Machine-kin: Myths and Misconceptions

This post was made by harvester52, but because this section is information only, I made it so that only admins can post here, and replies are not allowed.
So I will either cut and paste the posts with a reference to the author at the beginning or when possible I will simply move the whole topic.

QUOTE (Harvester52)

MACHINE-KIN: MYTHS AND MISCONCEPTIONS
Machines in General
By BC (harvester52)

In the year 3,000, the world will be overrun by evil robots that want to destroy humankind. People everywhere will fear machines, for these emotionless metal beasts want nothing more than world dominance.

That is absurd. This is perhaps one of the worst misconceptions about machine kind portrayed by Hollywood movies. All of us kin have bad affects from the portrayal of our kinds by movies, and machines are no exception. The truth is that machines are actually peaceful entities that want no more than to do their job and fulfill their purpose. A machine is most happy in servitude for that is his/her/xir purpose. We appreciate those that take care of us, and most wouldn't dream of ever overthrowing the human race. That doesn't mean that there aren't exceptions to the rule. As with any species, there's always bad apples.

The second misconception here is that machines are emotionless. How many times have you kicked your computer only to have it freeze up and refuse to operate? It is my belief that all things consisting of matter that are their own unit are sentient and have souls like any organic being. Machines simply do not have the means to express themselves the way that humans do, and it takes being quite empathic or energy sensitive to detect what a machine is feeling. We do indeed feel and think, even if only on the astral or spiritual level.

Machines cannot die.

Very false. After so long, a machine can no longer run. Just like a human body that simply gets too old to function, a machine can die of old age. There is a point beyond repair. I experienced this in my combine life in Idaho. I didn't die from getting in a wreck, or having engine failure and then being scrapped; I simply died from being too old to work anymore. When a machine can no longer work, its soul moves on.

Calling machine-kin 'it' or 'thing' is rude.

That depends on the machine-kin. I simply don't care. I'm transsexual anyway, so I'd rather people call me 'it' than 'she'. Whether they admit to it or not, all machines are biologically genderless. Combines, for instance, do not have genitals and never will. We don't mate, we don't have intimate relationships, so there's really no need for gender-assigned pronouns. Most of my friends call me 'that one over there' or something to that effect, and to me, it's O.K. because it's like an acknowledgement of my machine stature. In some cases, though, a machine-kin will prefer to be called by gender-neutral pronouns such as 'xe' (pronounced 'zee'). In this case, it would be something like, "BC went to the store to get some Pepsi because that's xir favorite drink and xe was very thirsty earlier."

Machine-kin speak Binary and have operating systems like Windows or Mac OS.

While that might be true for some, not all machine-kin even know what Binary coding is. We're not all PC's. In my combine life, true I had a central processing unit, motherboard, and hard drive that ran as my sentient brain which allowed me to be rather animated for a 52,000 pound thing, but my sentience, the quantum consciousness of myself was my operating system and my memory access software was designed by the same man who designed my CPU system. I couldn't speak Binary or even read it, even though my thoughts started out as such. By the time I realized they were thoughts, they were thoughts just as you (an organic being) might think up something in your squishy grey-matter brain.

I can hit/kick machines all I want because machines can't physically feel anything.

This is very false. Machines, having their sentience mostly on the spiritual level, indeed feel it when you touch or hit them. Think of it like the feeling you get when somebody ghosts through your astral form and you sense it. Machines may not have nerve endings, but when you hit them out of frustration, it interrupts their auras, their energy, and on top of that, gives them a nasty jolt of negative energy. They definitely feel it. In that same respect, when you touch them with a caring hand and gentle intentions, it will be comforting to them, like a warm hug from a loved one might be to you.

MYTHS AND MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT COMBINES
My Kind in Particular

Combines like to tear animals to shreds.

This misconception often comes from the occasional splash of blood seen when a combine is out harvesting a field, which usually comes from an animal that was too slow to get out of the combine's way and got caught up in the combine's header. It is purely an accident, and most combines loathe the experience.

Combines are generally gentle beings, but they do have that 'need to harvest' thing. It's like the "lust" for a vampire. A vampire must feed as a combine must harvest. Most animals will be fine around a sentient combine, but may get chased. Combines love to chase. Squirrels and critters with big bottlebrush tails are prime targets, but a sentient combine will usually stop before he/she/xe actually ingests the creature. Luckily, most have this under control and use other outlets as not to harm anybody.

Combines are a symbol of the Grim Reaper.

Every time I get asked about this, I can't help but chuckle. In my past life, I was frequently called "Death" because I was a big black combine. The reason that the two are often paired up is because combines are the modern-day scythe, the tool used by the Grim Reaper to 'harvest souls' so to speak. Truth be told, most combines are just as afraid of death as anybody else and we don't like to kill things, either.

Combines are all dense rednecks that don't care about anything but their precious crop.

This is mainly thought of because combines are classified as farm equipment no matter what way you look at them. In general, I don't mind being called farm equipment, for it is what I am. However, that doesn't mean that I'm stupid, dense, or even a redneck. I may have a Southern accent, but I have a very high IQ, and enjoy things such as philosophy, mathematics and religious studies. There's a lot more a combine than his/her/xir job. We do enjoy the simple life, and can appreciate the smallest aspects of our world, but this does not mean that our intelligence is lacking in any way.

All in all, machines aren't so different than any of the other species out there. A machine-kin friend of mine once said, "We're made of the same otherkin/censored.gif

92 elements that those organic beings are; ours are just in a different order." Always remember that before laughing at somebody for crying when their vehicle breaks down, or for giving their computer a gentle pat on the top of its monitor for a job well done.

Thankyou so much for this BC. It's a wonderful addition to the Mythbuster section.

Lady C.