I appreciate every detail of Christian's and Laurinda's eighteenth century "emulation," e.g.:
"Peace dwelt in England. Clouds towered huge and white, blue-shadowed from the sunlight spilling past them. Along the side of a lane, poppies blazed in a grainfield goldening toward harvest. On the right stretched the manifold greens of a pasture where cattle drowsed beneath a broad-crowned oak. Man and woman rode side by side. Hoofs thumped softly, saddle leather creaked, the sweet smell of horse mingled with herbal pungencies, a blackbird whistled." (p. 182)
Remember this is not a reproduction of the entire universe or even of the entire Earth. Stars are lights in the sky. Antipodal details are sketchy. Weather cannot be as it would have been at the corresponding time in the original history. Gaia alters or terminates emulations that go too far off course. But she could also maintain this mock eighteenth century indefinitely.
The possibilities are endless and awesome.
3 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
But still not real.
Ad astra! Sean
"not a reproduction of the entire universe or even of the entire Earth. Stars are lights in the sky"
See also an emulation that Christian visits later in the story, which is not a reproduction of history or alternate history. The Stars being only lights in the sky makes that emulation tragic.
Kaor, Jim!
I remember that part: 50,000 years after the Gaia AI used stored genetic material to bring back the human race, the scientists in that emulation did not understand why rockets that should work perfectly were failing. Pathetic--and cruel of that AI!
Ad astra! Sean
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