing something he does not already know.

Another way would be to gain his trust and then quadruple double-cross him, but that is hardly an option for an outsider like Alex.

The Commander is rational, of course. He (it?) may not even be particularly suspicious regarding the deception, the Umiak are not known to be particularly creative, after all.

The point is that, it's just a single ship. No matter how advanced, or what the "alien" claims to be, the likelihood of some sort of interference or intervention is highly improbable. Therefore, Ixitixil-Kittikik-tikkikal-16 is most likely going to concentrate on their primary goal, the Union fleet. Or maybe that little scheme to trigger its paranoia was too successful?

Or, the Umiak might not be the only problem our heroes could face, you know?

Generally speaking, walking or even hunting where lions live is dangerous.

I read a news report years back wherev a group of about 8 or more African hunters were slaughtered by a pride of lions.

The irony?

They had guns.... and died anyway.

[Cthulhu]

Generally speaking, walking or even hunting where lions live is dangerous.

I read a news report years back wherev a group of about 8 or more African hunters were slaughtered by a pride of lions.

The irony?

They had guns.... and died anyway.

Even two lions can be very deadly to humans.

The humans are of course aware that getting close to the Umiak fleet is pure folly. That's why they want to give it a wide berth and get to the jump point as fast as possible. Unfortunately, that strategy seems to have run into some problems. If the Captains of a ship says "uh-oh", that's usually a very bad sign.

[Snoofman]

Shimmering distortion bubble? Could this be the dreaded “uh-oh” Alex warned the loroi and human crew about?

[Bamax]

Credit where credit is due, this time it seemed more so like the Umiak commander was not on the ship all by himself.

Umiak chating back and forth can be done..... good job! Of course in their case it's just a bunch of 'clicks' neither you nor I woulf understand but Tempo would.

Reminds of R2D2 from Star Wars with his beeps, which ironically C3P0 understands while no one in the audience does.

It is interresting to see the difference between how Umiak crew get stuff down on a spaceship as opppsed to the Loroi.

Seems like profrofessional minus all the cattiness and drama the Loroi females tend to have sooner or later on a spaceship. Because that much Loroi have in common with our women.

[Cthulhu]

Shimmering distortion bubble? Could this be the dreaded “uh-oh” Alex warned the loroi and human crew about?

The distortion field around the "device" was described in Intermission M. Perhaps it was not clear enough? In that case, I might reword this part a bit.

Credit where credit is due, this time it seemed more so like the Umiak commander was not on the ship all by himself.

Umiak chating back and forth can be done..... good job! Of course in their case it's just a bunch of 'clicks' neither you nor I woulf understand but Tempo would.

Reminds of R2D2 from Star Wars with his beeps, which ironically C3P0 understands while no one in the audience does.

It is interresting to see the difference between how Umiak crew get stuff down on a spaceship as opppsed to the Loroi.

Seems like profrofessional minus all the cattiness and drama the Loroi females tend to have sooner or later on a spaceship. Because that much Loroi have in common with our women.

I'm still not 100% happy with this dialogue form, but right now, it is the best compromise between having a unique flavor and still being readable. The "actual" exchange would most probably not follow any wording or sentence structure that we could recognize. Imagine a stream of information, riddled with numerous references to previously defined terms, that were placed on a stack. Anytime during the entire conversation, to boot!

[Bamax]

Shimmering distortion bubble? Could this be the dreaded “uh-oh” Alex warned the loroi and human crew about?

The distortion field around the "device" was described in Intermission M. Perhaps it was not clear enough? In that case, I might reword this part a bit.

Credit where credit is due, this time it seemed more so like the Umiak commander was not on the ship all by himself.

Umiak chating back and forth can be done..... good job! Of course in their case it's just a bunch of 'clicks' neither you nor I woulf understand but Tempo would.

Reminds of R2D2 from Star Wars with his beeps, which ironically C3P0 understands while no one in the audience does.

It is interresting to see the difference between how Umiak crew get stuff down on a spaceship as opppsed to the Loroi.

Seems like profrofessional minus all the cattiness and drama the Loroi females tend to have sooner or later on a spaceship. Because that much Loroi have in common with our women.

I'm still not 100% happy with this dialogue form, but right now, it is the best compromise between having a unique flavor and still being readable. The "actual" exchange would most probably not follow any wording or sentence structure that we could recognize. Imagine a stream of information, riddled with numerous references to previously defined terms, that were placed on a stack. Anytime during the entire conversation, to boot!

Remember.... what the Analyst said from Matrix 4... it is very true when it comes to story.




The Analyst : Now, my predecessor loved precision. His Matrix was all fussy facts and equations. He hated the human mind. So he never bothered to realize that you don't give a shit about facts.

The Analyst : It's all about fiction. The only world that matters is the one in here.

[points Neo's head]

The Analyst : And you people believe the craziest shit. Why? What validates and makes your fictions real? Feelings.

[Cthulhu]

Remember.... what the Analyst said from Matrix 4... it is very true when it comes to story.

I refused to watch this piece of crap on principle.

The Analyst : Now, my predecessor loved precision. His Matrix was all fussy facts and equations. He hated the human mind. So he never bothered to realize that you don't give a shit about facts.

The Analyst : It's all about fiction. The only world that matters is the one in here.

[points Neo's head]

The Analyst : And you people believe the craziest shit. Why? What validates and makes your fictions real? Feelings.

But here, the world is in Arioch's head, and I'm trying to follow the canon as close as possible.

[Bamax]

Remember.... what the Analyst said from Matrix 4... it is very true when it comes to story.

I refused to watch this piece of crap on principle.

The Analyst : Now, my predecessor loved precision. His Matrix was all fussy facts and equations. He hated the human mind. So he never bothered to realize that you don't give a shit about facts.

The Analyst : It's all about fiction. The only world that matters is the one in here.

[points Neo's head]

The Analyst : And you people believe the craziest shit. Why? What validates and makes your fictions real? Feelings.

But here, the world is in Arioch's head, and I'm trying to follow the canon as close as possible.

I would wager to guess that even Arioch knows that readers want to be entertained.

I found Matrix 4 to be while somewhat bland also surprisingly uplifting and made me wanna do whatever my conscience had been moving me to do for some time.

If Matrix 4 you loath... here is a quote from Richard Wallace the writer:

"The good news is there is no such thing as a bad idea. The bad news is that it does'nt matter. It's not about ideas."

Ideas are really useless in of themselves, just like ingredients, how and when they are put together is what matters most.

Ideas do not matter nearly as much presentation and apllication.

Wisom is more important than knowledge and always will be.

[Cthulhu]

I would wager to guess that even Arioch knows that readers want to be entertained.

This is also perhaps the reason why he's not providing any examples of "real-life" Umiak dialogue. It would simply confuse the readers, without adding anything to the story.

I found Matrix 4 to be while somewhat bland also surprisingly uplifting and made me wanna do whatever my conscience had been moving me to do for some time.

If Matrix 4 you loath... here is a quote from Richard Wallace the writer:

"The good news is there is no such thing as a bad idea. The bad news is that it does'nt matter. It's not about ideas."

Ideas are really useless in of themselves, just like ingredients, how and when they are put together is what matters most.

Ideas do not matter nearly as much presentation and apllication.

Wisom is more important than knowledge and always will be.

Ideas? Judging from the reviews, this "movie" was an amalgam of wokeness, recycled references to previous movies and something resembling Reeves' cameos. I simply refused to contribute anything, even a single cent, to this blatant cash-grabbing scheme.

Also, the video was pretty funny, perhaps I should get some kids.

[Bamax]

I would wager to guess that even Arioch knows that readers want to be entertained.

This is also perhaps the reason why he's not providing any examples of "real-life" Umiak dialogue. It would simply confuse the readers, without adding anything to the story.

I found Matrix 4 to be while somewhat bland also surprisingly uplifting and made me wanna do whatever my conscience had been moving me to do for some time.

If Matrix 4 you loath... here is a quote from Richard Wallace the writer:

"The good news is there is no such thing as a bad idea. The bad news is that it does'nt matter. It's not about ideas."

Ideas are really useless in of themselves, just like ingredients, how and when they are put together is what matters most.

Ideas do not matter nearly as much presentation and apllication.

Wisom is more important than knowledge and always will be.

Ideas? Judging from the reviews, this "movie" was an amalgam of wokeness, recycled references to previous movies and something resembling Reeves' cameos. I simply refused to contribute anything, even a single cent, to this blatant cash-grabbing scheme.

Also, the video was pretty funny, perhaps I should get some kids.

What the movie is is.... you have to see it for yourself lol.

It is both amusing and clever at times.... given that the director mocks WB.... big time.

It's essentially like this video... no joke.

The movie is kind of.... a joke... almost.



Also unlike the Star Wars sequels the director actually shows that things are NOT the same ... so it at least shows that Wachovski can make better sequel than Abrams

[Krulle]

Heh, exact instructions....
I work in a job where I have to understand "exact instructions" made by others, and deliberately misinterpret them.
my "clients" can surely relate to whatever the kids are experiencing here.



Time to catch up on the story....

SpoilerShow

just some very minor comments on the story

Chapter XXIX: The Adversary

[...]

“I’ve compiled it, but a throughout thorough[/red] analysis needs more time,” The Listel was enthusiastic to continue, “This is a pattern that was never seen before! Willpower says that it could give us more insight into the mechanisms behind the farseer drugs.”

[...]

[Bamax]

Heh, exact instructions....
I work in a job where I have to understand "exact instructions" made by others, and deliberately misinterpret them.
my "clients" can surely relate to whatever the kids are experiencing here.



Time to catch up on the story....

SpoilerShow

just some very minor comments on the story

Chapter XXIX: The Adversary

[...]

“I’ve compiled it, but a throughout thorough[/red] analysis needs more time,” The Listel was enthusiastic to continue, “This is a pattern that was never seen before! Willpower says that it could give us more insight into the mechanisms behind the farseer drugs.”

[...]

Ah... likely computing... software related right? From those who do not truly understand the programs they use right?

[Krulle]

Nope.

More like "I want a monopoly on this, and define my invention with the following words." (patent granting examination)

I am limited by "usual interpretation" though.
So I cannot grab the slice of bread and spread the peanut butter on the "top".

[Bamax]

Cute intermission.

Nice humor, I guess Jardin is taking his cues from Archer or something (the sassy but effective goofball cartoon spy).

[Snoofman]

If they get stuck in negative space…

Liberate tutemet ex inferis!

[Cthulhu]

Haha, I'm back! Sorry for the sudden hiatus. After some serious real-life issues, that included workplace loss, unexpected bills and of all the things unholy, Covid, I can now continue with my fanfic.