ARCHIVE irc://Freenode/#somnia-founding Mar 15, 2006

#somnia IRC Logs - The Founding Night - 2006-03-15

Wednesday, March 15, 2006 | Network: Freenode | 69 lines

[23:17] *** noel has joined

[23:17] <noel> ok i created the channel

[23:18] *** harlan_s has joined

[23:18] <harlan_s> made it

[23:19] *** anastasia_m has joined

[23:19] <anastasia_m> This is strange. I haven't used IRC in years.

[23:20] <noel> haha same, i had to look up how to register a channel

[23:21] <harlan_s> feels appropriately underground for what we're doing

[23:22] <noel> speaking of which - the forum is up

[23:23] <noel> basic structure. three boards.

[23:24] <noel> Somnia for the city stuff. Resonance for trying to share dreams. Lucidity for techniques.

[23:25] <harlan_s> this is really happening isn't it

[23:26] <anastasia_m> It's really happening.

[23:27] <noel> i still can't believe it. i keep looking at the sketch you sent and thinking i must have seen it somewhere before

[23:28] <noel> but i know i haven't

[23:29] <anastasia_m> That's exactly the right response. Hold onto that skepticism. We need it.

[23:30] <harlan_s> we need the believers too

[23:31] <anastasia_m> We need both. That's why this works.

[23:32] <noel> what do we call ourselves?

[23:33] <anastasia_m> The Somnians? The Dreamers?

[23:34] <harlan_s> the ammonites

[23:35] <harlan_s> because it started with the statue. because we're spiraling into something new.

[23:36] <noel> i like it

[23:37] <anastasia_m> The Ammonites. Alright.

[23:38] <harlan_s> fitting that we're named after fossils

[23:39] <harlan_s> something that was alive millions of years ago, preserved in stone

[23:40] <anastasia_m> Or something that will be preserved. We don't know yet what we're creating.

[23:41] <noel> that's... kind of ominous

[23:42] <anastasia_m> Sorry. Occupational hazard of studying consciousness.

[23:43] <harlan_s> i think it's beautiful. we're making something that could outlast us

[23:44] <noel> hopefully in a good way

[23:45] * harlan_s nods

[23:46] <anastasia_m> We should set some ground rules for the forum.

[23:47] <anastasia_m> I don't want it to become another place for wish fulfillment and fantasy.

[23:48] <anastasia_m> If we're going to understand what's actually happening, we need rigor.

[23:49] <harlan_s> but also openness. people need to feel safe sharing their experiences

[23:50] <harlan_s> even the ones that sound crazy

[23:51] <noel> especially the ones that sound crazy

[23:52] <noel> that's kind of the whole point

[23:53] <anastasia_m> Fair enough. Rigorous openness. Skeptical wonder.

[23:54] <harlan_s> i like that. skeptical wonder.

[23:55] <noel> should we invite dreamweaver_94? they mentioned the white city in that thread

[23:56] <anastasia_m> Yes. And night_wanderer from California.

[23:57] <anastasia_m> Anyone who has independently described the same features.

[23:58] <harlan_s> the more of us there are, the clearer it gets

[23:59] <noel> what do you mean?

[00:00] <harlan_s> i've noticed it at my parties. when multiple people who've been there talk about it together

[00:01] <harlan_s> the dreams get more vivid. more stable. like we're... reinforcing it somehow

[00:02] <anastasia_m> That's an interesting hypothesis. We should design experiments to test it.

[00:03] <noel> you two are going to make a great team

[00:04] <noel> the artist and the scientist

[00:05] <harlan_s> and the engineer

[00:06] <noel> heh. i'm just a network consultant

[00:07] <anastasia_m> Who just built us a network. That counts.

[00:08] <noel> :)

[00:09] <noel> alright, i should get some sleep. big day tomorrow.

[00:10] <harlan_s> going to try to reach the city tonight?

[00:11] <noel> obviously

[00:12] <anastasia_m> Remember to document everything when you wake up.

[00:13] <noel> will do. goodnight, ammonites.

[00:14] <harlan_s> goodnight, noel.

[00:15] <anastasia_m> Sweet dreams.

[00:16] *** noel has left(<-- noel has quit (Quit: sleep beckons))

[00:17] <harlan_s> do you think this is going to work?

[00:18] <anastasia_m> I don't know.

[00:19] <anastasia_m> But I think we're going to find out something important either way.

[00:20] <harlan_s> that's good enough for me

[00:21] *** harlan_s has left(<-- harlan_s has quit (Quit: to the dreamlands))

[00:22] *** anastasia_m has left(<-- anastasia_m has quit (Quit: night))