5739 Opponents, Not Enemies
The potential consequences of the public inquiry on living chs was dire.
Ves did not know whether his opponents would actually be able to remove the vast majority of living chs in use from the hands of their satisfied custors, but the fact that it was a possible outco was already scary enough!
Even if his opponents gave him a bit of rcy by continuing to allow his Larkinson Clan to make use of his own products, that was poor consolation given that he served the needs of tens of millions of ch pilots just before.
A partial restriction sounded a lot better, but still did not sit well with him. He could cope with the decision to prohibit his living chs from use in certain zones or geographic reasons.
Ves doubted that this would hinder any of his serious fans and custors. At most, they would just have to relocate to a territory where the use of living chs was still allowed.
It beca a little more difficult for him to accept a restriction on the features of his products.
Third order living chs were so much more powerful and promising than their second order counterparts that there was no competition between them. Their growth rate was astonishing and their real combat power was unquestionably superior to other chs.
Ves did not know what he would do if his custors were no longer allowed to make use of third order living chs anymore.
If all people had access to were first and second order living chs, then many of them would grow up to beco different versions of the original Ouroboros.
These living chs should have enjoyed a much brighter future, but because of the unreasonable paranoia against AIs, their developnt would remain capped in many essential areas!
This was as stupid as the Hexers trying to keep their boys below 1.66 ters in height.
Ves feared that a compromise solution was the most probable outco of this public inquiry.
If neither Ves nor his opponents made an overwhelmingly powerful case for their argunts, then the people who decided on this matter might just decide to go for the 'middle ground'.
Suffice to say, this was absolutely unacceptable to Ves!
The only outco that he could truly tolerate was total victory. Nothing else would make him feel satisfied.
"Now that you have explained the three-day schedule, can you finally tell about the people who have chosen to stand against my work?"
Both Jovy and Vector exchange another glance with each other.
"I suppose it is ti for you to know who is trying to hinder you." Jovy said. "Before I say anything further, please note that their motivations vary considerably. There are people who rely want you to tone down your work so that their ch designs have a fair chance of competing in the ch market. There are also people who possess a genuine fear towards AIs, and equate your living chs as a variation of them. Then there are people who are on the opposite side of the political arena from you. Your rise will cause them to suffer a loss in one way or another. That alone motivates them to stop or slow down your progress."
Vector Loban added his own opinion as well. "The majority of these people and groups are not your enemies. They have no intentions of killing you or ruining you utterly. Maybe they still appreciate your other products and hope you can succeed regardless of this possible setback. They rely think that you have gone… astray by conducting illegal research and experintation. This is a distressingly familiar problem to Transhumanists such as myself. When you begin to push the boundaries with your work, you must accept the possibility of incurring a backlash. The public inquiry was already years in the making given the way your living chs continued to affect human civilization. It only started sooner than we anticipated because exotic radiation is rapidly promoting the evolution of your impressive third order living chs."
When chs transitioned from being warm but mostly silent guardians to talking tal giants that could move on their own, it was no wonder that a lot of people got spooked!
In hindsights, Ves should have taken a lot more asures to prepare the ch community for the onset of third order living chs.
His mistake was that he possessed so much confidence and appreciation in his third order living chs that he automatically assud that other people would be the sa.
However, most people weren't as familiar with living chs as him. They just saw a nightmare scenario co to life and may have found it difficult to treat the third order living ch as casually as before.
These people bore no fault, and neither did the people who opposed him for other reasons. A political enemy was not the sa as a mortal enemy. Ves was still able to make this distinction.
He had no doubt that his real enemies were mixed into this gathering as well, though. Ves still needed to remain on his toes and defend his interests as best as possible.
"Enough stalling. Just tell who is arrayed against in this public inquiry."
"Well, we have ford a tentative list of known opponents. It is not an exhaustive list, but it should be enough to give you an overview of which parts of red humanity are trying to hinder your work on living chs. The first group of opponents cos from our Association. I am afraid to say that the Red Association is not able to form a united front around your living chs."
Ves already expected as much. He had known a long ti ago that the MTA and RA were so imnse that they were split up into multiple factions.
"Who among the chers dare to stand against my work?"
"As far as we know, approximately 72 percent of the ch Supremacist Faction, 20 percent of the Transhumanist Faction and 30 percent of the Survivalist Faction are opposed to your living chs."
Ves pressed his lips. "These guys don't know what they are dealing with. If the ch Supremacists understood the full potential of my living chs, they would not be so strongly opposed to my work!"
"The ch Supremacists are under the impression that increasing the intelligence and autonomy of your living chs will eventually make ch pilots redundant." Vector Loban spoke in a sardonic tone. "You must think they are wrong or misguided, but you have to understand this situation from their perspective. They do not know as much about living chs as you. They can only judge them by relying on their own observations."
Jovy gave Ves a reassuring expression. "This is what the public inquiry is ant to solve. It is not a show trial that is mainly organized to bash your living chs. It is an opportunity for you to enlighten the ch Supremacists and other people with insufficient understanding of the true qualities of living chs. As long as you can clarify the mysteries of your living chs and resolve any misunderstandings, there is hope that you can lt the opposition from the ch Supremacist. They are most fanatical about protecting the rights of the ch pilots. A ch is not a ch anymore if it can fight our opponents by itself."
"I understand." Ves responded in a calr tone. "I share a common value with them. It is just sad that they think that my living chs are trying to replace all of their ch pilots. Do you know if any of the factions are opposed to my work?"
"We are still looking into that. There are many factions that do not have a strong opinion on this matter. Other factions are simply too small and inconsequential to have any say."
"Do you know if there are any god pilots or Star Designers that have co out in opposition to my work?"
Jovy imdiately shook his head. "No. They may have ford certain opinions about your living chs, but this is a matter that should be decided by the people. The influence of our top leaders is too strong. Anything they say will have a lot of blind supporters. Nobody will bother to think critically anymore. This will stifle any true and honest debate. As much as this may displease you, this is not a problem that can be solved by resorting to force or intimidation. The only weapons you are allowed to use are logic, ethics and philosophy."
"...Why are you looking at as if I'm a caveman who only knows how to solve problems by bashing my club at them? I am a Senior ch Designer, just like you! I know how to hold a civilized discussion!"
"Ahem, let us get back to the original topic. You can rest assured that no tier 1 galactic citizen will take the initiative to speak out against your work. However, you cannot count on them to speak in your favor either. If you think you can make your case by having the Destroyer of Worlds put in a good word on your behalf, then think again."
"Bumr."
"This public inquiry is about building up acceptance from a broad audience. The only way you can secure a good outco is by appealing to the masses. The parties who have aligned against your living chs are not immune to public criticism. They must respect the overall sentint of the people in order to preserve the legitimacy of this inquiry."
"So what other enemies have I attracted? Has the Red Fleet moved against as well?"
"It is difficult for us to discern the full inner workings of the Red Fleet, but we have confird that the RF Fifth Enforcent Fleet has co out in opposition to your work." Jovy replied.
"That is not a surprise." Vector Loban calmly said. "The enforcent fleets are usually tasked with solving the mistakes made by other people. They have a more jaded view of human nature than most."
"How powerful is the Fifth Fleet?"
"Do not underestimate them. That is all I can say. The most disconcerting aspect about the Red Fleet is that it is unclear whether you have any supporters among them. If the fleeters as a whole are either indifferent or opposed to your work, then that will an that you will be impeded by an entire super-organization."
Ves scratched his head. "I guess I should do sothing about that."
"Let us move on." Jovy pressed." You have detractors among the two first-rate colonial superstates as well. The Chabran Ancient Clan has co out in opposition against your work, though it is certainly not the only Terran group to do so. The Rubarthan Pact is much more problematic for you as the entirety of the Smokestack Principality has put its weight behind its opposition."
Ves had already been inford of the latter, so the news did not co as a shock.
"What about the other Terrans and Rubarthans?"
"A few are explicitly on your side. Think of the Streon Ancient Clan, the Devos Ancient Clan, the Inferno Spear Principality and of course the Impresario Principality. However, the remaining first-raters might not necessarily have a strong opinion on this subject. Your products have yet to proliferate among them, so they consider it beneath their notice."
"I see. That is logical."
The nas ntioned by Jovy hardly encompassed the full spectrum of opponents against his living chs, but they were already far too many for Ves to deal with by himself.
If he wanted to co out of this public inquiry in good shape, then he needed to gather allies by his side!
"Tell you guys will help out. Don't leave to defend my works by myself."
"There are plenty of chers among us who have a vested interest in your living chs. We shall lend our aid whenever we can, but there are limits to what we can do. The opponents among the chers will do their best to impede and limit our permissions, so you will still be obliged to make your own case."
"I see."
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