Words Are Oxygen [Hardcore]

[JBRam2002]

@MistielIf you get me the images you want shopped together, I can see what I can do. Can't promise professional quality, but I can make something generally passable. No payment required.

[Mistiel]

@JBRam2002



On second thought, that angle works perfectly for the farm thing. Maybe take out the crane though. Is there a way to make some of the outer buildings look damaged and worn? Maybe dampen the lighting a little bit. I thought maybe the edge of the pink forcefield dome would be bigger than that, but maybe the edge of it could be visible on that horizon. What do you think? The sky would probably have to be like VAGUELY pinkish. I don't know why the forcefield in my head has to be pink. That's an artist's call, and I'll change the forcefield to be whatever color is easiest.

[JBRam2002]

@MistielI'm no artist, but I'll see what I can do. It might be later tomorrow though :)

[TwelveOf8]

If I may @Mistiel. I have a couple of ideas about this particular RP.

I do take issue with the while "juvenile birth defect in the hands" thing that stops people from communicating non-verbally with their hands. It's a bit of a stretch. It just seems too convenient.

How about instead, people in this world have a severely stunted ability to learn. That almost all these people could only ever know what the progenitors teach them. This, alongside a strict and dogmatic doctrine that deems information from anything but the projectors as unclean, could lead people to having the complete inability to teach others relatively complex logical concepts.

Also, you could make it that the language spoken is a completely new one that bears no resemblance to the old languages at all. Information on the old languages would be almost completely wiped out. Any information at all could be cleansed by the establishment.

People can still have their own thoughts and feelings, but as most people can attest to, the ability to properly express what is inside ones head isn't a skill everyone has. Nor is it a skill that most people have mastered. Quite the opposite actually.

Perhaps some artistic skills like singing and painting would come naturally but maybe we could make the artists expression of those mediums relatively simple in this world.

[Mistiel]

@TwelveOf8

I think I prefer the world having some sort of radiation, disease or genetic catastrophe that caused human beings born thereafter to develop a new form of arthritis since birth. Not everyone needs to have a stunted ability to learn in order to blindly follow along with what the Progenitors tell them.

I feel like what you're proposing is akin to Aldous Huxley's societal tier system in Brave New World, where society was divided according into intelligence: Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, and Epsilon (Alphas being the smartest, Epsilons and Deltas being borderline retarded, not to mention mute, only capable of menial tasks). Is that what you're indeed proposing? That everybody's level of intelligence is at the level of a delta, gamma, or beta?

Considering how many people in today's world are misled by politicians, advertisements and the like, I don't find it too much of a stretch that "normal" people like you and me could potentially have our wills subverted by a group like the Progenitors (especially if there was some sort of catastrophe that, for example, released the Howlers into the world and completely removed lungs from the human body). People like to believe what's right in front of them. The masses are the sheep and the Progenitors are the lions that benevolently keep them safe from atop Pride Rock. Lion King reference notwithstanding, the sheep don't need to be stupid, they just need to believe.

[Lalliman]

@TwelveOf8 Giving everyone a learning disability would cause far larger changes. If they can't learn sign language, how can they learn verbal language? Especially given that they almost never hear it. The premise demands that people are intelligent enough to learn a language in the first place. Imposing a learning disability on everyone also greatly limits the players' options for character creation.

(Besides, if you're talking about contrivances, maybe the first thing you should ask is: how do people speak at all without lungs?)

That being said, it makes me wonder what people learn in schools, and how. Since no one will speak, they have to learn mostly through the written word. But how can they learn to read if no one can verbally tell them what these symbols mean? A system of hieroglyphics might be much more valuable to a society of mutes than a system of letters. But then again, no one can create new books, because nobody can write for an extended period of time.

It also, of course, raises the question of why people would bother teaching their children a spoken language at all.

I love this idea for an RP, but it sure as hell is ambitious, having to create the internal consistency to support it.

[TheUnknowable]

@LallimanI was thinking that the progenitors would have writing and would give lectures to the people, maybe over the internet. They would control all of the tech.

[TwelveOf8]

You two make some very good points @Mistiel@Lalliman. What I was proposing though, could be very difficult for some people to understand. Especially those who have never suffered mental illness.

The stunted ability to learn wouldn't stem from a deficiency in logical thinking. Rather, it would arise from the difficulty of emotional expression in this world. Think of the phrase "I do not have a mouth but I must scream". This deficiency wouldn't hinder people from learning everything. People could still learn logical tasks just fine. The ability to learn to express more complex and layered ideas such as love, regret, indifference, etc. That integral part of the human experience would be difficult for these people to grasp completely.

Playing in an RP where people have trouble expressing themselves completely can be done. Only using a couple of words to try to confer deeper emotions and intentions. It would, I dare say, make for a rather interesting experience. Here's an example:

Never had he felt that way before. A flood of sensations both familiar and alien. Difficult to understand yet easy to recognise. Nobody else but her. Like a spell, a drug, concocted by the beautiful yet terrifying. There was so much he wanted to say, though it seemed, there were not enough words in the world to say it.

And how could he describe it? Like a pleasant yet painful vice-like grip on his heart? Like drowning from the inside out? Like a feeling of unbridled ecstasy? No description he could fathom could ever come close to describing the sensations he experienced. To try to describe such a thing would surely invite an early death. The sensations only meant for her. Truly, for such a thing, only one word came to mind.

"Lily" he said.

[TheUnknowable]

I'm not really good with imagery, so I'm not sure if I could live up to that standard of post.

Couldn't there just be a problem with the speech center of their brain, though, where complex concepts can't really be quantified? It would be like having a concept in your head, but not being able to express it. We could still understand concepts, but would have trouble relaying that info to others.

It would also explain the limit on word usage. We could say that expressing these words as speech causes misfired in the brain. They slowly grow in strength, until around 10k words, at which point it causes a seizure that damages autonomic brain function, stopping the heart.

Of course the biggest problem with that is that emotions would be one of the things they could express the best. Great apes, for example, have underdeveloped speach centers compared to us, but have no problem expressing needs through sign language, or emotions through body language.

[BrokenPromise]

Very interesting idea. Unfortunately, It's a bit difficult to present the idea in its purest form and also have it make sense. We can only speak about 10 thousand words, but we also have crippling arthritis, learning disabilities, and bubble life to contend with. Forget going insane, I'd kill myself out of fuckin' boredom under these conditions!

I actually think there are two very simple methods you can employ, one or the other, that could make such a world work without needing a million other things to have it make sense.

#1: people can download information directly into our brains. Kind of like the matrix. However, the Progenitors have controll over what kinds of information we are allowed to have. For whatever reason, they do not permit sign language or the like, and so it is not taught. Probably for religious reasons. something along the lines of "actions speak louder than words, but speaking with actions is forbidden." or something.

#2: People do not learn how to speak, ever. Instead, they teach songs, and these songs convey strong meanings in conjunction with body language. They are very ceremonial and used in special situations. These songs have been recorded, but using your life force gives the songs weight.

In both of these situations, people would learn pictures to convey simple messages. like a picture of a slab of meat might indicate that a building belonged to a butcher. It all depends on how much control you want the Progenitors to have over everyone's life.

EDIT: Oh yea, and interested! But a bit skeptical. Haha!

[Mistiel]

I could take a page out of the Accel World anime playbook and have everyone installed with neurolinker technology at birth. They learn silently, but really, only the Progenitors know WTF is in the neurolinker programming. For copyright and RP reasons, I'd also think we should invent a new name for the neurolinker device in question. Perhaps this device is a sort of mask or implant that acts as makeshift lungs, but it has the counter that counts how many words you've spoken? When you reach the ten thousand word limit, the mask or implant emits some kind of chemical or shock that instantly kills you. NOTE: I would have to disable everyone's ability to communicate via thoughts or neural link though. That would definitely NOT be in the spirit of the RP. Telepathy OP

@TheUnknowable

I like this idea. The Progenitors should probably specialize in some form of bioengineering. There could be a page pulled from Divergent and Brave New World where there is some other sort of societal tier structure. Perhaps a simplified version where the people in the apartment high rises, who don't usually have as much to offer as the farmers, differ from their farmer counterparts mentally? In my head, the Progenitors are a cross between the Divergent Erudite faction and the Brave New World scientist people, at least in casual appearance.

Maybe there is also a way to set the Progenitors even further above the common people mentally? Perhaps there is some sort of reward for speaking your mind? The idea in my head is that the Progenitors, and most people, are pro-speech because they consider it living life to the fullest. Only the Tacuit Autem are truly ANTI-speech. (If there was a resistance group to develop though, I'm pretty sure it would develop separate from the Tacuit Autem since I've already stated that the TA are "total pusses". However, like Firefly, I don't see why a resistance or rebel group looking to expose the Progenitors of something couldn't have a couple former members of the Tacuit Autem among them.

EDIT: @BrokenPromise I like the song idea. That's a very interesting premise. How complicated a song are we talking here? Like Twinkle Twinkle Star and Yankee Doodle, or something more complex? Maybe something comparable in length to Katniss Everdeen's "The Hanging Tree?"

And considering how I WANT there to be a resistance group formed against the Progenitors, the latter has to have quite a bit of control so as to make some of your charries displeased with the way things are run. The system is DESIGNED around flaws TO be flawed if that makes any sense.

@TwelveOf8 Really? Just "Lily?" as in her name? Surely you can spare more than just ONE word even in their world lol. "Lily, I love you" would be perfectly fine in my opinion. (Damnit, now I want a love story! :( )

[BrokenPromise]

Editing in a notification does not notify, @Mistiel. Something to remember for the future. I've been betrayed many times by that, haha!

I was just thinking of a simple plug that turned digital data into memories inside the brain. There would be no wifi or other ways to connect to people. The Progenitors would likely control all of the equipment anyway, so you'd only get a download when and if they let you.

I was thinking of something that is less words but more sound. It would be less "I love this person with all my heart!" and more "La la la LA LA LA JAAAAA!" Or something. But it does present its own flaws. You would still need to practice them, as one example. This is true if you go for "sound" songs or "word" songs.

And neither of the above really prevents small groups from making up their own sign language. It wouldn't be terribly complicated, but people would find ways to commute simple ideas like "lets go shopping/have sex/go to the movies." you could give people crippling arthritis, but they can still trace things with their feet. you would have to be pretty thorough to prevent someone from finding some way to express themselves. I'm not sure what the solution is.

[Mistiel]

And then of course, there's always blink code with your eyes (Morse code even). Would it be realistic and/or fun to have an entire society that's forced to be in wheelchairs? That would definitely solve the foot problem. O,o

Of course it would mean that the farmers are even more reliant on the Progenitors' machines for farming tasks. The only problem for city folk, though, is the fact that it's Seattle and they live in high rise apartments. If for some reason the elevators aren't working, then God forbid getting a thousand people in wheelchairs up multiple flights of stairs.

As far as the learning thing goes, a brain chip does make the most sense (to me at least). If it's implanted deep enough (and at birth) it could affect the human body's development in such a way as to keep people grounded or with certain medical conditions like lupus, arthritis, etc.

[TheUnknowable]

@Mistiel@BrokenPromisekind of on topic, I was actually wondering if animal sounds counted as words, as I thought a vet would be fun to play, and animals have sounds to communicate simple messages.

*Growls*

[Mistiel]

@Mistiel@BrokenPromisekind of on topic, I was actually wondering if animal sounds counted as words, as I thought a vet would be fun to play, and animals have sounds to communicate simple messages.

*Growls*

@TheUnknowable

If it's based off of a collar or a neurolinker like from Accel World (or even a brain chip), then I would guess that it measures all sounds indiscriminately as words. I would think that such a device would measure sound wave resonance (you know, like the bass vibrations?). Correct me if I'm wrong scientific people!

EDIT: I'm pretty sure animals would not be under the same restrictions as humans. They're animals. That'd be ridiculous lol.

[TheUnknowable]

@Mistieloops, I meant that he would use sounds to communicate with animals. I wrote that weird.

[Mistiel]

@Mistieloops, I meant that he would use sounds to communicate with animals. I wrote that weird.

@TheUnknowable

The second version would not happen. In this world, that would be a colossal waste of words since the animals can't answer back. :/

(As much as I would love to be able to commune with skunks, it's sadly not to be.)

[TheUnknowable]

@Mistiel???

I wasn't implying that I could actually talk to animals. I meant that I would mimic animal behavior, as they naturally understand certain forms of body language. ex: Growling at dogs lets them know not to mess with you.

Animals have their own forms of body language, I would simply learn to mimic/understand it. Think of me as an animal whisperer.

[Mistiel]

There's body language and then there's growling....

Growling would be a sound. Reading their body language and acting accordingly based off that, so long as it produces no sound, is coatally fine with me. Then again, it's fine with me even if you did produce sound.

By the way, it's worth noting that keeping track of everybody's "word count" would be on an honor system. Just periodically mention in your posts what your character's number is. It's entirely unreasonable that either the player or GM would be expected to physically count every word (especially considering a lot of those words are probably from histories). >,>

[corneredbliss]

Wow, lots to sift through here - but the OP has definitely caught my attention. Consider my interest dropped while I read through all of these new posts.