WR_MouseThrow t1_iugpk7i wrote on October 31, 2022 at 4:48 AM

Reply to comment by darthvirgin in The Thing (1982) -- the scene with MaReady checking on Blair in the cabin by darthvirgin

It's not super clear but I think you can infer that the assimilated have a good handle on human behaviour, and that Blair put the noose out as a not-very-subtle threat of "let me back in before I kill myself" (whether he was already assimilated at the time or not).

Froegerer t1_iui23hd wrote on October 31, 2022 at 2:25 PM

They make it sound like you somehow keep your consciousness until it decides takes over. Like it assimilates everything but the brain or part of the brain so the host has no idea and makes it impossible to identify without something like a janky hot wire blood test. Some character said something like, "you could be one of those things and not even know it!".

Badloss t1_iui8xb9 wrote on October 31, 2022 at 3:13 PM

I don't think that's what's going on. I think The Thing is perfectly emulating the person, if you were assimilated then you are dead and your consciousness is gone.

I think the characters are just wrong when they say that, or they're imperfectly trying to describe how good the mimcry is

SplinterPizza t1_iuil07m wrote on October 31, 2022 at 4:34 PM

If you perfectly replicated the Human brain inside a computer... Would it think it's conscious? His point still stands.

Badloss t1_iuimitz wrote on October 31, 2022 at 4:44 PM

It doesn't, because that's not what the thing is doing.

The thing has access to the host's memories and instincts and uses them to perfectly imitate the host. I disagree that it's building a functional simulation of the host's consciousness to do that

SplinterPizza t1_iuiocdo wrote on October 31, 2022 at 4:56 PM

>The thing has access to the host's memories and instincts and uses them to perfectly imitate the host. I disagree that it's building a functional simulation of the host's consciousness to do that

Sure but the point is we only know what the film shows us. And it's pretty clear the what it mimics is a perfect representation of a human. It has the memories of the person it devours. Now for the extrapolation on that, If it's mimicking down to the Neurons then it stands to reason it can mimic the mind of the person.

It understands what a noose is. It understands what Alcohol tastes like. The characters in the film make a salient point that maybe you wouldn't even know you were a mimic.

Badloss t1_iuir2ed wrote on October 31, 2022 at 5:15 PM

Yeah I mean of course we're all speculating. I just disagree that the mimics don't know they're mimics. I think they know exactly what they are and just know exactly how to fake being human.

There's actually a great example of what you're talking about in the Dune books though. The Tleilaxu invent perfect Face Dancers that completely replicate their target and then the mimicry is so perfect that the copy believes it's the original and they lose control of them