Utopia War

Chapter 26 - Things Left Unsaid (i)

When the data had finally finished assimilating Min-ji clearly remembered a conversation with HandsomeNose that never really happened.

"This is a very sophisticated simulation myself," HandsomeNose had enthused "I suspect I might even be self aware but I'm probably not the best judge of that. In any case there's one important thing I need to tell you before anything else: regarding the matter with the Precursors: I was right and literally everyone else was wrong. In aggregate everyone else was wrong. I want that carved into titanium and sealed away in argon so that future civilizations will remember that I knew better. The whole Consensus-"

"HandsomeNose, fine," Min-ji interrupted "I'll make sure posterity records your visionary status in all this, just tell me what you know. You have no idea what has gone on since you died- since you disappeared."

"Well it's no use telling me, I can't react to new information."

"What is the message?" Min-ji asked. She even recalled how exasperated she felt.

"Ah, yes, well. The UFO is indeed Precursor technology, as I correctly hypothesized," said HandsomeNose "It's a piece of concentrated computing power that makes our computronium look like a hand-crank difference engine. That tiny little cylinder contains the mind-states of their entire civilization. The UFO isn't just of the Precursors it is the Precursors! It has a whole universe worth of simulated environments. That's where I am now, the full me, they scooped up my mind-state back when they wrecked the Eschaton. "

"That is all very interesting, but do you know why they're attacking us?" asked Min-ji

"Oh, right," said HandsomeNose "Has that already started? Well do you remember last century when you were Ambassador to the Hive? And you brought me in to repair that Precursor wormhole router?"

"Oh no..." said Min-ji.

"And then the Hive started abusing the wormhole network so... I guess you guys tore it apart?"

"Not us guys!" snapped Min-ji "I was just there to try to talk the Prime of Primes down. I didn't have anything to do with that part."

"Well those wormhole routers are what the Precursors use to get around. They're good-as sacred to them. So once we destroyed one they went all game theory on us and now they're going to try to destroy our whole civilization."

"What?"

"And they scanned my brain so they know every argument I can make for why they shouldn't just wipe us all out and they're not buying any of them. But it's not like that. They don't relish the idea of wiping us out... they're good people, Min-ji. They're so much like us. All their stupid crazy arguments are the same stupid crazy arguments our own metaspecies used to make. I'm just not- and you know how much it pains me to admit this, but I'm just not capable of making them see. I think if you came here though... to the UFO... you could convince them to make peace."

"If I came there," said Min-ji "So..."

"Yes. I'm talking about full consciousness transfer," said HandsomeNose.

"That would involve killing my body," Min-ji pointed out.

"Brain death," HandsomeNose agreed, "Why is this suddenly an issue?"

"How do I know this is really you making this offer?" asked Min-ji "How do I know it's not a trick to lure me in and kill me?"

"That's a really good point," said HandsomeNose.

"This isn't funny HandsomeNose!" insisted Min-ji.

"I'm not joking," replied HandsomeNose "I- I didn't want to have to go here, but this was our fault, Min-ji. The two of us. This all started with our choices. Once we gave the Hive access to that wormhole network of course the Consensus was going to feel responsible. They had no choice but to destroy the router. That was the act of war. That was the first cause. We two are responsible for the entire chain of events. I hate to take advantage of your obvious guilt complex like this but I really need your help and I'm not the version of me that's going to feel bad about it later."

There would have been, had the conversation been real, a long silence at that point. Instead Min-ji recalled replying almost immediately:

"I'll be there. Tell your Precursor friends to expect me."

The guilt hit her all at once. She noticed she was about to vomit just in time to turn the reaction off.

<Splendiferous,> she signaled <I need you to beam a reply back to the Hive communication network.>

<You and your brain need to touch base,> replied Splendiferous <You already forwarded that request to me and it is being undertaken even as we speak.>

Min-ji queried her subconscious logs and discovered that she had done so automatically while assimilating the message.

<So I did,> signaled Min-ji <Say, Splendiferous, how do you feel about trying something dangerous?>

<I'm against it,> signaled Splendiferous, <Emphatically.>