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Topic: Arilou and the Orz: What's the Deal? *spoilers* (Read 140954 times)
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ErekLich
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One Ring to rule them all, eh you know the rest.
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You know, it strikes me that this whole time we have assumed that the Arilou originated in TrueSpace. This preconception probably comes in part from SC3. But, ignoring SC3, how do we know that they came from TrueSpace?
The Orz say the Arilou are from *above*; not that they are from *heavy space* and live *above*. Perhaps the Arilou are the same type of being the Orz are, i.e. one consciousness projecting may ways. The main difference is that Arilou is older than Orz!
Maybe the Arilou is/are even Orz's parent! It would explain a whole lot:
1) The Orz don't like the Arilou preventing it from doing things -- just like a child who doesn't understand why daddy won't let him play in the street or pet a stray dog.
2) The Arilou, being older and more experienced, know how to pop in and out of Truespace easily. That explains why their ships can teleport. The Orz, being younger, don't know how.
3) The Arilou know how to communicate with TrueSpace beings because they are old enough to speak properly. The Orz, on the other hand, make baby talk!
4) The Arilou, being parents or at least parentlike, view humans as their adopted children or pets for some reason. Why that is I'm not sure.
Any thoughts on this idea?
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« Last Edit: February 04, 2003, 11:21:18 pm by ErekLich »
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Lukipela
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The Ancient One
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I suppose it all depends on how you interpret their comment
"This is our homeworld, Falayalaralfali, nestled safe in this TrueSpace eddy."
I mean it does seem to point to that the are from Truespace. On the other hand, if that is the case, why bother going through Quasispace at all? Maybe their homeworld is very far away from where we are, OR if it is a strange dyy os some sort, maybe the only way to get to Falayalaralfali is through Quasispace, their whole system might be a sort of bubble of Truespace inside Quasispace....
Another possibility is that they evolved in the "same" truespace as us, but they somehow moved their world, or entire system through quasispace into wherever it is now. How or why they would move it, I haven't the faintest clue...
I do like the idea about the Orz and the Arilou though. If we assume that the Arilou come from Quasispace, or maybe just that they've been there so long their perceptions have changed, they'd have pretty much the same starting point as the Orz. but the Arilou have been visiting Truespace so much longer that they understand it better than the Orz. It's even possible, like you said, that the Arilou somehow made the Orz. They might be disappointed i them, or just parenting them until they feel they are ready. That fits in quite well with Matticus Steinbeck idea: The Orz mean well but just don't quite understand yet, and the Arilou keep them in check
Maybe the simple reason that the Arilou view us as adopted children is that their nostalgic? If they started out here, maybe they sometimes long for "the good old times before we started mucking about in quasispace and catching Nggn", so they see us as a younger version of themselves?
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What's up doc?
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Lukipela
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The Ancient One
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So they don't look at us as an experiment, more like family? And they are interested in watching us develop? I suppose you could view it a bit like the Yehat-Shofixti connection then, with us as the Shofixti. But the Shofixti were uplifted, if I remember correctly, either to help in the war, or because the Yehat saw much of themselves in them... I think there might be two versions of that story? Anyway, that probably doesn't bode good for us, unless it's just because they see us as something very close to what they once were, a strong protective family feeling, a kind of nostalgia fopr older simpler times.
In regard to the invade/pervade comment, it might not be that important. It could be just like the Kzer-Za saying But they do not wish to enslave us as such, merely protect us from ourselves and other dangers, whilst protecting themselves. What do they mean anyway, pervade? It sounds as if they cut off their connection with us, they might not make it...
Of course,both these comments might be something they say to a lot of different species that we don't know of...
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Omni-Sama
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Zebranky-Killer
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Which once again raises the question : Why are the Humans important at all?
(... But if they only just got here, and didn't know about the human race, how can they be annoyed with the Arilou for getting to us first?) In accordance to the importance of the human race, I assume it's evident... Star Control I and II do something that other games seem to ignore. Instead of making the human race the central protagonists, or the strongest central force in the game, the humans are not perfect in the Star Control series, exmplified by the Cruiser... hehe. They are us, of course, and while the humans in the series are not the most important, it adds to the game IMHO. It gives you the feeling that earthlings are not the central of the universe, that there's so much more out there... and that while we are important, there is so much more that is vast and mysterious out there.
My answer to your question about how the Orz are jealous that the Arilou got to the humans first (as described by Mr. Fred Ford) and how they even know about us is simple: The Androsynth. Either that or the Orz look as highly upon the earthlings as the Arilou do... although they don't express it, since they're just looking for someone to *dance* with... I mean, who isn't? While their nature is unknown, the obvious tension between Orz and Arilou is evident, especially when they "fight" and bicker over the fate of humans, something both may want to control or *play* with... hehe.
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"Even Our House Pets Are Rather Evil." - Ilwrath Captain
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Lukipela
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The Ancient One
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In accordance to the importance of the human race, I assume it's evident... Star Control I and II do something that other games seem to ignore. Instead of making the human race the central protagonists, or the strongest central force in the game, the humans are not perfect in the Star Control series, exmplified by the Cruiser... hehe. They are us, of course, and while the humans in the series are not the most important, it adds to the game IMHO. It gives you the feeling that earthlings are not the central of the universe, that there's so much more out there... and that while we are important, there is so much more that is vast and mysterious out there.
But that's my point exactly. The Humans aren't in any way special in the game. we're not the fastest, the strongest, the wisest, the most advanced,or anything like that. In fact, as a race we're pretty mediocre (and considering that we are the only race ever to produce better versions of ourselves, and then alienating them we could be called outright dumb). But here are two races, one obviously quite advanced, knowledgeable, and residing in another dimension, the other completely weird but still impressive, and they are both extremely obsessed with the humans!
Why, we're nothing special in the universe, which is good. then why are we special to them? why have we got something that noone else has? If we in all other ways are mediocre, what's this one important feature about us that attracts so much attention from the Arilou? And why has no other race got it?
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ErekLich
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One Ring to rule them all, eh you know the rest.
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Since when are the Orz obsessed with humans?
Sure, they like *alliance parties* and other fun stuff but they never seem to care which species. You're just the first ones who actually wanted to ally with them.
So there is no grand coincidence, because the Orz aren't fixated on humans. I mean, come on, the Orz talk about the Ta'alo more then they takl about humans!
Nothing in the Orz dialouge indicates that they find humans special in any way. Now, if someone produces some dialouge AND makes a convincing argument that it shows the Orz like humans for some reason other than the *alliance party*, I will humbly stand corrected. But I don't think there is any.
EDIT: As far as the Arilou, we've beat to death why they might be interested in us. And who knows, maybe there are other races in other parts of the galaxy they are interested in.
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« Last Edit: February 05, 2003, 02:42:31 am by ErekLich »
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Matticus
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I also love the fact that humans are not the center of the universe in the SC series... it's one of the things that makes it endearing to me.
Anyhow, the fascination with human beings could have something to do with the potential of the human race. There's nothing special about human beings that's evident right now, sure, but that doesn't mean there won't someday be.
Take a look at the progression of human beings in the SC series. According to the manual we get so close to nuclear war that it unites us into destroying most weapons and hiding the rest in the peace vaults. We unify, start exploring space, and even make a few outposts and stations within the solar system. There's the whole Androsynth debacle, and they are superior to human beings except that they cannot reproduce naturally. But what's to say that someday human beings won't be as advanced as they are?
Humans played a relatively minor role in the first war. Sure, they churned out cruisers and support vessels and participated wherever they could, but that's really just grunt work. After the war humans were slave shielded and if it weren't for the colony at Vela that would have been the end of it.
One could say humans got lucky what with finding that Precursor factory there. But it was more than just luck... the colonists figured out how to use the factory. And then the Captain started his journey, etc etc.
But look at the results of these events... in Star Control 2, humans come to the forefront of things. It's a human (albeit in a Precursor vessel) that resurrects the Alliance from its ashes and gathers the necessary resources to take out the Sa-Matra while everyone else does the grunt work. It's a complete reversal.
And all of this happens in the span of about 150 years.
I think what impresses the Arilou about humans is our potential. Perhaps the Arilou (and maybe the Orz as well) have some kind of insight that beings of our native dimension do not. They could see something truly special within humanity, something that's only a glimmer now but could one day grow into a shining light.
Of course, all of this is just conjecture by yours truly. But it's still worth thinking about, don't you agree?
ErekLich:
I personally think you're right about the Orz. But the fact remains that they are very interested in this dimension, if not human beings. But luckily that doesn't change any of the stuff I just typed about the Arilou. =)
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« Last Edit: February 05, 2003, 02:53:07 am by Matticus »
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philosophy is the talk on a cereal box religion is a smile on a dog
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