Diver convince octopus to trade his plastic cup for a seashell
me as a kid reading Dune: I appreciate the detailed world-building that justifies why everyone fights with swords and has mental powers, but the idea of a Butlerian Jihad against computers is pretty silly
me in 2025, trying desperately to find the three (3) places you need to go to to disable the latest helpful AI assistant that's inserted itself into my work chat and is advising me to do things that would be a breach of federal law: Oh Now I Get It
Yes. Finally someone gets it. This is one of the reasons why I fell in awe (not love) with Dune, reading it over twenty years ago while studying environmental sciences at university.
so
dune
that weird giant in the background of modern sci-fi that everyone knows about and nobody seems to get, not really
what is dune?
is it about the epynomous planet, dune, arrakis?
no
it is an epic story about paul atreides' ascent to power through the combined power of a monopoly on the supply of navigator space-cocaine and the boundless light of islam?
also no
dune is not a space opera, dune is not an epic fantasy story set in space
fundamentally dune is about ecology
and the main character of dune is not paul. nor is it leto ii. nor is it sheeana, or odrade, or miles teg, all names that mean nothing to people who only know the setting through adaptations. the main character is not even duncan idaho
it's the bene gesserit
what is the bene gesserit?
well, it's complicated. everyone knows about their "breeding program" but few people actually think about what the implications of it are
the great houses are not in charge, really. they're gene lines. they're in a very real sense different strains of *domesticated human* selected for different traits. they're not "special" for any reason of faith or exceptionalism
they're "special" in the same way a racehorse is special. because it was bred to be fast. the mythologies are all artificial additions, memetic scaffolding to surround the actual project
and then, what traits?
well, the bene gesserit sought a broad prescience. a "leader" like guidedog is a leader, leading a blind humanity through a future without hitting any metaphorical walls
they misunderstood their own mission, and they learn as much, before the end of their relevance
because paul was an ephemeral storm,
and leto is a wolf, a predator in the ecological sense, a selective pressure on the memetics of humanity, driving them out of the forest, driving them out of their spot at the top of the food chain. no longer their own worst enemy
dune is about the prelude and memetic extinction events before the scattering
it's about a domesticated humanity breaking free, becoming feral, becoming everything else
dune is about the endless struggle for humanity to find its niche before it drives itself extinct, and in doing so finding an infinite amount of niches, for an infinite amount of different humanities
it's about ecosystems and predation and diversification and extinction events both biological and memetical, and how it is ruthless, cruel, and most things go extinct without descendants, but as long as something survives it keeps going
about humanity breaking through its last great filter: itself
such is the golden path
I think a lot of what pro-AI people are really wanting is stuff that already exists but they don't know it's out there like
can't format a work email? templates
don't know how to write a resume? templates
writing a thank you card or a condolences card or a wedding invitation? templates templates templates
not sure how to format your citations in MLA or whatever format? citationmachine.net
summary of something you're reading for school/work? cliffnotes.com
recipe based on ingredients in your fridge? whatsintherefrigerator.com
there's a million more like, guys, we don't need AI, we never needed generative AI
I love this! He definitely understood the assignment :D
November 2021 Prompt: World
MY personal AU version of a secondary Dark future… in which Shego does as Supreme Shego has but Drakken instead of working for her… uses the same method to play to take over… which means spending a decade in a sort of rivalry where she owns half and he owns the other…. sabotaging and calculating against each other since Kim and Ron are not a factor… eventually they agree to rule together…. if only to avoid admitting neither can live without the other.
Can't believe I'm finally here! There is some technical difficulty for people from my country but I'm glad I made it🥰 I watched BBC's Sherlock 8 years ago but didn't fall in love with this adorable couple until this year when I watched it again. Then I just couldn't stop looking for more wonderful fanfics. I know it's a little late but can you please recommend some fanfics for me? Like your favorite stories on Archive of Our Own or some other platform🥹
https://archiveofourown.org/users/yippipieEuropean Elder Millenial Multifandom Nerdthis is my sideblog for fannish shenanigans
96 posts