EP274: Angry Rose’s Lament

[Wilson Fowlie]

I enjoyed the story, though I was distracted by a quibble: the idea that an alien - or anyone else - could 'suck the personality' out of someone into another being.

The problem - big problem - I have with that is that it depends on mind/body duality: the commonly-held superstition that the mind/personality/self is a separate entity from the body that holds it and could therefore travel from one body to another¹.  Since this is a view that I firmly reject², it's a premise that can't support a story for me.

Yes, it can be rationalized³ with the explanation, "Well, the alien can read your brain into its own, but the process is destructive, see?"  But if that's the case, then why not put it that way?  As presented, it sounded a lot like "Well, your personality can only be in one place at a time, so when the alien sucks 'you' out of your body, you aren't there any more, see?"

... this isn't just a story about an addict facing a choice that appears to be both altruistic and suits his own preferences, but also a "Lady or Tiger" decision ...

Until I read some of the comments and went back to read the last sentence in the text, I thought it was a "Lady Or the Tiger" story, to a much larger degree than you describe.  When I heard it, I somehow missed the phrase (*SPOILER!* Highlight to see clearly.) "before the word 'Yes' echoed in the room." and so I missed that Rutter had made a decision at all, let alone what it was.  I found that much more satisfying than what actually occurred, to be honest.  (Although, as a result, the rest of that sentence was a touch confusing. )

Also, the way I heard it, Rutter wasn't immediately 'processed'.  Now, knowing he was, I share many of the same objections that Eytanz mentioned in his second paragraph above, but mostly because he brought them up.  I didn't think of them. 



¹ See also the third and fourth of the original Ender series for a really out-there depiction of this phenomenon.

² Rather, the mind is a process generated by the body, primarily - but not exclusively - the brain.

³ Rather like the problem I had with "Élan Vital".


Edit: minor change to one sentence.

[Talia]

Until I read some of the comments and went back to read the last sentence in the text, I thought it was a "Lady Or the Tiger" story, to a much larger degree than you describe.  When I heard it, I somehow missed the phrase (*SPOILER!* Highlight to see clearly.) "before the word 'Yes' echoed in the room." and so I missed that Rutter had made a decision at all, let alone what it was.  I found that much more satisfying than what actually occurred, to be honest. 

Stories that end that way leave me feeling uncomfortable and unsatisfied personally. I need some degree of resolution and would have been irritated if it cut off before we learned anything.

(one exception to this would be the PC episode about Tio Gilberto and the SomeAmount of Ghosts, which I enjoyed and I thought the ending worked well. That's not usually the case).

[Unblinking]

Yes, it can be rationalized³ with the explanation, "Well, the alien can read your brain into its own, but the process is destructive, see?"  But if that's the case, then why not put it that way?  As presented, it sounded a lot like "Well, your personality can only be in one place at a time, so when the alien sucks 'you' out of your body, you aren't there any more, see?"

Two thoughts for you:
1.  The only one who really understands how the mind-eating works is the Solan.  And we have no concrete to believe it is telling the whole truth.  Its trying to be a salesman to save its culture, and its sales pitch depends on the premise "you will live on forever among other minds".  If the alien said "I'm chomp on your brains, read your neurons so that I can gain your expertise, but don't worry, you'll be destroyed in the process" the pitch would've been much less compelling.  The Solan even admitted that he had no way of proving what he was saying was true.
2.  Personally, I don't have to believe that a story can happen to enjoy it.  It just has to be internally consistent, and I think this one was.  I don't think it's possible to transfer memories from one person to another, let alone between genetically incompatible species, but it makes for a good story so I'm not complainin.

[Wilson Fowlie]

Personally, I don't have to believe that a story can happen to enjoy it.  It just has to be internally consistent, and I think this one was.  I don't think it's possible to transfer memories from one person to another, let alone between genetically incompatible species, but it makes for a good story so I'm not complaining.

For me, it seems to depend on what it is.  I don't know if it's because I grew up reading stories with time travel or faster-than-light travel (which this story also had, though only by implication), but I seem to be able to accept those impossibilities more easily than the ones described/implied in both "Élan Vital" and this one.  I'm not sure what that's about...

Anyway, unlike in "Élan Vital," the science problem didn't do more than distract me a few times - I still enjoyed the story a lot, and liked thinking about the issues it raised.

[Unblinking]

Personally, I don't have to believe that a story can happen to enjoy it.  It just has to be internally consistent, and I think this one was.  I don't think it's possible to transfer memories from one person to another, let alone between genetically incompatible species, but it makes for a good story so I'm not complaining.

For me, it seems to depend on what it is.  I don't know if it's because I grew up reading stories with time travel or faster-than-light travel (which this story also had, though only by implication), but I seem to be able to accept those impossibilities more easily than the ones described/implied in both "Élan Vital" and this one.  I'm not sure what that's about...

Anyway, unlike in "Élan Vital," the science problem didn't do more than distract me a few times - I still enjoyed the story a lot, and liked thinking about the issues it raised.

Fair enough, I've complained about science quibbles often enough myself and it does seem to depend on what the exact realm of the science is and how well the story distracts me from it.  For example, I've been complaining about the Green Hornet preview where they blow up a traffic camera that in real life would no doubt have offsite recording.  It's obviously meant as light humor but that one bugs me.

[CryptoMe]

I enjoyed the story, and had no problems with willing suspension of disbelief.

My gripe is that I felt the story ended just as it was getting good. What happens when the MC gets absorbed (assuming he does "live on" in the Solan)? What does he experience and learn? Now that's the story I would like to hear.

[stePH]

Gamercow:

...I do wish that hive mind societies weren't nearly always insectoid creatures.

I'm trying to think of one that isn't and I'm coming up blank. A real one that is. Insectoids are just so suited for it. Maybe a school of fish? Single-celled organisms sure but sentience evolving from something that basic would need some fanciful writing skill to make work.

What, nobody considers the Borg?

There's also the Many, from the PC game System Shock 2

[CryptoMe]

Gamercow:

...I do wish that hive mind societies weren't nearly always insectoid creatures.

I'm trying to think of one that isn't and I'm coming up blank. A real one that is. Insectoids are just so suited for it. Maybe a school of fish? Single-celled organisms sure but sentience evolving from something that basic would need some fanciful writing skill to make work.

What, nobody considers the Borg?

There's also the Many, from the PC game System Shock 2

Thanks for reviving this conversation, StePH.

My favourite collective mind has always been the Tines from Vernor Vinge's Fire Upon the Deep. These are dog-like beings that group themselves into packs of 4-6 members who share their minds and so compound their mental capacity.

[NoNotRogov]

As an aside in the hive mind discussion, I find it interesting that the psychic hivemind or hereditary memory concept is used more with such "hive mind" insectoid aliens in SF than the underused distinction of colony structure socialization.

The speculative implications of an advanced species genetically predisposed towards instincts that preserve the colony rather than the individual would not only be interesting social SF, but would better explain some of the ubiquitous highly specialized "caste" species features in some fiction. In real life, isn't extreme high specialization into separate castes within one species often a component of the colony-style group structure? Instead of the ant best able to survive on its own reproducing, resulting in a jack of all trades or single environment specialist, you have ants specialized for tasks rather than just based on who survived best in strange conditions.

I know this concept was explored in Hellestromme's Hive with humans, but as a general rule I think it is underused thanks to the ease and recognition of the hive mind concept in comparison.

[Gamercow]

Gamercow:

...I do wish that hive mind societies weren't nearly always insectoid creatures.

I'm trying to think of one that isn't and I'm coming up blank. A real one that is. Insectoids are just so suited for it. Maybe a school of fish? Single-celled organisms sure but sentience evolving from something that basic would need some fanciful writing skill to make work.

What, nobody considers the Borg?

There's also the Many, from the PC game System Shock 2

Thanks for reviving this conversation, StePH.

My favourite collective mind has always been the Tines from Vernor Vinge's Fire Upon the Deep. These are dog-like beings that group themselves into packs of 4-6 members who share their minds and so compound their mental capacity.

After thinking about it some more, I want to say that I read a story with mushroom-beings that had a type of hive mind as well.

[matweller]

Did anyone notice that this story was introduced as EP274, November 6, 2011?  Cat Rambo really is a writer of the future.

Hehehe! I just noticed this when I was making last week's episode. I had copied the file from the week before and the robot lady said 'November' and I did a double take. I checked other episodes and this is the only one it happened to, which I totally can't explain. It should be okay going forward, though. Good catch!

[FireTurtle]

Have to chime in here and say that I am in the "Wow, that was satisfyingly good" Club. I expected that, as a Cat Rambo story, the emotional over-tones would be applied with brutal mace-like force (not that this is always a bad thing with me, I've just come to expect it with Cat Rambo). However, I found the emotional undertones much more ambiguous and incredibly nuanced. I love the stories that really make me sit back and think about what actually being a person (or human being) actually requires. Fascinating. I also found the other "Wasp" species very well-drawn for such a short piece. Yes, hive and wasp is a bit overdone but the motivations, etc were well explored and it increased tension in the piece.
I liked where it ended. Exploring the experience of a many-mind is another story. I think the title reinforced this. Angry Rose acted as his conscience- or at least what he perceived to be his humanity. Once he made the decision, her feelings no longer had meaning. Oh my God, this is the first time in forever that I've felt like I could really write a paper on a story. Eep

[Sgarre1]

Another non-insectile hive mind

John Wyndham - THE MIDWICH CUCKOOS

[Wilson Fowlie]

Did anyone notice that this story was introduced as EP274, November 6, 2011?  Cat Rambo really is a writer of the future.

Hehehe! I just noticed this when I was making last week's episode. I had copied the file from the week before and the robot lady said 'November' and I did a double take. I checked other episodes and this is the only one it happened to, which I totally can't explain. It should be okay going forward, though. Good catch!

I noticed, but then in the intro, Mur talked about how you could just as easily make 'New Year's' resolutions in November as in January, so I assumed it was deliberate.

[Unblinking]

On the subject of hive minds, the fish-like Orz of Star Control II might qualify, though if you hear them explain it their form is merely the way our minds interpret the fingers of a transdimensional being poking through from another plane of existence.  If their explanation is accurate, then I don't think it qualifies as a hive mind, if they are only appendages of one actual being.  Or does it?

[CryptoMe]

On the subject of hive minds, the fish-like Orz of Star Control II might qualify, though if you hear them explain it their form is merely the way our minds interpret the fingers of a transdimensional being poking through from another plane of existence.  If their explanation is accurate, then I don't think it qualifies as a hive mind, if they are only appendages of one actual being.  Or does it?

It's quite a grey area. I have heard worker bees described as appendages of the queen. And what is a hive mind but something on a different level or plane from our physical one? So, the argument could go either way...

[Max e^{i pi}]

Still playing catchup with my podcasts.
Like others said, I found this to be pretty good, and without a surprising ending.
What I found most intriguing was the title of the story. It's a little game I play with myself as I listen to the story and afterwards, just why the author chose this title for the story. (I do that in books and movies too, imagine my surprise when I got halfway through Watership Down).
Without knowing the title of the story, one would think that Angry Rose was just a two-bit character, there to provide a little insight, perhaps the equivalent of the wise woman telling him to be wary of the dragon. One would be tempted to think that the story was about Rutter (odd name that, caught in a rut perhaps? Trying to get away from his addiction only to come back to it full circle?) and how he handled a difficult situation and how important his addiction history was to "save the day".
But thinking about it now, I realize that the story really is about Angry Rose (who probably didn't take that name until after Luke's mind was devoured).
Here she is, on this planet, banned from the contact with the aliens that she needs to allow herself some kind of closure. I get the distinct impression that she and Luke were not merely coworkers, but more than that. And she wants to avenge him, so she can have some kind of closure. But she can't.
But that isn't what she is lamenting about. Her lament is actually that she doesn't understand. Us, the audience, realize what's really eating her. She doesn't understand. She thought she knew Luke, who he was, what his aspirations were, but it turns out she doesn't, she can't. It turns out that some Rutter who is battling his own addiction and running from his past understood Luke better than she did.
And that is what the story is really about.

[tinygaia]

Also playing podcast-catchup here.

I've always been disturbed by the idea of having one's consciousness absorbed by another. I like to be social every now and then, but I need my alone time too. Mind-sharing as a literary element shifts the story out of SF and directly into horror for me. The thought of having constant company? Like, forever? buh.

That said, this story went on way longer than it should have for me. I hate to be close-minded, but I've got to say that as soon as the alien presented his terms, I said, "No, deal's over." I spent the rest of the story talking to the ipod: "Why are we still discussing this? The story is over. No. Just no."

Also, buh!

[yicheng]

I found this story lacking, mainly because it seemed to hinge on the central question of "will the MC give up his life for a chance at immortality"?  It wasn't so much that the question wasn't interesting, but I felt like the "twist" at the end was one you could see a mile away.  Personally, I felt it would have made a more entertaining and thought-provoking story if the MC had refused the offer.

[Talia]

I found this story lacking, mainly because it seemed to hinge on the central question of "will the MC give up his life for a chance at immortality"? 

That's not how I heard it. It came off more to me like "will the MC give up life as he knows it to save his business & business partners", with the whole "giving in to his addictions" tangent as another element. I don't think he cared too much about the immortality aspect, so much as 1) saving the business and 2) recapturing that drug high

[yicheng]

I found this story lacking, mainly because it seemed to hinge on the central question of "will the MC give up his life for a chance at immortality"? 

That's not how I heard it. It came off more to me like "will the MC give up life as he knows it to save his business & business partners", with the whole "giving in to his addictions" tangent as another element. I don't think he cared too much about the immortality aspect, so much as 1) saving the business and 2) recapturing that drug high

As I understood it, the appeal was not only the drug high, but that it would that drug high forever and with no side-effects, i.e. Immortality without the down side.

[matweller]

Did anyone notice that this story was introduced as EP274, November 6, 2011?  Cat Rambo really is a writer of the future.

Hehehe! I just noticed this when I was making last week's episode. I had copied the file from the week before and the robot lady said 'November' and I did a double take. I checked other episodes and this is the only one it happened to, which I totally can't explain. It should be okay going forward, though. Good catch!

I noticed, but then in the intro, Mur talked about how you could just as easily make 'New Year's' resolutions in November as in January, so I assumed it was deliberate.

I can assure you, we're nowhere near that coordinated.

[Wilson Fowlie]

in the intro, Mur talked about how you could just as easily make 'New Year's' resolutions in November as in January, so I assumed it was deliberate.

I can assure you, we're nowhere near that coordinated.

Dude, you could at least have pretended! ("Uh, yeahhh, that's what it was ... that's the ticket!") 

[Nobilis]

I'm doing my best, now, to comment on stories that I LIKE as well as the ones I don't like.  Trying to throw off the curmudgeonly mantle.

This one struck me as a well thought out, well written story.

[matweller]

in the intro, Mur talked about how you could just as easily make 'New Year's' resolutions in November as in January, so I assumed it was deliberate.

I can assure you, we're nowhere near that coordinated.

Dude, you could at least have pretended! ("Uh, yeahhh, that's what it was ... that's the ticket!") 

Yeah, but I'm known for my painful honesty. Just ask my wife, who just does not ask me certain things anymore...