Wednesday 27 January 2021

Shared Experience II

See Shared Experience.

Flandry to Miriam:

"'Your chief purpose has been to learn how to feel and think like her, hasn't it?'" (p. 100)

If the shared experience had been brought about by Chereionite telepathy, then Miriam would know what Yewwl thought because both Yewwl's momentary thoughts and Yewwl's understanding of them would have been exactly reproduced inside Miriam's brain. However, what is happening is that an approximation of Yewwl's sensory inputs is being transmitted into Miriam's brain. After that, it is Miriam's memories, concepts and understanding that must interpret the data. Thus, the end result is nothing like Yewwl's thoughts about her experiences. However, Miriam's:

"...intellect, imagination, empathy developed through year after year..." (p. 99)

- can work hard at learning how Yewwl feels and thinks especially since these two beings also converse directly with each other. Yewwl alone hears Miriam's voice inside her own head.

6 comments:

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

Was a miniradio surgically implanted into Yewwl's head? If so, that would be a kind of artificial telepathy she had with Miriam. And we see Anderson using that idea in one of his Maurai stories, "Progress."

Ad astra! Sean

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

Btw, I don't quite agree with that boxed selection of the Flandry stories. I would have included ENSIGN FLANDRY, A CIRCUS OF HELLS, THE REBEL WORLDS, and enough of the Captain Flandry stories to make up another volume. I think that would be sufficient for a first boxed set.

Ad astra! Sean

paulshackley2017@gmail.com said...

Sean,

I will have to check about the miniradio idea.

Paul.

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

And the artificial telepathy seen in "Progress" is one of the things about that story which has stuck in my mind for many years!

Ad astra! Sean

paulshackley2017@gmail.com said...

Sean,

No radio in Yewwl's head. Miriam's voice is received in the collar and transmitted to Yewwl through her skull.

Paul.

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

Dang! Sort of like bone conduction. But it would have been so much cooler if it had been a kind of artificial telepathy!

Ad astra! Sean