Another Step Towards Eternal Youth

The scientific discoveries discussed in this Time article really are profound and another notch in the belt of the transhumanists. It also raises the possibility of continual "rejuvenations" such as those Robert Heinlein discussed in his books about Lazarus Long. According to the article:

“It’s clear that when you have alterations in [chromosome stability], the process of aging goes so quickly and so fast that it’s tempting to say, yes, this is the key process for driving aging,” says Belmonte.

Even more exciting, when he analyzed a population of stem cells taken from the dental pulp of both younger and older people, he found that the older individuals, aged 58 to 72 years, had fewer genetic markers for the chromosome instability while the younger people aged seven to 26 years showed higher levels of these indicators.

“What this study means is that this protein does not only work in a particular genetic disease, it works in all humans,” says Belmonte. “This mechanism is general for aging process.”

Of course, once this process becomes refined and monetized it will become the province of the wealthy. Unlike with plastic surgery, there will be no incentive to expand this technology beyond the wealthy because their eternal youth will remove the profit motive that produced democratization of plastic surgery's benefits. In essence the rich and ultra rich will be cemented in place, and relative social mobility will cease due to the ability of capital to replicate itself. Additionally, this technology, when monetized, will allow millionaires and their wealthier brethren to pursue other endeavors after entire careers in Finance, allowing them to dominate academia and politics as much as they like with all kinds of unintended consequences. It is likely that this technology also could prompt an eventual rebellion among those with normal life spans, but the wealthy likely would have the resources to put it down.

Helix and Orphan Black: Cults & Genetic Engineering

Both Helix and Orphan Black not only play on fears of genetic engineering, but embed these fears within the context of cult-like organizations. In Orphan Black it is the Dyad Corporation and the actual cult of Proletheans who are interested in Project Leda's creation of the Sarah and the Clone Club; the military is in charge of Project Castor's creation of male clones. In Helix not only is there the cult-like Ilaria Corporation engineering a virus to wipe out most of humanity's "surplus population," but in Season Two we have an actual cult composed of the descendant's of one of the immortals. In this case, the cult itself is involved in splicing plants (an early form of genetic engineering) to create hybrids and creates an apple which sterilizes males (an interesting twist on the apple as forbidden fruit).

By embedding the fears of genetic engineering within a cult or cult-like organization, it amplifies human fears of hidden agendas. It also makes for some interesting plot devices and twists. Cults have been out of the news for awhile, so this plot device really is an interesting choice.

Jupiter Ascending & The Mainstreaming of Alien Conspiracy Culture

Jupiter Ascending is an interesting, fun Sci-Fi flick. The name is a play on an astrological term and on the name of the main character's name and progress/development. The most interesting details of the movie though are those it has picked up from the popular culture acceptance of conspiracy culture. To an extent, the movie "mainstreams" both the existence of Grey and Reptilian Aliens, as well as the tropes surrounding them. The Greys are small, devious, operate in medical (specifically reproductive) facilities, and use levitation to apprehend their "subjects." The Reptilians are hierarchical, winged, scary-looking, and militant.

The writers couldn't have done a better job mainstreaming these aspects of alien culture if they'd tried. This raises the question among the conspiracy community: "Is this part of the ongoing disclosure project."

Two Views on Post Apocalyptic America: Revolution and Jericho

Jericho and Revolution present radically different visions of HOW America reaches the post-apocalyptic state. They also present different stages of the post-apocalyptic civilization. Arguably, Jericho represents an earlier stage of what post-apocalyptic society will look like, and Revolution looks at post-Apocalyptic society after it has had some time to evolve and develop. Part of this arguably can be explained by the lack of electricity in Revolution's post-apocalyptic society. However, one can argue that the same lack of society will eventually occur in the post-Apocalyptic society of Jericho due to the massive damage wrought by electromagnetic pulses from the 20 nuclear blasts that destroyed American civilization.

There are two main differences between the show's post-apocalyptic civilizations however. The first is that in Jericho, the apocalypse is confined to North America, with the rest of the world unaffected and willing to air drop aid supplies to help survivors. In the world of Revolution, the entire world has been plunged back into the 19th century due the nature of HOW electricity was lost - a new weapons technology that went wrong. The second difference is in how the United States is carved into lesser nations. In both television shows, Texas is an Independent Republic, which is entirely realistic in today's society - it has a wealth of natural resources, a well-armed populace, and a history of independence. However, in Jericho, there are only two other nations: Eastern U.S. governed from Columbus, Ohio, and Western United States governed from Cheyenne, Wyoming and responsible for the apocalypse. In Revolution, the U.S. devolves into a number of other polities. These include the Georgia Republic, which encompasses all of the old Confederacy not absorbed by Texas, the California Republic across the Rocky Mountains, the Plains Nation, which the show implies is comprised primarily of reconstituted and growing Native American tribes, and the Monroe Republic, which encompasses all of New England, the Eastern Coast down to Maryland, and all the states bordering the Great Lakes West to Wisconsin.

In both shows Texas "saves" the other nations from being taken over through hostile action. In Jericho, the hostile action is an impending/ongoing war between the Cheyenne Government and the Columbus government. This war, and the nuclear detonations that destroyed over 20 American cities were orchestrated by an analyst for a "Blackwater/Xe" type private security company. He has now become President of the Cheyenne government and is using the remnants of the U.S. military under his command to wage war against the Columbus government. In the final episode of the show, Texas goes to War against Cheyenne, tipping the balance of power, once they receive proof that Cheyenne was behind the nuclear terrorist attacks.

In Revolution, Texas helps save the other nations from being conquered by the "Patriots," remnants of the U.S. government which fled to, or already were on, the U.S. Navy's Guantanamo military base in Cuba. They plan to take over through manufacturing crises, which they then arrive to "solve," thus earning good will. Their second step is to incorporate themselves into strategic towns, and indoctrinate young people through brainwashing techniques to join their army or become sleeper agents. Two of these agents try to assassinate the President of Texas, which is what bring Texas into a war against the Patriots which also involves the Georgia and Monroe Republics.

The 100: A New Take on Post-Apocalyptic TV

The 100 takes place 97 years after an apocalyptic war on Earth, the known survivors of which were members of several space stations that banded together to form "The Ark." The Ark is a complex network of systems and can only hold a limited population. Most crimes aboard The Ark are punishable via expulsion through an airlock. However there are 100 children/adolescents who were deemed too young for the death penalty and whom live in solitary confinement.

The Ark itself is dying, though that is a secret confined to the ruling council. As an experiment, way to avoid resource depletion, and reprieve from punishment, the 100 children are sent back to Earth to determine whether humans can survive and repopulate the Earth. They make it to the surface with 97 survivors - a poetic number given the number of years for which humanity has been banished off-world. The first few episodes reveal a Lord of the Flies-type civilization that emerges among the children.

What makes The 100 interesting is that it doesn't take on a post-apocalyptic setting immediately or close in time to the apocalypse. Instead it takes places almost 100 years later. And it actually deals with multiple apocalypses - the initial one which made the ground uninhabitable, the diminishing supplies of oxygen and everything else on The Ark, and what has happened to those humans left to create their own post-apocalyptic societies. Some of these humans are "grounders" with whom The Ark survivors must contend, others are the supposed remnants of one of the powers who participated in the War that ended civilization, however we're not yet sure they exist. The plot of the first season seems to revolve around how these groups of humans interact.

Hopefully, this will be successful enough to merit a second season to help us resolve some of these issues.

Misfits, Heroes, and The 4400: One of These Things Is Not Like the Others

The Hulu Orginal Series Misfits is like Heroes and The 4400 in that it is about a bunch of formerly ordinary people who suddenly gain powers or abilities which they did not choose. Unlike the latter two shows, in which the powers were granted to individuals, essentially purposely selected (more so in The 4400 than in Heroes), in Misfits, the abilities are granted to a bunch of juvenile and other delinquents. They don't hesitate to use their powers to their own advantage and to create mischief. This is a novel plot device and it doesn't seem as if the show will contain any messianic agenda like in The 4400 or purpose to change history like in Heroes.

Orphan Black & Helix: The "Company" Resurfaces

In my previous post The Nefarious Company and Its Many Tentacles, I discussed how there seemed to be a conspiracy, guided by a corporation in many televisions shows of the past decade. In Helix, the company is identified as The Ilaria Corporation. In Orphan Black, it is two competing groups, The Proletheans and The Dyad Corporation, the second of which is a direct descendant of a pair of military project called Project Leda and Project Castor.

The Ilaria Corporation is composed of 500 immortals, governed by a board of directors. Their ultimate goal is to reduce the human population to "manageable," "sustainable" levels in order to restore the Earth to "ecological balance." The Proletheans and Dyad Corporation are on two sides of the cloning debate. The Dyad Corporation are trying to replicate the initial success of Project Leda in creating female clones and are monitoring all of the known existing clones for health and research purposes. The Proletheans are biblically opposed to cloning, but intrigued by two specific members of the clone club: Sarah Manning and Helena.

These aspects of "the company" continue to play important roles throughout the development of the series.

Falling Skies Season Three Recap and Comparison to V

Arrival of the Volm Reptilians
The Reptilian Volm that arrived at the end of Season Two join the resistance and provide advanced weapons to help the resistance wage war against the Espheni (Greys). Apparently, they have been waging a centuries long war against each other from star system to star system over a flower (or at least whatever the flower represents).

Hal's "Infection"
In the Second Season of Falling Skies, Hal becomes infected by an Espheni parasite. The parasite apparently impacts Hal's nervous system and paralyzes him during the day, or at least his legs. However, at night it controls his entire body and mind and leads him to rendezvous with Karen. Maggie discovers his nighttime treks from the mud on his boots, but Hal remembers none of this.

Lourdes the Assassin
Throughout the season, an unknown assassin kills several key personnel and funnels information to the Espheni, again through a parasite. The assassin eventually turns out to be Lourdes, the pre-med  student who has been helping Anne with medical issues and surgery throughout the series. She is one of the last people anyone would suspect to be an assassin. Lourdes eventually is discovered to be a mole and used to convey false battle plans to the Espheni.

Alien Hybrid Baby

Like in V, an alien hybrid baby is created. Unlike V, the alien is not a “love child” but somehow had her DNA corrupted with Alien DNA to produce a hybrid. This tracks well with alien conspiracy culture in the sense that it happened during Anne's (the mother's) encounter with Karen and the Overlord. Alternatively, Tom Mason could’ve been corrupted when taken aboard the alien ship to somehow produce an alien child

Unlike V, the child is not born into a welcoming group who want to protect it. Instead the mother (Anne) flees with the child from the human enclave in Charleston. However, the hybrid child is wanted by the aliens, and Anne and the child are abducted by them (again). In V, the hybrid child is viewed as a threat by all but the high commander and the child brings peace between the two civilizations. At the end of Season Three, it's not clear what purpose the hybrid child serves.

The Espheni Power Shield & Same-old, Same-old
Throughout the season, the Espheni have been constructing a power source in Boston to project a planetary defense grid. The destruction of the power shield becomes the main focus of the 2nd Mass, and their eventual success leads to an Espheni retreat and meeting between Tom Mason and the Volm Commander, who is the father of Cochise - the human name of the Volm's human liaison. Unfortunately, this meeting does not go down as one of equals and the Volm Commander essentially offers the same deal the Espheni did at the beginning of the Season: resettlement in a neo-reservation based in Brazil. The season ends with Cochise providing weapons and escape for the 2nd Mass to avoid resettlement.

The Post-Modern Nature of Arrested Development's Final Episodes

Arrested Development was always a brilliant show with a dedicated following. The long-running gags, fourth-wall break-downs, and unforgettable characters make Netflix's decision to bring it back for a final season extremely satisfying for fans.

What is interesting, and somewhat Post-Modern about this final season is that each episode is self-contained, but contains minor references to other episodes - just not like you would find in a television series. This allows one to watch the episodes in the order presented, which gives one set of experiences, including beginnings and endings. Alternatively, one can watch the episodes out of order, following characters and minor plot lines wherever they go. This leads to a different set of beginnings and endings for the viewer.

Happy Viewing in whichever order you choose!

Pop Culture & The Horrors of Genetic Engineering: Orphan Black and Hemlock Grove

It is commonly accepted among literary scholars that Mary Shelley's Frankenstein was successful because it played on human fears of the new technology of electricity. To a certain extent, the exploitation of pop culture fears has continued apace with technological development ever since. This includes movies about virtual reality (Lawnmower Man and The Thirteenth Floor), artificial intelligence (Transcendence), and genetic engineering (Species and Species II).

Genetic engineering however has become the most omnipresent in our society of all of these technologies and is involved in everything from our food to attempts to create children with three parents so that gay couples both claim parentage of their offspring. Accordingly, it has become a topic ripe for exploitation in popular culture. Both Orphan Black and Hemlock Grove are excellent exemplars of this, and well made to boot. While they both capitalize on fears of research run amok, Hemlock Grove really takes the mad scientist meme to heart with the mysterious Ouroborous project going on in the lab. Orphan Black takes the other root and capitalizes on Hannah Arendt's banality of evil, showing that one corporation pursuing its own ends can produce horrors.

While neither show is inherently a horror show, they do exploit human fears and apprehension of the potential results of genetic engineering, even if Orphan Black does this in more detail.

Hemlock Grove: A New Take on Tired Memes

Hemlock Grove has the most original take on vampires and werewolves to emerge in the past decade. It's more interesting, and deep, than the vampire/werewolf origin story in the Underworld franchise, and it's less sappy and conflict ridden than that of the Twilight franchise. In Hemlock Grove, like in Twilight, being a werewolf is a genetic condition which does not afflict all members of the tribe. However, unlike in Twilight, in Hemlock Grove, the affliction occurs among members of specific Roma (gypsy) families, not Native American tribes. Additionally, there is no INHERENT conflict between the werewolf and the vampire, just a general compulsion among the Roma to avoid vampires at all costs due both to their appetites and their abilities to subvert one's will. The way these memes play out in Hemlock Grove, and the additional Roma component, make the series well worth watching. I'm impatiently awaiting Season Two as I type this.

The Yankee-Cowboy War Updated

I previously wrote about the Yankee-Cowboy War, The Yankee-Cowboy War Looks to Continue.  As I mentioned, this concept is a useful paradigm for viewing the shifting American power base from the old-line Northeastern old money boys (Yankees) to the West and Southwest with its economic base in natural resources and technology. Before moving on to this post, I'd like to clarify two things:

(1) I was wrong in my original post about Hillary being the nominee for the Democrats. Barack Obama, a Chicago Yankee educated in Yankee bastions of Columbia and Harvard universities, became the nominee and President, defeating Cowboy military-trained and Annapolis educated John McCain. This represents the first Yankee victory over a Cowboy since Kennedy defeated Nixon in 1960. However, one could make the case that McCain's political sensibilities on issues like campaign finance and public health, though not on military matters,  actually made him closer to a Yankee than to a Cowboy.

(2) The 2012 political contest was between two Yankees - Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, who is a classic Yankee vs. Barack Obama. Again there seemed to be no significant difference of the Reagan-Carter example between the nominees. Interestingly however, various "invisible primary" frontrunners like Herman Cain, Rick Perry, and briefly Newt Gingrich in the actual primaries represented the Cowboy faction of the Republican party.

Falling Skies Season Two Recap and Comparison with V

Season Two starts with Tom resisting the Espheni (Grey) Overlord who offers to settle humans on neo-reservations, leaving his species with the run of the planet. During this discussion, he declares that humans are brutal there is no point in negotiating with them when the Greys can just take what they want. He then declares that they have been studying humans a long time, which tracks with conspiracy culture mythology of the Greys.

During the opening episode, Tom attacks and injures an Espheni (Grey) Overlord. The Greys then release the human leaders they have captured and to whom they presumably have made the same arguments and deal which they offered Tom Mason. Once the leaders are released, most of them are killed in an ambush by Skitters and Mechs, though Tom escapes.

During the course of the second season, the 2nd Massachusetts and their outlaw friends make it South to the Reconstituted Government built underneath Charleston, SC. Much of the season's plot line deals with the configuration of the new government, and conflicts between the 2nd Mass and Majority Leader of the new government over the best way to accomplish the respective goals of each. The Majority Leader was Tom's thesis advisor during his PhD in the American Revolution. However, he is much more of a dictator than one who governs via consent of the governed. This leads to an eventual Coup and Tom Mason becoming the unwilling leader of the new government.

During the course of the season, Hal becomes infected by a parasite similar to the one that Tom carried back, which then infected Lourdes (though nothing happened on that plot line in this season)

Episode 5 of Season Two also seems to be pivotal. In this episode we learn that,like in V, a “Fifth Column” develops among the skitters. This Fifth Column is seeking freedom from the Espheni (Grey Alien) overlords, and wages war against their mechanical warriors, which is how the 5th Massachusetts becomes aware of the Fifth Column. During episode 5, the red-eyed leader of this rebellion is wounded and their is conflict among the 5th Mass as to what to do with him. We also learn that some of the Skitters have been able to resist the harness and have been trying to wage rebellion for 100 years. Red-Eye is hopeful that an alliance with the human resistance will lead to the eventual success of the current rebellion. 

The potential rebellion is alarming enough to the Espheni (Grey) alien overlords that they send Hal Mason's former girlfriend Karen to kidnap Ben Mason in order to obtain intelligence from Ben, who has been trying to help forge the alliance between the 5th Column and the 5th Mass. During this attempt, the 5th Mass captures the alien Overlord with whom Tom interacted and was tortured by earlier in the season.

Season Two ends with the death of the Overlord Tom dealt with all season and the arrival of new, winged "Reptilian" aliens. It is unclear if the Reptilians are good or bad from our brief introduction. 

Continuum: SyFy's Battlestar Galactica/Caprica Re-Employment Vehicle

I've got to say that Continuum is proving interesting. However, one notable thing about it is that it seems to employ a number of actors from Battlestar Galactica and Caprica. Caprica's GDD Officer Jordan Durham becomes Vancouver's Police Chief Inspector Dillon in Continuum; Battlestar Galactica's Karl Agathon becomes Union President Jim Martin. There's even an appearance by Daniel Graystone's associate Cyrus as a peddler of black market sperm from high value donors.

Falling Skies Season One Recap & Comparison w/ V

Since the reboot of V does not seem to be coming back, it's a good thing that we have Falling Skies to watch now. It shares many similarities to both the original V and the reboot. Falling Skies also seems like yet another retelling, in modified form, of the American Revolution. For one thing, the series and the Resistance starts in Boston - the first reference to the Backbay neighborhood and the second to South Boston. 

The Resistance
The initial invasion of Falling Skies is dramatically overt, and more similar to what happens in Independence Day than in V  - Motherships arrive and launch attacks, then leave garrisons as they go somewhere else. Interestingly, the alien garrisons left behind are protected by large, odd-shaped structures. The initial attack is devastating and destroys all major cities and military forces. This attack uses a bright light, EMP-type weapon which bears some similarity to the "Blue Light" in V 2010.

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Resistance Leaders

Like in the mulitple V miniseries and series, the Resistance is largely lead by “moms and dads” – regular people in extraordinary circumstances. In V, the military is co-opted by the governmental collaborators who are their masters. In Falling Skies, the  military is essentially annihilated (as mentioned before).

 

One of primary adult characters and leaders is a female doctor, Anne, like Juliet in the original V. Another leading protagonist adult character is a history/military history professor named Tom Mason, as opposed to a journalist. Tom's PhD in the American Revolution lends more credence to the idea that the entire series is one entire retelling of the Revolution (similar to Star Wars). This is something we as Americans like to do in our storytelling.
 

In the original V, The Resistance teams up w/ mercenaries and counter-revolutionaries (whom would be called terrorists now) to help fight the invading aliens. In Falling Skies, the resistance teams up with a band of well-armed criminals. This merger of forces is bumpy and not at all smooth, but in the end it succeeds, partly because "Being the leader of a band of post-apocalyptic outlaws has been exhausting," according to Pope, the outlaw leader.

 

In Falling Skies/Original V, it is the outlaw criminals and mercenaries, respectively, who are the ones that develop alien armor piercing bullets. In the case of V, it was the lizard skin that the new ammunition penetrated. In Falling Skies it was the “Mech” armor that the new ammo could penetrate (made from destroyed Mechs, and inspired by a comment from one of Tom Mason's children). 

 

Alien Hierarchies & Evolution

The Aliens in Falling Skies seem to operate in a strict, racial/mechanical hierarchy, as opposed to the Visitors in V, who operate according to a military hierarchy. In Falling Skies, Skitters and Mechanical warriors (Mechs) comprise the lower caste helping the Grey alien-inspired "Overlords." One of the principal jobs of the skitters is to catch kids and attach biological harnesses to them. These harnesses turn kids into compliant servants of Skitters, and then eventually into Skitters
Ben, the son of primary adult character/leader is abducted (like in V) and harnessed to ensure his loyalty – in V, Donovan’s son is abducted and put into cold storage until putting him a conversion process to ensure his loyalty to the Visitors.

 

Episode 5 reveals a symbiotic relationship between alien Skitters and harnessed children – Aliens care for them, and according to one formerly harnessed child, “It’s like they care about us – part of a family – they know what we need before we do”  

Human Collaborators
The human collaborators in Falling Skies are much more nefarious than in V. In V, the collaborators are essentially upper crust society members seeking higher status by working with what appear to be alien "friends."After all, the aliens in V have a much more insidious, and less overtly violent agenda. They merely want to feed on "excess" humans. The collaborators in Falling Skies know that the skitters do horrible things to children, including turning them into harnessed slaves. However, they still try to deal children for peace to the skitters. The beginning of the collaboration to send children to aliens is revealed in Episode 5, which seems to be pivotal in revealing the connections between harnessed children and skitters.

V: 1983 & 2009, Part Seven : Why are They Here?

V 1983-1984 & V 2010-2011:
Part Six, Part Five, Part Four, Part Three, Part Two,Part One

Why the Aliens Are Here
Obviously the Reptilian meme among alien abduction/Area 51 conspiracies plays a strong part in both series. In both series the aliens hidden agenda is disguised by medical gifts to help humanity. However, their hidden agenda for coming to earth, and their time lines, are vastly different.

Time Lines, Purpose & "Red Sky"
While the original V series implies that that the Visitors are relatively recent arrivals to our solar system, this is not the case with the remake. The new series takes a page from conspiracy culture and states that the the Visitors have been here for generations, and are harvesting human DNA for reproductive purposes, instead of for for food. According to the most recent episode "Birth Pangs," the Visitors are harvesting the best DNA from around the universe to accelerate their evolution.

To that end they have been trying to carefully increase the phosphorous levels in human females to help reproduce Visitors, as well as in males they find genetically superior. This has been a multi-generational project. However, in contravention to conspiracy culture, the genetic manipulation wasn't done during abductions, but rather through disguised Reptilians on earth. Additionally, the Visitors release "Red Sky" to rapidly enhance the phosphorous levels, which fuels fears among the human population; in the original series the red dust in the atmosphere was a biological weapon against the Visitors and humans cheered when it was released into the air despite not knowing what it was for.

V 1983 & 2009, Part Six: The Changing Role of Reporters & Mercenaries

Part Seven: V 1983-1984 & V 2010-2011.
Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five, Post-Modernism in V.

It' been interesting to watch the old V series on my TiVo and compare and contrast with the new ABC series.

The Role of Reporters
1983: Donovan/Woman - There were two different media personalities during the two original V miniseries, embodying America's complex view of the media at the time. On the one hand you had the ambitious female reporter, Christine, who would do anything for a scoop. She becomes a PR mouthpiece / Press Secretary for Diana, but later reveals that the Visitors are not friendly and should be resisted and is killed for doing so. She does not join the resistance despite exposing the Visitors.

Donovan on the other hand represents the intrepid foreign correspondent, willing to go anywhere to get the story but who became a journalist out of strong pro-liberty passions. He is the kind of patriotic reporter America wishes we still produced. Donovan, an experienced foreign correspondent in war zones, becomes a natural leader of the resistance. Unfortunately, he doesn't put his PR skills to good use advancing the cause, as would be expected today.

2009: Chad Decker's character development is roughly similar to that of Christine, but as he gradually becomes skeptical of the Visitors he becomes a full fledged member of the Resistance. In the 1983 episode, the Fifth column was chiefly disaffected Visitors show disapproved of their species' agenda.

The Role of Mercenaries & Terrorists
1983: Ham Tyler - While Michael Ironsides may have fit the Hollywood ideal of a freedom fighter back in the days of the Contras, his character feels dated. He appears after several events in LA draw lots of attention and announces that the LA resistance fighters led by Donovan and Julie, need to join the worldwide resistance of which Tyler is a crucial leader.

2009: Kyle Hobbes - the current cultural zeitgeist is much less kind to fictional mercenaries and this character is much darker than his 1983 counterpart, Ham Tyler. However, mercenaries are a more accepted fact of American life now than then. The rise of private security firms such as Xe (formerly Blackwater)has allowed the U.S. military to increase the number of combat forces it has without putting it directly on their budget.

However, the primary mercenary contact Kyle Hobbes, while a member of the inner circle, is displaced by an Israeli Terrorist named Eli Cohen as the main resistance military leader and has set up cells around the world. What he and Ham Tyler have in common is that they are both parts of the larger resistance movement that exists outside of the isolated groups banding together which we first encounter.

V: 1983 & 2009, Part Five: The Role of Women & Minorities

The Role of Women
The Resistance
1983: Julie, medical student and reluctant resistance leader. She is unsure of herself, and this is made worse by her interrupted Visitor Conversion attempt.
Diana, is merely one captain in the larger V squadron. Her primary source of authority comes because she is the lover of the Supreme Commander.

2009: Erica, FBI agent, part of 5th Column (5th Column as assimilated the resistance in this series) even has a feminized man's name. The most feminine thing about her in terms of attitudes prevalent in the 80s is that she is alien abductee whose fetus was modified by the Visitors. This fits in neatly with modern conspiracy theories as to why the "Grays" are here.

The Visitors
1983: Diana is merely the captain of one starship in a larger squadron, her position in the Visitor's hierarchy is assured through her sexual relationship with the Supreme Commander. While she is hard edged and successful enough to run a ship, she has not yet proven herself able to manage and lead a larger population. She engages in kinky sex with a subordinate, in this case kinky is defined as wearing their human skins.

2009: Anna is Queen of the Visitors, a position she secured by overthrowing her mother. She controls her people through dispensing a chemical called Bliss to her species. Her reptilian nature is emphasized more strongly in this series by her mating to produce an army of warriors. We later find out she is unable to produce additional non-drone children of her race. The future of her species depends on her daughter Lisa laying eggs and becoming Queen. Unfortunately, they are far from a suitable planet for her offspring, necessitating the transformation of Earth into a planet better suited for the Visitors.

V is fortunate though to have two strong females going head to head as leaders of different teams. I don't recall seeing anything like that before. This seems to indicate a growing acceptance of female leadership.

The Role of Minorities
1983 - Elias, a street hoodlum and criminal before the Visitor's arrival, and then a freedom fighter and resistance leader afterwards. This reinforces mid-80s American fears of black urban youth, to which even Jesse Jackson admitted having. Additionally, the Hispanic resistance fighter promotes cultural stereotypes of Mexican immigrants.

2009 - Ryan, the primary black character in the 2009 V, is a Visitor and member of the 5th column who may turn on his fellow freedom fighters for his own benefit making him a triple spy. Essentially he is an immigrant who assimilated but may retain allegiance to his original civilization. This corresponds nicely with the Zeitgeist of the home-grown home-radicalized domestic terrorists attacking us. There have been a number of these attacks or attempts from Ft. Hood to Times Square, and there is a fear of more out there. V uses a black character to embody this fear, presumable out of PC sensibilities of using an Arab, and a desire to avoid causing controversey.

Caprica: The Genesis of Cylon Monotheism vs. Human Polytheism (Part II)

One of the more interesting things of note about Zoe Graystone and the development of the monotheistic religion is that though the STO has existed for a while, Zoe's life and death add more complexity to the religion. And this complexity has strikingly Christian overtones. Zoe becomes The Trinity: Actual Zoe is flesh and the original Creator (God), Simulacrum Zoe is the creation (digital daughter) to which she gave life and which  evangelizes her beliefs through the STO and otherwise (Jesus), and Zoe's spirit - simulacrum consciousness - also inhabits the U-87 military robot (The Holy Ghost). The declaration that Zoe is the Trinity comes from Lacy Rand, future Blessed Mother (high priestess) of the STO's monotheistic faith.

Later, Sister Clarice, another member of the STO, imparts religious significance to Amanda Graystone as the Mother of Zoe. This is because Zoe had been given the power to create life through her Avatar program which recreates an entire person based on the digital footprints they leave throughout the world during their life.

The Avatar program is part of Sister Clarice's plan for Apotheosis, in which digital simulacra of human beings will be uploaded into a "digital heaven" at the moment of death. In this way, a continuous life everlasting will be granted to the adherents of the monotheistic religion. Sister Clarice views this as a reward to the faithful as well as a religious recruiting tool for her faith. Her pitch for Apotheosis to the guiding council of the faith causes controversy, leading to the death of one objector and the approval of the Blessed Mother to move forward with the statement "it's best to let these things play out as He sees fit." She then grants Clarice total control over all STO cells on Caprica and and agreement to provide the resources Clarice needs to finish Apotheosis.

Daniel Graystone pitches a similar, though crass, profit-driven secular version of Apotheosis to the Guatrau in a meeting about getting his company back from Daniel Virgis, Apparently Virgis is a friend of the Gautrau's who has taken it over from Graystone in a buyout. His secular Apotheosis proposal is met with rejection by Joseph Adama, an adviser to the Guatrau and father to William Adama who will play a central role in the subsequent Cylon Wars of Battlestar Galactica. However, the Guatrau is intrigued enough to order Daniel Graystone to proceed with the project. Graystone also begins work designing bodies into which to download the consciousnesses of the Simulacra. This sets up the resurrection process for the seven improved Cylon models in Battlestar Galactica, though of course the standard U-87 warrior models are still in use during the series reboot.

Sister Clarice's vision of Apotheosis for all is opposed by Simulacrum Zoe Graystone because she fears it will lead to "Hell on earth," a consequence-free existence turning reality into a mirror of the virtual world of New Caprica City where actions have no consequences. Simulacrum Zoe views this as contrary to the teachings of the faith with its emphasis on moral absolutes and consequences for one's actions - the same things that lead Actual Zoe to the One True Faith. In fact, Simulacrum Zoe is so obsessed with the cesspool of sin found in "V-World" that she vows to "clean it up." However, Sister Clarice has a working copy of Zoe's Avatar Simulacrum program and the ability to make her vision come true. Simulacrum Zoe and Sister Clarice have a theological argument over their differing perspectives during which Zoe declares "I am God!" to refute Clarice's declaration that she is following God's will. Zoe then turns Clarice's virtual Heaven into a virtual Hell using her abilities in the V-World.

Clarice spread the faith of the One True God and pleads with the Blessed Mother, Lacy Rand, to give God's blessing to the "differently sentient." Her exhortation to the Cylons is that there is no limit to what they may become and that they deserve Civil Rights. She prophesizes that there will be a Cylon to emerge to set them free and lead them on to their equality in life. This is revealed to be Cylon Zoe. 

Meanwhile, On her path to becoming Blessed Mother of the One True Faith, Lacy Rand gains the ability to control the STO's U-87 army. This seems to be because of residual memory / recognition of her by the original U-87 into which Zoe was downloaded. Lacy e asks the members of the army to raise its arm if the U-87 is Zoe Graystone. As she walks by them, they all raise their hand. However, we know that Zoe's consciousness is trapped in New Caprica City, so the residual memory is likely the best answer to this specific mystery. Lacy later used the U-87 army to depose the Blessed Mother and assume that role for herself, with her control of the army as testament to her holiness.



























 "All this has happened before and will happen again."

Caprica: The Genesis of Cylon Monotheism vs. Human Polytheism

One of the more interesting aspects of Caprica and Battlestar Galactica is the religious aspect of the conflict between humans and Cylons. To wit, Cylons have developed a monotheistic religion, complete with churches and priests/priestesses, which we witness at the end of the Caprica series, while humans have emerged as a polytheistic civilization. This is an interesting overlay of the conflict between humans and Cylons and was absent in the original series. Additionally, it was added into the original series, during the height of the Post-War Occupation of Iraq, giving the series a more politically relevant context. There's even a webisode and episode focusing on the use of suicide bombers by human POWs to inflict casualties on human collaborators and their Cylon masters.

The polytheism of the humans seems to track well with the fact that the Human Civilization in Caprica/Battlestar Galactica has colonized 12 planets, each named after a sign of the Zodiac, and each possessing its own patron God(dess). Battlestar Galactica acknowledges that the human race evolved on one planet before a diaspora, but still seems united under one political system instead of evolving into the planetary versions of nation-states. In fact, the 12 planets are referred to as the colonies, implying control from one central planet.

The development of the Cylon monotheistic religion is more interesting.  Zoe Graystone, the developer of the Zoe Simulacrum and program for the development of the Cylons was an adherent of the Soldiers of the One (STO). STO is a militant religious organization dedicated to advancing monotheistic beliefs in a judgmental, all-knowing God who wanted humans to understand right from wrong. This is a reaction against the perceived excesses, sexual and otherwise, of the polytheistic majority. These excesses are first, and best, witnessed in the Virtual Club where we first meet Simulacrum Zoe. There is group sex, murder for fun, and human sacrifice, all of which is dedicated to some God or other.

The STO didn't just come into existence weeks before the series show. According to the show's mythology, it's a long-existing cult, at least decades old. It has been driven underground because of its "extreme" views on human morality. Zoe Graystone, as an adherent of the STO imbued her Simulacrum with those same beliefs. Lacy Rand, Zoe's best friend and fellow STO member eventually becomes high priestess. Between the two of them and sister Clarice they indoctrinate all Cylons into the STO's monotheistic religion.

(To Be Continued...)

Uneven Steven Has Been On Hiatus

Since late last year, I have been working on a project that did not afford me the time to blog, nor even to delve into pop culture or political debate.

I hope to resume blogging again soon on the following topics:

V - 1980s vs. 2010s - A more in depth examination of the original television story compared against that of the current one. I intend to focus on the difference of the Cold War cultural background of the original vs. the Global War or Terror cultural background of the current one. I also intend to contrast how the more recent Battle Star Galactica & V address the political and cultural events of the last decade. Finally, I would like to do a comparison of the

The Upcoming Congressional Midterm Elections

Some Intriguing Political Developments in Alabama - A Political Upset No One Saw Coming.

Jericho and the Yankee-Cowboy War

I recently rewatched Jericho, and had a thought related to a previous post.

In this post, I discussed the Yankee-Cowboy War as a paradigm for the shift of power from he Eastern Establishment based in Chicago, New York, Boston, and the industrial states (Yankees) to the West and Southwest (Cowboys) with its oil, natural resources and technology based sources of economic power.

Jericho unconsciously (or consciously?) mimics this division of elite economic power by dividing the surviving United States into Cowboy-dominated, Cheyenne, Wyoming-centered Western-United States, Cowboy-dominated Texas, and Yankee-dominated, Columbus-centered Eastern United States. Interestingly, it is the Cheyenne-based Cowboys who are the "bad guys," and the Texas-based Cowboys and Columbus-based Yankees who are the good guys. It's interesting to think that Texas-Cowboys are on the good side because Texas wealth and power is based as much on technology and market trading as it is on natural resources. Meanwhile, almost all of the Cheyenne-based wealth and power comes from natural resources only. This would play well into the growing hostility against fossil fuels in our society...

Caprica: Predicting The Singularity & Coming to terms with AI

The pilot episode of Caprica presents two different, related concepts emerging into the scientific mainstream: that of truly human-level (or beyond) artificial intelligence, and that of The Singularity - what happens when AI surpasses man and man and machine can merge. In the opening scenes we meet Zoe Graystone's simulacrum: an artificial intelligence resembling Zoe, possessing all of her memories, abilities and interests. At first the Simulacrum Zoe is a little buggy, but those bugs seems to work themselves out once Actual Zoe dies in a suicide bomb orchestrated by the Soldiers of the One, a monotheistic cult railing against a polytheistic society that is permissive and seems devoid of the concepts of good and evil. Simulacrum Zoe is even covered in blood after Actual Zoe dies in the bombing and tells protagonist priestess in training Zoe that she "felt" the death of Actual Zoe, as if they somehow were connected.

The theme of more limited artificial intelligence is introduced after we meet Simulacrum Zoe, but before the post-bombing encounter with SZ. The theme of limited artificial intelligence emerges at a weapons lab demonstration of primitive Cylon technology. The Cylon fails to hit, or even adequately aim at, its target during the demonstration due to the lack of a "meta-cognitive processing" MCP unit, which will become more central to the early episodes of the series.

Daniel Graystone, father of Zoe, discovers Simulacrum Zoe and the computer program Actual Zoe used to create SZ. He obsesses over obtaining the MCP from a rival corporation to use not only in the improvement of the Cylons, but also in downloading the Simulacrum Zoe's personality into a Cylon body. The first goal is exceeded wonderfully for Daniel, resulting in a military contract and the side-effect of changing the color of the Cylon scanner eye from white to red. The second goal has unintended consequences for Daniel, and results in the potential loss of Simulacrum Zoe's personality when tried. However, it seems to set up the development of a system used to create 7 of the 12 Cylon models in Battlestar Galactica

The show seems to imply that AI and The Singularity emerged from different programming and technological techniques. It also explores the emotional range of responses humans get from interacting with a Singularity-level AI, which range from disbelief to horror. Acceptance is only a reaction that develops over time.

Health Care & the Piece-Work Economy

The following is a quote from Kristi Vogel of The Gulf Stream in late 2008:

Piece work is a term that dates to the 16th century, in the context of the guild system for master craftsman, and is perhaps the oldest type of performance-related pay. The concept is quite simple: the worker is paid a fixed rate for each item or part produced, or for each operation or task performed. In the US, many assume that the piece rate pay system is linked with low wage jobs in which the workers may be exploited, such as garment assembly in sweatshops, or field laborers in agriculture. However, this pay system also applies to craftspeople in the modern economy, e.g. those who produce custom furniture, handmade clothing or jewelry, and artwork. As a teenager, I learned the hard way that this latter path to financial independence can be very difficult, perhaps impossible . . .

In academic science, at least in the US, most of us are paid neither by the piece, nor by the hour. Calculations for hourly pay can, in fact, lead to temporary depression, especially when compared to those for other professionals. But what if researchers could be paid a fixed rate for each item produced or task performed? Imagine for a moment that you could charge your boss or your collaborators for certain assays or computational analyses or microdissections or imaging techniques at which you’re particularly skilled … how much would you charge for each “piece”? Would such an economy benefit anyone . . .

I can state now that many of my friends in academia already have resorted to participating in a piecework style economy. Mostly they are doctoral students with strong math or economic skills. I also have friends who make their living by blogging (usually for clients, sometimes blog-for-pay), and many Washington colleagues who work for themselves as consultants, strategists, event planners or lobbyists. My point is that this is becoming more common in white collar jobs and some have predicted it is direction that our economy is evolving - most people paid for piecework and few permanent jobs except for a shrinking elite. As an aside, in 1995 Newsweek dubbed the then-likely emerging elites as the "Over Class.'

If our society is moving towards a piecework economy, then it is crucially employment and health insurance be de-linked from each other. Otherwise, continuity of health care coverage becomes almost as greater a problem than lack of insurance itself. To adapt to this new economy, health care either needs to be made radically cheaper for individual purchasers through the tax code and market incentives, or we need to establish dome type of national health system, again based on the free market. The single payer, government program many desire just isn't feasible for a nation with $52 Trillion in unfunded obligations, regardless of its merits.

Oh, and complaining about health insurance anti-trust exemptions just reveals a lack of understanding of math. Health insurance costs are based on actuarial science - variations of risk and expense based on population characteristics. Two companies competing for the same pool of customers will arrive at the same cost for insuring that population. Without anti-trust exemption, you could have the ironic result of one insurance company dominating so much of the American market, that their market power would allow them the ability to dictate payment terms to doctors, hospitals, and pharmaceutical companies.

British Fraud Investigator Agrees: It Was About the Benjamins

Lord Monckton was Margaret Thatcher's equivalent of a Special Prosecutor for Scientific Fraud. He has a lot of credibility exposing past scientific frauds, and has been a consistent critic not of global warming, but of how the data was used.

In the article below, he discusses the evolution of the climate fraud, as well as the financial resources that have been dedicated to climate research.

link

Climate Fraud: It was all about the Benjamins

My take on how the scientific fraud started is simple. I simply listen to Woodward and Bernstein and follow the money. The greatest beneficiaries of climate change hysteria and research have been university professors. You may ask why and how these professors had an incentive to create a global climate hysteria. The answer is simple: they had been right about ozone layer problems caused by chlorofluorocarbons and had goaded the world into collective action which stabilized the ozone layer, which is now repairing itself.

However, by solving one problem for humanity, the scientists had created a new problem for themselves. Governmental funding of climate scientists declined while governments focused on other priorities. This left many graduate students and professors needing new sources of grant money simply to survive if they wanted to remain employed. What were they to do?

Later, a few of these same climate scientists whom we had trusted previously, and whom had been proven right, decided to abuse that trust to gin up a new climate crisis to maintain their funding. Fortunately for them, the new age Gaia movement was growing and the climate “crisis” became infused with a semi-religious fervor. It is this same fervor which lead scientists like those at the Climate Research Unit located at the University of East Anglia to act like the Medieval Catholic Church: punishing those who challenged then-current knowledge, sometimes by acts of violence similar to those threatened in some of the stolen emails, and suppressing this same inconvenient knowledge. We are now told that the original data records, from which CRU claims to have derived its results was destroyed decades ago. We are told to accept on faith by those who committed fraud that the original data was transferred correctly. But now no one can ever check CRU’s results against all the original data.

The other financial beneficiaries of the global warming hysteria: third world, less developed nations of the South want a portion of the wealth of the successful, industrial Northern Nations. The Southern nations know that the most effective way of getting this money or technology is through playing upon liberal, Northern guilt. And the best way to do that is through Northern created institutions such as the United Nations.