From: Alienthe@hotmail.com   
      
   Omixochitl wrote:   
      
   > Alienthe  wrote in   
   > news:3FC285EC.1050909@hotmail.com:   
   >   
   >>The monster thread has now reached critical mass...   
   >>   
   >>Omixochitl wrote:   
   >>   
   >>>Alienthe  wrote in   
   >>>news:3FA8284A.5010705@hotmail.com:   
   >>>   
   >>>>Omixochitl wrote:   
   >>>>   
   >>>>>Alienthe  wrote in   
   >>>>>news:3F9EDC85.7030203@hotmail.com:   
   >>>>>   
   >>>>>>Omixochitl wrote:   
   >>>>>>   
   >>>>>>>Alienthe  wrote in   
   >>>>>>>news:3F9171E8.20101@hotmail.com:   
   >>>>>>>   
   >>>>>>>>One of these days I'll try to trim this cascade...   
   >>>>>>>>   
   >>>>...but not today.   
   >>>>   
   >>>>>>>>Omixochitl wrote:   
   >>>>>>>>   
   >>>>>>>>>Alienthe  wrote in   
   >>>>>>>>>news:3F758312.60406@hotmail.com:   
   >>>>>>>>>   
   >>>>>>>>>>Omixochitl wrote:   
   >>>>>>>>>>   
   >>>>>>>>>>>Alienthe  wrote in   
   >>>>>>>>>>>news:3F57AC0C.5040300@hotmail.com:   
   >>>>>>>>>>>   
   >>>>>>>>>>>>Omixochitl wrote:   
   >>>>>>>>>>>>   
   >>>>>>>>>>>>>Alienthe  wrote in message   
   >>>>>>>>>>>>>news:<3F4296A8.4090204@hotmail.com>...   
   >>>>>>>>>>>>>   
   >>>>>>>>>>>>>>Omixochitl wrote:   
   >>>>>>>>>>>>>>   
   >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Alienthe  wrote in   
   >>>>>>>>>>>>>>><3F3501D6.5070505@hotmail.com>:   
   >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>   
   >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Omixochitl wrote:   
   >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>   
   >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Snoogy  wrote in   
   >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>:   
   >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>   
   >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>agreed, though PR went overboard on fashion description   
   >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>rather than tech description and therefore suffered the   
   >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>same failing as hard SF.  though   
   >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>   
   >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Or more precisely, the same failing as hard chick lit.   
   >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>   
   >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>"Hard chick lit"? Would that be stories with detailled   
   >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>fashion descriptions set in Harajuku or just outlandish   
   >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>fashions like Trinity's wardrobe inside Matrix.   
   >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>   
   >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Hard chick lit would be like _Bridget Jones's Diary_ and   
   >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>_The Girl's Guide to Hunting and Fishing_, only more so.   
   >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>;)   
   >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>   
   >>>>>>>>>>>>>>Bridget Jones to Neuromancer sure is a wide span in   
   >>>>>>>>>>>>>>literary   
   >>>>>>>>>>>>>>   
   >>>>>>>>>>>>>Not that wide.  They're both 20th century, after all.  My   
   >>>>>>>>>>>>>literary tastes are a bit wider than those 2 imply.  ;)   
   >>>>>>>>>>>>>   
   >>>>>>>>>>>>Well, I think it sounded wide as it was, no matter the   
   >>>>>>>>>>>>century. Or shall we say one bridget too far? Ahem.   
   >>>>>>>>>>>>   
   >>>>>>>>>>>Heh.   
   >>>>>>>>>>>   
   >>>>>>>>>>And now in another thread it appears you enjoy generic romance   
   >>>>>>>>>>stories too?   
   >>>>>>>>>>   
   >>>>>>>>>Actually, I dislike formula romance.  Most of the romantic   
   >>>>>>>>>stories I like are definitely outside the genre, and the few I   
   >>>>>>>>>like within the genre are still outside the formula or at least   
   >>>>>>>>>kick the formula around (for example, _Ritual of Proof_ by Dara   
   >>>>>>>>>Joy).   
   >>>>>>>>>   
   >>>>>>>>Somehow a romantic streak seems a bit odd around here even though   
   >>>>>>>>   
   >>>>>>>Romantic streak?  Where?  I just happen to like several exceptions   
   >>>>>>>outside my favorite genres in addition to tons of stuff in my   
   >>>>>>>favorite genres.  :)   
   >>>>>>>   
   >>>>>>Is it possible to enjoy romance, formula or not, without a   
   >>>>>>minimum or romantic streak? Not that I know what it takes since   
   >>>>>>   
   >>>>>Eh, I had the impression that "streak" constituted somewhat more.   
   >>>>>   
   >>>>Oh. Well, I had more of a "less" in mind, hoping   
   >>>>that less is not more here.   
   >>>>   
   >>>It ain't.   
   >>>   
   >>We could go for the other approach: too much of a good   
   >>thing is simply fantastic...   
      
   > Yup - got more recent cyberpunk books to recommend?  :)   
      
      
   Sorry, no. Too much work these days; in fact I just returned   
   from abroad again which explains my rather erratic posting   
   intervals. I hear cyberpunkish vibes about Mieville's (sp?)   
   Perdido Street Station, yet another of my 100 books to read.   
   Occationally I look through John Shirley's messageboard and   
   find cyberpunk references there.   
      
   >>>>>>>* let's make it fair and have Nell not call her reinforcements   
   >>>>>>>   
   >>>>>>Ah but that would be cheating.   
   >>>>>>   
   >>>>>Nah.  Molly vs. Nell is fair.  Molly vs. Nell + 3,300,000 Mouse Army   
   >>>>>   
   >>>Oops, off by an order of magnitude.  Make that 330,000 Mouse Army   
   >>>troops.   
   >>>   
   >>What? I thought you had them breeding...   
   >   
   > Eh, adoption seemed to be more their style (China hasn't been the only   
   > place with infanticide).  Or maybe recruitment (scattering Primers all over   
   > various Leased Territories?).   
      
      
   Cheap replication is in the nature of nanotechnology so I   
   would agree that would be a logical line of action. You   
   could build a huge army of abandoned girls.   
      
   >>>>>troops is cheating.  Heck, even Molly vs. Nell + 4 Mouse Army troops   
   >>>>>is cheating.   
   >>>>>   
   >>>>Molly with her augmented body would also be unfair, without   
   >>>>it she wouldn't be Molly.   
   >>>>   
   >>>Trouble is, how many troops are the counterpart of Molly's augments?   
   >>>Probably less than 1 girl.  How the heck do you get 0.5 or 0.7 or 0.2   
   >>>of them in a fight?  Hmm...maybe a fraction of 1's fighting   
   >>>ability...OK, how about Molly + augments vs. Nell + one of those   
   >>>older girls who had stunted feet?   
   >>>   
   >>I am not sure what 0.2 girl would look like but I am fairly   
   >>sure it would be messy.   
   >   
   > OK, just thought of another way to resolve that: Molly + augments vs. Nell   
   > + one of the girls who spends 0.2 of the fight's duration paying attention   
   > to the fight and 0.8 of that time doing something else like polishing her   
   > toenails?   
      
      
   Hmmm. I have met a few Chinese young women in my student days   
   and while the sample is a drop in the ocean compared to a   
   population of over a billion, my impression was without exception   
   they were rather tough. Suddenly turning to polishing toenails   
   seem rather out of character.   
      
   > Wait, that would be messy too, especially if she wanted blue stripes on   
   > black (like I did at age 12) instead of just a solid color.   
      
      
   Are we talking toenails or clothing?   
      
   >>>Meanwhile, a Nell vs. Trinity fight would be even more difficult to   
   >>>set up:   
   >>>   
   >>>"Writing fight scenes in a book doesn't count as martial arts"   
   >>>"Of course it does, I see no good reason to instead drill a hole into   
   >>>my skull"   
   >>>"No fair"   
   >>>"You're the one who chose to do this in a ractive, I intended to use   
   >>>a proper gymnasium"   
   >>>"That's no fair either, you've used your actual hands and feet in a   
   >>>fight before"   
   >>>   
   >>Molly aged (realistically?) in the Sprawl Trilogy and had a   
   >>close shave in a fight mentioned in Mone Lisa Overdrive, so   
   >>the "when" counts too.   
   >   
   > Yeah, that too - Molly aging, the Mouse Army getting growth spurts, etc.   
      
      
   ...and having more girls. The army could get immense.   
      
   >>>>>>>Libraries stock everything these days, from   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)