Chang'e has a nanotitanium-carbon spine and a quantum chipset for brains. Her fur and organs are vat-grown engineered flesh. She is an artificial cat, existing in the age of the Conversion Bureaus. The ponies are here, the world is ending, and the humans that made her kind are escaping to another universe where sentient machines cannot go. What then of Man's electric children, the Artificial Intelligences of the doomed earth?
This novel is a companion work to CODE: Majeste and other books as well.
Chapters (13)
A very powerful start, Chat! I can't wait for more!
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As soon as this novel is approved, there will be a new chapter every day, until the story is complete.
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Wow! Back in like a lion! Go get'em, tiger!
... And other appropriate encouragements to one named Chatoyance!
That which has a mind can dream. Even a mind that was made, and that wasn't made to dream, can be taught. Part of me can't help but wonder what would've happened if Chang'e had been listed as her own owner, but that isn't strictly true. She is Luna's subordinate, but the Princess of the Night understands the nature of cats. No one truly owns them.
Definitely looking forward to more.
And Chang'e awakens. I wonder how much (if any) is Luna's unseen influence on her, or if she's just particularly well suited to working with Luna later due to a similar personality.
Do quantum cats dream of organic ponies?
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Yes, yes they do. And Blade Runner is my favorite movie of all time. I liked the Philip K. Dick original novel too, just in a very different way.
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I just wanted to say thank you, and that I appreciate you, and, well, thank you.
Your stories always give me such strong feelings, whether they are new or old to me.
This one is no exception. Two of my favorite things where that glimpse of Luna, as it reminded me of the "blue watcher" bit from Recombinant (which I love), and the workings of Chang'e's mind. The latter was really really well done. It just seemed to make sense, to be how an A.I. might think.
All in all my foremost thought when reading this first chapter was "Man, this is good Sci-fi".
I love it and I love that you are clearly a fan of Philip K. Dick I love Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
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Utterly a fan.
Mon p'tit chat...
http://youtu.be/Rd5IzZHLXRo
Welcome back, dear friend. :)
Very much loving it so far. Excited to see where it goes.
MOBILIZE HaS SHE IS BACK!
One should give pets unlimited access to water and feed pets daily. Anson Cheong-Leen is a flankhole.
¡Rarity! I wonder how Opalescence and Chang'e would get along.
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Oh, thank you dear Coda!
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Yay!
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I am glad that Rarity was recognizable without her name being mentioned. That was my goal.
I considered having Opalescence with her, but concluded that she would not have brought her cat on a diplomatic mission to a strange, dangerous universe. She would understand the risks of being an ambassador, and would not want to put her cat in any danger. So, it wasn't logical for her to bring Opal.
I suspect, if Chang'e and Opalescence were to meet, Chang'e would attempt to perform her NatureTrait preprogrammed simulated domestic cat behaviors, and Opal would be left thinking Chang'e was either insane, or a very derpy cat. Chang'e would not understand why her colorful simulated behaviors had failed the test of a real cat, and Opal would likely flee from the uncanny valley Chang'e represented.
Poor Chang'e.
Luna gave Chang'e new life, and Chang'e has her first meal as a cat. I can see the parallels. I enjoyed this chapter quite a bit too. More AI-think, and we get a much better sense of where we are and where we're going.
Nano-plague. I think this is the first reference to this, but I might be wrong. In any case I'm not sure what they were, but I can imagine. Nanobots generate a lot of heat, not useful in medicine, but... yeah. I'd never thought about it before, but it does sadly seem likely now that I gave it some thought.
On a lighter note I did spy a couple of references, two of them corporations. There's Bertarelli of course, and Tacksworn which is mentioned in Caelum but seemed much smaller then for some reason. First time we see a member of the mane 6 in a while too. Forgetting some short stories, I believe last time any of them was around was either in the Lost in the Herd series or perhaps Recombinant 63, though that was different.
We also learn a bit more about the world: Hong Kong, sea shipping, Hawaii, the remaining fauna and more. It's always fun the get new bits of info like that.
This is proving to be a fascinating bit of xenofiction. Chang'e isn't human, and her narrative voice doesn't sound even remotely human. Her priorities are strange even to her, concepts like the survival instinct are bizarre aberrations, and obeying mysterious, sourceless orders feels right and natural. Needless to say, I'm loving this.
Also, the Tacksworn Corporation? Dang, the princesses didn't waste any time in establishing a shell company, did they? Though this sort of thing seems far more Luna than Celestia, much like highjacking an artificial cat and removing her cognitive limiters.
And hello, Rarity. Looking fabulous as always, doing your little turn on the (heh) catwalk.
Nice bit of world building here. I like the gritty, lived-in biopunk feel of it all. And the adorable cybernetic cat, of course. Well done, you.
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I read that as either a variation on Drexler's gray goo or a reference to the game Plague Inc.
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When I read the description of a white UnicornMare with a purple mane, blue eyes, and the CutieMark of 3 Blue Diamonds, my 1st thought was Big MacIntosh. Ponies are far more distinctive than apes.
"Nyan Six Artificial Feline"
Now I have that music stuck in my head again. Thanks!
Woohoo Luna! Can't get enough of that royal speech. This one is shorter but I quite enjoyed it.
Chang'e shouldn't be too concerned. It's entirely normal not to be able to remember your dreams. Of course, this raises the question of whether or not Luna's actually in the bathroom. Granted, for your take on Luna, that may be a question without a meaningful answer.
Also, great portrayal of feline priorities. Humans are only interesting as long as they're doing something relevant to the cat.
"began her decent from the bridge."
*descent
Cat's are capable of drinking normally up to 135 degree Fahrenheit environments, due to their effective cooling methods. They also have super-efficient kidneys, meaning they actually don't need much water.
! it's here, it's here! You finally started posting this! Oh, I've been wanting to read this ever since you made mention of it so long ago! This is going to be just wonderful, I know it. It's so good to see you posting <3
6055206 FIXED!
6056853 Yay!
I'm surprised that Luna's free use of magic hasn't had an adverse effect on Chang'e's systems. Still, well-versed as Luna is in the ways of the arcane, she can probably avoid throwing off appreciable thaumatic radiation with her spells and shapeshifting.
Celestia shines with brilliant purpose, but light doesn't bend, and neither does she. Luna is there to attend to those in the shadowed and forgotten corners, and occasionally to make her sister reflect on her actions. Makes sense to me.
Meanwhile, Chang'e discovers one of the most terrifying things about the truest independence organic life can achieve: You have to choose your own purpose. The meat body only provides enough guidance to sustain itself. Beyond that, it's up to you to define your reason for being. She handles it with the usual aplomb of AIs. Existential crises need not enter into the value function. Clever cat.
So great to see a new story from you Chatoyance. Every one of your tales draws me right in and only gets more interesting with every chapter. Keep up the good work!
My login-cycle had run down to "once a week".
Now there's this story.
I need stay logged in again 24/7 to not miss an update!
Love the descriptions of the inner workings in the AI's mind. Quite convincing.
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Oh, light CAN bend, but it requires particularly weighty matters to change its course.
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And thus the metaphor survives.
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I thought your description and metaphor was very good and very clever.
Dammit, I've had the idea for something like this floating in my head forever. You beat me to it.
I think I got the editing right on this. Hopefully. And, as always, Aedina is helping correct my Elizabethan. I just thought I should credit her, even though she says it's no big deal - it is to me!
I am able to do this story because I have gotten enough voice back to read to Aedina out loud again. It's rough sounding, but it works. That has always been the secret of my editing, reading out loud and having her help me catch errors. If a piece of writing sounds good read out loud, it will sound just as good read silently. It is an ancient and very effective trick to make prose flow... and it also catches most errors during the process. I recommend it as an editing method.
Of course... it is useless if one is mute. Better a rough voice, than no voice at all, I have to say.
Another great chapter; can't wait for the next.
Even better to hear that you've gotten a bit of your voice back. Hope you keep getting better!
Come on now, cat. The fate of the world does not rest on you making friends.
Except it dooo-es!
Ah, opinions. Welcome to the world of subjectivity, Chang'e. There's little consensus on whether or not that's a good thing, which is rather the point.
Also welcome to a much nicer community. The sheer variety of interactions and data should be a major boon for Chang'e. After all, cats are curious.
¿Why does this story have no continuity?:
We have this cat we never seen before this story in Assiniboia, Saskatchewan. Something never mention before this story killed NewFoals in New Mexico. I have some advice for you:
In the next chapter, include a canon-character such as Miss Derpalina Ditzy Doo Whooves.
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A recommendation for the thought-conversations to make reading and comprehension easier: it is somewhat traditional to have the inner monologue of the viewpoint character in italics, like so:
This helps to easily separate the character's voice and the rest of the text.
"rewrote the cells and and even the"
Double 'and' there!
6061944 A modification of the technique: If the author cannot read aloud to another, perhaps the other could read aloud to the author. It might even be MORE effective, having someone who doesn't already have an internal idea of what's being said, and see how that individual reads it and if it is easy to comprehend.
(Keeping the subjects generic because I might want to use this too.
)
6063388 FIXED!
Thank you! Writing is like programming - it seems you can never be 100% bug-free!
We do that, occasionally. We did that before my voice came back, with the first chapter, in fact. It is a good idea, but it was, for whatever reason, not as effective for us. That may be because Aedina really, really likes me to read to her, though, more than any mechanical reason!
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Fair enough!
Aww!
(And the bit about programming--SO TRUE.)
Very confusing for the poor cat currently. Without Luna's intervention she would've shut down long ago
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I... am aware of this stylistic choice.
In many ways this is an experimental novel, I am trying out some things I've not done before, and playing with narrative style and construction.
My goal in doing something different than using italics is to attempt to give the feeling of stream of consciousness thought layered over and through reality... but more importantly, I wanted to provide the sensation to the reader of the shock of having another consciousness express itself within the very same thoughts one is using for themselves.
In other words, Chang'e is not hearing Luna's voice in her head, she is having her own, personal, inner voice hijacked by thoughts and words not her own. I want to show - rather than tell - the experience of going along, thinking your thoughts, and then having to wonder why in hell, and how in hell your own thoughts suddenly seemed to start talking to you. I wanted this to be jarring and eerie and very strange.
The only way for Chang'e to tell who is speaking - herself, or Luna - is in what is said and how it is said. Or, at least, that is what I am trying to do.
It may be a failed method. I don't know yet. Obviously I think it is all clever and wonderful and crap, but I could be full of it, and it could fail. It is an experiment, to see if I can pull off the experience of one's own thoughts disturbingly being invaded by alien words.
Anyway, that is the why of it.