"Richard Perks" wrote:
> This might even be the catastrophic event that starts a slow change
> in vargr culture and makes them a bit more stable / willing to
> follow orders. Only new PE that have some internal discipline are
> likely to withstand repeated infection attempts.
It would be equally likely that Vargr would simply assimilate Virus into their society.
The big advantage Vargr have over humans in the TU is that they are flexible and quickly adapt to changed circumstances.
The Utovogh device could have been a useful intermediary in interactions between (some) Viruses and (some) Vargr. Pre-Virus utovogh programs tended to present the images of charismatic vargr characters. If Viruses tend to be influenced by the hardware they are in, it is likely enough that some will tend to behave like charismatic Vargr.
At that point they have the basis for a place in Vargr society.
Of course, the result is likely to be a Mother or God strain Virus, as insane as any other example of the type, but the Vargr would be relatively capable of dealing with them.
As for all the Puppeteers and so on, it's quite conceivable that most of them might be more interested in eliminating Lucan than wandering aimlessly around in Vargr space.
Finally, I'm a bit vague on the astrography now, but Sabmiqys, the interdicted world inhabited by TL17 AIs was up towards Vargr space. I've always wondered how they would react to more primitive AIs trying to take over their brains.
I could see a pocket empire forming near Sabmiqys, once the local Viruses learn to give it a wide berth.
Incidentally, a pocket empire isn't necessarily more than two or three worlds and a handful of ships. There's nothing especially clever involved. Even the ships are as likely as not to be Free Traders. The Vargr would be perfectly capable of forming these kind of states, without any great social stress.
> This might even be the catastrophic event that starts a slow change
> in vargr culture and makes them a bit more stable / willing to
> follow orders. Only new PE that have some internal discipline are
> likely to withstand repeated infection attempts.
It would be equally likely that Vargr would simply assimilate Virus into their society.
The big advantage Vargr have over humans in the TU is that they are flexible and quickly adapt to changed circumstances.
The Utovogh device could have been a useful intermediary in interactions between (some) Viruses and (some) Vargr. Pre-Virus utovogh programs tended to present the images of charismatic vargr characters. If Viruses tend to be influenced by the hardware they are in, it is likely enough that some will tend to behave like charismatic Vargr.
At that point they have the basis for a place in Vargr society.
Of course, the result is likely to be a Mother or God strain Virus, as insane as any other example of the type, but the Vargr would be relatively capable of dealing with them.
As for all the Puppeteers and so on, it's quite conceivable that most of them might be more interested in eliminating Lucan than wandering aimlessly around in Vargr space.
Finally, I'm a bit vague on the astrography now, but Sabmiqys, the interdicted world inhabited by TL17 AIs was up towards Vargr space. I've always wondered how they would react to more primitive AIs trying to take over their brains.
I could see a pocket empire forming near Sabmiqys, once the local Viruses learn to give it a wide berth.
Incidentally, a pocket empire isn't necessarily more than two or three worlds and a handful of ships. There's nothing especially clever involved. Even the ships are as likely as not to be Free Traders. The Vargr would be perfectly capable of forming these kind of states, without any great social stress.