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TELEPRESENCE IN POPULAR CULTURE
A study of portrayals of presence
A Boy and his Tank
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ABOUT THE WORK
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MEDIUM:
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Novel |
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YEAR:
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1999 |
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WRITER(S):
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Leo Frankowski |
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OWN COPY?
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No |
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ABOUT THE STORY
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SUMMARY:
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By Leo Frankowski; "Centuries in the future, on the distant and dirt-poor planet of New Kashubia, young Mickolai Derdowski is sentenced to death for getting his girlfriend, Kasia, pregnant. His only alternative is to become a mercenary, a human backup for the artificial intelligence and virtual reality capabilities of a Mark XIX tank. After training in the VR "Dream World" (and falling in love with Agnieshka, the female personality of his tank), Mickolai is sent to fight Serbs on the planet of New Yugoslavia. There he meets Kasia again, persuades a division of Serbian tanks to change sides, undergoes a crash course in military science and winds up a victorious commanding general. But in Agnieshka's VR world, nothing is what it seems, and Mickolai (and the reader) must wait until the end of his mission to discover what has really happened." (from http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0671578502/104-1588544-9083916?v=glance) |
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ERA/YEAR:
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Distant future |
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CHARACTERISTICS
OF WORLD:
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It is several centuries in the future. Many planets in various galaxies are populated with people from Earth. In fact, due to overcrowding on Earth, all minority's are given thier own planets which they must live on. (it's a seems a little bit rascist, although it never actually says that only white people live on Earth). However, interstellar travel doesn't really occur - all trade must go through Earth. |
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ABOUT THE
PRESENCE-EVOKING TECHNOLOGY
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NAME:
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Agnieshka - Dream World |
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DESCRIPTION:
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Agnieshka, is the tank that Mikolai, the protaginist, rides in during the war. She is a fully sentient machine, but has a very distinct personality which adapts to Mikolai's preferences. They have a very intimate relationship and communicate without words. In the tank, Mikolai may visit Dream World, a virtual reality, where anything/everything imaginable can occur, but usually only pleasure. It is extermely realistic in DR, and Agnieshka's personality is very human like, although she knows she is not. She can act superior and controlling, but only when she's mad at Mikolai. |
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NATURE OF TASK OR ACTIVITY:
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He constantly interacts with Agnieshka the entire time he is in the tank, fighting the war and in DR. In DR he does physical training, simulates war games, attends school, has sex, does everything you could do in the real world. |
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PERFORMANCE OF THE TECHNOLOGY:
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Very well. |
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ABOUT THE CREATORS OF
THE TECHNOLOGY
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DESCRIPTION:
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unknown, although possibly the Japanese - they built the factories the tanks were constructed in. |
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MAJOR GOAL(S):
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War and profit. |
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ABOUT THE PEOPLE
WHO EXPERIENCE PRESENCE
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DESCRIPTION:
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Mikolai is 24, male, fairly intelligent, heroic, moralistic, religous - he has pretty conservative values. Most people in the tanks are convicts or drafted, forced to fight. |
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ABOUT THE PRESENCE EXPERIENCE
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TYPE(S) OF PRESENCE:
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Both spatial and social presence |
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DESCRIPTION:
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Very pleasurable and extermely realistic. |
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USER AWARENESS:
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He thinks he is. Later he finds out that when he thought he was not in the tank, he really still was. |
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VALENCE:
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Usually, they find it pleasent. |
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SPECIFIC RESPONSES:
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Enjoyment, and education, as he goies to school in the DR in the tank. Also, they physically train in the DR and when emerging from the tank, are in shape. He also has improved miitary skills, from fighting. |
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ABOUT THE CONSEQUENCES
OF PRESENCE
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LONG-TERM CONSEQUENCES:
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Happy ending, good consequences, except for the fact that he learns he has been in the tank for 5 years and nothing was real. but he is still happy. |
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AND FINALLY...
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OTHER INFORMATION:
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CODER NAME:
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Amanda Scheiner |
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CODER E-MAIL:
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amandags@temple.edu |
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CODER AFFILIATION:
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Temple University |
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DATE CODED:
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10/19/2006 |
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