I feel like war can either bring families together like it did in Saga or it can do the opposite where it pulls people apart. A semi-similar thing I can think of to Saga is during World War II where Jewish families were protected by others a la Anne Frank. Well, I guess those are families in the biological/genetic sense, but those who were related did grow closer because they had to. In addition, it brought them closer to families they weren’t related to. At the same time, conflict and wars can do the exact opposite especially when family members come from different backgrounds and disagree.

I didn’t even think to apply the nature vs nurture lens to this story, but I really like it. It really shows that we’re entangled not only because of actions that we choose and things that occur in our lifetime, but also due to actions & events that occur prior to our lives. I really like this perspective on this book too because the whole nature vs nurture thing is usually applied to psychology, but it also applies nicely to life in general, especially how people’s perspectives are affected by both how they’re brought up and then also by their own life.

I think that’s one of the cool things about this book, if you get past the sex and whatnot. It really puts the social issues of the world on full blast. It also makes it easier for us to digest that such things happen because the characters aren’t human and we aren’t doing the whole, “oh we don’t do that.” thing. But to expand on the commentary of Alana & Marko’s relationship, I think it can even be expanded to interracial couples. While interracial relationships are much more accepted now, they’re still not seen as the “norm” and did receive lots of hostility.

I 100% agree with you that it’s incredibly hard for a person to be truly a pacifist in every sense of the word. I think, really, that humans are the only things on this planet who will claim they are pacifists. Humans are one of the very few species who are at a mental/cognitive capacity to understand morals and discern, you know, war=bad, killing=bad, etc. I also think our ability to claim pacifism is because we’ve blown the maximum occupancy for humans on Earth out of the water. We don’t have the “need” to survive because there’s so dang many of us, so we can say, oh we’re not violent, but we do still have that instinct to survive.

Language and communication in humans, I think, are just a small part of something really important in humans as we are social beings. No doubt, language, communication, socialization is a massive part of being human and the development of complex language and writing does set humans apart from other species. But, at the same time, socialization is important in many other animals as well, especially in primates. I vaguely remember learning about a study in psychology about monkeys that were socially isolated, and they became what we would call ‘homicidal.’

Another reason I think the Oankali kept Lilith on the ship was not only because they were afraid of what would happen as the humans didn’t see her as “human enough” but also partially because she’s the only person who’s able to understand both groups. She’s lived with the Oankali long enough to know what they’re trying to do, she speaks the language, etc. But she’s human enough to understand humans to teach them what she has learned and to connect with them just enough to be able to help them survive.

This almost gets into the nature vs nurture debate. It's almost a mixture of both where it's needed as a defense mechanism, and it has proved to be a fairly successful and effective one throughout time. But, at the same time, it has also been shown that the way aggression is expressed and towards what aggression is directed is learned mainly through observation. I remember learning in psychology how there was a study done with kids shown an adult punching a bobo doll, and later when the kids were plopped in front of a bobo doll, they also punched it.

I think Lilith’s depersonalization may be her attempt to move on and her attempt to compartmentalize the mess that had happened on Earth. The more you push yourself away from something so laden with grief and heavy emotions, the easier it is to ‘get over it.’ It’s seen quite a bit in the medical field where lots of practitioners emotionally cut themselves off so their own mental well being is able to remain intact. The less you know of someone’s story, the less it messes with your emotions. It’s messed up and cruel to do, but it may be Lilith’s attempt to survive.

I think it’s more than just saying, “Hi. Look, we’re just as intelligent as any human.” I think this was only part of the reason the documentary was made by Ralph. The other part of why the documentary was made seems to be to show that once someone (or a group of individuals, in this case) get indifferent and complacent, there is no more improvement. There’s no motivation to progress as there is no reason to. I get the feeling this also plays into the making of the documentary because of Ralph’s quote you included about people being stuck in neutral.

It's crazy how deliberate naming is sometimes in books.

A good amount of Transmetropolitan is an extension/commentary on modern society. And you do see a lot this instant gratification type of mentality now. Everything is getting more and more fast paced. We don't sit down to eat meals as often as we used to, we'd rather read a quick snippet online than sit and read a book, etc etc. I really liked how you pointed out how Spider would rather threaten people to get a quick response and getting what he wants faster rather than talking. I didn't pick up on it. On the medical advances side, it's a double edged sword where, sure, more cures/fixes for less money & time, but also the easier access opens the Pandora's box of abuse.

I agree that, ultimately, if the monkeys had been treated in ways that took into account the fact they were able to mentally perform on the same level as humans, there would not have been the same mess at the end. I think your point ties in very well with the love your monsters article where the fault did not lie in the creation of the monkeys, but int the mistreatment and abandonment of them. So, ultimately, I think the fault lies in the humans where the intention of body modification was not necessarily for their consumer base, but fueled rather by their own motivations. And that, unfortunately, spilled into the test subjects as well.

I think part of the reason he’s so against Siri constantly watching and observing is that it is unnerving. It’s unnerving to know that someone is always there to see what you’re doing and know that the entire reason that particular person is there with you is simply to observe what you are doing with your life. Cunningham may also be irritated that he never really gets any opinions or feedback from Siri on what Siri sees. Cunningham acts against Siri so often probably because he feels uncomfortable in the presence of what is essentially the human equivalent of a tape recorder.

That's an important thing you point out that I never really thought about. People have a tendency to think of consciousness as ‘conscious’ and ‘unconscious’. There’s no in between, and there is probably a range as to how conscious one is. If consciousness is defined as more of a spectrum rather than a ‘this or that’ definition, it will probably be ‘easier’ in a sense to determine whether other organisms have some sort of consciousness. Though it may also complicated it in the sense of placing where on the spectrum other organisms are.

I think that it’s really cool that you’re connecting Siri to Caitlyn Jenner since it is an interesting connection that both have gone through significant transitions in their lives due to identity. In a way, I don’t know if I completely agree with this statement. In Caitlyn’s case, I think it does hold true. Her transition from male to female reflects a more accurate representation of who she is, and she does remain the same person inside despite the change. Siri, on the other hand, I think changes drastically post hemispherectomy and machine addition even on the inside. His personality seemed to have changed quite a bit where he became cold and emotionally distant. The book seems to imply that something deep inside him changed due to the procedure.

I actually didn't even think of the relationship between this saying and the book. But I think you’re right about how the eyes of each character connects with their possession or lack of humanity/“human-ness” and even the shifts in personality for the Gang. Though what can be told from the eyes may not be what separates humans from others, it’s still an important part of how people connect to each other. I noticed this a lot when I shadowed a surgeon and the majority of everyone’s faces were covered--masks covered nose and mouth and the caps covered forehead. The only part of each others’ faces you could see were eyes, but you could still tell how the others felt, what they were thinking because of the way their eyes looked. The eyes are a big part of how people socialize with each other.

Your point of everyone being a part of the problem is very true. Humans are flawed beings and society reflects that. Institutions like our justice system are, in theory, fair and objective, but reflect the values of the people who are in the system. But, the other way is also true where people are a product of how they were raised and a reflection of society.

I also like the connection between the situation the Transients are in to things that are currently happening eg Baltimore and Ferguson. In both cases, many innocents were harmed in riots between the police and groups who were unhappy with racism and the 'us vs them' mentality.