But can he enjoy the bundt cake? I suppose he can, since ‘taste’ is all impulses in the brain anyway. It’s weird, thinking about how Nick can enjoy stuff as long as it trips certain parts of his brain. I was thinking of the ‘brain in the jar’, and about how it would drive a human being mad being divorced from the myriad inputs we get from our senses. Think about how the inside of your mouth tastes. Just think about it. Now imagine suddenly you can no longer taste the inside of your mouth, you can’t run your tongue along your teeth, and you no longer get a tickle in the back of your throat. Suddenly, that thing you never think about becomes insanely important. You NEED that feedback. Nick doesn’t get that anymore. I suppose it can be simulated, but the quasi-mad scientists who stuck his brain in a jar, and stuck the jar in a whirligig likely wouldn’t be thinking about those little touches. After all, who cares if you helicopter is nuts when you can shackle the brain with electric leashes?
I’m thinking about this fun comic about social workers for monsters entirely too hard.
They did think about that. That’s what the ‘simulation’ was about – gradually replacing all of Nick’s sensory inputs with flight control data, until his homunculus map looked like a helicopter. Then Goldbug interrupted.
I’m kinda interested by the way his human-arms are windmilling here, though – does he literally have to spin his arms to fly? (And what’s happening to the rotors now?)
I suspect our psychic knows how to arrange a psychic swear filter. She definitely knows what could go wrong if you don’t, as per http://skin-horse.com/comic/office-you/
I think that for you or me, or most people, it would be tormenting. But Nick isnt human- he’s a transhuman sapient helicopter. He has made it clear that he wants to be a helicopter, so I think he probably doesn’t want cake anyway.
I wonder if the simulation made it easier for him to switch, interrupted or not, or if he would have wanted to become a helicopter anyway.
Are you seriously trying to say that the human mind can cope with a missing limb or losing the sense of sight, but not the lack of tasting your own mouth? You’re seriously blowing it out of proportion. Out minds may not be perfect, but they’re pretty good at coping with that kind of thing.
I’m aware that sight and sound can be compensated for, and even touch to a lesser extent, but chemical senses are our most fundamental. Every biological creature on earth has some form of chemical-based sense. From the lowliest eukaryote to the mighty homo sapiens, chemical senses are essential to biological organisms. How does a machine simulate that chemical feedback reliably? Think of how in the Matrix they theorized that the reason everything tasted like chicken was because the machines had trouble decoding taste, so if they couldn’t figure a taste out, they just cloned another one (usually chicken).Now I presume since we’re working from the super-science field, in the initial simulation, they’d just find the memories of things he’s eaten, clone those memories and apply them to new instances. But what happens when Nick wants to eat something he hasn’t had before? What if his palate wasn’t bland, and he was an adventurous eater? He might start to notice that things weren’t lining up properly and the simulation starts to break down.
And there’s the argument that he’s a transhuman sapient helicopter now, but even given how he sees himself, he’s still, at his core, a human brain in a jar. He’s mapped his limbs and senses to electronics, but the feedback is still in human terms, otherwise his mental simulacrum wouldn’t still appear human.One could argue that it’s a narrative device to make it easier to relate to Nick, but I think otherwise. After all, no matter how monstrous a man may become, what terrified him in youth may continue to terrify him well into adulthood. Even John Wayne Gacy had nightmares even as his depravity made him the stuff of it. I realize that’s a fairly grim example, but it illustrates that at their core, no one ever really changes. It’s why my belief that the original plan would have ended in failure anyway, even if Goldbug hadn’t intervened.
By the way, the “tastes like chicken” bit? You either misinterpreted the scene, or aren’t remembering it correctly. He was theorizing that the matrix could have gotten the taste of chicken wrong and its real taste was that of the gruel he was eating (without any evidence whatsoever, which is why the rest of the crew was looking at him like he was a nutjob).
We can all hope there isn’t a mountain or very tall tree in front of him while his mind has been yanked out of flying the plane. And so far, this organization he now works for has proved to be even bigger screw-ups than Skin Horse.
I think using the word cryptid to describe the beings you deal with (which both Red Knight and Kate have done) suggests that sort of mind set. It’s easier to kill something if it never really existed in the first place.
Guess RK is in love now.
I suspect that the reward Nick thinks he deserves is not a Bundt cake.
Most people go months without Bundt.
Beats getting kicked in the bundt.
But can he enjoy the bundt cake? I suppose he can, since ‘taste’ is all impulses in the brain anyway. It’s weird, thinking about how Nick can enjoy stuff as long as it trips certain parts of his brain. I was thinking of the ‘brain in the jar’, and about how it would drive a human being mad being divorced from the myriad inputs we get from our senses. Think about how the inside of your mouth tastes. Just think about it. Now imagine suddenly you can no longer taste the inside of your mouth, you can’t run your tongue along your teeth, and you no longer get a tickle in the back of your throat. Suddenly, that thing you never think about becomes insanely important. You NEED that feedback. Nick doesn’t get that anymore. I suppose it can be simulated, but the quasi-mad scientists who stuck his brain in a jar, and stuck the jar in a whirligig likely wouldn’t be thinking about those little touches. After all, who cares if you helicopter is nuts when you can shackle the brain with electric leashes?
I’m thinking about this fun comic about social workers for monsters entirely too hard.
I’m more concerned with the answer to this question: How well can Nick fly while distracted by the psychic heroine (Panoptica?) and her Bundt cake?
What the FILK? Bundt is a trademarked name? Who knew?
IIRC these little visits only last a moment of realtime.
They did think about that. That’s what the ‘simulation’ was about – gradually replacing all of Nick’s sensory inputs with flight control data, until his homunculus map looked like a helicopter. Then Goldbug interrupted.
I’m kinda interested by the way his human-arms are windmilling here, though – does he literally have to spin his arms to fly? (And what’s happening to the rotors now?)
Also, how does a psychic wordfilter work? Has he started wrongswearing in his own head now?
they no longer remove it for him after he ended up sending his mission control to a shrink
“Tarsier Girl is still in therapy after last time.”
http://skin-horse.com/comic/office-you/
I suspect our psychic knows how to arrange a psychic swear filter. She definitely knows what could go wrong if you don’t, as per http://skin-horse.com/comic/office-you/
I like to think it’s a sophisticated artificial intelligence program that, given the workout Nick gives it, will eventually become self-aware.
And then falls in love with GODOT.
I think that for you or me, or most people, it would be tormenting. But Nick isnt human- he’s a transhuman sapient helicopter. He has made it clear that he wants to be a helicopter, so I think he probably doesn’t want cake anyway.
I wonder if the simulation made it easier for him to switch, interrupted or not, or if he would have wanted to become a helicopter anyway.
Are you seriously trying to say that the human mind can cope with a missing limb or losing the sense of sight, but not the lack of tasting your own mouth? You’re seriously blowing it out of proportion. Out minds may not be perfect, but they’re pretty good at coping with that kind of thing.
I’m aware that sight and sound can be compensated for, and even touch to a lesser extent, but chemical senses are our most fundamental. Every biological creature on earth has some form of chemical-based sense. From the lowliest eukaryote to the mighty homo sapiens, chemical senses are essential to biological organisms. How does a machine simulate that chemical feedback reliably? Think of how in the Matrix they theorized that the reason everything tasted like chicken was because the machines had trouble decoding taste, so if they couldn’t figure a taste out, they just cloned another one (usually chicken).Now I presume since we’re working from the super-science field, in the initial simulation, they’d just find the memories of things he’s eaten, clone those memories and apply them to new instances. But what happens when Nick wants to eat something he hasn’t had before? What if his palate wasn’t bland, and he was an adventurous eater? He might start to notice that things weren’t lining up properly and the simulation starts to break down.
And there’s the argument that he’s a transhuman sapient helicopter now, but even given how he sees himself, he’s still, at his core, a human brain in a jar. He’s mapped his limbs and senses to electronics, but the feedback is still in human terms, otherwise his mental simulacrum wouldn’t still appear human.One could argue that it’s a narrative device to make it easier to relate to Nick, but I think otherwise. After all, no matter how monstrous a man may become, what terrified him in youth may continue to terrify him well into adulthood. Even John Wayne Gacy had nightmares even as his depravity made him the stuff of it. I realize that’s a fairly grim example, but it illustrates that at their core, no one ever really changes. It’s why my belief that the original plan would have ended in failure anyway, even if Goldbug hadn’t intervened.
You’re just arbitrarily giving it more value that is has. I understand there are people without a sense of smell and taste, and they don’t all go mad.
By the way, the “tastes like chicken” bit? You either misinterpreted the scene, or aren’t remembering it correctly. He was theorizing that the matrix could have gotten the taste of chicken wrong and its real taste was that of the gruel he was eating (without any evidence whatsoever, which is why the rest of the crew was looking at him like he was a nutjob).
Do Cyborgs Dream of Electric Cake?
She shoulda only left half of him behind, and called it a Brexit. 😉
Nixit? Nexit?
I’m surprised the swearword filter works even in these circumstances.
And I am worried about the safety of Nick’s airborne body.
Is Nick flapping his arms in surprise, or is that how he subconsciously interprets his body while he’s airborne?
I’m reading it as flailing to keep his balance/maintain his position, on suddenly finding himself somewhere unexpected.
Why not both?
I’ve always interpreted it as him rotating his arms around at high speeds – like a helicopter’s rotors.
Remember this has happened before: http://skin-horse.com/comic/the-home/
“Rotor failure! Rotor failure!”
(Not sure whether he’s flailing in emulation of the rotors he’s missing, or flailing because he can’t feel his rotors.)
Heh; so he actually COULD say “I just flew in from Area 54 and man, are my arms tired!” and actually *mean* it.
He’s also got his landing gear retracted.
Is he so conditioned that he can’t even swear on the psychic plane? How far down is the profanity filter?
Is Nick’s filter actually a form of specifically induced aphasia?
Most likely answer is his boss is just a jerk who gives Nick a psychic projection that is tailored to her preferences, not his.
Where is the link to all the Britishisms for bondage?
I’m British and I can’t think of *any*. I mean, any that aren’t also current in the US.
I suppose Nick is being rewarded for helping solve a problem—but which one? The Jersey Devils or RK?
I’m thinking RK. Look how pleased she is.
And shouldn’t it be “Briticism?” I don’t want to be Briticritical about it, but, well…
We can all hope there isn’t a mountain or very tall tree in front of him while his mind has been yanked out of flying the plane. And so far, this organization he now works for has proved to be even bigger screw-ups than Skin Horse.
That’s assuming their goal was to be at all nice to the Jersey Devils. I’m guessing the desired outcome was to slaughter them all.
I think using the word cryptid to describe the beings you deal with (which both Red Knight and Kate have done) suggests that sort of mind set. It’s easier to kill something if it never really existed in the first place.
I can’t decide if Panoptica has the best or worst timing in the Skin Horse universe.