BY LETTER
Rock, The
The Rock is said to be based on a real granite boulder in the STC or the Keter Dominion which had been modified by advanced godtech so as to become a 2nd (in some variants of the story, a 4th or 5th) singularity intelligence.
Regardless of the truth (or not) of this (and ultratech-modified "provolved" rocks are not unknown), the Rock has more success as a character in a popular "feel good" interactive of the same name. Here The Rock sits by an ocean in Mu-Arrobo Orbital, around the Red Dwarf YTS 2150 8946 23 (such a red dwarf does in fact exist (in the outer Sophic League), and there is an Orbital of that name there, but no 'The Rock', although no lack of pilgrims trying to find em).
Sometimes sentients will approach the Rock, traveling long distances by relativistic freighter, to sit at the base of the Rock. If they are troubled (as they inevitably are) the Rock will communicate to them by piezoelectric modulations. The communication will be short and cryptic, even koan-like, but when deciphered serve to resolve the sentient's problem, whether it be love life, problems at work or at play, family problems, ailife infestation in the local net, persecution by raiders, nearby war, the hab nanofabricator not working properly, etc. The sentient goes home, fixes the problem, and the story ends happily ever after
Regardless of the truth (or not) of this (and ultratech-modified "provolved" rocks are not unknown), the Rock has more success as a character in a popular "feel good" interactive of the same name. Here The Rock sits by an ocean in Mu-Arrobo Orbital, around the Red Dwarf YTS 2150 8946 23 (such a red dwarf does in fact exist (in the outer Sophic League), and there is an Orbital of that name there, but no 'The Rock', although no lack of pilgrims trying to find em).
Sometimes sentients will approach the Rock, traveling long distances by relativistic freighter, to sit at the base of the Rock. If they are troubled (as they inevitably are) the Rock will communicate to them by piezoelectric modulations. The communication will be short and cryptic, even koan-like, but when deciphered serve to resolve the sentient's problem, whether it be love life, problems at work or at play, family problems, ailife infestation in the local net, persecution by raiders, nearby war, the hab nanofabricator not working properly, etc. The sentient goes home, fixes the problem, and the story ends happily ever after
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Development Notes
Text by M. Alan Kazlev
Initially published on 22 December 2001.
Initially published on 22 December 2001.
