Comic Discussion > ALICE GROVE
Alice Grove MCDLT - June 2016
brasca:
--- Quote from: BenRG on 21 Jun 2016, 03:42 ---I've been thinking of Sedna's ability to photosynthesise. Does this indicate that she was a super-soldier created by the bioengineering faction whilst Alice was the product of the AI/Synthetic faction? That raises the possibility that Alice is a either an android or a massively-augmented human (augmented to the point where her still being a biological life-form is debatable).
--- End quote ---
It could just be a minor variation of Alice's ability to grow armor. I do wonder if Sedna's reference to photosynthesis is an indication that she and Gavia are human and plant hybrids. If the habitat rulers are trees then it makes sense that their children would be some variation of this.
retrosteve:
The photosynthesis is cute, but except in starvation-stasis mode, not likely to be replacing food. "I cannae change the laws of physics" -- Scotty
Even if you assume Sedna is always naked (well, she doesn't mind that), covered in chlorophyll, and can expose half her surface area fully to the sun during all daylight hours, photosynthesis is not a big enough energy source to keep a normal person going. Randall Munro's calculations xkcd on photosynthesizing cows and Jeremy Miles' calculations Jeremy Miles on Quora on photosynthesis both agree that a moving, warm-blooded creature needs 50 to 5000 times as much energy as it could photosynthesize with full chlorophyll coverage.
Even if the photosynthesis were perfect energy conversion(say, ideal solar cells) instead of its usual 3-6% efficiency, that would only make it ~20 times better, making it cover between .4% and 40% of a human's daily energy needs (depending on stuff). Again, assuming that human was always naked and sunbathing. Plants only get away with it because they don't need to heat themselves or to move around.
If Sedna photosynthesizes, it's probably only useful when she's in emergency stasis.
DSL:
Random thoughts from today's comic:
Given the political fumduckery that bubbled uo in the states over trans people and bathrooms, I wonder what the immediate social ramifications today would be from the surfacing of the ability to change one's skin color with an act of will. Most of my circle would be anywhere from enthusiastic to chill about it, for reasons philosophical and practical, but I know some twitchy bigots who would be even twitchier about it -- a prospect both entertaining (because I know them) and terrifying (also because I know them).
"If you're wondering how she poops and pees, and other science facts (la LA la) ..." ... The Loon has gone two? Three? weeks without eating or apparently metabolizing. Not ruling out the possibility of miracle-tech clothing or even body mods (she's not BASELINE. GEEZ.), but ... no input. no output.
Sedna days "preachin' to the choir" some few thousand years after this part of the globe, at least, has seen either preachin' or choirs. Was there any evidence of religion in Alice-town, other than a casual reference to Alice as a "witch"? Some superstition, maybe, directed at Ardent. Made me wonder, though, about words in use today, long after the concepts that birthed them have faded. And now that I've set myself up, I csn;t think of any examples ... Anyone else?
JimC:
--- Quote from: DSL on 21 Jun 2016, 09:51 ---Sedna days "preachin' to the choir" some few thousand years after this part of the globe, at least, has seen either preachin' or choirs.
--- End quote ---
Well, I hear/read them speaking early 21st century north american dialect, which is already significantly different to the dialect of the same region 100 years before (read old newspaper reports in something like the NYT on line archive to get a feel for how much the language has changed). Given a few thousand years language would drift wildly. (See various threads round the forum for contemporary dialect variations). So clearly what we are reading is a translation of what would be said into our contemporary speech. We could make the same assumption for metaphors...
sitnspin:
--- Quote from: retrosteve on 21 Jun 2016, 09:47 ---photosynthesis is not a big enough energy source to keep a normal person going.
--- End quote ---
What could possibly have led you to the conclusion that Sedna is in any way normal?
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