4.9 KiB
Unsong chapter 15: O Where Shall I Hide My Face
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Author: u/Lord_Drol NERV*
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URL: http://unsongbook.com/chapter-15-o-where-shall-i-hide-my-face/
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Score: 43
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Created: 2016-04-10T20:12:43
Post:
Comments:
u/Escapement [+12] Ankh-Morpork City Watch (29 minutes later)
My estimates of Ngo actually wanting to talk and being friendly took a severe hit by the whole 'attempts to shoot + uses combat magic at' thing - before this update I was thinking that the most likely way for the story to unfold would involve Aaron / Ana coming to understand that Unsong is not actively malicious but merely trying to keep a lid on things even as people like them keep doing things extremely unwisely. The shooting thing makes that seem less likely - though I could see shooting invisible people being a sensible part of public policy, honestly, all things considered, and it is quite likely Ngo was not in her most thoughtful mode during a prison break accomplished by mysterious means.
The whole 'seeing through invisibility' thing, which only Ngo has, though, makes me feel like Ngo might be either Sohu or possesses similar abilities regarding seeing names etc like Sohu does? I don't know what other abilities would be possessed ONLY by herself and not, for example, also by a small set of elite marksmen/snipers.
Edit: With Ngo's orders: I see what Scott did there
u/LiteralHeadCannon [+7] (50 minutes later)
She could be a demon with powerful unconventional senses, or simply have them as a result of an unknown name.
u/russxbox [+7] (2 hours later)
If she has them as the result of a name, though, the point stands. Why not teach that name to the guards posted at every facility? Or even a small, trusted group of snipers with orders to shoot on sight? Or if invisibility is used by UNSONG (for instance, undercover agents that don't have to blow their cover to report in person), orders to report invisible people approaching so they can be detained or allowed in.
If it's a name, Ngo shouldn't be the only one who has it.
u/electrace [+9] (7 hours later)
Why give snipers the ability to see invisible people if UNSONG doesn't even know that there is a name out there that can turn people invisible? For all we know, the ability to detect invisible people is a side effect of an insanely powerful name that Ngo wouldn't give to anyone, even a group of highly trusted soldiers.
u/iemfi [+3] (11 hours later)
If ngo is sohu she probably isn't the most sensible when it comes to situations like this if she spent a long time with uriel.
u/ulyssessword [+4] (10 hours later)
Thoughts:
It's interesting that the wrongness only seemed to happen once she crossed the threshold into the UNSONG facility.
The punctuation is different in Ana and Aaron's telepathy between this chapter and the previous one:
In Ch. 14 (Aaron's viewpoint):
[Aaron]...[I’ve come to save you. Are you there?]
[Ana**?**]...[Ana, I can take care of myself…maybe…Ana, get out!]
In Ch. 15 (Ana's viewpoint):
[Aaron**?**]...[I’ve come to save you. Are you there?]
[Ana**!**]...[Ana, I can take care of myself…maybe…Ana, get out!]
Looking someone in the eye is very precise, so Ngo probably isn't limited to just seeing the presence of Names or other forms of magic, she can actually see through the invisibility effect itself.
I misread some of the action. Some unknown third party used the Tempestuous Name on Malia Ngo to help Ana escape.
probably a typo, but Ngo had the recoil of the gun knock her to her feet. What was she doing before that, that the recoil caused her to become standing upright on the ground?
u/CCC_037 [+3] (11 hours later)
The... Untied States?
u/Iconochasm [+5] (18 hours later)
There were references to balkanization at some point. The Witch-King of Wichita, and a few others.
u/psychothumbs [+2] (19 hours later)
I wonder if it could also have something to do with this timeline's apparently much more powerful United Nations. The UN Tied states? Like the states tied to the UN?
u/whywhisperwhy [+1] (3 hours later)
Has anyone read this Exegesis by Astro Teller? It actually sounds pretty cerebral.
u/None [+4] (21 hours later)
Teller, you say...
u/Frommerman [+1] (a day later)
Why is Los Angeles outside the realm of the living?
u/Cruithne [+2] Light Sith epistemologist (5 days later)
I have a friend from LA, and I often ask him the same question.