Clan Nova Cat - Zombie Catgirl Extravaganza

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

Nova Cat visions have always run on post hoc rationalization.

[tassa_kay]

Hopefully what scant Nova Cat survivors are left will wise up and stop with the vision nonsense. You'd think after suffering multiple genocides, they'd learn.

[Metallgewitter]

One will have a vision that visions are not safe so they will ban visions until a new vision will grant them new insight

[cmerwin]

One will have a vision that visions are not safe so they will ban visions until a new vision will grant them new insight

😂🤣😝

[cmerwin]

Hopefully what scant Nova Cat survivors are left will wise up and stop with the vision nonsense. You'd think after suffering multiple genocides, they'd learn.

Have you tried getting a cat to do something it doesn't want to do?! 

Now I have to wonder whether Nova Cat enclaves have doors, otherwise no one would ever get any work done.

[tassa_kay]

Have you tried getting a cat to do something it doesn't want to do?! 

Nope, actually. I hate cats. Except Nova Cats. And Spirit Cats. And Smoke Jaguars. But cat-cats? Hardest of passes. 

[cmerwin]

Nope, actually. I hate cats. Except Nova Cats. And Spirit Cats. And Smoke Jaguars. But cat-cats? Hardest of passes. 

😄


Well, I'm glad you like Clan based cats!

[cmerwin]

Probably too soon....

[Spirit Cat Refugee]

Hopefully what scant Nova Cat survivors are left will wise up and stop with the vision nonsense. You'd think after suffering multiple genocides, they'd learn.

It was visions that guided the Spirit Cats to get as far away from the Republic as they could and saved them from the most recent genocide. It was the Kesari, or anti-vision Nova Cats who plunged the Clan into near-extinction in the Dark Age.

[cmerwin]

It was visions that guided the Spirit Cats to get as far away from the Republic as they could and saved them from the most recent genocide. It was the Kesari, or anti-vision Nova Cats who plunged the Clan into near-extinction in the Dark Age.

Humor aside, I agree. We wouldn't be Nova Cats without the Ways of Seeing. It permeates every aspect of our Clan's culture.

[tassa_kay]

It was visions that guided the Spirit Cats to get as far away from the Republic as they could and saved them from the most recent genocide.

Common sense would've told them that, honestly. I stand by my statement.

[cmerwin]

Common sense would've told them that, honestly. I stand by my statement.

I suspect that a large number of visions are just common sense. Sometimes common sense is the hardest thing to see clearly. There's no reason why the two can't go hand in hand.

<Looks at the Smoke Jaguars>"I've had a Vision: Orbital bombardment is not an effective means of controlling resistant populations."

[tassa_kay]

I feel like the Nova Cats were onto something with the Mystics, because those weren't "visions" so much as fine-tuning the brain to extrapolate information from data. Whereas the invasion-era stuff was a little... dicey to me. And it probably didn't help that BattleTech has had several shifts in direction that have made things very inconsistent over the years. If that makes any sense?

[cmerwin]

I think that makes perfect sense. I've written before that I think the Nova Cats Visions and especially the Mystics (the whole Ways of Seeing) was closer to Mentat training from the Dune books. There's nothing especially "mystical" or supernatural about it, it's simply tapping into the human mind's potential. Just because the message is in symbolic form (like dreams), doesn't necessarily mean it isn't highly informative. The hard part is figuring out what's important and what's just imagery.

[parable]

I feel like the Nova Cats were onto something with the Mystics, because those weren't "visions" so much as fine-tuning the brain to extrapolate information from data.

I was always under the impression that the Rite of the Vision was just that sort of extrapolation: causing enough deprivation to force the brain to discard more rational thought processes and make connections that the conscious mind normally wouldn't.  The lack of age-related stigma among Clan Nova Cat I think hints at the above explanation: an older Warrior caste has more experience separating the wheat from the chaff when it comes to their vision, especially in the case of the Oathmaster.  Your mileage may vary on all of the above of course, but there are some RL examples of people who either are non-neurotypical or use psychotropic drugs and leverage those into discoveries and breakthroughs in the sciences that may not otherwise have occurred.  The Mystic caste is basically an experiment in making such intuitive leaps reliable, predictable, and at-will, and from what we've seen, it can work.  The downside, of course, is what you have to to to make a Mystic.

[cmerwin]

I was always under the impression that the Rite of the Vision was just that sort of extrapolation: causing enough deprivation to force the brain to discard more rational thought processes and make connections that the conscious mind normally wouldn't.

I think another example of this are the vineers. Its important that they are not war trophies, but function as a focus for the recollection of past battles, whether successful or not. The Nova Cat warriors are effectively priming their minds anytime they interact with one to relive and reanalyze an event on an unconscious level. The "sacrifice" of these during the Rite of Vision is designed to focus the warrior towards future possibilities. My favorite example is (Khan) Santin West doing it five times (!) and subsequently destroying the entire Smoke Jaguar Tau Galaxy. Khan Leroux's "gift" to ilKhan Lincoln Osis was equally priceless.

[Fire Scorpion IIC]

Cats need to adopt Seeker approach to visions

Instead of acting on them immediately as if they are 100% facts they need to have the person having them present the "findings" to the higher ups who then analyze it and decide if the particular vision is something that should go to the next phase

Especially if the vision is about the course that entire Clan should take

[Spirit Cat Refugee]

Cats need to adopt Seeker approach to visions

Instead of acting on them immediately as if they are 100% facts they need to have the person having them present the "findings" to the higher ups who then analyze it and decide if the particular vision is something that should go to the next phase

Especially if the vision is about the course that entire Clan should take

Seems like visions could be conveniently ignored if they didn't suit the current political climate of the Clan. Most visions I assume don't actually deal with the Clan as a whole. Plenty of Spirit Cats who had personal visions just about themselves.

[tassa_kay]

Cats need to adopt Seeker approach to visions

Instead of acting on them immediately as if they are 100% facts they need to have the person having them present the "findings" to the higher ups who then analyze it and decide if the particular vision is something that should go to the next phase

Especially if the vision is about the course that entire Clan should take

The Cats don't need to adopt anything from the Seekers. This is something they already do. It's one of the primary things that the Oathmaster role is responsible for. They don't just act immediately on any random Nova Cat's visions.

[Istal_Devalis]

Cats need to adopt Seeker approach to visions

Instead of acting on them immediately as if they are 100% facts they need to have the person having them present the "findings" to the higher ups who then analyze it and decide if the particular vision is something that should go to the next phase

Especially if the vision is about the course that entire Clan should take

That's what the Oathmaster role is for.
https://www.sarna.net/wiki/Oathmaster_of_Clan_Nova_Cat

[cmerwin]

I've been away the whole weekend and missed a lot of forum stuff, but something interesting came up in my newsfeed. I'm always reticent to speculate too much about our Clan's future, for fear of - continued - sorrows, but there may be some good news (beyond the continued excitement for @parable's amazing Nova Cat cosplay/vineers. No matter how long it takes, it will be glorious).

From rumor on Facebook at this weekend's AdeptiCon, Randall (Bills) is working on a Nova Cat/Spirit Cat novel (image from @Helm Memory Core attached). Correct me if I am wrong, but Randall has written the majority of Nova Cat related cannon stories. That we are getting a dedicated novel to how the Nova Cats/Spirit Cats are doing in the timeline is - hopefully - exciting.

My own aspiration is that if we can, like Istal_Devalis's signature, remind the writers and devs that as a Clan, our story is "not forgotten", we'll continue to hear more about how the Cats are doing in the ilClan era.

Seyla!

[Tyler Jorgensson]

I did ask a bunch of the authors there what they were working on but I don’t think I actually asked Randall. But not surprised to hear. IIRC I did hear something to the effect because one of the guys at the Con I was talking to seemed really excited for the news that Kishio was coming back in some form or another but please don’t quote me on that

[parable]

(beyond the continued excitement for @parable's amazing Nova Cat cosplay/vineers. No matter how long it takes, it will be glorious).

My tax return weeps, because I read this part of your post and immediately ordered most of the ceremonial outfit pieces.  Also very hype re: new Nova/Spirit Cat content.  I have some dark premonitions, but I remain excited anyway.

[cmerwin]

My tax return weeps, because I read this part of your post and immediately ordered most of the ceremonial outfit pieces.  Also very hype re: new Nova/Spirit Cat content.  I have some dark premonitions, but I remain excited anyway.

Darn, definitely didn't mean for that to happen! Hopefully it was a gentle weeping and will continue to be a labor of love!

[cmerwin]

I did ask a bunch of the authors there what they were working on but I don’t think I actually asked Randall. But not surprised to hear. IIRC I did hear something to the effect because one of the guys at the Con I was talking to seemed really excited for the news that Kishio was coming back in some form or another but please don’t quote me on that

Thanks for the confirmation - no quoting - that it was talked about. Sounds like the Con was great! Hopefully there's some exciting BattleTech literature coming down the road.

[Tyler Jorgensson]

Thanks for the confirmation - no quoting - that it was talked about. Sounds like the Con was great! Hopefully there's some exciting BattleTech literature coming down the road.

There are definitely some good literature coming in the near future. A lot of older stories are getting follow ups, like potentially the Black Thorns and Avanti’s Angels. Sequels to some Dark Age/ IlClan stuff (Bryan Young is working on more Jiyi Christu stuff as well as Terran Falcons), and everything in between.

They mention some of it during the Livestreams: in the General Thread Lorcan Nagle time stamped the livestreams for people. Even though I was there I still need to watch them cause I missed a bunch.

[JAMES_PRYDE]

There are definitely some good literature coming in the near future. A lot of older stories are getting follow ups, like potentially the Black Thorns and Avanti’s Angels. Sequels to some Dark Age/ IlClan stuff (Bryan Young is working on more Jiyi Christu stuff as well as Terran Falcons), and everything in between.

They mention some of it during the Livestreams: in the General Thread Lorcan Nagle time stamped the livestreams for people. Even though I was there I still need to watch them cause I missed a bunch.

  gg

[Spirit Cat Refugee]

I noticed a mistake today while reading over Legends I again, it mentions a Mystic Tiber Rosse, but that's impossible, as prior canon stated that all Mystics have Minoru Kurita as genemother, to preclude them from a bloodname. That was something Kisho thought about several times in his novel.

[tassa_kay]

I noticed a mistake today while reading over Legends I again, it mentions a Mystic Tiber Rosse, but that's impossible, as prior canon stated that all Mystics have Minoru Kurita as genemother, to preclude them from a bloodname. That was something Kisho thought about several times in his novel.

As pretty as Legends as a book is, it's rife with errors like that, unfortunately.

[cmerwin]

I noticed a mistake today while reading over Legends I again, it mentions a Mystic Tiber Rosse, but that's impossible, as prior canon stated that all Mystics have Minoru Kurita as genemother, to preclude them from a bloodname. That was something Kisho thought about several times in his novel.

Huh, you're right. I did a search on Sarna and I don't see any other references to Tiber Rosse. I wonder if you dropped that in the Errata thread if they would change it (all they would have to do is replace Rosse with Nova Cat) in future printings. There is no official CGL errata for Legends, so it might be worth bringing it to their attention.

Nice catch!