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Showing posts with label universes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label universes. Show all posts
Friday, February 14, 2014
Friday, November 1, 2013
KILLKROP: Glossary of PCA language, part one
PCA (Post Constitutional America) is the basic setting for the Killkrop story.
This glossary lists the words, including Proper Nouns, used in the story to date.
***
Aftermath
The Aftermath was the period of the Great Unknowing when learning, technology and civilisation were lost after the Cataclysm.
Cataclysm, Great Cataclysm, End of the World
The Cataclysm was the wrecking of humanity's dominion over the Earth and the following transnuclear / DEW war with the Djinn which humanity fought as a hopeless rearguard action. The Cataclysm began on the Day of Revelation, when the Djinn revealed not only their true nature, and their true plan for humanity, but also that they had a legion of human followers who had already taken power.
Container
Term used by PCA people, especially mutants, for humanity. The term originated with Them.
Mutes
It was the period of the Aftermath when the human race lost its ability to speak and became known, confusingly, as Mutes. Ironically mutated humans retained their speech. Eventually, sufficient humans close to the original stock regained the ability to speak so that a population of Purebreed Speakers, commonly called Containers, exist in PCA. But there are still many Mutes in wild areas.
PCA
Post Constitutional America. Strictly speaking, PCA can refer to Pre-Cataclysm America as well as the Post-Cataclysm world since the American Constitution was suspended and then abolished by the Gunmint of the Fed three hundred years before the Cataclysm.
Purebreed
A Purebreed is a mutant of a particular species which produces viable offspring of the same type as itself, in other words a Purebreed has a basic karyotype which manifests the same inherited list of mutations as the ancestral form. Having been greatly changed in the Aftermath, they have since become standardised races which breed true... hence, Purebreed. They are highly political, racially supremacist, and form various alliances based on ancestral prejudices- such as vermin species allying against predatory species, etc.
Saint Incognito of the Invisible Hand
A surviving religious movement with Catholic Christian roots, the Saint is depicted blank faced with no features, and handless, its appendages concealed in shrouding robes. Its followers wear orange robes with no distinction of rank shown.
It is not widely known, but the monasteries of the Saint communicate using high tech comms devices, and the religious Order is apparently dedicated to restoring the technology of the year before the Cataclysm, as well as to opposing and eventually defeating Them.
Them
"Them" and "They" is the usual euphemism used by PCA people for the Djinn or Genies. The euphemism is used because of the universal belief that any accurate reference or more accurate term used in conversation for "Them" may attract their attention. Since "They" are considered amongst the most powerful entities in the world, there is widespread fear of contact with "Them".
This glossary lists the words, including Proper Nouns, used in the story to date.
***
Aftermath
The Aftermath was the period of the Great Unknowing when learning, technology and civilisation were lost after the Cataclysm.
Cataclysm, Great Cataclysm, End of the World
The Cataclysm was the wrecking of humanity's dominion over the Earth and the following transnuclear / DEW war with the Djinn which humanity fought as a hopeless rearguard action. The Cataclysm began on the Day of Revelation, when the Djinn revealed not only their true nature, and their true plan for humanity, but also that they had a legion of human followers who had already taken power.
Container
Term used by PCA people, especially mutants, for humanity. The term originated with Them.
Mutes
It was the period of the Aftermath when the human race lost its ability to speak and became known, confusingly, as Mutes. Ironically mutated humans retained their speech. Eventually, sufficient humans close to the original stock regained the ability to speak so that a population of Purebreed Speakers, commonly called Containers, exist in PCA. But there are still many Mutes in wild areas.
PCA
Post Constitutional America. Strictly speaking, PCA can refer to Pre-Cataclysm America as well as the Post-Cataclysm world since the American Constitution was suspended and then abolished by the Gunmint of the Fed three hundred years before the Cataclysm.
Purebreed
A Purebreed is a mutant of a particular species which produces viable offspring of the same type as itself, in other words a Purebreed has a basic karyotype which manifests the same inherited list of mutations as the ancestral form. Having been greatly changed in the Aftermath, they have since become standardised races which breed true... hence, Purebreed. They are highly political, racially supremacist, and form various alliances based on ancestral prejudices- such as vermin species allying against predatory species, etc.
Saint Incognito of the Invisible Hand
A surviving religious movement with Catholic Christian roots, the Saint is depicted blank faced with no features, and handless, its appendages concealed in shrouding robes. Its followers wear orange robes with no distinction of rank shown.
It is not widely known, but the monasteries of the Saint communicate using high tech comms devices, and the religious Order is apparently dedicated to restoring the technology of the year before the Cataclysm, as well as to opposing and eventually defeating Them.
Them
"Them" and "They" is the usual euphemism used by PCA people for the Djinn or Genies. The euphemism is used because of the universal belief that any accurate reference or more accurate term used in conversation for "Them" may attract their attention. Since "They" are considered amongst the most powerful entities in the world, there is widespread fear of contact with "Them".
Friday, June 15, 2012
The Smell Of Lime: Arrival
The Smell Of Lime: Gorgons
Of course as per the first cliffhanger at the end of Issue 1, Yvette's got the alien gun and Doc has... good intentions...
Monday, May 14, 2012
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Kid Celephais - background briefing - GOBLINS!
- goblin
- early 14c., "a devil, incubus, fairy," from O.Fr. gobelin (12c., as M.L. Gobelinus,
the name of a spirit haunting the region of Evreux, in chronicle of
Ordericus Vitalis), of uncertain origin, perhaps related to Ger. kobold (see cobalt), or from M.L. cabalus, from Gk. kobalos "rogue, knave," kobaloi "wicked spirits invoked by rogues," of unknown origin. Another suggestion is that it is a diminutive of the proper name Gobel.
Though French gobelin was not recorded until almost 250 years after appearance of the English term, it is mentioned in the Medieval Latin text of the 1100's, and few people who believed in folk magic used Medieval Latin. [Barnhart]
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=goblin
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Kid Celephais, page 51
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Does the Ether exist?
Ether Detection Experiments
In 1887, Albert Abraham Michelson and Edward William Morley published the results of an experiment which was the successor to a similar experiment which Michelson had performed in 1881. The purpose of the two experiments was to prove the existence of the luminiferous ether. It was supposed that light would travel at different velocities, according to the direction of movement of the earth's surface relative to the ether. A light beam, split to go in two directions at ninety degrees to one another, converged after taking paths of equal distance. When the beams converged they interfered with one another. By rotating the apparatus, a maximum interference was found which showed the difference in the velocities between the two parts of the split beam, and thus showed the presence of ether.
The difference between the light velocities was used to calculate an ether velocity relative to the earth's surface. However, the relative ether velocity that they found was much lower than anticipated. Through the years that followed, similar experiments were performed with much greater accuracy. The last was in 1932 (see Volume 7, Issue 38 of Infinite Energy Magazine, Dayton Miller's Ether-Drift Experiments - A Fresh Look by James DeMeo). In the most detailed experiments, a seasonally consistent low relative velocity was found. But rather than acknowledging the results of the experiments and moving on with the information provided, the lower relative ether velocity was considered a flaw in the experiment. The proponents of corpuscular theory later asserted that these experiments had found no relative ether velocity whatsoever, and the myth they started became dogma.
An experiment was performed in 1914 by Sagnac in which a light beam was split into two parts. One part moved along a path which was square in shape. The other part moved along the same path but in the opposite direction. The apparatus was set spinning so that, if there were an ether, the two parts of the beam would move at two different velocities. The interfering parts at the termination point would disclose the existence of the ether. And, in fact, that is exactly what happened. Furthermore, there was no strangeness in the magnitude of relative ether velocity. All was as it should have been. Other similar experiments followed which also proved the existence of the ether. There were no discrepancies between theory and results as had been the case with the Michelson-Morley type of experiment.
Unfortunately, relativity by this time was considered to be correct and many reputations (and egos) could be damaged by the disclosure of the existence of an ether. So the Sagnac experiment was suppressed as were all similar subsequent experiments. Einstein ignored Sagnac and his work.
Today, the same kinds of reputations and egos might be damaged, so physicists in general continue to ignore Sagnac. However, engineers use the "Sagnac effect" when they design their navigation systems for transoceanic aircraft, nuclear submarines, and communications satellites. Without this "effect" the navigation systems could not work properly. For more details, see two articles in Volume 7, Issue 39, of Infinite Energy Magazine, one by A. G. Kelly, and the other by the Correas.
In 1887, Albert Abraham Michelson and Edward William Morley published the results of an experiment which was the successor to a similar experiment which Michelson had performed in 1881. The purpose of the two experiments was to prove the existence of the luminiferous ether. It was supposed that light would travel at different velocities, according to the direction of movement of the earth's surface relative to the ether. A light beam, split to go in two directions at ninety degrees to one another, converged after taking paths of equal distance. When the beams converged they interfered with one another. By rotating the apparatus, a maximum interference was found which showed the difference in the velocities between the two parts of the split beam, and thus showed the presence of ether.
The difference between the light velocities was used to calculate an ether velocity relative to the earth's surface. However, the relative ether velocity that they found was much lower than anticipated. Through the years that followed, similar experiments were performed with much greater accuracy. The last was in 1932 (see Volume 7, Issue 38 of Infinite Energy Magazine, Dayton Miller's Ether-Drift Experiments - A Fresh Look by James DeMeo). In the most detailed experiments, a seasonally consistent low relative velocity was found. But rather than acknowledging the results of the experiments and moving on with the information provided, the lower relative ether velocity was considered a flaw in the experiment. The proponents of corpuscular theory later asserted that these experiments had found no relative ether velocity whatsoever, and the myth they started became dogma.
An experiment was performed in 1914 by Sagnac in which a light beam was split into two parts. One part moved along a path which was square in shape. The other part moved along the same path but in the opposite direction. The apparatus was set spinning so that, if there were an ether, the two parts of the beam would move at two different velocities. The interfering parts at the termination point would disclose the existence of the ether. And, in fact, that is exactly what happened. Furthermore, there was no strangeness in the magnitude of relative ether velocity. All was as it should have been. Other similar experiments followed which also proved the existence of the ether. There were no discrepancies between theory and results as had been the case with the Michelson-Morley type of experiment.
Unfortunately, relativity by this time was considered to be correct and many reputations (and egos) could be damaged by the disclosure of the existence of an ether. So the Sagnac experiment was suppressed as were all similar subsequent experiments. Einstein ignored Sagnac and his work.
Today, the same kinds of reputations and egos might be damaged, so physicists in general continue to ignore Sagnac. However, engineers use the "Sagnac effect" when they design their navigation systems for transoceanic aircraft, nuclear submarines, and communications satellites. Without this "effect" the navigation systems could not work properly. For more details, see two articles in Volume 7, Issue 39, of Infinite Energy Magazine, one by A. G. Kelly, and the other by the Correas.
Saturday, April 14, 2012
Machine Elves 101, or Why Terence McKenna Matters | Reality Sandwich
Machine Elves 101, or Why Terence McKenna Matters | Reality Sandwich
It is the supernatural entities encountered during his tryptamine experiences that compose the language of McKenna's Archaic pulpit. "In the phenomenon of Stropharia cubensis, we are confronted with an intelligent and seemingly alien life-form." (16) McKenna recounts time and time again the analogous experiences with these entities, what he calls "self-transforming machine elves" which one can make contact with in the psychedelic universe. "Right here and now, one quanta away, there is raging a universe of active intelligence that is transhuman, hyperdimensional, and extremely alien." (17) What this suggests is that the psilocybin experience opens the pathways to a sort of parallel dimension, where one can speak and interact with otherworldly beings. The intrigue of this lies in its repeatability of these alien forms and the nature of their interactions: "This spectacle of more than Oriental splendor is the characteristic, even unvarying, manner in which this experience presents itself."
It is the supernatural entities encountered during his tryptamine experiences that compose the language of McKenna's Archaic pulpit. "In the phenomenon of Stropharia cubensis, we are confronted with an intelligent and seemingly alien life-form." (16) McKenna recounts time and time again the analogous experiences with these entities, what he calls "self-transforming machine elves" which one can make contact with in the psychedelic universe. "Right here and now, one quanta away, there is raging a universe of active intelligence that is transhuman, hyperdimensional, and extremely alien." (17) What this suggests is that the psilocybin experience opens the pathways to a sort of parallel dimension, where one can speak and interact with otherworldly beings. The intrigue of this lies in its repeatability of these alien forms and the nature of their interactions: "This spectacle of more than Oriental splendor is the characteristic, even unvarying, manner in which this experience presents itself."
Friday, April 13, 2012
Evidence of a Mars cover-up
Evidence of a Mars cover-up
Evidence of a Mars cover-up by Jamie Stensrud
In 1976, we found evidence of extraterrestrial life. Coming not in such dramatic fashion as fleets of alien spacecraft landing in front of the UN, or an information-packed burst of radio transmission, this evidence came in the understated form of a biological waste product.
Experiment Yields Positive Results
The Labeled Release Experiment (LRE), conceived of by Dr Gilbert Levin (now of Spherix Inc) and included in the 1976 Viking Lander mission, was an experiment designed to test for evidence of microbial life on the surface of Mars. Its premise was that a soil sample would be subjected to a "bath" of radioactive nutrients laced with carbon; any organisms present would eat the nutrients and produce radioactive carbon dioxide as a natural byproduct. Although the experiment met with success, recording a level of byproduct that would be considered conclusive on Earth, two other experiments on board yielded contradictory results - one supporting the conclusion of the LRE, the other not. A fourth experiment, designed to detect organic molecules in the soil, yielded negative results, and thus it became accepted opinion that the positive LRE readings were chemical rather than biological in origin, even though a "second stage" LRE experiment (in which the soil samples were baked to eradicate any organisms, then tested again, producing no byproducts as expected) produced results confirming the findings of the first. View a slideshow demonstrating the Labeled Release Experiment
Although the Labeled Release Experiment relied on accepted and proven methods of determining the presence of biological organisms, official position at the time stated that the positive results were misleading, and were the result of either superoxides or an unknown chemical on the surface of the planet. At the time, not much evidence existed to refute that statement, but in the years since, other evidence has come to light supporting the claim that there is more going on at Mars (and NASA/JPL) than we may know.
Painting a Deceiving Picture There is more than circumstantial evidence that the concept of a "red Mars" is more of a conditioned idea than one based in fact. For example, consider the two images below, both released by JPL as original images; which one is the correct image? The answer is - they both are. The one at left was taken sometime on day 30 of the Pathfinder mission, which was to have been the final day of the mission, before it was extended. The image at right was taken at the end of day 30, as noted in the caption in the original image. Note the identical shadows cast by the probe and nearby rocks; either both images were taken within moments of each other, or they are in fact the same image, one of them color-adjusted. Did the image at left "slip through the cracks"?
What could cause two otherwise identical images to vary so much in color? Dust particles present in the lower atmosphere would scatter sunlight, adjusting it to a reddish hue similar to Earth's sunsets. It is hard, however, to imagine an effect which would cause such a sudden rise in atmospheric dust while at the same time not affecting the position of nearby rocks, pebbles, and sand, as well as not affecting the performance of the camera itself. This also does not explain the appearance of the left image in the first place, which depicts a brighter, more Earth-like tone. An explanation can be found in a statement by Ron Levin, son of Dr Gilbert Levin and a physicist at MIT. Levin claims that the original images received from Viking depicted "a blue sky and rocks with greenish patches on them", and NASA officials artifically adjusted the color on subsequent images to wash out certain features. The full account can be read here, from which I quote:
Evidence of a Mars cover-up by Jamie Stensrud
In 1976, we found evidence of extraterrestrial life. Coming not in such dramatic fashion as fleets of alien spacecraft landing in front of the UN, or an information-packed burst of radio transmission, this evidence came in the understated form of a biological waste product.
Experiment Yields Positive Results
 |
| Dr Gilbert Levin |
Although the Labeled Release Experiment relied on accepted and proven methods of determining the presence of biological organisms, official position at the time stated that the positive results were misleading, and were the result of either superoxides or an unknown chemical on the surface of the planet. At the time, not much evidence existed to refute that statement, but in the years since, other evidence has come to light supporting the claim that there is more going on at Mars (and NASA/JPL) than we may know.
Painting a Deceiving Picture There is more than circumstantial evidence that the concept of a "red Mars" is more of a conditioned idea than one based in fact. For example, consider the two images below, both released by JPL as original images; which one is the correct image? The answer is - they both are. The one at left was taken sometime on day 30 of the Pathfinder mission, which was to have been the final day of the mission, before it was extended. The image at right was taken at the end of day 30, as noted in the caption in the original image. Note the identical shadows cast by the probe and nearby rocks; either both images were taken within moments of each other, or they are in fact the same image, one of them color-adjusted. Did the image at left "slip through the cracks"?
 |  |
| Source: JPL/NASA | Source: JPL/NASA |
 |
| Viking image 12b166, 6 Oct 1976, 07:48 (unfiltered original) |
Ron said that he was a 20-year old grad student and was at JPL when the first color images came in from the lander. He said those original images showed a blue sky and rocks with greenish patches on them, and that the Viking imaging team quickly adjusted the images so that the sky and the rocks all had the reddish color we're familiar with. Levin made it clear that there was no scientific justification for these "adjustments", and he speculated that the color was changed because the planetary scientists took a dim view of the greenish patches on the rocks, which suggested some primitive form of plant life might be growing right on the surface.There is also evidence that the natural color of the Martian sky is in fact blue rather then reddish. From a Space Telescope Science Institute press release dated 1 July 1997, and viewable here:
"If dust diffuses to the landing site, the sky could turn out to be pink like that seen by Viking," says Philip James of the University of Toledo. "Otherwise, Pathfinder will likely show blue sky with bright clouds."
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Friday, April 15, 2011
Monday, April 11, 2011
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Last Year at Marienbad: An Intertextual Meditation
Last Year at Marienbad: An Intertextual Meditation
There is, in fact, a text behind the film - The Invention of Morel, a novella written twenty-one years earlier by Adolfo Bioy Casares, Jorge Luis Borges' colleague of the Fantastic. The Argentinean masterpiece is about a fugitive, Morel, hiding out alone on a deserted island who one day awakens to discover that the island is miraculously filled with anachronistically dressed people "who dance, stroll up and down, and swim in the pool, as if this were a summer resort like Los Teques or Marienbad" (11). It turns out that Morel's invention is a diabolical holographic recording device that captures all of the senses in three dimensions. It is diabolical because it destroys its subject in the recording process, rotting the skin and flesh off of its bones, thus gruesomely confirming the native fear of being photographed and also, perhaps, warning of the dangers of art holding up a mirror to nature.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Solitons
 | Solitons - A new paradigm in mathematical physics Sir Michael Atiyah, University of Edinburgh 97th Kelvin Prestige Lecture Speaker: Sir Michael Atiyah, University of Edinburgh 2006-03-09 12:00:00.0 Control & Automation Channel |
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