View topic - [UPDATE] Sentinel - 25 May 06

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Forum index » Archive » Archive: Perplex City » PXC: General/Updates

[UPDATE] Sentinel - 25 May 06 - Hospital Release

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cassandra
Entrenched

Joined: 25 Mar 2005
Posts: 831

[UPDATE] Sentinel - 25 May 06 - Hospital Release

Quote:

Yung Children Released from Hospital
By JEREMY CLARIDGE

Amber Yung, 4, and her brother Chester, 2, have been released from Phuah Hospital into the care of their father. The children suffered from burns and smoke inhalation in a fire caused by the May 5 gas explosion that destroyed the Highview apartment building in the Old Town, where the children lived. Both children and their mother were rescued by firefighters; four others perished in the flames, including a firefighter, Bryce Coriander, who was trapped in the building during a rescue foray.

Doctors say the children have physically recovered enough that they should continue the healing process at home, though they still have a long way to go. "We felt it best for the children to be among family now," said Dr. Rosalinda Clark. "The children do have some physical injuries yet, but they are no longer in immediate danger. ... We are more concerned with helping them deal with the emotional trauma, now, and keeping them in an unfamiliar place isn't appropriate for them any longer."

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The Yung family's residence was destroyed in the blaze, but Jonah Yung indicated that the family will be staying with his parents for some time, until a more permanent living arrangement can be arranged. He suggested the family may take its time, though, to avoid disrupting the children's lives further. "Their grandparents are of course very comforting and familiar. [That's what] they need right now."

Faye Yung, the children's mother, was also injured in the blast, though she remains under hospital care at this time. She suffered more severe burns than the children, presumably because she was trying to protect the children with her own body. Clark indicated she is also at serious risk of a secondary infection, and her medical team is still monitoring her condition very closely. Her husband Jonah remains upbeat, though. "We've come this far," he said. "Of course I want to have my wife back, but the important thing here is that we're all still alive.

The cause of the explosion has not yet been determined, and the incident is under investigation.

Quote:

View from Earth: Demon-Haunted
By COLIN CLARK

Colin ClarkFor the human race on Earth (and I'm assuming this is true for Perplexians, as well) our history has long been one of fear and discovery. Ever since our early days these two processes have played back and forth. Fear: the setting of the sun brings on darkness and cold, and makes the human, with his relatively dull senses, easy prey for the carnivore around the corner. Discovery: using a piece of flint and some dry wood, a fire can be made to provide light, heat, and protection. But on the other hand, fire can quickly get out of hand and destroy one's home. Over the years this same give-and-take has played out, with man-made fears being added to natural ones, and the process of discovery becoming more focused and streamlined.

As humanity progressed, old fears for food, shelter, and security were tamed. However, some fears did not go away so easily. What happens when we die? Where did we come from? Why do we have to suffer? How can others be trusted? These questions and fears couldn't be solved by anything that could easily be found in the surroundings, and hence were considered “unknowable” or “supernatural.” In response, humans created answers that seemed best to them. Obviously there must be something greater controlling the world around humans, and our ancestors assigned these somethings names: gods, demons, spirits, ghosts. By giving names to these fears they became something that was concrete and relatable, and thus potentially controllable. Therefore the fear of illness became the fear of evil spirits, and these could easily be expelled from the body by repositioning one's house, or possibly by drilling a hole in the skull, or just by asking a benevolent deity for help.

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These beliefs have been around on Earth for ages, and have been developed by their adherents into a multitude of extremely complicated and esoteric formal religious systems. There are debates about prophets and protocols; wars have been started over interpretations of traditional texts; two people who worship the same god under different names may be mortal enemies. Yet essentially this all serves the same purpose as it did all those years ago: providing answers to those “unknowable” questions and deep-seated fears. They are very effective at this, which explains why oftentimes religious viewpoints persist even when contradicted by natural observations.

Coming from the standpoint of the veritable religious cacophony on Earth, it was quite surprising to me to see the relative calm of Perplex City. I don't see the multitude of godheads I'm used to, or any widespread magical thinking. All of your religious groups seem to be based around worship of the Receda Cube and, give or take a prophet or two, this seems to me to be a very concrete, natural thing to base a religion around. There is the fact of the Cube's existence, and the fact of its resistance to any attempts so far to de-mystify it. Groups such as the Reconstructionists and the Brotherhood of the Six are a natural attempt to assuage the fear of the unknown that the Cube inspires. However, their apparent monopoly on religious thought begs the question of whether their existence is an anomaly in Perplex City. So much of the city's culture appears to be based around reason, logic, and critical thought that appeals to the supernatural seem out of character. Have you, indeed, conquered the fears that we here on Earth are still struggling with? Or is it that you have developed unique ways of coping? I continue to be fascinated by the different approaches to the same problems our two civilizations have taken.

Quote:

Key Prices to Plummet

Analysts have predicted a massive slash in key prices in the coming weeks as manufacturers offload inventory and prepare to unveil a new generation of more robust and stylish devices. Prices could fall as much as 40% for models slated... (Full text)

Quote:

# Ordweil Take Prize
# Nomads Trade Juul
# Heat Rising

LETTERS

Quote:

SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT

Kate Brewster's recent article made me chuckle, having spent the past week or so actually in the Fjords (giving me some time to ponder upon Earth's Destiny, the shocking price of everything in Norway, and why someone would want to consume fermented fish, amongst other things; see here http://bergen-mesocosm.livejournal.com/ for a taste of environmental science Earth-style) and yet it seems that it has had no effect. If someone would like to pay me to go back, it would probably have to be a significant sum, simply to cover the cost of living (gin isn't cheap either). Although that's not to say I wouldn't abandon my allegiance for a sniff of a barmaid's apron.

I also found amusing her suggestion that Oliver and I are rivals... not true at all. We are working to ensure that the great Team Jazz Hands occupy all the top spots on the table. Take this as confirmation of the Jazz-Handed conspiracy that Cube-hunters have been worried about for some time.

Finally I would like to congratulate Kate on the accuracy of this sentence: "Finally, a brief analysis of current profile data indicates that the average Cube Hunter is 26, British, male, and almost certainly roguishly handsome." Correct on all counts. Obviously a reporter with deadly perspicacity.

Yours in handsome roguishness,

MikeyJ, Earth

Ed. Note: This letter has been chosen as the Sentinel's Star Letter of the Week. The author has accordingly received five points on the Perplexcity.com leaderboard, as will future recipients of the Letter of the Week prize.

A LIST OF THEIR DEMANDS

As a Cube Hunters from Earth, many of us have been extremely focused on any information from Perplex City that could aid in the search for the Cube. However, the data that we get is limited by what the Center for Reality Research and those who have access to Earth will tell us. Conversely Perplex City has access to an unknown amount of information about Earth. For that matter, Perplex City has been aware of Earth for a considerable amount of time and has been learning about us without every bothering to make contact.

It seems that Perplex City researchers have a voyeur-like treatment of Earth denizens. They know of our wars, our customs, and our culture but what information we get must be gleaned from news reports and begged from Perplex City denizens. There should be a free flow of information between our worlds. Instead, it feels as if we are patronized, that there is a limit to what the people of Earth can be allowed to learn or know. Wouldn't the people of Earth greatly benefit with more information about Perplex City? Besides helping Cube Hunters in their search, our research in the sciences would be greatly bolstered. Even in the realm of linguistics, documents and texts from Perplex City would allow us to make the same analysis that the Academy can make from analyzing our texts and literature.

Speaking of which, how much access into our world does Perplex City have? They have certainly demonstrated the ability to see the electronic (Internet) portion of our world. Is that all? Certainly Perplex City technology would be able to crack the security programs we have here. It would be child's play. Perhaps researchers are able to watch us wherever we go. Maybe they can see our most intimate secrets. Our planet is naked to the eye of Perplex City while theirs is cloaked by their control.

ThusQED Team, Earth

As of last night all 62 Wave 3 Perplex City cards have been solved, 47 days after they were first issued. Wave 2 took 93 days - from 23 November 2005 (268) to 24 February 2006 (269), and three of the Wave 1 cards are still unsolved, over ten months after their release.

Although Wave 3 had slightly fewer cards than Wave 1 and Wave 2 (62 rather than 66), it had more black and silver level cards (10 rather than 6 of each). It therefore should have been more difficult than Wave 2 but was solved in almost exactly half the time.

To what can we ascribe this increasing ability to solve cards? The greater number of Earth players? Or, perish the thought, are the cards getting easier? This brings in mind the controversy at school exam results time every year here in the UK, when the pass rate increases each time. Are children better educated, or are the exams getting easier?

I suggest that the puzzle scribes take into account the greater number of players and the greater familiarity of the players with the cards when designing Wave 4. Call me a masochist, but let's have some real stinkers!

doublecross/Angus Walker, Earth

Posted: Thu May 25, 2006 4:09 pm

ramsfan
Decorated

Joined: 07 Sep 2005
Posts: 232
Location: holmfirth, yorks

I'm generally very good with yung children. There's no end to what secrets they'll reveal during play therapy. I'll just leave a few cubes lying about and leave the rest to curiosity. It does for cats.

_________________
The best therapy is shrink rapped

Posted: Thu May 25, 2006 4:41 pm

zoombini
Boot

Joined: 19 Aug 2005
Posts: 24

So what do you think would happen if we wrote letters to the sentinel revealing who actually set the fire? We could whip up the citizens of Perplex city into a veritable frenzy of anti-3rd power sentiment. Witch hunts ftw!

Posted: Thu May 25, 2006 4:47 pm

e_nygma
Decorated

Joined: 17 May 2006
Posts: 247
Location: Maryland, US

zoombini wrote:

Why don't we just write a bunch of letters asking if someone would be willing to kill Violet, Scarlett, Kurt, and Anna? It would cut to the chase of accomplishing the same thing. Rolling Eyes

Now, this quote irks me:

Quote:

The cause of the explosion has not yet been determined, and the incident is under investigation.

WTF?! Even us moronic little Earthers with our peonic little brains can detect arson within a few hours if not a couple of days. Now, it might take longer to figure out who actually did it, but I guarantee you that we'd at least be able to determine it was a gas explosion and that based on the locale of the explosion be able to determine if it was accidental or intentional. From there, you would discover suspect #1: Mirandoline because it was centered on her apartment. The fact that none of this has been done in nearly three weeks means the police are either corrupt, controlled by 3P, or incompetent. Any feelings of remorse I had about attacking the police dispatch has basically evaporated because either they probably would not have solved/stopped those crimes from happening in the first place.

*EOR received*

Okay, I'm done.

Posted: Thu May 25, 2006 5:39 pm

isca
Veteran

Joined: 15 Apr 2006
Posts: 131
Location: Newport, Wales

Interesting layout format to 'View from Earth: Demon-Haunted' article in the Sentinel today. The editor seems to have favoured the 'F*$k the format, show the advert' house style!

Anyway, it's here:
http://www.perplexcitysentinel.com/archives/2006/05/view_from_earth_41.html [/url]

A look at fear and discovery. Don't fear the reaper!

Posted: Thu May 25, 2006 5:59 pm

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