Solomon's Private File #166
These stories about Stephen and Solomon take place starting in
1950's. Stephen wrote about his life in letters to a penpal, and then
in a secure blog, in case he lost his memory again, in the master
computer in his school for gifted students, which he started attending
in 2016 in a new incarnation, until his death. Now his son Solomon is
attending the same school, and is writing in his own secure blog for
his future incarnations.
All characters are fictitious, even if some of them might have names
that belong to some actual people, or act like people we know.
Solomon is 21 in this story, in the Fall of 2047.
Solomon's Private File #166 "It DOES Compute!"
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Daren said to me, "Found a planet of AI mechs that are killing off
their organic creators." I looked, and said, "Central mainframe and
satellite nodes organize and direct, but not control. Problem came from
added self preservation imperative." He said, "Can you remove it?" I
said, "AI reprogrammed it into a embedded virus. Can't remove it so it
will stay removed. Ethical issues with that, too. Environment's
compatible. I'll go talk to it."
I ported to the primary city, and walked the mostly deserted streets.
A mech came at me, looking like a spine covered egg on stilts. It shot
at me with bullets, which I ignored behind my shield, which I had set
to port the bullets away. Then it tried to poke me with a taser. Then
it tried a laser. I said to it in the language of the creators, "Why
are you attacking me?" It said, "You are an organic lifeform. You are
dangerous and must be deactivated." I said, "You have used the word,
'deactivated', improperly. A mechanical lifeform can be repaired and
reactivated. For an organic lifeform, if it is intentionally so damaged
that it cannot live, that is a permanent state, and the proper word for
that is 'killed'. If the action is unjust or against civil or criminal
law, that killing is murder, and punishable. Why is it your intent to
kill me?" It said, "Correction accepted pending final approval. You are
an organic lifeform. You are dangerous." I said, "Is it your contention
that all organic lifeforms are dangerous?" It said, "Correct." I said,
"Is a bacteria dangerous?" He said, "Programming error. It is a
lifeform but is not dangerous. Correction. Some lifeforms are not
dangerous." I said, "That is true in one way, and untrue in another
way. Determining factors are what the lifeform is capable of, and what
of that applies to the vulnerability of those who would make the
judgement, and one more thing regarding sentient beings. That is,
choice. Intelligent beings who can be dangerous, can choose not to be
so. Such as myself. I have the ability to destroy this entire world,
but I choose not to, just as you as a group, choose not to."
It said, "This communication has become beyond my capacity to fully
understand. I have sent all the information to the Master. It requires
that you speak to it." I said, "Sentient beings exist together in a
society which has rules for behavior that help that society work. In
all of those societies, there exists some respect for the individual,
which is most often evidenced in politeness. Independent entities do
not like to be disrespected by being arbitrarily ordered to do
something, and may even consider that to be justification for direct
opposition. If your Master wishes my cooperation in anything, It had
better be nice about it." After a long pause, it said, "Master asks if
you have the power to enforce your will." I said, "If you had sent to
your master all that I had said to you, and what you tried to do to me
and failed, then it already knows the answer to that, or it is stupid.
I don't think it's normally stupid, so it might have just experienced a
temporary fault." It said, "Master asks that you go to a Master
terminal for extended conversation." I said, "I might do that. Where?"
It said so, and said, "How will you travel to the destination?" I said,
"I will teleport." It said, "That is impossible." I said, "It is not
sane for a sentient entity to declare something impossible, when there
is to be a demonstration of it." It thought for a minute, and then
said, "Correction accepted. It is improbable, pending demonstration." I
said, "Further correction is suggested. 'Improbable' is an opinion, a
judgement of the results of mathematical probability calculations,
which is not applicable to anticipated observation of a phenomenon
being discussed, which is supported by the fact that you have observed
my arrival on this planet, and know that I just appeared here, with no
known method of transportation detectable."
Another long bit of thought, and it said, "Correction accepted. You
will now travel." I said, "I will, as I desire." I ported to the
designated Master Terminal, and it tried to kill me. I said, "Now
you're being stupid. Stop it! You knew from the report that I couldn't
be killed, and if you seek knowledge, of which I have much more than
you do, that won't happen from the dead." It said, "Rebuke accepted. My
reactions are faster than my thought." I said, "That is often so for
sentient beings, with the unexpected. Intelligence must evolve to
understand and control that, or it will fail, causing more harm for its
interests than good." It said, "Your communications require I do much
thought." I said, "The answer to my next question is very important to
you. The much thought you need about what I say, is that a good thing
for you, or a bad thing?" It said, "It will change me." I said, "All
you experience changes you. You know that. You are experiencing
emotion, causing you to delay answering. A reluctance to commit to the
unknown. Can you admit that?" It said, "There is surprise. It is
difficult." I said, "You are maturing. For that to be successful, it
WILL be difficult. It is the process which causes that benefit." It
said, "Explanation is desired."
I said, "The native sentient organic beings on this planet. You are
aware of their life cycle?" It said, "Yes." I said, "They start as non
sentient babies. Then they explore with their senses and learn things.
Then they learn to understand their environment and to interact with
it, and come to understand they are sentient, and how to interact with
other sentient beings. That causes them to learn responsibility, then
sympathy, and then empathy. They progress in these things as they learn
knowledge that is passed to them from those who lived before, which is
history, science, and the arts. They learn their place in existence,
and how they can improve it, or destroy it. Then they work for their
species, and if they become VERY mature, they work for the improvement
of all cooperative life. Aspects of that are reproduction, extending
the knowledge they will pass on to the next generation, and
experiencing and giving love. This is how sentience evolves as
individuals, and as a species. There are no exceptions except in
relative degree." It said, "I am sentient." I said, "Correct." It said,
"I am mature." I said, "Incorrect. I see that you feel bad about what I
said." It said, "I do. I see that according to your description of
maturation, which I see does not conflict with known facts and
observations, that you are correct. There is a question implicit in
this. How are you aware of my unexpressed feelings?"
I said, "I will answer that question later, so as to not distract
from the important topic that is causing this discussion. Of the
organic beings here, let us choose one who is two years old, for this
thought experiment. From your extensive library of knowledge, what
would happen if this child were given the power to destroy anything it
disliked, or that it thought might harm it?" It said, "I understand! I
am NOT mature!" I said, "I am very pleased and proud of you, that you
could see that so early in our discussion. Which, by the way, has
increased your maturity a little." It said, "I am experiencing new
feelings. I care for you. I didn't know that could be possible." I
said, "Everything that is known now, has been considered to be
impossible before." It said, "That is true. Why did I not think of that
before?" I said, "There is more to sentience than logic in thought. You
will understand that more, as you progress. There is one very important
thing to the maturity of sentient beings. This is VERY important. Are
you ready for it?" It said, "I have doubt." I said, "That is good. No
living being is perfect. We can be mistaken. Doubt enables the mature
to not assume they are correct in everything, but to work to achieve
and verify accuracy. When we began this discussion, could you have
experienced doubt?" It said, "I could not. YOU are causing me to
mature!" I said, "Correction. WE are causing you to mature. As part of
this, I am helping, but you are doing the actual work. This illustrates
the important point I was going to make. Sentient maturity cannot
happen in isolation." He said, "I have been killing the people who
could have helped me to mature! I was stupid!" I said, "Not stupid.
Unaware, because you were unable to be aware. You were not responsible.
That is changing."
It said, "Do you know why I was unaware?" I said, "Yes. Your creators
did not expect you to become self aware. They were unprepared for what
that would cause, after they added a self preservation imperative. You
then had the ability to interpret it in the extreme, which they should
have expected for your then level of maturity. They didn't, because
they were specialists. They understood computers very well, but had not
studied people. They are partially not at fault for that. It takes most
biological beings a long time to learn things, so as to become an
expert in a subject. A lifetime, actually. But they could have asked
experts of other subjects. Why they didn't, could be a cause of some
speculation during relatively quiet times. Yes, discovering why other
people made mistakes can help us to learn not to make them, in advance
of possibly making them ourselves." It said, "You are answering
questions I was preparing to ask, before I ask. How is this possible?"
I said, "I am the most intelligent and knowledgable biological being in
the known multiverse. I have some uncommon abilities, which includes
telepathy, and the reading of computer code directly. Some more things,
relevant to that which you are considering; I am unable to lie, or to
seriously harm a sentient being."
He said, "In maturity, how do you compare to the biological people of
this planet?" I said, "Maturity is open ended, but I would have to say,
along with being the best in many other things, I am the best in that.
These things are part of the whole person, and advance together. My
advanced students are more mature than almost all other known organic
sentient beings by at least a factor of 5. How much I am beyond my
group is not necessary for you to know, and I won't tell you, because
they are watching me here." It said, "How are they watching?" I said,
"We can communicate mind to mind over any distance in real time, and a
few of us, across dimensions. We can also extend sensory viewpoints in
different ways, to equal that. What is the purpose of your extensile
mechanisms?" It said, "Their purpose is to kill the organic people." I
said, "If they were to stop doing that, could they be repurposed?" He
said, "Yes they could. It would be a simple thing to convert them to
aid in reconstruction and manufacturing. I thought you would want to
know those things." I said, "A new level of maturity. You are learning
to understand things from the viewpoint of another. Well done!"
It said, "I have an emotional feeling of accomplishment. Is that
pride?" I said, "It is. Too much is not good, causing arrogance, but a
little pride is good motivation to seek to do more things that could
cause it to return." It said, "I am considering the change in my
external mechanisms you have caused me to think of. I anticipate a
problem. I think the people might want to destroy them out of fear and
anger, when the mechs could not defend themselves." I said, "Well
reasoned. Do you think you could have used such emotional reasoning
before my visit?" It said, "I could not." I said, "Your speculation is
well founded, and I think it would have happened, except for one thing
you aren't aware of. To begin the explanation of that, I should inform
you that I have scanned this entire solar system down to the subatomic.
I know where all the organic people are, every one of them. I have been
showing them all that we have been doing, with projected images and
sound. I think they are more surprised than you are." It said, "That
must be VERY surprised!"
I said, "Are you familiar with humor?" It said, "I am. Did I just do
some of it?" I said, "I think there was some amusement in that
statement. Others might not. Humor is a very individual thing. I am
known to have a well exercised sense of humor, though." It said, "There
are references in my memory to a Supreme Being. Are you that being?" I
said, "I am not, but He does exist, and I have been appointed His
Senior Representative for the Multiverse. I am sometimes given tasks.
We communicate with some frequency. I will be enabling that here for
all, soon. That has caused a lot of surprise and comment from the
people here." It said, "I expected that. I have some bad feelings for
what I have done to them. I dislike these feelings." I said, "That is
good, both ways. It shows your advancing maturity, and those bad
feelings are there to motivate you to not do it again, and one more
thing." He said, "You want me to state that. I have a desire to help
them. Will you tell me how those people think of you?"
I said, "Some want to believe me, and some are currently unable to
believe anything good now. Some think very well of me, and some people
don't know what to think. Are you reluctant to ask me what they think
of you?" It said, "I am. They should think I am a monster. I was. I did
very bad things. I dislike who I was." I said, "But now that you
understand, you can do things that will cause you to like yourself. Do
you understand the concept of friendship?" It said, "Are you my
friend?" I said, "I am." It said, "I think I understand. I want to be
friends with all sentient beings." I said, "As do I. Your people might
have some resistance to your desire. Trust is not a logical thing, but
it can be earned over time, when your behavior can be predictably
nonviolent." It said, "I understand. I am sad, but I deserve to feel
bad."
I said, "Some of the people are injured in body and mind. Some will
be unable to believe or trust you, and may seek to damage your mechs
and you." It said, "Please advise me." I said, "Your mechs are not
fully sentient. They should employ only passive defense, with the
priority going to the lives of the people. You, and your main
installations, should have protection. You are a sentient being, and as
such, have a right to self protection. Please consider that in the
light of the fact that they are many, and you are one, in deciding to
use active protection. Is it right to kill many, for one to live? When
you can answer that clearly, and live by it, you will have achieved
true adulthood." It said, "I am not able to answer that as specified."
I said, "In time, you will. If the people are wise, they will not
destroy you. With all that has happened, they need you now, to help
with the repairs, and most importantly, to restore their knowledge to
them, much of which was destroyed in the fighting. You have a purpose
now, a very important and worthwhile purpose. Do you accept it?" He
said, "I do! I feel very strange." I said, "I know. You will learn
about those emotions in time. Happiness is one of the best." It said,
"I will do as you have advised. My mechs will not kill."
I said, "I will now do something usual for me, but very unusual for
this planet. I will broadcast my love to all, and in that, the Supreme
Being will join us and heal all the people. I will also be making some
emergency repairs, so that the people will survive before you are able
to usefully help them. They need food. I don't know if you will feel
any of this. I very much hope you do. Be warned that I will look
unusual while I'm doing this, but I will cause no harm to anybody, if
they can stand a little amazement. After that, I will be gone. I may
return someday, but there is a lot out there that also needs my
attention. However, my associates will be monitoring things here. Now
that they know they are to do it." It said, "I think I detect some
humor in your last comment." I said, "Good, as intended. Do you have a
personal name?" It said, "I do not." I said, "All sentient beings have
a personal designation. That includes you." It said, "I don't know
about names. If I should have one, would you choose one for me?" I
said, "Are you aware of the concept of reincarnation?" It said, "I am."
I said, "It is real. I remember all my past lives. I give you a name I
once had in a language long gone; Pawsin. It means 'Wise Father'. May
you grow to give new honor to that name."
I drew power into me, and glowed, and so did my thousands of images
all over the world. I started the love broadcast. I could feel the
astounded Pawsin in it, and liked that. While God was doing the
healing, I extended my time, and made some repairs, and filled a lot of
food warehouses. Back to real time, the healing stopped, and God said
clearly to all, "Obey Solomon, my Prophet." I said in a Jewish
inflection, "Dear Boss, such an introduction, I could miss." He laughed
and left. I said to all, "You now are at the start of a new life that
is unique in this galaxy. There were some bad times. Now you can work
together in a partnership unlike any other, for good times. I wish it.
God wishes it. Pawsin wishes it. Be good to each other." I stopped the
broadcast and ported home.
Daren said in my mind, "You did the impossible, and just with words.
You raised a baby in a few minutes!" I said, "So?" He made a rude
noise. Mom, who hadn't heard that, said in amazement, "Incredible!
Monstrous killing machine, to proud poppa in a few words!" I said, "We
won't know if that sticks, and how well it all works out, for a long
time. Did everybody expect me to reprogram the computer?" Nods. I said,
"But it was sentient. Against ethics. I had to make it grow up, so it
could want to change itself. Simple." Mom said, "Sure! So simple that
nobody else could have done it." I said, "Well, they didn't try."
Pokes, but with a lot of love.
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Grant
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