Subject: (urth) Take The red pill

From: Lee Berman <severiansola at hotmail.com>
Date: Wed, 01 Sep 2010 19:27:31 +0000

David Stockhoff's question about why Typhon didn't just upload himself into 
Piaton's brain put a funny thought into my head.
 
James Wynn's question:
 
>Suddenly, it's as though Remora and Xiphias vanished into smoke. Anyone have a 
>theory about what happened here?

added enough fuel to the fire to get me to put the thought into writing. It is 
such an obvious idea, post-Matrix era. I have to guess someone has thought of it
before though I haven't seen it.
 
Is it possible that it isn't just the gods who are uploaded to Mainframe on the 
Whorl? Could all the dirt and rock and air and cities and wars of the Whorl be
electronic illusions for its electronic inhabitants? It would allow people to 
disappear easily (like Matrix agents). If the humans in question didn't really 
have brains made of proteins, fats and electrolytes but were, instead, computer 
programs it would explain why electronic gods can possess human beings so 
effortlessly (like Matrix agents). It would explain how humans in The Whorl can
suddenly gain new powers and abilities (like Neo in The Matrix).  
 
The story was written well before The Matrix came out so it wouldn't have been a
hackneyed idea at the time.  We see human personality downloaded into electronic
beings of the prosimian Ayuntamiento family. That could be a clue to what is really 
going on in the entire Whorl.
 
Is it possible that going down to Blue is something like taking the red pill in
The Matrix- one's psyche and consciousness gets put into a fleshly human body again.
Not sure how that fits into returning to The Whorl. Well, my familiarity with Long/
Short Sun isn't so great, so I'd be interested in the opinions of others.

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From: James Wynn <crushtv at gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 01 Sep 2010 19:33:00 +0000

> Lee - Is it possible that going down to Blue is something like taking the red pill in

I'm not sure how this would makes sense, from a story-telling 
perspective unless it were revealed somehow. Why have sleepers? Why have 
embryos? Why have a Plan?

u+16b9

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From: Lee Berman <severiansola at hotmail.com>
Date: Wed, 01 Sep 2010 22:12:07 +0000

>James wynn- I'm not sure how this would makes sense, from a story-telling 

Well, this isn't a fully formed theory, just an idea I had today. I assumed
all here have seen The Matrix, but if not I apologize. 
 
The purpose of the Plan would be the same as the purpose of the Matrix. Human
minds, even in electronic form, need exercise, socializing, problems and concerns
religion, morality and guidance, just as biological minds do.
 
In the Matrix, the sleepers have the purpose of being an energy source for the 
ruling computer. In the Whorl it would seem their purpose is to have bodies for
the electronic personalities to be downloaded into, so they can go down to the 
target planets and live there.
 
What we need to dismiss this theory are views of The Whorl from outside the Whorl.
Do we have any? If the Whorl was really just a big computer memory ship carrying
sleeper bodies it would look a lot smaller from the outside than the electronic 
interior illusion created for Whorl residents with lakes and flyers in the sky 
and towns all around.
 
Well, no sense starting a big discussion about it. I'm certainly not prepared or
interested in defending this idea. But I might keep it in mind on my next reading.
You never know...