Author Topic: EP271: God of the Lower Level  (Read 19330 times)

Scattercat

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Reply #25 on: December 31, 2010, 11:12:04 PM
Well, he did say "...and in another month, I will BE the Atlantic Ocean."  The implication was that he intended to go on a multiplication binge using his bacteria/mold powers of exponential growth and crowd out all the other non-intelligent algae and lifeforms there.  This would be Bad for Life as We Know It.



Wilson Fowlie

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Reply #26 on: January 01, 2011, 06:25:25 PM
Well, he did say "...and in another month, I will BE the Atlantic Ocean."  The implication was that he intended to go on a multiplication binge using his bacteria/mold powers of exponential growth and crowd out all the other non-intelligent algae and lifeforms there.  This would be Bad for Life as We Know It.

Yes, but not evil, necessarily; just self-interested.

"People commonly use the word 'procrastination' to describe what they do on the Internet. It seems to me too mild to describe what's happening as merely not-doing-work. We don't call it procrastination when someone gets drunk instead of working." - Paul Graham


Scattercat

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Reply #27 on: January 01, 2011, 07:02:43 PM
Well, he did say "...and in another month, I will BE the Atlantic Ocean."  The implication was that he intended to go on a multiplication binge using his bacteria/mold powers of exponential growth and crowd out all the other non-intelligent algae and lifeforms there.  This would be Bad for Life as We Know It.

Yes, but not evil, necessarily; just self-interested.

That's what evil IS: someone so self-interested that they sacrifice others to their own appetites and desires.  From the point of view of the human race, eating the Atlantic Ocean is basically the act of a supervillain. 

Also, betrayal.  He doesn't think his friend and mentor is giving him enough freedom at a sufficiently rapid pace, so he paralyzes him and prepares to wipe out the rest of life on Earth just so he can experience "real" life.  I think I'm okay with "evil" as a designator here.  I can pity him and understand his reasoning, but he's still a raging asshole, even for a slime mold.



KenK

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Reply #28 on: January 02, 2011, 09:10:31 PM
@ Wilson Fowlie
Quote
Yes, but not evil, necessarily; just self-interested.
Yep. And the same goes for the MC for flushing them too.  ;D



kibitzer

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Reply #29 on: January 04, 2011, 02:17:12 AM
Hmm. Didn't like this one. I think the presentation of the story as dialogue didn't work for me, it felt very forced and unnatural.


stePH

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Reply #30 on: January 04, 2011, 08:48:01 PM
Yikes! Stories like this send me into a frenzy of worry about how far down the scale does sentience go? I start getting paranoid and apprehensive about mowing my yard, pruning my plants and destroying wasp nests.  :-\

I don't fret about destroying wasp nests. They're some real assholes; they have it coming.

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Gamercow

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Reply #31 on: January 04, 2011, 09:33:26 PM
That's what evil IS: someone so self-interested that they sacrifice others to their own appetites and desires. 

I saw the slime mold as being in more of a teenager phase.  "Hates" parents/makers? Check.  Loves something they've only seen or heard about? Check.  Completely self-involved and self-absorbed? Check.  Thinks they are invincible?  Check. 

Maybe teenagers would make great supervillains. 

The story itself was light and entertaining, and I didn't really find a need to search for a deeper meaning or plot or direction.  It was a pleasant engaging story, and that was good enough for me. 

And Mr. Anderson's reading was superb, as always.  I look forward to hearing any and all of his Escape Artist readings.

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KenK

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Reply #32 on: January 04, 2011, 10:29:53 PM
@stePh
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I don't fret about destroying wasp nests. They're some real assholes; they have it coming.
I hear that's what they say about us!



Scattercat

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Reply #33 on: January 04, 2011, 11:19:54 PM
It's true; supervillains are very much teenagers, in the sense that they tend to have emotionally immature worldviews and unrealistic expectations.  Good people spend their immature years learning to control themselves. 

A lot of "evil" happens because people are stupid and weak, but while I can (and do) pity many people who do evil, if we're going to use a simple binary good-evil metric, then Horatio falls firmly on the evil side.  Granted, it seems like he had a crappy parent who didn't do much to help him along, someone who viewed him more as a science experiment than someone to nurture and raise.  Everyone who turns out bad has reasons for it; I can empathize without excusing.



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Reply #34 on: January 05, 2011, 10:07:36 AM
It's true; supervillains are very much teenagers, in the sense that they tend to have emotionally immature worldviews and unrealistic expectations.  Good people spend their immature years learning to control themselves. 
Yeah, but I'd like to see a teenager attempt monologuing without breaking down and stomping off to his/her room in the middle.

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zoanon

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Reply #35 on: January 13, 2011, 01:16:21 AM
All I can say is "Fredrick? Freeeeedriiick? FREDRICK!!" 
love it.



600south

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Reply #36 on: January 29, 2011, 12:13:14 AM
I really enjoyed this one. Frederick, the humble draft dodger hidden away in a menial and dirty job, was indeed the God of the Lower Levels. He gaveth and he tooketh away, and wasn't as naive as we suspected. The story followed a predictable pattern to an extent (was it the subtle menace in the narration of Horatio's voice right from the beginning?) but the ending was still a nice twist. I was really expecting Frederick to be absorbed and Horatio to escape into the wide open, Lawnmower Man-style.

The narration, btw, was great. It made the story a lot more engaging.



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Reply #37 on: March 15, 2011, 06:32:04 PM
This one was okay. I liked the voices, but for some weird reason, I don't know why, I found myself thinking of Waiting for Godot. And I haven't even seen the play before. Weird.

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luka datas

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Reply #38 on: December 16, 2012, 08:39:37 AM
this story was like a bolt from the blue. killed me stone dead. great job, epod