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[GreatWyrmGold]

Grate cannot die. He can only be killed.

I'm not sure what the state of Grate's soul is, largely because I'm not sure what a soul is. Clearly, it's not tied to the body (as shown by synth- and robo-bodies), but is it tied to the brain or to the mind? Or is my initial assumption wrong, and most of the crew is soulless automatons?

[Sean Mirrsen]

Can we just label it as "video game character effect" and leave it at that? Because it's not reincarnating either, as his body is still his body (not merely a body like his, even), and he only loses memories from the point he'd gained the ability, kinda like a video game character loses all powerups on death and reappears in the same spot.

[GreatWyrmGold]

No.

A rose by any other name smells just as sweet, but a rose with no name is a pain to talk about.

[Harry Baldman]

The soul is unimportant, since we, the players, are our characters' souls. And 'respawning' is the best term for it, because that's exactly what it is. I assume the idea has been ingrained into popular culture over a thousand years that anybody you mention it to at least has a bit of an idea of what you mean.

I wonder where Grate respawns, though. Like when he fell into the fan, for instance. He didn't respawn in the same place, as evidenced by the way he did not get sliced to pieces for all eternity.

[Sean Mirrsen]

I have a name for it. The Kamina Code.
Konami Code is infinite lives (or a heap of lives, same thing). And Kamina is the guy providing the quote:

[GreatWyrmGold]

Never heard of Kamina or that quote.
Neat name.

[Sean Mirrsen]

Going back to the whole point of an "out of character" thread, I have a question. Should I try and launch an attack on the fleet right now, or should I wait? If I go now, I might do some damage, but I might also unintentionally impede progress of others depending on how the dice land. I mean, the "Black Death" ain't just a neat name. On the other hand, waiting would give the boarding teams more time to do their takeovers, and I could have a better idea of what to shoot at, but then the fleet will be out of range of the planetary weapons and our measly flight of 4 little ships is going to get picked off that much easier. I'm leaning towards attacking now, but I can't decide! D:

[Caellath]

Did you try asking Steve if that would be a wise decision? The way failures work, the Black Death could misfire or miss somehow and damage/destroy a ship with our troops inside.

[GreatWyrmGold]

Tactically, attacking now is probably the better option.

[syvarris]

Oh, but what about the corpse?  We really have no proof that you can't revive a corpse, and the only reason we haven't tried is because nobody wants to turn this into a game of commanding an army of Grate troopers.  Or anything else that would result from having infinite grates. _{like infinite bacon >.>}

Because of that, we can assume that it's possible to revive a corpse with an intact brain.  At which point we'd have two different Grates.  One who basically got teleported through time, and another who died and came back.

One died.  Therefore, Grate is capable of death if he can be revived.  We can't pr- oh wait yes we can!

A rose by any other name smells just as sweet, but a rose with no name is a pain to talk about.

Yes, that's true.  Do you know why?  Because people will just argue about whether or not it is a rose, and someone will bring up that roses have thorns, at which point everyone will check in the most painful way possible.

I'm only arguing this because I enjoy watching people squeeze rose thorns because they're convinced that it's an orchid.

@Whether or not to attack now
Ohgodpleasedon'tdothatI'madefenselessbraininajar

[renegadelobster]

@ Caellath Just a thought, wouldn't activating the EMM with Thaddeus sill holding on cause some problems? Like trying to evade away from him while he's still attached?

[syvarris]

As far as I'm aware, EMM just means the exoskeleton is being souped up with rocket fuel.  Or the little manuevering rockets fire in line with the exoskeleton.

Or it's the default exoskeleton thing thar just makes non-linear movements require dex rolls.  *shrug*

Either way, it isn't the dodge function.  That was an entirely different program, that Milno had to pay for I believe.

[GreatWyrmGold]

Oh, but what about the corpse?  We really have no proof that you can't revive a corpse, and the only reason we haven't tried is because nobody wants to turn this into a game of commanding an army of Grate troopers.  Or anything else that would result from having infinite grates. _{like infinite bacon >.>}
Because of that, we can assume that it's possible to revive a corpse with an intact brain.  At which point we'd have two different Grates.  One who basically got teleported through time, and another who died and came back.

One who was killed and came back.

We can't pr- oh wait yes we can!

He's still asnwering questions?

Yes, that's true.  Do you know why?  Because people will just argue about whether or not it is a rose, and someone will bring up that roses have thorns, at which point everyone will check in the most painful way possible.

More because no one will have any clue what the hell you're talking about.
"You know, that flower, it's, um..."
"Orchids?"
"No, it's round..."
"You mean like a dandelion?"
"No, it's red, too..."
"Is it a rafflesia?"
"Why the hell would I get a rafflesia for my girlfriend?"
"Is she a botanist?"
"No!"
"Then I don't know, why did you?"

[Caellath]

@ Caellath Just a thought, wouldn't activating the EMM with Thaddeus sill holding on cause some problems? Like trying to evade away from him while he's still attached?

The EMM is the MkIII's Enhanced Movement Mode, which makes the suit's exoskeleton consume fuel at a heightened rate in exchange for a +1 to Str and Dex. The thing you thought about was probably Milno's auto-dodge system. I'm not sure if piecewise considers it online by default, but in any case it is supposed to activate when Milno's moving too fast towards something solid or something solid is moving too fast towards him, IIRC. Due to the limits of the human body, I may end up buying an automanip like the ones used for those skeletal drop pods to protect people from G forces. Or install some automatic system that pumps Milno full of stimulants in case he blacks out during his maneuvers, not sure if I already price checked that.

Still, I believe the best course of action for Thaddeus would probably be crouching low and trying to stay behind Milno. Clinging onto someone capable of 500mph dashes tends not to be very healthy.

[Kriellya]

Yeah, my take on why Grate isn't immortal is kind of personal (in that I'm not sure I've ever heard someone else articulate it this way)

It's similar to why perfect clones are not me, and I usually describe it with the idea of 'stream' or 'chain' of consciousness. The idea is that, in order for me to survive, there has to be an unbroken chain of consciousness back to this point. (putting aside discussions as to whether sleep or being put under anesthesia breaks this, which are interesting philosophical discussions in their own right) In this framework, a clone is either the creation of a branch in this chain, and the nanosecond after you've created the clone it is no longer me, or a clone is the creation of an entirely different chain that happens to be completely identical up to the point of it's creation. Either way, if you kill me, and end the original chain, I am done. I am not that clone. My experience will cease. And while, to the outside world, there will indeed be absolutely no difference, and the clone will be just as convinced as I was that it is me, I will be just as dead. (This is, incidentally, why I will never use the most practical variation on teleportation if it ever exists)

To me, this is what Grate is. He is the creation of a clone at the moment of his demise. The true Grate, the original chain, ended with that rock. All we have now is copies, and while we cannot tell the difference, (and for the purposes of the game, the distinction is completely irrelevant) it is important to mark it. This is not immortality, as I would desire it or even accept it. But it is a form of something close.