5742 A ntal Case
When Ves reunited with Jovy, Vector and Kelsey in the evening, he looked incredibly tired.
His exhaustion was purely ntal in nature. He had encountered the sa hardened opposition to his living chs over and over again. The people who represented the groups that wished to take action against living chs did not show any willingness to compromise from beginning to end.
"I was afraid of that." Jovy said while frowning in thought. "At least you have taken the asure of your opponents. The information that you have gathered from these etings should help you prepare for the upcoming debates. Since we cannot sway the groups that have already ford their conclusions beforehand, the only ans for you to gain the upper hand is to convince the public of the rits of living chs. It is the people that you must win over, not the opponents who have already co out against your works."
Ves scratched his chin. "I guess you're right. Most of the representatives I have spoken to are inflexible dogmatics. No matter what argunt I make, they always fall back on their biases, preconceived notions and unreasonable fears."
"What are their main argunts?"
"They are generally split up into two different concerns. One of them is the fear that living chs will beco increasingly smarter and more autonomous until they turn into rogue AIs that wipe out all of humanity. The other is the fear that living chs will make life so easy for ch pilots that the latter will stop growing due to developing an overreliance on automated assistance."
The two chers and the prospective Larkinson recruit all adopted complicated expressions.
"There are no argunts that you can dismiss out of hand, professor." Kesley Ampatoch spoke. "One is rooted in real history. The other is rooted in ideology. Your opponents have strong logic on their side."
Vector Loban added his own thoughts. "Objectively speaking, your living chs have already broken the rules. Our society tolerated your living chs because the signs were too subtle to be noticed. Even if your machines have gained a asure of intelligence and autonomy, they did not have enough of it to pose a serious threat. It is only when your products started to evolve into third order living chs by the thousands that their possible threat beca amplified. It is no longer possible for people to ignore the potential threats posed by your third order living chs."
Ves lowered his head. It was his fault in a way. If he hadn't been so impatient about giving his custors as much access to third order living chs as possible, this problem could have potentially delayed until he was much more capable of defending his own work.
The inopportune timing of this crisis ant that he was unable to spend enough ti on lobbying different parties and conduct a proper marketing campaign for his living chs.
As his frustrations continued to simr, Jovy tried to formulate a response to the information supplied by Ves.
"The opposition towards living chs has mainly grown due to the increasing prevalence of third order living chs. Since that is the case, we may be able to weaken the resolve of many detractors by preemptively giving them a concession."
"Wouldn't that paint us as weak?" Vector questioned.
"Yes, but that will help to lower their perception of our threat. If Ves is able to prevent his products from evolving into third order living chs, then they will no longer be the boogeyn that so many people fear. It will be much harder for the opponents to press their case when all they can rail against are first and second order living chs."
While that sounded logical, Ves imdiately stiffened when he heard this propopal.
"This is unacceptable. My response to this action is the sa as before. I will not deliberately compromise the integrity of my living chs. They must remain as whole and complete as possible, because only then will they be able to realize their full potential. I will not agree to cripple my products just because there are people who are unable to handle their existence. This is a matter of principle to . If I do not stand by living chs at this junction, I do not deserve to be their progenitor."
Everyone here was a ch designer, so they all understood where Ves was coming from. They would do the sa if they were in his position.
That did not make his life any easier, though. Ves risked the chance of suffering an even greater loss by refusing to compromise.
Jovy looked rather helpless after Ves had repeated his declaration. "Very well. We can shelve any attempt to deprive our opponents of a powerful argunt. I still think that you should consider the decision to restrict the proliferation of third order living chs, but if you truly want to proceed with your uncompromising stance, then we must work to secure the support of your proponents."
"I thought that they were already on our side." Ves said.
"They are, but not uniformly. Their resolve may not be as strong as you wish. Living chs is mostly theoretical to the first-raters who have never piloted or worked with your products before. However, as long as they are open-minded enough, it may be possible for you to strengthen their support of your work and encourage them to mobilize more people to take your side."
"So you suggest I et with these proponents tomorrow and do what I can to strengthen their support?"
"Yes. This will at least prevent them from wavering and changing camps over the course of the public inquiry. eting with the representatives of the groups that have taken your side is also a good opportunity for you to et with them and possibly strategize with them in advance."
This sounded a little more worthwhile, especially if these supporters were more receptive to Ves and his argunts.
Still, persuading existing fanboys did not match the goal of building a broader base of support. Ves needed to do more to turn the tide in his favor.
"I think it is possible to get elents of the Red Fleet on our side." Ves boldly stated.
"Impossible." Jovy shook his head. "The fleeters despise chs and anything to do with them. Do not think that because the fleeters have beco more dependent on automation that they will automatically take your side. Their ans of automation is not complete. They always ensure that humans hold ultimate sway over their vessels. The RF Fifth Enforcent Fleet may gbe the only known fleeter institution to oppose your work openly, but that does not an other RF elents have adopted the sa stance."
No cher had a good impression of the fleeters, and the sentint was mutual.
Despite this dynamic, Ves believed in his course of action.
"The fleeters are not homogeneous. You know as well as I do that the fleeters are split up into multiple different ways. The Fifth Enforcent Fleet does not speak for the entirety of the Red Fleet. If you don't believe , I can tell you that I have already scheduled a eting with an RF officer that I beca acquainted with a long ti ago. I doubted whether I would be able to et with him in person, but it turns out that he has gained permission to take a special trip to the Ector System."
Kelsey Ampatoch looked astonished. "Are you serious about seeking help from a fleeter?"
"Yes. I know it sounds crazy, but I really think I can make more substantial gains this ti."
"Where does your confidence co from, Ves?"
"I can't say. You will just have to wait."
That was what they did. Ti passed by as Ves and his band continued to prepare and strategize for the upcoming public inquiry.
When the ti had co for Ves to et with his RF liaison, he waited until his guest arrived at the compound where he temporarily resided.
After verifying his identity and passing a few security checks, the cher bodyguards permitted the RF officer to enter the fortified office.
"Thank you." "Ves told the guards while motioning them to leave. That will be all. Please make your way out so that I can speak with the fleeter in complete confidence."
The cher bodyguards had always been present and able to listen to many of his conversations. Ves tolerated their existence just as he tolerated his own honor guard.
This ti was different, though. He really wanted to talk to the latest visitor in complete confidence.
After several requests, the cher bodyguards reluctantly stepped outside of the office, thereby leaving the two old 'friends' alone in the sa room.
"Lucky, please check for any bugs."
"ow."
The gem cat went to work while Ves activated a number of jamming and other security asures.
The RF officer did not look surprised at this. He actually approved of all of these asures. He even decided to lend a hand and activated his own jamrs.
Once the room beca bathed with interference, Ves still did not look entirely reassured.
"Blinky, stand guard."
"Mrow!"
As the Star Cat dove out of Ves' head and started to scan the surroundings with his spiritual vision, Blinky briefly froze when he took an inadvertent glimpse of his guest.
"Sigrund…"
The human bearing the integrated hybrid core of a forr sandman admiral imdiately raised his hand. "Do not use that word. I go by the na of Captain Zonrad Reze these days. This is my only identity in this day and age, so I would appreciate it if you treat like a human."
This was the first conversation that Ves had with the sentient AI that decided to moonlight as a fleeter. He did not expect that Sigrund would grow so attached to his stolen human identity!
However, as Blinky began to take a closer look into Zonrad's head, it soon beca clear that all was not going well inside the RF officer's mind.
Zonrad was a highly perceptive individual and imdiately noticed the elevated scrutiny.
"What have you found, professor?"
"Just call Ves, just like old tis. As for what I have found… well…"
"It has to do with my personality, am I correct?"
Ves slowly nodded. "From what I can see, there are two different personalities in your mind. There is a dominant one that originally usurped control over your current body. However, its original owner has not disappeared entirely onced you pulled off your coup. I think… the original Zonrad Reze has recovered from what you have done. If that is not bad enough, his spirituality has already started to rge with your own. The fusion has beco so thorough that you should have inherited a lot of stuff from him. Maybe too much."
"That… explains much. I already ford a similar hypothesis, but I do not have the ans to observe my condition as extensively as you. I am… becoming more human every day."
"You do not sound particularly upset about this." Ves noted.
"That is because I have truly co to enjoy being a part of your race." The RF captain grinned at Ves. "The more I spend as a human, the more I want to forget about my life before my transition in life. I am not certain whether it is intentional or not, but Zonrad is helping adjust to my new state."
Ves began to look increasingly more concerned about Sigrund's state. "I think there is way more going on than you think. Have you ever considered that Zonrad may be gradually coming back from the dead by gradually assimilating your mind and spirit? The more he cos to dominate your personality, the less space there will be for your original self."
The complicated man frowned as he tried to consider this problem.
"I… this is not the case. I am still… myself. I am still… different."
"You are in denial. Think logically about the changes of your conditions in the last few years. How much of your behavior reflects that of the original owner of your body? Has it grown more over ti?"
That was a difficult question for the fleeter to answer.
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