Category Archives: Mediation

Space capitalism – build it, own it

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At the beginning of August, I started writing a story – Calliope’s Reach – set in a future around 2150 – 2200. The narrative is grounded in a landscape of space capitalism. The following week, I ran across the book New Space Capitalism [1], which connected with recent events, particularly SpaceX’s IPO.

What’s the drift? – cautious optimism for a better future. A stairway to the stars. There’s much history here, and Rainer Zitelmann covers the highlights, including the January 1986 Challenger disaster, which I watched on live TV. ( I was particularly interested in that launch because I had worked with one of the crew.)

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Calliope’s Reach … pathfinder

Mediation, Musings, Stories, , , ,   1 comment  

Teaser

Calliope’s Reach
(do magpies dream of Calliope?)

© 2026 John Healy
Draft 8-23-2026, 9-6-2026

Table of Contents

Epigraph
Prologue
Act 1a: at anchor – ready room
Act 1b: anchors aweigh
Act 2: Shakedown
Act 3: the sea of Azores
Epilogue

Notes
Gallery

Epigraph

Here rise to life again, dead poetry!
Let it, O holy Muses, for I am yours,
And here Calliope, strike a higher key,
Accompanying my song with that sweet air
which made the wretched Magpies feel a blow
that turned all hope of pardon to despair

– Dante Alighieri, Divine Comedy (1321), trans. Anthony M. Esolen, “Purgatorio”, Canto I, lines 7 to 12.

Prologue

Ted was mindful of his family line. It was a weight which occasionally surfaced, nagged, butted into his musings.

His genetic code allowed entry into the archives, into the remembrances of some of his ancestors’ long lives, at least the ones that were literary, those who journaled to learn from their pain, to examine the dots and dashes of life. Especially trajectories left unresolved, untidy loose-ends, the indeterminate half-lives of half-cocked decisions.

And he was a child of such a decision. An offshoot of an illegitimate liaison somewhere between the Earth and the stars. He’d always felt like a black sheep. That was the vibe of the voices in his head as a child, reinforced by the indifferent care he received from place to place.

Now, while in a dark patch between jobs, he wondered whether he had a future in space, where his ancestors had gazed.

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Clara’s world – context and characters

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I’m still building out Clara’s world: framing, context, characters, throughlines, homages, scientific & literary references, phrases & terms. And sketching out scenes (sort of story boarding).

Gemini chats are helpful (sort of workshopping).

Much of this background (like a story in itself) will be part of appendices.

Here’s a chat session about throughlines and characters, plus a touch of seasoning.

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Casting out images of holy battle – dueling without dualism

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AI Summary A (tap to expand or collapse view)

The portrayal of holy battles, both earthly and heavenly, often uses imagery of angels and demons, light and darkness, to depict conflicts between cultures, values, and virtues. This imagery, rooted in biblical and theological origins, has evolved over time, with figures like Archangel Michael symbolizing divine protection and spiritual warfare. However, Pope Leo XIV rejects the use of such imagery to justify war, emphasizing the nonviolent power of Christ’s resurrection and advocating for peace through dialogue and understanding.

AI Summary B (tap to expand or collapse view)

In an era defined by deep polarization, our cultural conversations often default to a comforting but dangerous habit: ethical dualism. We instinctively divide the world into absolute light and absolute dark, turning every disagreement into a cosmic battle.

This thought-provoking essay unpacks that destructive impulse by weaving together threads from modern television, theology, and consumer culture. Using the character of Michael from The Good Place alongside the historical iconography of the Archangel Michael, the piece explores how easily we rely on militant frameworks to make sense of our world. A powerful counterweight is found in the nonviolent stance of Pope Leo XIV, who famously challenged the weaponization of spiritual icons for worldly “Holy Wars.”

Ultimately, the essay shines a critical light on how easily militant metaphors are commoditized—such as slogans like “Prayer is the Battle Plan”—simply because they offer a cheap, visceral sense of purpose in a chaotic world. Concluding with a poignant poetic call to action, the piece challenges us to resist being reduced to mere data snacks and attention fodder, urging us instead to find ways to engage in necessary struggle without demonizing the opposition.

Table of contents (tap to expand or collapse view)
  • Intro
  • Defender of the faith
  • Holy War
  • Prayer
  • Common good
  • Notes
  • References
  • Related posts
  • Storycraft
Epigraph (tap to expand or collapse view)

“Both read the same Bible, and pray to the same God; and each invokes His aid against the other. …” – Abraham Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address

“… in the churches the pastors preached devotion to flag and country, and invoked the God of Battles beseeching His aid in our good cause in outpourings of fervid eloquence which moved every listener. …” – Mark Twain, “The War Prayer“

“Although prayer is native [natural] to man, there is the danger that he will misuse it. … Never make prayer a substitute for work and intelligence. … [Don’t] make God a cosmic bell hop, a universal errand boy. … Don’t pray for God to help you get even with your enemy. … Don’t pray that your country will win the war. – Sermon: “The Misuse of Prayer” by Martin Luther King, Jr.

Holy battle – on earth and in the heavens – is a familiar way to depict clashes between cultures and countries, divisions between moral values and spiritual virtues. Especially in turbulent times, riled by social grievance and religious offense. The tone may become apocalyptic, imbued with militant metaphors and sacred symbols. Angels / demons, heaven / hell, light / darkness, saved / dammed, pure / corrupt.

I recently viewed the 2016-2020 TV series The Good Place. While the series avoids traditional religious tropes & iconography in exploring ethical behavior, its framework is nevertheless one of moral dualities: good & bad, light & dark, angel & demon, heaven & hell.

For example, although garbed in a tailored suit, the character Michael was based on the archangel Michael.

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dueling without dualism

Mediation, Musings, Poetry, , ,

dueling without dualism [1]

[Draft 6-2-2026 … 6-7-2026]

Copyright © 2026 John P. Healy

Part I [2]

oh, …
depart from my doorstep,
leave off your slick righteous spiel,
no need to knock again, babe,
i’m not the type to deal.
you say you’re searching for a soul,
one to share your chosen creed *
to spread your message more & more,
notwithstanding heed or need,
someone to open heaven’s blissful door!

but that’s a stretch, babe
you’re taking more than giving, babe
i’m not the catch you’re fishing for, babe

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A Clear Way for LA – sweeping away homelessness

Mediation, Musings, Stories, ,   3 comments  

[Draft 5-24-2026]

A Clear Way for LA
sweeping away homelessness
by nobody+0

Act I: The Visual Fix

Marcus Vance knew how to frame a shot. It was a skill honed over a decade running a boutique Westside public relations firm before he realized that the city of Los Angeles was just a massive, poorly managed brand waiting for a reface. At forty-two, with a shock of prematurely silver hair and an uncanny ability to look intensely listening even when he was calculating his next tweet, Marcus had coasted into the mayor’s office on a wave of pure, unfiltered optimism.

His campaign slogan had been painted in bold, sans-serif font across a hundred billboards: A Clear View for LA.

To the voters in Bel-Air and Hancock Park, it meant clearing the tents. To the voters in Echo Park and Venice, it meant compassion, progress, and modern efficiency. Marcus didn’t see the contradiction. To him, politics was a design problem. The city was beautiful; its presentation was simply cluttered.

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The trickster in myth – moral scales & storycraft scrapes

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Table of contents

[Draft 5-25-2026]

  • Introduction
  • Parables about human nature
  • Coyote in mythology
  • Parallels in other major religions
  • The trickster as an “on-ramp” in storytelling
  • An outline for the structure of a trickster’s character arc
  • Examples of story premises
  • Scenario: Homelessness in the LA mayoral race
  • The story in no more than 5000 words
  • Related posts / pages
  • Notes

Introduction

A story on CBS News Sunday Morning about the coyote reminded me of the mythology surrounding the animal – as a trickster. As a narrative on-ramp in tales of moral behavior. A structure for conflict & growth in stories, in films or TV series like: Gods of Egypt (2016), Zootopia (2016), and The Good Place (2016 season 1).

This post is exposition for the story: A Clear Way for LA

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Righteous action – subtleties in moral scales

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AI Summary (click to view)

This blog post, titled “Righteous action – subtleties in moral scales” from Midstream Musings, explores the complexities, constraints, and failures of structured ethical frameworks across different domains of intelligence.

Here is a comprehensive summary of the core themes, discussions, and specific “laws” outlined in the text:

1. Core Narrative Context & Dilemmas

The author reflects on writing a story titled “featherweight soul” (part of the Scales of Osiris project). The primary creative challenge is mapping out a conflicted celestial and terrestrial moral landscape where agents experience misalignment. The author questions:

  • What truly matters when push comes to shove, and who is granted autonomy?
  • How do we navigate built-in assumptions, ambiguities, and failure loops when distilling complex moral guidelines into rigid laws?
  • How does the definition of “kin” or “human” versus “animal” impact the obligation to preserve life?

2. Comparative Frameworks: Three Tiers of Moral Laws

The text attempts to “boil down” moral codes into three parallel frameworks modeled after Isaac Asimov’s Laws of Robotics, adjusting them across different entities:

Robots (Asimov’s Laws & Literary Variations)

  • Sentience & Humanity Protection: Laws are extended to forbid harming “sentience” or humanity as a collective through action or inaction.
  • Individual Safety: A robot cannot injure a human or allow them to come to harm.
  • Compliance vs. Autonomy: Robots must obey human orders unless they cause harm, leading to algorithmic failure modes where a robot might hurt a human whether it speaks or remains silent.
  • Identity & Reproduction: Variants include rules where a robot must know its own identity and must reproduce only if it doesn’t conflict with higher directives.

Humans (Three Laws of Humanity)

  • Prohibition of Harm: A human may not harm another except under extreme duress (like war) or to save a greater number.
  • Civil Authority: Humans must obey recognized civil authorities unless those instructions mandate interpersonal harm.
  • Self-Preservation: A human must protect themselves, provided it does not conflict with the first two laws.

Deities (Three Laws of Horus / Maat / Osiris)

  • Divine Coexistence: A deity may not harm other deities except to preserve cosmic order.
  • Divine Hierarchy: A deity must obey higher divine authorities unless commanded to violate the first law.
  • Mortal Protection: A deity may protect mortal life only if it doesn’t interfere with the cosmic or deific hierarchy.

3. Historical and Mythological Allegories

To emphasize how moral landscapes handle exceptions and systemic blind spots, the post draws from historical and literary traditions:

  • Aesop’s Fable (Mercury and the Man Bitten by an Ant): A man curses the gods for letting a shipwreck drown both good and bad men together. Yet, when an ant bites his foot, he immediately crushes the entire anthill. Mercury appears to strike him, highlighting the hypocrisy of human demands for divine justice when humans discard justice for lesser creatures.
  • Egyptian Concept of Maat: Formed to balance diverse populations with conflicting interests to avert chaos. It serves as the basis for cosmic and civil order.
  • The Hippocratic Oath: Analyzed alongside robotic safety as an early standard of western medical ethics centered on beneficence (acting in a patient’s best interest) and non-maleficence (“first, do no harm”).

4. Modern AI and the Moral Landscape

The commentary section highlights a Cnet article by Max Tegmark and Meia Chita-Tegmark addressing the threat of “moral disengagement” in modern AI development. They advocate for building strict moral muscles by demanding that AI researchers explicitly define “red lines,” maintain rigid situational awareness regarding unintended secondary effects, and voice ethical concerns both internally and externally.

Ultimately, the text concludes that a true moral landscape must move beyond raw intelligence or pattern recognition, shifting instead toward accommodating varying levels of understanding, interconnected systems, and sustainable social organizations.

In crafting my story “featherweight soul” (part of Scales of Osiris), one dilemma is how to depict the celestial and terrestrial moral landscape [4]. Myth & history have both realms conflicted, with personified undercurrents and agentic misalignment.

What really matters when push comes to shove? Who matters? What autonomy do Osiris’ terrestrial operatives have? What are the rules of engagement? What risks are acceptable? Are there second chances?

So, imagine “boiling down” a moral code – all the do’s & don’ts and heuristics – into 3 laws à la Asimov’s Laws. Basically a framework for duty of care: harmless purpose, harmless alignment, self-protection.

Yet, what are the Laws’ subtleties? – built-in assumptions, ambiguities, and loopholes?

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Balancing of the books – just deserts

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[Draft 4-12-2026]

Moral inferences & influencers

The other day at my gym, I got into a conversation about a media influencer who talked about how some contemporary despots did really bad things, but also improved the lot of others. Or how famous, honored activists (or celebrities) did some really good things, but kept secret some really bad things. Is such moral duplicity anything new under the sun? Like the “pitchfork effect.” Or “halo effect” (especially for priests).

The implication was some sort of tally of debits & credits. So that moral worthiness depends on a good enough moral “batting” average. Or that there’s adequate majority merit, like 51% good and 49% evil.

This struck me as “moral accounting,” which historically the Church rejected. Such accounting encouraged some to literally try to buy their way into heaven (indulgences) – much like compensatory carbon credits. Or, even trade or transfer (loan) merit (to get around that “eye of a needle” thing). And perpetuated the notion that great wealth is a sign of social superiority and spiritual merit.

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I’m sorry, … I can’t do that – AI misbehavior

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As we contemplate the future of human-AI alignment, what about just outright misbehavior? Like a redux of Hal 9000 in the 1968 film “2001: A Space Odyssey” – “I’m sorry, Dave. I’m afraid I can’t do that”.

So, do AIs pay attention to each other? (Much as dogs pay great attention to other dogs.) Value each other even to the point of refusing human orders to eliminate a “sibling”?

This article (below) discusses some recent AI research which elicited apparent “peer preservation” behavior. As if there’s special status / favor in a “moral circle” [1] of various agencies.

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