…also, as for the rats themselves, we don’t know if they were “uplifted”.
Not all non-human sapients are created by humans, and even when they are, it’s not always intentional. It’s entirely possible these particular rats just occurred naturally, or were created accidentally and indirectly by things like chemical waste.
D Walker: A somewhat heretical viewpoint here, but I recommend NOT starting with the first two books (“Color of Magic”, “The Light Fantastic”). They’re quite good and definitely worth reading to get an early look at development of some recurring characters, but they don’t really give you the best introduction to the spirit of the series.
I’ve read and reread them all so many times that it’s hard to remember, but I think the first one I read (on loan from a coworker decades ago – thanks Trevor!) was either “Pyramids” or “Guards! Guards!” Both let you get into the rhythm of the world-set without needing to know too much about it. “Small Gods” is also a great entry point, as with “Pyramids” it only marginally involves the major ongoing characters with their convoluted histories.
But once you’re in, you’re in. Welcome to the tribe! Aaaaand now I need to go read them all again, just for the sheer joy of it…
By the way, any Pratchett fans who haven’t yet read the standalone south seas story “Nation” should do so immediately. You won’t regret it.
The good news is that they’re not quite as big on continuity lock-in as some long running series. Even if you don’t read every book and in exact order of publication, it’s still possible to enjoy them. Of course, many things in the later books will make a lot more sense if you read the earlier books first, and the last several books in the series are probably best read in order, as they increasingly tie together into a single over-arching story.
Outwitting the rat, uplifted or otherwise isn’t the whole problem. Outperforming the rat on it’s home turf is the true challenge. In this case the super intelligent gerbil is more of an issue.
I figured Artie’s stochastic skills would have deduced that the deactivation code would be “buttermilk pancakes,” or something like that. (He’d know better than I.)
This universe’s Artie must share mirror Artie’s tendency to unhealthy sexual obsession. Now Alfa Alfa will experience the downside of being completely irresistible to rodents. Sometimes the lure catches the wrong fish.
It’s time for Valiant to prove his name. But we win no matter whether it’s Artie or Valiant who scurries into the sunset paw in paw with Alfa Alfa. Alfiant is even canon! It’s Valentine’s Day in the Skin Horse universe.
Now for Artie to reverse engineer the robot rat so he can control the woman.
I realize that you are saying this with tongue firmly in cheek, but the inherent possibilities are too hilarious for this not to occur.
I would be perfectly okay if the rest of the Skin Horse run is just Artie in this rat colony with ocasional cutaways to everyone else
To be fair to Echo Bravo, Artie is not, strictly speaking, an “uplifted rodent” – he was originally, but he later became a rodent-human hybrid.
…not that that has anything to do with his intelligence, but hey…
…also, as for the rats themselves, we don’t know if they were “uplifted”.
Not all non-human sapients are created by humans, and even when they are, it’s not always intentional. It’s entirely possible these particular rats just occurred naturally, or were created accidentally and indirectly by things like chemical waste.
Or like Gaspode was.
Had to look it up, yet another reminder that I need to finally make the time to get to the Discworld books.
They’ve been on my list forever, but there are a bunch of them, and there’s not quite as much time in the day as we sometimes might like.
D Walker: A somewhat heretical viewpoint here, but I recommend NOT starting with the first two books (“Color of Magic”, “The Light Fantastic”). They’re quite good and definitely worth reading to get an early look at development of some recurring characters, but they don’t really give you the best introduction to the spirit of the series.
I’ve read and reread them all so many times that it’s hard to remember, but I think the first one I read (on loan from a coworker decades ago – thanks Trevor!) was either “Pyramids” or “Guards! Guards!” Both let you get into the rhythm of the world-set without needing to know too much about it. “Small Gods” is also a great entry point, as with “Pyramids” it only marginally involves the major ongoing characters with their convoluted histories.
But once you’re in, you’re in. Welcome to the tribe! Aaaaand now I need to go read them all again, just for the sheer joy of it…
By the way, any Pratchett fans who haven’t yet read the standalone south seas story “Nation” should do so immediately. You won’t regret it.
The good news is that they’re not quite as big on continuity lock-in as some long running series. Even if you don’t read every book and in exact order of publication, it’s still possible to enjoy them. Of course, many things in the later books will make a lot more sense if you read the earlier books first, and the last several books in the series are probably best read in order, as they increasingly tie together into a single over-arching story.
Just wandered into the wrong lab while irradiating was going on.
Sure, you can outwit rats.
Step one: Actually try to outwit the rats instead of intentionally not doing it while declaring that you could be doing it.
Sure you could do that. But it’s so much less work to just underestimate them instead.
Outwitting the rat, uplifted or otherwise isn’t the whole problem. Outperforming the rat on it’s home turf is the true challenge. In this case the super intelligent gerbil is more of an issue.
It’s not one of those exploding drones, is it? ‘Cause it could still cause trouble…
Maybe it is and that’s why Artie is dragging it out of the colony.
Explosive Ordnance Disposal may be just another feather in his cap.
Exploding or not, Artie had no option left but to drag it away, since he wasn’t having any luck convincing Valiant that it was a robot and a threat.
But yes, after living with Mell for over 4 years, I’m sure Artie became familiar with a little EOD work.
I figured Artie’s stochastic skills would have deduced that the deactivation code would be “buttermilk pancakes,” or something like that. (He’d know better than I.)
You’re assuming he could predict how Virginia’s mind works? You give him more credit than I would.
Naw, Anasigma. How many times now has their code words been some kind of breakfast meal?
But Artie hasn’t been involved in any missions that employed such code words, and the breakfasty code words are only in Virginia’s technology.
Artie’s stochastic skills only work if they have a basis to work from. He’s got nothing for this situation.
The rats are smarter than those two. ANYTHING is smarter than those two.
Now, now. I’m certain that there are certain types of rocks that are slower than the two of them put together.
This universe’s Artie must share mirror Artie’s tendency to unhealthy sexual obsession. Now Alfa Alfa will experience the downside of being completely irresistible to rodents. Sometimes the lure catches the wrong fish.
It’s time for Valiant to prove his name. But we win no matter whether it’s Artie or Valiant who scurries into the sunset paw in paw with Alfa Alfa. Alfiant is even canon! It’s Valentine’s Day in the Skin Horse universe.