The Orion's Arm Universe Project Forums





Pink Goo
#1
http://www.orionsarm.com/eg-article/47c1b04b8d8e0
This article has a major problem: by using "pink" to describe humans, it assumes all humans are white. Needless to say, this is bad.
I talked with Rynn about it on the Discord, and we agreed on "Hu Goo" as an alternative term. We should change it, preferably soon.

My lifelong goal: To add "near" to my "baseline" classification.

Lucid dreaming: Because who says baseline computronium can't run virches?
Reply
#2
I like the term hu-goo. Or red goo as a baroque reference to blood.
OA Wish list:
  1. DNI
  2. Internal medical system
  3. A dormbot, because domestic chores suck!
Reply
#3
(05-22-2018, 09:39 PM)Alphadon Wrote: This article has a major problem: by using "pink" to describe humans, it assumes all humans are white.

Or it's referring to the color of the humans after the Archailects' population control killbots get done with them. Puny human meatbags are all reddish-pink on the inside. Wink
Mike Miller, Materials Engineer
----------------------

"Everbody's always in favor of saving Hitler's brain, but when you put it in the body of a great white shark, oh, suddenly you've gone too far." -- Professor Farnsworth, Futurama
Reply
#4
Not to muddy the waters, but given that 'pink goo' as a concept relates to unlimited population growth, what about all the other non-human sophonts in the setting that could also engage in it? Hu-goo would presumably just refer to sophonts derived from humans, not the various other biological and cybernetic clades that could also goo out if they wanted to or are careless.

Todd
Reply
#5
(05-22-2018, 10:54 PM)Drashner1 Wrote: Not to muddy the waters, but given that 'pink goo' as a concept relates to unlimited population growth, what about all the other non-human sophonts in the setting that could also engage in it? Hu-goo would presumably just refer to sophonts derived from humans, not the various other biological and cybernetic clades that could also goo out if they wanted to or are careless.

Todd

The article refers specifically to humanity, though. It's even mentioned as being used as an insult by nonhuman modosophonts.

My lifelong goal: To add "near" to my "baseline" classification.

Lucid dreaming: Because who says baseline computronium can't run virches?
Reply
#6
I'd call it 'biont goo' nowadays. Pink Goo is one iof the terms that pre-dated OA, but it was barely funny then, and it is inaccurate. However there are a number of examples of self-replicating biont swarms in the setting, and we could build a rewrite around them.
Reply
#7
(05-23-2018, 02:34 AM)stevebowers Wrote: I'd call it 'biont goo' nowadays.

"Bio-Goo", maybe?
Mike Miller, Materials Engineer
----------------------

"Everbody's always in favor of saving Hitler's brain, but when you put it in the body of a great white shark, oh, suddenly you've gone too far." -- Professor Farnsworth, Futurama
Reply
#8
Bio-goo would be slightly different - any kind of bio-nanotech swarm could be described as bio-goo, and so could an algal bloom or an invasive species such as rabbits or knotweed.

Biont-goo is derived from the term describing a biological sophont, and specifically refers to swarms of sophonts replicating out of hand (together with their support infrastructure). This has happened a few times in the history of the Terragen Shere, but in most cases the population of a sohont species is self-regulating - no-one wants to live in a overcrowded world, so (given the choice) the sophonts will tend to move away or stop reproducing.
Reply


Forum Jump:


Users browsing this thread: 1 Guest(s)