Honest Opinion (May Contain Spoilers)

Expert snuggler wrote:

TBird50 wrote:OK, I'd forgotten that [cryo time cap]. But then my question becomes where are the Archangels and how are they staying alive for 1000 years (or whatever) so that they can return?

It's a darned good question. Merlin couldn't figure out the answer.

An artificial intelligence combined with holograms and assorted remotes could expect to do the trick, without necessarily being any more out of its mind than the rest of the command crew and War Against the Fallen survivors, and within the resources of those survivors. Holograms had already been used for mimicking command crew personnel who'd been killed between Langhorne's (?) Rakurai strike, Kau-yung's reply, and the WAtF.

The only hurdle is getting the AI personality from "now" to "later", and simply not being active or even just processing at an unnaturally slow speed would do that.

That the WAtF survivors may have re-created a good-enough PICA with resources on hand - like Owl and Nahrmahn did, after all - may not be something we can rule out yet, but I'm not sure what it'd even add to the AI plus holograms plus remotes story in practice.

The AI could, as far as this goes, also be preserved by coming in two parts: the hardware to run it, and a recorded personality to get written onto that hardware. (Which may among the files in the Stone of Schueler.) Can't go crazy in time you're not running and conscious.

JeffEngel wrote:

Expert snuggler wrote:AIs go unstable with time. Can you "freeze" and "thaw" one? Easy with today's computers, but that doesn't mean AIs work the same way.

They normally operate at ridiculously fast speeds, but slow down for human interaction. That suggests that they could slow down much, much more for... call it "historical interaction." Suppose it's only aware of history whizzing by for centuries, then spins up to check things out at a glance, as it were, 1000 years after. It'd avoid a strict freeze/thaw cycle - it'd be a matter of degree, rather than of kind - and hopefully keep it from having too much time on its psyche not to wig out before it's got work to do.

Guaranteeing that Safehold remains a-technological forever through means of an eternal artificial intelligence does seem a bit wrong in the head though.

I cant recall which other book I read it in, but it had the interesting idea that AIs need to go to slow time to avoid going schizo from boredom if they spend too much time at full speed. IIRC the AI controlling the space ship full of cryo sleepers had to do this.

Expert snuggler Except that there's a time limit on cryopreservation which is much less than a thousand years.

OK, I'd forgotten that. But then my question becomes where are the Archangels and how are they staying alive for 1000 years (or whatever) so that they can return?[/quote]

It's a darned good question. Merlin couldn't figure out the answer.[/quote]

Most of the archangels are dead. As I read it only two of them ((Schueler and Chihiro)see page 29) departed <from the scene where Merlin is looking at Kohdy's journal> It seems to me that, were any others still alive they would have been mentioned (at lease once)

But now that I thought about it... Merlin has had Owl make a batch of the drugs needed for cryo. It seems he needs to start to think about anti aging for his inner circle at least.

I don't know anything... I only guess

[quote=TBird50,

I strongly hope that at least three of us who began life in the 1950's live long enough to reach the conclusion of this story ... you, David Weber and of course selfishly, me... [/quote]

Don't forget that there are also at least a couple of us from the 40's, too! We're hoping just a little faster than you are....

Dan

C. O. Thompson wrote:And regarding the pace, I think it will happen just like you say - "turn the page and a squadron is in patrol of the outer solar system". I just don't like the thought of missing out on the intervening years. Plus the fact, that at its current pace, I won't live long enough to reach the conclusion! Ha.

TBird50,

I strongly hope that at least three of us who began life in the 1950's live long enough to reach the conclusion of this story ... you, David Weber and of course selfishly, me... [/quote]

I wish my Dad could read this series. He was born in 52 but because he reads and comprehends at about 4 pages per hour I will never be able to share in discussions with him about the logistics head space of this series and it's mirrors IRL, which sucks cause he drove trains for 39 years.

Thendisnia wrote:

C. O. Thompson wrote:And regarding the pace, I think it will happen just like you say - "turn the page and a squadron is in patrol of the outer solar system". I just don't like the thought of missing out on the intervening years. Plus the fact, that at its current pace, I won't live long enough to reach the conclusion! Ha.

TBird50,

I strongly hope that at least three of us who began life in the 1950's live long enough to reach the conclusion of this story ... you, David Weber and of course selfishly, me...

I wish my Dad could read this series. He was born in 52 but because he reads and comprehends at about 4 pages per hour I will never be able to share in discussions with him about the logistics head space of this series and it's mirrors IRL, which sucks cause he drove trains for 39 years. [/quote]

Well you old f**ts, you... haven't you ever heard of young in spirit?? I was born in '46 and I am looking forward to seeing the story's conclusion. Something could interrupt that, of course. But if it does, it will come as an interruption, not something I expect... I'm expecting to see the end of the story.

Don

n7axw wrote:

Well you old f**ts, you... haven't you ever heard of young in spirit?? I was born in '46 and I am looking forward to seeing the story's conclusion. Something could interrupt that, of course. But if it does, it will come as an interruption, not something I expect... I'm expecting to see the end of the story.

I subscribe to a similar theory I first learned reading Isaac Asimov. He claimed to be in "late youth."

~Tonto "The Late Youth"

dan92677 wrote:[quote=TBird50,

I strongly hope that at least three of us who began life in the 1950's live long enough to reach the conclusion of this story ... you, David Weber and of course selfishly, me...

Don't forget that there are also at least a couple of us from the 40's, too! We're hoping just a little faster than you are....

Dan[/quote]

Dan,
If you are from the 40's then you know that we of the 50's are also grateful for any gentle reminder <<now where did I put that reminder note >>

Tonto Silerheels wrote:n7axw wrote:

Well you old f**ts, you... haven't you ever heard of young in spirit?? I was born in '46 and I am looking forward to seeing the story's conclusion. Something could interrupt that, of course. But if it does, it will come as an interruption, not something I expect... I'm expecting to see the end of the story.

I subscribe to a similar theory I first learned reading Isaac Asimov. He claimed to be in "late youth."

~Tonto "The Late Youth"

Ha! Love it. Now let me get some of that cryo juice so that when I wake up I'll have 3 or 4 more books to read!!!

C. O. Thompson wrote:

dan92677 wrote:[quote=TBird50,

I strongly hope that at least three of us who began life in the 1950's live long enough to reach the conclusion of this story ... you, David Weber and of course selfishly, me...

Don't forget that there are also at least a couple of us from the 40's, too! We're hoping just a little faster than you are....

Dan

Dan,
If you are from the 40's then you know that we of the 50's are also grateful for any gentle reminder <<now where did I put that reminder note >>[/quote]


I'm so glad that there are still a few of us old timers still around to enjoy sci-fi. And DW is one of the best IMO. I can't handle all the fantasy, vampire sh*t that's out there today. I need space operas like Safehold and Honorverse. Please keep going DW.