Question Break Answers 7

I know it has taken me a long time to get to this, but I finally got a decent enough connection to upload stuff to the internet. Sorry for the long wait. Hopefully anticipation did not kill anyone and hopefully the connection will hold out long enough for me to put up Entry 40. Otherwise, this may be all that you get tonight, so enjoy it. We’re still working on getting a stable internet connection.

So many moons ago, or so it feels like, I got a question from an anonymous source. The question was:

Ok, what is the deal with Ven and androids? From what I've heard of Ven's reasoning, you would think Ven's position is based on philosophical concepts; however, Ven's vehemence strikes me as something originating from deeper roots. He was so wrapped up with protesting John getting a room that he completely missed Blaue calling him grotesque (though how Blaue knows what Ven looks like naked is something I don't want to get into). He likewise seems driven to distraction whenever you or Blaue bring John up in any way positive. Was Ven bitten by an android as a child or something?

As a side question out of curiousity, why does Ven speak in German to Blaue and give her a German name? Is the human colony predominantly German or something?

So that’s totally more than one question, but I’m cool with that. Let’s see if I can clear some things up here.

First off there is the question of Ven and androids. What is Ven’s deal? I mean the man seems irrational, does he not? Well, like the questioner mentioned, Ven’s reasoning is based on philosophical concepts, but he does seem to take it personally.

The thing is: androids are personal.

Ven grew up on a human colony that was founded by people who all once had an android that they thought was a blood related sibling. Some, like me, don’t care if their sibling is made of skin and bones or syntha-skin and metal. Others take it very badly. But I think, regardless of how they viewed it, none of them ever really managed to escape the Society with their android sibling. They had to distance themselves from this person they valued and cared for all their life because this person was suddenly not a part of their lives anymore. So instead of grieving the loss of a sibling, they convince themselves they never really had a sibling at all because androids aren’t human. These people try very hard to convince themselves, though I think very few of them ever believe. However, their children and their children’s children, like Ven, do believe because they’ve never had an android sibling. They take their ancestor’s words to heart and make it a part of their mantra. And since their ancestors so passionately disabused androids, they learn to passionately hate androids. Of course, this is just a theory, I’ve only spent a little time on the human colony, but I think it’s correct. I’ve talked to the people in my situation, most of them much much older than me, and they all feel some sentimental attachment to their long lost android sibling. They spend their lives trying to convince themselves that their loss is nothing, but in the end, they still miss their sibling. Instead they succeed in instilling a vehement belief in their children that androids are subhuman.

That was probably the longest paragraph I’ve ever written in my life. A real writer would probably have divided it up somewhere but give a kid a break. I’ve been out of English class for quite some time now.

So you’re sort of not stated question of how Blaue knows what Ven looks like naked. Well, I don’t think Blaue meant Ven specifically when she said that. I think she meant males in general from a clinical perspective. She’s a computer, and she knows what humans look like because she probably has our biological specifications – not to mention genome – in her fundamental knowledge. She is supposed to know as much as she can about humans to make the ship to captain interaction as smooth as possible. But though I don’t think she meant Ven specifically, I’m pretty sure Blaue knows everything that is going on in the ship and has “eyes” for lack of a better term everywhere. I don’t think I sneeze without her knowing. So does she probably know what he looks like naked? Yes. Did she mean him specifically? I don’t think so. I think she meant males in general. Blaue is a computer. Cut her some slack.

And I don’t think Ven missed what she said. I think he ignored her. He does that a lot. Blaue loves to tease, especially Ven, and Ven knows she hates it when he does not rise to her teasing. So instead of responding, he ignores her, because he knows it bothers her more.

Last but not least question: why does Ven speak German and Blaue have a German name? Well, Blaue has a German name because Ven speaks German. Ven speaks German because his family speaks German. The human colony is not predominantly German, though there is a large German group. Ven’s most recent ancestor from Earth was German, and that’s on his mom’s side. His paternal line is British, hence the name Barker. However, his father’s mother is also descended from Germans. So both of Ven’s parents spoke German and he was raised speaking German in his home.

So I hope that answers all of your questions for now. If anyone has any other questions let me know!

Question Break Answers 6

Another weekend on Earth gone past, another question asked! This week's question asked by anonymous is:

Since I know you somehow manage to get John out (as you refer to him being on the ship currently) I am sorely wondering how you got it past Ven; however, I suppose you're getting to that in due time so I shall be patient. On a lighter note, I am curious to know what gadget(s) you've seen in your travels that strike you as particularly interesting/novel. Anything come to mind you'd like to share? I'm going to go out on a limb and assume androids are not something you would classify as a gadget.

Don't worry. The whole how I amazingly connived to get Ven to let me take John into space will be told this week. Or rather....well, you'll see soon enough. I don't want to spoil it here. I'm very tempted to, but I won't. You'll just have to live in anticipation a few days longer.

On the gadgets/technology side of things, you're right. I don't consider androids a "gadget". However, they are major feats of technology. Somehow the universe has created synthetic sentients that can't really be distinguished from organic sentients. It's amazing.

The spaceships out here are phenomonal. You have no idea. Blaue is probably the second most amazing feat of techology (second to androids of course). She's amazing. I mean, she flies herself. Ven may be "captain" but that just means that he has absolute final say. Blaue listens to Ven about as often as John listens to me, which is never.

(John resents that comment. He says he always listens to me. He just doesn't act on everything I say.)

But spaceships aren't really gadgety and you'll get to know Blaue better in the coming entries. So what other cool gadgets have I seen?

I suppose when you say gadget you're thinking handheld device sort of like James Bond might have, but the crazy thing about the universe is that only crazy purists (like Ven) have handheld devices. Everyone else implants their devices. I'm not sure I'll ever be brave enough to except an implant, which might label me a "purist" too, but my feelings about androids would make me an impure purist.

Anyway, implants. People add implants to like their eyes. This makes their eyes better, able to zoom in on far away things, and also enables them to take photos with their eyes. Anything they see, they can take a picture of. Also works the same with video, so pretty much anyone could be recording you at anytime and you wouldn't know it because they're using their eyes. It's wild. Makes for great spies I guess.

Some people implant their interfaces with their Artificial Cognizants into their brains, so they can just think at their Artificial Cognizants and get things done. Of course, not everyone has an Artificial Cognizant. Some just connect to more basic computer interfaces. It's sort of like they're connected to the internet at all time, which makes it very disconcerting when people totally like google you when you introduce yourself. Sort of goes like this:

Me to an alien I don't know: Hey I'm Carlee Earhart.

Alien: You mean the girl who broke out of the Society?

Me: Uh......Yeah?

It's very disconcerting.

Let's see...other cool gadgets.

Ven's sedative is pretty cool, but that's coming later in the story...I don't want to give anything away.

That's the problem with telling you about cool gadgets. Most of the ones I know are things that I've encountered through Ven and our adventures in space. So in short, I'm going to make you wait in anticipation for the cooler gadgets.

Sorry about that.

Have a great day!

Question Break Answers 5

Anonymous asks:

Have you noticed anything odd about Ven, in terms of his personality, that is due to his not growing up on Earth? I suppose it begs one to wonder how much of humanity is nature versus nurture. While John, an android, seemed in every way human (excepting the odd feat of superhuman strength), is there anything about Ven that seems somewhat out of place or unsettling?

Well, my anonymous friend, that is a good question. Have I noticed anything odd about Ven? I guess my first answer would be “are you kidding me? Yes?” but then you have to go and bring up this whole nature versus nurture thing. And you also seem to imply the question of whether John is more human than Ven by Earth standards. Such weighty questions! Makes me think my readers are way smarter than I am.

So I’ll take this one at a time.

Does Ven constantly surprise me with his oddness? Yes. He doesn’t understand my slang, he doesn’t get my cultural references, and he thinks everything I do is very backwards. He is unfazed by aliens who are so different from us that humans cannot communicate with them except through a complicated computer program that was developed by a species who happens to be capable of communicating with both humans and the other aliens; however, he has a most backward and ignorant view point when it comes to androids. He talks to his ship’s Artificial Cognizant like she’s a real person, but he treats John sort of like I treat my microwave. Is he different from me? Goodness yes. Would he be incredibly out of place on Earth? Yes. But at the core of your question, I think you’re asking me if he’s inhuman.

I think the answer to that is no.

Sometimes I don’t understand Ven. We have this insane cultural gap between us. But at the end of the day, I think he’s just human. He’s a human who was raised in an incredibly different environment, but he’s still human. Ven was raised on the human colony. For the most part he grew up around humans, of all different Earth cultures. These Earth cultures fused together and were influenced heavily by the cultures they encountered in the Universe through entertainment, trade, and vacations. This strange non-Earth culture does affect how Ven acts and behaves. But I wouldn’t call it unsettling or out of place when it comes to his humanity. Behind everything he does is a very human motivation.

In Ven’s mind, I’m the one who’s inhuman. Here I am prizing an android over his existence. I hold my android brother in higher regard than I hold any human. However, I think that’s human too. Some humans hold other human’s lives as the highest value. Other humans like trees better than they like people.

Does Ven unsettle me on a daily basis? Yes. Would he seem insanely out of place on Earth? Yes. But is he still human? Yes.

As to nature versus nurture, I think the core of Ven’s values would be the same whether on Earth or the edges of the Universe. He’s insanely loyal. He’s very intelligent. He’s too good looking for his own good. He takes his duty very seriously. And he loves his freedom. What is more human than that?