3 ms·

Same, and honestly that would make for a good story too - as in SciFi. The builder of the mechanism. purposefully adds an error in order to change the trajector

Same, and honestly that would make for a good story too - as in SciFi. The builder of the mechanism. purposefully adds an error in order to change the trajectory of human history.

whatshisface 5y ago
"When the mainspring is overwound, the mechanism will begin to drill holes in the floor of the cargo hold..."
- dylan604 5y ago
  So is that just an overlooked bug or "works as designed--closing" type of bug? Was this thing designed as a trojan horse/sabotage to take down one ship? Was this just some overworked craftsman that didn't realize he left the torque setting too high from a previous project? Intent matters
- cleansingfire 5y ago
  Nice! Callback to the old folktale Why the Sea is Salt https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/8933 https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/8933
- dotancohen 5y ago
  Closing as not reproducible. We haven't heard back from any of the testers that have tried to reproduce it.
  - kwertyoowiyop 5y ago
    Now I’ll just make that change in Jira…
echelon 5y ago
This is such a fun narrative hook. It immediately draws parallels to Asimov's Foundation, but has Greco-steampunk vibes. I might have to steal your idea.
- raldi 5y ago
  Like 2001, except instead of a buried monolith, aliens planted a mechanism that, when X-rayed and simulated on a computer, breaks an AI out of the simulation and onto the internet
  - intrasight 5y ago
    This scared me a bit as one of the apps on my iPhone is in fact an Antikythera simulator.
- YeGoblynQueenne 5y ago
  Greco-steampunk certainly makes sense. In ancient times, Greeks were considered master automata makers: Robots were so prevalent in the imaginative and material culture of the Greek-speaking world that they were seen as emblematic of Hellenistic culture by others. Buddhist legends focused on north-eastern India from the fourth and third centuries BCE recount the army of automata that guarded Buddha’s relics, built with knowledge smuggled from the Graecophone world. In one version, which features both killer robot-assassins and robot-guardians, a young man travels in disguise to the land of the Yavanas (Greek speakers) to learn the art of automaton-making, a secret closely guarded by the yantakaras (automaton makers) there, knowledge that he then steals to make the artificial guards. We find stories of automatic warriors guarding the Buddha’s relics in Chinese, Sanskrit, Hindu, and Tibetan texts. Additionally, mechanical automata also appear elsewhere in the Chinese historical record: for example, at the court of Tang ruler Empress Wu Zhou (c.624–705 CE). https://thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/the-ancient-history-of-intelligent-machines/ https://thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/the-ancient-history-of-in... Nowdays, we're better known for our army of civil servants guarding state pensions :/
  - echelon 5y ago
    There is such rich kindling in this post that it sets my imagination on fire. Thank you for sharing!
    - YeGoblynQueenne 5y ago

Same, and honestly that would make for a good story too - as in SciFi. The builder of the mechanism. purposefully adds an error in order to change the trajectory of human history.

whatshisface 5y ago

"When the mainspring is overwound, the mechanism will begin to drill holes in the floor of the cargo hold..."

dylan604 5y ago
So is that just an overlooked bug or "works as designed--closing" type of bug? Was this thing designed as a trojan horse/sabotage to take down one ship? Was this just some overworked craftsman that didn't realize he left the torque setting too high from a previous project? Intent matters
cleansingfire 5y ago
Nice! Callback to the old folktale Why the Sea is Salt https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/8933 https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/8933
dotancohen 5y ago
Closing as not reproducible. We haven't heard back from any of the testers that have tried to reproduce it.
- kwertyoowiyop 5y ago
  Now I’ll just make that change in Jira…

echelon 5y ago

This is such a fun narrative hook. It immediately draws parallels to Asimov's Foundation, but has Greco-steampunk vibes. I might have to steal your idea.

raldi 5y ago
Like 2001, except instead of a buried monolith, aliens planted a mechanism that, when X-rayed and simulated on a computer, breaks an AI out of the simulation and onto the internet
- intrasight 5y ago
  This scared me a bit as one of the apps on my iPhone is in fact an Antikythera simulator.
YeGoblynQueenne 5y ago
Greco-steampunk certainly makes sense. In ancient times, Greeks were considered master automata makers: Robots were so prevalent in the imaginative and material culture of the Greek-speaking world that they were seen as emblematic of Hellenistic culture by others. Buddhist legends focused on north-eastern India from the fourth and third centuries BCE recount the army of automata that guarded Buddha’s relics, built with knowledge smuggled from the Graecophone world. In one version, which features both killer robot-assassins and robot-guardians, a young man travels in disguise to the land of the Yavanas (Greek speakers) to learn the art of automaton-making, a secret closely guarded by the yantakaras (automaton makers) there, knowledge that he then steals to make the artificial guards. We find stories of automatic warriors guarding the Buddha’s relics in Chinese, Sanskrit, Hindu, and Tibetan texts. Additionally, mechanical automata also appear elsewhere in the Chinese historical record: for example, at the court of Tang ruler Empress Wu Zhou (c.624–705 CE). https://thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/the-ancient-history-of-intelligent-machines/ https://thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/the-ancient-history-of-in... Nowdays, we're better known for our army of civil servants guarding state pensions :/
- echelon 5y ago
  There is such rich kindling in this post that it sets my imagination on fire. Thank you for sharing!
  - YeGoblynQueenne 5y ago