July 23, 2026
Science Fiction and Mrs Brown: Character Liveliness in Protocol Design
Participants: sachbenny, suspencer_nit, cameronisok, _vgr, sn37, drevius.
The ProtFiSIG group explored how the literary character of Mrs Brown—whose appeal lies in her unguarded authenticity when unaware of being observed—relates to contemporary protocol design and science fiction characterization. Suspencer_nit proposed that protocols with certain features could recreate this 'unawaredness' quality in modern contexts where constant surveillance normally precludes such authenticity. The discussion extended to character complexity more broadly, with participants debating the importance of the archetype-to-stereotype spectrum in creating lively characters, examining specific examples like Murderbot, Venom, and the composite Frodo/Gollum/Sam. VGR argued that removing this spectrum would eliminate most of the golden age of science fiction by reducing characters to competent man archetypes. The group also introduced the 'Tardis Rule' as a measure of character depth—whether a character is more complex internally than their external presentation suggests.
- Mrs Brown's vitality derives from being unaware of observation, a quality increasingly unavailable in a world of constant surveillance and recording.
- Protocols with features like 'whitehead advance' may offer a way to capture an 'unawaredness sink' where embedded participants become unaware they're being observed, creating character authenticity.
- The archetype-to-stereotype spectrum is essential to character liveliness; removing it eliminates the entire golden age of science fiction, reducing everything to competent man archetypes.
- The 'Tardis Rule' (a character being bigger on the inside than outside) represents a minimum threshold for complex, lively characters, as exemplified by Frodo/Gollum/Sam as a composite character.