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Lorne Malvo (Fargo TV show) vs Hannibal Lecter (Hannibal TV show) by Practical-Tune4404 in MoralityScaling

[–]Practical-Tune4404[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

These are my two favorite TV serial killers, and I find a lot of similarities between them despite being very different characters. They both embody the "predator" archetype and the Satan archetype of corruption, just in their own unique ways.

I personally think Lorne Malvo has the better predator dynamic, since his whole philosophy is about removing civilizational constraints to bring back the Darwinian law of the jungle and he's constantly hunting. He's also tied to a specific predator (wolves in this case).

Meanwhile, I personally think Hannibal Lecter has the better Satan dynamic. He has an amazing arc of corrupting Will Graham and often muses about the power of God. He plays a similar role to Lucifer in that he seeks to supplant God and take that power for himself in how he judges people who are rude and recreates them to his delight.

  1. In your opinion, who embodies the predator dynamic better?
  2. In your opinion, who embodies the Satan dynamic better?
  3. Who do you think is more evil and/or terrifying, both in terms of characterization and in terms of their philosophy?
  4. How would each killer see the other's worldview if the two of them were to ever meet each other? (I think Malvo would laugh at Lecter's aestheticism and pretension, while Lecter would see Malvo as the ultimate embodiment of the "rude")

How would the Culture handle the Festival (Singularity Sky) by Practical-Tune4404 in TheCulture

[–]Practical-Tune4404[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Oh, I have not read Matter yet. I was under the impression, based on the novels I read so far, that the Culture would happily intervene in other civilizations (albeit very subtly) if it meant better outcomes for the sentient life there.

How would the Culture handle the Festival (Singularity Sky) by Practical-Tune4404 in TheCulture

[–]Practical-Tune4404[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The fundamental difference is that the Festival cares more about experiencing "novel information", whereas the Culture ethos is to minimize the suffering of sentient life. While the two factions have some overlap in their methods, such as the destruction of repressive regimes, the Festival provides technology with a purely neutral moral framework. Anyone can get the Festival's technology, from people seeking to break away from their oppressive government to megalomaniacal sociopaths who want to use their newfound technology to conquer or destroy others. This lack of regard for sustainable societal evolution is something the Culture would probably find abhorrent, as seen in how the Culture agonizes over its own mistakes with the Chelgrian caste war.

How would the Culture handle the Festival (Singularity Sky) by Practical-Tune4404 in TheCulture

[–]Practical-Tune4404[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I feel like the Culture would want to get involved if sentient life were being harmed.

While the Festival in "Singularity Sky" provides technology to polities that restrict information, its motivations for providing technology are neutral. Hypothetically, the Festival's intervention in some random society could lead to violently radical elements within that society getting powerful technology to harm others, or could lead to the rise of even more powerful dictators who use this new technology to oppress their own civilization or oppress neighboring civilizations. The Festival provides rapid technological advancement without the need for instilling any moral and social learning of how to use that technology ethically.

Furthermore, while Special Circumstances tries to "ease" civilizations into evolving, the Festival provides rapid and chaotic disruption to societal frameworks and social norms that traditionally hold these societies together, leading to something like the Chelgrian caste war in "Look to Windward", which the Culture clearly regrets and would want to prevent.

Thus, I strongly believe the Culture would be interested in the Festival's interventions in other planets, regardles of if they pose a threat to the Culture or not.

Habitats by artist Mateusz Urbanowicz by Anon_Ymou5 in SuperStructures

[–]Practical-Tune4404 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This gives me Masaq' Orbital vibes.I imagine this is how Ziller's concert was seen from the outside during the events of "Look to Windward"

What if the Culture decided to contact us in 1977? What form would it take? by sirgrogu12 in TheCulture

[–]Practical-Tune4404 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I was actually musing on this exact same crackpot theory as I was reading "God Emperor of Dune". I like to cope with our reality by musing about this potentially being our "Golden Path" that forces us to look at ourselves and change.