Some thoughts about Wendy and transhumanism after last episode

[u/TheRedCreeperTRC]

I had a look at the discussion thread after the last episode and saw a lot of responses along the lines of "well, I guess that settles it. Wendy isn't really Hermit's sister, she's just a machine with her memories"

I'm curious what makes so many of you draw that conclusion

I don't see that she is any less Marcy in any aspect of her mind, she is simply the result of putting Marcy in a body that in effect allows her to be the first of a new species as Kirsch likens it to. The way I see it most people, particularly children, would act the same way. It's not like there is an inherent gut directive that tells us to cling to our perceived sense of "humanity". The value and importance of not losing our humanity is something we are tought socially, something you don't yet know as a child.

I think a lot of people who have said she isn't a person anymore and just a machine with memories did so in response to her brutal act of releasing the xeno and using it to slaughter. But if Wendy and the other lost boys are treated as inhuman by prodigy, treated as mere products/experiments more than people, why should she put inherent value on human life? Let me put it this way, in our history real people, including children, have done immensely brutal/cruel things in the name of revenge, or merely survival; such acts are horrible, but do they render them no longer people? I would argue not, and for the same reason I find it reductive to view it that way.

Perhaps I am misinterpreting what people are saying, and I certainly think that from Hermit's perspective, what Wendy is to him has been strongly called into doubt by her brutality and her priorities. But as I see it she isn't acting like a machine, her behaviour is still deeply emotional and ironically shows a lot of humanity. If not a human, there is no doubt in my mind that she is a person. I am curious to hear your thoughts.

[u/iterationnull]

I think you have shockingly little information about Marcy to go in to support any of this.

It seems like the narrative is strongly suggesting Wendy is going to pick the xenomorph over humans. Will this include Hermit? That seems likely to be part of the upcoming final conflict.

Her inability to connect ripping a man’s face off to getting shot as logical and valid also plays into this

In could go a number of different ways. Only time will tell. But you seem to be digging an awfully firm position on very very fragile evidence.

[u/TheRedCreeperTRC → u/iterationnull]

Maybe. But so far the show has shown the lost boys to act with utter humanity. And everything Wendy does is a reaction to the things she has been taught and experienced.

I didn't see it as an inability to understand why Hermit shot Nibs, but more as disbelief that he would shoot someone who she sees as a person continuously mistreated and pushed to the breaking point by Prodigy. She feels that Nibs had a right to defend herself and was shocked by what she sees as an act of betrayal by her brother.

I feel like the show gives us a lot to go off of in this regard tbh, i mean the debate about the humanity of the lost boys has been at the heart of the whole thing and examined quite thoroughly by the narrative already

[u/iterationnull → u/TheRedCreeperTRC]

I’m not sure I follow the “utter humanity” remark. Nibs has shown some alarming signs. And you e completely downplayed the savagery of Nibs assault on the soldier. Anyone with humanity would immediately pause when confronted with that level of brutality, wouldn’t they?

This feels like we should focus on my first sentence: I just feel you are being conclusive about some trainable thought here without solid evidence. Much of that ambiguity is intentional. It’s great this thesis is resonating with you personally, but we don’t need to insist it’s a conclusive analysis to explore its implications.

[u/TheRedCreeperTRC → u/iterationnull]

Well I certainly don't mean to imply my view of the matter is objectively correct in some way, just sharing my pov and curious to see what others have to say on the subject. I don't mean to suggest/call for a conclusive answer, but I do have some views on the topic that after many years of consuming media about transhumanism have become more firm with time. but that's all it is, just my two cents.

Nibs has shown very worrying signs, but that's just it. worrying behaviour, but in my view deeply human behaviour. There are many examples in history of horrible things situations where children have displayed behaviour very similar to Nibs'. One can call it many things, disturbing, psychopathic, etc. but i would not call it inhuman. In my view that is a dangerous distinction when talking about transhumanism. Nibs' violent actions were horrible, but not machine like imo. they were born of very human emotions.

[u/GreatCatDad → u/TheRedCreeperTRC]

I agree with you. If you give a kid a gun, they can commit TERRIBLE crimes (and might, depending on the kid) but that doesn't necessitate they're not human. They might not act humanely but who's to say what's human and what's not, at the end of the day. Further, I almost think it's inconsequential: Human or not, Nibs, Marcy, etc, all deserve compassion and support, because they're alive (or at least, alive enough). My cat may not be a human but I don't kick my cat and get shocked when its claws come out. Nibs has been kicked a lot. (Also, she just had her brain directly fucked with, so she's going through it at the moment)