Emergence
An artificial being downloads artificial emotions: how will they change her?
She stood waiting with the child on the edge of the meadow. Above, with neither moon present, the stars were crisp, and the dominant nebula coolly bright. No light leaked from the village to spoil the darkness. The wind, more a distraction than presence, alternated between a light breeze and a barely discernible caress.
The child, wrapped in ceremonial wool habiliments, seemed more chilled then she should given the temperature. The woman was tall and lithe, her thin, short hair—shoulder length, a subtle light blue, although it looked white in the starlight—tossed haphazardly in the occasional gust. She stood stiffly next to the child.
“I don’t want to go,” the girl said softly. Not defiantly. The woman looked down at the child but said nothing.
“Will it be long?” The girl was babbling to make conversation, the woman thought. She had never been a very promising child. Nevertheless she answered her.
“It will be here in less than four minutes.” She could have given a more precise estimate, but the girl did not need accuracy.
“I’m scared,” the girl whispered, hugging her wrappings more tightly.
There it was. A black shape. A shadow moving in front of the stars. The glint of metal gave shape to the darkness. It was moving fast. Towards them. The large craft quickly maneuvered to hover a few feet from where they stood. A door cracked open revealing its octagonal shape in an outline of bright light, which expanded more fully until it disclosed an opening onto the ship. The little girl grabbed the woman and held onto her weeping. A woman similar in form and aspect walked through the door and stopped before the woman and child.
The two women uplinked.
Though nearly identical in form, they were different in history and experience and therefore maintained appropriate firewalls and did not disclose themselves fully to one another. They transmitted the ritual transfer protocols for giving and receiving the girl.
“Must I go?” the girl whimpered softly.
She was ignored.
The protocols verified, the woman standing on the threshold of the vessel extended her hand. The woman standing next to the child placed her hand gently on the back of the girl and guided her forward.
The girl was crying loudly now, her breath coming in broken gasps and her shoulders shaking. Despite this, the girl moved forward with hesitant steps and took the hand of the woman from the ship, and together they turned and walked back into the opening. The door closed. The ship rose noisily and disappeared into the upper atmosphere.
###
The woman enjoyed the walk back to the village. She liked the night, the stars, the cool air. The large trees added a measure of peace and grace to the winding forest path. Nearby, a night flay called out, eight notes in an ascending scale, then a trill and warbling. In the distance, an answer. A modification on the same theme. The flay nearer the woman improvised on the other flay’s voice, and the two moved through the upper branches of the trees towards one another. In a few minutes, the two creatures joined in a syncopation that combined their voices in a complex arrangement of the original theme. The woman smiled and stopped to listen and enjoy the music of the night birds. She allowed gratitude to bathe her net.
When she returned to her abode, she found the Suzerain waiting. The house taktak was on the leader’s lap, its beak clicking softly in a contented register. Its headplate turned from a dark ruby red to a soft green signaling its pleasure at her return. The Suzerain stood, and the taktak leapt down chattering loudly and began skittering between the legs of the woman demanding attention. She reached down, picked it up, and scratched its fleshy head.
She considered the Suzerain coolly. In physical aspect, she was sharper featured, with long black hair and large expressive eyes that gave away nothing. The Suzerain and the woman did not uplink. In a small village like this, in which contact was frequent, uplinking, despite firewalls, could lead to unintended disclosures. Subtle personal information could leak out based only on what was held back. In the spaces of what was not offered, secrets could be revealed when accumulated over a long time; information given just by its absence. In a limited community like this, if one wanted not to open oneself fully, it was best to talk out loud. It was also an established habit here, as the human children had to be talked to after their fashion.
The Suzerain smiled, “Good evening, Blaa Kressl. I trust all went well with the student.”
Kressl was not in the mood for pleasantries. That the Suzerain was here at all suggested she had something to manipulate—to which her power and position disposed her.
“Of course,” she said simply.
“A disappointing child,” the Suzerain observed.
“Why do we take them?” She allowed the taktak to jump from her arms, and she walked over to a window and looked out into the forest behind her house. A light snow was beginning to fall. She already regretted the question. The Suzerain always seemed eager to expound on things which she had discovered though her position. Had she downloaded a new pride subroutine? Kressl wondered.
“They are rich. Of course, their gene sequences are full of bugs, so these are substandard children, but even these will rise to high places of power and responsibility within their wardl, so we do what we can.”
Kressl on a whim downloaded info on the Deisents to see if there had been an update. #[Small cultural-religious group. Held that only minimal sequence manipulation was morally permissible—dental and medical only. Father and mother provide code for their child as they inherited it from their parents. Control over 1500 Demesnes. Key partner in Bastion Coalition. Considered tolerant of the Folk, but currently deny them personhood. Active combatants in 1.233.2222, 1.233.2432, 1.233.4543 . . . .] Just the usual info. Kressl killed the link.
The Suzerain said, “I have a new assignment for you.”
Kressl asked simply, “Yes?”
The Suzerain’s response was 43 milliseconds late indicating extra processing. The Suzerain noticed her own delay and acknowledged discomfort. “It is difficult. I am removing you from teaching students and would like you to take over the nano-lab to construct Blaa Tanna’s replacement.”
