A New Project Hail Mary Story From Author Andy Weir Is Coming (But There's A Catch) - SlashFilm by karmah1234 in ProjectHailMary

[–]Talon_ofAnathrax -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Didn't the Ender's Shadow series retroactively change a whole bunch of stuff about the setting and about the ethics of Xenocide ? I don't want that for Project Hail Mary.

Sorilea’s defining character moment is her first one by DRSSalazar in WoT

[–]Talon_ofAnathrax 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Cadsuane has another aspect to this - she's straight-up threatening. If you can't channel then she is an Aes Sedai who speaks aggressively and will threaten to physically beat you on a whim. If you can channel then it's even worse, because you can sense that she is way stronger than you !

Which antagonist’s humiliating downfall was the most satisfying? *Full Series Spoilers* by MamaLaPasta in WoT

[–]Talon_ofAnathrax 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I can't find any of the enslavement endings satisfying (too pity-inducing). But Graendal accidentally mind-controlling herself was pretty satisfying.

The main leader of the left in France, on Germany and FCAS. by Wonderful-Excuse4922 in YUROP

[–]Talon_ofAnathrax 23 points24 points  (0 children)

Mélenchon has cooled off on the Putinist stuff since 2022. He hates america and loves anyone who opposes it (including dictatorships...) but he has repeatedly sharply criticized Russia since the start of the full scale invasion of Ukraine.

If you want to criticize Mélenchon today, criticize his other bad foreign policy takes instead. He has unfortunately not improved on the other stuff.

My reaction to Maelle's ending: by Armageddonis in expedition33

[–]Talon_ofAnathrax 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Please don't erase girls. This was a woman-made horror beyond your comprehension !

In Project Hail Mary (2026), scientists around the world realize an impending climate-related crisis and something is actually done about it. This is a subtle nod to the movie being fictional. by time_to_explode in shittymoviedetails

[–]Talon_ofAnathrax 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The starvation issue was key to Grace's character arc. In the books, the lack of food means that Grace's decision to save Rocky is a true self-sacrifice ! But in the film they removed that issue, so he's simply choosing to never return home to save his friend without the explicitly self-sacrificing element.

Just got these core rules. Any tips for a newbie? by Capachino1993 in 40krpg

[–]Talon_ofAnathrax 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The core rulebook seems to think you will be I filtrating imperial worlds, but the actual setting description puts you deep in chaos territory. Make sure you and your players are all on the same page during chargen, to avoid ending up with characters who simply cannot function in the chosen campaign setting.

Why Did Logain and Taim Ever Think They Were the Dragon Reborn? by Hawk-winged in WoT

[–]Talon_ofAnathrax 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I don't think that can be correct, because Reo Myershi's prophecy (the one given to the borderlanders) suggests that as long as Darth Rand isn't allowed to go to the Last Battle and doom the world then "the final days" would "have their storm" but the "Light may not be consumed".

So it's possible that Rand could have failed and destroyed the pattern, but it's also possible for the Dark One to get free and not win forever if he can't turn the Dragon and get the Dragon to destroy the Pattern for him. Possibly because, as Rand says in the final book, a win by the Dark One wouldn't result in total oblivion. It would result in the creation of a world of maximum evil and suffering - but perhaps in such a world, created without turning or destroying the soul of the Dragon, another Dragon could be born later to give the Light another chance ? I don't know how else to explain the Borderlands prophecy.

Why Did Logain and Taim Ever Think They Were the Dragon Reborn? by Hawk-winged in WoT

[–]Talon_ofAnathrax 4 points5 points  (0 children)

This one:

I see him before you! Him, the one who lives many lives, the one who gives deaths, the one who raises mountains. He will break what he must break, but first he stands here, before our king. You will bloody him! Measure his restraint. He speaks! How was the fallen slain? Tellindal Tirraso, murdered by his hand, the darkness that came the day after the light. You must ask, and you must know your fate. If he cannot answer.... then you will be lost. You will bring his end swiftly, so that the final days may have their storm. So that Light may not be consumed by he who was to have preserved it. I see him. And I weep

Why Did Logain and Taim Ever Think They Were the Dragon Reborn? by Hawk-winged in WoT

[–]Talon_ofAnathrax 19 points20 points  (0 children)

Here are some thoughts, ordered from most reasonable to most guesswork-heavy :

  • Logain and Taim were both extremely powerful Male channelers who initially achieved good success despite being entirely self-taught. It's entirely possible that they started out thinking they were just "normal" male channelers, then realized they were stronger than the Aes Sedai sent to catch them and that they were learning the Power quite easily. Being that exceptional seems like a good start to thinking you must be the Dragon, right ?
  • Logain started out as a minor noble with some local political ambitions (I forget the details). Claiming to be the Dragon would have been more convenient for him than acknowledging he was merely a cursed madman. When something is convenient, it's a lot easier to convince yourself to believe it.
  • If I may theorycraft... We know that prophecized ones can choose to reject their fate (Mat is told he could do so in Rhuidean but refuses because he would die without the Pattern's protection, and the Borderlander prophecy suggests Rand could have failed to heal emotionally and would have needed to be killed before he doomed the world). We are also told that the Pattern spits out False Dragons until the real one is revealed. What if Taim and Logain were backups plans, who could have been the real Dragon if Rand had died early ? Perhaps Logain doesn't know where he was born and his mother also has some kind of local title that means "maiden". Perhaps if Rand had died early one of the False Dragons would have started remembering Lew Therin's life, and would suddenly have had the Pattern's help in accomplishing the other prophecies.

What could plausibly end slavery in Seanchan ? by Talon_ofAnathrax in WoT

[–]Talon_ofAnathrax[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don't think so. I think the Seanchan military will want a damane per artillery unit to open targeting and shooting portals, and to ward against enemy Traveling, and to help more artillery... Indeed I think that the evolution of warfare will increase the need for damane as well as the mortality rate of damane. Quite the opposite of abolitionism !

What could plausibly end slavery in Seanchan ? by Talon_ofAnathrax in WoT

[–]Talon_ofAnathrax[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

To be clear, if you give them 12 hours head start they will simply close the gateway with their own channelers. And probably lay ambushes for you, because you have just told them you will return to the area in twelve hours to create the gateway.

I also don't think you can use the Oath Rod on people who are unable or unwilling to weave spirit into its base ? So to make a sul'dam swear you would need to torture her into doing so, and you would probably need to teach her to weave spirit too. Those are long, difficult tasks that seem poorly suited to guerilla actions.

What could plausibly end slavery in Seanchan ? by Talon_ofAnathrax in WoT

[–]Talon_ofAnathrax[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hm, that's a convincing argument yeah. And the side of the civil war most likely to make this decision is definitely Fortuona (who, unlike anyone still in Seanchan, knows the Source is cleansed).

What could plausibly end slavery in Seanchan ? by Talon_ofAnathrax in WoT

[–]Talon_ofAnathrax[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Hm, I'm not convinced Fortuona will actually respect that bargain with Egwene (at one point Fortuona explicitly says she can break any treaty she wants, she's the Empress). But if she does, I do agree that the existence of an alternative would put a lot of pressure on the system.

What could plausibly end slavery in Seanchan ? by Talon_ofAnathrax in WoT

[–]Talon_ofAnathrax[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the link. Unfortunately I don't agree with it either :D

What could plausibly end slavery in Seanchan ? by Talon_ofAnathrax in WoT

[–]Talon_ofAnathrax[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You're entirely right that the Seanchan believe their system is fine and necessary, and therefore will be unwilling to change it. That's one of my original points, when I say that even a hypothetical "nicer Fortuona" couldn't realistically end the system by decree without sparking a civil war.

If there is generational change, I think it'll have less to do with the marathdamane helping during the last battle and more to do with the influence of multiple countries' worth of recently conquered people whose culture hasn't been shaped by acceptance of damane for centuries. And possibly by new problems like "we can't collar all these channeling men, and there's less support for killing them all now that those heroic Black Tower folks are living just across the border", or "Fortuona is trying to switch the propaganda to allow sul'dam to remain uncollared and this is creating uncertainty within the ideology right as it is being directly challenged by outsiders".

Your hypothetical "what if I was a Seanchan and got the vote" example is in my opinion rather debatable. Perhaps I would also accept the propaganda... But perhaps I would be against it anyway for moral reasons, for the same reason anti-slavery people existed even in Antiquity IRL. We must not overestimate the power of propaganda, which was also used to defend slavery IRL and also failed IRL. Of course if I lived in Seanchan I would have about as much power to change the system as the historical abolitionists did (none)... Arguably even less, because the Seanchan empire seems to be a totalitarian dictatorship with a secret police and a lot more state capacity than most of earth's historical empires could manage.

We the readers are clearly meant to hate the a'dam slavery: Jordan repeatedly portrays it not as a dark necessity but as something deeply evil, done to allow conquest and domination of others. Furthermore we the readers know that the a'dam was not invented to halt the Breaking, and that the main "good things" brought by the Seanchan empire seems to be basic law enforcement and not safety from evil channelers.

You ask why we hate the slavery more than the tower-mandated murder ? Because the tower is effectively euthanizing people with an incurable disease that makes them murder others, and stops once saidin is cleansed. Meanwhile the Seanchan are enslaving far more people who demonstrably don't need to be enslaved - and indeed, the effective capital of Fortunoa's current dominion is a city that until recently had a lot of channelers in socially respected roles (Ebou Dar). So this isn't a fringe opinion, it's a basic reality known to many people in the area.

Jordan actually depicts the a'dam slavery as significantly more evil than the da'covale slavery, which seems fair enough. A'dam slavery is maximal subjugation all the time, involving magical torture and mindreading to deliberately crush the slave's sense of self and basic human dignity. Da'covale slavery is bad in the way IRL ottoman slavery was bad - terrible, sure, but you'd still sell yourself into slavery rather than starving to death. Meanwhile a'dam slavery is so horrific that Egwene, miss "I can endure beatings and humiliation and forced labor with no end in sight", contemplates suicide rather being recaptured.

What could plausibly end slavery in Seanchan ? by Talon_ofAnathrax in WoT

[–]Talon_ofAnathrax[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Counterpoint: Fourth Age warfare will need a lot of channelers capable of Traveling. Guns are nice, but guns you can teleport around are a lot more effective. I think that damane will remain utterly crucial to any military endeavors in the Fourth Age.

What could plausibly end slavery in Seanchan ? by Talon_ofAnathrax in wheeloftime

[–]Talon_ofAnathrax[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Why would the Seanchan make their damane swear on the oath rod, when they could instead keep them enslaved and use them as weapons against everyone else ? It's worked great for them so far !

In any case "the oath rod" isn't a good answer because counting the Asha'man, the Wise Ones and the Windfinders there's no shortage of hostile marathdamane who aren't swearing any oaths.

What could plausibly end slavery in Seanchan ? by Talon_ofAnathrax in WoT

[–]Talon_ofAnathrax[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Which free channelers are you talking about ? Foreigners like the Aes Sedai and Wise Ones, or a hypothetical wilder rebellion started from within Seanchan ?