2021/08/16 [Xer Chapter 3 ] Changing minds

[MT Hazard]

Thought it might be worth it creating a topic for the entire chapter, rather than a new topic each strip. Then, when a new strip comes out you can just add a post announcing that to separate the other posts. Got the idea from the questionable content forums, where they have one forum topic for a week or so's strips. Example below.

[MT Hazard]

New strip is up

03-01 Debriefing

Id say the replacement is pretty good if he didn't notice he was running on new hardware.

[ProfesseurRenard]

Id say the replacement is pretty good if he didn't notice he was running on new hardware.

Indeed.

[Raskahn]

Id say the replacement is pretty good if he didn't notice he was running on new hardware.

Indeed.

Transplants of internal organs are hard to notice or at least that is what I've been told since most organs have nerves that will send pain signals indicating sickness of inflamation etc. so it will likely not be something you "feel" that is to say, if all went well. Makes you wonder what the difference is between an excellent surgeon and equally skilled electrical mechanic.

[ProfesseurRenard]

Id say the replacement is pretty good if he didn't notice he was running on new hardware.

Indeed.

Transplants of internal organs are hard to notice or at least that is what I've been told since most organs have nerves that will send pain signals indicating sickness of inflamation etc. so it will likely not be something you "feel" that is to say, if all went well. Makes you wonder what the difference is between an excellent surgeon and equally skilled electrical mechanic.

Yes, but we've never successfully transplanted a brain before (closest analogy I can come up with), not an organic one anyway, so we can only speculate whether or not the parallel would fall apart there.

[Farry]

03-02 - Who do you think you are?

Yeah, so in the PF universe, it's already been said that the basic substance from which souls are made (marketed as Soul Food) can be manipulated by machines, so I could assume that when it's formed into an actual soul, that substance maintains a copy of the information content of a flesh-and-blood brain, so they can simply grab that. Even if such souls don't exist in the Synth universe, you could assume that the soul would rapidly start forming once a synth becomes subject to the laws of the PF universe, with that very same interaction also degrading the pure-electronic brain, so by the time they'd found Xerian, it was just the right moment to grab the ready-formed soul, which might need "patching up" a bit but they're supposed to be experts at that.

[MT Hazard]

I always saw it as the soul is the persona and memories, the brain is just how it interacts with the physical world. So in this case when the brain dies it becomes 'untethered' and until magic existed, it simply moved on to another realm, an afterlife. So there is no copying involved, the soul is just being tethered to a new mind.

[Tapewolf]

I always saw it as the soul is the persona and memories, the brain is just how it interacts with the physical world. So in this case when the brain dies it becomes 'untethered' and until magic existed, it simply moved on to another realm, an afterlife. So there is no copying involved, the soul is just being tethered to a new mind.

Yeah, that's pretty much how I see it.  The memories etc in the brain itself are kind of like a cache or working copy, and that actual consciousness is related to the soul..  So any brain capable of consciousness (organic or synthetic) does so by interacting with the soul.  That would mean that if you can use magic to attach the soul to a blank brain, it would kind of Just Work, essentially downloading the memories from the soul.  With a new person such as when they build a new panther, a new soul should form over time.
But in the case of reviving someone, the way the brain processes information is still affecting their personality so they'd try to configure it to match their mental model as far as possible.  Being an alien, there's no guarantee that they've got this completely right with Xerian but they've done what they could.

Anyway, that's pretty much the model I've been using while writing these stories.

[Kuzma Volkov]

I always saw it as the soul is the persona and memories, the brain is just how it interacts with the physical world. So in this case when the brain dies it becomes 'untethered' and until magic existed, it simply moved on to another realm, an afterlife. So there is no copying involved, the soul is just being tethered to a new mind.

Yeah, that's pretty much how I see it.  The memories etc in the brain itself are kind of like a cache or working copy, and that actual consciousness is related to the soul..  So any brain capable of consciousness (organic or synthetic) does so by interacting with the soul.  That would mean that if you can use magic to attach the soul to a blank brain, it would kind of Just Work, essentially downloading the memories from the soul.  With a new person such as when they build a new panther, a new soul should form over time.
But in the case of reviving someone, the way the brain processes information is still affecting their personality so they'd try to configure it to match their mental model as far as possible.  Being an alien, there's no guarantee that they've got this completely right with Xerian but they've done what they could.

Anyway, that's pretty much the model I've been using while writing these stories.

It's a much nicer model then some animated comics. Much nicer than what happens in.. <Insert logo of Invincible here/>

[MT Hazard]

New comic (03-03) - Two legs good, Four legs not so good

It could have been worse..

[Tapewolf]

It could have been worse..

Xerian has idly wondered about getting a feral dragon conversion, so the quadruped thing might not have been a total disaster.  Losing his thumbs would suck though.

[ProfesseurRenard]

New comic (03-04) - Alien technology isn't always superior technology

Nice to see Jakob addressing the issue of alternate universe compatibility with Xerian's new brain.

[MT Hazard]

new comic  (03-05) staus quo

[Raskahn]

Makes you wonder, in a world with magic, dragons, killer robots, creatures of all kinds, what would be a scary situation?

Killer Dragon Robots. From space.

[ProfesseurRenard]

New comic (03-06) The rise of the undead

So nice to see Merlin's take on Aliph at last.

[Raskahn]

Panel 4 needs a follow up, that look is precious.
"Ugh! I just ironed that shirt!"

[Tapewolf]

Panel 4 needs a follow up, that look is precious.
"Ugh! I just ironed that shirt!"

There was actually a draft sketch of the guy being asked to leave town, however I particularly wanted the Creature Council in panel 5 since it leads much better into Jakob's summary in the last panel.

[ProfesseurRenard]

Panel 4 needs a follow up, that look is precious.
"Ugh! I just ironed that shirt!"

There was actually a draft sketch of the guy being asked to leave town, however I particularly wanted the Creature Council in panel 5 since it leads much better into Jakob's summary in the last panel.

I don't suppose you saved the draft sketch?

[Tapewolf]

I don't suppose you saved the draft sketch?

I wasn't sure about linking to it on Merlin's server, so here:  http://projectfuturecomic.com/strips/xerian/Xerian306-draft.jpg

[ProfesseurRenard]

New comic (03-08) Furrae is practically the definition of a crapsaccharine world

I remember the time Jakob was hanged. 'Heads You Lose', wasn't it?

[Tapewolf]

New comic (03-08) Furrae is practically the definition of a crapsaccharine world

I remember the time Jakob was hanged. 'Heads You Lose', wasn't it?

Yes.   The backgrounds are from Project Future, Heads You Lose and The Axeman Cometh, respectively.

[MT Hazard]

New strip (04-02) brain paperweight

I think I would be uncomfortable if someone passed around my former brain as well.

[Tapewolf]

New strip (04-02) brain paperweight

I think I would be uncomfortable if someone passed around my former brain as well.

Yeah, Jakob's still thinking in terms of "Oh, this component failed!  Want to see?", or perhaps a kid with a loose tooth that's been pulled.  After all, he's not unused to mind transfers and as far as he's concerned, they've got the patient alive again, job's a good'un.  The social implications of showing someone their brain have only just hit him.

[Raskahn]

new strip : Electro-feudalism (actually it wasn't that bad)
http://project-future.xepher.net/xerian.php?strip=04-04

We're this close to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrmGnNo_DIU (I'm sure things actually went a lot more peacefull but then again, this is a TapeWolf backstory™  )

[Tapewolf]

new strip : Electro-feudalism (actually it wasn't that bad)
http://project-future.xepher.net/xerian.php?strip=04-04

We're this close to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrmGnNo_DIU (I'm sure things actually went a lot more peacefull but then again, this is a TapeWolf backstory™  )

Actually, it isn't!  https://synthspecies.com/wiki/History

This chapter was written before the setting was formalised in the Wiki so it might vary slightly, but then again, nothing says that Xerian remembers his history lessons perfectly either.

[Raskahn]

Not gonna lie, I did not keep up with the development of the Synth as a species. Allthough I do chuckle at the odd "toaster" joke.   

[Raskahn]

Shame, I was expecting a CD drive to pop out after that *boop*.

[Tapewolf]

Shame, I was expecting a CD drive to pop out after that *boop*.

Heh, the nose-boop blep thing was a meme at the time of writing.  It also makes a handy reminder that his skin is actually slightly soft rather than hard armour.  Incidentally, we're on chapter 5 now