" I must have lost consciousness, because the next thing I remember was Bobby pushing me up into the backseat of the helicopter. Mae was already inside, and she leaned over to buckle me in. They were both looking at me with expressions of concern. I wondered dully if I had been injured. I didn't feel any pain. The door slammed beside me, and Bobby got into the front next to the pilot.
We had done it. We had succeeded.
I could hardly believe it was over.
The helicopter rose into the air and I saw the lights of the lab in the distance." (pg. 293)
I think they used a great plan to destroy the black cloud. It was very creepy though, that they could still function in the nightfall, because they were originally designed to be only able to function with solar energy, but in true nano- particle fashion they were able to evolve and move without sunlight. They followed the body of the swarm into their nest, and they blew it up. It was a smart plan, and probably their best one to destroy the swarm. The purpose of this passage is to show that they worked hard to kill the nano-particles.
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Prey #5
"The program presets certain strategies to help attain goals. The strategies model what real predators do. So one preset strategy is to freeze where you are and wait, to ambush. Another is to random-walk until you stumble on your prey, and then pursue. A third is to camouflage yourself by taking on some element of the environment, so you blend in. And fourth is to mimic the prey's behavior- to imitate it." (pg. 225)
What this swarm is doing is unbelievable. They are able to evolve on their own due to their situation, and that is far beyond what Jack thought this cloud could do. Jack and Rosie went out of the facility to try, and get something so they can be able to kill the nano-particle's and they were not going to let it happen. The black cloud is much bigger in appearance now, because it has reproduced, and has become faster. The black cloud was able to track down Jack and Rosie in the parking lot, and they trapped them in a car. While trapped the black cloud was able to configure themselves, and make a mirror image of Jack and Rosie's terrified expression. This black cloud has literally become like a predator, and they evolve quickly. I can not believe that nobody has called in for help from the government. Are they waiting for it to be too late, and for everyone to die, and the black cloud to have a million nano-particle's. I find it selfish that Ricky the manager of the company does not want to call in help, because he doesn't want to lose his job, because right now people are losing their life's. The purpose of this passage is to convey to the reader that the black cloud will continue to evolve and adapt to kill it's prey. The depiction of the future reveal's that the present believe's that a man made plague will continue and evolve to kill everybody.
What this swarm is doing is unbelievable. They are able to evolve on their own due to their situation, and that is far beyond what Jack thought this cloud could do. Jack and Rosie went out of the facility to try, and get something so they can be able to kill the nano-particle's and they were not going to let it happen. The black cloud is much bigger in appearance now, because it has reproduced, and has become faster. The black cloud was able to track down Jack and Rosie in the parking lot, and they trapped them in a car. While trapped the black cloud was able to configure themselves, and make a mirror image of Jack and Rosie's terrified expression. This black cloud has literally become like a predator, and they evolve quickly. I can not believe that nobody has called in for help from the government. Are they waiting for it to be too late, and for everyone to die, and the black cloud to have a million nano-particle's. I find it selfish that Ricky the manager of the company does not want to call in help, because he doesn't want to lose his job, because right now people are losing their life's. The purpose of this passage is to convey to the reader that the black cloud will continue to evolve and adapt to kill it's prey. The depiction of the future reveal's that the present believe's that a man made plague will continue and evolve to kill everybody.
Prey #4
"One possibility is that it's a territorial thing. As you know, the original PREDPREY code includes a concept of range, of a territory in which the predators will roam. And within that core range, it defines a sort of home base, which the swarm may consider to be inside of this facility."
I said, "You believe that?"
"Not really, no." He hesitated." Actually," he said, most of us think that it comes looking for your wife, Jack. It's looking for Julia." (pg. 177)
This swarm is getting more dangerous by the second, but I now believe it could get stopped. The swarm is self sustaining, learns from experience, has collective intelligence, and can innovate to solve problems.These are all things that make the swarm even harder to destroy, but Julia may be the wild card in all this. Julia created the program, and she treated as if she were its mother. When the swarm was small and did not pose a threat to anybody Julia used to entertain the child, and the swarm would be happy to see her. It is unfortunate that she is in the hospital, because maybe she knows how to destroy the swarm or maybe when they see her they will stop being violent. I can infer that it will be Julia to stop the destruction of these nano- particle's because nobody else seems to have a clue about them. It is also Julia's fault for all of this because she didn't want the swarm to be destroyed, and now it has gone out of control. The purpose of this passage is to foreshadow that Julia will have a big part in stopping the black cloud. The swarm has human characteristics because they can reproduce and evolve, and can solve problems. The depiction of this future is of a man- made plague that can kill humans, but one person seems to hold the key to all of this, and this reveal's about the present that people are afraid of only one person being able to save all of mankind, and that when they need them they are not around.
I said, "You believe that?"
"Not really, no." He hesitated." Actually," he said, most of us think that it comes looking for your wife, Jack. It's looking for Julia." (pg. 177)
This swarm is getting more dangerous by the second, but I now believe it could get stopped. The swarm is self sustaining, learns from experience, has collective intelligence, and can innovate to solve problems.These are all things that make the swarm even harder to destroy, but Julia may be the wild card in all this. Julia created the program, and she treated as if she were its mother. When the swarm was small and did not pose a threat to anybody Julia used to entertain the child, and the swarm would be happy to see her. It is unfortunate that she is in the hospital, because maybe she knows how to destroy the swarm or maybe when they see her they will stop being violent. I can infer that it will be Julia to stop the destruction of these nano- particle's because nobody else seems to have a clue about them. It is also Julia's fault for all of this because she didn't want the swarm to be destroyed, and now it has gone out of control. The purpose of this passage is to foreshadow that Julia will have a big part in stopping the black cloud. The swarm has human characteristics because they can reproduce and evolve, and can solve problems. The depiction of this future is of a man- made plague that can kill humans, but one person seems to hold the key to all of this, and this reveal's about the present that people are afraid of only one person being able to save all of mankind, and that when they need them they are not around.
Prey #3
" I felt a wave of nausea. My knees buckled. I sagged against the wall. I looked at Mae and Ricky through the second glass doors; they seemed far away. As I watched, they receded even farther, moving away into the distance. Soon they were too far away for me to worry any longer. I knew I was dying. As I closed my eyes, I fell to the ground, and the roar of the air handlers faded into cold and total silence."(pg. 169)
I do not feel bad for Jack's near death experience. It is clear that he tried to be a hero, and he nearly died from his ignorance. He believed that the nano- particles weren't actually coordinated, and that it was just a figment of the other worker's imagination. He also that he would be able to outsmart the nano-particles, and that they were like a dog chasing a stick which was clearly not true. I find it truly incredible that the nano- particles were able to somehow sense that Jack's destination was to get to the door and evade the predator. Jack also believed that it was not actually the intention of the swarm to kill the rabbit, and that it was more of an accident. He thought it was an accidentally killing of the rabbit, and that the nano-particle's just blocked it's way of breathing. The nano-particle's are also able to see movement, because they were originally designed to be small cameras to be used in the war. I believe it will be very difficult to take down this PREDPREY program, because it is rapidly adapting and the thing even reproduces itself. If they cannot stop a small swarm how are they going to be able to deal with this when it reproduces and there are thousands of them. The purpose of this passage is for the reader to realize that this will be no easy win for the humans, and that PEOPLE, not just little bunnies will be killed by these black clouds. What it means to be human in this book is to be able to do things independently, and in this case the nano-particle's are almost human like because they can do that.
I do not feel bad for Jack's near death experience. It is clear that he tried to be a hero, and he nearly died from his ignorance. He believed that the nano- particles weren't actually coordinated, and that it was just a figment of the other worker's imagination. He also that he would be able to outsmart the nano-particles, and that they were like a dog chasing a stick which was clearly not true. I find it truly incredible that the nano- particles were able to somehow sense that Jack's destination was to get to the door and evade the predator. Jack also believed that it was not actually the intention of the swarm to kill the rabbit, and that it was more of an accident. He thought it was an accidentally killing of the rabbit, and that the nano-particle's just blocked it's way of breathing. The nano-particle's are also able to see movement, because they were originally designed to be small cameras to be used in the war. I believe it will be very difficult to take down this PREDPREY program, because it is rapidly adapting and the thing even reproduces itself. If they cannot stop a small swarm how are they going to be able to deal with this when it reproduces and there are thousands of them. The purpose of this passage is for the reader to realize that this will be no easy win for the humans, and that PEOPLE, not just little bunnies will be killed by these black clouds. What it means to be human in this book is to be able to do things independently, and in this case the nano-particle's are almost human like because they can do that.
Prey #2
"Ricky switched the monitor view. We now watched at ground level. The three clouds converged on the terrified bunny, which was moving fast, a whitish blur on the screen. The clouds swirled after it with surprising speed. The behavior was clear: they were hunting. I felt a moment of irrational pride. PREDPREY was working perfectly! Those swarms might as well be lionesses chasing a gazelle, so purposeful was their behavior. The swarms turned sharply, then split up, cutting off the rabbit's escape to the left and right. The behavior of the clouds clearly appeared coordinated." (pg. 148)
It was obvious to me that the swarm of nano-particles would end up turning violent, because they were programmed to act like predators. I also notice that the book is named Prey, because the workers at this plant, and maybe the rest of the world may be it's prey if they do not think of a way to stop it. Another thing I believe is amazing that these nano- particles are able to all act in one coordinated motion, but they do not have a nucleus. How could they possibly interact with each other or even know what to do to chase down prey if they do not have a brain. I can infer that somebody is somehow controlling this swarm, because it is plain impossible for them to be able to know what to do to chase down a food source. This passage's purpose is to convey the reader that this black cloud can indeed kill creatures, and it is not just aimlessly floating in the air. The author described this as if the nano- particles were in pursuit, and indeed they were. The depection of the future is one of human technology coming back to kill creatures, which reveal's that the present is insecure about what scientists and biologists are creating. The language in this book is describing the human's as victims or "prey" which make's people think we will be attacked. This also reflects on the last post, because what the swarm was going to do was a mystery, but now it is well understood that they are in attack mode.
It was obvious to me that the swarm of nano-particles would end up turning violent, because they were programmed to act like predators. I also notice that the book is named Prey, because the workers at this plant, and maybe the rest of the world may be it's prey if they do not think of a way to stop it. Another thing I believe is amazing that these nano- particles are able to all act in one coordinated motion, but they do not have a nucleus. How could they possibly interact with each other or even know what to do to chase down prey if they do not have a brain. I can infer that somebody is somehow controlling this swarm, because it is plain impossible for them to be able to know what to do to chase down a food source. This passage's purpose is to convey the reader that this black cloud can indeed kill creatures, and it is not just aimlessly floating in the air. The author described this as if the nano- particles were in pursuit, and indeed they were. The depection of the future is one of human technology coming back to kill creatures, which reveal's that the present is insecure about what scientists and biologists are creating. The language in this book is describing the human's as victims or "prey" which make's people think we will be attacked. This also reflects on the last post, because what the swarm was going to do was a mystery, but now it is well understood that they are in attack mode.
Blogging Project Phase 2 Prey#1
"I saw what appeared to be a small, swirling cloud of dark particles. It looked like a dust devil, one of those tiny tornado- like clusters that moved over the ground, spun by convection currents rising from the hot desert floor. Except that this cloud was black, and it had some definition- it seemed to be pinched in the middle, making it look a bit like an old fashioned coke bottle. But it didn't hold that shape consistently. The appearance kept shifting, transforming." (pg.141-142) "It was, I thought, a problem no one had ever imagined before. In all the years that I had been programming agents, the focus had been on getting them to interact in a way that produced useful results. It never occurred to us that there might be a large control issue, or a question of independence. Because it simply couldn't happen." (pg. 143)
I knew that there was something suspicious going on at this plant. The main character's name is Jack, and he has a wife that works at this facility, and ever since she began working there she has been acting weird. His wife got into a car crash, and when she did she was taken to the hospital, and while she was hurt and not thinking well she kept saying black cloud over and over. I find it amazing that a bunch of biologist's allowed this nanotechnology to grow into a swarming cloud that cannot be controlled. The fact that this has the ability to swarm is also crazy. The biotechnology that is being worked on at this plant may be harmful to people, but they have not called in for help from the government. There is also a literary technique being used, and that is a simile. It is used to describe the swarm of the nano particles as a dust devil, and an old fashioned coke bottle. The purpose of this passage is to foreshadow that this nanotechnology swarm will be a big part of this novel. The fact that this is something that no one has ever seen before also convey's to the reader that there is something extremely unusual going on at this plant. The nano particles are almost human like because they can independently move, and are no longer controlled by the people that created it. The overall effect of this is to force us to believe that this cloud of nano-particles will be a huge mystery to the worker's at this plant. Our depictions of the future reveal about the present that we will accidentally create a man-mad thing that has never been seen before.
I knew that there was something suspicious going on at this plant. The main character's name is Jack, and he has a wife that works at this facility, and ever since she began working there she has been acting weird. His wife got into a car crash, and when she did she was taken to the hospital, and while she was hurt and not thinking well she kept saying black cloud over and over. I find it amazing that a bunch of biologist's allowed this nanotechnology to grow into a swarming cloud that cannot be controlled. The fact that this has the ability to swarm is also crazy. The biotechnology that is being worked on at this plant may be harmful to people, but they have not called in for help from the government. There is also a literary technique being used, and that is a simile. It is used to describe the swarm of the nano particles as a dust devil, and an old fashioned coke bottle. The purpose of this passage is to foreshadow that this nanotechnology swarm will be a big part of this novel. The fact that this is something that no one has ever seen before also convey's to the reader that there is something extremely unusual going on at this plant. The nano particles are almost human like because they can independently move, and are no longer controlled by the people that created it. The overall effect of this is to force us to believe that this cloud of nano-particles will be a huge mystery to the worker's at this plant. Our depictions of the future reveal about the present that we will accidentally create a man-mad thing that has never been seen before.
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Why Aren't We EQUAL???
The movie Gattaca brings up the topics of inequality among DNA and genetics. In the movie Gattaca doctors can see all the physical and mental characteristics of each child. They're jobs and future are determined before the child even gets out of the womb. You get no chance of being somebody in life, because your life is already mapped out because of your genes. I think this show's that the government does not trust in the potential of people. This also ruins anybody working hard in the future because if you were born into being a politician why try hard to be that when you are growing up, if you know that is always there for you.
Being human in this dystopia means conforming to the rules of society, and not asking why I can't be somebody important. Job interviews only consist of having a blood test, no oral communication on why the person is right for the job. In this movie the word human means conforming to whatever your DNA test says you will be. Our depections of the future reveal that the present is insecure with the increase in technology. It has gone so far as to the fact that DNA test's limit who you can be in life.
War of All War's
Gears of War 2 is an Xbox 360 game that show's a fight for mankind. Gears of War takes place on the fictional Earth- like planet Sera. There was a golden age of culture, science, and arts going on right before the war. The planet was running out of energy so they need a new source of energy which came from underground.The energy source was valued by The Coalition of Governments and the Union of Independent Republics fought for the source which was eventually won by the COG's. After the war was over the human race was attacked by the Locust's an underground zombie like creature, and almost completely wiped out everybody. The Locust's attacked the human's because they took their power source away, and they are angry. They also believe the human race brought this upon themselves because they were so greedy.
This video game focuses mainly on the perspective of the human's but I found it interesting how we really don't understand the Locust's perspective. It makes them look as the bad guys when we came into their home in the underground and took away their power. Human's always seem to get themselves into different war's which display's the human love for war. Being human in the world of Planet Sera means that you are either taking shelter amongst the ruins or fighting for humanity and joining the war effort. Human's are afraid of these creattures, and believes the human race will end. Our depiction of the future reveals about the present that people are insecure about energy needs, and a war that could almost end humanity.
The book Fahrenheit 451 brings up the topic of what the government may be like in the future which would probably scare many people. In this book, instead of saving people and putting out fires firemen burn books and corrupt the mind. The people living in this society are truly dumb. They agree with the burning of the books for some reason that is unknown and everybody just conforms to the way society is. The man that is portrayed as the government in this book is the fire chief Captain Beatty. Beatty hates books but obviously knows a lot about books. The main character Guy Montag starts off as a firemen, but after he meets a girl named Clarrise McClellan who is a non conformist, and likes to ask questions he himself questions his own life. Guy has a collection of books, and he wants to find someone who he can talk to so he can find himself, and learn about books. Guy's wife represents the average person in this society who is brainwashed and believes that books are evil, and she even betrays him.
I found his book very interesting, because in my eye's it shows the way the government can manipulate people. They find different ways to not allow people to think for themselves, because in this dystopia, it is bad to ask questions. The parlor walls are tv's that literally occupy the whole wall, and the car engine's are now tremendously loud which also does not give people the quietness they need to think. My reaction to this is that the government will do anything to get people confused and dumber in this dystopia.The government is taking away the mind's of people, and I wonder why they are doing this which would be by one critique of this book. In this future being human almost means being dumb and oblivious to the problems in this world. The government consumes people with technology that nobody realizes there is a war that is on the verge of starting, and that the world hates their country. The depiction of the future reveal about the present that people are loosing an interest in reading as the world becomes consumed with huge hdtv's, 3D movies, iphones that talk to you, and video games our society is on a downward spiral.
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Attempt to Destroy religion
The movie Angels and Demon's show's the possibility of groups trying to destroy religion. Tom Hanks is a Harvard symbologist that is trying to help the Catholic Church from the threat of the Illuminati. The pope is murdered, but the church attempts to hide it, so they inform the public that he had a heart attack. I believe this is done, because the church officials did not want people to be afraid of groups trying to kill their religion. Also in the movie the four primary cardinal's are captured by an assassin for the Illuminati. The public has no idea of this though. Although it would be almost impossible now to capture the four leading candidates to be the pope unless you are the master of disguise, I just thought to myself is it right that the church kept this in secret. I understand that they don't want the general public to be worried but that is huge news, and they wanted to hide it from the people. I believe this show's that in the future that religion will hide secrets from us, because one of the most secret societies in the world popped back up trying to eliminate their religion for payback, and nobody knew.
I believe in the future the government will hide he real problems of our society from us. They want us to believe that everything is always under control. This may sound like something very simple, but the government may take the approach of "what you don't know can't hurt you."
Sunday, October 9, 2011
The Mutants
In X2, the second movie of the X-Men Saga, there is a key issue brought up in which would normally be a simple good guys vs. bad guy's Marvel movie. There is a genetic issue of should we try to rid society of people that are different from us. The United States government attacks the mutant school where people are trying to learn how to control their powers and use them for good. In X-Men there is a geneticc change, and some people end up being born mutants. Society shuns them away as "monsters", and parents hope that their children never become mutants. Although Wolverine does not really exist, why should we try to get him out of our society if he does not pose any danger to us. I also think the X- Men Saga relates to race in a way, because the movie has a purpose of treating everybody equally no matter what their differences are.
In this movie the "mutants" who are truly people that are born with a special gift are not seen as humans. I believe in this movie the definition of human is somebody that resembles you, and does not have anything different or what would be seen as "weird" to other people. The images in this movie show us that we should treat the different people in society fairly because they have done nothing wrong to earn your hostility.
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Global Problem
This is a cinematic trailer of 2012. In this movie the environmental problems that the world is currently facing is exibited by the wildness and extremeness in weather patterns. Althought this movie is a "bit" over the top in the depiction of the gradual effects of climate change, this movie still made it's point. In this movie by 2012 the world start's to crumble due to environmental problems, and it's most classic moment show's a tsunami reaching a man on the Himalayan mountains, and by the way that is 29,029 feet if you are on Mount Everest. As people we have to be concerned about the environment and how we treat, because if we don't there could be huge problems. As a whole the world is already facing Global Warming. And for people that think Global Warming is a bunch of bologna, Dallas, Texas set the record this year for having 100 days of 100 degrees.
I believe that if we don't step up as a population, and recycle, and stop harming the planet there will be serious repercussions. Will we have 29,000 feet tsunami's, I doubt it but tsunami's like the one that ravished Haiti and Japan will be more frequent. This movie is filled with crazy images and I think that it did a good job in manipulating people's minds to preserve the earth. By seeing these images it makes us think, and it is sort of a slap in the face to treat the earth well.
Sunday, September 25, 2011
The House that Speaks
This is a futuristic society in which a woman comes looking for her husband, although they buried her body earlier that morning. The people believe that woman is a ghost. I thought that this was a really cool future, because not many show this “smart house” that the man lived in. That house had so many advantages, and it is a lot better than any house that people live in now. It is also weird how the house could be tampered with, and the weird power surges. That caused the house to start yelling at him, and it was very annoying. I think that this shows how technology in the future appears to be great, but really there are flaws behind it. I do think it will be possible to create “smart houses” like the one in this television show. Anything is becoming possible with the technology that we live in a nowadays so why would it be so difficult to create a house that has a narrator, and adjusts to your personal settings, well it would not be that easy, but I can see it happening. I believe we are only fifteen years away until houses will be able to get that option, and by 50 years every average house will have a narrating system.
There are some problems that pop into my head with this “smart house.” One of the problems I think of is the situation that came up in I, Robot. In I, Robot all of the robots were good at first, and eliminated man- made job’s because they did them better, but eventually all of the robots turned on the humans. Imagine if all of the houses turned on their owners, and would not allow them in the home, or was intentionally trying to danger them somehow. What if they tried to disable these smart houses, but they just wouldn’t stop? Our depictions of the future reveal that the present is insecure about technology in the future. They feel as if technology will turn on them.
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