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blakes7-d Digest				Volume 99 : Issue 2

Today's Topics:
	 Re: [B7L] voice recognition
	 [B7L] Susan Riaz
	 Re: re [B7L] Voice recognition
	 Re: re [B7L] Voice recognition
	 [B7L] French spelling in Star Cops
	 Re: [B7L] Broken Hearts
	 Re: [B7L] Tarrant (that'll get Carol's attention -grin-)
	 Re: [B7L] Broken Hearts
	 [B7L] Susan Matthews's latest
	 [B7L] Matters Tarrant

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 2 Jan 1999 21:55:45 +0100 (BST)
From: Judith Proctor <Judith@blakes-7.demon.co.uk>
To: Lysator List <Blakes7@lysator.liu.se>
Subject: Re: [B7L] voice recognition
Message-ID: <Marcel-1.46-0102205545-b49Rr9i@blakes-7.demon.co.uk>
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; CHARSET=US-ASCII

On Sat 02 Jan, Kathryn Andersen wrote:
> On Fri, Jan 01, 1999 at 09:52:10PM +0100, Judith Proctor wrote:
> > 
> > Maybe there had been laws restricting the development of computers with
> > personalities?
> 
> C'mon, this is the Federation!  They have *slaves*, they wouldn't balk
> at the ethics of artificial personalities.  Or were you thinking in
> terms of the fear of true independent Artificial Intelligence, as
> distinct from personality simulations?  I got the impression from what
> Avon said about Zen in particular, that true AI was something which
> the experts took for granted to be impossible.

I was thinking of the potential problems of a computer with a mind of its own. 
The altas fitted Zen with some kind of limiter, so they obviously faced similar
problems.

Judith
-- 
http://www.hermit.org/Blakes7

Redemption 99 - The Blakes 7/Babylon 5 convention  
26-28 February 1999, Ashford International Hotel, Kent
http://www.smof.com/redemption/

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 3 Jan 1999 12:39:10 +0100 (BST)
From: Judith Proctor <Judith@blakes-7.demon.co.uk>
To: Lysator List <Blakes7@lysator.liu.se>
Subject: [B7L] Susan Riaz
Message-ID: <Marcel-1.46-0103113910-339Rr9i@blakes-7.demon.co.uk>
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; CHARSET=US-ASCII

Does anyone have a current e-mail address for Susan Riaz?

Judith
-- 
http://www.hermit.org/Blakes7

Redemption 99 - The Blakes 7/Babylon 5 convention  
26-28 February 1999, Ashford International Hotel, Kent
http://www.smof.com/redemption/

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 3 Jan 1999 16:05:12 -0000
From: "Neil Faulkner" <N.Faulkner@tesco.net>
To: "lysator" <blakes7@lysator.liu.se>
Subject: Re: re [B7L] Voice recognition
Message-ID: <004201be3733$c5fcee60$701fac3e@default>
Content-Type: text/plain;
	charset="iso-8859-1"
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>>The concept of voiced and voice-activated computers
>> has been around for a long time in SF; it was pretty much old hat by the
>> time B7 rolled around.
>
>Exactly.  In Trek, voice recognition was commonplace, Trek came before
>Blake's 7, so why did the writers choose for it not to be commonplace?
>One reason could be that Blake's 7, *not* being a utopia, had to be a
>bit more run-down and less luxurious.
>Of course, my problem is that I am trying to find an *internal*
>explanation, not an external one.


I'm not sure it was choice on the part of the writers; I think they were
themselves a bit overawed at the thought of holding conversations with a
computer.  It would be interesting to hear Chris Boucher's take on this.  I
distinctly remember, when I first encountered the Traveler RPG in 1980,
being a bit disturbed to see a 'pocket computer' on the equipment list.  The
very concept was vaguely alarming.  Nowadays, of course, I can pick one up
for twenty quid in Argos.

There is a general tradition in science fiction for writers not to fully
understand the technology they put in their stories.  Some deathless classic
of the Golden Age had teams of scientists laboriously working out logatithms
by hand, only then feeding the results into the computer.  Harry Harrison,
in an essay on SF and technology, noted that computers in Golden Age stories
tended to be analogue rather than digital machines.

>> >How are we to cope with this when I.T. creeps into fan fiction?  I
>> >tend to assume that speech circuits and voice recognition are
>> >commonplace (certainly not expensive), and if that contradicts the
>> >series then the series can go fry.
>
>And Neil stands by that, as I have noticed in Neil's fiction,
>particularly the wonderful very cyberpunk "A Casting of Swords" (in
>Stadler Link), which, IMHO goes so much in that direction that it is
>hardly Blake's 7 at all.  Really good story, and a delightfully
>chilling explanation for Gan's limiter, but the pure cyberpunk seems
>grafted on to the Blake's 7 universe, IMHO.
>
Glad you liked it; not everyone's cuppa, I know.

Rgarding the technological overhaul, it has to be done, IMO.  Techwise, the
aired series is hopelessly out of date in many respects, and needs to be
brought up to date.  I think that this can be done without damaging the
overall structure of the series universe.  It certainly needn't alter the
main characters to any significant degree, and since they're generally
reckoned to be the central point of interest, no real damage is done.

Neil

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 3 Jan 1999 18:20:53 -0000
From: "Alison Page" <alison@alisonpage.demon.co.uk>
To: "lysator" <blakes7@lysator.liu.se>
Subject: Re: re [B7L] Voice recognition
Message-Id: <E0zwsRR-0007UP-00@post.mail.demon.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
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> Rgarding the technological overhaul, it has to be done, IMO.  Techwise,
the
> aired series is hopelessly out of date in many respects, and needs to be
> brought up to date.  I think that this can be done without damaging the
> overall structure of the series universe.  It certainly needn't alter the
> main characters to any significant degree, and since they're generally
> reckoned to be the central point of interest, no real damage is done.
> 
> Neil

Watching 'Alien' this weekend it was very noticeable that the computer
technology was the most unbelievable part of the whole film. people in the
late 70's didn't seem to have a very good intuitive grasp of what computers
were about. Probably because computers were used, but in very restricted
circumstances at that time.

One thing I can't bear in ST and B7 is that speedy computers wait on slow
poorly-timed human commands before executing vital manoeuvres. I also get
irritated by screens full of complex numbers scrolling past at top speed.
And finally the random jiggling light displays. In Alien the computer bay
is a whole room of pointless flickering fairy lights. At least Zen made it
clear that its display was a meaningless visual reference designed to
satisfy human psychology.

I really like Kathryn's suggestion that while people might be able to
create human-like AI there are plenty of good reasons why they wouldn't
want to. An artifact is made to supplement a person, not to mimic one. If I
want a worker with a human-like mind then I would employ a person, not
build a computer.

BTW watching Alien also confirmed my belief that 'Nostromo' is one of the
best spaceships on film or TV, which we had a debate about last year. 

Alison

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 3 Jan 1999 18:12:12 +0100 (BST)
From: Judith Proctor <Judith@blakes-7.demon.co.uk>
To: Lysator List <Blakes7@lysator.liu.se>
Subject: [B7L] French spelling in Star Cops
Message-ID: <Marcel-1.46-0103171212-0e8Rr9i@blakes-7.demon.co.uk>
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; CHARSET=US-ASCII

Totally off-topic, but I'm editing 'An Instinct For Murder' and the text as I
received it doesn't have any accents.  (I don't think computers could handle
them when Chris Boucher originally typed in the document.)

I think I've got most of them in correctly now, but I'm stuck on 'Francoise'. 
I've got a feeling the c should have a cidilla (one of those little hook things
underneath), but I can't think of a suitable reference book to check it in.

Does anyone know?  The character is French, so she should be spelt the French
way whatever that is.

Judith
-- 
http://www.hermit.org/Blakes7

Redemption 99 - The Blakes 7/Babylon 5 convention  
26-28 February 1999, Ashford International Hotel, Kent
http://www.smof.com/redemption/

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 03 Jan 1999 14:20:17 PST
From: "Penny Dreadful" <pdreadful@hotmail.com>
To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se
Subject: Re: [B7L] Broken Hearts
Message-ID: <19990103222018.16444.qmail@hotmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain

Pat said:

>Yeah here, why not? The best love stories do not get mired in sex.
>The best love stories focus on tragic love or unrequited love.

So do I win a prize if I post the entirety of "Wuthering Heights" with 
'Servalan' substituted for all instances of 'Heathcliff' and 'Travis' 
for 'Cathy'?

After that: 'Romeo and Juliet' -> 'Tarrant and Dayna'

"Tarrant, Tarrant, wherefore art thou, Tarrant? Don't make me blow up 
this balcony, Tarrant!"

--Penny "Womanly Softness" Dreadful

______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 03 Jan 1999 14:28:09 PST
From: "Joanne MacQueen" <j_macqueen@hotmail.com>
To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se
Subject: Re: [B7L] Tarrant (that'll get Carol's attention -grin-)
Message-ID: <19990103222810.3713.qmail@hotmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain

>It must be those prevailing winds.  It's hard to catch the right 
currents >to reach Australia.   But I'll keep trying.

Well, it'll give you something to do when you're not eating, sleeping, 
working, ogling the Toothy One, etc. Everyone needs a hobby <smile>

>> Liking  Avon is nature (for me); liking Tarrant is going to have to 
be >> nurture, 
>Do I even want to know how Snout and Snarl can be nature while 
>adorable, sweet Tarrant has to be nurture?  Probably not.  It could 
>destroy my faith in the human race. <g>  

Erm, can I blame the Bronte sisters? I thought not <smile> When I was 
twelve, I seem to recall thinking Avon nastier than I do now (and, to a 
certain extent, I still think he's a nasty piece of work, and possibly 
irredeemable into the bargain). But before Carol starts thinking there 
was more hope for the early adolescent me <grin> I don't think I thought 
anything of Tarrant. At all. I think it was Vila and, to a lesser 
extent, Dayna, who had my affections then.

By the way, "adorable, sweet Tarrant"? Careful, Carol, you're beginning 
to sound like Cancer!

>Yes, for sure.  Where shall I start?  [list of people noticing the 
Toothy One being resourceful as well as decorative snipped]
> Or consider that Servalan also had the good taste to find Tarrant 
>tempting, not to mention decorative and resourceful.

<mock horror> You want someone to follow Servalan's lead? Carol, the 
idea! <grin> 

>>  docu-drama "Aftershocks" last night, and some of the archival >>  
footage put me right back in 1989. Carol has provided the perfect >>  
distraction from unhappy memories.)
>Sorry about the bad deja vu.  You can call on me for distractions, 
>perfect or otherwise, anytime.

<smile> Thanks. It seems that one has only to say the magic word and the 
Godmother's ears will prick up.

>> I don't think one needs to be in that much of a hurry to defend     
>> inconsistencies in "The Sevenfold Crown".
>A person has to do something to keep busy in between drool >production.

Carol, drink plenty of fluids or you'll dehydrate, and nobody wants that 
to happen to you <smile>

> Now be good and catch some of that dust.

<mock meekness> Yes, Godmother.

Regards
Joanne

Appeal: Legal version of double or quits.
--Miles Kington, "A Simple Glossary of Legal Terms", The Punch Book of 
Crime


______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 03 Jan 1999 14:34:39 PST
From: "Joanne MacQueen" <j_macqueen@hotmail.com>
To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se
Subject: Re: [B7L] Broken Hearts
Message-ID: <19990103223439.14218.qmail@hotmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain

>So do I win a prize if I post the entirety of "Wuthering Heights" with 
>'Servalan' substituted for all instances of 'Heathcliff' and 'Travis' 
>for 'Cathy'?
>After that: 'Romeo and Juliet' -> 'Tarrant and Dayna'
>"Tarrant, Tarrant, wherefore art thou, Tarrant? Don't make me blow >up 
this balcony, Tarrant!"

Dreadful, Penny <grin>

Regards
Joanne

______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com

------------------------------

Date: Sun,  3 Jan 99 23:40:00 GMT 
From: s.thompson8@genie.com
To: space-city%world.std.com%inet03#@genie.com
Cc: blakes7@lysator.liu.se
Subject: [B7L] Susan Matthews's latest
Message-Id: <199901032341.XAA04703@rock103.genie.net>
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

For Susan Matthews fans, here's a review of the third book in her pro
series.  It's by Carolyn Cushman and is from the December '98 issue of
=Locus=, p. 23.

(For anyone who wonders what this has to do with B7, Susan started her
career as a fan writer, primarily in Star Wars and B7.  She is especially
known for one of the all-time favorite B7 fan novels, =The Mind of Man Is a
Double-Edged Sword=, as well as its two sequels; they're now out of print,
but used copies can be found fairly easily.  Highly recommended, especially
if you like Avon angst.)

"Susan R. Matthews, =Hour of Judgment= (Avon Eos 0-380-80314-3, $5.99, 260
pp, pb) January 1999.  Cover by J. K. Potter.

"Surgeon and Inquisitor Andrej Koscuisko returns in his third adventure, set
five years after the previous book, when he uncovered some serious
government corruption.  Apparently, the powers-that-be still haven't
forgiven him; just as he comes to the end of his enlistment, Andrej learns
that he's going to be drafted back in, to a worse posting than before.
Meanwhile, he has to cope with a sadistic, games-playing captain whose
charming crew includes an officer who rapes a prostitute so badly she
requires Andrej's surgical skills, which then leads to a murder Andrej must
solve.  Andrej only gets to torture one suspect this time, something of a
departure for the series, but even if torture's not central, Andrej's angst
still remains.  We also geet to meet one of Andrej's princely cousins, and
get more cultural detail, which is interesting enough I regretted Andrej had
to re-up; it would have been nice to see more of his native background.
Still, there are hints that Andrej and his people may have a role in
changing the brutal rule of the Jurisdiction; the ending's as close to
hopeful as this gripping series has gotten yet.  It's powerful, tense, and
oddly fun, compulsive reading."

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 4 Jan 1999 08:35:08 EST
From: Mac4781@aol.com
To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se
Subject: [B7L] Matters Tarrant
Message-ID: <2d5abafa.3690c38c@aol.com>
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit

Penny wrote:

> After that: 'Romeo and Juliet' -> 'Tarrant and Dayna'
>  
>  "Tarrant, Tarrant, wherefore art thou, Tarrant? Don't make me blow up 
>  this balcony, Tarrant!"

That's hilarious, so-o-o Dayna.  I get the feeling *this* Juliet wouldn't have
met a tragic end:

"What's here? A cup, clos'd in my true love's hand?
Poison, I see, hath been his timeless end:--
Oh churl! I guess that means I have to find a new boyfriend."

Joanne revealed:

> I don't think I thought 
>  anything of Tarrant. At all. I think it was Vila and, to a lesser 
>  extent, Dayna, who had my affections then.

My goodness.  Vila and Dayna.  That's an interesting combination.  They aren't
at all alike.  

>  By the way, "adorable, sweet Tarrant"? Careful, Carol, you're beginning 
>  to sound like Cancer!

Well, he is a tasty morsel.  While she was feeding Avon to her mechanical
critter, she was keeping the succulent Tarrant for herself. :) 
  
>  <mock horror> You want someone to follow Servalan's lead? Carol, the 
>  idea! <grin> 

But...but... she's my role model. <g>

>  <mock meekness> Yes, Godmother.

Not quite the proper attitude...yet.  Maybe I need to borrow that machine
Servalan used on Dayna. :)

Carol Mc

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End of blakes7-d Digest V99 Issue #2
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