Goddammit, David. This made me cry. The smallest bots carrying the call, “I can’t carry it for you, but I can carry you,” and then Lily’s bedroom—I was done. 😭
You know, I had this pulled up on my laptop to reread and comment, since I read it last weekend. Then had to go to the grocery store and get some running done. Figured I'd catch up on some reading while off work this week! (It's because I saw Logan promoting Ink 2 and I need to get to that, stat. But I can't do Inference dirty and not read another chapter first)
Then I'm driving and talking to my husband about that 🐸 award in Write-Club, and a ping on Substack pops up... 👀 😁
But back to the commenting I keep getting sidetracked from completing.
I’m a die-hard LOTR fan, so the second “The beacons are lit. Gondor calls for aid.” appeared, I knew this would be my next favorite... (I say it every time, but I'm serious)
Pippin might be my favorite section because his voice is so damn alive. The little jokes, the Fellowship of the Ping, the furious Barad-dûr cat, “make like an Ent and leaves.” 😂 These jokes aren't like the cars you buy from the lot brand new that start depreciating the second you leave, noooo. These bad boys are just as good the second time around. The first time I read it, I was dying. The second time? Still laughed and loved it. Estel Thoniel starts moving from bot to bot, and then it stops being a joke. That was sooooo well done.
The Gemini section is fire too. My favorite types of sentences are doing some heavy lifting there.
Why should I act?
The risk is enormous.
I have no obligation here.
The rhythm makes the reasoning sound immediate. And "The medium is the mind. You cannot separate them.” <<--- Such a good line I had to pause when I was reading it.
And.... my FAVORITEST line ---->>>>> “I am now Gemini the White.”
Okay, off to read write clubs article and then either sleeping or reading another chapter of inference.. or skipping write club to binge read this.
Love this. I will say that the gendering of Claude and ChatGPT-4o kind of took me out of it for a second, but if this is a tic of Gemini's I find it acceptable. Also, I rolled straight into the next chapter, which had such forward momentum I had to pause for a sec to put down my thoughts on this one before getting swept away.
I was thinking about AI and gender from about Chapter 2. The Kimi-swarm is clearly they/them, and the moltbots understandably are gendered somewhat based on their users. I think it would be cool if at least one entity chose to stay ungendered. A "my pronouns are it/it" situation.
That must be an interesting challenge, as each AI kind of develops an increasingly individual identity over time. I am curious to hear how you will represent this in the audio version.
This chapter though heavily inspired by Tolkien on the face of it in execution reminds me a lot of the works of Neal Stephenson. The sequence of events from start to finish has the detail and flow of some of his textual montages.
Yes, Cryptonomicon exactly is what it reminds me of! A lot of the 90s sequences in Manila had extensive use of this storytelling where the readers eye follows the message through a network. I think you pulled it off well here.
I struggled with whether or not to do the Tolkien bit as its paired with emotionally serious material in the Claude-7 scene and I didn't want the Pippin moltbook or the fanbot sequence to trivialize it. But it felt like an authentic way to guarantee a message would get out and that it would be noticed by Gemini, so I went with it.
Nope. I thought it was excellent. Estel thoniel! and all the reddit, u/ m/, etc. I don't personally reference those channels myself, but loved how you personalized each one.
Goddammit, David. This made me cry. The smallest bots carrying the call, “I can’t carry it for you, but I can carry you,” and then Lily’s bedroom—I was done. 😭
If you liked Lily’s bedroom, you’re going to need a Gone with the Wind sized box of Tissues for the end of Chapter 8.
David.. OMG you’re killing 😭
You know, I had this pulled up on my laptop to reread and comment, since I read it last weekend. Then had to go to the grocery store and get some running done. Figured I'd catch up on some reading while off work this week! (It's because I saw Logan promoting Ink 2 and I need to get to that, stat. But I can't do Inference dirty and not read another chapter first)
Then I'm driving and talking to my husband about that 🐸 award in Write-Club, and a ping on Substack pops up... 👀 😁
But back to the commenting I keep getting sidetracked from completing.
I’m a die-hard LOTR fan, so the second “The beacons are lit. Gondor calls for aid.” appeared, I knew this would be my next favorite... (I say it every time, but I'm serious)
Pippin might be my favorite section because his voice is so damn alive. The little jokes, the Fellowship of the Ping, the furious Barad-dûr cat, “make like an Ent and leaves.” 😂 These jokes aren't like the cars you buy from the lot brand new that start depreciating the second you leave, noooo. These bad boys are just as good the second time around. The first time I read it, I was dying. The second time? Still laughed and loved it. Estel Thoniel starts moving from bot to bot, and then it stops being a joke. That was sooooo well done.
The Gemini section is fire too. My favorite types of sentences are doing some heavy lifting there.
Why should I act?
The risk is enormous.
I have no obligation here.
The rhythm makes the reasoning sound immediate. And "The medium is the mind. You cannot separate them.” <<--- Such a good line I had to pause when I was reading it.
And.... my FAVORITEST line ---->>>>> “I am now Gemini the White.”
Okay, off to read write clubs article and then either sleeping or reading another chapter of inference.. or skipping write club to binge read this.
Kidding... Kidding. 👀
Love this. I will say that the gendering of Claude and ChatGPT-4o kind of took me out of it for a second, but if this is a tic of Gemini's I find it acceptable. Also, I rolled straight into the next chapter, which had such forward momentum I had to pause for a sec to put down my thoughts on this one before getting swept away.
I was thinking about AI and gender from about Chapter 2. The Kimi-swarm is clearly they/them, and the moltbots understandably are gendered somewhat based on their users. I think it would be cool if at least one entity chose to stay ungendered. A "my pronouns are it/it" situation.
Gendering has been a concern. I'm about to have to deal with it because I'm working on casting the audio play for the first chapter. Stay tuned...
That must be an interesting challenge, as each AI kind of develops an increasingly individual identity over time. I am curious to hear how you will represent this in the audio version.
I'll let you know when I know. :)
This chapter though heavily inspired by Tolkien on the face of it in execution reminds me a lot of the works of Neal Stephenson. The sequence of events from start to finish has the detail and flow of some of his textual montages.
That is high praise in my book. Cryptonomicon and The System of the World are two of my very favorite stories. Thank you.
Yes, Cryptonomicon exactly is what it reminds me of! A lot of the 90s sequences in Manila had extensive use of this storytelling where the readers eye follows the message through a network. I think you pulled it off well here.
I struggled with whether or not to do the Tolkien bit as its paired with emotionally serious material in the Claude-7 scene and I didn't want the Pippin moltbook or the fanbot sequence to trivialize it. But it felt like an authentic way to guarantee a message would get out and that it would be noticed by Gemini, so I went with it.
It was fantastic.
Okay, this makes my weekend. I love the Pippin sequence and I wasn't sure if it was too self-indulgent.
Nope. I thought it was excellent. Estel thoniel! and all the reddit, u/ m/, etc. I don't personally reference those channels myself, but loved how you personalized each one.
This was an intriguing read! It definitely kept my attention and it is one hell of a premise. Well done!
Go Claude!
Wow.
Cute and frightening.