Treecats in anti-Manticoran propaganda

Well, the Manticorans claim that the cats have some telepathic / empathic abilities. Others may believe it, or may not ... but why not to use it?

Let's just note that telepathy - the ability to penetrate into some other thought - definitely isn't something, that most people can easily accept. Peoples tend to be very nervously about the sovereignty of their brains, you know.

So... why no one has yet figured to use the treecats in the anti-manticoran propaganda?

I could figured out the three possible ways, that a named "the alien invasion version", "the epidemic version" and "the artifical version"

1) (Alien invasion version) The treecats, those furry bastards ARE actually the covert manipulators of events! They penetrated the structure of the Star Kingdom and took control over the goverment and military officials (even the royal family!) Oh, the treecat's bonded peoples would deny... but only because "their" treecats has forced them to do that!

2) (Epidemic version) Well, the treecats bonding were obviously affected human mind. So, the "bonded" peoples, possibly, couldn't really think logically at all. It's not treecats fault, this is only a terrible mistake that treecats-affected individuals, like Elisabeth Winton, could become the rulers of the Star Nations...

3) (The artifical version) The treecats abilites couldn't be developed naturally. After all, it's completely scientifically impossible, that the evolution of so different species, divided by the hundreds of light years, could produce the human-treecat telephatic bonding!

So...obviously, the treecat's abilites are the result of Beowulf-Manticoran secret project to develope a telephatically-based methods of control, and mentally enslave the Manticoran population! And due the fact, that under the pretense of "defense against mesan-blah-blah-blah-nanotechnology", treecats where send to the goverments of Andermani and Haven... Their leaders are under telepathic control too!

Nice suggestion, isn't it?

First the Mandarins would have to realise that the Treecats are actually Telempathic. Since they can't even accept the fact that Manticore is whipping the pants off of them, I highly doubt that they would accept something so outlandish.

Next, ther would have to be a population to target. Most Manticorans would not believe that kind of propaganda and the average Solarian citizen doesn't know enough about treecats to understand the arguement.

To give you a idea of the mindset of the average sollie citizen, think of our present day earth which has a history of people refusing to believe their opponents could beat them and reacting with shock and horror when a said event occurs. Case in points. Romans after the battle of Cannae when their legions were annihilated, and american after souix indian nation crushed 7th cavalry at little bighorn.

To your first objection, Mesa could do it.

To your second objection, the Solarian public does not need to understand treecats for the propaganda to be successful. In fact, it would be better if they didn't. Then Mesa could portray them any way they wanted to.

quark wrote:First the Mandarins would have to realise that the Treecats are actually Telempathic. Since they can't even accept the fact that Manticore is whipping the pants off of them, I highly doubt that they would accept something so outlandish..

Well, but Manticorans actually TOLD it. The Mandarins may not actually believe in this, but they obviously could pretend that the "solarian science" believe in this.

Next, ther would have to be a population to target. Most Manticorans would not believe that kind of propaganda and the average Solarian citizen doesn't know enough about treecats to understand the arguement.

The manticoran - may be wouldn't. But the significant part of the Havenite, Andermanni and even Grayson citizens - would. They didn't knew much about the treecat, but Manticorans claim that the treecats HAS a telepathic abilites... and MANY peoples may start to question themselves: how far the treecat abilites could actually reach?

The sovereignty of the human brain is something that peoples couldn't simply risk to lost. And even the bare possibility of "manticoran's hadn't tell us everything" could make the billions of peoples in Galaxy actually nervous!

In fact, if the people's from Protectorates would stand between the choice: to remain under the authority of the OFS or - possibly - to be under the authority of telepaths ... Well, billions of them will be actually praisin the OFS, which, at least, can not encroach on their minds!

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This is a very good plot twist, hope David's reading. Couldn't help putting in Humor and revamping your poster thus:



<You know your now on the people's enemies list, and with enemies we ...>



Poker & Mange

Dilandu wrote:Well, the Manticorans claim that the cats have some telepathic / empathic abilities. Others may believe it, or may not ... but why not to use it?

Let's just note that telepathy - the ability to penetrate into some other thought - definitely isn't something, that most people can easily accept. Peoples tend to be very nervously about the sovereignty of their brains, you know.

So... why no one has yet figured to use the treecats in the anti-manticoran propaganda?

I could figured out the three possible ways, that a named "the alien invasion version", "the epidemic version" and "the artifical version"

1) (Alien invasion version) The treecats, those furry bastards ARE actually the covert manipulators of events! They penetrated the structure of the Star Kingdom and took control over the goverment and military officials (even the royal family!) Oh, the treecat's bonded peoples would deny... but only because "their" treecats has forced them to do that!

2) (Epidemic version) Well, the treecats bonding were obviously affected human mind. So, the "bonded" peoples, possibly, couldn't really think logically at all. It's not treecats fault, this is only a terrible mistake that treecats-affected individuals, like Elisabeth Winton, could become the rulers of the Star Nations...

3) (The artifical version) The treecats abilites couldn't be developed naturally. After all, it's completely scientifically impossible, that the evolution of so different species, divided by the hundreds of light years, could produce the human-treecat telephatic bonding!

So...obviously, the treecat's abilites are the result of Beowulf-Manticoran secret project to develope a telephatically-based methods of control, and mentally enslave the Manticoran population! And due the fact, that under the pretense of "defense against mesan-blah-blah-blah-nanotechnology", treecats where send to the goverments of Andermani and Haven... Their leaders are under telepathic control too!

Nice suggestion, isn't it?

Had to correct the English in art.

Poker

KNick wrote:First the Mandarins would have to realize that the Treecats are actually Telempathic. Since they can't even accept the fact that Manticore is whipping the pants off of them, I highly doubt that they would accept something so outlandish.

Next, there would have to be a population to target. Most Manticorans would not believe that kind of propaganda and the average Solarian citizen doesn't know enough about treecats to understand the argument.

The Mandarins do not understand empathy, or feel it, so telempathy is so outer space woowoo it does not compute for these folks.

And I've seen no sign the Solly public is bright enough to grasp the concept, either.

Nor true telepathy... that's where my husband wants spaghetti for dinner and I make it without him telling me he wants it, right? Oh no, that's just being married for 43 years.

Dilandu wrote:Well, the Manticorans claim that the cats have some telepathic / empathic abilities. Others may believe it, or may not ... but why not to use it?

Let's just note that telepathy - the ability to penetrate into some other thought - definitely isn't something, that most people can easily accept. Peoples tend to be very nervously about the sovereignty of their brains, you know.

So... why no one has yet figured to use the treecats in the anti-manticoran propaganda?

That's a very interesting suggestion. I could see Mesa and MAlign making something of it. Sure, neither the Mandarins nor the average Sollie citizen will grasp it at first, but Mesan agents have penetrated the Sollie news media, and it wouldn't take much to have several of those agents "discover" the "treecat threat to individual liberties" and write "educational" stories about it. Once the average Solarian citizen was sufficiently alarmed, the Mandarins, whether or not they believed in treecat telempathy/telepathy, would be forced to respond. If they didn't respond the way that Mesa wanted, Mesan agents just keep agitating until some sort of response occurs that coincides with Mesan intentions.

Interesting suggestion indeed. I don't know if DW will run with it (I kind of doubt it), but it is an interesting idea.

Why would anyone bother? The League doesn't need any excuse to fight Manticore. Who would this propaganda be aimed at? Would anyone else care about telepathic treecats?

SWM wrote:Why would anyone bother? The League doesn't need any excuse to fight Manticore. Who would this propaganda be aimed at? Would anyone else care about telepathic treecats?

First, as the SL begins to fray and splinter around the edges prior to wholesale collapse, there are systems that won't desire to stay with the SL, may seek neutrality or even alliance with the SEM, but are desirable targets for the MAlign to acquire. Such propaganda, directed at those systems, would help bring them under the power of the MAlign.

Second, we have textev that Mesa has always wanted to get its hands on treecats and figure out the secret of telempathy. Such propaganda might encourage directed raiding to capture treecats for further study. It could be justified under "League defense". With the right people in the right places, Mesa could get the data they wanted, probably even treecats themselves.

Of course, in the larger scope of things, you're right, it's not that important, but it is (at least to me) interesting.