(Originally posted to Let's Play Sacntuary)
#121, originally posted Feb 3 2017, 06:12 AM
It's been a while. I really should update this more often. *Sigh*
Route A′—Session 24, part 5: Nabu's Past
Hinata wakes up feeling refreshed. After having breakfast with Mutsuki, he asks her to come to school with him, as they search for Sakuya's whereabouts. There, Yayoi repeats the backstory of Anunnaki and Babylon; then, Hinata remembers his father's letter, and brings up the clover. She sends them to Nergal, who tells them about Nabu. On returning home, he confronts Mutsuki about her seemingly hiding something, then discovers evidence of something having happened in the house.
Notes:
Spoiler: click to toggle
treasure the truth
Well, that's a twist! We knew Nabu joined eXarch after Anunnaki broke up. But it turns out he had already worked for them before Anunnaki. One would wonder whether he was really a spy, or worse. Nergal says he was freelance at the time, though, so apparently not.
Well, that's a twist! We knew Nabu joined eXarch after Anunnaki broke up. But it turns out he had already worked for them before Anunnaki. One would wonder whether he was really a spy, or worse. Nergal says he was freelance at the time, though, so apparently not.
#122, originally posted Mar 7 2017, 04:06 AM
Route A′—Session 24, part 6: DNA Reveals
Mutsuki takes Hinata to the park to discuss what she's been holding back. But while there, something very strange appears to have happened. Then, Yayoi calls them to the Kyouka Academy roof to show them something else strange that happened. Both incidents seem to have involved the same person. Furthermore, suspicion about the high number of ICs at Kyouka gets stronger. Mutsuki finally opens her mouth, revealing something surprising about her and her brother. A certain woman contacts Hinata, who is suddenly spurred into action.
Notes:
Spoiler: click to toggle
wandering
"Backwards in time". An interesting way to put it. I would have just thought the clovers had been restored somehow. But could this expression be closer to the truth? Is there some time reversal involved? I could just be latching on to something unimportant, though. I guess we'll see.
But then we get this idea about twins and clones. Could Sakuya have somehow made a clone of the rabbit? The clovers aren't as big a deal; growing in just a day is a little remarkable, though not unprecedented among plants (bamboo is known to grow at an incredible rate, so fast in some cases it's almost perceptible), but cloning is a normal occurrence for them, unlike with animals. On the other hand, cloning an animal is non-trivial, let alone fully growing it in within a day.
dissolving things
Hinata thinks Sakuya brought the rabbit back to life by repairing its DNA. Well, that can't be all. It takes more than repairing DNA. You also have to repair the damaged tissue, broken bones, ruptured organs, blood vessels, etc. And if its brain is damaged, that's a real problem. Maybe the nanomachines could do all that, though, provided the necessary materials. In the case of plants, there's no reason to restore an individual organism. Not to say she wouldn't do so for plants as well as animals.
"Backwards in time". An interesting way to put it. I would have just thought the clovers had been restored somehow. But could this expression be closer to the truth? Is there some time reversal involved? I could just be latching on to something unimportant, though. I guess we'll see.
But then we get this idea about twins and clones. Could Sakuya have somehow made a clone of the rabbit? The clovers aren't as big a deal; growing in just a day is a little remarkable, though not unprecedented among plants (bamboo is known to grow at an incredible rate, so fast in some cases it's almost perceptible), but cloning is a normal occurrence for them, unlike with animals. On the other hand, cloning an animal is non-trivial, let alone fully growing it in within a day.
dissolving things
Hinata thinks Sakuya brought the rabbit back to life by repairing its DNA. Well, that can't be all. It takes more than repairing DNA. You also have to repair the damaged tissue, broken bones, ruptured organs, blood vessels, etc. And if its brain is damaged, that's a real problem. Maybe the nanomachines could do all that, though, provided the necessary materials. In the case of plants, there's no reason to restore an individual organism. Not to say she wouldn't do so for plants as well as animals.
Route A′—Session 24 full
Let's Play Sanctuary posts end here.
#123, posted Mar 28 2017
Route A′—Session 25, part 1: Raid on eXarch
Hinata and his allies raid the eXarch building in an attempt to bring them down, as well as rescue Sakuya. Will they succeed, or will Nabu's plans come to fruition? And just what are his plans, anyway?
Notes:
Spoiler: click to toggle
dissolving things
What the hell?? "Mar-chan and Ash-kun's Love Story"?? Why is there a reference to Marduk and Ashur even in these people's childhood? And it's not exactly the ones from mythology, as that Marduk is male, while the AI in question is female, while matches the "-chan" in that title. Or is there possibly some other explanation? If the latter, I'd sure like to hear that. Maybe it really was someone else's idea, and that had an influence on the people who named the quantum computers. Maybe the names in that title aren't actually "Marduk" and "Ashur". Or maybe this memory has somehow been altered; but then, by whom?
Hmm. So, the young Sakuya somehow evaded Hinata's notice while he was searching for her. I can think of three possibilities: (1) it was just easy for her to do so because he wasn't terribly observant, (2) she knew a way to get from one room to another that he didn't know about or think of (in the video, I suggested going through the windows, but could there be another way?), or (3) walls mean nothing to her (remember that time in route A when she managed to get inside his house, ostensibly to give him that herbal tea, but he later found the chain was on the front door, and we all wondered how she managed that?).
Well, it turns out that in this case, Nabu was somehow preventing her from being found. So, that's disappointingly mundane.
dreamy state of mind
And the truth comes out. So that's the reason Nabu treated Hinata like he did (thinking back to how he tried to drive him away from Sakuya). He must have known about the Aois' genetic abnormalities, and discriminated because of it.
Well, that was satisfying in a sense. He finally got Sakuya back, and that means a lot. But on the other hand, we never did figure out what the odd things about her were about. And what does her body harboring these nanomachines entail, aside from the remarkable things she was already able to do? For that matter, just what was Nabu going to do if Mitsuhiko hadn't interfered?
What the hell?? "Mar-chan and Ash-kun's Love Story"?? Why is there a reference to Marduk and Ashur even in these people's childhood? And it's not exactly the ones from mythology, as that Marduk is male, while the AI in question is female, while matches the "-chan" in that title. Or is there possibly some other explanation? If the latter, I'd sure like to hear that. Maybe it really was someone else's idea, and that had an influence on the people who named the quantum computers. Maybe the names in that title aren't actually "Marduk" and "Ashur". Or maybe this memory has somehow been altered; but then, by whom?
Hmm. So, the young Sakuya somehow evaded Hinata's notice while he was searching for her. I can think of three possibilities: (1) it was just easy for her to do so because he wasn't terribly observant, (2) she knew a way to get from one room to another that he didn't know about or think of (in the video, I suggested going through the windows, but could there be another way?), or (3) walls mean nothing to her (remember that time in route A when she managed to get inside his house, ostensibly to give him that herbal tea, but he later found the chain was on the front door, and we all wondered how she managed that?).
Well, it turns out that in this case, Nabu was somehow preventing her from being found. So, that's disappointingly mundane.
dreamy state of mind
And the truth comes out. So that's the reason Nabu treated Hinata like he did (thinking back to how he tried to drive him away from Sakuya). He must have known about the Aois' genetic abnormalities, and discriminated because of it.
Well, that was satisfying in a sense. He finally got Sakuya back, and that means a lot. But on the other hand, we never did figure out what the odd things about her were about. And what does her body harboring these nanomachines entail, aside from the remarkable things she was already able to do? For that matter, just what was Nabu going to do if Mitsuhiko hadn't interfered?
#124, posted Jun 2, 2017
Route B′—Session 25, part 2: Succession of Will
Ishtar finds herself in a different state of being. Now a Shadow Null, she can travel freely in cyberspace. She quickly finds someone important to her in realspace.
Notes:
Spoiler: click to toggle
restore
"The contents of my brain and body leak into their surroundings." Sounds a bit like the concept of quantum decoherence to me. Not that I really understand that. But basically, the idea is that by interacting with the rest of the universe, a system trades information with it, losing its coherence as a quantum system in the process. In the Copenhagen interpretation, they would say the wave function collapses, but decoherence interprets it a bit differently. Something along those lines. But I digress.
"Or maybe a dead cat." Funny you should bring that up, Ishtar. Considering how often this is used in science fiction, I'm sure most of you know what it's probably suggesting, so I won't bother saying it. :-)
"The contents of my brain and body leak into their surroundings." Sounds a bit like the concept of quantum decoherence to me. Not that I really understand that. But basically, the idea is that by interacting with the rest of the universe, a system trades information with it, losing its coherence as a quantum system in the process. In the Copenhagen interpretation, they would say the wave function collapses, but decoherence interprets it a bit differently. Something along those lines. But I digress.
"Or maybe a dead cat." Funny you should bring that up, Ishtar. Considering how often this is used in science fiction, I'm sure most of you know what it's probably suggesting, so I won't bother saying it. :-)
#125, posted Jun 28, 2017
Route B′—Session 25, part 3: Reconciliation
Ishtar helps Yumi meet up with Code. The two parties discover what they have in common as ICs, reconciling Crminal and Code, while Yumi and Ishtar both discover new things about their past.
Notes:
Spoiler: click to toggle
property
"[M]y genes and memes are preserved in cyberspace..." Okay, the memes I can accept easily enough. But the genes? Really? Has her genome been sequenced and stored somewhere online? I suppose at that point in the future, it wouldn't be so unusual. But what good would it do a Null?
"[M]y genes and memes are preserved in cyberspace..." Okay, the memes I can accept easily enough. But the genes? Really? Has her genome been sequenced and stored somewhere online? I suppose at that point in the future, it wouldn't be so unusual. But what good would it do a Null?
#126, posted Jul 19, 2017
Route B′—Session 25, part 4: Locating HE
Yumi sees a video of Miyata interrogating Nergal about his wife's disappearance. Nergal talks about his discovery of the effects of eXarch's immunosuppressants. Miyata also asks Yayoi about her connection to eXarch, and she tells him about Kyouka Academy's student body's unusual composition. Yumi and her comrades at Code (with secret help from Ishtar) investigate the rosary. Expecting to find HE, they discover something unexpected.
Notes:
Spoiler: click to toggle
ZKIP
(Hmm. What does this title mean? Possibly "zero-knowledge interactive proof"? Incidentally, do check out zero-knowledge proofs. They're the ultimate mathematical way of proving knowldge of a thing to someone else without revealing the thing itself to them.)
Yes, Nergal is married to Izawa Nami, that is, Ereshkigal. I guessed something like this a long time ago (albeit before I knew her real name), seeing as it perfectly corresponds to the myth. (Then again, a lot of other things don't seem to correspond to myth, so in a way, it's strange.)
authentication
Passwords in this kind of fiction are often like this, being something that totally makes sense to anyone who knows the person. In the real world, this is of course a very bad idea, since it's really easy to guess.
Hmm. Three perspectives from three different people is needed? There's that 3 again.
(Hmm. What does this title mean? Possibly "zero-knowledge interactive proof"? Incidentally, do check out zero-knowledge proofs. They're the ultimate mathematical way of proving knowldge of a thing to someone else without revealing the thing itself to them.)
Yes, Nergal is married to Izawa Nami, that is, Ereshkigal. I guessed something like this a long time ago (albeit before I knew her real name), seeing as it perfectly corresponds to the myth. (Then again, a lot of other things don't seem to correspond to myth, so in a way, it's strange.)
authentication
Passwords in this kind of fiction are often like this, being something that totally makes sense to anyone who knows the person. In the real world, this is of course a very bad idea, since it's really easy to guess.
Hmm. Three perspectives from three different people is needed? There's that 3 again.
#127, posted Aug 3, 2017
Route B′—Session 25, part 5: Backups
Ishtar (the real one, who is now a Null) starts looking for her friends from Criminal, and has a run-in with a hostile Ea. After a certain fairy intervenes, she explains about the quantum computers, and then...
Notes:
Spoiler: click to toggle
Feynman-processor
"No matter how many calculations a computer carries out, it will never produce any new processing methods of its own as long as a human doesn't give it new functionalities." I don't want to belabor what I've said before, but I don't think this is really true. Considering the scales involved, it's unlikely, in my opinion, that organic brains rely on quantum effects at the level of whole neurons, let alone over the whole brain. There's simply too much stuff interacting, and therefore interfering, with other stuff to maintain any sort of coherence. So why should a computer need to be a quantum computer to be able to emulate a human brain? I say it doesn't. There is, perhaps, a possibility that a quantum computer could perform relevant computations more efficiently than a classical one. But the issue is one of practicality rather than theoretical possibility as in the above line.
"No matter how many calculations a computer carries out, it will never produce any new processing methods of its own as long as a human doesn't give it new functionalities." I don't want to belabor what I've said before, but I don't think this is really true. Considering the scales involved, it's unlikely, in my opinion, that organic brains rely on quantum effects at the level of whole neurons, let alone over the whole brain. There's simply too much stuff interacting, and therefore interfering, with other stuff to maintain any sort of coherence. So why should a computer need to be a quantum computer to be able to emulate a human brain? I say it doesn't. There is, perhaps, a possibility that a quantum computer could perform relevant computations more efficiently than a classical one. But the issue is one of practicality rather than theoretical possibility as in the above line.
#128, posted Aug 15, 2017
Route B′—Session 25, part 6: Mitsuhiko's File
After having been freed, the now-Null members of Criminal discuss Yumi and Code, as well as Kyouka Academy. Ishtar reminisces about how Kosuke ended up joining them. Yumi "borrows" some information from the school's infirmary, and Ishtar, through her link with Yumi, shares it with all of Criminal. Reading it reveals something shocking. Later, Yumi meets with Code, and they agree to attack eXarch.
Notes:
Spoiler: click to toggle
scavenge
Seriously? They think the human race doesn't need any more genetic variation? That's absurd. Okay, let's say humans were to start reproducing only asexually. Thus, no more genetic recombination occurs. What then? Well, for a while, it might be okay. But other organisms would continue to adapt, especially things like viruses and bacteria (incidentally, even though bacteria reproduce asexually, they nevertheless do exchange genes, through horizontal gene transfer, something humans don't do very well, if at all). So, over time new diseases would appear, but humans would be adapting far less than before. It's quite possible that the species would gradually be overwhelmed by other organisms (particularly parasites) that would be outpacing it in terms of adaptation.
I'm not a biologist, so I really don't know how long this would take, but I'm sure it would happen. There are real-world examples of this. Just look at some cultivars of food plants. Bananas, for example. Until the mid-20th century, the most popular cultivar was one called "Gros Michel" (incidentally, I've heard that artificial banana flavor tastes like Gros Michel, so you might know what they taste like even if you've never tasted one). Unfortunately, their production was decimated by Panama disease, and has yet to recover enough to compete with the current dominant cultivar, Cavendish. Why? Because they have no genetic diversity! Every individual is a clone. Ironically, Cavendish is starting to suffer the same problem, so they may become quite rare in the near future.
Given that, the idea that 4 billion (or, probably, just about any number you can think of) individuals is enough diversity is laughable in this context. It doesn't matter. Without sex to mix up the gene pool, the species is virtually stagnant, and will no longer be as successful as it currently is. I'm not saying it would necessarily be doomed, since there are organisms that use asexual reproduction successfully. But it is uncommon with multicellular life, and there must be a reason.
Seriously? They think the human race doesn't need any more genetic variation? That's absurd. Okay, let's say humans were to start reproducing only asexually. Thus, no more genetic recombination occurs. What then? Well, for a while, it might be okay. But other organisms would continue to adapt, especially things like viruses and bacteria (incidentally, even though bacteria reproduce asexually, they nevertheless do exchange genes, through horizontal gene transfer, something humans don't do very well, if at all). So, over time new diseases would appear, but humans would be adapting far less than before. It's quite possible that the species would gradually be overwhelmed by other organisms (particularly parasites) that would be outpacing it in terms of adaptation.
I'm not a biologist, so I really don't know how long this would take, but I'm sure it would happen. There are real-world examples of this. Just look at some cultivars of food plants. Bananas, for example. Until the mid-20th century, the most popular cultivar was one called "Gros Michel" (incidentally, I've heard that artificial banana flavor tastes like Gros Michel, so you might know what they taste like even if you've never tasted one). Unfortunately, their production was decimated by Panama disease, and has yet to recover enough to compete with the current dominant cultivar, Cavendish. Why? Because they have no genetic diversity! Every individual is a clone. Ironically, Cavendish is starting to suffer the same problem, so they may become quite rare in the near future.
Given that, the idea that 4 billion (or, probably, just about any number you can think of) individuals is enough diversity is laughable in this context. It doesn't matter. Without sex to mix up the gene pool, the species is virtually stagnant, and will no longer be as successful as it currently is. I'm not saying it would necessarily be doomed, since there are organisms that use asexual reproduction successfully. But it is uncommon with multicellular life, and there must be a reason.
Route B′—Session 25 (full)
#129, posted Aug 31, 2017
Route B′—Session 26, part 1: Unified Attack
The combined forces of Code, led by Mayumi, aka Inanna, in realspace, and Criminal and the Codebreakers, led by Ishtar in cyberspace, attack the eXarch building once again.
Notes:
Spoiler: click to toggle
DDoS Attack
I'd like to point out something rather subtle here that I literally just noticed while writing this. Earlier in this VN, cyberspace would often show a pulsing purple overlay, while realspace was always clear. But now, we see the pulsing is shown only in realspace, with cyberspace being clear. The two seem to have reversed in some way. At least, that's what I interpret from it, although the color does change to red pretty quickly. Note, however, that this is the first time I've noticed this; it's possible it happened earlier, and I just missed it.
I'd like to point out something rather subtle here that I literally just noticed while writing this. Earlier in this VN, cyberspace would often show a pulsing purple overlay, while realspace was always clear. But now, we see the pulsing is shown only in realspace, with cyberspace being clear. The two seem to have reversed in some way. At least, that's what I interpret from it, although the color does change to red pretty quickly. Note, however, that this is the first time I've noticed this; it's possible it happened earlier, and I just missed it.
#130, posted Sep 22, 2017
Route B′—Session 26, part 2: Met Her Match
The raid on eXarch continues. With Nabu's intervention, things are not looking too good for Code or Criminal. Will they manage to reach their goal, and at what cost?
Notes:
Spoiler: click to toggle
DDoS Attack
Another thing I'm noticing is that only that cyberspace font is being used now, even in realspace.
And then, after they unite Marduk and Ashur, it returns to the normal font.
Another thing I'm noticing is that only that cyberspace font is being used now, even in realspace.
And then, after they unite Marduk and Ashur, it returns to the normal font.
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