Daodan: Difference between revisions

Daodan (view source)

Revision as of 17:24, 25 June 2022

338 bytes added , 25 June 2022

I sort of mangled geyser's reconciliation theory the first time I rewrote this; I think this does a better job of conveying the idea

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 ==Facts==
 ===Daodan latency===
-The subject of latency is repeatedly mentioned by Shinatama, Kerr, and the rest of [[Griffin|Griffin's]] scientific crew, from [[Chapter 1]] on. While not very informative for the player at that stage, the unfamiliar term suggests something out of the ordinary, i.e. more exotic than regular biometric data.
+The subject of latency is repeatedly mentioned by Shinatama, Kerr and the rest of [[Griffin|Griffin's]] scientific crew from [[Chapter 1]] on. While not very informative for the player at that stage, the unfamiliar term suggests something more exotic than regular biometric data.
-According to the game's dialogue, high Daodan latency is bad, low latency is good: dialogue in the first chapters suggests that [[Quotes/Speech#Intro|27.1]] is normal and [[Quotes/Speech#Outro_2|29]] is a bit alarming (also mentioned are "bioplasmic waveforms", which are expected to be "stable"). However, it gets a bit more complicated than that, as consoles at the TCTF Science Prison ([[Quotes/Consoles#Superhuman|this one]] and [[Quotes/Consoles#Shinatama.2FKonoko_Relationship|this other one]]) both present <u>lowered</u> latency as the danger, not heightened latency.
+According to the game's dialogue, high Daodan latency is bad and low latency is good: dialogue in the first chapters suggests that a reading of [[Quotes/Speech#Intro|27.1]] is normal and [[Quotes/Speech#Outro_2|29]] is a bit alarming (also mentioned are "bioplasmic waveforms", which are expected to be "stable"). However it gets a bit more complicated than that, as consoles at TCTF Science Prison ([[Quotes/Consoles#Superhuman|this one]] and [[Quotes/Consoles#Shinatama.2FKonoko_Relationship|this other one]]) both present <u>lowered</u> latency as the danger, not heightened latency.
-How can we reconcile this contradiction? First, the notion of "latency" is closer to [[wp:Virus latency|virus latency]] (a dormant, inactive state, the opposite of "patency"), rather than the more common usage where "latency" means delay or lag (as in engineering and telecommunications). Instead, latency can be seen as an "at-rest state". A fully latent Konoko is one whose Chrysalis lays low and doesn't manifest itself. It is natural to describe this calm situation with a low range of values, and reserve high values for a dangerous/uncharted range. However, the phenomenon, and the quantity describing it, is still called "latency" because the "other end" is completely unknown.
+How can we reconcile this contradiction? First, "latency" apparently refers to a concept like [[wp:Virus latency|viral latency]] (a dormant, inactive state), rather than the more common usage of "delay in a network connection". If this is the case then "latency" should be seen as an at-rest state. A fully latent Daodan symbiote is one where the Chrysalis lays low and doesn't manifest itself. This explains why drops in latency concern the TCTF.
-So, somewhat counter-intuitively, a higher latency figure corresponds to a ''less latent'' Chrysalis that manifests itself ''more''. A lower latency figure corresponds to a Chrysalis/host symbiosis that is ''more latent'', i.e., closer to the "at-rest state" represented by "full latency".
+A key question is ''what specific attribute'' of Konoko is being measured to determine latency. It's quite possible that the actual bio-signal being measured – intracellular energy output, the release of a brain chemical, a metabolic byproduct in her blood – represents a drop in latency <u>when it rises</u>, thus creating an inverse scale where higher numbers mean less latency for the Chrysalis. It could also be a combination of factors which are used to compute a single number representing "distance from full latency".
+If we assume that the TCTF's scientists refer to this combined factor as "latency" for short (though certainly a word like "activity" or "potency" would have been more self-explanatory), then there is no conflict between the dialogue and consoles: higher numbers indicate greater distance from a state of latency, or in other words a drop in latency.
 ===Progress===