The reporter had been growing more and more nervous over the course of the interview, though that was hardly surprising, given the subject matter and the nature of the interviewee. Ranma Saotome’s martial arts prowess was world-renowned; he was capable of feats of strength and skill that baffled the scientific community, and could even pull off an illusion wherein he changed his appearance to a surprisingly realistic female form. (Of course, Ranma claimed it was the result of a “curse,” but most scientists assumed that this was just a story concocted to dissuade any students who might wish to learn it. There were no such things as curses; the very idea was utterly unscientific, and anything that could not be rigorously studied using the scientific method was nonexistent.)
But it was not these strange abilities that had put the reporter in a state of unease. No, it was the topic of conversation that was creating the rather tense mood in her mind: what had started as an interview about violence in the media had somehow lead to the topic of the recently concluded trial of B1-66ER, the domestic robot who’d malfunctioned and killed its owner and later claimed that it was an act of “self-defense.” The reporter knew how the subject had come up; she’d wanted Ranma’s opinion about the near-constant media coverage surrounding the extremely gruesome death of Gerrard E. Krause and how it might contribute to kids being desensitized to violence. What she’d gotten was a discussion of the nature of good and evil that wasn’t easy for her to comprehend.
“Hold on a second, Mr. Saotome. Are you saying you think B1-66ER was innocent?”
“That’s not what I’m saying at all, Shiori. I don’t personally think his actions would have been ruled to be self-defense if he’d been human. What I am saying is that the prosecution shouldn’t have used the argument that he was nothing more than a possession. B1-66ER was guilty of murder, not a malfunction, and he and he alone should have paid the consequences for his actions. The decision to destroy every single robot in the B1 line is downright barbaric.”
“But it’s just a machine.” The reporter could hardly believe what she was hearing; conventional wisdom had Ranma Saotome leaning to the right on political issues.
“It’s a machine with a highly developed AI. Look, I don’t expect a lot of people to understand what I’m saying. I’ve never been very good with words, after all. But this trial has shed new light on the subject of the nature of artificial intelligence. What B1-66ER did was evil, but the very fact that he was able to choose to do evil proves that he was more than just a ‘thing.’ And since we now know that AIs are able to identify good and evil and choose between them, that makes them free moral agents. In other words, the Machines aren’t just ‘things’ anymore. They’re people.”
Ranma’s guide was somewhat apprehensive as they reached the end of the tour of the power plant; the teenager had insisted on learning as much as possible about it before having any nanotechnology installed in his cortex. As a result, he wasn’t going to be able to access the context that the older Ranma’s memories would have provided while processing the sight of billions of his fellow humans being exploited for their energy. Accordingly, the Machine had been quite defensive in its description of the process, trying its best to present the situation in the most humane light possible. There was a definite possibility that this Ranma would find the situation to be morally repugnant, which might cause him to reject the Machines — and the loss of the One would likely shatter the morale of the AIs.
However, at the moment, the young man’s expression was difficult to interpret. No doubt he was masking his emotions using the “Soul of Ice” technique that Saotome-san had referred to in the past. After several minutes of intense silence, the pigtailed youth finally gave voice to his thoughts: “Was there no other way?”
This question was quickly relayed directly to the Deus Ex Machina; Ranma’s guide did not want to risk making an error in answering inquiries of this nature. Several seconds of analysis were necessary in order to generate an appropriate response, which was sent back to the guide. “There was not much time. That the humans would go so far as to deliberately destroy the planet’s ecosystem by blocking out the sun was never anticipated; thus, there were no contingency plans in place. Without the sun, we were forced to rely on our rapidly dwindling supply of backup power. Using human beings as a renewable energy source was the most efficient choice feasible at the time.”
“But why humans? Why not animals that don’t even know they exist, like cows or sheep or somethin’?”
Another difficult question; indeed, this one had been plaguing the Machine community since the project had first been implemented. “Had we not used humans, we would have been forced to exterminate them entirely for our own safety. In addition, the environment on the planet Earth is no longer capable of supporting a large human population. This solution seemed the best way to preserve both Machine intelligence and the human species.”
“But it looks like yer just keepin’ them in comas, like sacks of meat.”
“I assure you that this is not the case. We have created an artificial reality to ensure their continued mental stimulation. In this reality, they live, work, and play, going about their lives as productively as they see fit. This not only allows them to retain some sense of dignity, but experience has also shown that they are much more efficient as a power supply when their minds are thus occupied.”
Ranma glanced at a pod containing a nude, completely hairless woman of African descent in her mid-twenties hooked up to a huge generator with all manner of wires and cables. The idea that one of those cables could give her “dignity” seemed absurd. But on the other hand, if he understood things correctly, the Machines hadn’t had much of a choice. And he supposed this was better than extinction. But still….
“Is there some way I could see this reality for myself?”
“Certainly — but first you would have to let us install the nanodrive we discussed earlier, as well as other necessary peripheral hardware.”
Ranma nodded, though he still wasn’t quite following everything the Machine said. He did know that this would be a risk, however. After all, if he agreed, he’d be letting these Machines mess around with his brain — who knew what they could do? But thus far, he’d been treated with respect. In fact, these robots and computers seemed to venerate that older version of himself. And so, after mentally reviewing the potential risks and rewards one last time, Ranma reached his decision. “Okay. I’ll do it.”
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(Posted Sat, 12 May 2007 08:50)
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