EPBOT Readers discussion

This is the section for discussion chapters 23- 29 of Space Opera.

What does the outfit the Frockade created for Decible and Oort say about them respectively?

As the humans interact with the other galactic species, are there noticeable differences? What are your thoughts of Humanity's chances at this point?

Do you think Decible and Oort made a good showing within the mingling? How about Capo, the cat?

Any other thoughts on this section?

The costumes reflect a near binary in the two characters' personalities: the desire to be seen, to stand out, to shine vs the desire to be left alone, to blend in, to assimilate. It's interesting that both characters' childhoods were clearly informed by being othered, but with opposite effects. (Also a bit weird that someone who basically wants to hide would join a glam band, even if not as the lead... I guess the music just means that much to him.)

The humans react more positively to the species that look pretty or cute according to our standards, and that does ring true to me. I don't get all the hate for Clippy, though. I know it's a whole pop culture Thing now, not just this book, but my sister and I thought the Office Assistant was the bee's knees when it came out while we were kids. (We did generally change ours to the little Einstein guy, though. Or the wizard.)

The semifinal/mingling was strange because the aliens are trying to take the humans out of commission, but then they're also giving them ethical tests? I'm not sure whether the attempted murders were supposed to be legit, or just another test. Either way, we passed, so that seems good!
I think Capo's reaction to the testing reflects what cat people want to think about cats - that they're secretly scheming genius overlord types - because the alternative is that they really are just that dense. ;) #BirdPerson

I liked the chapter on humanity's reaction to the situation, which felt the most realistic of everything so far. (The process of adjusting to an ongoing traumatic event is also unfortunately relevant.)

The descriptions of Decibel's outfit were spectacular - my favorite was how he didn't like Chanel so he looked in the mirror and put one more thing on - that is my aesthetic as well. But I also loved that it took the Frockade seconds to do Dess, but forever to do Oort, even though, to us, his look is so much more simple. But on a galactic scale, Englishblokeman seems like more of an anomaly than being colorful, so it makes sense that it would be more of a stretch for the Frockade. I'm guessing that the author was picturing an early 70's Mick Jagger and Charlie Watts, which is helpful for envisioning their actions in the rest of the book.

I wish there had been more time with Dess and Oort talking to the same people at the party, because their different approaches to the situation were pretty spot on in similarity to multiple people I know in real life. People like Dess act like they're open books, but since most of what they're saying isn't true, and they use small talk as a bulldozer to keep those around them from getting too close, they're really more isolated. Meanwhile, the Oorts of the world, who would rather be having dinosaur pasta and watching Doctor Who, seem closed off at first because they don't want to be there - but it doesn't take much prodding to get them to pour out their thoughts and feelings on pretty much anything, since they don't have that wall built up like the Decibels. The outcome of the party seemed to play that out, with Oort having Nessuno attached to him by the end of the night and Dess still being on his own. At this point, I thought if there was any hope for humanity, it would be with Oort.

As a cat fan and bird hater (sorry, Rebecca), I like Capo. He seems very on-brand not just for a cat, but for how many earth people would likely react to meeting all of these other species - which of them can I hunt? I was deeply disappointed that there was not a sequence of Capo chasing Clippy (since cats do enjoy running after a bent wire quite a bit in real life). Sorry again, Rebecca, but as someone who was probably a bit older than you were when Clippy came into our world, and who has spent the majority of the intervening years working in and around IT, Clippy does remain a punchline to this day for many. I'm actually glad to hear that you enjoyed him, though, since I've always wondered who the target audience was, and you might be the first member of it that I've come across. The inclusion of Clippy in the book, particularly with him being so obnoxious, was a highlight for me - the author captured some of the main issues people had with the concept (the general idea that persists in Microsoft products to this day that they know better than you what you're trying to do, the use of processing power to produce the animation instead of improving the primary functionality of the software, the insistence on forcing a particularly corporate brand of whimsy into office tasks, etc.) as personality traits.

I also enjoyed the chapter about how earth was reacting - it definitely had some parallels to the current world situation, in terms of people getting obsessed with the competition since there was nothing else to watch. I know that the lack of live sports is a major contributor to the interest in Tiger King, the Masked Singer, etc. at the moment, and those don't have our collective fate riding on them, so I can absolutely picture the scenario in the chapter.

Haha, not to make this a derail on Clippy, but "kids playing around with Word like it's a video game" might be closer to the target audience than "people who actually know how to use computers trying to do work". I just always figured people who didn't need it could just turn it off. (I tried to look this up to make sure it was possible, but failed to confirm. I did learn that it's technically called Clippit. The More You Know.)

You could turn it off, but the next update always turned it back on. It probably was a complex metaphor for the futility of our human existence...hmmm.... LOL

This is starting to drag... like can we get on with this concert already! All this buildup, followed by more buildup, with the amount of space left in the book steadily getting too short for the concert to be epic enough to fulfill the expectations that it's being given.

Dess' frockade outfit was everything I was hoping that it would be: outlandish, colorful, glittery, and all around fitting of his personality as a glam rocker. I did like Oort's, though too; the hesitation was almost like the frockade stalling and hesitating going "You too? No? Seriously? Still no? Are you sure? Tweed... really?" But it would up being perfect for someone who burned hard on attention and glitter, then burned out, and now just wants an quiet family life surrounded by music and obscurity.

I agree, a Capo versus Clippy scene would have been absolutely wonderful! I'm loving all of these inner narrations about much the ship is a cat paradise for a very contented Capo. I haven't been around cats much (confession: #hedgehogperson), but the "feline overlord" stereotypes have just been a scream to read about! I still think there's something big in store for him...