that's good to hear, at least - four looks better than the last time lu bixing saw her, which was! screaming! so this is impressive. he makes no effort to hide, even letting her see his pile of books.
they look to be mostly textbooks - the ones that have been graffiti'd on. that doesn't seem to stop him, though: there's great works of english literature, there's instructional analytical chemistry, a magical introduction to spells, there's a historical treaty on the eden system by lu bixing set to the side away from the others... and a couple of books, including king bileygr, which is in front of him currently. ]
And I have! No better way to pass the time, I think, than reading.
[ he pats the chair nearby! come, come sit! ] And this place is strange in so many ways, isn't it?
[ the smile's empathetic and genuine - there's all kinds of weird shit going on in hell, even for someone who lives in space. the computers don't work. people have magic. there are two people here who are blue. shit is wildin. ] That's part of why I sat down to read, to be honest. I thought it might help me feel a little more acclimated.
[ there's a few guidebooks to ancient earth life mixed into the pile, from the library, too! though, when she notes his book, he makes an "aha!" noise and taps it gently. ]
It is, it is! I was surprised to find it among the textbooks, but... well, it's been in better condition, I think.
[ he flips open the book. there's a dick drawn on the inside cover where the names go. smh ] Still, it seems like all the pages are there, and it made me feel a little nostalgic, so I grabbed it.
[ ah - he smiles, snapping his fingers and brightening. ]
Exactly.
[ four gets him... kindred spirit.... kindred nerd....
anyway. he does smooth past the doodle, opening to a page that seems a little less graffiti'd. on it is a drawing of a person's brain! wow! his expression gets a little more serious as he talks, but he does put on his Teacher Voice TM as he smooths out the page to let her see the diagram, which includes the inset of a neuron. ]
The Eden System was named after paradise - it's what's called a "neural network" that functions because almost everyone in the world is able to connect to it using just their brainpower. Most of the world that I live in functions with machines and devices, and every person who is able to connect into that network is able to connect with every form of machine or artificial intelligence to use it. Think about the phone that you got here - at home, using Eden, you could think "I want the phone to take a picture", and it would take a picture without you having to say anything.
It's supposed to help humans live in a world that's like paradise, because the machines can create a sort of... collective image, as well as deal with problems people might have before they even have them.
[ he taps his fingertip against the book. ]
But, it's a system that had a lot of problems, for a lot of reasons. It officially went offline, about twenty years ago.
[ this is almost sensory overload. if modern twenty-first century tech takes four storm, the tech from lbx's world makes her gape. it's a lot to process, and she can't quite imagine simply thinking to operate anything like the phone.
even with her own kind of magic in her fantasy world, that's not quite possible. her brows furrow, after her astonishment begins to fade. ]
I don't think I can understand fully because of how much I still have to learn about how some technology works, but it sounds like this Eden System was as out of reach of its goal as what it was named after.
he's quiet for a moment, nodding along about the understanding bit, first. ]
You're understanding more than you think, because you're exactly right. [ clever girl. there's a little approval in his smile: pleased the teacher. ]
For starters, it was only accessible by a certain portion of the population. If your brain wasn't capable of functioning on Eden, then you were more or less cast completely out of society. And... the entire program was government controlled, so it was used more like a method of controlling the population - they grew dependent on it, and when it crashed, the people of Wolto especially, and many others, were left floundering trying to remember how to live a life that wasn't perfect.
[ he looks a little more thoughtful and reflective as he speaks through this, looking at the book and leafing absently through the pages. ] I lived in a place where the majority of those who couldn't access Eden ended up.
[ four is unfortunately a sunflower to the sun of approval, so she preens a little, in her own way, in the way she looks a little livelier with brighter eyes. ]
... So it was for the elite and the privilege, and it was abused in the worst ways. I'm glad it was shut down, then. It's all right to rely on something and ask for and receive help, but a dependency like that sounds like a disease.
[ four can't imagine what a perfect life is like. ]
Why did you write a book about the Eden System, if you lived somewhere where no one could use it?
anyway. he nods along to that description, making a noise of agreement, and as for the second, a quieter, more serious answer. ]
Because knowledge is power, Four. Always. [ to anyone. to students, to adults. to himself, learning the ins and outs of eden. ] Even if we couldn't use it all the time, people still used it. Wielded it like a weapon, really.
And besides - there are some functions of it that are helpful. The use of neural networks - I studied for a long period of my life to try and find a way for people who couldn't connect to them to work around it. Not so much for the use of Eden, but for the ability to power mechs, so they might be able to travel, or open up their world view even further than just the Eighth Galaxy itself. Or - so they might be able to defend themselves, just in case.
[ she doesn't quite understand how neural networks work, but the though of connecting her brain to anything is a bit alarming. maybe that's how his society has grown to accept what's best, but four, in her ye olde fantasy mindset, finds it a bit scary. ]
So people only have to think to defend themselves in the end? It'd be an easier or simpler way to survive?
[ she isn't going to mention how she doesn't know what mechs are. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
four returns the smile although it's a big more restrained. ]
Hello. I'm slowly adapting. I'm not used to most of the things offered to us.
[ outside of how things are out of her time, hell quality is hell.
she moves closer to the books. ]
I see you've taken a great number of books.
no subject
that's good to hear, at least - four looks better than the last time lu bixing saw her, which was! screaming! so this is impressive. he makes no effort to hide, even letting her see his pile of books.
they look to be mostly textbooks - the ones that have been graffiti'd on. that doesn't seem to stop him, though: there's great works of english literature, there's instructional analytical chemistry, a magical introduction to spells, there's a historical treaty on the eden system by lu bixing set to the side away from the others... and a couple of books, including king bileygr, which is in front of him currently. ]
And I have! No better way to pass the time, I think, than reading.
[ he pats the chair nearby! come, come sit! ] And this place is strange in so many ways, isn't it?
no subject
she hesitates for a second, but she does sit in the chair indicated. she looks over the titles with interest. ]
There are a lot of strange things. There's much I'm unfamiliar with.
[ and it's setting her more on edge than giving her comfort in more than one way. ]
Is that... something you wrote?
[ she gestures at a historical treaty on the eden system. ]
no subject
[ the smile's empathetic and genuine - there's all kinds of weird shit going on in hell, even for someone who lives in space. the computers don't work. people have magic. there are two people here who are blue. shit is wildin. ] That's part of why I sat down to read, to be honest. I thought it might help me feel a little more acclimated.
[ there's a few guidebooks to ancient earth life mixed into the pile, from the library, too! though, when she notes his book, he makes an "aha!" noise and taps it gently. ]
It is, it is! I was surprised to find it among the textbooks, but... well, it's been in better condition, I think.
[ he flips open the book. there's a dick drawn on the inside cover where the names go. smh ] Still, it seems like all the pages are there, and it made me feel a little nostalgic, so I grabbed it.
no subject
[ the way she has had to acknowledge how people are from different worlds and times is too wild for her brain to process.
she wrinkles her nose at the drawn dick, her brows furrowing. she's scandalized. ]
Hell makes even books crude. Will you tell me about the Eden System?
[ sounds like something that'll be way over her head. ]
no subject
Exactly.
[ four gets him... kindred spirit.... kindred nerd....
anyway. he does smooth past the doodle, opening to a page that seems a little less graffiti'd. on it is a drawing of a person's brain! wow! his expression gets a little more serious as he talks, but he does put on his Teacher Voice TM as he smooths out the page to let her see the diagram, which includes the inset of a neuron. ]
The Eden System was named after paradise - it's what's called a "neural network" that functions because almost everyone in the world is able to connect to it using just their brainpower. Most of the world that I live in functions with machines and devices, and every person who is able to connect into that network is able to connect with every form of machine or artificial intelligence to use it. Think about the phone that you got here - at home, using Eden, you could think "I want the phone to take a picture", and it would take a picture without you having to say anything.
It's supposed to help humans live in a world that's like paradise, because the machines can create a sort of... collective image, as well as deal with problems people might have before they even have them.
[ he taps his fingertip against the book. ]
But, it's a system that had a lot of problems, for a lot of reasons. It officially went offline, about twenty years ago.
no subject
even with her own kind of magic in her fantasy world, that's not quite possible. her brows furrow, after her astonishment begins to fade. ]
I don't think I can understand fully because of how much I still have to learn about how some technology works, but it sounds like this Eden System was as out of reach of its goal as what it was named after.
What problems made it unusable?
no subject
he's quiet for a moment, nodding along about the understanding bit, first. ]
You're understanding more than you think, because you're exactly right. [ clever girl. there's a little approval in his smile: pleased the teacher. ]
For starters, it was only accessible by a certain portion of the population. If your brain wasn't capable of functioning on Eden, then you were more or less cast completely out of society. And... the entire program was government controlled, so it was used more like a method of controlling the population - they grew dependent on it, and when it crashed, the people of Wolto especially, and many others, were left floundering trying to remember how to live a life that wasn't perfect.
[ he looks a little more thoughtful and reflective as he speaks through this, looking at the book and leafing absently through the pages. ] I lived in a place where the majority of those who couldn't access Eden ended up.
no subject
... So it was for the elite and the privilege, and it was abused in the worst ways. I'm glad it was shut down, then. It's all right to rely on something and ask for and receive help, but a dependency like that sounds like a disease.
[ four can't imagine what a perfect life is like. ]
Why did you write a book about the Eden System, if you lived somewhere where no one could use it?
no subject
anyway. he nods along to that description, making a noise of agreement, and as for the second, a quieter, more serious answer. ]
Because knowledge is power, Four. Always. [ to anyone. to students, to adults. to himself, learning the ins and outs of eden. ] Even if we couldn't use it all the time, people still used it. Wielded it like a weapon, really.
And besides - there are some functions of it that are helpful. The use of neural networks - I studied for a long period of my life to try and find a way for people who couldn't connect to them to work around it. Not so much for the use of Eden, but for the ability to power mechs, so they might be able to travel, or open up their world view even further than just the Eighth Galaxy itself. Or - so they might be able to defend themselves, just in case.
no subject
So people only have to think to defend themselves in the end? It'd be an easier or simpler way to survive?
[ she isn't going to mention how she doesn't know what mechs are. ]