From: Michael Straight <straight@email.unc.edu>
Subject: Re: (whorl) plus building fusion reactors
Date: Fri, 30 Oct 1998 16:07:53 

On Fri, 30 Oct 1998, Mark Millman wrote:

> On 30 October 1998 at 4:46 am GMT, Greg Neyman wrote:
> 
> > Matthew, you bring an interesting point, about the fact that
> > chems should be able to build their children, ergo there
> > should be fusion reactor parts available, especially con-
> > sidering that chems multiplied a lot less than Pas expected
> > (according to Hammerstone) ... so why was it that people
> > couldn't build these reactors ... maybe they didn't know how,
> > but they could ask chems ... they have the plans hardwired
> > in them ...
> 
> But we're also told that chems have to go through a lot of trial
> and error to build their children, and that each chem has only
> -half- the knowledge necessary to build children; i.e., no "clon-
> ing" for chems--they have to be married (or at least in a rela-
> tionship) to reproduce.  So it might not be so easy just to ask
> chems how to build convenient little fusion plants.

Perhaps the program for reproduction is not consciously accessible to the
chems.  Try asking a computer that runs an automobile factory how to make
a combustion engine.  A chem may not know how to make a fusion reactor any
more than I know how to make a human stomach (other than by making a baby
with my wife, that is). 

-Rostrum


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