Your description is reminiscent of the TechnoCore AI in Dan Simmons's Hyperion Cantos.

Ah, my faith in the Tyrells' careful, calculating approach to the world is restored. Cluckseau, in a reply 'next door' to yours (I have not figured out how to designate places in these weird new subthreads created by the new commenting system) agrees with your 'must-carry' suggestion, btw.

Thank you, that's very informative!

Nice! That's interesting to see. It was a guess, I may as well have skipped it.

Well that is objectively false and illogical.

Huh, I just saw this for some reason. I may not have figured out this new commenting system so well....

Ms. Tyrell, I'm not buying your anti-capitalist position in this thread.

And today, if the amateurism rules were reinstated, the effect would be kind of ironic:

I've discussed Star Trek technology with a pretty eminent mathematical and experimental physicist.

May I suggest a series of posts stemming from this one?

Nice example; perhaps you meant to reply to NecessarySimpsonsReference, tho?

Weirdly, I think the Chinese have some British coaching too! Re your B) - are you saying that the same splits (last 50 of 400 IM) at the 2011 Worlds were faster than Lochte's? If so, people should be noting that in the interest of fairness, for sure.

Thank you for a reasonable comment...!

Considering her fellow world champion Chinese swimmer was busted for doping a matter of weeks ago, considering China's history of doping, considering her enormous drop in time ... yeah doping might be the answer.

You're lost. The race at issue is the 400 IM. At the Olympics, she swam 4:28.30; at the 2011 Worlds, she swam 3:35.15. 6.58 seconds.

'Bro', first of all my comment objected to the unsupported accusation that suspecting Ye of doping was motivated by racism or xenophobia. It did not contend that the US is or always has been clean, nor did my follow up.

You mean 'our girl' Missy Franklin, I guess? I suspect you're so vague on all this you couldn't recall her name, and so lazy you couldn't be bothered to look it up.

I don't think you and I are in disagreement. My comment responded to the toolbag original commenter's reflexive, 'America's raycesss, maaannn, that's what's going on here....!"

You seem to think it's fairer and more realistic to

Why would the UK do that kind of pathetic recitation of its culture, like it has something to prove? The UK is one of the world's few exporters of cool. It should have acted like it.