(Originally posted to Let's Play Sacntuary)
#131, posted Oct 14, 2017
Route B′—Session 26, part 3: Last Stand
Drs. Aoi and Shinozuka offer an explanation about genes and memes, as well as revealing the plan of the quantum computers, which, now reunited, are seemingly unstoppable. Before long, the quantum computers try to bring that plan to fruition with an attack.
Notes:
Spoiler: click to toggle
replication
Um... what? Introns are nanocomputers?? ...Yeah, this is getting so strange (can we say, ridiculous?), I don't even know what to say to it. You can even hear me say, "Oh, boy", twice when I first read the narration about this. Well, my knowledge of biology is not great, especially about genetics, so I'm not going to try to refute it.
Of course, they use the word "meme" in the original sense that Richard Dawkins meant it when he coined the term, but I can just imagine some people seeing this part and making jokes about cat pictures and whatnot.
Well, this story has some pretty questionable (pseudo)science, but I do enjoy the occasional linguistic jokes that it throws out ("menes" and "gemes"). :-D I can't fault it for that.
Apparently, they think that humans should gestate for 21 months instead of the actual 9. I assume this is based on some method of scaling the gestation periods of other mammals (particularly primates?). But if this was actually calculated (as opposed to being made up by the author), then how exactly?
So basically, what they're saying is that the brain wants a world where it can be effectively like a god? Or in other words, where a person doesn't have to grow up and accept the harsh realities of the world, where you can't always get what you want? That's not exactly what they're thinking of, but it's the first thing that comes to mind as I rewatch this.
AND gate
Calling back the "nullpo/ga" thing, I see. Well, not so much a callback as calling on background knowledge of the story's world, where the information is given in supplementary material rather than in the main flow.
Um... what? Introns are nanocomputers?? ...Yeah, this is getting so strange (can we say, ridiculous?), I don't even know what to say to it. You can even hear me say, "Oh, boy", twice when I first read the narration about this. Well, my knowledge of biology is not great, especially about genetics, so I'm not going to try to refute it.
Of course, they use the word "meme" in the original sense that Richard Dawkins meant it when he coined the term, but I can just imagine some people seeing this part and making jokes about cat pictures and whatnot.
Well, this story has some pretty questionable (pseudo)science, but I do enjoy the occasional linguistic jokes that it throws out ("menes" and "gemes"). :-D I can't fault it for that.
Apparently, they think that humans should gestate for 21 months instead of the actual 9. I assume this is based on some method of scaling the gestation periods of other mammals (particularly primates?). But if this was actually calculated (as opposed to being made up by the author), then how exactly?
So basically, what they're saying is that the brain wants a world where it can be effectively like a god? Or in other words, where a person doesn't have to grow up and accept the harsh realities of the world, where you can't always get what you want? That's not exactly what they're thinking of, but it's the first thing that comes to mind as I rewatch this.
AND gate
Calling back the "nullpo/ga" thing, I see. Well, not so much a callback as calling on background knowledge of the story's world, where the information is given in supplementary material rather than in the main flow.
#132, posted Oct 27, 2017
Route B′—Session 26, part 4: Salvation
Responding to Yumi's call, HE appears, and gets the situation under control. Then, Enlil does what must be done. But the consequences are bittersweet.
Notes:
Spoiler: click to toggle
merge
I hope they're not assuming that taking data means it disappears from its origin. This is something that is fundamentally different about information compared to physical objects. The way information "moves" is by being copied. If one wants it to be in a new location and not at the old one, there are two ways to achieve that: either move its medium, or copy it to the new location and erase it from the old. In the scene that Ishtar remembers, HE must have copied some of the data, since it was happening in cyberspace. It's certainly not impossible that he then erased it from her rosary. But by nature, it is not something that happens automatically.
I hope they're not assuming that taking data means it disappears from its origin. This is something that is fundamentally different about information compared to physical objects. The way information "moves" is by being copied. If one wants it to be in a new location and not at the old one, there are two ways to achieve that: either move its medium, or copy it to the new location and erase it from the old. In the scene that Ishtar remembers, HE must have copied some of the data, since it was happening in cyberspace. It's certainly not impossible that he then erased it from her rosary. But by nature, it is not something that happens automatically.
#133, posted Nov 2, 2017
Route B′—Session 26, part 5: Moving On
The people who are left alive make the best of what they're left with. Mutsuki reads the quantum computers' story as a children's book.
Notes:
Spoiler: click to toggle
reboot
It's interesting what the translators did with that story, making it rhyme. Rhyming isn't really a "thing" in Japanese, due to the structure of its sound system, its grammar, etc. But in English, there's a lot of tradition of using it for children's stories, among other things.
It's interesting what the translators did with that story, making it rhyme. Rhyming isn't really a "thing" in Japanese, due to the structure of its sound system, its grammar, etc. But in English, there's a lot of tradition of using it for children's stories, among other things.
#134, posted Nov 8, 2017
Route E′—Session 26, part 6: Revelations in Limbo
Now existing in... who knows what sort of existence, everyone listens to the truth behind eXarch's plan from Nabu and Mitsuhiko.
Notes:
Spoiler: click to toggle
pandora's music box
Okay, I'm a little confused here. Is Nabu just saying he recreated Sakuya after she had died at the age of 5? Or did he also create her to begin with? The explanation is unclear on that point.
So, basically, Nabu is the classic mad scientist. Got it.
Nabu responds to the criticism that the universe would be dead by the time you tried to travel too far, by saying that it's not going to collapse in a Big Crunch. While it's true scientific findings support this, the real issue is the opposite. The current consensus in astrophysics is that the universe is expanding at an accelerating rate. Assuming this continues, the universe will gradually be pulled apart, starting with the largest structures and continuing to ever smaller structures. First galaxy clusters will be isolated, then individual galaxies within those clusters, etc. There is always a "horizon" beyond which events cannot be observed (thus, an "event horizon" in the proper sense), because the space separating it from an observer will be expanding such that points beyond it recede faster than light (note that, while nothing can move faster than light in a local part of space, there is no such restriction known to apply to spacetime as a whole). So, even if one could travel at the speed of light, there are places that can never be reached, according to current theory. On the other hand, if they can travel backward in time, it's not much of a restriction, I suppose.
"What kind of story ends like this?" Oh, Nergal. Where did you find that lampshade? ;-)
BTW, it's a bit odd that everyone seems to be here, even though only some of them seemed to have been assimilated in route B′. I wonder why this is.
Okay, I'm a little confused here. Is Nabu just saying he recreated Sakuya after she had died at the age of 5? Or did he also create her to begin with? The explanation is unclear on that point.
So, basically, Nabu is the classic mad scientist. Got it.
Nabu responds to the criticism that the universe would be dead by the time you tried to travel too far, by saying that it's not going to collapse in a Big Crunch. While it's true scientific findings support this, the real issue is the opposite. The current consensus in astrophysics is that the universe is expanding at an accelerating rate. Assuming this continues, the universe will gradually be pulled apart, starting with the largest structures and continuing to ever smaller structures. First galaxy clusters will be isolated, then individual galaxies within those clusters, etc. There is always a "horizon" beyond which events cannot be observed (thus, an "event horizon" in the proper sense), because the space separating it from an observer will be expanding such that points beyond it recede faster than light (note that, while nothing can move faster than light in a local part of space, there is no such restriction known to apply to spacetime as a whole). So, even if one could travel at the speed of light, there are places that can never be reached, according to current theory. On the other hand, if they can travel backward in time, it's not much of a restriction, I suppose.
"What kind of story ends like this?" Oh, Nergal. Where did you find that lampshade? ;-)
BTW, it's a bit odd that everyone seems to be here, even though only some of them seemed to have been assimilated in route B′. I wonder why this is.
#135, posted Nov 13, 2017
Route E′—Session 26, part 7: Exodus
Reflecting on how history was changed (i.e. "the world" was revised, as in the OP). Those who stayed behind see the others off. The full truth about Sakuya's existence is revealed from Nabu's heart. Hinata remembers meeting Sakuya (or rather, re-meeting her) and introducing her to Mutsuki. He goes, along with several others, to retrieve the the girls' data. And then... well, I don't really know how to describe the rest properly. Anyway, it's the end (though not of the LP itself).
Notes:
Spoiler: click to toggle
pandora's music box
Regarding the "Monkey pointing towards god" Keyword: 申 is read in Japanese as "saru", but 申す as "mōsu" or "maosu" (don't you love Japanese writing?!). 示し would be "shimeshi", and finally, 神 is usually "kami", although there are quite a few other possible readings.
This connection between words is a bit strange, and I don't claim to propetly understand it. But as far as I can tell, the "monkey" side might come from the meaning of "to say", or it might be, as one dictionary notes, derived from the kanji 猿, though it's hard for me to see how one became the other. While the latter refers to monkeys (the animals), 申 refers to the Monkey of the Chinese zodiac. Why is it that way? I have no idea.
I'm not sure why they said, "In other words, 示し", seeing as there's no obvious connection to 申, other than the concepts of "say" and "show" being somewhat similar. It's true that 神 contains 申. The dictionary I'm looking at says that 申 in this case refers to the word for lightning in Old Chinese. My guess, then, is that over time, the meaning of 申 was split in two or three different directions. Still some interesting stuff, though.
exodus to the shore
So... these children. They're obviously Hinata, Mutsuki, and Sakuya in a literal sense. But it seems they are representative of some of the other male and female characters; am I understanding this correctly? BTW, notice how Enlil appears in the male group. I think we all knew this already, but that's how she identifies. I guess that says something about the nature of this symbolic association.
Regarding the "Monkey pointing towards god" Keyword: 申 is read in Japanese as "saru", but 申す as "mōsu" or "maosu" (don't you love Japanese writing?!). 示し would be "shimeshi", and finally, 神 is usually "kami", although there are quite a few other possible readings.
This connection between words is a bit strange, and I don't claim to propetly understand it. But as far as I can tell, the "monkey" side might come from the meaning of "to say", or it might be, as one dictionary notes, derived from the kanji 猿, though it's hard for me to see how one became the other. While the latter refers to monkeys (the animals), 申 refers to the Monkey of the Chinese zodiac. Why is it that way? I have no idea.
I'm not sure why they said, "In other words, 示し", seeing as there's no obvious connection to 申, other than the concepts of "say" and "show" being somewhat similar. It's true that 神 contains 申. The dictionary I'm looking at says that 申 in this case refers to the word for lightning in Old Chinese. My guess, then, is that over time, the meaning of 申 was split in two or three different directions. Still some interesting stuff, though.
exodus to the shore
So... these children. They're obviously Hinata, Mutsuki, and Sakuya in a literal sense. But it seems they are representative of some of the other male and female characters; am I understanding this correctly? BTW, notice how Enlil appears in the male group. I think we all knew this already, but that's how she identifies. I guess that says something about the nature of this symbolic association.
Route B′/E′—Session 26 (full)
I have an extra note for the full session only:
Spoiler: click to toggle
pandora's music box
Ability to copy DNA info to media: The bit size of the human genome is quoted as 6 billion bits. This is equal to about 750 MB (M = 1 million), which could fit on a CD-ROM. This is, of course, uncompressed. Depending on its entropy, however, it may be possible to compress it more or less. I don't know much about the information structure of genomes, but I'm pretty sure they're far from statistically random. There are all sorts of strange things, some of which have repeating patterns. Proteins, the main product of the DNA transcription/translation process, have certain requirements for what they contain and where (as one small example, the first amino acid in the chain is always (in humans and most other eukaryotes) methionine, and its corresponding codon (sequence of three bases) AUG is recognized as the "start codon", signalling to a ribosome where translation should start; it's not much, but it might mean slightly more of that codon appears than others, and I'm sure there are other things that help compressibility). I figure standard compression could reduce the size at least a little, and a tailored compression method could do quite a bit.
BTW, the claim that this (uncompressed) data could not fit onto a CD is based on the assumption of discs holding no more than 700 MB. However, discs are available (and have been for at least 20 years) that get up to 800 MB. There are even 900 MB ones these days. Apparently, both of these sizes are "non-standard", but I don't think that's a problem now, at least with the 800 MB type. And this is assuming no compression. Like I said, that would probably be effective with this type of data.
Ability to copy DNA info to media: The bit size of the human genome is quoted as 6 billion bits. This is equal to about 750 MB (M = 1 million), which could fit on a CD-ROM. This is, of course, uncompressed. Depending on its entropy, however, it may be possible to compress it more or less. I don't know much about the information structure of genomes, but I'm pretty sure they're far from statistically random. There are all sorts of strange things, some of which have repeating patterns. Proteins, the main product of the DNA transcription/translation process, have certain requirements for what they contain and where (as one small example, the first amino acid in the chain is always (in humans and most other eukaryotes) methionine, and its corresponding codon (sequence of three bases) AUG is recognized as the "start codon", signalling to a ribosome where translation should start; it's not much, but it might mean slightly more of that codon appears than others, and I'm sure there are other things that help compressibility). I figure standard compression could reduce the size at least a little, and a tailored compression method could do quite a bit.
BTW, the claim that this (uncompressed) data could not fit onto a CD is based on the assumption of discs holding no more than 700 MB. However, discs are available (and have been for at least 20 years) that get up to 800 MB. There are even 900 MB ones these days. Apparently, both of these sizes are "non-standard", but I don't think that's a problem now, at least with the 800 MB type. And this is assuming no compression. Like I said, that would probably be effective with this type of data.
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