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Daodan (view source)

Revision as of 18:02, 25 June 2022

2,349 bytes removed ,  25 June 2022
organized sections more logically, tweaked a couple of their names; removed translated German passage
(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)
(organized sections more logically, tweaked a couple of their names; removed translated German passage)
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==Facts==
==Facts==
===Daodan latency===
===Chrysalis===
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.
The Chrysalis is first named by Shinatama during [[Quotes/Speech#Shinatama.27s_death|her revealing monologue]] in [[Chapter 8]]: "They used me to monitor the growth of the Chrysalis inside you". It was [[Quotes/Speech#Scanner_room|later elaborated on]] by Kerr [[Quotes/Consoles#Chrysalis_Removal|and his colleagues]] in Chapter 12, as seen in the leading quote in this article. The Chrysalis' growth process takes on dramatic proportions in a [[Quotes/Consoles#Shinatama.2FKonoko_Relationship|later description]]: "Konoko is closer to full transition than we ever suspected. Rough projections estimate that the Chrysalis will have infiltrated more than 80% of her body and will have replaced somewhere between 40 to 56% of her original organs."


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.
It is mentioned [[Quotes/Speech#Mutant_Muro_.28Griffin_dead.29|one final time]] in-game by Mutant Muro: "I am very impressed with what you have been able to accomplish without drawing on the full power of your Chrysalis."


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.
This optional encounter aside, the very last mention of it is in Konoko's [[Quotes/Speech#Outro_7|short outro]]: "Mankind as we knew it is doomed: the Chrysalis will change us all. Let's hope it's for the better."
 
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===
===Progress===
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Going by [[Quotes/Consoles#Superhuman|this console]], the Daodan not only amplifies physical performance but also affects one's personality: one becomes more headstrong, and easily aggressive.
Going by [[Quotes/Consoles#Superhuman|this console]], the Daodan not only amplifies physical performance but also affects one's personality: one becomes more headstrong, and easily aggressive.


===Daodan spike===
===Spikes===
[[Image:TXMPKONtransform.png|right]]
[[Image:TXMPKONtransform.png|right]]
Starting with her second encounter with [[Barabas]], Konoko experiences a dramatic surge of power after every boss fight (with the notable exception of [[Mukade]]).
Starting with her second encounter with [[Barabas]], Konoko experiences a dramatic surge of power after every boss fight (with the notable exception of [[Mukade]]).
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The term "Daodan spike" is not used to describe this spasm. Rather, these surges [[Quotes/Speech#Out_of_control|are described as]] "consistent with the waveforms of a Daodan spike, but <u>far more powerful</u>." Probably a regular Daodan spike is like an adrenal spike, but "far more powerful" already.
The term "Daodan spike" is not used to describe this spasm. Rather, these surges [[Quotes/Speech#Out_of_control|are described as]] "consistent with the waveforms of a Daodan spike, but <u>far more powerful</u>." Probably a regular Daodan spike is like an adrenal spike, but "far more powerful" already.


===Chrysalis===
===Latency===
The Chrysalis is first named by Shinatama during [[Quotes/Speech#Shinatama.27s_death|her revealing monologue]] in [[Chapter 8]]: "They used me to monitor the growth of the Chrysalis inside you". It was [[Quotes/Speech#Scanner_room|later elaborated on]] by Kerr [[Quotes/Consoles#Chrysalis_Removal|and his colleagues]] in Chapter 12, as seen in the leading quote in this article. The Chrysalis' growth process takes on dramatic proportions in a [[Quotes/Consoles#Shinatama.2FKonoko_Relationship|later description]]: "Konoko is closer to full transition than we ever suspected. Rough projections estimate that the Chrysalis will have infiltrated more than 80% of her body and will have replaced somewhere between 40 to 56% of her original organs."
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.


It is mentioned [[Quotes/Speech#Mutant_Muro_.28Griffin_dead.29|one final time]] in-game by Mutant Muro: "I am very impressed with what you have been able to accomplish without drawing on the full power of your Chrysalis."
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.


This optional encounter aside, the very last mention of it is in Konoko's [[Quotes/Speech#Outro_7|short outro]]: "Mankind as we knew it is doomed: the Chrysalis will change us all. Let's hope it's for the better."
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.


===Mukade===
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".
[[Mukade]] doesn't name the Daodan explicitly during his encounter with Mai, but [[Quotes/Speech#Faceoff|his allusions]] bear close resemblance with the descriptions of the transformation process occurring in Chapters 12 and 13:


"Does your blood burn when you kill? Mine does. [...] We writhe inside as we are torn apart to make way for what we will become. Surrender to it. Let the bliss of oblivion free you of all your doubts and fears..."
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.


===Hasegawa===
===Hasegawa===
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===True nature===
===True nature===
Kerr says that the physical transformation cannot change the symbiote's personality, but rather vice versa. He claims that the final form will be an expression of the person's "true nature".
Kerr says that the physical transformation cannot change the symbiote's personality, but rather vice versa. He claims that the final form will be an expression of the person's "true nature".
===Mukade===
[[Mukade]] doesn't name the Daodan explicitly during his encounter with Mai, but [[Quotes/Speech#Faceoff|his allusions]] bear close resemblance with the descriptions of the transformation process occurring in Chapters 12 and 13:
"Does your blood burn when you kill? Mine does. [...] We writhe inside as we are torn apart to make way for what we will become. Surrender to it. Let the bliss of oblivion free you of all your doubts and fears..."


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As for [[Muro]], he's aware of the problem, but doesn't care much about control. [[STURMANDERUNG]] is supposed to bring about eternal life ''and'' anarchy for the survivors.
As for [[Muro]], he's aware of the problem, but doesn't care much about control. [[STURMANDERUNG]] is supposed to bring about eternal life ''and'' anarchy for the survivors.
{{divhide|German translation ...}}
Der Grundgedanke des Daodan-Designs ist, dass man Kontrolle aufgeben muss um eine herausragende Leistung (Effizienz, Stärke) zu erreichen. Das ist worüber Kerr und seine Kollegen ständig reden, und es ist das was Muro und Barabas und Mai darstellen - ein jeder von ihnen in seiner Weise: Muro befreit sich aus der Kontrolle des Syndikats ganz ähnlich wie Mai von Griffen befreit. Barabas ist ein etwas komplizierterer Fall. Er stellt eine erzwungene (und gescheiterte) Eingrenzung der Stärke zu Gunsten der Kontrolle dar.
Der Punkt ist, dass man mit der Daodan immer das Unerwartete erwarten sollte. Der Fakt, dass die Theorie an sich jede Form der genauen Kontrolle und Hervorsage verneint, macht die Daodan so anders von jeder anderen Prototyp-Technologie. Welches (widget) Wunderding auch immer im Science-Fiction auftaucht, sogar solche, die es noch nicht gab, man weiß immer wozu es gut ist. Bei der Daodan hat man diesen Luxus nicht.
Und so trifft "Kompetenz" hier auf gar keinen Fall zu: Kerr ist der kompetenteste Typ, den wir kennen, und welche Diagnosen und Pronosen trifft er?
Was am ehestens "Kompetenz" nahe kommt, ist das Wissen über die der Theorie selbst auferlegten Grenzen. Was am ehestens "Inkompetenz" gleichkommt, ist das Übersehen derselben. Zu glauben, dass Kontroll- / Beschränkungssysteme vollkommen verlässlich seien, ist noch unverantwortlicher als das Übersehen eines wichtigen Elementes eines hypothetischen Kontroll- / Beschränkungssystems. Und das ist schwer zu übersehen.
Vertrauen in den Upgrade-Prozess zu haben, ist eine weitere Illusion - zumindest ist es leichter und ''angehemer'' zu übersehen. Dies passt eher zu einem global wirkenden Altruisten wie Kerr und Hasegawa es sind. Anzunehmen, dass die Daodan nichts falsch machen kann, ist genauso unverantwortlich wie die Behauptung über eine totale Kontrolle der Konsequenzen - seien sie nun Gute oder Schlechte. Aber der falsche Glaube an Ersterens - absolut verlässliche Kontrollsysteme - ist immer noch irrationaler, und damit geht er weniger mit einer objektive Argumentation einher.
Was Muro angeht, so ist er sich dem Problem bewusst, schert sich aber nicht viel um Kontrolle. STURMÄNDERUNG ist dafür ausgelegt den Überlebenden Ewiges Leben und Anarchie zu bringen.
{{divhide|end}}


===Alienation and loss of humanity===
===Alienation and loss of humanity===
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