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0408 - Vibes-based. - 2025.07.28 |
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Comment: When I first started writing Forward, in 2017, I set it in 2167, because I figured that 150 years was far enough into the future that I wouldn't have to take any current events into account. In fact, in the timeline I wrote up for the setting, I don't even list any events occurring until 2060 (the first Mars colonies). Forward is intended to be my third webcomic with exactly 1000 entries (and no missed updates, thankyouverymuch), and, at a rate of ~52 updates per year, that means that this is a 20 year project. I've got until 2037, I figured I could hold off on current events until then. Unfortunately, I didn't anticipate that the next tech horseshit bubble after ape jpegs was going to be generative algorithms branded as "AI", and my strip is largely about AI, so I kinda can't ignore it. So here we are: current events. I'm very sorry. Another thing I didn't anticipate in 2017 was that, by 2025, virtually all of my social circle (myself included) was going to self-diagnose and self-identify as being on the autism spectrum (or as being "neurodivergent" or possibly "neurospicy" if you wanna be cute about it). A cynical person might allege that this is because autistic traits are so nebulously defined (don't like being uncomfortable, have a strong sense of justice, enjoy talking about your special interest) that, like a horoscope, it's easy for virtually anybody to see themselves being described. That same cynical person might grumble that it's just an excuse for people to feel special and insist that their predilections and habits are, in fact, disabilities that need to be accommodated (we all remember when fidget spinners were being touted as a disability aid, yes?) I'm not in that cynical camp, myself. I think, rather, that our understanding of autism has advanced. Specifically, it's advanced into a "spectrum", and, by definition, everyone is somewhere on a spectrum. In fact, conceptualizing autism as a spectrum is what allows us to see what allism is. "Allistic" is a useful word for the same reason that "cisgender" or "abled" or "white" is. Fish cannot see the water in which they swim, and the first step towards doing so (as per the Sapir-Whorf Law) is to come up with a word for it. There's a world of difference between describing people as "transgender and cisgender" vs "transgender and normal", and there's a world of difference between describing people as "autistic and allistic" vs "autistic and neurotypical". In fact, if we were to view the spectrum as, say, a line from 0 to 100, then even if the vast, vast, vast majority of humans are standing perfectly on 0, the average must be higher than that, even if only a 1 or a 2. That is to say: pure allism is, in fact, not actually "typical" at all. So, if we are to understand allism as a Thing, what are its symptoms? What are the signs that you or someone you love may be allistic? Well, obviously, in many cases, we can simply invert the traits most commonly associated with autism. Allistic people find socializing easy, often showing skills in charming and befriending people, even from a young age. Allistic people express their emotions readily, and can suppress or dismiss them just as readily. Persons with allism are unlikely to develop an obsession and encyclopedic knowledge of one or two subjects, preferring a broader and more practical knowledge base. Allistic folks can tolerate minor discomforts easily, and don't mind changes or disruptions to their routines (if any). People with allism are likely to find unique "metaphorical" or "symbolic" interpretations of otherwise straightforward words or phrases, and often feel as though rules can and should be bent or broken when appropriate. So what is "hyperallism", then? Both autism and allism, in these primitive years before the invention of meta-neural mapping, are defined by behaviour, rather than by any particular structure in the brain. Thus, it is not uncommon for someone to express both autistic and allistic traits, the average of which determines their place on the allistic/autistic spectrum. Because of this, "hyperautistic" or "hyperallistic" individuals are simply those who are far enough to one side or the other that it impacts their lives - they exhibit these traits so strongly that it is reasonable that accommodations be made for their unique style of neural processing. So yes, let's dial those allistic tendencies to 11 and see what we get. Hyperallistic people schmooze and manipulate others as easily as breathing - they're intensely charming, and likely have been for their entire lives. They love intense eye contact, and can easily maintain insincerity while delivering it. They rarely develop a particularly deep knowledge of any particular topic, instead maintaining a surface-level understanding of most subjects that they can easily pass off as comprehensive (at least, to non-experts). Their emotions are, likewise, surface-level and performative, usually brash and braggadocious. They interpret language in inexact ways, always assuming that meaning can be massaged or reinterpreted (or simply ignored) in whatever way benefits them - arguing in bad faith is second nature. They believe that rules of any sort are merely tools to help their friends and hurt their enemies, and thus never hesitate to apply them selectively, nor do they recognize any contradiction or hypocrisy in doing so - thus, being punished or held accountable is interpreted as a form of personal attack. They have little empathy for underdogs or victims, they delight in cruelty and power, and they cement friendships by inviting others to be cruel alongside them. They experience no dysphoria from rejection or chiding, perhaps even revelling in being thought of as bad, as long as its by people who can't take action against them. They have no attention for detail, and don't particularly care if their work is correct or precise or permanent, as long as it can pass at a first glance. They derive no comfort from familiarity or consistency, instead forever chasing stronger sensations, flashier excesses, new relationships, and ever-higher integers. Even though this is all projected and hypothetical, even though we don't yet have an official diagnostic for hyperallism in this century... you all recognized the type of person I was describing, didn't you? Even if you're not hyperallistic yourself and don't know any hyperallistic individuals personally, I'd wager you've seen them on the news. Hyperallistic people feature in twenty-first century current events quite a lot. They're usually much better at masking than autistic people are, after all. Like the generative algorithms that pass for "AI" here in 2025, persons with hyperallism are very good at saying something that feels like the next right thing in their immediate context, a mimicry and memetic cannibalism of the sincere people around them who actually have understanding of the subjects they're talking about. Where hyperautistic people are aliens and robots who stand out, hyperallistic people are changelings and vampires who walk seamlessly among us. Here in 2025, "hyperallism" is not yet recognized as a condition. Of course, Forward is set over a century in the future, and, as with gender, it would be weird if their understanding of the allism spectrum was the same as ours is. I like to think that, someday, hyperallistic individuals will be recognized and diagnosed early in life, and they'll be provided with the support and attentive care they need to live long, healthy, safe, productive, ethical... perhaps, one might even say, "normal"... lives. |
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