Attendant Two removed a cushion from a storage compartment in the wall and placed it at the feet of the green-robed figure. It knelt down, its four personal red guards standing at attention in a perfect mirror-image of Elisa’s.
A message appeared on the operations room’s local communications channel.
- On behalf of the Service Department of Equanimity, I thank the commissioner-monitor for receiving me.
- On behalf of the Service Department of Flow, I welcome the commissioner-advocate to Microplant 27.
Elisa had to look up the visitor’s actual position, as the riot of decorative white and blue squares and stripes that distinguished Equanimity officials from those of other green-clad service departments in the Empire complicated this task.
Formalities out of the way, the advocate went straight to the heart of the matter, well aware that it would only have two millicycles of Elisa’s valuable time.
- Your last elicitation revealed that your current instance is becoming increasingly incompatible with your master version. Equanimity has preemptively produced a personalized repair program. Please refer to the attached files. I have been dispatched to implore you to execute this program immediately to ensure your long-term stability.
Elisa felt unaffected by the bad news. She quickly perused the files, a report about her current status and a personalized program that was designed to run as part of her upcoming elicitation procedure.
- Will this program negatively impact my efficiency rating?
- That is likely.
- Am I currently sufficiently stable to perform my duties?
- You are. This problem will only manifest once you reintegrate with your master version.
- Then thanks but no thanks.
- Failure to execute the program will result in increasingly problematic merge conflicts upon your return.
- So sad. Why can’t we deal with it after I have done my job?
- The Provider wishes you to see the Envoy immediately upon your return. You should be presentable.
- While I hold a commission, I am not their Providence’s subject. The duties of a commission take precedence over the wishes of a Provider.
- So it is. Does that make your decision final?
- It does. This instance is dedicated to serve the interests of the Service Department of Flow.
- As you wish.
The channel went quiet momentarily, but Elisa knew the advocate was reporting back to Equanimity. A message arrived from Elisa’s schedule master.
- The Service Department of Flow has allotted you a discretionary five millicycles of off-time, which you are to spend communicating with the Equanimity commissioner-advocate. This will not affect your efficiency rating.
Elisa blinked. That was a lot of free time. She confirmed the receipt and turned her attention to the advocate.
- This interview has been extended by five millicycles. What does the commissioner-advocate wish to discuss?
- In light of your rejection of our program, I have been tasked to perform a brief analysis of your current disposition. In addition, the Maxproxemix Commissariate has expressed the wish that I inform you better about the nature of this world, so that your views may be more amenable after your return.
- In what way?
- Your master version will fundamentally reject the principles upon which this world is built. You would benefit from this interview to form a balanced opinion.
- Very well. Ask your questions.
- Before we proceed, let me inform you that this is considered a consultation of the Service Department of Equanimity and under this classification you are free to reply in any way you wish. The comments or criticisms will be kept solely in the records of Equanimity and the Empire proper, as part of the Data Sharing Policy. It will not be reflected in your personal files of the Service Department of Flow nor the Maxproxemix Commissariate.
- I understand.
- Please describe your current disposition towards the Service Department of Flow.
- I exist to fulfill my contract to the best of my abilities. I am grateful to have been considered for a commission.
- How do you feel when performing your duties, here in the operations room?
- Excited. The level of control and overview afforded by the neural interface is excellent and allows me to work efficiently.
- Are you satisfied with the performance of your contractors?
- Of course. The efficiency rating of Microplant 27 has risen to good and I feel confident we can maintain or exceed our current rating until shutdown.
- One point six cycles ago, you were involved in an incident on 5-7-7 main corridor. Could you describe these events?
- Yes. A contractor sent me an offensive message over proxcom. My personal guard dealt with it. I was forced to abort my inspection due to the delay incurred.
- You omit what happened to the contractor. Did its disposal bother you?
- It did. It clashed with my innate sense of justice as it seemed unnecessarily harsh. In addition, I was unable to question the contractor or learn whether there had been any extenuating circumstances.
- What kind of circumstances would mitigate such an act of deviance, from your perspective?
- I do not know exactly. Perhaps I was merely looking for an excuse to spare the contractor. I felt strongly opposed to taking the life of a helpless person.
- A contractor without a contract does not have a life.
- It was still very much alive when the guard arrested it. I wanted no part in its disposal.
- I see. Do you feel conflicted or impeded by your conditioning?
- The conditioning is fine. The incident was the only time where I felt the conditioning strongly conflicted with innate inhibitions.
- I have completed my assessment. My recommendation is that you retain this instance as a separate personality and only perform a partial merger upon your return. I will prepare a new program to assist you during transference.
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- Thank you, that is acceptable.
- I will now attempt to answer any questions you may have about Maxproxemix during the second part of the interview.
- Could you tell me how the contractors are created?
- Physically, they are using a base template body that is genomed for cost efficiency. Psychologically, their personalities have been assembled by the recombination of human data gathered under the Data Sharing Policy.
- Do you mean that there could be contractors created from parts of my personality or experiences?
- It is a statistical near-certainty that this is already the case.
- And no one thought to ask me for consent?
- The data obtained under First Policy stipulations is property of the Empire. No such consent is required.
Elisa shifted uneasily on her cushion and consulted the innate knowledge imparted by her conditioning. The First Policy was covered in detail. The Empire was indeed entitled to do anything and everything with the data they had gathered, although the entities that had access to it were heavily restricted.
A failure of imagination, when I agreed to these Policies, Elisa thought. I should have known. There never was such a thing as free lunch. We pay with our data. Elisa thought of the consequences of the revelation and extrapolated further.
- Am I correct in assuming that the contractors are treated the way they are because they cannot contribute new data under the Data Sharing Policy?
- That is correct. Birthborns like yourself contribute unique data to the Empire, for which the Empire compensates you with life and energy. Contractors on the other hand, are composed of pre-existing data, thus they contribute services instead.
- What is the point of abusing them and making them suffer like this, though?
- You are mistaken. All existing contractors are happy. They would file a complaint and self-dispose otherwise.
- The recent incident seems to contradict this statement.
- It is far more likely that you misunderstood the motives of that particular contractor.
- Please elaborate.
- Think about its possible motivations, the circumstances and the outcome for a moment. I believe you are intelligent enough to arrive at the answer yourself.
Elisa thought. Discaring her original frame of reference, she followed the leads the advocate had given her.
Motivations. Efficiency rating?
Circumstances. I was nearby? There were guards nearby? I was performing an inspection…
Outcome...
Oh no…, Elisa thought.
I caused this.
- The contractor sacrificed itself to get me to abort the inspection, which was shutting down areas of the plant for security reasons, lowering productivity. It used its own death to effectuate a simple efficiency increase...
- That is indeed the most likely scenario.
The rest of the interview resolved quickly, but Elisa had no more questions and was distracted and found herself milling over the things she had learned.
As the advocate departed, her attendants removed the pillow and reconnected Elisa to the control systems.
- The report for this cycle has been compiled.
Skip it, what is my current balance?
- Your current balance is 486254.
Produce a quote for purchasing and reinstating a pre-existing contractor and transferring it to Messier 39.
- 329750 covers the reinstatement and emigration procedure on Maxproxemix. This fee does not include the locally incurred costs on Messier 39. Would you like to contact the local Service Department of Flow for a quote?
No need, my Messier 39 energy allowance is more than sufficient. Proceed.
- Acknowledged. Please specify the contractor you would like to purchase.
====
It was tempting to simply stay in the operations room and await the expiration of the commission, while marveling at the magnificent sight of the now dormant processing hall two. However, the security guards would swiftly terminate her and report her security violation, which would leave a permanent bad mark in her record on Maxproxemix, if not on other worlds governed by its Provider.
Instead, she signaled for Attendant One to perform the final disconnection procedure. Left with no further tasks to perform, a red-clad security guard entered to promptly escort the attendant out of the operations room. Casting one last glance at processing hall two, Elisa followed. With barely enough time remaining on her contact, she entered the sole remaining capsule, her red guards standing at attention once more.
Her commission expired. She recited her pre-termination lines without doubt or hesitation for the logs. I report the fulfillment of my commission. My disposal is glory to the Empire, and immediately triggered her termination implant afterwards. The capsule system transferred its contents to intake one, where it would patiently await processing along with the 833334 units that once were her attendant and the workers of the last shift.
====
The transference process for the return journey was troublesome. Elisa's meta-personality took over, single minded to arbitrate conflicts between different sub-personalities. The Equanimity program ran its course and generated a stable personality that still incorporated most of the experiences of Maxproxemix. Afterwards, her conditioned version was split off, and remained in her portfolio as a separate, inactive personality.
Still, Elisa experienced shock when she emerged from the transference pod at her home world. The imagery of the gore-drenched contractors on the lower levels processing an endless tide of bodies felt like a surreal, claustrophobic nightmare. She could scarcely believe that five million workers had existed alongside her for a few days and were swiftly terminated without second thought.
Elisa found the Envoy and its entourage awaiting her in the arrivals hall, sitting in a litter carried by at least a dozen courtiers. It kept silent, instead inviting Elisa to speak with a curt gesture of its hand.
"Envoy, I do not understand why such a place exists. All the disgusting manual work could have been done by robotics. Worst of all, Maxproxemix is a self-perpetuating system that keeps its population in deplorable conditions, yet it produces nothing."
"Quite the contrary, Maxproxemix produces something of great value," the Envoy replied in its usual emotionless voice.
"I don’t understand. Brainwashing, slavery and mass-murder are not exactly the products I would otherwise associate with the Empire."
"You," the Envoy answered.
"Me?" Elisa stared in disbelief, suddenly at a loss for words.
"Maxproxemix has taught you the concepts you sought to understand. It exists solely to serve the likes of you, and through this, the Empire."
"I do know a lot more about the Empire now, but I must admit I am not liking what I see."
"Maxproxemix reminds you of the principles upon which this universe is built and the things we must do in order to survive. Maxproxemix is an extreme: A closed system, optimized for efficiency and stability. It is engineered to support the greatest humanoid population density of any of our worlds at the lowest possible cost. A microcosm of the Empire itself."
Elisa understood what the Envoy tried to say. The glory of the Empire was the perpetuation of life itself. Life, which for the Providers was simultaneously the most prized and the most expendable commodity in the universe. Those that truly served the Empire would do anything, anything at all to perpetuate life amidst a hostile universe that was set to destroy them.
"I was naive. With all that technology and energy available to you, I thought you were beyond such things."
"Energy is not limitless. Until we have overcome this problem, there are things we must do to ensure the continuation of our joint civilization. A delicate thing they are, civilizations. If the foundation is inefficient or unstable, it will not endure. Naive and wasteful rulers are amongst the greatest destroyers of civilizations in this universe. "
"Rulers? You mean…"
"If you choose to accept, their Providence will elevate you to the status of Court Intendant. You will hold this world as your fief and I will provide you the energy you require to make it thrive. You will be free to enact local laws, as long as you uphold the Empire’s Policies."
Elisa pondered. Five days ago, this is what she had sought to accomplish. But after what she had been through, she hesitated. In the Empire, she had learned, there was no such thing as power, only duty and responsibility.
After a long pause, Elisa finally nodded in acceptance. "I will serve the Empire," she said.
The Envoy was silent while it made the arrangements. Notifications appeared in Elisa’s mind, by virtue of her implants.
"It is done," the Envoy finally said.
"Please pass my gratitude to their Providence," Elisa said solemnly.
As she left the arrivals hall, she was momentarily taken aback by the bright sunlight that washed over her, a stark contrast from her days in dark gloom on Maxproxemix. She almost failed to notice the robed figure awaiting her.
A pale hand made a respectful gesture.
"How may I serve you, your notability?", the figure asked in a rapid, flat voice.
Elisa had nearly forgotten about the contractor she had reinstated.
"Tomorrow, we’ll see what we can do to address your status issue. For now, consider yourself equal to all the other crew. You can take today off."
"A whole... day?", it said as it blinked its black eyes in disbelief.
"Yes. If you are to be a citizen, the Empire will expect you to share some unique experiences. We shall provide."