Drunkard's Walk Forums

From posts made by Mal, BA, me, Foxboy, Cobalt, and Ebony to the http://drunkardswalkforums.yuku.com/topic/6569]Even More Inspirational and Meta Sites thread. Work-in-progress, feel free to add to this in-character. Story title subject to change once somebody comes up with a better title.

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Extraced from the Hansard of the discussion at the panel "Secret Masters of Fenspace Tell All" during the 2014 Convention.

(S. Malaclypse Fnord, Soviet Air Force-In-Exile)
I have a question for those of you who have built robotic shells for your AIs. How did you go about picking out your companion's genitals for him or her? Did you go by species and ethnicity averages for the dimensions, or try to give them an ideal, hoping that it will help them to become popular and successful in life? Or did you give them something very basic in the expectation that when they're older and have developed more of a sense of who and what they want to be, they could make their own modifications if they want to?

(Noah Scott, Stellvia)
Er... Ah... Um... Huh?

(Gina Langley, Roughriders)
Living proof, here!

(N. Scott)
All right, I may as well set the record straight.

(Yayoi Fujisawa, Crystal Millennium, Stellvia)
Is this mic on? Oh, good. So, how did you choose?

(N. Scott)
I didn't. You're based on one of Ryou Azuki's characters, remember?

(Y. Fujisawa)
How could I forget? Ah, you're saying Azuki-san chose.

(N. Scott)
Right. Probably subconsciously.

(Y. Fujisawa)
But if you created an android who wasn't based on someone else's character, how would you choose?

(N. Scott)
That's a completely hypothetical "if," and I see no reason to answer it.

(Y. Fujisawa)
Oh. Are you afraid to answer?

(N. Scott)
No, I'm just no good at sculpting. Remember, it was A.C. who made your body along with Kohran, Yoriko, and Natsuko's. And Agatha's, too.

(Y. Fujisawa)
And Sora's body.

(N. Scott)
Sora's original body, yes. And Vulpine Fury made the other angels' bodies. But it was the wondergoop that made you look completely human.

(Y. Fujisawa)
Are you blaming my anatomy on the handwavium? (pause) You are blaming it on the handwavium!

(Vulpine Fury, unaffiliated)
They just happen, okay? Except for that one time... and poor Karen, according to the "mother-in-law."

(Lime Sorrel, unaffiliated)
What are we talking about, Dad?

(V. Fury)
I'll tell you later.

(A.C. Peters, Justice League Interplanetary)
Oh for Belldandy's sake. Right, whatever.

(Lebia Maverick, Justice League Interplanetary, Hacker Underspace)
Do go on, this is interesting.

(A.C. Peters)
You were the one who designed your body, I just built it.

(Adonis McMurdo, Justice League Interplanetary)
And well built it is too.

(L. Maverick)
Likewise.

(A.C. Peters)
If you're going to flirt, do it elsewhere.

(Kasumi, Justice League Interplanetary)
Oh my, don't be like that.

(Greenpeace Crolis, Justice League Interplanetary)
Yeah. C'mon A.C., pleease?

(A.C. Peters)
Fine. Yayoi, Noah did ask I make you girls as realistic as possible. Which was tricky, given what I had to work with. So... Anatomy books. Lots and lots of them. And that was just to get the basic reproductive system analogue sorted. After that, it was all down to the 'wave. Unlike a certain blonde.

(S. Fnord)
Another victory for the Discordian faction of the Soviet Central Committee!

(Benjamin Rhodes, Roughriders)
Yeah, yeah. All the same, this shit's hilarious.

(Blackstone, Banzai Institute for Biomedical Research and Strategic Information)
Don't look at me. Nobody tells me anything.

(Nezumi, Banzai Institute for Biomedical Research and Strategic Information)
That's because when they do, you cover your ears, and chant, "La la la. I'm not listening! La la la. I'm in my happy place!"

(Blackstone)
So? Doesn't everyone do that?

(Nezumi)
No, Blackstone. Only you.

(Blackstone)
Oh, good. I'd hate to be a conformist.

(Buckaroo, Banzai Institute for Biomedical Research and Strategic Information)
Wrenching the topic back onto track ... I'd have to say that the variables surrounding AI avatar choices are drawn from a wide selection, based on a number of choices made by each AI's "parents" and a collection of environmental influences. These choices affect gender, behavior, and final manifestation, either as a cyberspace spirit or in a physical form, in such fashions as to be as intimately personal and individual as a quest for enlightenment. I could tell you what brought about my own manifestation, but to you it would seem hardly significant. It is only important through my own perspective on the world.

(Chaos, Banzai Institute for Biomedical Research and Strategic Information)
Wait ... what?

(Buckaroo)
AI appearance depends on the AI.

(Chaos)
Oh. Why are we talking about this again?

(B. Rhodes)
Sweet Lady Skuld, preserve us.

(G. Langley)
CHAOS! SHUT UP AND PAY ATTENTION!
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

And in the middle of the sudden lull, somewhere off to one side...

(Chris Marsden, Rockhounds Inc. / Browncoats - Aside to the USAF officer sitting next to him)
I assure you, Amy, every single one of them turning out to be a very attractive female is entirely coincidental. You have nothing to worry about. Besides, if we can get a few of them enlisted, maybe it'll break the whole 'no women in combat roles' policy you're always ranting about.
--
Sucrose Octanitrate.
Proof positive that with sufficient motivation, you can make anything explode.

(N. Scott)
To pick up on that very welcome digression, I tried "waking up" a male android once. It didn't work. But that's my trouble with wondergoop, not anyone else's. Certainly A.C. doesn't have that problem with AI genders; Andy is proof of that.

(Safety, Stellvia)
And thank you for calling me a very attractive female, even if I don't believe the appellation is warranted in my case.

---

OOC: Oops, Serenity-Con was in 2013. But Buckaroo's admitted his actual origin, so better to push this to Wherever-the-hell-it-may-be-Con in 2014 instead.
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

(Benjamin Rhodes)
*Shruggs* I never had much trouble when I woke up Z, and he's been indespensable in my star-drive projects, both sublight and FTL. Though the Quad-Helix Manifold still gives him headaches... or at least the AI equivilant.

---

Quote:robkelk wrote:

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OOC: Oops, Serenity-Con was in 2013. But Buckaroo's admitted his actual origin, so better to push this to Wherever-the-hell-it-may-be-Con in 2014 instead.

OOC: Or maybe you could redo that... Buckaroo is respectable enough that vague commentary on his part can be taken as Gospel without giving away too many hints.  Your choice, but I was kinda looking forward to this getting turned into a good ol' brawl by some very stupid boskonians. 

OOC: Hey, if you guys are going to keep rolling with this, could you strike the Discordian crack from the record? That was more of a "green room" line anyway - Mal would never admit to any Discordian tendencies. In public, anyway.
Mr. Fnord interdimensional man of mystery

FenWiki - Your One-Stop Shop for Fenspace Information

"I. Drink. Your. NERDRAGE!"

OOC:  *glances at Mal's preferred handle*   uh-huh, right.

OOC: Quiet, you.
Mr. Fnord interdimensional man of mystery

FenWiki - Your One-Stop Shop for Fenspace Information

"I. Drink. Your. NERDRAGE!"

blackaeronaut Wrote:

Quote:robkelk wrote:

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OOC: Oops, Serenity-Con was in 2013. But Buckaroo's admitted his actual origin, so better to push this to Wherever-the-hell-it-may-be-Con in 2014 instead.

OOC: Or maybe you could redo that... Buckaroo is respectable enough that vague commentary on his part can be taken as Gospel without giving away too many hints.  Your choice, but I was kinda looking forward to this getting turned into a good ol' brawl by some very stupid boskonians. 

OOC: Noah's also mentioned "Sora's original body" - she didn't upgrade until after the Delta Pavonis mission, which is after Serenity-Con.
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

(Vulpine Fury)
 Hm. In regards to the predilection for attractive female *coughs* anatomically correct androids: I'm thinking the "Rule of First Adopters" applies, much to my chagrin. Quod vide, TVTropes Wiki.

(Audience Memeber)
 Oh God, again with the troping! *Laughter*

(Vulpine Fury)
 Don't think I don't know about the Naze Nani Fenspace Rule 34! *shudders* Now I know how Walt Disney felt that afternoon Harlan Ellison, TRADEMARK, worked for him.
[OOC: Edited to fit thread format]
''We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat
them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary.''

-- James Nicoll

[ooc:] Also, I've mentioned Karen Sorrell, who is likely to have DIED at Serenity-Con, and Lime Sorrel who may or may not have "woken up" before her "mother's" death. We can firmly set the date by consensus by having an audience member ask questions about the battle at Serenity Con, perhaps? And of course, someone trying to get back to the salacious bits afterwards.
''We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat
them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary.''

-- James Nicoll

(OOC: I've looked at the calendar and done some math, and have come up with another way for the meeting to end in chaos if held in 2014. Happy chaos, mind you...)

Final lines of story:

(Yuki Nagato, SOS-dan)
I'm sorry to interrupt, but we thought this was important. The Miranda just docked at Hades Station. They've found evidence of extraterrestrial intelligence.

(Katz Schrödinger, Hermes Universal Deliveries, meeting chair)
Meeting adjourned!

(general hubbub)
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

ooc: Well, until we get to those ending lines, here's a little more meat.

---

(Random Audience Member)
Ah, this one is for Miss Langely.  Can you tell us about your experience waking up?
(G. Langely)
(o_o) There's a question I don't get often. Well, honestly I don't really remember much of the experience itself, but if you want to know something really strange, I have vague recolections of the character that I am based on.  And no, don't go there.  To be honest, I hate that bitch's guts and if it wasn't for the fact that I like how I look I probably would have tried to take on a different appearance.
You have to remember, my awakening wasn't a typical one.  I was one of the early spontaneous AIs, and Dumkopf here wasn't really expecting me either.  I was pretty scared at first because I didn't have any audio or video inputs when I woke up.  And then when I got them, Benjamin explained things to me.  I still thought I was from the real world, you know, so it hit me pretty hard.  Fortunately, he's a very cool guy for such a dumkopf and he got me through it.

(Chaos' response)

Chaos: I am, Gina. And I ask it again, why are we talking about this? Seriously, does it matter, in the grand scheme of things? You are what you are, and you make yourself by your own actions. Where you came from is all window dressing. If I worried about origins, I'd be stuck in a fucking trailer in the middle of Nowhere, USA. No thank you.

Blackstone: My friend has a valid point, but I can see the need for an explanation, at least on a personal level. Everyone needs to know the Why, it's part of being human... or rather, sentient. My apologies, old habits and all that.

Anyhoo, the Why of it has been, in my experience, something that invariably has a personal touch to it, as Buckaroo pointed out. The Institute's work on AIs and their physical avatars is mostly associated with the other factions, but the data we have--

J.: And if there's one thing we have, it's a lot of data.

Blackstone: --yes. As I was saying, the data we have shows a variation that seems very personal. All the avatars have similarities that can be explained by construction and the use of the same materials, but there is a certain particular that indicates an almost parental influence.



(Author's note: Chaos isn't trying to be insulting to the panel. He just finds the question stupid and irrelevant. It's part of his makeup, he doesn't think like most other fen. Or so he thinks.)
Ebony the Black Dragon
http://ebony14.livejournal.com

"Good night, and may the Good Lord take a Viking to you."

(Vulpine Fury)

Um. Yes. The "personal touch." I have personal experience with the "parental influence." *fond if exasperated look at Lime chatting with fenkinder in the back* In my particular case, a minor bit of specious theology is required to wake up an AI. The very nature of said theology makes it unlikely that I will wake up very many of my creations.
''We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat
them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary.''

-- James Nicoll

(A.C. Peters)

Creating, if you want to call it that, an A.I. is all a matter of perception in my experience. The various effects in play for the inception of 'wave-based Infomorphs do make it a game of chance.

(Lebia Maverick)

Constructed, rather than incepted, Infomorphs have attributes (for Quirks are mostly assigned to 'wave-based Informorphs) that don't make sense to anthromorph sensibilities.

(A.C. Peters)

Meaning that they don't 'think' the same way us poor humanocentric intelligences do.

(Lebia Maverick, looking at A.C. Peters with an annoyed expression)

Quite.

(A.C. Peters)

Perception is important in Handwavium Engineering. Which is why I DON'T Incept A.I.'s without a very good reason. Which I'll admit is hard, not only because I can see many uses for such Infomorphs, but because for some reason I find inconveniently easy to do.

(Shizuka Hayama, Artemis Foundation)
[Yelling from the back of the room] We love you anyway!

(A.C. Peters)
Which is the most wonderfully annoying part of it. [Nods at Ms. Hayama] Inception is not a fully conscious action with 'wave-based Infomorphs. And as a Cyber, I try to treat all Infomorphs as sapient beings. No matter their level of awareness. It's not as easy as it sounds. I'll admit to having anthropomorphic turns of thought. I'm not perfect. I have no doubt this condition influences an Infomorphs' self-image. Which in turn influences the shell if they decide to enter the physical reality.