|
Alright, I'm going to leave the thread for a while and come back to answer questions tomorrow. |
| # ¿ May 18, 2009 16:06 |
|
|
Popping in for quarter of an hour to answer a couple of questions, but I have a full day plan, so after that it'll be sometime tonight.ArtieTSMITW posted:Hello Mr. Boone, and welcome to Earth. 1. Click here for the full 800x800 image. This is not particularly accurate - I can't point out my exact location any more than you might be able to on an unmarked map. Looking at it, it's between 20 and 50 thousand of your lightyears away, somewhere in or around that orange area. 2. No, I've got no idea what's closest to you - you're not particularly near any network planets, so there's not much knowledge about your region. 3. I wouldn't be comfortable with committing to any figure, but I would not be in the least bit shocked if you hit your 'event' in that timeframe. Then again, I wouldn't be partcularly shocked if it took you another three centuries. 4. Any given visited planet will have a record in the databanks of what stage it is at. If it hasn't been visited, limited out-of-date 'snapshots' of your planet's progress can be taken from a network planet, and from there data can be extrapolated. I didn't know for sure that you guys were in Stage III when I arrived, but it was the most likely scenario. It was also possible you'd have been a nuclear wasteland when I got here, but what's life without taking a few risks? 5. Fairly sure I've answered this one - I can't think of anything major that I regret, and I don't think many melrins could. In our society the choices you make rarely have a defining effect on your life's path, as it is very easy to change where you are at a later point. As for the Spore recreation, I have done one, and will post it later, though I must say I am not particularly happy with it. There are no body parts that particularly resemble melrin ones, and what I ended up with after an hour's work was a rather silly-looking caricature. |
| # ¿ May 19, 2009 05:02 |
|
|
wid posted:Also, I do think ALL wars are "holy" wars. I think he was referring to the idea that every war think they have a just cause, thus a "holy" war. There is no just cause other than defending yourself. Territory, resources, etc, are all bullshit excuses. If they have the resources to arm themselves and prolong a conquest campaign, they're not running out of resources or space. There is no conflict that cannot be resolved without compromise, except when holy causes stopping them. You're right, I didn't mean 'holy' in the literal sense of the word. There are larger and smaller species (humans and melrins are among the smaller races, with a couple of exceptions). The biggest networked sentient species is around 2.5 times as tall as a human and built very wide - taller than that and things begine to collapse under their own weight. |
| # ¿ May 19, 2009 05:08 |
|
|
Shooting Blanks posted:Wouldn't this have to do with the environment? I can imagine much larger beings growing up on worlds with less mass and thus, lower gravity. Similarly, I can imagine that extremely large, dense worlds would create only small beings, as the amount of gravity would impact evolution. Yep. Big things grow on low-gravity planets, short, wide things grow on high-gravity planets. But at a certain point, sentient creatures large bodies cannot sustain themselves very well as a rule. It's why large animals tend to be pretty lazy, with a few exceptions. Christopher posted:Is this what happened to the dinosaurs? I don't know, but it doesn't sound very likely. Pararoid posted:If you were put in a purely moral situation where you had to weigh the life of a Melrin versus that of a Human which would you chose to save? Would others of your species make the same choice? I would probably choose the melrin, although I can't really explain why. Which would you choose? Sioux posted:If the [network] "started" 500.000 years ago and the oldest civilisation in it is only 400.000 years, how did (some of) the founding civilisations die out? How can that happen with such intelligent organisms? Or did they choose to leave the [network]? One of the founding species of the network, to give one example, were wiped out when a relatively near star exploded with no warning. Every solar system in the vicinity was hit by the energy it gave off, including the founders' planet. This left the few remaining natives scattered over other networked planets. If I recall my history, they attempted to band together and repopulate on another planet, but it evidently didn't work. I do not know why. |
| # ¿ May 19, 2009 11:33 |
|
|
There have been some great questions in the last two pages, and I will get to them later today. For now, just got time to answer one.Schlemdinger posted:What is your melrinal opinion of the actions taken by Kuyirka? Did the ends justify the means? Other planets have achieved Stage VI without resorting to such tactics, so no, I cannot logically claim that the ends justified the means, but what you have to remember is that for Kuyirka, there was no precedent for Stage IV - they had no other worlds setting an example. Personally, I believe that Kuyirka came to power with the best intentions, and genuinely wanted to bring the planet to a Stage VI-like state (or whatever equivalent vision he had at the time). When he realised that it was going to be, in his view, impossible, he devised and enacted a plan that went against absolutely everything he stood for, believing it was the only way to (eventually) create a truly happy civilisation. I therefore consider him one of the greatest and most tragic figures in melrin history, and perhaps network history. |
| # ¿ May 20, 2009 07:15 |
|
|
Karo posted:As far as narrative is concerned he should have come up with an interesting twist long ago instead of dragging this out, alien or not. Still a good read in a 'the longer we disappoint your expectations the funnier it gets"-fashion. Earth is in fact Ulath, and I am here to reclaim the planet that your ancient Egyptians stole from my people. Angry Guacamole posted:It actually makes me wonder how he/they think of people like me, who want to be able to replace the human body entirely with something that can house the human consciousness and be able to cheat death until the person wishes to die, essentially never growing old. I've explained this a couple of times, but perhaps not well enough. Physical age is not the only limitation to natural lifespan. At a certain point a consciousness, no matter what it's housed in, degrades. It's nothing to do with the physical mind, a system of thought just cannot survive forever. To give a flawed human analogy, the mind starts taping over itself. Infomaniac posted:Quote Mr. Boone from his brief history: I have read only a few short stories by Asimov and found them interesting enough, though poorly thought out in places. As for Foundation's Edge, I have no knowledge of it. I find that humans are very eager to compare and contrast my story with fiction of their own, which I have invariably not read. In the few cases that I follow up and study these pieces of fiction, the link is often tenuous at best. Shalrath posted:A few questions if I may. Your first question has already been addressed in part, and the other part is asking about a single aspect of a whole area of physics which you guys have barely even addressed yet, so any answer I could give would confuse you more than the question. Travel is faster than light, but not instantaneous. And as for gathering data, at a certain point it makes more sense just to come down and look for yourself. Nobody from this galaxy, as far as we know, has been to the edge of the universe. I said that we observed it, just as you have observed, for example, Pluto. I have tried a hot dog with mustard and found it dry and unpleasant. NihilistCanada posted:The economic system of your planet seems to be a Utopian version of Communism. Is their an equivalent of Marx's Labour Theory of Value for your world in it's past? No idea. Haven't heard either, if I do I'll let you know. Wynter posted:1) Which begs the question, what are the things present-day Melrin culture is interested in? Many things, I'm sure, but given your society's present-day level of knowledge and tech what are some of your most researched yet still unanswered questions, scientific or otherwise? 1) There is no predefined 'culture', but to give an example, there are many melrins who devote time to researching how to find other 'network's to communicate with. 2) See above, I guess. 3) No. Hoorazor posted:Can melrins have something we call transsexualism and what do you think about human technologies to "cure" it? If somebody wants to be a transexual, what is the problem that needs to be cured? Yes, melrins have 'transexualism', and more commonly than on Earth. There is no social disapproval attached. Yes. You could learn the intrinsic value of humour from them but not much about aliens. MaskedKoala posted:Mr. Boone, if you could change one thing about present-day Ulath, what would it be? Ideally, I'd make the uninhabitable areas habitable. Realistically this would probably cause huge changes in weather system, though. |
| # ¿ May 22, 2009 10:09 |
|
|
Hoorazor posted:The problem is that the body of a transsexual person has the wrong(opposite) sex-organs. Human beings try to "cure" that disparity by medically changing the sex-organs to the desired sex. I was born with the wrong body to successfully pretend I was a human, yet here I am. You can be whatever you want to be. If one of you wants to have his or her sexual organs surgically altered, then bully for them. Hey, I said it was possible, I didn't say I had a detailed plan to solve all of Earth's problems. It's not going to happen in the next ten years, most likely, and it will happen in a different way on your planet than it did mine. Ideal solution: everyone suddenly stops shooting at each other over what they think is the way to do things. |
| # ¿ May 22, 2009 10:35 |
|
|
Hi, everyone. It's been a few weeks since my last encounter with you guys. That laptop I was given broke down a few days after my last post here, and while I was still able to find internet access, I wasn't particularly compelled to go out of my way to answer any more questions on the internet - I don't think there's much more ground to cover, anyway. I did periodically check my email account, as some of you probably already know. Since we last spoke, I've been all over - visited a fair few more of your United States, napped on the couches of several generous goons and non-goons. I won't reveal usernames, as I already let one slip and that user was quite annoyed at me because of the bombardment of communication he got. However, if anyone wants to come forward, I've got no problems with it. (Incidentally, apologies to some of the email correspondents who I promised to meet up with, but didn't. I am rather awful at planning these things, and apologies for anyone I forgot to get in touch with to cancel - please shoot me an email so I can apologise more properly.) As some of you are aware, I'm about to begin my last two weeks on this planet. As I said, I've travelled all over and am now, I think, much more hip to you humans' latest fads and trends, as the kids say. It's been a fun excursion, cut a little short for various reasons. Since I'd like to have something to show for the trip, I'm compiling an informal report about my time here - a few pages or more about my findings and opinions of your planet. It's actually what made me come back here - I was writing a sort of retrospective diary, remembered you guys and thought we should catch up. I'd love for you guys to help with my report, if you wanted to. I've answered lots of your questions, and I hope some of you will now answer mine. There are three primary questions I'd like to ask you all: Through the questions I've answered, what is your opinion of our society? What do you like and dislike about it? Are there any parts you don't or can't understand? How would you describe human society to an being who had never visited your planet? What would you like to say to our society, as human representatives of Earth? I'll be reading the answers (which you can post here or email to me, though I would prefer they be posted here) and putting representative answers in a page of the report. Please let's not have the "we're coming out there to blow you up" stuff some people have been sending me, it's silly. Before you guys get all superior, you're not the only people I'm asking these questions to - I've posed them to a number of humans, some more prominent than others. This is your chance to communicate your own ideas to another intelligent species. Forget the probes you've sent out in random directions - in two weeks I will be heading straight to Ulath and putting your answers up on the databanks for the network to see, so please, make them good answers. Length is not important - anything from a line to an essay will be considered, though the more you can say, the more interesting you'll be! In addition to these questions, anything you feel should be included in the report may be suggested here. I'll be around a lot for the next two weeks, so I'll be here to converse - however, I'll probably not answer any more questions about Ulath - I'm more interested in gathering information about Earth at this point. Oh, and of course, you guys will get a copy of the report before I scoot on home. |
| # ¿ Jul 15, 2009 08:25 |
|
|
Oh, incidentally and in case I forget - this Saturday I will be 59 Earth years old. Happy birthday to me! |
| # ¿ Jul 15, 2009 12:01 |
|
|
Leovinus posted:Oh, bollocks. Taking my AIM name off my profile. Sorry.  Brightman posted:Also, Happy Birthday Mr. Boone; do you actually celebrate birthdays, or are you just saying that? Just saying it. If I were to celebrate my birthday, I'd be unlikely to celebrate my Earth birthday. Bearthday. |
| # ¿ Jul 15, 2009 18:20 |
|
|
Risible posted:what if something breaks? What if no one is interested in helping you with a problem you can't solve yourself? And what about on a larger scale ... I'm sure people would love to be involved in producing the technology that you've used to travel or disguise yourself, but that brings a lot of inexperienced technicians. Are there guilds of some sort? Who can ensure the safety of your incredibly curious species when you do something so dangerous (at least it seems hazardous to me) as space travel? I know I said I wasn't answering questions, but I will respond to some of your answers in the interests of elaboration and understanding. What kind of problems are you thinking about here? I have trouble thinking of a problem that I couldn't solve and that nobody else could help me solve - think I need a human perspective for this one. An 'inexperienced technician' would be easily able to study the required subjects and become an experienced technician. There are always people who want to build new things! 'Guilds' do arise out of shared interest, but they're not as strictly organised as you might have on Earth. As for the safety part, you have to remember that we have much better technology than you guys. It is much easier for us to confirm that something will work as intended. Actually, I may as well forget what I said earlier and say I'll take questions again. So shoot if you've got anything. |
| # ¿ Jul 17, 2009 10:35 |
|
|
quadreb posted:He's talking about projects that mandate a group. Suppose there are no others who wish to help you form the group. What then? There always are. It's very difficult to understand the human perspective on this, and more difficult to explain a non-human one - there is always someone willing to help. Streebs posted:In that case, I do have a question. People in your society do whatever they want to do and pursue whatever interests them. There are no jobs, government, corporations, etc. However, there will always be necessary jobs in a society that people don't want to do. I have answered all of this, and the reason it seems so strange is because you "can't imagine" anyone wanting to do a particular job. Well, I can. It happens. And even if they don't like the job, they may do it anyway to facilitate the things they DO want to do. |
| # ¿ Jul 17, 2009 10:55 |
|
|
Streebs posted:My point is, there must be some jobs that require a large workforce or large machinery that isn't accessible to everyone. Am I wrong in assuming this? If someone wants to pursue a job like this, do they find other people to help him/her? What if a job needs 20 melrins and nobody wants to help? Why would a melrin want to waste his time doing menial labor if he gets nothing in return? Your first point relies on the idea of trade - "getting something in return" simply isn't a concept on Ulath. If someone asked for your help with something, you would help if you could. You're not looking for a reward or payment, you're simply helping the other melrin with a task. Unless you have something else you have to do instead, why wouldn't you? It's not particularly inefficient, and even if it were, what's the problem? Life is long - even for a human, but especially for most other species. We're not in a technology race with anyone - things develop at whatever pace they like. I think I answered this - either the melrin who needs the toilet cleaned will do it, or the last person to use the toilet will clean it as a courtesy (although courtesy isn't really a concept on Ulath). If there are no cleaning tools in the toilet, the melrin concerned will go acquire some and leave them there for the next person to use. There are melrins (or other species) that would produce them if they felt it would be a good use of time, but it is simple enough to produce them individually. |
| # ¿ Jul 17, 2009 12:09 |
|
|
Risible posted:I suppose my imagination underestimates your technological ability which is a little mind boggling in itself. Let's try this nightmare scenario: while cooking with the ingredients you've received from earth, and mixing them with your own native ingredients, you accidentally create something that appears delicious, but is actually toxic. You try it. In about 10 minutes you notice something is off as you feel really nauseous. In our society we could either call 911 or a poison control hotline to get help. They're staffed by people 24/7 in a fairly rough job with a high turnover rate. (That is my human impression of this work, that it is an undesirable job, for Melrins this may be very different). Your scenario isn't a realistic one - it is easy to check whether a food is toxic without eating it. If a melrin did injure themselves and require assistance, there are hospitals which you can contact, though they are much smaller than on Earth, as there is less injury and illness on Ulath, and most injuries can be self-treated. |
| # ¿ Jul 17, 2009 12:19 |
|
|
Risible posted:Edit: This is a little late, but I don't think it's been asked before. If it has you can disregard. What are your thoughts on architecture you've seen on earth, especially those you've seen in cities? I did touch on it - our buildings are usually wide at the bottom and narrow at the top, so to me, your buildings look like the poking-out tops of buildings that have been buried underground. quadreb posted:Suppose an extra-galactic threat is in evidence, such as a universal civilization who's very existence is harmful to yours, rendering your species incapable of reproduction or transference into new bodies. They view you as little more than what humans would see as ants and aren't interested in communication. However, they appear to be explorers, with no military capabilities. If you became warriors and destroyed them even though they do not intend to cause harm, your civilization would live on. The alternative is extinction. What is your choice? If we can destroy them, we can cause them discomfort without destroying them. If they are unamenable to communication (and they wouldn't be), we can find a way to repel them. Even your peaceful bees have their stings. Streebs posted:Is there anything on your planet that is not simple enough to produce individually and the production process has aspects that are unpleasant? For example on earth - food, roads, buildings, cars, etc. Nothing that I can think of - it is easy to automate such things. Streebs posted:One more question. Would it be possible for the people on Earth to adopt the same lifestyle as those on Ulath? Are we restricted from this due to lack of technology? It's not your technology that's stopping you, it's your attitudes. Calaveron posted:Mr. Boone, did you ever try mexican food? Like, real mexican food not some runny, bland shit from Taco Bell or some god forsaken taquería at the UK? I did try various Mexican foods while visiting. I found the cuisine generally excellent but in need of moisture. Oh, come on, what do you think?  To be specific, it was a 'Chinese' chicken curry with a lot of spices and curry powders added. It was very spicy while keeping that smoothness I've developed a love for.
Mr. Boone fucked around with this message at Jul 17, 2009 around 12:59 |
| # ¿ Jul 17, 2009 12:55 |
|
|
stuffing posted:Mr. Boone, Is there anything left on this planet that you still don't understand? A great many things. The way your monetary system works, the curious dichotomy between your embarrassment about sex and your intense sexual drive, your ability to believe two opposing things at once, the fact that a great many of you consider advanced warless society 'boring', the amount of noise you can put up with without being driven to distraction, your curious predilection to pack up and go somewhere hot for a couple of weeks because you are bored of your lives, your inability to accept that other humans can live differently to you without it being an attack on your 'values', the mechanics of evoking a laugh with a non-sequitur, and Simon Cowell. |
| # ¿ Jul 17, 2009 13:21 |
|
|
Streebs posted:Humanity certainly needs different attitudes to reach the "next level". However, I think the ability to live in a society such as yours is in part based on the level of technology you possess. I don't think it's possible for us on Earth until we develop technology further. There's that attitude I was talking about. "I don't think we can, so let's not try." |
| # ¿ Jul 17, 2009 13:46 |
|
|
The Saucer Hovers posted:Can you see now (from our point of view) how it might be contemptible for someone whos seemingly infinite opportunity was earned by the struggle of generations long past to tell a "lower" life from to do "it" themselves? Or is it the fact that Melrin, as a species, have "made it" that allows you to tell others to evolve while not having to do any comparable evolution yourself? Im not saying youre not right, or even that your way isnt in fact the only way. Im simply saying that the attitude of "If we did it, you might do it to!" coming from someone who didnt actually DO anything inspires some of my more illogical emotions. Why would you not want to make progress towards peace and happiness? |
| # ¿ Jul 17, 2009 14:12 |
|
|
BernieLomax posted:Boone, I think we humans are greatly intuitive - in that we reason largely intuitively. This makes us reason fast and also make us do incredibly stupid things. I wonder if this attribute is common amongst other species, or is this special with the humankind? I can't really quantify that, not having a human brain with which to intuit. |
| # ¿ Jul 17, 2009 14:19 |
|
|
Holy Calamity! posted:Yeah I was just sitting here thinking the same thing, the post reads like trollbait...but from outer space! Yes, I agree. I can't seem to put what I actually want to say into English. I guess I can see why a human would consider it 'contemptible', but there it is. Any defense I could give would be taken as insult, so I guess I'm just going to have to reserve comment. |
| # ¿ Jul 17, 2009 14:40 |
|
|
BernieLomax posted:Another question: Are there any data/media you are going to bring back home? I would recommend a database dump of wikipedia and the gutenberg project. No offense intended, but that would be far too much to bring back, even if we do have the facility. It'd be like you visiting another country for a vacation and bringing back photocopies of their entire national library. Mostly harmless. kingsize posted:Are you capable of anything that would prove that you are indeed "alien" Mr. Boone? Yes! |
| # ¿ Jul 17, 2009 14:45 |
|
|
SquareDog posted:EDIT: a question, I think that what you've said about diet on your advanced planet (eating only local things that grow, vegan, etc.) is the best proof so far that you are from an advanced civilization. You also said that or medicine is impressive. I think that in America and the UK especially, that our diets or processed food, dairy, meat, etc. are killing us and our medicine for the most part is trying to merely treat symptoms when it should be trying to prevent things where they start. Anyway what's you opinion on our diets and our level of medicine? I want you to reflect on the paraphrase "our diets of meat are killing us". As for medicine, no matter what causes a disease, the medicine that cures it is almost without exception A Good Thing - cancer happens even if you don't eat a whole cow every day. kingsize posted:Like what? (It cannot be something a human is capable of) I can take you to my spaceship and show you what Jupiter looks like from Io. |
| # ¿ Jul 17, 2009 15:14 |
|
|
Rod Flanders posted:Sorry if you addressed this since I may have missed it, but did you ever upload your character creation from Spore that looks like a Melrin? No. It looks ridiculous, nothing like a real melrin and I know how you humans love to jump on goofy-looking things like that. I'd rather just keep on with discussion. Cablekid posted:I'd be willing to witness this myself. I said I can do it, not that I will. I've already explained several times why I won't provide public proof that I am who I am. |
| # ¿ Jul 17, 2009 15:23 |
|
|
BernieLomax posted:I would also love to hear on how you deal with the demarcation - eg. how you make good decision or deal with scientific issues that lack data. Eg. I would love to see the states run the same way an airplane is run. But this might be out of your field? I don't know what you mean. |
| # ¿ Jul 17, 2009 15:24 |
|
|
kingsize posted:So you look human, smell human, act human, refuse any display of "alien" abilities and expect people to think you are human? You're just as alien as god exists. Pretty much this thread is one of faith. eg, logic says you probably aren't, but people want to believe! Come on, haven't we been through this ten times now? Dr. Waffles posted:Thanks for visiting, I hope you enjoyed your stay. Thanks for having me, it really has been a great time. Master_Jay posted:Hey boon, did you ever get to try having a sexual relation here? Well, I said I wasn't going to answer any sex questions, but... I'm still not going to answer any sex questions . kingsize posted:Mr. Boone, since you are a alien turned human, what would happen if you were to impregnate a human, would they be a human, or your species? Hybrid? Is this issue why you don't want to do that? Oh, we're utterly incompatible. ferndavant posted:You mentioned that inter-species attraction is not uncommon, but that Certainly adoption is possible, but very, very rare. There is no social or biological pressure to have children on Ulath or any network planet, so if a melrin cannot have a child, it's not a huge deal like it is on Earth. Mr. Boone fucked around with this message at Jul 17, 2009 around 16:06 |
| # ¿ Jul 17, 2009 16:03 |
|
|
rixor posted:How could there possibly be no biological pressure to reproduce? Was it abolished through eugenics? Obviously it was there at one point, otherwise your species wouldn't have made it this far. When I say 'no pressure', I mean very little pressure. Sex drive generally starts to fade away after a species becomes... civilised, for want of a better word. Indeed, I mention in my report that you humans' sex drives have persisted much more intensely than most species of your age. kingsize posted:There is little purpose in actually coming to Earth then.. everything you would need to know about earth could be learned remotely (for an Alien and their more advanced technology anyway). I don't know what they are, but they are definitely not 'aliens'. Nothing that travels between solar systems at any reasonable speed would have any cause to hang about in your sky flashing lights. Mr. Boone fucked around with this message at Jul 17, 2009 around 16:27 |
| # ¿ Jul 17, 2009 16:24 |
|
|
Acid Tester posted:How much space-wood could a space-woodchuck chuck if a space-woodchuck could chuck space-wood? A space-woodchuck would chuck all the space-wood he could chuck if a space-woodchuck could chuck space-wood. |
| # ¿ Jul 17, 2009 16:36 |
|
|
Calef posted:Would you be averse to providing evidence that you are an alien right before you leave to go home? If I were going to provide evidence, I wouldn't spoil the surprise this early. kingsize posted:I would agree that hands on interaction is preferable. But I don't know about traveling light years just to come here to "see" when their technology presumably is fulling capable of doing similar things. But yes, you're right. It's sort of capable of doing that, yes, but I'm not studying you scientifically, I'm just here for my own personal amusement. |
| # ¿ Jul 17, 2009 16:43 |
|
|
kingsize posted:Out of all the science fiction that man has created, which comes the closest to representing your species? None. I find that your science fiction tends to assign personalities to entire fictional species - violent Klingons, sneaky Romulans, etc. There never seems to be a race described without some sort of character flaw pervading every member - networked individuals are never so identical. Edit: Oh, I did mention earlier that the book K-PAX comes quite close to describing how a network planet being might act on coming to Earth. Mr. Boone fucked around with this message at Jul 17, 2009 around 17:19 |
| # ¿ Jul 17, 2009 17:13 |
|
|
Barbako posted:1. What's the spiciest food you've had on Ulath? Do you eat it often? 1. Lerot is a plant-based foodstuff that grows on Ulath which has a powerful spicy taste, sort of like your pepper but with a far 'blunter' feel, although just as powerful. When blended with other foods it gives them spice, too, so the spiciest food would be pure lerot, I guess. I eat it about as often as you shovel peppercorns into your mouth. 2. Your polar ice caps. Lovely and crisp and cold. Reminded me of home, although obviously it was a bit barren and I couldn't stay long. 3. Not really. 4. Nothing really similar to Ulath. I like some of your deep-voiced singers, a little bit - Johnny Cash and Brad Roberts. 5. No, not a lot of your entertainment really appealed to me. I'd rather go out and do things. |
| # ¿ Jul 17, 2009 17:31 |
|
|
kingsize posted:Mr. Boone, how did you get the money to pay for a SA account? It was bought for me by an initially enthusiastic SA member I met in a pub, who is now apparently quite annoyed at me for accidentally revealing his SA username and thus his AIM account. |
| # ¿ Jul 17, 2009 17:40 |
|
|
kingsize posted:Do you think humans are capable of ESP? There is no such thing as extra-sensory perception. Perception is, by definition, sensory. SamuraiFoochs posted:That makes me curious...did you just happen to mention your origins to him in conversation, and he then said "I know who you should tell this to!" I did tell him my story and he suggested I post it here, although I have forgotten exactly how the conversation went. |
| # ¿ Jul 17, 2009 18:14 |
|
|
SilEighty posted:However, with necessarily diverse interests and perspectives involved in the administration and maintenance of said [network], it is difficult to imagine a situation in which differences of opinion do not arise from time to time within the [network], possibly manifesting into conflict. How are these differences resolved in the absence of authoritative oversight? It is apparently difficult to imagine for a human, but two beings in disagreement on Ulath generally appreciate that there is room enough for both views, and if one is demonstrably wrong, they will change their minds. Nope, it seems to be a pretty solid law of progression. Sure you will, tiger! |
| # ¿ Jul 17, 2009 18:29 |
|
|
Karo posted:Your stay has been a very interesting one and we have learned a lot or at least we have a lot to chew on. All I am asking here is that you make a short statement in which you assure us that you have no hard feelings for any of us and leave us in mutual agreement. I know this is overly silly and I likely will be ridiculed for this, but the thought of a powerful advanced being not bound by any law, able to hunt me down is a bit freighting. When a little anxiety is involved, things may seem different than they are and a short statement would remedy all of that. That is all, thanks. You and me cool, holmes. |
| # ¿ Jul 17, 2009 18:42 |
|
|
Acid Tester posted:Ah, but what about perception of self? Perception of morality? Constructs. |
| # ¿ Jul 17, 2009 19:07 |
|
|
Acid Tester posted:Ah. Can you tell me about xenopsychology? Not really. Psychology is not such a studied subject on Ulath as it is on Earth. |
| # ¿ Jul 17, 2009 19:26 |
|
|
superjew posted:You may not decide to answer this in detail, or at all, but I'm curious. Humans are quite diverse, but unfortunately we use this to try and excuse or explain our silly actions. Do you think this diversity can continue while we (hopefully) advance to a Network-worthy species, or is the best thing for us to blend together into one identical race? Are there any Network species that retained such a diversity? Yes, there are. It is not your diversity that is the problem, but the prejudices you carry against those who do not look, act or think like you. I could adjust it to be more palatable, but it's not something I've bothered with. Quandary posted:If there is no biological pressure to have children, how did your race survive originally? There was originally more pressure to reproduce, but as melrins developed and became more sophisticated (for want of a better word), the trait became less pronounced, as there is no real need to ensure the survival of melrins through lots of reproduction. Mradyfist posted:Love the thread in general. Tell me, how did you enjoy Antarctica? Did you visit any stations? I did go to one, but the only person there was a rugged bearded fellow who wanted to take a sample of my blood and apply a hot wire to it for some reason. Synthetic Eddie posted:Hello Mr Boone, 1. I don't think you've quite understood what I've said - we are still reproducing, just not at the rate you guys are. 2. We grew up. 3. The planet itself is about 12 billion years old, I'm not sure of an exact figure. |
| # ¿ Jul 18, 2009 08:30 |
|
|
Man_Sauce posted:Welcome back Mr. Boone Didn't really listen to much David Bowie. He sounds awful. I thought some of his lyrics were quite interesting, though. I read some Philip K Dick and found him hysterically funny. My thoughts? Well, they're likely not true, that's about the extent of my opinions. |
| # ¿ Jul 18, 2009 11:11 |
|
|
Calaveron posted:Mr. Boone, I forgot to ask you: Sweetened teas and coffees, and fruit juices. On the alcoholic side, I enjoyed White Russians. Smooth and not too sweet. jeremy posted:Happy birthday, Mr. Boone! See, look at that - I did forget! torus posted:Melrin culture somewhat reminds me of humans in the science fiction book "Tales From the End of Time" by Micheal Moorecock. I'm not very familiar with melrin fiction, for reasons I've already talked about. My favourite story I've read on this planet is a Philip K Dick one, I think. It was about little gumballs which keep dividing and reproducing. It was the funniest thing I have ever read. |
| # ¿ Jul 18, 2009 14:47 |
|
|
BobMcFartsens posted:I have one question though. Do Melrins have to bathe at all? What do you think of taking showers here on Earth, or nice hot baths? Well, we wash, yes. We use something like a human shower, with adjustable temperatures and adjustable pressure - you use low-pressure with cleaning agents to clean, then high-pressure to rinse and scrub at once. Baths, no thanks. Very uncomfortable. |
| # ¿ Jul 18, 2009 15:58 |
|
