Hank's most recent post got me thinking...
Hank's most recent post got me thinking...
Funny that even an A.I. knew the potential dangers of Exotic Matter, or as Calvin put it in his original funding proposal for what would become known as The Niantic Project: “The Threats and Opportunities Present in Exotic Matter.”
I put this to you, Investigators: It has been two years. You have been exposed to Exotic Matter for two years. You have walked around with the scanner, explored new places, met new people, experienced new things – your life has been changed.
What are the threats and opportunities in Exotic Matter?
Funny that even an A.I. knew the potential dangers of Exotic Matter, or as Calvin put it in his original funding proposal for what would become known as The Niantic Project: “The Threats and Opportunities Present in Exotic Matter.”
I put this to you, Investigators: It has been two years. You have been exposed to Exotic Matter for two years. You have walked around with the scanner, explored new places, met new people, experienced new things – your life has been changed.
What are the threats and opportunities in Exotic Matter?
Yes my life has changed. I have opened up to a world around me for better and worse. I am living fuller because I am not seeking indoor entertainment as my only outlet. I have met people and have gone to multiple events. I have been around so much XM that if it were a problem with XM I don't see one.
ReplyDeleteI think the threats and opportunities are obvious at first glance: While we definitely have made new connections, met other people and had great times, we are also divided into factions, fighting each other relentlessly. Maybe we can unite as one for the coming battle against the N'Zeer, dark XM or shady corporations, whatever it is we will have to fight.
ReplyDeleteLike fire, the written word, or antibiotics, Exotic Matter can be abused.
ReplyDeleteAny powerful tool can be: And it is most often abused by the fearful and the intolerant, who blindly attempt to use what they have failed to understand because of a distrust of change.
While there's evidence that XM and portals enriches the areas and civilizations it is part of, XM had also opened us up to multiple forces that may/do not have our best interests at heart.
ReplyDeleteIt allows new tech that can interact directly with the human mind. It produces natural connections between people and places. It may be essential for full cognitive function. It can be dampened or amplified globally.
ReplyDeleteAs Brandon Downey has put so nicely, every powerful tool that we get can be abused, up to the moments, as he has said, the biggest risk has come from people that want to discard it's good use because of fear and mistrust.
ReplyDeleteLet me ask you PAC, did we really see a threat in two years with xm? There's been nothing (except that one when ENL took the anomaly for the control of politicians by the shapers). For what we know, control of XM is the greatest opportunity in the history of mankind, our (your, i wasn't useful, but people like Yik Sheng Lee were) research lead us to a great understanding of its power, of what we could be able to reach with it. We now talk about the Shapers united against the N'zeer, they fear it. I don't know why, but i think that this feared entity is nor good or bad, he is the equalizer humanity was waiting for, someone or something that will "destroy" the shapers and let humans have full control of xm by themselves (this is just my theory, but i know i'm missing a lot of things).
ReplyDeleteMattia Vassalli you are so right until you assume that the shapers are separate from XM. You are correct it has been two years and no threat from the shapers or moderate XM consumption.
ReplyDeleteI do see a threat with Exotic Matter. As it can be with anything, it must be handled in moderation. Self-control must be applied when exposing one's self to XM. Yes, it is a gateway to meeting people, seeing new things, and changing the way you see the world around you. But one must not forget the world that was prior to XM.
ReplyDeleteI've seen a change in relationships for the negative. Health can be a concern if too much sleep is lost playing with XM. Time and travel can strain one's personal life. It has to be managed.
I do feel that the benefits highly outweigh the negatives because it should be managed. We don't see many go down the rabbit hole and fail to re-emerge. But those that spend too much time there cause worry.
B-dub 7ER4IAY8 i don't think they are separate from xm, i think that the N'zeer is an entity able to "kill" or "put asleep" shapers, so that xm and its effects won't be controlled by them anymore. Maybe this is why ADA is curious about it too
ReplyDeleteXM has no meaningful effects without the shapers, it's like trying to replace natural food with manufactured foods,
ReplyDeleteI have friends now that I never would have had without xm. (and enemies, lol)
ReplyDeleteI sprinkle XM on my pop tarts. Is that so wrong? If it is then I don't want to be right!
ReplyDeleteOpportunities? I see new things in unfamiliar environments all the time. I'm engaged in ways I'd otherwise be indifferent.
ReplyDeleteThreats? My relationships with people who have little to no interest in XM is strained whenever scanner activity is deemed inconvenient by said people.
I think XM has added a new cozy relationship between me and the world around me. It's motivated me to take a look around and enjoy the view, occasionally crossing paths with like minded Agents. Even non-agents are influenced by that which they cannot see, except as an agent, the potential to interact gives each one of us an opportunity to participate in our own journey. As for threats, I've recently had to step back and untangle myself from my local community (resistance), given the high level of disregard and unawareness of the Niantic Project. So I leave them to make their destiny, as they will. Most agents on both sides really have no idea what's up and magnify petty squabbles. In this I find what XM really is, neither a good nor bad, just a multiplier, through which life can be magnified. It's up to each one of to decide whether we stay the 'captain of our ship' or whether 'we're just passengers' (There'll always be events outside our control, this is a given!).
ReplyDeleteAs of Shapers, Ada & the N'zeer. I think they all need us (human agents) to unravel something they themselves aren't able to achieve (maybe a temporal alignment is involved?), or else their conflict would have been over some time ago. My instinct says the N'zeer covered their own tracks; the shapers power has serious limits (they need a proxy: the Enlightenment) and Ada did what it thought necessary and is just following through on past decisions.
I think I can say with a fair degree of certainty every threat I have seen in the past two years has been of human making. XM had enhanced my physical and mental abilities, and opened my eyes to a world of new possibilities.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, I have seen individuals, corporations, and governments deceive and manipulate large groups of people over control of XM... Just as I've seen the same happen over control of oil, land, diamonds, and any number of other resources. In all cases, the threat does not come from the resource itself but from the people who want to use it to gain more power. I think it's clear the same holds true for XM.