Tuesday March 3, 2009
Book 11: Massively Parallel — Prologue: Meanwhile, at the Galactic Core

Transcript

Narrator: The depiction of the decision-making process in a networked super-mind poses a challenge.
Petey: The foothold is at risk. We could lose a billion lives if we redirect any output.
Narrator: Showing these intelligences "talking" is a little bit like showing the ocean "swimming."
Athens: Then don't redirect.
Petey: There are local. . . priorities.
Narrator: But "show, don't tell" suggests that metaphor and analog trump accuracy. So as we begin our story we shall be shown a conversation that never happened, or at least never happened in precisely this way. . .
Athens: I think he's saying we have to keep talking to ourself for the sake of exposition.
Petey: That's going to kill efficiency.
Narrator: It'll be hard on the Fourth Wall, too.