Perhaps this has been noted in previous posts (though a cursory search hasn't turned it up) -
I was reading through the entire story again (as I do every few months) and it leapt out at me that Alpha is a grounded pilot and that many of the robots are pilots - that is, they were conceived and created to act as pilots. Alpha's 'sister' in Taapon is living out her role. So, in a smaller way, is Nai. Sensei's invitation to Alpha to pilot her old ship on its last flight now becomes clearer. And Alpha's flying dreams, her experience on Nai's plane, even her unexplained enthusiasm at the airport to see a 'real plane' becomes clearer. And the conection between Sensei's 'pilot experiment' in her youth and her involvement in robotic development becomes clearer (at least to me...)
- terry sunderland
Sunday, May 1, 2005
I can't remember seeing anywhere that Alpha is a "grounded pilot", tho if the machine had a robotic link (as Nai's plane and Sensei's hydroplane) she would have an advantage over a regular pilot.
- Kerry
Wednesday, May 4, 2005
I agree with Terry that the robots were originally conceived as pilots. It is curious that nobody in the book speaks about the original purpose of the robot project, I think this is because there is no hope of the robots fulfilling their intended roles. Everything that came before the disasters is just water over the dam, spilled milk, old news, etc.
Alpha, Kokone, and Maruko are creatures who have to invent new meanings for their lives.
- Loran Gayton
Wednesday, May 4, 2005
This is an interesting theory. Whether or not they are pilots that project Sensei worked on in her younger days did influence the robots's ability to interface with machines through the tongue cord. Some robots then were created expressly for that purpose, piloting things. Maybe as a part of the early Alpha series that's what Alpha was inteded for, piloting things. But I think she got used to life in the cafe more and more and didn't want to leave it when she was "younger." So while she may be a robot that can pilot things she isn't used for this purpose like Director Alpha is. I believe the lack of mention of what the robotics project was originally for by those involved in it may be due to the fact that they've become too emotionally attatched to the robots and don't want them to think all they use them for is a machine to control something.
- Christine K.
Wednesday, May 4, 2005
What is there for her to pilot? There are only two flying machines -- Taapon and Nai's AT-6 seen in over ten story-years.
My own theory is that Director Alpha was created to fly Taapon and they were lucky in that the first prototype A7M1 robot succeeded so well. There may have been plans to build more Taapons and so they continued the research building Alpha and the other two prototype M2s but the plans fell through and so the M2s never got the chance to be used for what they were intended for.
Alpha has a much better response to the mouthcord and to the robot message-passing method than either Kokone or Nai as we saw, but it is possible she couldn't handle Taapon which looks to be a much more complex task -- like trying to fly a 747 after learning on a Cessna.
- Robert Sneddon
Thursday, May 5, 2005
> What is there for her to pilot?
Let us not forget the massive hint that there is something in her garage. It was stated some time ago but we have not seen what that thing is.
> There are only two flying machines
She did pilot Senseis old craft, there might be others like that still.
- C_P
Thursday, May 5, 2005
Thanks, everyone. I started off on the wrong foot with the phrase *grounded pilot*, but the sense of what I meant is picked up by Loran & Christine - that the android project was heavily pilot-based in its early period, and that Alpha has vestigal skills, dreams, reflexes, due to that.
BUT - I never noticed a *thing in the garage* - CP, please let me know what you mean. I overlooked it, wherever it is -
- terry
Thursday, May 5, 2005
Oh, and another connection I forgot to mention - I thought that the chapters with headings like *50m* and *1 m* were allusions to the pilot thing - always identifying place by altitude.
- terry
Thursday, May 5, 2005
We actually do see another plane. When the Typhoon is coming, there is a weather report being broadcast from the storm. When it cuts to the report, we see a midsize prop plane flying into the storm.
- Maxim
Tuesday, May 10, 2005
Sorry to double post, but...
Technically, the "boat" is also a plane. It appears to be an Ekranoplan, (Ground Effect Vehicle).
- Maxim
Tuesday, May 10, 2005
Yeah when I saw that plane in the typhoon chapter I thought it was a weather plane like the ones that travel into hurricanes to study them. Whether or not it was manned or not is unknown. It could have been a pilotless drone plane like the ones that are used by the military today to spy on things. That plane could have weather instruments inside it to measure atmospheric conditions regardless of having a pilot or not.
- Christine K.
Tuesday, May 10, 2005
The radio broadcast made it sound like there was a manned flight into the storm. Question is, was it flown by a human or a robot-person.
- Brad
Wednesday, May 11, 2005
I love the weather plane & its reports! I suspect its a parody of old typhoon reports in Japan - theres a tone to the reports thats competitive, defensive, a bit pompous, as though in competition with other weather planes.
OK, Im off topic.
So is it established as a hypothesis that Ashinano-sensei is an aviation buff (like Miyazake) and that the pilot motif extends through the stories & several characters (question mark).
(Im spelling out the punctuation since my machine refuses to allow me most punctuation marks in this forum. Grrr...)
- terry
Wednesday, May 11, 2005
> BUT - I never noticed a *thing in the garage* - CP, please let me know what you mean. I overlooked it, wherever it is -
I looked but could not find it in the collection here. However it reappeared in Ch124 page 3, it is described as an convertible but we have not actually seen it yet. Nor has Alpha: "There's a convertible that I haven't seen in its entirety in such a long time." It sounds like a car but all things considered we cannot be sure. Could it be a planted memory? Once again the author is teasing us mercilessly.
- C_P
Friday, May 13, 2005
Howdy,
"Broken down car in the shed"
http://ykk.misago.org/Afternoon2003/161.html
Best,
Dave
- dDave
Friday, May 13, 2005
Very nice insight! I think you are quite correct. But the connection is like all of the series is not clear cut. Remember Sensei states that the alpha series was "developed using a completely different methodology".
Also Kokone Takatsu is in no way a pilot.
Another connection (no where near as strong) is the playing of stringed instruments both by Alpha and on the record found by Kokone and owned by Sensai.
- Paul in Maine
Monday, May 23, 2005
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