Detweiler Vision vs Beowulf Code: "Right" and "Wrong"

aairfccha wrote:First, what's this goal and second, my "can do without" probably still applies.

The Beowulf Life Sciences Code, which limited genetic engineering to the purpose of curing and counteracting existing conditions and discouraged the intentional "improvement" of the species...

cthia wrote:

aairfccha wrote:First, what's this goal and second, my "can do without" probably still applies.

The Beowulf Life Sciences Code, which limited genetic engineering to the purpose of curing and counteracting existing conditions and discouraged the intentional "improvement" of the species...

cthia wrote:No. That is not what I meant. Regarding Beowulf's own stance to not exceed a certain nonarbitrary point, yet still achieve their goal, is it necessary for the development and implementation of prolong to achieve this goal? Prolong has nothing to do with the quality of life rather the quantity of life. Recognizing of course that it could be argued that quantity, applied to life, is its own quality.

I'm simply positing that the development of prolong may step outside of Beowulf's own code. Not cthia's own code.

packhunter wrote: The Alignment are elitest. Only the best Genetic lines are in power. To move into the upper tiers of power are impossible unless your Genes are designed as such. However your children can be modified and advanced so generationally there could be improvements. Conversley if your Genetic stock is not of an Alpha line you are lesser. Which ultemately gets back to the slavery problem, the lowest of the low. Which means that the fundamental mindst of the Alignment is such that there will always be a class system, and that the lowest class will always be nothing more than slaves.

So what happens if the Alignment wins and eventually all populations are genetically modified up to Alpha line levels of capability. Well there will still be a class system it will just be even more distorted than before, perhaps based on far more exclusive Genetic capabilities, like perhaps Telepathy.

Hutch wrote:

packhunter wrote: The Alignment are elitest. Only the best Genetic lines are in power. To move into the upper tiers of power are impossible unless your Genes are designed as such. However your children can be modified and advanced so generationally there could be improvements. Conversley if your Genetic stock is not of an Alpha line you are lesser. Which ultemately gets back to the slavery problem, the lowest of the low. Which means that the fundamental mindst of the Alignment is such that there will always be a class system, and that the lowest class will always be nothing more than slaves.

So what happens if the Alignment wins and eventually all populations are genetically modified up to Alpha line levels of capability. Well there will still be a class system it will just be even more distorted than before, perhaps based on far more exclusive Genetic capabilities, like perhaps Telepathy.

I highlighted your comments because it brought to mind another problem; once the MAlign goal is reached, and all Humanity is uplifted to some lofty status...who picks up the garbage?

I am reminded of the Issac Asimov story "Strikebreaker" as a possible future for a MAlignment--unless they keep the 'helots' available--which they can only do by denying them the uplift that they are 'imposing' on Humanity.

A bit of a conundrum, IMHO. YMMV.

JohnRoth wrote:
I think you're missing the MAlign's goal. The people who pick up the garbage are specially bred so that they're happy and well suited to picking up garbage. That's their idea of a "uplifted" garbageman. The fully uplifted garbageman is an example of a "specialty line."

We've seen two "specialty lines" already. Albrecht's bodyguard is one. The other has appeared, but isn't tagged as one until CoG, so I'm not going to name him. It's possible that the mole who suicided on Torch was a third.

SWM wrote:

cthia wrote:No. That is not what I meant. Regarding Beowulf's own stance to not exceed a certain nonarbitrary point, yet still achieve their goal, is it necessary for the development and implementation of prolong to achieve this goal? Prolong has nothing to do with the quality of life rather the quantity of life. Recognizing of course that it could be argued that quantity, applied to life, is its own quality.

I'm simply positing that the development of prolong may step outside of Beowulf's own code. Not cthia's own code.

To be Beowulf's advocate: Slow death by old age is an existing condition, therefore life-extension falls within the Beowulf Life Sciences Code.

To be Detweiler's advocate: stupidity is an existing condition and therefore intelligence-extension should fall within the Code.

packhunter wrote:I actually see prolong and how it has been accepted and implemented the first concrete sign that the Bewolfians are begining to evolve their code. Slowly perhaps, but evolution none the less. I think there has been enough time between the final war and the horrors created there that human society is willing to be more open minded about genie's.

However if the Malgn has some new nasty super soldiers they intend to use for shinanigans this veiw is likely to shift back. I'm thinking about the Gauls in Cualdron. They seemed not normal, and maybe a little crazy.