Guess I will take the opportunity to post the first item as well as the first comment!

I’m sure people are stressed about this, many conversations having taken place with colleagues and on social media, etc etc. Even though there was a recent message from TBS saying no (immediate) plans to do RTO4 or 5, the thought I want to put in your head is: do your senior officials, in almost any scenario, ask “What are our partners doing?” The GoC is not a leader, tries not to be a follower, but walk abreast with both domestic and international counterparts to play it safe. I fully expect, and have told others, be prepared for a call by Xmas, for RTO4 minimum.

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Relationship building in this city = the contents of your wallet --> someone else’s

I am more leaning to the idea that a split personality is developing, to deal with the “sudden onset of adultization”, a meaner, more decisive personality that will take over as needed until safe to return to child mode.

So brave! 😲🙄🥱

Yo 👋🤟🤘🤙

If we alter the paradigm slightly, he is in essence the techno Alien King (counter to an as of yet Alien Queen): his creations are new and “alien” to the Earth (hence the xeno aspect), and morph means to change in form or character, which he seems to be trying to do at some level with the kids - suppress the child (wonderment and innocence) aspects while exposing them to things that even adults would struggle or be horrified to deal with (Example - death and letting go - “Here, lie beside your now dead body/empty husk”)

Too, he is watching through their eyes from his safe abode, extending the hive mind to an extent as you suggest.

While the others have largely been companions/props, Wendy has at least paid off in a few instances for him:

1. her hearing going beyond what they seemed to have accounted for, and now seemingly attuned on some level to the xenomorph eggs,
2. the ability to affect/manipulate other machines, including lower level AGI, and (maybe most importantly)
3. her initiative and possibly resourcefulness, even if she is mainly focused on her brother as the carrot. I think BK intentionally dangled access to him (from a distance) to see what he could get out of her. The other children seem rather blasé about their past lives and attachments. In coming episodes, we may learn something about her, her connection to Hermit, and Hermit himself that may indicate why BK was so interested in her. (Ie what makes her special)

Valid point. Imagine getting into a fight with yourself - normal and upgraded version. Red Dwarf covered this a few times with both its AI and hologram Rimmer.

I imagine BK would try something along the lines of Omnius from the Dune prequel novels - a core awareness and synchronizing other versions to it on other worlds.

I’m going to expand on your last point with a thought. The title for the last episode “The Real Monsters” will likely see additional motivations of Boy (which I’ll get to later). We’ve thus far only seen him in robes, not leaving his compound (which is far away from his territory). Maybe that’s just his eccentric side/youth, but I suspect despite his supposed genius, he is ill with something he cannot cure, hence going the route he has in hybrid development. He wants a body for himself, free of age, disease, etc, and with a supercomputer mind that can propel him even further than he currently is. While he stated he wants to have a conversation with something smarter than him, I believe he wants to then become that thing. Therefore, I believe the bodies that the children inhabit are test subjects for him and his investors. He probably has a body in storage or development, and sending the 5 out is his ultimate test to see if his gambit has paid off. Wendy and Hermit will likely discover this body at a critical juncture, to which will be denied to Hermit. Further, should the children survive this encounter with both the aliens and hostile corporate forces, Boy will probably be ready to serve the host bodies up to his investors, wiping the personalities and memories from them. Finding these aliens will probably alter Boy’s thoughts/intents on trying to go even further with hybridization (non-human hybrids, fusions, etc).

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Oh boy…good luck to that LLM trying to keep things straight that comes out of Shitler’s phone! On the other hand, maybe they are hoping that the LLM’s capability of fudging truth from fiction will help create a some new verses for the Maga Bible to quote and live by. 🤷‍♂️

Is this so he can continue on with his Ms. Teen America Pageantry, but marry it with some southern debutante ball where he and the old rich guys will exchange the daughters/contestants to the highest bidders? Or does he just want a place to dance and show off his fancy high heels?

Kirk: “Scotty, how long is this bay?” Scotty: “About 60 feet, Admiral.” Kirk: “That should be enough. Can you enclose it to hold water and a kaiju?”

Don’t you mean, “(Baby) Yoda Yoda Yoda…” 😋

Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra, when the walls fell

Star Trek: Voyager - The Movie - The Year of Hell - The Hellening

This is all said tongue in cheek of course. Imagine if you will, similar to Picard’s vision of the Borg at the beginning of ST First Contact

Janeway wakes up in a cold sweat, having just had a series of bizarre flashes and voices…“Mummy, Daddy…help usssssss!”

After downing a cup of coffee, Janeway asks the computer for the whereabouts of Tom Paris. As the computer processes her request, a call comes in on the monitor, it’s Tom, looking stern. “Tom, I heard from them…”, he replies, “I know, I just had something weird happen, like I was at Warp 10 again.”

“What can we do?” she asks, “I’m retired and no access to a starship. This new generation of slipstream drives could get us to the Delta quadrant quickly, but then what?”

“Harry and Belanna have some ideas…”

It could combine the best and worst elements of TWOK (revenge), TSFS (heist movie), TVH (ecology) and of course TFF! (“What do salamanders need with a starship? And marsh mellons?”)😄

Addendum: Guest starring Michael Dorn (because why not? 🤷‍♂️)

Did anyone get invited to the Signal chat and care to share screenshots of all their emoji? /s

G.I. Joke - An UnReal (or Surreal) American Zero

“They say we can’t shoot certain animals anymore, unless they’re posing an immediate threat. Therefore, before we shoot somethin’, we have to say ‘It’s coming right for us.’” ~ Uncle Jimbo, South Park