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Author Topic: Clone backups, and the IC/OOC barrier problem  (Read 9444 times)

Synthia

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Clone backups, and the IC/OOC barrier problem
« on: 25 Jan 2014, 16:30 »

1. Clone backups are possible and exist. This is information presented in-game and in-character.
A person dies out of pod:

They are Resurrected, due to having a clone in place:


2. Anyone with such a backup, does not have memory of more recent events. Only the Broker does, and he uses ~unique tech~

Having established the Fact that such a backup exists and is not uncommon, we then examine the problem. The IC/OOC barrier.

Unlike a character with such a backup in place, the player has memory of the events leading to the demise of that particular clone. The player cannot un-know this.

This knowledge will inevitably affect that player's interactions with characters, particularly the character that killed their previous clone.

If they remember things, then people will call them on remembering, "how did you remember? you were dead!". This leads to ooc-arguments about "recording devices", which often ends up in "my godmode trumps your godmode", with "electronic jamming" and "nanite surveillance" and "fluid router transmission to off-world archive".

If they don't remember things, then other people will call them on it, "hey, they shot you, don't you remember?", and if they insist on not remembering, then other people start ooc-arguments, about "ret-conning" events involving other players.

This all ends up poisoning the relationships between characters, and between players.

So, what  solutions are there that are not simply avoiding all RP situations where clone backups would be required? I.e. avoid ever going to someone's party, on the off chance that someone is launching an assassination attempt ?
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Esna Pitoojee

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Re: Clone backups, and the IC/OOC barrier problem
« Reply #1 on: 25 Jan 2014, 18:52 »

In my experience, the one time Esna got bumped back to a memory loss clone it was a relatively private RP, after which the other person involved and I RPed out an arc of Esna investigating by traditional methods what had happened to him.
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Jace

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Re: Clone backups, and the IC/OOC barrier problem
« Reply #2 on: 25 Jan 2014, 22:37 »

Echoing what Esna said, I've only done memory-loss stuff in relatively private RP where all the players knew each other well enough to handle these kinds of issues.
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Lyn Farel

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Re: Clone backups, and the IC/OOC barrier problem
« Reply #3 on: 26 Jan 2014, 04:33 »

This seriously happens on a regular basis ?  :ugh:
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PracticalTechnicality

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Re: Clone backups, and the IC/OOC barrier problem
« Reply #4 on: 26 Jan 2014, 05:23 »

This seriously happens on a regular basis ?  :ugh:

I doubt it is awfully common, but if it were to happen to any of my characters, I would take the approach of the gentlemen above - privacy, trust, resolution. 

As it is I doubt it will ever be a personal consideration, but it is good to have IC in-game supported cloning tech insights outside of the wiki and common knowledge. 

« Last Edit: 26 Jan 2014, 05:49 by PracticalTechnicality »
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Lyn Farel

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Re: Clone backups, and the IC/OOC barrier problem
« Reply #5 on: 26 Jan 2014, 05:49 »

Well then... If he lost all memory of the incident...

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PracticalTechnicality

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Re: Clone backups, and the IC/OOC barrier problem
« Reply #6 on: 26 Jan 2014, 05:57 »

The concept of someone killing a capsuleer and using some form of virus to delete or rewrite their personal journals is a bit film noir-meets-scifi.  However it is a little bit cool. 

I approve of the image! 
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Synthia

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Re: Clone backups, and the IC/OOC barrier problem
« Reply #7 on: 26 Jan 2014, 07:37 »

This seriously happens on a regular basis ?

Not very often, no. But any RP events that aren't extremely private, or when things are brought up in "The Summit", then people start arguments, in OOC channel mostly.

Consider the following plausible scenario:
Person A plans to meet Person B. B is an associate of one of the criminal organisations, say the Angel Cartel.
A, being a rational person, sets up a backup before meeting.
At the meeting, ~something happens~ and the end result is that A's clone dies.
A, restored from backup, continues about their business.
Some Time Later, in the Summit, one of B's associates, C, says something like: "I was talking to B the other day, when you would never believe it, but A comes in, making a scene.", and then emote: *plays a video clip of A barging in wearing tassels and wielding a gun. C shoots them*
People laugh. A says "that's not what happened!"
C and/or B says "Oh really?"
Then, in OOC channel (which all participants may not be present in, because of Reasons), the argument kicks off with A saying "that's not what happened, stop lying". other people, B and C in particular, and/or their friends, will say "but wouldn't it be in-character for B or C to fabricate such a thing?", and bring up the point about "recording devices", which as I've previously mentioned, is an escalator of godmoding.

So, while it may be perfectly in character for B and C to persuade non-involved persons about the "truth" of events, it causes a storm OOC.

And that is not an uncommon occurrence. Any time someone exaggerates the actions of another, or says something that is not a 100% reproduction of the actual chatlogs, then, people start arguing in OOC channel. As if it is not possible for a character to lie or exaggerate IC.
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Elmund Egivand

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Re: Clone backups, and the IC/OOC barrier problem
« Reply #8 on: 26 Jan 2014, 08:31 »

What's stopping A from writing a message to his backup in case of death? Something along the lines of 'Hello me. If you are watching this message you must know that the meeting had gone south' with a will that A start investigating?

Then we could start a whole plot about finding out what actually happen, and getting satisfactory compensation from those responsible.
« Last Edit: 26 Jan 2014, 08:35 by Elmund Egivand »
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Saede Riordan

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Re: Clone backups, and the IC/OOC barrier problem
« Reply #9 on: 26 Jan 2014, 08:41 »

I have a unique take on this that I try to use to generate more roleplay. I steal a technology from other sci-fi series, that technology being a 'memorycell backup' which records and stores the memories of the person in a crystal substrate implant of some sort. The implant doesn't allow any sort of transmission of information. Too dense, not enough bandwidth. This means that in order to get the memories back, my character would have to recover her body and extract the implant. This I think creates a neat opportunity for some wheeling and dealing, generating further roleplay.

I've also got RP plot seeds in place to have those implants start becoming marketed to a wider audience, so that other capsuleers could get it. Again, the idea is to have a neat way to generate roleplay and drive conflict over control of memories. You could possibly even have someone killed specifically so their memories could be stolen if they had this implant, it opens up some interesting opportunities I think.
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Synthia

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Re: Clone backups, and the IC/OOC barrier problem
« Reply #10 on: 26 Jan 2014, 08:45 »

What's stopping A from writing a message to his backup in case of death? Something along the lines of 'Hello me. If you are watching this message you must know that the meeting had gone south' with a will that A start investigating?


Nothing. A would know that they died, but not how they died. Was it the person they were meeting with? was there a 3rd party assassin? Jovians? Drones?

Quote
Then we could start a whole plot about finding out what actually happen, and getting satisfactory compensation from those responsible.

What actually happened is already known OOC, and if involved parties don't play exactly along IC, then... arguments ensue.

Suppose, in the previous example, that B and C wish to frame D as an assassin? A already knows OOC that this isn't true. They would not know this IC.
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Synthia

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Re: Clone backups, and the IC/OOC barrier problem
« Reply #11 on: 26 Jan 2014, 08:58 »

I steal a technology from other sci-fi series

godmode escalator, exactly as I had mentioned before.

A has a memory chip. It is recovered. A claims that it is the truth.

But what if it had been modified? What if it is not the right chip ? Is it 100% immune to tampering? Oh really? Even when B and C hire the ~best data hackers in new eden~ to modify the contents, hmm?

it doesn't generate RP, it is just another method to claim an objective truth, and to attack other players, with the thought that if they lie IC, then they lie OOC, and are therefore someone that people shouldn't RP with at all.

That's what people do, again, and again, and again. Every time they lose an IC argument, they try and attack their opponent OOC, to drive them away from other players. Endless pointless arguments.
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Utsukushi Shi

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Re: Clone backups, and the IC/OOC barrier problem
« Reply #12 on: 26 Jan 2014, 09:43 »

RP in an environment like EVE is basically a collaborative exercise.  Not all of it but situations like the one you describe are. What you are arguing against will happen regardless of what the specific topic is if you choose to RP with certain people. I don't think there is much you can do about it other than pick and choose your situations carefully.
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Lyn Farel

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Re: Clone backups, and the IC/OOC barrier problem
« Reply #13 on: 26 Jan 2014, 10:30 »

I have a unique take on this that I try to use to generate more roleplay. I steal a technology from other sci-fi series, that technology being a 'memorycell backup' which records and stores the memories of the person in a crystal substrate implant of some sort. The implant doesn't allow any sort of transmission of information. Too dense, not enough bandwidth. This means that in order to get the memories back, my character would have to recover her body and extract the implant. This I think creates a neat opportunity for some wheeling and dealing, generating further roleplay.

I've also got RP plot seeds in place to have those implants start becoming marketed to a wider audience, so that other capsuleers could get it. Again, the idea is to have a neat way to generate roleplay and drive conflict over control of memories. You could possibly even have someone killed specifically so their memories could be stolen if they had this implant, it opens up some interesting opportunities I think.

I have to admit that these loose creations with absolutely no base in PF make me rather uneasy...

What do we know currently ?

- Hard cloning implies copy pasting instantly the whole brain pattern (infomorph?) into a new blank clone.
=> Can it be stored into a device ? Probably, since Zainou's CEO did more or less that, and lives inside a machine.
=> However, can the brain pattern/data itself "freeze", in the sense stopping to function like when you shut down a hard drive ? Does it work like non-volatile memory that you can pause/freeze/shutdown/reload at will, or does it work more like volatile memory (RAM like) where it has to continue functioning at the risk of dying otherwise ? Can a brain pattern keep its integrity by meeting discontinuous states of data ?
=> Leading to the question that in Eve PF, the only clear fact on cloning is that memory data transfer occurs instantly without any cut or break of continuity of the brain pattern (cf capsule hardcloning and neural burner or dust live cloning). As PF revolving around hypothetical soft clone is vague and contradictory, there is no certainty that discontinuity of living memory storage is possible, as soft cloning implies that the copied memory is stored somewhere and has to wait for the host body (and its original memory) to die before being activated.
=> However considering the case of Zainou's CEO, it is perfectly possible to imagine that such data storage / transfer of a brain pattern is possible as long as there is no discontinuity involved. Which means in your case, that the memory of someone would be copied into that implant at some point and would continue to live into that implant before being retrieved and transferred into a new body. Which starts to be rather grim.
=> Also, considering that PF also states that not only mere transfer of memory is possible but also copy/pasting allowing several clones of the same individual to roam around at the same time, it is perfectly possible to assume that someone is cloned after his/her death and will try to find his/her old self still living into that implant. Weird disturbing stuff, and highly illegal. But I rather like the implication of that. Though is Zainou's transfer tech available to every capsuleer ? Not sure.

If you only implied that brain data is saved, in the sense images, sounds, or whatever pertains to declarative memory (vs procedural memory), I am not sure where PF stands on the matter, and if actual tampering with memory is possible to that point, as it is a lot more complicated than just copy pasting a pattern (as you will have to actually understand how everything work). Which leads back to my other thread on memory tampering.

Yes, it makes me definitely uneasy. Why not just play along with what already exists ? I can understand the need and the reason why soft clones are used (since even CCP said no then yes then no then maybe...), but that's already far fetched.
« Last Edit: 26 Jan 2014, 10:33 by Lyn Farel »
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Saede Riordan

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Re: Clone backups, and the IC/OOC barrier problem
« Reply #14 on: 26 Jan 2014, 11:06 »

Quote from: Synthia
A has a memory chip. It is recovered. A claims that it is the truth.

But what if it had been modified? What if it is not the right chip ? Is it 100% immune to tampering? Oh really? Even when B and C hire the ~best data hackers in new eden~ to modify the contents, hmm?

Cool, then that's happened, and A thinks something is true that isn't.

At the end of the day, it really comes down to people agreeing with each other out of character. In any sort of scenario that happens like this, the parties involved have to be okay with it, and if not, why are they putting their character in a position where it could happen in the first place? Plenty of character's don't even have softclones, and just use prudence to avoid untimely demise out of pod. It really comes down to the parties involved being in alignment OOCly in the first place, and if not, avoid RPing with those people or putting your character in a situation where this sort of thing could happen. Saede's only been killed out of pod once, to my knowledge, and she lost all the memories she had going into that event, the body wasn't recoverable, and that was that. Sure I could have tried to apply some handwavium about remote transmissions or somesuch, or made a big deal out of it happening, but why would I want to? What does it accomplish really to start fights like that OOC? Better to stay on good terms with people OOC and agree going into a situation like that how its going to resolve itself.

Quote from: Lyn
=> Can it be stored into a device ? Probably, since Zainou's CEO did more or less that, and lives inside a machine.
=> However, can the brain pattern/data itself "freeze", in the sense stopping to function like when you shut down a hard drive ? Does it work like non-volatile memory that you can pause/freeze/shutdown/reload at will, or does it work more like volatile memory (RAM like) where it has to continue functioning at the risk of dying otherwise ? Can a brain pattern keep its integrity by meeting discontinuous states of data ?

The way I've always viewed it in light of softclones, (which the text Synthia posted in topic confirms existed) that there is a form of non-volatile memory, but that using the data generated by the non-volatile memory to 'emulate' the brain outside of someone's head is extremely difficult and is something that only Zainou (and the sleepers) can do.

Quote from: Lyn
=> Leading to the question that in Eve PF, the only clear fact on cloning is that memory data transfer occurs instantly without any cut or break of continuity of the brain pattern (cf capsule hardcloning and neural burner or dust live cloning). As PF revolving around hypothetical soft clone is vague and contradictory, there is no certainty that discontinuity of living memory storage is possible, as soft cloning implies that the copied memory is stored somewhere and has to wait for the host body (and its original memory) to die before being activated.
I disagree, I think the reason that the stored memory can't be activated before the original dies has nothing to do with technical capabilities and everything to do with concord saying 'there can only be one of you running around, don't do that'.

Quote from: Lyn
=> However considering the case of Zainou's CEO, it is perfectly possible to imagine that such data storage / transfer of a brain pattern is possible as long as there is no discontinuity involved. Which means in your case, that the memory of someone would be copied into that implant at some point and would continue to live into that implant before being retrieved and transferred into a new body. Which starts to be rather grim.

Possible. This is the 'Eclipse Phase' perspective, which is that the implant can outright emulate the brain and have the mind continue running on the implant. I disagree and take the 'Pandora's Star' perspective, that the implant is just memory storage. Audio/video and maybe, maybe some other senses. The reason I take that perspective, is because I assume that the Zainou tech being used to emulate Todo's brain and allowing him to exist as a person on a computer is likely fabulously complicated and probably takes some extremely high end supercomputing technology. Not something you could stuff into an implant.

Quote from: Lyn
=> Also, considering that PF also states that not only mere transfer of memory is possible but also copy/pasting allowing several clones of the same individual to roam around at the same time, it is perfectly possible to assume that someone is cloned after his/her death and will try to find his/her old self still living into that implant. Weird disturbing stuff, and highly illegal. But I rather like the implication of that. Though is Zainou's transfer tech available to every capsuleer ? Not sure.

Interesting stuff indeed. It opens some really interesting possibilities. What if the implant is recovered by unsavoury types, the person's mind is downloaded into a new body, and they're repetitively tortured? Nasty stuff possible. As for Zainou's tech, I figure its just that a really really advanced computer is required to take a brain scan produced via soft/hard clone, and emulate it out in a computer, essentially simulating the entire brain with sufficient fidelity to actively function as it would a physical brain. I don't think that tech is particularly common, and my character certainly doesn't have access to it.

Quote from: Lyn
If you only implied that brain data is saved, in the sense images, sounds, or whatever pertains to declarative memory (vs procedural memory), I am not sure where PF stands on the matter, and if actual tampering with memory is possible to that point, as it is a lot more complicated than just copy pasting a pattern (as you will have to actually understand how everything work). Which leads back to my other thread on memory tampering.

I think of the backup as a recording, it takes sensory data, and stores it. It turns the character's eyes and ears into video and audio recorders and stores the data on an internal chip. It might not even be possible to directly reimplant the memories. If the chip was recovered, the character might have to just watch the recording from the implant. No different then if you had a micro-video camera implanted inside your eye really.

And no, it doesn't exist in the PF, we effectively invented it through a bunch of roleplay between myself, Scherezad, and a few others. The idea was to create something that would possibly become widely used and create interesting potential RP. The point was never to godmode, it was to add some diversity to the RP scene with player created stuff.
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