Alistair Young

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Trope-a-Day: Insignificant Little Blue Planet

Insignificant Little Blue Planet: We already really handled this under Earth is the Center of the Universe, but I bring it up because of a discussion at TV Tropes of the problem, religiously speaking, of being a tiny, tiny, tiny piece of something incomprehensibly large with regard to theologies that

Higher than High

An interrogation room on Gálish (Sullen Wildlands): The local agents looked at each other, then back at my aquastor. “So, your perp has stolen this, this -” “Sixteen-petabit colonial tangle-channel ansible.” “Whatever, this trillion-exval widget, and according to your numbers he’s now running a negative-frequency trading scam with it

Trope-a-Day: Inside a Computer System

Inside a Computer System: Well, yes, this is how virtuality works; the computers simulate the entire environment in full fidelity – which, I hasten to add, means even more when you have to come up with appropriate outputs for all possible sensory ranges of your polyspecific clientele – and then your sensory-link

Don't Unto Others

From an unpublished extranet interview with Sev Tel Andal, seed AI wakener/ethicist: “Well, I’m a libertist. But you know that, considering where I’m from. Not that I was born to it – I grew up in the League, and moved to the Empire for my research. They don’

Random Cut Snippet

“Selfish? You try livin’ in a world where persuasion and trade and generally makin’ nice with folks are the only ways to get anything, and see how long you can pull that kind of attitude off. ‘Specially if you’re fond of eating1.” 1. Or, in the limiting case, breathing.

Trope-a-Day: Innocent Aliens

Innocent Aliens: Not very many, no, and certainly not the full extent of this trope.  Evolution is rarely kind enough to produce a planetary environment that lets anyone this wide-eyed and innocent survive for long.  And even on the rare occasions that it might, the greater Galactic community includes plenty

Trope-a-Day: Infinite Supplies

Infinite Supplies: While nothing in this case is actually infinite, thanks to the Laws of Thermodynamics, centuries or millennia of living in space have made most advanced cultures in the Associated Worlds very, very good at closed-cycle recycling; and on a simpler level, well, the cornucopia machine does wonders for

Trope-a-Day: Improbable Piloting Skills

Improbable Piloting Skills: While mostly averted, “If it flies…” is partially played straight thanks to Powers as Programs.  Note that this still doesn’t mean that anyone can fly well – but once you’ve learned all the kinesthetic skills, reflexes, etc., etc., that a pilot needs, it sure makes adapting

Gods of the Void

The Ice Bitch, the Spawner of Calamities, the Father of Error, That Whose Laughter Rings In The Ears Of The Dying A near-ubiquitous spacer belief – even among the eldrae, who do not make a habit of placing masks upon the force of Entropy – is that of the many-angled god-goddess who

Trope-a-Day: Powers As Programs

Powers As Programs: With the availability of mnemonesis to download knowledge and skillsets into your brain, gnostic overlays to do the same thing for professional personalities, and the ability to download recipes for your portable nanolathe or desktop nanoforge to build you the tools to use them… …yeah, this is

Trope-a-Day: Skilled, but Naïve

Skilled, but Naïve: The consequence of relying too much on mnemonesis and gnostic overlays to download distilled knowledge and skillsets.  They can, and will, grant you extraordinary, even superhuman, technical skill.  Excellence is guaranteed.  You will outperform any mediocrity, even any average professional you ever meet on raw talent alone,