Last of My Kind Real Quesiton · 4:56pm Mar 12th, 2016
If you haven't read the latest chapter, there may be spoilers in this blog. Be careful now.
So there seems to be a small divide in the latest LMK chapter, mainly in regarding the fact that I pulled midichlorians out on everyone and said that, "Hey, magic is actually not an invisible force but something physical and naked to the eye!" Again I said this was a small account, out of all the comments it was like one every three people from what I could see. Now my question is about Chapter 5: Logs... Does anyone remember that chapter at all?
I ask this because that chapter hinted a lot at what was brought up in this exact chapter. The soldiers, nanites, and even a small amount of "magic." Yet for some reason I'm receiving flak. Now I know that some people wish that I would've just kept it solely as magic because they want it to seem special or they would hate to see their favorite fictional character be told they're wrong. However, if I left it as not explaining I would receive flak from the science ponies who want to know exactly what causes magic to work and how the sun is able to orbit a planet. So it was either have a huge thing go unexplained or at least take one portion of the story "the disease" and mold it into this, so that we at least know what happened to the virus.
Anyhow, yeah I'm just asking if people actually read chapter 5 or just forgot about it. It just seemed odd that people were jumping at me acting as if I pulled this out of the blue but have instead hinted at it since the beginning.
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It was kinda implied if I remember.
I read it, and I remembered. I would have rather them be separate, unique things, but the fact is you did foreshadow it enough that I was expecting this to be the case.
I read and remember. Bottom line? Internet audiences are whiny little *bleep*s, most of whom probably DIDN'T remember, or didn't care and just want to complain that the story isn't conforming to their expectations.
As you wrote in the post, its not what they would have liked to see in the story. Just keep going as you do. some people will always bitch and whine about this or that no matter what you do. You have, in my opinion a solid idea and concept and the skill to put it out for the rest of us to enjoy. KEEP ON GUIDING US TO VALHALLA!
While I will say I'm not entirely happy with this new revelation it certainly wont stop me from liking your story or continuing to read, it's a bit a bit jarring and would insinuate that Celestia/Luna are doing classic government cover-ups for seemingly no reason. And yes it was pretty obvious that something was going on linking pony magic's with the machines.
A big reason that its jarring to me personally is the sheer scope of what would be required of these machines to do even a fraction of what's shown in the mlp universe (Discord being able to open portals to different dimensions, time travel, and the utter annihilation of our good friend the law of conservation of mass just to name a few.) Just thinking of the power requirements makes my head spin.
It would actually be much more believable to me for you to say that its another force like gravity (or maybe dark matter or something) that was undiscovered by humanity and that the nanites simply evolved the ponies into being able to make use of it. And that is indeed where i was hoping you were going with it. Seems like its going to be a big headache trying to explain some of the things these nanites are able to do.
I don't personally remember the foreshadowing, because I'm someone of a forgetful sort at times, but I also didn't really have a problem with the revelation during the latest chapter. I personally find different spins on explaining the inner workings of Equestria and its magic to be refreshing, in their own way.
i knew you where going to pull this but its bullshit explanation.
3804802 The story has yet to say what powers the machine though, only what is able to give them directions. Which is the telepathic frequencies, but what makes these machines move or create things? However, I have yet to come up with something that describes how these machines are still running, even after 16K years, or even longer seeing as they were drifting on an asteroid. It could be dark magic, or hell, another force that we don't even know of.
3804827 How so? Small extraterrestrial nano-machines that are controlled through telepathic waves and are able to manipulate genes and replicate or manipulate atoms into other beings or objects. Sounds like magic but it isn't. It's pseudo science.
3804861 sounds like bullshit. and oh these nano machines can create fireballs, be programmed into rocks and give the power to fix the entire world and make people good, turn them to stone or send them to tartarus (explain how that place was created). it can do this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXXU41qGbPg . and this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeGdT3W470E
and this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WP2sv9ZmSrc oh and this, cant forget this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUVTDD3Wfqw . and maby this to. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-wwgn5lTzQ
I only vaguely remember now since you mentioned it. I'm really bad at remembering a small snippet written weeks/months/years ago when I've read dozens of other stories, several of which are doing the same thing, and hundreds of thousands to millions of words between then and now.
Sorry for the small rant, just a personal issue with foreshadowing and author's expectations. If I was reading a story start to finish, then I will agree with your stance. However, those little "unimportant" (at the time) details get lost, or even worse, potentially confused, with other stories' ones over time. For those of you who can do this; no idea how you do it, but damn, wish I could.
Anyway, I also think you're overestimating the flak you'll get with the "it's magic, I ain't gotta explain shit" argument. Unless otherwise shared, the generally accepted fact is magic just works. Now, how much is needed/someone has, why some are better at certain magics than othersYou know what, I think you're doing almost exactly what I was going to say, so never mind. Still think you're overestimating the response you'd get though.
My guess? They were hoping that the scientist had been wrong and he had been misunderstanding the association between the rise of magic and the nanomachine virus in some way.
I loved it, actually. "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." Seriously, why does everyone disregard Clarke's Three Laws?? Despite what everyone thinks they understand, science and magic go hand in hand. There is very little difference between a scientist and a wizard. So, I applaud you! I picked up all your references and hints, and I see no problem with magic being the ability to control the "nanites", especially due to the origins of Equestrians in your universe anyway!
Magic-as-ubiquitous-nano/femtotech is a cool idea that doesn't get enough play. Some folks might not like it, but to each their own I guess?
Magic machines...
Equestria is just Earth In the future. Of course we need scientific explanations for magic.
My biggest gripe is Celestia and Luna controlling the sun. Unless that asteroid buzzed Sol with it's nanites, there just is no logical reason to mess with orbital mechanics. I guess there's cleaning Discord's mess and he has been shown to also control the sun and moon, but that still begs HOW and WHY?
Maybe you didn't make it obvious enough.
3804910
Have you forgotten the fact that in the story it was said they're extraterrestrial? Meaning they're alien? There are countless reasoning for them being able to do those things.
Teleportation: The nanites deconstruct your body and then reassemble you where you want to go.
Conjuration/summoning: The nanites manipulate the number of electrons within an atom to change its element to fit the need of the object you're creating.
Changing someone's opinion/making them good: As fucked up as it is that's just flat out brain washing.
Transformation: Would fall under the same category as to how the humans died and how the ponies became what they are. The nanites go into the genetic code and manipulate it all the way down to the DNA level, shifting the code and changing atoms to fit the right requirement to create life.
Time travel/dimensional travel is a little more difficult to explain. It would probably fall under Einstein's: Einstein-Rosen Bridge along with the theory of relativity.
Science can be used to theorize all of those things you brought up. Tartarus could just be a different dimension on and Celestia or Tirek could just open a wormhole and traverse it. Remember these machines are "alien" humans didn't create them, therefore nothing has really changed and creativity can flow.
Like 3804971 said "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."
I can understand if you still don't like it, but I will still continue to justify why I chose what I did.
3805101 That was my first assumption.
3805093 The sun and moon will be the most trickiest to try and pull off correctly.
3805044 Could be a possibility, or they could be running off of dark matter. Then again they could just be so advanced that it seems like magic.
3805153 I see. Like Q from Star Trek.
3805172 Possibly, we still haven't gotten that far in the story to determine how they work.
3805152 i know you can't explain this. tell me how and why these 'nanites' made a 'magic' tree that grew the strongest font of magic on it in the form of crystals and made it so once it was replaced a diamond chest would appear and the key's would a apear after the elements got some one else to learn a lesson of harmony and give them a gift which would later turn into a key made out of crystal that would open it and give them an ungodly amount of power, oh and how twilight's and the two sisters cutimarks whir on the tree. oh and how twilight died and whent to an acendent realm and how the immortal princess can go to this accendent real when ever thy want. the only way this is possible is if some aliens planed for their to be talking horses so their could be cutimarks so it could be on the tree so that thy can have a tv show to watch and in reality all the ponys and everyone their are just mindless robots that are following programming.
3805263
Why are you trying to fight this? Really I could answer your question, but that would result in the entire second half of the story being utterly ruined for you. Yeah the magic is just a machine, but a machine so advanced that even Reynolds barely understands it aside from the fact that they're telepathically controlled.
So y'know what, I will answer your question. **READ ONLY IF YOU DON'T GIVE A FUCK ABOUT THE STORY**
Yes there are aliens involved in the story. A civilization so advanced that they look to the Earth as we do ants. They're literally just playing and messing with the planet and experimenting with the species on it. The aliens got bored with humanity and wiped us out except for a selected few and used the machines to generate a handful of new and interesting species; ponies, gryphons, etc. Of course they never revealed themselves to them. To the ponies, and all the other species, life is nothing but a theatrical play and they're all the actors.
3805368 you sick son of a bitch
3805505 i almost spoiled it for my self when looking at my email because it does not care about spoilers
3805505 Think you I try.
3805619 oh, and you can't say anything for the sun because its a trillion times larger than earth and no matter how many nanites go on it regardless if thy survive being burned, their would not be enough. after that the sun is way too far away to revolve and if it was pulled closer it would get way too hot on earth. its more believable for them to make the earth spin than anything, and i simply can't believe that with nanites, fire balls, lazes, teleportation. can be created with a bunch of tiny machines. magic is such a much more simpler answer to say that some god let them have power in their soul and use their own energy
Honestly, I caught the connection, I just think the reveal was rushed too much. We went from almost no info to "Here is exactly what these things are" Now we still don't know where the tech came from or why, But it just... to me it felt like an info dump mid chapter.
3807234 Indeed you're currect, the nanites cannot control the sun or moon. I'll let you think on that for a bit.
3805368 So is that the reason Chloe survived? She and a few others were specifically chosen to by said aliens?
Late response because of Fridge logic moment.
So pretty much anyone with sufficient....whatever(Really. If it's nanotech mana pool doesn't apply, so what would the term be. Horn Length?) can rotate the planet? So what is the reason of Earth's malfunction in the first place? I don't remember my dinosaur extinction theories, but I don't THINK an asteroid would affect Earth's orbit to such an extent after impact without much more devastating consequences. (Then again, yours landed in the ocean IIRC)And given Angel's existence....
And does this mean Chloe will get superpowers eventually?
3824520
Well since time has passed since that stupid debate. I can under stand why he/she was upset but it was really dumb to come jumping at me like that when the story itself hasn't fully explained itself x3.
I will say that my reasoning for the world and magic's existence has been slightly, altered. Meaning my comment about the ending of the story is completely obsolete, so don't take what I said to 3804827 to heart. I believe I have now created something that can appeal to both parties and still be very entertaining, and I'm talking very entertaining for all of us
3824520 what kind of monster spoiles a story for them self
3824895 Watch Star Wars. Wait a week. Watch again.
It's not the destination, but the journey.
3824895 Well I did add the black spoiler bars and had a disclaimer. You so badly wanted to know and kept asking and the answer would've required me to ruin the story. So I told you.
But now that I changed it up a bit that old answer is no longer canon x3
3824934 lol, not you, talking about him
3824951 Ah sorry about that, I've been so out of it today I for some reason saw my name on the reply thing x3