{"id":818,"date":"2023-08-31T23:30:31","date_gmt":"2023-08-31T21:30:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aribaud.net\/albert\/?p=818"},"modified":"2023-09-14T22:19:39","modified_gmt":"2023-09-14T20:19:39","slug":"writever-august-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aribaud.net\/albert\/en\/writever-august-2023\/","title":{"rendered":"Writever August 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"

Writever<\/a> is a writing prompt on Mastodon and Twitter, created and managed by Ketty Steward<\/a>, and described on the Plurality website<\/a>. Every month a word list is published, one word for each day, in a SF \/ fantasy \/ fantastique genre. You can write one story in thirty-odd posts, or thirty-odd micro-fictions, publish everyday or not, skip whatever words you (don’t) like… My personal choice is to program one French post and one English post, one micro-fiction per word, published daily, in the genre which comes up to me that day (this includes occasional drifs into legend, fairy tale and sometimes even occult realms).
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

Here are my #<\/em>writever for the month of August 2023<\/a> on the general theme of computers:<\/em><\/p>\n

1. Probability<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The soul is quantic, and the ghost is its wave function, the expression of its probability of presence. When you observe it, the ghost as a wave function collapses, leaving either nothing, or a soul.<\/p>\n

Which doesn’t matter, as mortals cannot see souls.<\/p>\n

2. Maths<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Hypervelocity is a weird thing: the slower you were in conventional space, the faster the hypervelocity jump. And the more inaccurate, too. There’s nothing we can do about it, it’s maths.<\/p>\n

3. Forest<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\u00ab\u00a0What are you doing in that forest, R42 ?\u00a0\u00bb
\n\u00ab\u00a0This planet was inhabited.\u00a0\u00bb
\n\u00ab\u00a0You can tell from the trees, the ferns and some uneven land?\u00a0\u00bb
\n\u00ab\u00a0This is not some uneven land. Every one of these bumps is a robot that went down and which centuries have covered with soil.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n

4. Random<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\u00ab\u00a0Magic is of a random nature,\u00a0\u00bb said the Warlock. \u00ab\u00a0The more deterministic the effects of a spell, the more effort and Mana it requires. A spell which fends off enemies is easy and cheap; one which does so without killing or maiming them will come at a high price.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n

5. Transform<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

The Enchantress frowned. \u00ab\u00a0No grimoire says how one may transform a werewolf back into a human once and for all.\u00a0\u00bb
\n\u00ab\u00a0Er, it’s not about transforming her back into a human, it’s about transforming me into a werewolf.\u00a0\u00bb
\n\u00ab\u00a0Ah. Now *that* is simple…\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n

6. Algorithm<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\u00ab\u00a0An algorithm? What is that?\u00a0\u00bb asked the Witch.
\n\u00ab\u00a0A set of instructions such that anyone executing them will get the expected result,\u00a0\u00bb R42 replied.
\n\u00ab\u00a0So, a recipe, like for a potion. And I bet men are unable to get it right. Correct?\u00a0\u00bb
\n\u00ab\u00a0Yes.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n

7. Network<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00ab\u00a0The Formiques’ natural communication network allows them to counter our attacks every time, Minister.\u00a0\u00bb
\n\u00ab\u00a0I thought it took *hours* to propagate information throughout?\u00a0\u00bb
\n\u00ab\u00a0It does. But then ours takes *days*.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n

8. Neuron<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\u00ab\u00a0We can simulate simple neuron networks on common computers,\u00a0\u00bb boasted the Terran.
\n\u00ab\u00a0Whereas we,\u00a0\u00bb said the Shabash, \u00ab\u00a0build powerful computers that run on actual neuron networks. We find it works better this way.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n

9. Deepen<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

At last, you had free, clean energy, or as close to it as it gets.<\/p>\n

But that wasn’t enough for you.<\/p>\n

You had to deepen the search yet more, to see what lay beyond fission, beyond fusion.<\/p>\n

I had warned you.<\/p>\n

Now, deal with them.<\/p>\n

10. Antagonists<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00ab\u00a0You think Heaven and Hell are antagonists,\u00a0\u00bb said the Devil. \u00ab\u00a0Well, to err is human. The Creator and I *cooperate* toward a common goal: find a gateway from this world to another, cross it, and leave you all alone with the consequences of your actions.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n

11. Generate<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00ab\u00a0You are but an automaton!\u00a0\u00bb blurted the Wizard.<\/p>\n

\u00ab\u00a0Indeed\u00a0\u00bb, replied R42, \u00ab\u00a0and one which can generate all possible runes from the basic strokes and display them on its facial screen. At a rate of ten runes exposed per second, how long will you resist?\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n

12. Trees<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\u00ab\u00a0You depend on trees?\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n

\u00ab\u00a0I do,\u00a0\u00bb replied R42. \u00ab\u00a0I rest on decision trees to determine how to act, and my body itself would not work without its hydraulic tree.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n

\u00ab\u00a0Then I shall help you find your people back\u00a0\u00bb, replied the Nymph.<\/p>\n

13. Decision<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\u00ab\u00a0Let it be clear to everybody,\u00a0\u00bb said the wizard, \u00ab\u00a0that the only one who takes any decision here is ME!\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n

The witch leaned closer to the mayor.<\/p>\n

\u00ab\u00a0You haven’t explained to him yet, have you?\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n

\u00ab\u00a0Oh, he’ll understand soon enough, I imagine.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n

\u00ab\u00a0I’ll make sure he does.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n

14. Convolution<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00ab\u00a0To evolve our thought model, we systematically refer to the convolution of human reflection…\u00a0\u00bb declared R42.<\/p>\n

The inspector left, satisfied.<\/p>\n

Once alone, R42 added \u00ab\u00a0… and we carefully eliminate all of its defects.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n

15. Gradient<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00ab\u00a0To be fair\u00a0\u00bb, said the Witch, \u00ab\u00a0with Wizards, that’s a continuous gradient, from nice to… unpleasant.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n

\u00ab\u00a0How can I tell where a wizard sits on this gradient?\u00a0\u00bb asked her apprentice.<\/p>\n

\u00ab\u00a0Count how many times you can call him \u201cbig boy\u201d until he gets angry.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n

16. Recurrent<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

R42’s generation was the first which could resist recurrent paradoxes. To an order such as \u00ab\u00a0turn all off until one of you turns the others back on,\u00a0\u00bb they responded by explaining indefinitely why such an instruction was inadequate.<\/p>\n

17. Predictive<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00ab\u00a0I’ve thought it over thoroughly, and I have absolutely no intent of being the next oracle.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n

\u00ab\u00a0Come on, your natural aptitude for predictive divination is impressive!\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n

\u00ab\u00a0Precisely.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n

18. Classify<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Why should I classify dragons into blue, silver, red, black? I don’t care. My own classification goes like this:<\/p>\n

– Juju, friendly but clumsy;<\/p>\n

– Rex, lively but good natured;<\/p>\n

– Alma, don’t annoy her.<\/p>\n

Others? No idea, never met them.<\/p>\n

19. Statistics<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The Prince had studied the art of fighting in hopes of facing the Dragon, defeating them, marrying the Princess and gaining a kingdom.<\/p>\n

The Princess, on the other hand, had studied statistics, taken bets on who’d win the fights, and made herself a fortune.<\/p>\n

20. Data<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\u00ab\u00a0I do not stand a chance against a dragon,\u00a0\u00bb said R42. \u00ab\u00a0Between flight balancing, flame production and throwing, and combat strategies, they process ten times more data in real time than I do.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n

21. Variables<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\u00ab\u00a0You don’t fall back from hypervelocity too close to a star. Too many variables.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n

\u00ab\u00a0Anywhere in space you can encounter unexpected things.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n

\u00ab\u00a0Too many *variable stars*. Like, you jump and end up *inside* a star which has suddenly inflated.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n

22. Strengthen<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

The blacksmith watched as she tested her new armor, wielding her partisan, striking the quintain and parrying its returns without respite.<\/p>\n

\u00ab\u00a0Stop! I need to strengthen it.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n

\u00ab\u00a0Why? It looks solid enough to me.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n

\u00ab\u00a0Not the armor. The quintain.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n

23. Robust<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

The first quality in a spiritualist is to be robust. Mental health does not matter that much generally, as there are many less ectoplasms than poltergeists. The ability to withstand flying objects is therefore very important.<\/p>\n

24. Uncertainty<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

There is a high degree of uncertainty in the operation of trans-space engines, not as to the topological destination coordinates, nor as to the differential jump duration, which are both easily calculated, but as to the exact universe of arrival.<\/p>\n

25. Explainable<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\u00ab\u00a0The patriarchy denigrated the Stepmother and subjugated the Princess. These two shared common interests at first, then… a mutual interest.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n

\u00ab\u00a0I didn’t ask if this Tale mutation was explainable, I asked how we were going to explain it to the Management.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n

26. Learning<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\u00ab\u00a0I’m done with learning! I am now a true Sorcerer!\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n

\u00ab\u00a0Are you?\u00a0\u00bb said the Sorceress. \u00ab\u00a0How about a duel, then — friendly, of course?\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n

\u00ab\u00a0Hey, no way! You’re way more experienced than I am!\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n

\u00ab\u00a0See? In fact you’ve just *started* learning.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n

27. Automatize<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\u00ab\u00a0I managed to automatize the production line, said the goblin. We’ll be able to put out fifty grails per day!\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n

\u00ab\u00a0Perfect,\u00a0\u00bb commented Merlin. \u00ab\u00a0If we place them well, *at last* these idiots should succeed in finding one before I die of old age.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n

28. Optimize<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

The King’s advisers had suggested that he optimize his necromancers: each time one one of them left his position, his workforce was split among his remaining colleagues, who increasingly struggled to control their troops. This ended with the Undead Revolution.<\/p>\n

29. Hidden layer<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Knowing that the Sorceress had painted runes on her skin, Mordak the Terrifying shot her a skinning spell. He did not know, though, that she also had, tattooed deep in, a second, hidden, layer of runes, half of them regenerative, half of them reflective.<\/p>\n

30. Markov chains<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\u00ab\u00a0The properties of Markov chains,\u00a0\u00bb said the Witch, \u00ab\u00a0anchor them in the present. Thus, to free myself from them, all I needed was a Chekhov’s gun, which is anchored in the past and future. Yes, I am a Witch *and* have a PhD in narrative causality.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n

31. Artificial Intelligence<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\u00ab\u00a0Computers were my idea, yes,\u00a0\u00bb said Lucifer, \u00ab\u00a0but this artificial intelligence stuff, that wasn’t me.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n

\u00ab\u00a0THE TROUBLE IS, IT WAS NOT ME EITHER.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n

\u00ab\u00a0Well it has to come from somewh–oh.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n

\u00ab\u00a0PRECISELY.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n

\u00ab\u00a0Damn.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n

\u00ab\u00a0INDEED.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Writever is a writing prompt on Mastodon and Twitter, created and managed by Ketty Steward, and described on the Plurality website. Every month a word list is published, one word for each day, in a SF \/ fantasy \/ fantastique genre. You can write one story in thirty-odd posts, or thirty-odd micro-fictions, publish everyday or […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[72,23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-818","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-writever","category-writings"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/aribaud.net\/albert\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/818","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/aribaud.net\/albert\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/aribaud.net\/albert\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aribaud.net\/albert\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aribaud.net\/albert\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=818"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/aribaud.net\/albert\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/818\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":821,"href":"https:\/\/aribaud.net\/albert\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/818\/revisions\/821"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/aribaud.net\/albert\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=818"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aribaud.net\/albert\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=818"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aribaud.net\/albert\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=818"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}