4.9 KiB
Unsong Chapter 50: Silent As Despairing Love
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Author: u/Fredlage *
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URL: http://unsongbook.com/chapter-50-silent-as-despairing-love/
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Score: 41
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Created: 2016-12-12T00:39:22
Post:
Comments:
u/Frommerman [+16] (an hour later)
"Then, Tharmas broke out of the hastily - constructed box and IKBM'd the world. The End."
u/oliwhail [+13] Omake-Maximizing AGI (an hour later)
If this ends up all having been about AI safety, I don't know whether we should be happy or mad.
u/696e6372656469626c65 [+2] I think, therefore I am pretentious. (a day later)
Eh, I personally doubt it would go down that way; it would leave quite a few hanging plot threads, which is unsatisfying from a narrative perspective--and for a story that runs on narrativium, that's saying quite a lot.
u/Fredlage [+12] (2 hours later)
Finally Aaron behaves with a modicum of common sense.
No moral soul... well, Sarah's problem is simpler than I thought. She doesn't need therapy, just someone who knows the right name.
Speaking of that, this chapter seems to contradict Chapter 1, where it is stated that the neshamah is the divine spark given by the Vital Name.
u/ratanon [+2] Holy, holy is the lord of /etc/hosts (15 hours later)
It's fixed now.
u/DCarrier [+11] (45 minutes later)
…and I didn’t love her. My heart was taken.
He doesn't love his daughter because his heart is taken by his wife? I don't think that's how it works.
u/passwordisoptional [+12] (an hour later)
Sarah certainly doesn't love him like a father... I don't think she'd be happy hearing he loves her like a daughter.
u/Muskworker [+9] (17 hours later)
Still, if the options are:
a) allow the powerful name-wielding amoral love-crazed AI the possibility of learning at any time that there's someone else you love more than her, or
b) slot the powerful name-wielding amoral love-crazed AI into a valid family relationship, which i) gives her less reason to worry about the constancy of your love and ii) allows her to call the other woman "mother" instead of "rival"......then it's time to step up and be the daddy.
u/UltraRedSpectrum [+3] (a day later)
Familial love and romantic love are not the same thing, and Sarah pretty clearly wants the latter and not the former. It's not at all certain that she'd be willing to settle for the beanie baby dog of paternal love when what she wanted was the flesh-and-blood puppy of romantic love.
u/Cruithne [+7] Light Sith epistemologist (a day later)
I don't think that is clear. It's pretty obvious she doesn't have well thought-out ideas about how love works. She is only four days old. She might not grasp the difference.
u/Muskworker [+1] (a day later)
Yeah, it wouldn't be what she wants, but it would at least let Aaron say he shouldn't love her like that, as opposed to saying he doesn't love her like that, with the greater risk that entails.
(...assuming that one can understand 'should' in reference to other people without a moral soul of one's own, anyway.)
u/RMcD94 [+7] (4 hours later)
Still he could safely answer.
Plus it's odd for this story to suddenly act like love is a finite resource which there's only enough for one person
u/monkyyy0 [+5] (6 hours later)
But have you considered how awesome ana is?
u/mhd-hbd [+4] Writes 'The World is Your Oyster, The Universe is Your Namesake' (11 hours later)
Aaron lost the Vital Name to Sarah.
The Comet king lost The Most Holy Name to Metatron.
If the mankind is wicked there will be two prophets.
u/fljared [+1] United Federation of Planets (a day later)
I'm suspecting that Aaron's choice here is him not being wicked- Him choosing to give up the name in exchange for not getting to be the hero is him not being the second prophet.
u/JulianWyvern [+3] Wayward Wanderer (14 hours later)
Why did Aaron "mumble to break out the string" when he knows the name he'll speak isn't actually right?
u/callmebrotherg [+6] now posting as /u/callmesalticidae (16 hours later)
Habit, I'd guess.
u/DCarrier [+3] (18 hours later)
And what happened to Pig Latin?
u/waylandertheslayer [+2] (a day later)
I think pig latin, if he already knows the name, might count as klipot? It seems to fulfil all the requirements from the chapter where he escapes from Malia Ngo.
u/DCarrier [+2] (a day later)
They wouldn't have used it before if it counted. I don't think you're allowed to rearrange the letters for klipot.
u/monkyyy0 [+2] (18 hours later)
Aaron with holding important information is lying; last time you did it, it ended poorly