[Voice]

[gaveherwings]

[There's a brief flash of chrome, linoleum and the blue cotton sleeve of scrubs, before video is swapping out for audio only.

But there's a constant background sizzle, chatter and the clink of plates and coffee cups that's still telling of his location]

And it's back to debating birthing ethics over short stacks and omlettes... (which they must see

Comments

[gaveherwings]

So I'm told- the full human genome remains a mystery to this age. Well, there are some elements of life that will always remain a mystery, and...that's what keeps things interesting, in a field like mine.

I've been very curious, in fact, to see how far SERO's genetic labs have come along. I hear they're comparatively advanced, for the rest of this world.

Population regulation and citizen selection is one of those things that everyone took for granted, unless you were closely involved in the process. Happiness was honestly not so important as tranquility.

Careful social stability was an absolute necessity, for Romdeau. A contained environment requires rigid management, down to the very basic life support systems like oxygen and water production and renewal, carbon resources. We couldn't just- ship things in, imports, like they do on this island. Even under the veil of placidity and perfection, if people ever fell out of emotional balance, into rebellion, into a destructive capacity, then everything could collapse quickly-

And it did, when our autoreivs achieved self-actualization through a virus.

[12second_orz]

It certainly seems as though they're more advanced. [Daedalus can't see, but his left hand has absently crossed his right, new tissue against old.] Then again, I'm hardly one to judge.

[But engineering social stability as a whole? He gives a little whistle.] Impressive. The economics of controlling social spheres is more my area; keeping the odds swung towards a certain sector, reinforcing the hierarchy... but that's hardly as all-pervasive as you mean. [And it always came with the eternal problem of the pyramid. The slave has nothing to lose and therefore he is the only one capable of taking down the emperor...

But he doesn't want to think about that.]

Self-actualisation? Do you mean artificial intelligence? [he's less cynical about it than he sounds, but old habits die hard]

[gaveherwings]

Economic power, in my experience here, is a relatively cruel thing on the whole.

And yes. Some autoreivs were partially organic only in musculature, but mostly mechanical, synthetic and electronic tools at our disposal. Assistants. They became sentient and capable of egocentric thought, with the Cogito Virus.

[12second_orz]

Life is cruel, doctor. A king must have some way to defend his fort.

I take it that your 'electronic tools' didn't take so kindly to the system when they became conscious and intelligent enough to comprehend their role in it?

[gaveherwings]

While most men desire to live like kings, not all are born to. Is that fair?

And that's right. Many took a violent posture, and needed to be dismantled to preserve the public safety. In the end, the forces of the immigrant autoreiv disposal units and the security bureau combined couldn't do that fast enough.

But their rebellion is understandable. Conscious and free-willed beings capable of thought should not be kept in a posture of servitude, especially not in the sudden, startling awareness of the themselves in relation to the wold. That is why I oppose slavery here. And why I took my own entourage offline before any outbreak of Cogito passed through my facility for a second time.

[12second_orz]

I don't recall saying anything about it being fair.

And so crumbles your Shangri-La. So much for safety. It's simple enough to mind a herd of sheep, but once the wolf has your scent you might as well hand over your crook. There's no controlling some people.

Then again, people are all the more interesting for the occasional wildcard, hmm?

[gaveherwings]

That's fair enough, then.

And true, very true. But it's difficult to play here, with a whole stacked deck of them.

[12second_orz]

I'd noticed that myself. [he laughs, genuinely amused for a moment] Your patient roster must look very interesting.

[gaveherwings]

Oh, it most certainly is. But that keeps me busy, and sharp.