To Archie, Bucky and Bagley
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IamLEAM1983
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To Archie, Bucky and Bagley
Did you get around to watching Ghost in the Shell? What did you think?
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IamLEAM1983
- Site Admin
- Posts: 3709
- Joined: Tue Jan 08, 2013 4:54 am
- Location: Quebec, Canada
As Archie, Bucky and Bagley
Archie: "Oh, yes - that plodding visual assault that combines the gratuitous use of the female form with philosophical pontificating the likes of which I haven't heard since my father's old bishop protested my having gone mechanical...
To put it simply, there comes a point in any Clank or android's life in which all these profound considerations, all the notions pertaining to the nature of the human experience and the exact location of the Self amid all those gears or microprocessors - they simply fall by the wayside. Life waits for no man, after all, and it certainly will not wait for a recently re-integrated full-body cyborg to finish coming to grips with the ineffable nature of her own existence - not when said individual is apparently a high-ranking member of the police force and is responsible for safeguarding the public against abuses of the very same technology that sustains her life...
My five senses tell me I am alive, and ergo, I am. I exist. There is no need for me to dwell on this any further, even if my existence frames my physical self as being more of a convenience than anything indicative of my personality or deeper nature."
Bucky: "Heh, take Mister Uppity's diatribe here with a grain o' salt - he fell asleep halfway through the flick!
I dunno - I guess I don't wanna box my life into neat little cubes, unlike the boss, and I can kinda accept the notion that figurin' out what I am starts t'get kinda complex if you take out my armature. Not that I'm conflicted or anythin', but I guess you could ask what exactly it is Neasa's interested in. Is it the point where my mind and Iwata's old shell meet, is it just my mind - or is it the way my mind pushes past the armature?
I won't even pretend to wonder if she's only interested in my armature, not even for the sake of argumentation - 'cause that's just silly as Hell. Nor will I say I actually give these questions any kind o' serious thought - as that's where I reach Arch's understandin'. There's a whole lotta stuff that deserves more attention than just sittin' around wondering if my no longer bein' the swindler from Oklahoma means anythin'.
As long as I don't lose myself in Iwata's fractured memories, I'd say I'm fine and dandy as it is. No metaphysical navel-gazin' required."
Bagley: "I've actually given the Anime and Manga's premise some thought, having gone so far as to access a few translated issues of Shirow's work. A few additional points are raised, starting with how fluid notions of gender and sexual preference can become, when an individual is reduced to mere packets of code or to a steel-encased brain - although these considerations have never truly struck me. More adventuresome individuals may choose to reflect on their identity as being a plastic and malleable concept, whilst I persist in seeing myself as one Maurice Bagley. Much of what Transhumanism treats as being inescapable actually strikes me as being preferential. Several advocates for implant-based gender or body dysphoria already displayed elements of dissatisfaction before beginning their process of augmentation, so it may very well be that technology will exacerbate issues related with one's self-image.
Having existed as a Genius Loci, I see no particular issue with admitting that what truly defines me is limited to the etheric packet which was uploaded to my current body. Replace it or remove it, and my armature ceases to represent me. It becomes hardware, as it was when it was first shipped to the manor. Self-image is hardly a serious concern to me, despite my having taken the time to update the armature's facial hair or having deeply appreciated Neasa's occasional gifts of cravats and fob chains. I would see no issue in living in a smaller, structurally weaker or outright nonhuman robotic design, so long as my volition remains clearly expressed and interpreted.
Not that it should suggest that I take no pride in being as I am today. Having once been a prize fighter, there is something comforting to the familiar sight of these broad shoulders and this narrow waist. At the risk of appearing boastful, I feel strong and capable, all the while being able to express all the gentility and discretion expected of my posting.
Having said that, why must Major Kusanagi be naked in order to use her thermoptic camouflage? I fail to see how blatant titillation brings sizable rewards to any operative, unless Shirow-san's version of Hong Kong comes complete with diamond-hard synthetic skin..."
To put it simply, there comes a point in any Clank or android's life in which all these profound considerations, all the notions pertaining to the nature of the human experience and the exact location of the Self amid all those gears or microprocessors - they simply fall by the wayside. Life waits for no man, after all, and it certainly will not wait for a recently re-integrated full-body cyborg to finish coming to grips with the ineffable nature of her own existence - not when said individual is apparently a high-ranking member of the police force and is responsible for safeguarding the public against abuses of the very same technology that sustains her life...
My five senses tell me I am alive, and ergo, I am. I exist. There is no need for me to dwell on this any further, even if my existence frames my physical self as being more of a convenience than anything indicative of my personality or deeper nature."
Bucky: "Heh, take Mister Uppity's diatribe here with a grain o' salt - he fell asleep halfway through the flick!
I dunno - I guess I don't wanna box my life into neat little cubes, unlike the boss, and I can kinda accept the notion that figurin' out what I am starts t'get kinda complex if you take out my armature. Not that I'm conflicted or anythin', but I guess you could ask what exactly it is Neasa's interested in. Is it the point where my mind and Iwata's old shell meet, is it just my mind - or is it the way my mind pushes past the armature?
I won't even pretend to wonder if she's only interested in my armature, not even for the sake of argumentation - 'cause that's just silly as Hell. Nor will I say I actually give these questions any kind o' serious thought - as that's where I reach Arch's understandin'. There's a whole lotta stuff that deserves more attention than just sittin' around wondering if my no longer bein' the swindler from Oklahoma means anythin'.
As long as I don't lose myself in Iwata's fractured memories, I'd say I'm fine and dandy as it is. No metaphysical navel-gazin' required."
Bagley: "I've actually given the Anime and Manga's premise some thought, having gone so far as to access a few translated issues of Shirow's work. A few additional points are raised, starting with how fluid notions of gender and sexual preference can become, when an individual is reduced to mere packets of code or to a steel-encased brain - although these considerations have never truly struck me. More adventuresome individuals may choose to reflect on their identity as being a plastic and malleable concept, whilst I persist in seeing myself as one Maurice Bagley. Much of what Transhumanism treats as being inescapable actually strikes me as being preferential. Several advocates for implant-based gender or body dysphoria already displayed elements of dissatisfaction before beginning their process of augmentation, so it may very well be that technology will exacerbate issues related with one's self-image.
Having existed as a Genius Loci, I see no particular issue with admitting that what truly defines me is limited to the etheric packet which was uploaded to my current body. Replace it or remove it, and my armature ceases to represent me. It becomes hardware, as it was when it was first shipped to the manor. Self-image is hardly a serious concern to me, despite my having taken the time to update the armature's facial hair or having deeply appreciated Neasa's occasional gifts of cravats and fob chains. I would see no issue in living in a smaller, structurally weaker or outright nonhuman robotic design, so long as my volition remains clearly expressed and interpreted.
Not that it should suggest that I take no pride in being as I am today. Having once been a prize fighter, there is something comforting to the familiar sight of these broad shoulders and this narrow waist. At the risk of appearing boastful, I feel strong and capable, all the while being able to express all the gentility and discretion expected of my posting.
Having said that, why must Major Kusanagi be naked in order to use her thermoptic camouflage? I fail to see how blatant titillation brings sizable rewards to any operative, unless Shirow-san's version of Hong Kong comes complete with diamond-hard synthetic skin..."