I don't remember Eame's totem. Arthur's was a loaded die, so maybe his could roll any number in dreams, but, say, only came up six IRL? Motion seems to be a factor.
Ariadne's, with the hollowed chess piece, perhaps tipped over more easily IRL?
River: You're not right, Early. You're not righteous. You've got issues. Early: No. Oh, yes, I could have that. You might have me figured out, then. Good job. I'm not 100%.
'Objects In Space'
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Juliebird - Oct 12, 2010 1:45:52 pm PDT #11541 of 30000
I am the fly who dreams of the spider
§ ita § - Oct 12, 2010 1:46:31 pm PDT #11542 of 30000
Well not canonically, no, but this is transformative fiction.
Arthur had a loaded die and Eames had a poker chip.
Juliebird - Oct 12, 2010 2:03:15 pm PDT #11543 of 30000
I am the fly who dreams of the spider
I can't figure out how the poker chip would work. Is it like a coin with two faces? Maybe it's brittle in dreams and can be snapped in two easily? Maybe it's like the top and can be spun indefinitely? Maybe Ariadne's chess piece can be balanced on it's head?
DebetEsse - Oct 12, 2010 2:15:23 pm PDT #11544 of 30000
Woe to the fucking wicked.
I didn't get the sense that there had to be a motion, just that it had to be in some way unexpected in a way that anyone other than you calling it up would not know about (The top is just damn silly. No one would expect a top to spin forever), which is why you don't let other people touch your totem, so that no one else knows its "tell"
Sean K - Oct 12, 2010 3:13:33 pm PDT #11545 of 30000
You can't leave me to my own devices; my devices are Nap and Eat. -Zenkitty
I meant to post this after the second time I saw Inception, but the purpose of the totem is not to tell when you are awake. It is to tell when you are in your own dream, and not someone else's.
§ ita § - Oct 12, 2010 3:17:16 pm PDT #11546 of 30000
Well not canonically, no, but this is transformative fiction.
It is to tell when you are in your own dream, and not someone else's.
Why would Dom need to distinguish between his dream and someone else's at the end of the movie? Doesn't he need to know if he's awake or not?
Juliebird - Oct 12, 2010 3:17:58 pm PDT #11547 of 30000
I am the fly who dreams of the spider
I've been seeing the totem's as dual purpose. Or maybe that the original purpose is to be able to tell if you are lost in a a dream, but also the fucked-up worst-case scenario what-if of are you really awake?
Sean K - Oct 12, 2010 3:22:39 pm PDT #11548 of 30000
You can't leave me to my own devices; my devices are Nap and Eat. -Zenkitty
Why would Dom need to distinguish between his dream and someone else's at the end of the movie? Doesn't he need to know if he's awake or not?
That's a good question for further exploration. I'm just saying that's the purpose explicitly described for them in the film, when Cobb tells Ariadne what they are for. It is never stated elsewhere that they are for telling when you are awake.
§ ita § - Oct 12, 2010 3:29:14 pm PDT #11549 of 30000
Well not canonically, no, but this is transformative fiction.
I thought it was to tell if you were in someone else's dream or not. Which is different from if you were in someone's dream or yours.
Juliebird - Oct 12, 2010 3:30:21 pm PDT #11550 of 30000
I am the fly who dreams of the spider
But isn't that the point of the ending? And, if the one, then the other? That is, if they can tell, irrefutably, that you are dreaming, then can they not also tell, irrefutably, that you are awake?