tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2946534773407276339.post3610886340209337659..comments2023-11-05T04:09:53.857-05:00Comments on Something Short and Snappy: Ender's Shadow, chapters eighteen, nineteen, and twenty, in which Bean doesn't murder anyoneErika The Over Queenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03649072707709302370noreply@blogger.comBlogger38125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2946534773407276339.post-38856208315639492222014-10-04T16:20:54.072-04:002014-10-04T16:20:54.072-04:00Maybe he had it crowd-sourced.Maybe he had it crowd-sourced.bekabotnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2946534773407276339.post-66229444451336385732014-10-02T23:25:42.977-04:002014-10-02T23:25:42.977-04:00That settles it — Bean is magic. ("Magic Bea...That settles it — Bean <i>is</i> magic. ("Magic Bean.") I always thought he sounded more like a pixie or a brownie or a lemur or a larva or a sprite than a kid, and here's the proof.<br /><br />Hm. Ten inches tall. That's only four inches taller than the Geico lizard.<br /><br />But wait a minute...what about his head? Bean's supposed to have an awesome genius head stuffed with an dumbfounding genius brain. How big is that head, and how large is the brain? Do the head and the brain make up part of Bean's ten-inch height (I would think so) or does Bean measure ten inches up to the neck? If Bean's awesome head is counted as part of Bean's ten-inch height, how much of that height does the head make up? What would be the height of a decapitated four-year-old Bean? And could the body of a boy only ten inches high support the weight of the head of a kid of average size (not to mention a head which is bigger, if Bean's head is bigger?)<br /><br />Does Bean look like those caricatures in old-timey political magazines (sometimes you see the same kind of thing in more recent ones) where there's a little bitty politician body supporting a large, grave politician head? (In a flash suit?)bekabotnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2946534773407276339.post-76609224787985073102014-10-01T08:32:07.614-04:002014-10-01T08:32:07.614-04:00Anton_Mates: Thanks for this morning's coffee-...Anton_Mates: Thanks for this morning's coffee-splurt-laughter!JReynoldsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2946534773407276339.post-33605842309222098702014-09-30T23:37:24.929-04:002014-09-30T23:37:24.929-04:00would upvote you twice for the Gunnerkrigg Court m...would upvote you twice for the Gunnerkrigg Court mention, because OSC's idea of kid genuises wouldn't last ten minutes in the court.Charles Raniernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2946534773407276339.post-59566215975593179872014-09-30T10:00:08.515-04:002014-09-30T10:00:08.515-04:00Because the primary obstacle to peace between Paki...Because the primary obstacle to peace between Pakistan and India is that their rulers just don't say they want peace often enough.<br /><br /><br />I don't understand. Are you implying that, once the respective leaders of your Earth nations have determined they will cease war, there could still be rogue elements of defective drones who would continue to make cross-border assaults? How could they resist the infinitely compelling mindsong of the hive-queen--I mean, prime minister? <em>What is this human nonsense?!</em>Will Wildmanhttp://somethingshortandsnappy.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2946534773407276339.post-48913696383320600362014-09-30T07:56:50.659-04:002014-09-30T07:56:50.659-04:00It's not as terrible as it could conceivably b...It's not as terrible as it could conceivably be.<br />Yeah...Thailand having a massive air force any time in the near future is fairly implausible, but at least it's a different <i>kind</i> of implausible than Card's usual.<br />Yeah, so, Achilles basically says that Pakistan and India are obvs the Best Countries and they could each rule half the world if they weren't always at each other's backs,<br />Oh, right. Because nations are always happy to let their bitter rivals rule half the world, provided they get the other half. That's why the Cold War never happened.<br />and suggests that if only they could each have their empires for a few centuries and begin to see each other as friends, then in the peacetime that followed, all of south Asia would convert to Islam in a single sweep. <br />Well! That sounds like an outcome that wouldn't worry India <i>at all</i>.<br />Petra WTFs appropriately, and chalks it up less to Achilles being brilliant and more to Pakistan and India being at that time conveniently ruled by people who already want to declare peace and he just understood how to manipulate them well enough to get them to admit it. <br />Because the primary obstacle to peace between Pakistan and India is that their rulers just don't say they want peace often enough. If only they'd have, like, a peace summit or something. That would do the trick.<br />These books, man. I dunno.Anton_Matesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2946534773407276339.post-8482705903604253802014-09-29T22:19:32.647-04:002014-09-29T22:19:32.647-04:00I should specify that Bean determines that *Thaila...I should specify that Bean determines that *Thailand* is the only place with any hope of defeating India (because they have an air force that can perhaps match India's incomprehensibly vast infantry) and therefore he goes there because he wants to be part of the fight. It's not as terrible as it could conceivably be.<br /><br /><br />Achilles winning over Pakistan in a single chat, however... let me go check that chapter...<br /><br /><br />Yeah, so, Achilles basically says that Pakistan and India are obvs the Best Countries and they could each rule half the world if they weren't always at each other's backs, and suggests that if only they could each have their empires for a few centuries and begin to see each other as friends, then in the peacetime that followed, all of south Asia would convert to Islam in a single sweep. Petra WTFs appropriately, and chalks it up less to Achilles being brilliant and more to Pakistan and India being at that time conveniently ruled by people who already want to declare peace and he just understood how to manipulate them well enough to get them to admit it. That or, of course, witchcraft.Will Wildmanhttp://somethingshortandsnappy.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2946534773407276339.post-32886005730115979152014-09-29T21:11:29.829-04:002014-09-29T21:11:29.829-04:00and Bean goes to Thailand because they're the ...and Bean goes to Thailand because they're the only ones with a hope of opposing him.<br /><br />Argh. <i>Why</i> can no one else oppose him? Achilles is smarter than everyone on the Asian continent put together? And bulletproof? Being insanely smart does not <i>usually</i> make you politically invincible.<br /><br />I thought Card was maybe getting over his "everyone except my pet characters is useless" disease, what with Bean's speech about how everyone at Battle School is as smart as Achilles. But...no? <br /><br />(And here I shall plug <a href="http://www.gunnerkrigg.com/?p=1404" rel="nofollow">Gunnerkrigg Court</a>, as the quintessential kid's webcomic where <i>everyone</i> turns out to be more useful and competent at something than you'd expect.)<br /><br /><br />Achilles, in one conversation, brokers a peace treaty between India and Pakistan. <br /><br />I know I shouldn't ask this, I really shouldn't ask this, but...how? And do the officials he's talking to realize that he's a former street urchin and admitted serial killer who failed out of Battle School?Anton_Matesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2946534773407276339.post-82882842027983512842014-09-29T21:03:33.628-04:002014-09-29T21:03:33.628-04:00Admittedly, mummification can be done with high te...Admittedly, mummification <i>can</i> be done with high temperatures. But it needs to be, like, Sahara high. (The corpses of the early Egyptians were naturally mummified by being buried in hot sand). And like depizan says, you'd probably get some smell anyway before the body completely dries out. <br /><br />It can also be done by storing the body in anoxic water, like you get in bogs--not enough oxygen to sustain decomposer bacteria.<br /><br />Also you're probably right, that station is probably filthy, haha.<br /><br />Yeah, really, any station with a large-sized human population is gonna get filthy. House dust is largely shed skin cells, after all. I'm sure the soldiers on board spend most of their time cleaning every inch of the station over and over again, just like in the Navy.<br /><br />Of course, at Battle School the people on duty never glance up and notice the dangling corpses, because the enemy's gate is down.Anton_Matesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2946534773407276339.post-28283042011232141362014-09-29T20:45:43.525-04:002014-09-29T20:45:43.525-04:00I laughed so loud at this post that someone walke...I laughed so loud at this post that someone walked in here from the kitchen (3 rooms away) to ask if I was reading that deconstruction blog again. <br /><br /><br />My basic feeling of the next books was that they would be worth reading if the focus on Suriyawong. Definitely the best part, by far. The ret-conning of Ender's parents is actually rather impressive.<br /><br /><br />Number27's idea that none of the other commanders were willing to risk losing for a time makes a lot of sense. It takes a high level of maturity, a willingness to sacrifice the ego now, and ability to plan for the long future to take that kind of risk. None of these qualities is particularly present in children. Genius children might manage one or two but kids who are getting really strong messages about how smart they are, how important they are, how the fate of the world rests on their ability to WIN? Not a group likely sacrifice the ego. Which is a shame because I, at least, learn a helluvalot from my mistakes, ie the times I wasn't full of WIN.Kaynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2946534773407276339.post-28790762371160294032014-09-29T17:29:32.890-04:002014-09-29T17:29:32.890-04:00Ah, thank you. I know about the biome, just could...Ah, thank you. I know about the biome, just couldn't determine if it was enough by itself to rot a corpse! Looks like natural mummies all require low temperatures to freeze the human microbiome, like the Iceman and Incan mummies.<br /><br />Science!<br /><br />Also you're probably right, that station is probably filthy, haha.Alukonisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2946534773407276339.post-49626910041688367142014-09-29T17:12:00.569-04:002014-09-29T17:12:00.569-04:00Yep yep. Google "human microbiome". Th...Yep yep. Google "human microbiome". There are actually more bacterial cells than human ones in and on the body--gut, respiratory tract, naughty bits, corneas and skin. They're much smaller than human cells, of course, so they only make up a couple percent of your body mass, but there's definitely enough to start a body rotting. There are also fungi and even some small animals, like the notorious eyelash mites.<br /><br />A lot of this stuff could be purged by a disinfectant program before people came on board, but that's not usually a great idea health-wise; these microorganisms are beneficial in various ways, including helping with digestion and immune functioning.<br /><br />I'd be surprised if there aren't flies and other scavenger insects on the station, too. I mean, their containment protocols don't prevent <i>children</i> from scrambling through the ducts unnoticed, they're not gonna stop a fly.Anton_Matesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2946534773407276339.post-14687639467996595642014-09-29T13:26:27.400-04:002014-09-29T13:26:27.400-04:00In specially built spacecraft? Regardless of whet...In specially built spacecraft? Regardless of whether the heights given on the fan wiki are right, it sounds like he was definitely larger than your standard human. We don't generally build craft for outsized people.depizannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2946534773407276339.post-30770755585275496122014-09-29T13:24:41.872-04:002014-09-29T13:24:41.872-04:00That's a good question, and probably depends a...That's a good question, and probably depends a lot on details of the space station we don't have. People certainly are going to bring their own germs with them and it's possible - depending on how cargo is treated - that others will arrive with whatever is shipped to the station. If food is grown in the station, as opposed to being shipped from Earth, that would be another source of microbes in the general environment of the station.<br /><br /><br />Mummification might be more likely. But I suspect the body would still smell in the early stages, and there's still the basic fact that the air purification system probably gets <i>at least</i> weekly maintenance. Bean seems to have failed How to Hide a Body 101. (Or Card has.)depizannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2946534773407276339.post-6508851698687972292014-09-29T13:08:08.995-04:002014-09-29T13:08:08.995-04:00He headed out to space before he died, so that the...He headed out to space before he died, so that the zero-G could help him live longer. But I haven’t read <i>Shadows in FLight</i> either.Steve Morrisonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2946534773407276339.post-5551261700923958282014-09-29T12:42:27.697-04:002014-09-29T12:42:27.697-04:00If only he'd put half the effort into writing ...If only he'd put half the effort into writing that he put into coming up with his defense...depizannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2946534773407276339.post-88649312321291536582014-09-29T12:37:52.961-04:002014-09-29T12:37:52.961-04:00Is that really any more bizarre than everything el...Is that really any more bizarre than everything else Card's expected us to swallow?depizannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2946534773407276339.post-25249499359156169262014-09-29T12:11:51.308-04:002014-09-29T12:11:51.308-04:00Would it actually rot, though? Rotting is a biolo...Would it actually rot, though? Rotting is a biological breakdown that happens because of microbes, so if there aren't any of those in the space station, it would end up as a mummified corpse, not a rotted one.<br /><br />I mean, your point still stands, I'm just wondering if space corpses would rot or not. Is there enough bacteria just inside the body's natural biome to begin the rotting process? Obviously we're not going to get any worms in the air ducts, and if it's right by the purifiers perhaps those are the only bacteria that will interact with the body at all. A brief google search has not told me much.Alukonisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2946534773407276339.post-70583244605031157332014-09-29T09:44:26.345-04:002014-09-29T09:44:26.345-04:00Did you ever see that episode of Red Dwarf where R...Did you ever see that episode of Red Dwarf where Rimmer was extolling his prowess at Risk and telling Lister about the games in detail? something like "Then I rolled a five, but he rolled a three so I had to change my plans.... and I rolled a one!" <br /><br /><br />That's how I imagine the next books are if as described they're the novel versions of Risk and it's totally understandable why you would not want to touch them with a 900 foot dreadnought.Charles Raniernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2946534773407276339.post-9431605456573795082014-09-28T22:41:51.679-04:002014-09-28T22:41:51.679-04:00Yes, those books were excruciating painful FAIL. U...Yes, those books were excruciating painful FAIL. Ugh. Why doesn't he have an editor who goes, no one wants to read characters who will look up from the page and nag the reader about not being married and having babies!chromesthesianoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2946534773407276339.post-18331741730313461182014-09-28T22:39:10.215-04:002014-09-28T22:39:10.215-04:00"(there's some implication or even outrig..."(there's some implication or even outright statement that it's his <br />skeleton the formics used to make the 'real' Giant's Drink scene where <br />Ender finds the hive queen's egg"<br />Howwwww did they use his adult body to make a thing when he was still a wee little sprout when they all got killed? Did his bones time travel backwards?boutetnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2946534773407276339.post-54352696839949364842014-09-28T22:35:22.906-04:002014-09-28T22:35:22.906-04:00I believe Card would insist that your disbelief of...I believe Card would insist that your disbelief of such fantastical children is only proof that you're a boring old grown-up who was probably a boring child. That's kind of the feeling that I got from the intro he wrote for Game. That he knows about super awesome kids who are super awesome (because he's implied to have also been super awesome kid and now super awesome adult), and anyone who doubts his child characters at all is just a mean old fuddy-duddy who Doesn't Get It.<br /><br />It's one of those irritating defenses. Either you can agree with him and be one of the cool kids or you can call him on his bullshit and give up your coolness membership card. For me, I don't need any Card-based accolades.boutetnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2946534773407276339.post-72601503499507381882014-09-28T20:19:18.518-04:002014-09-28T20:19:18.518-04:00"So basically Achilles is who Ender would be ..."So basically Achilles is who Ender would be if Ender saw himself the way the book treats him."<br /><i>+1000</i>GeniusLemurnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2946534773407276339.post-22785653126642091082014-09-28T18:48:53.905-04:002014-09-28T18:48:53.905-04:00"That's reasonable on the face of it, but..."That's reasonable on the face of it, but that suggests that, rather than being super-brilliant, Ender is simply the first person stubborn enough to insist on trying something new, which... really? "<br /><br /><br />My interpretation of that passage was that other commanders could conceive of strategies like Ender's but, not being the super genius chosen one, they wouldn't be able to implement them without a period of adjustment where they lost battles and dropped in the standings and no one was willing to take that risk.<br /><br /><br />"I--what? How exactly would it have undermined Ender's glorious aura of command if he had actually said 'Bonzo is a goddamn menace and he needs to stay the fuck away from me'? Everyone's supposed to love Ender unconditionally. Is Card telling us that the essence of command isn't actually the charismatic bond of trust, but James-Bond-esque cool necessary for snappy one-liners and slowly walking away from explosions? Is this like "never let them see you sweat"? Whatever."<br />This is a pretty common understanding of leadership, especially military command. The idea is that the commander must always appear to have all the answers in order to maintain the trust of their subordinates and so they have to pretend to be perfectly in control at all times. This totally contradicts the whole "trust the toon leaders and give them autonomy" thing but I doubt it was thought through that far.Number27noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2946534773407276339.post-45153572205340986352014-09-28T18:48:20.373-04:002014-09-28T18:48:20.373-04:00......depizannoreply@blogger.com