Okay, I thought THIS episode was cool. Tachicoma rebellion? Or just one in the making? I'm interested to see where THIS is going.
What I found most interesting, though, was the concept of the Tachicomas as a collective consciousness. They share memory, and are supposed to have no individual personality of their own. And yet, they have obviously DEVELOPED individuality, from the brash, outspoken leader type, to the bookish philosopher who seems to stay "above" the argument.
It's interesting to see this kind of individuality develop in the presense of a collective memory. It was really funny watching them argue about which of them actually met the little girl, and talk about how much they enjoyed seeing her. Ironically, the attachment they ALL have formed to Batuo may reflect the way he treats his one, individual Tachicoma. Since he has formed a connection to it, he's formed a connection to all of them.
And then there was the discussion of "zero" as the digital counterpart to the concept of "God", for analog beings. While its a simplification of the issue, obviously, it was INCREDIBLY deep. And the Tachicomas are children, really, their ideas would be very simplistic.
The interesting thing is, Ghost in the Shell bases its idea of the "ghost" on a unity with the mind and body. Although the Major's body is artificial, it has to "feel" to her like a human body in order to support her ghost. So if the Tachicoma's are developing ghosts, then they have a single mind, but separate bodies. They seem to also be developing separate ghosts, but this is complicated by their shared memory.
Since even humans can share memories in the GITS world, just ordinarily choose not to, it is a question that has implications for them, as well.
Of course, there's also the fear of the Tachicomas that they will be dismantled, or even lose their memories of Batuo and the others. While they claim to be incapable of understanding death, that could be a form of death, and they obviously are worried about that, too. I'm worried about how they will react when they learn of the Major's plans, although I'm quite sure she would actually like to preserve the progress they have made and study it, once they are safely disarmed, of course.
She's cautious, as anyone with her experience would be, but I'm sure she realizes what I said above, about this having implications for humans as well. The Major always seems to know more than she lets on...
[edit] I also liked the line about machines not changing, but it is the HUMANS and their understanding of "life" that is changing.
What I found most interesting, though, was the concept of the Tachicomas as a collective consciousness. They share memory, and are supposed to have no individual personality of their own. And yet, they have obviously DEVELOPED individuality, from the brash, outspoken leader type, to the bookish philosopher who seems to stay "above" the argument.
It's interesting to see this kind of individuality develop in the presense of a collective memory. It was really funny watching them argue about which of them actually met the little girl, and talk about how much they enjoyed seeing her. Ironically, the attachment they ALL have formed to Batuo may reflect the way he treats his one, individual Tachicoma. Since he has formed a connection to it, he's formed a connection to all of them.
And then there was the discussion of "zero" as the digital counterpart to the concept of "God", for analog beings. While its a simplification of the issue, obviously, it was INCREDIBLY deep. And the Tachicomas are children, really, their ideas would be very simplistic.
The interesting thing is, Ghost in the Shell bases its idea of the "ghost" on a unity with the mind and body. Although the Major's body is artificial, it has to "feel" to her like a human body in order to support her ghost. So if the Tachicoma's are developing ghosts, then they have a single mind, but separate bodies. They seem to also be developing separate ghosts, but this is complicated by their shared memory.
Since even humans can share memories in the GITS world, just ordinarily choose not to, it is a question that has implications for them, as well.
Of course, there's also the fear of the Tachicomas that they will be dismantled, or even lose their memories of Batuo and the others. While they claim to be incapable of understanding death, that could be a form of death, and they obviously are worried about that, too. I'm worried about how they will react when they learn of the Major's plans, although I'm quite sure she would actually like to preserve the progress they have made and study it, once they are safely disarmed, of course.
She's cautious, as anyone with her experience would be, but I'm sure she realizes what I said above, about this having implications for humans as well. The Major always seems to know more than she lets on...
[edit] I also liked the line about machines not changing, but it is the HUMANS and their understanding of "life" that is changing.
Richard Ryley - ryley@phan.org
For a melting ninja monkey, you sure drive a hard bargain...
For a melting ninja monkey, you sure drive a hard bargain...
