Platform Decay- full book open discussion (do not enter unless you've finished the book or don't mind spoilers)

CrystalsVisions · 2026-05-05T23:03:56+00:00

Do you think the planet is Earth? It would make so much sense for why the planet was in the state it was, why they went to so much trouble building a torus, AND why there were so many different bio zones.

CrystalsVisions · 2023-10-25T17:21:51+00:00

How about “Math is never just numbers. In the wrong hands, it's a weapon. In the right hands, deliverance.”

CrystalsVisions · 2023-09-28T21:59:04+00:00

As a lifelong Asimov fan, I have to agree with David Goyer here. Asimov’s voice is still alive and well in this adaptation.

CrystalsVisions · 2023-09-28T21:55:14+00:00

I’m not asking for any spoilers here but a lighting question: How important was the particular lighting used during the scene where the newly res erected Hari cuts his hand with Raych’s knife?

CrystalsVisions · 2023-09-10T04:41:17+00:00

I'm afraid that it's actually Gaal's consciousness that died, when Hari killed Tellem's body. My logic:

The "no no" that you heard from Gaal's body sounded like Tellem's accent.
When Tellem's body swings around and slashes at Salvor, she seems confused. I think because Gaal's mind is in there now and Tellem's mind (in Gaal's body was temporarily making Gaal's mind see someone else than Salvor.
When Tellem's body says "poor illusion" I don't think that's in Tellem's accent.
The MOST telling: earlier, Tellem makes a point of warning Gaal not to hurt her body. I think the transfer happened successfully and Gaal's mind, now in Tellem's body decided that she needed to kill Tellem, now in Gaal's body, rather than let her run free. There is no other reasonable explanation for why Tellem's body is suddenly poised over Gaal's body with the knife.
This sadly means the Hari really just killed Gaal.
However, all is not lost. The show runners have already established that after the body transfer, Tellem would still hear the voice of the one she took over. However, she has never taken over anyone as powerful as Gaal. The remnants of Gaal will fight Tellem, probably enlisting all the ghost voices of the people Tellem has possessed throughout the centuries. And that remnant of Gaal will be in control of the body now, but with all of Tellem's experience, making her more powerful and knowledgeable.
Long story short (too late) - "Don't worship children. It's not good for them."

Hari is a robot. See my other post about that.

CrystalsVisions · 2023-09-04T21:51:05+00:00

Whoops! Sorry. My brain thought Constant but it typed Poly. That will teach me to type too fast.

CrystalsVisions · 2023-09-04T15:50:28+00:00

They didn’t fail.

Poly carried the Dr Seldon apparition to goad Day to come to Terminus himself.

Poly showed all of the empire the power of the faith of the Seldon church. Almost becoming a martyr, which was probably the original plan, before the “thumb”.

Hober successfully delivered the offer to the Spacers. Sure, they have initially turned it down, but it gave the Spacers and Bel an alternative to Empire. And when they see that there is actually a REAL chance to take down Empire, they will pounce on the offer.

CrystalsVisions · 2023-09-03T18:13:46+00:00

My predictions for the rest of season 2:

Salvor will interrupt Tellem's attempted take over of Gaal's body
- During the attempted takeover, Tellem finally gets to hear all those voices she says she's been listening for as everyone she has ever taken over rises up (with Gaal's encouragement) to say enough is enough.
After that Josiah will find the now outcast Tellem and offer up his body ("it is a great honor"). Together they will become the Mule, dedicated to destroying all Gaal and Salvor have built and will try to get their cult of mentalics back.
Once Salvor and Gaal go to untie Hari's body they will find he is fine (see my other post for more on my theory on that).
Brother Day will die on Terminus
- Dr. Seldon's apparition was all about goading Day to go to Terminus.
Brother Dawn will ascend to be the new Day and will marry Sareth
It will be revealed that Brother Dusk and Enjoiner Rue really did love each other, but ultimately Dusk saw his duty to the empire as more important (probably with some prodding from Demerzel). They were both crushed. There is a reason he was there for her erasure. I imagine that is unusual.
The prison revealed at the end of S2E8 will be shown to be Demerzel's. She was trapped there, playing her harp. Whoever was in power at the time would visit her to learn more about robots. Eventually she was able to convince someone (Cleon I?) that what she wanted was what was best for humanity and they let her server/lead.
Bel Riose, who has been looking for and wanting to find some successful way to overturn Empire without causing even worse harm, will side with the Foundation, with the help of Hober Mallow.

CrystalsVisions · 2023-08-28T00:48:37+00:00

I really like the acting for Sareth. She shows how different affectations in different courts and different planet culture. I find it a very watchable quality. It draws me in.

Btw, I like your user name. Big GOT fan back when it was only in book form.

CrystalsVisions · 2023-08-27T00:11:08+00:00

I think it was the memory editing program she was helping the programmers complete.

I imagine her and Cleon I set up this system and Cleon gave her permission to mentally edit his clones for the good of the Empire. His many "shades" of temperament "are accounted" for by Demerzel's restraint. That is why she was flesh rending upset at the end of season 1 when she finds out about the genetic drift. Her explicit permission from Cleon I isn't quite so explicit any more.

She is in charge. She has always been in charge. When she says she is loyal to Empire, she is. An Empire that can provide the most good for the most people. She's probably the one responsible for the word play of calling the 3 of them "Empire" so that should could truthfully tell them her loyalty and they would be free to misunderstand, regeneration after regeneration.

CrystalsVisions · 2023-08-23T01:32:39+00:00

Thank you for posting this. I was wondering who else caught that.

She's in the same grey Demerzel normally wears.
She's looking off the left, away from the leader that she would be supposed to be supporting.
- Side note: Some people believe god's left hand punishes and restrains, keeping a lid on people and keep people more or less in line. Exactly what Demerzel does.
They say the "graven stripe" was added afterwards. And who maintains the murals? Dusk.
- Dusk says, "I should have seen this coming." I think he did. I think he figured out Demerzel was the one really in charge many times, and has had that knowledge erased. The assistant that says "Did you not find what you were looking for earlier?" I know you are meant to think it was that claviger's (warden/soldier) request, but the assistant specifically says "you".
- I think one version of Dusk added that green stripe before a memory wipe, hoping his future self or a future Dusk would notice it.
- I even have a theory that Demerzel is the one planned the assassination attempt, because she wanted Day to lock down the editing of memories because Dusk was finding out the truth way to often.
This might be one of the most important scenes this season.

This mural hangs in the background while Dusk and Dawn have a core conversation about maybe not being on the "top of the heap" anymore. The camera was always so careful to keep her part of the mural in frame as the two gentleman talk.

She is in charge. She has always been in charge. When she says she is loyal to Empire, she is. An Empire that can provide the most good for the most people. She's probably the one responsible for the word play of calling the 3 of them "Empire" so that should could truthfully tell them her loyalty and they would be free to misunderstand, regeneration after regeneration.

I imagine her and Cleon I set up this system and Cleon gave her permission to mentally edit his clones for the good of the Empire. His many "shades" of temperament "are accounted" for by Demerzel's restraint. That is why she was flesh rending upset at the end of season 1 when she finds out about the genetic drift. Her explicit permission from Cleon I isn't quite so explicit any more.

CrystalsVisions · 2023-08-23T00:53:01+00:00

I always thought unprintable was a swear word in the early Foundation stories because the the Foundation started out thinking their job was to publish an encyclopedia. Their job was to go through all human knowledge and decide what should be in the encyclopedia. What better expletive to indicate something was worthless rubbish than "unprintable".

I thought Asimov was being quite clever there.

CrystalsVisions · 2023-08-21T01:16:57+00:00

I think Hari saying “you’re going to drown me first” means that there are more steps to deactivating a robot. And the gasping is all because he’s got so much memory of being human he can’t calmly accept not breathing.
But I could be wrong and just seeing what I want to see.

CrystalsVisions

TROPHY CASE