Welcome to the second of several Down From Ten Feedback shows. This one is episode ten, part two of the Dealing In series of feedback shows, where I and several friends answer your emails and talk about whatever comes up. This time, I’m joined by Metamor City and Down From Ten cast member Chris Lester, New York Times Bestseller Gail Carriger, and producer/actor/cartoonist Kitty Nic’Iaian. What do we talk about? An incomplete list, in no particular order:

Food
Pacing
Screenplays
Chekov
Soulless
Racism and bigotry in the Victorian world
Douglas Adams
Thomas Mann
Cultural change throughout history
The Death of the Author
Focault
Deride
Shakespeare
The Royal Shakespeare Company
POV characters
George R.R. Martin
Neal Stephenson
Shakespeare
Employing Symbolism in writing
Tee Morris

Basically, Oxytocin is a hormone which, when acting as a neurotransmitter, increases trust and social risk taking behavior between people, with the most profound effects being felt between strangers and/or people who don’t know each other well (though, of course, some people simply are born insensitive to these effects). Vasopressin is a hormone that, when acting as a neurotransmitter, increases aggression towards non-bonded others (the effects are stronger in men than in women, and in men it also acts as a bonding-reward circuit, an effect which has not been documented in women).

A cocktail of these two hormones, administered across the blood-brain barrier rather than intravenously, will have the dual effect of increasing the formation of groups and loyalty, and of increasing the subject’s suspicion towards those in the outgroup.

These effects are short-term – a single hit of these hormones degrades in a few minutes. In order to have sustained effects one of three things must happen: 1) the body must be fooled into creating its own supply of bonding hormones (through sustained sexual and/or social interaction), 2) memories formed while under the influence of the hormones must be positive and persistent, providing a foundation for later trust-based behavior, 3) a delivery mechanism that will keep the levels of these neurotransmitters at the desired level (this latest is impossible right now, but the success of other time-release and dosage-self-regulating drugs make positing of this for 129 years from now a very safe bet to place on the table, futurism-wise).

It’s also worth noting that these two hormones can be hugely dangerous when used in high doses as drugs. Oxytocin is used to stimulate labor, for example, and Vasopressin is a blood pressure regulator which, in large doses, can keep a heart beating during hemorrhage but has a lot of nasty side-effects in the cardiovascular system under prolonged exposure. However, in the Central Nervous System, acting as neurotransmitters, these hormones have well-documented, profound (but subtle) effects at small doses. These effects are fairly well known in psychiatric circles, and I’m banking on the notion that they will become a staple for psy-ops and con artists when better delivery systems are developed – in the Antithesis universe, this is exactly the case.

The following is a short lecture (29 minute video) from Paul Zak, the founder of the field of neuroeconomics who did the some of the seminal research in this area.

For the super-geeky among you, here are some more papers on research in this area:
How could MDMA (ecstasy) help anxiety disorders? A neurobiological rationale
Brain basis of early parent-infant interactions: psychology, physiology, and in vivo functional neuroimaging studies.
Oxytocin, a mediator of anti-stress, well-being, social interaction, growth and healing
Dopaminergic-neuropeptide interactions in the social brain.
Neurotransmitters and peptides: whispered secrets and public announcements.
Opposite effects of oxytocin and vasopressin on the emotional expression of the fear response
Effect of arginine vasopressin and oxytocin on acetylcholine-stimulation of corticosteroid and catecholamine secretion from the rat adrenal gland perfused in situ.

This one features Miss Kalendar along with Chris Lester and Kitty Nic’Iaian.

This is part two of the final round of Dealing In. Part three will be coming next week. You guys rock!

In this episode, we deal with some very particular and intelligent criticisms of Predestination voiced by Paul Fischer and Michael Spence.

-Dan

This one features Miss Kalendar along with Chris Lester and Kitty Nic’Iaian.

This is it, folks, the final round of Dealing In before we get to Down From Ten. We toast the successful conclusion of Predestination and look forward. Some info on Down From Ten here, as well as some very involved conversations about the themes of Predestination, the possible interaction of quantum mechanics and consciousness, and the nature of trust. Not to mention a LOT of laughs, some inside information on what I’m like as a director, and lots of other stuff. This is one of three episodes in this final Dealing In saga — 61 minutes of audio goodness here. Enjoy!!!
-Dan

Part 2 of the final Dealing In (well, the final one before the end of the book) is here! This time we banted with listener voicemails, talk about sex scenes and DOOM!, and laugh ourselves silly. A little treat to tide you over for till tomorrow, when the last episodes of Predestination drop!

Kitty Nic’Iaian and Chris Lester join, once again. Enjoy!

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Chris Lester, who plays Rison on Antithesis and is the author/producer of the Metamor City Podcast, joins Kitty Nic’Iaian and myself for drinks and carousing as we go through the feedback you’ve all sent in since last week. This one’s a must listen.

Mentioned at length is the unparalleled Nathan Lowell, who plays our own Bill Shelley. Find his audiobooks here.

Finally, be sure to check out the t-shirts gradually filling up the swag store. Now you can proclaim your membership in the Resistance, and proudly!

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The new feedback episode is live – and all of you guys rock. A fun time inside, along with TWO contest announcements for your chances to win free Antithesis swag. Take a listen!

Also, for those of you interested in my photos from Steam Powered (a.k.a. Steamcon), click here.