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Alignment's Mind Control

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Alignment's Mind Control
Post by Rakhmamort   » Thu Nov 09, 2017 10:27 pm

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Interesting article that could have been used to start off the research into the biological mind control weapon of the MA.

https://gizmodo.com/the-fungus-that-tur ... socialflow
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Re: Alignment's Mind Control
Post by NervousEnergy   » Fri Nov 10, 2017 12:43 pm

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Rakhmamort wrote:Interesting article that could have been used to start off the research into the biological mind control weapon of the MA.

https://gizmodo.com/the-fungus-that-tur ... socialflow

That particular parasite (mutated to infect humans) was also the basis for the excellent PS3 game 'The Last of Us'.

One nitpick with the thread title, though; neither Cordyceps nor the MA bio weapon have anything to do with mind control. You could characterize the MA method as a highly targeted involuntary muscle spasm. The mind isn't affected at all, other than being unsurprisingly horrified at what's going on.
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Re: Alignment's Mind Control
Post by pappilon   » Fri Nov 10, 2017 3:06 pm

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Rakhmamort wrote:Interesting article that could have been used to start off the research into the biological mind control weapon of the MA.

https://gizmodo.com/the-fungus-that-tur ... socialflow


That particular parasite (mutated to infect humans) was also the basis for the excellent PS3 game 'The Last of Us'.

NervousEnergy wrote:One nitpick with the thread title, though; neither Cordyceps nor the MA bio weapon have anything to do with mind control. You could characterize the MA method as a highly targeted involuntary muscle spasm. The mind isn't affected at all, other than being unsurprisingly horrified at what's going on.


And the targeted nano is keyed to a specific person's DNA. A less targeted parasite would be scarier but more traceable. Not sure how to engineer a critter to self destruct. More handwaium?
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The imagination has to be trained into foresight and empathy.
Ursula K. LeGuinn

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Re: Alignment's Mind Control
Post by cthia   » Fri Nov 10, 2017 3:30 pm

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pappilon wrote:
Rakhmamort wrote:Interesting article that could have been used to start off the research into the biological mind control weapon of the MA.

https://gizmodo.com/the-fungus-that-tur ... socialflow


That particular parasite (mutated to infect humans) was also the basis for the excellent PS3 game 'The Last of Us'.

NervousEnergy wrote:One nitpick with the thread title, though; neither Cordyceps nor the MA bio weapon have anything to do with mind control. You could characterize the MA method as a highly targeted involuntary muscle spasm. The mind isn't affected at all, other than being unsurprisingly horrified at what's going on.


And the targeted nano is keyed to a specific person's DNA. A less targeted parasite would be scarier but more traceable. Not sure how to engineer a critter to self destruct. More handwaium?


Handwavium? First impulse I'd say no. Chemicals already exist that are untraceable after a very short time. In the case of the nanites, it seems childsplay to engineer instructions or built in development that turns the tech into a version of itself that is vulnerable to attack from the body. Thus using the body's own immune system to eradicate the evidence. Which would be ingenious. Which would make me a genius. An Alpha?

What is this curious looking piece of mail?...

"I inform you that you are being recruited to join inside The Onion."


" :o Hell no!"

Son, your mother says I have to hang you. Personally I don't think this is a capital offense. But if I don't hang you, she's gonna hang me and frankly, I'm not the one in trouble. —cthia's father. Incident in ? Axiom of Common Sense
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Re: Alignment's Mind Control
Post by Brigade XO   » Fri Nov 10, 2017 4:23 pm

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And the targeted nano is keyed to a specific person's DNA. A less targeted parasite would be scarier but more traceable. Not sure how to engineer a critter to self destruct. More handwaium?


Naw. the nano is built to do a particular sequence of actions for this one person. So you build in a "has action been completed" no/yes sequence and when the action is completed, the nano comes apart to be mistaken for other stuff in the body (if there is a body which in the case of Filerta's chief of staff isn't going to happen as the ship went Boom.)
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Re: Alignment's Mind Control
Post by jdtinIA   » Fri Nov 10, 2017 4:44 pm

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Actually there is textev that the MA process does leave some small amount of detectable residue. Finding it was what made Usher suspect that the aircar flown into a mountain wasn't an accident or suicide.
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Re: Alignment's Mind Control
Post by pappilon   » Fri Nov 10, 2017 5:01 pm

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jdtinIA wrote:Actually there is textev that the MA process does leave some small amount of detectable residue. Finding it was what made Usher suspect that the aircar flown into a mountain wasn't an accident or suicide.


yes all of that is true and perhaps I missed something. My immunology is a bit rusty, I'll admit. but "Something" that looks like the host's DNA unless one looks more intently on it is not the same as foreign proteinsthat these parasites would leave behind. Even macrophages will contain some traceable residue. But yea as a concept: "hey here's this cool thing lets use what it does and generate a plot element that some nefarious super-villain can create in her lab." I can see that.
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The imagination has to be trained into foresight and empathy.
Ursula K. LeGuinn

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Re: Alignment's Mind Control
Post by Jonathan_S   » Mon Nov 13, 2017 4:53 pm

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jdtinIA wrote:Actually there is textev that the MA process does leave some small amount of detectable residue. Finding it was what made Usher suspect that the aircar flown into a mountain wasn't an accident or suicide.

Small amount, yes. In fact specifically only one of the samples they took showed it
At All Costs wrote:"There is one odd thing about Grosclaude's death, Madam President," Abrioux said after a moment.
The President's topaz eyes swung back to the senior inspector, and she twitched the fingers of one hand in a "tell me" gesture.
"Given the . . . peculiar circumstances of the 'accident,'" Abrioux said, "the crash team's lead investigator requested a complete toxicology screen and blood workup as part of the autopsy. Given the nature of the impact, the doctors didn't have a whole lot to work with, you understand. There was more than enough to make a genetic identification of the remains they could find, but nowhere near what they needed for any sort of regular autopsy.
"The medical examiner, however, did note that there appeared to be 'unidentifiable organic traces and DNA markers' in one of the blood samples."
"Meaning what?" Pritchart's expression was intent.
"Meaning we don't know what the hell what," Usher replied. "When he says 'unidentifiable,' that's exactly what he means. All the organic elements he's picked up on could be explained away by a simple case of the flu, except that there's no indication of it in any of the other samples. If you really want to wade through his report, I can get you a copy of it, but I doubt it will mean anything more to you than it did to me. The key element, though, seems to be the DNA he turned up. There's been some speculation in Solarian medical literature for a while now about the possibility of viral nanotech."

I kind of wonder if they didn't get that sample partly because the air car crash splattered a fair bit of blood and biological material around on impact, while the nanites were still controlling Grosclaude.

The immune system shuts down shortly after death, but not instantly. I wonder if it lasts long enough that nanites still within the body do finish getting broken down before autopsy. That's make it even less likely to get turned up in most cases...
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Re: Alignment's Mind Control
Post by Fox2!   » Tue Nov 14, 2017 1:19 am

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Jonathan_S wrote:
The immune system shuts down shortly after death, but not instantly. I wonder if it lasts long enough that nanites still within the body do finish getting broken down before autopsy. That's make it even less likely to get turned up in most cases...


That seems to be the intent. I don't think there's any text of finding anything out of place in Tim Mears body, after he tried to kill Honor. And Honor was aware of the Andy LTCOL who shot up the Emperor's relative under similar circumstances, in perhaps greater detail than the average Manticoran.
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Re: Alignment's Mind Control
Post by saber964   » Thu Nov 16, 2017 7:22 pm

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Fox2! wrote:
Jonathan_S wrote:
The immune system shuts down shortly after death, but not instantly. I wonder if it lasts long enough that nanites still within the body do finish getting broken down before autopsy. That's make it even less likely to get turned up in most cases...


That seems to be the intent. I don't think there's any text of finding anything out of place in Tim Mears body, after he tried to kill Honor. And Honor was aware of the Andy LTCOL who shot up the Emperor's relative under similar circumstances, in perhaps greater detail than the average Manticoran.



The nano virus probably does what it does in the brain. IIRC Honor shot Mears in the head and with her 'Hand' pulser splattered his head all over the bulkhead.
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