How do you know they don’t still have it? The regular form of toxoplasmosis isn’t easy to get rid of; it’s a parasite that’s only really risky for pregnant women and people with compromised immune systems. For all we know, the only people still alive on that planet are the ones with nonexistent sex drives and absolutely straight women. Which would mean that Tip’s in a world where everybody else is either absolutely uninterested in him sexually, or else will try to kill him the second he turns on his mojo.
I should also note: all of you understand that right now nobody except maybe Unity can be let back into their regular universe, right? And I’d only let Unity come back in if her nanotech can survive the surface sterilization process.
Well yes, but some people like to quantify these things.
Of course at this point you’re also either attracted to women or asexual but still…
Also, given that explanation, did it just make women attack men or did they attack each other too?
Depends how the parasite works I guess. But since it’s clearly affecting the brain rather than the body, I’d say you’re stuck with whatever you are genetically. If you’re intersexed because of genetic mutation you might be immune.
This is the trouble with imaginary science, it doesn’t really line up with the way things actually work does it.
How can a parasite affect the mind without working on the physical brain? Leaving out chimerism, the physical brain probably has the same DNA as the rest of the body.
If your body is different than your dna, via surgery and treatments or someone like Doctor Lee schlorping out your brain and sticking it in a new body.
– Turners syndrome (X-) would have gotten the standard response
– Kleinfelters syndrome (XXy) probably got a 50/50 split
– Androgen Indifference/Apathy syndrome would have depended on the degree to which testosterone was ignored by the body. Only affecting those below the 50% effective mark at an inverse ratio (the less effective the testosterone, the more aggressive they’d become).
And there’s really no telling what would have happened with random zinc-finger fragments on the X
I assume you’re referring to that particular brand of atheist that treats science more like a religion than like science. They tend to come off as a bit rabid at the very mention of words like “faith”.
(TUNE: “I’ve Grown Accustomed To Her Face”, Lerner & Loewe)
Excuse my chewing off your face …
I’m full of murder-iffic rage!
When I said “Eat me!” on a date,
I would reciprocate;
But now … I’m more …
A fa-ci-vore …
Yes, this apocalyptic place
Has now become a “Mad Max” stage!
I hope the losers all on Tindr who have never had their day
Found comfort in becoming some psychotic girl’s entree …
So now I’m eating off your ears
And noshing on your nose …
And chewing … off your … face!
I was thinking that a reason why I don’t like this backstory is because it seems to me to trivialize the terrible power imbalance women have suffered throughout history (“all women needed to overthrow their male oppressors was to tap into the RAGE”) when it occurred to me I’m taking this waaay too seriously. One of the characters is an AI running off gears and springs, after all. So, deep breath, and move right along.
So, if it’s libido-based, presumably most male _children_ survived?
If we put on our over-analysis hats just for fun though:
First, yeah, mass power imbalance is somewhat trivialized BUT that can be overcome for several reasons. 1, money stops mattering during the end of the world. And 2, ‘Homicidal Rage’ is not the same as ‘Mindless Zombies’. I figure that it worked because at first men were caught by surprise, by women being sneaky. And after that the sex ratio was so skewed that the power imbalance swung the other way.
Second, one could take it another way: that the power of RAGE (TM) is representative of collective action to correct social ills, like the suffrage movement: they didn’t succeed because they were CALM about not being able to vote, after all.
It’s like the Buffy quote:
“Want to see my impression of Ghandi?” *smashes demon head like a mellon*
“…Ghandi?”
“Well, he was really pissed off right?”
Who knew failing the Bechdel test would have fatal consequences?
There’s still probably more to the backstory. Even a gendercide (and presumably a messy one) there should still be enough female engineers, doctors, and builders to help keep civilization on track long enough to figure out a solution; not collapse into a scavenger society.
You’re talking about losing 99% of garbage men, construction workers, and mechanics. 95% of truckers (and car salesmen, but that’s irrelevant). Almost 90% of cops. And unlike the case where the women conspire to remove the men, this happens suddenly so there’s no preparation to step in once they are gone. I’m prepared to say that would be pretty devastating to society.
Ah. This explains my last “date”.
I’ve always thought my girlfriend was only interested in my body! Hmph!
Sometimes i forget Tip is an actual psychologist. I guess it takes one to ask a question like that
Yeah, but all indications are he’s not particularly good at it. And he’s much too self-centered to be concerned with anyone else’s problems…
So basically Tip’s in Hell.
Tip’s not in hell. He’s in a world full of women, and they only TEMPORARILY went insane. Now they’re itching for some Tip-style entertainment.
How do you know they don’t still have it? The regular form of toxoplasmosis isn’t easy to get rid of; it’s a parasite that’s only really risky for pregnant women and people with compromised immune systems. For all we know, the only people still alive on that planet are the ones with nonexistent sex drives and absolutely straight women. Which would mean that Tip’s in a world where everybody else is either absolutely uninterested in him sexually, or else will try to kill him the second he turns on his mojo.
As I say: hell. 🙂
I should also note: all of you understand that right now nobody except maybe Unity can be let back into their regular universe, right? And I’d only let Unity come back in if her nanotech can survive the surface sterilization process.
The ‘How much of a lesbian are you?’ test is now based directly on the guy-to-girl ratio of people you rage-murdered last year.
“How much of a lesbian are you?” What answer could there be, other than “The exactly right amount.”
Well yes, but some people like to quantify these things.
Of course at this point you’re also either attracted to women or asexual but still…
Also, given that explanation, did it just make women attack men or did they attack each other too?
How lesbian are you?
Lebia[b]nuff[/b]
Depends on where you score on the Kinsey Scale.
Thank you, Dave. I now have a new favorite internet quote.
Based on the lines about turning the female libido into murderous rage, I think the number of women that a woman killed would be a better indicator.
So it was the Screwfly Solution, more or less…
I’ve got to ask, what did the toxoplasmosis do to intersexed individuals?
And anyway, who uses toxoplasmosis? Cordyceps is where it’s at.
Clearly the Mad Scientist responsible was also a Crazy Cat Lady.
I’d guess it affected female bodied people since its based on an infection (rather than, say, a psychic compulsion)
That’s exactly what I was asking about. What about individuals with physical characteristics of both primary sexes?
Depends how the parasite works I guess. But since it’s clearly affecting the brain rather than the body, I’d say you’re stuck with whatever you are genetically. If you’re intersexed because of genetic mutation you might be immune.
This is the trouble with imaginary science, it doesn’t really line up with the way things actually work does it.
How can a parasite affect the mind without working on the physical brain? Leaving out chimerism, the physical brain probably has the same DNA as the rest of the body.
If your body is different than your dna, via surgery and treatments or someone like Doctor Lee schlorping out your brain and sticking it in a new body.
Depends on which type and how effective their y chromosome/chromosome fragment is.
Depends on which type.
– Turners syndrome (X-) would have gotten the standard response
– Kleinfelters syndrome (XXy) probably got a 50/50 split
– Androgen Indifference/Apathy syndrome would have depended on the degree to which testosterone was ignored by the body. Only affecting those below the 50% effective mark at an inverse ratio (the less effective the testosterone, the more aggressive they’d become).
And there’s really no telling what would have happened with random zinc-finger fragments on the X
Of course, this is all just wild speculation.
And what of this “Biomass” they speak of? Rogue strain of Cypress, or something else?
It’s what quote-unquote “Evolutionists” attend on Sundays
Huh. I thought that it was that gaming company that put out Knights of the Old Dragon Empire.
I assume you’re referring to that particular brand of atheist that treats science more like a religion than like science. They tend to come off as a bit rabid at the very mention of words like “faith”.
(TUNE: “I’ve Grown Accustomed To Her Face”, Lerner & Loewe)
Excuse my chewing off your face …
I’m full of murder-iffic rage!
When I said “Eat me!” on a date,
I would reciprocate;
But now … I’m more …
A fa-ci-vore …
Yes, this apocalyptic place
Has now become a “Mad Max” stage!
I hope the losers all on Tindr who have never had their day
Found comfort in becoming some psychotic girl’s entree …
So now I’m eating off your ears
And noshing on your nose …
And chewing … off your … face!
This is the second song about face-eating I’ve ever seen; but easily the best…
(The first was in a Cindy Williams movie.)
Put watch?v=qT-8d1zSYMQ in the search at YouTube for the other…
Anyone have comments about the Hugo Award voting/process? I guess I’ll have to read “The Three Body Problem” now.
If I had voted for the Hugos, I would have placed it 4th behind Ancillary Sword, Goblin Empire, and Skin Game, but ahead of No Award.
The prose is a bit flat for my taste (which may be the translator’s fault, but the translation is what you are presumably reading.)
I was thinking that a reason why I don’t like this backstory is because it seems to me to trivialize the terrible power imbalance women have suffered throughout history (“all women needed to overthrow their male oppressors was to tap into the RAGE”) when it occurred to me I’m taking this waaay too seriously. One of the characters is an AI running off gears and springs, after all. So, deep breath, and move right along.
So, if it’s libido-based, presumably most male _children_ survived?
If we put on our over-analysis hats just for fun though:
First, yeah, mass power imbalance is somewhat trivialized BUT that can be overcome for several reasons. 1, money stops mattering during the end of the world. And 2, ‘Homicidal Rage’ is not the same as ‘Mindless Zombies’. I figure that it worked because at first men were caught by surprise, by women being sneaky. And after that the sex ratio was so skewed that the power imbalance swung the other way.
Second, one could take it another way: that the power of RAGE (TM) is representative of collective action to correct social ills, like the suffrage movement: they didn’t succeed because they were CALM about not being able to vote, after all.
It’s like the Buffy quote:
“Want to see my impression of Ghandi?” *smashes demon head like a mellon*
“…Ghandi?”
“Well, he was really pissed off right?”
Or in other words: in a way it’s an affirmation that collective action CAN make a difference. In this case, through a parasite induced genocide :p
Wouldn’t that be “gendercide”?
Both :p
Who knew failing the Bechdel test would have fatal consequences?
There’s still probably more to the backstory. Even a gendercide (and presumably a messy one) there should still be enough female engineers, doctors, and builders to help keep civilization on track long enough to figure out a solution; not collapse into a scavenger society.
Depends how long they stayed insane, and how much damage they did to the infrastructure in their efforts to kill.
Also, since I doubt the men went without a fight, alot of women died too.
You’re talking about losing 99% of garbage men, construction workers, and mechanics. 95% of truckers (and car salesmen, but that’s irrelevant). Almost 90% of cops. And unlike the case where the women conspire to remove the men, this happens suddenly so there’s no preparation to step in once they are gone. I’m prepared to say that would be pretty devastating to society.
NOOOOOO, I’ve caught up! Waaaaaah!
You can always read the Narbonic saga, with and without comments.