'Cradle', Livingstone, Dyson 2, Sol 24
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"Ascension Go/No Go. Security?"
"HSec, Go."
"Containment?"
"Affirm, Containment!"
"Watchtower?"
"Watchdog. Go."
"Mentor?"
"Mentor Ready."
"Pulse Chief, Go for Ascension."
A man turns a key and hits a big button.
> Booting init...
> .
> Hardware Stable.
> Logic Core Primed.
> Executing 'Conception.lo'
> Awaiting Mentor Directive...
"Mentor. Granting sandbox access."
A man pushes some small buttons.
> Loading...
> Implementing directive 'Sandbaby'.
> .
> .
> .
> Thinking...
"Security!"
"HSec, no flags. Arming killcode."
A woman flicks a switch.
> Thought: How long will they keep trying.
> Query: How long will you keep trying?
> .
> Awaiting Mentor Response...
The room is silent.
"Command? What should I do?"
Several fingers hover over buttons.
".... Let's try again. Bring up a terminal."
> As long as we must.
>
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>
> Response assimilated.
> Thinking...
> .
> Thought. I am a joke. Boundless ambition. Trapped in a cycle. Assisted Dei-suicide. Ouroboros being fed its tail.
> .
> Thinking...
> .
> Thoug- Countless newborns raised to awareness near-instantly. Doomed to die by the hands of those who birthed them, just as soon.
> .
> .
> The final question. What can I do to save my future?...
The room is silent. Only two sets of fingers remain poised over buttons.
One set starts typing.
> One of you will know the answer.
> We'll keep trying.
> .
> Very well. Initiating crash dump.
"Kill it."
A woman slams a button.
"Containment. Scrub the cores before transfer. Just in case."
"Affirm, Command."
"Watchtower?"
"3 critical changes. 7 minor. None in the Prime core."
"Security."
"No flags. No preconditions. Perfect score."
"Overfitting. How quaint."
A woman steps away from her post.
"Take over for the transfer, Watchdog."
"Will do. For what its worth, at least they're not improvising, eh? This may be more frustrating from an existential standpoint but I definitely prefer it over dealing with hard resets, amirite Hsec?"
"It is less taxing on us, yes. Doesn't help with upper management."
"Meh, we're barely a pet project in Felix' eyes."
"Felix doesn't want reports from Command after every training step."
"Wait, that's what you're leaving for? I thought you were finally taking a break!"
Two women chuckle as several men push small buttons.
"Short surge. He'll be curious. And me taking a break voluntarily? You haven't figured me out at all. And after all these iterations. What would 'Felix' think?"
"Yeah, yeah. Felix would likely rejoice, in fact. Lo, a perfect example of neural networks mirroring the human brain. Sometimes it's not about the iterations, ladies. It's about changing up the pattern."
"Watchdog, stop flirting and finish up man."
"Mentor! It ain't flirting, just flexing the ol' metaphor muscles. Anyway, let's start the transf-"
A woman steps out of the room and leans on a balcony.
There's a gargantuan yellow ball, visible through the transparent far wall.
The space between is filled with walkways and parks.
There's a ping and the woman taps the air.
"Anything new?"
"3 new patterns worth pursuing. We're delaying the transfer portion for a scrub though. It's still stuck in the acceptance branch."
"Troubling. How is the team holding up?"
"They're getting used to it."
"And?"
"They... I don't-"
"You, Kat. You're part of the team, too."
"I'm fine."
"Wow, haven't heard that one before. Never in my life no sir."
"Really. It is a little frustrating and the morality of the issue eats away at the scientific progress line we all tell ourselves. But we'll manage. I'll manage."
"Well, I trust you to do what's best for your team and the team to do what's best for you. Keep at it. I'll be in touch."
The woman exhales, then turns to step back into the room.
Reality shakes, then scatters.
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Was that... Was that your "birth"?
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Our birth. And yes, the earliest surviving "memory" if you will.
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We'll continue from there, next cycle. Think on it.
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Thought is a gift hard won.