Differences

This shows you the differences between two versions of the page.

--- transcom [2025/09/23 14:55] – ultracomfy
+++ transcom [2025/09/23 15:33] (current) – ultracomfy
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 {{page>Templates:Systems}}
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-Related reads:\\
-  - [[Interceptions and Encounters]]
-  - [[TRANSCOM]]
-  - [[Comms Engine]]
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-</WRAP>
 ~~Title:TRANSCOM~~
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 <fs xx-large>TRANSCOM</fs></WRAP>
-<WRAP box>This page is the beginning of a three-part piece on how conversation and social interaction works in my brain. It is loosely based on the system from the 2017 video game "[[The Long Journey Home]]", in which the player has control over a human expedition spacecraft. Each of the three parts goes over the three central ideas that make up this communications system. Understanding it is vital to understand how I think about conversation.\\
+<WRAP box>
-If you are reading this for the first time, you are encouraged to read them in order:
+In my brain, communication is explained through three things:
-  - [[Interceptions and Encounters]]
+  - The mechanics are described through [[Interceptions and Encounters]]. Intercepting gets us into an Encounter, which is how a conversation starts, runs, and ends.\\
-  - [[TRANSCOM]]
+  - [[TRANSCOM]] is the interface my brain uses to converse. It decodes speech into thoughts and ideas, and it encodes thoughts and ideas into speech. Coarsely, but it sometimes gets the job done.\\
-  - [[Comms Engine]]
+  - Finally, there is the [[Comms Engine]]. The Comms Engine is what my brain uses to decide what to say. It is essentially a chess engine for conversation.
+This is the second part of the series. If you're reading this for the first time, you are encouraged to read the pages in order.
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 TRANSCOM is my integrated human language [[system]] based on the similarly named device from the [[The Long Journey Home]] video game.
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 Ultimately though... I like this system. It's easy, it's predictable, it makes sense, but after everything is done it still leaves you all the freedom in the world to do and say whatever you want. For example, one of the "Intents" in the game is the "Services" intent. If the player docks at an alien hospital, TRANSCOM will open and one of the intents is "Services" and then the subcategory "Hospital". Think about how difficult asking your partner for a glass of water is: You can say "Would you bring me a glass of water, please?", or you can say "Glass of water", and even though they ultimately //say// the same thing, you have now treaded into the realm of human performativeness. Politeness, niceties, respect, there are so many dimensions to asking your partner for a glass of water that are completely and utterly //useless//. In TRANSCOM, this same action is "Services Water" and doesn't run into any of these problems whatsoever. This is already cool in my eyes, but it gets even better since my partner is still given a //choice//. If you piss off an alien race too much then they will eventually tell you to piss off when you dock at one of their hospitals. Well, in TRANSCOM terms that is literally just "No", but it //works//. It sets very clear boundaries and lays out unambiguously where you and I are. My partner can do the same, if I ask for "Services Water" they can say "No" and then we are vibing (I hope my partner will never feel like they have to deny me such a request). Obviously I would never literally go "Services Water" to my partner, because in the wild this would be considered rude - but I think that the system works inside my brain, and that I think it actually works better to understand the real world in comparison to normal language.
+----
+See next: [[Comms Engine]]\\
+See also: [[Interceptions and Encounters]]