@Proginoskes:
Misunderstanding accepted and acknowledged.
You are completely correct about the past. But, now,
we have regulations that keep bad things like that from happening. I almost
used your argument as an example as to why not to do what the Fen are
doing.
The only reason I posted to this thread at all is
because it seemed to be asking why people don’t understand Fenspace. I’m
uniquely situated to give an observation on it.
You understand that it’s not something for everyone. It’s
not my cup of tea. That doesn’t mean that I can’t help you guys out with
pictures and an outsider perspective (which is what I’m trying to do, but some
of your peers don’t seem to get that).
@KJ
If anything did counter my arguments, I would have read
them. But, they didn’t. They require me to, willingly, accept the “faith” of
Fenspace. I don’t. Sorry. I am an outsider—by definition, I do not
share your perspective.
And, fair enough, I didn’t, adequately define “bad.” I’m
sorry.
If Joe Fen decides to apply it to his ’68 Barracuda to take
him into orbit it will work. Sure, the air conditioner may blow fishy
smells and it likes to dart from place to place snapping its hood open and
close, but there is never any doubt that everything will work “as
expected” within a minor deviation.
But, it can’t turn the car into a human-eating machine. The
atmospheric processor (where did that come from?) won’t suddenly start
spewing carbon monoxide into the passenger compartment. The car won’t ever
require a blood sacrifice.
Sure, you could apply Handwavium to someone, against their
will, and mess them up. But, the handwavium would never do that by
itself. Sure, it might do something “unexpected” (A.C. Peters comes to mind,
since I’ve been working on her), but never anything inherently detrimental to
the person.
And the third one: Yes, I’m for real. You’re asking us to
believe that the universe is inherently altruistic. I firmly believe
that it is not. I believe that it knows neither mercy nor malice. The
personality of the human characters is not part of the discussion as they’re not
why people don’t get Fenspace. But Handwavium is also a major character, and
its personality is what I’m calling into question.
This isn’t a personal attack, though you are making one
against me. This was a question as to why outsiders don’t “get” Fenspace, and
I’m answering that question. I will point out that I’m not targeting the
stories but the world because the world is what people don’t get.
People who want to find out about the world might read a story or two, then they
would look more into the world and start spotting all the issues I’ve brought
up.
The fact remains that many of the stories would stand on
their own when removed from the Fenspace world. That speaks volumes of the
authors’ abilities.
This is very much an outsider calling your faith into
question and you’re responding exactly as I would expect.
And let me make this clear, because some of you don’t seem to
get it. I’m not telling you to change anything. I’m providing
information because it was requested. It’s your sandbox, play in it the way you
want to. I’m not telling you that writing in your world is “badwrongfun.” If
it makes you happy then keep doing it! I’m the last person who would ever tell
you that you’re having “badwrongfun.”
Misunderstanding accepted and acknowledged.
You are completely correct about the past. But, now,
we have regulations that keep bad things like that from happening. I almost
used your argument as an example as to why not to do what the Fen are
doing.
The only reason I posted to this thread at all is
because it seemed to be asking why people don’t understand Fenspace. I’m
uniquely situated to give an observation on it.
You understand that it’s not something for everyone. It’s
not my cup of tea. That doesn’t mean that I can’t help you guys out with
pictures and an outsider perspective (which is what I’m trying to do, but some
of your peers don’t seem to get that).
@KJ
If anything did counter my arguments, I would have read
them. But, they didn’t. They require me to, willingly, accept the “faith” of
Fenspace. I don’t. Sorry. I am an outsider—by definition, I do not
share your perspective.
And, fair enough, I didn’t, adequately define “bad.” I’m
sorry.
If Joe Fen decides to apply it to his ’68 Barracuda to take
him into orbit it will work. Sure, the air conditioner may blow fishy
smells and it likes to dart from place to place snapping its hood open and
close, but there is never any doubt that everything will work “as
expected” within a minor deviation.
But, it can’t turn the car into a human-eating machine. The
atmospheric processor (where did that come from?) won’t suddenly start
spewing carbon monoxide into the passenger compartment. The car won’t ever
require a blood sacrifice.
Sure, you could apply Handwavium to someone, against their
will, and mess them up. But, the handwavium would never do that by
itself. Sure, it might do something “unexpected” (A.C. Peters comes to mind,
since I’ve been working on her), but never anything inherently detrimental to
the person.
And the third one: Yes, I’m for real. You’re asking us to
believe that the universe is inherently altruistic. I firmly believe
that it is not. I believe that it knows neither mercy nor malice. The
personality of the human characters is not part of the discussion as they’re not
why people don’t get Fenspace. But Handwavium is also a major character, and
its personality is what I’m calling into question.
This isn’t a personal attack, though you are making one
against me. This was a question as to why outsiders don’t “get” Fenspace, and
I’m answering that question. I will point out that I’m not targeting the
stories but the world because the world is what people don’t get.
People who want to find out about the world might read a story or two, then they
would look more into the world and start spotting all the issues I’ve brought
up.
The fact remains that many of the stories would stand on
their own when removed from the Fenspace world. That speaks volumes of the
authors’ abilities.
This is very much an outsider calling your faith into
question and you’re responding exactly as I would expect.
And let me make this clear, because some of you don’t seem to
get it. I’m not telling you to change anything. I’m providing
information because it was requested. It’s your sandbox, play in it the way you
want to. I’m not telling you that writing in your world is “badwrongfun.” If
it makes you happy then keep doing it! I’m the last person who would ever tell
you that you’re having “badwrongfun.”