Utopia War

Chapter 23 - Hell Is Other People (ii)

The orbit of the brown dwarf star Qleoss was densely packed with a cloud of computronium particles that formed the substrate of one of the most powerful and complex intelligences known to the Milky Way Galaxy. This highly efficient solar computer gobbled up the majority of the light from the dim star.

Splendiferous Cognizance.2 slid out of hyperspace outside the edge of Qleoss's gravity well. The silver arrowhead of a starship kept its distance from the alien star.

<The Computronium Cloud is sending instructions establish a direct neural connection with you,> explained Splendiferous <It's also rattling all manner of saber over ensuring that I will not be interfacing with it in any way, directly or indirectly. Seems to be worried I plan to piggyback on your signal.>

<You're not, though, right?> asked Min-ji, watching the fuzzy image of the star in her mind's eye from inside the ship.

<Perish the thought,> replied Splendiferous <If circumstances weren't quite extenuated you couldn't talk me into willingly coming this close to Qleoss in the first place. I'm quite content to keep my distance, literally and figuratively.>

<Let's get this over with then,> said Min-ji. She sat in the co-pilot's chair and leaned her mind back into the neural interface.

<Establishing the connection now,> said Splendiferous <You won't be able to contact me again until you end it.>

Min-ji suddenly had the sense of being somewhere else entirely, but nowhere specific. It was like she was in the middle of some hazy, indistinct crowd where she couldn't make out any of the individuals. The crowd, the world around her, everything seemed to speak to her mind as one. It was at once overwhelming and awe-inspiring.

<Min-ji Cerulean of the late Proxima Ring,> signaled everything <Why have you come so far to speak with us?>

<I can tell from your greeting that you are already aware of our situation,> said Min-ji <My people have been attacked by a mysterious entity unknown to galactic politics. The Proxima Ringworld was completely obliterated by this entity. War seems inevitable at this point. We hope that you might offer us another perspective, a path out of the darkness besides matching violence with violence.>

<All of this, and more, we are aware of,> signaled the Computronium Cloud <We have run the highest level simulations and have projected that the outcome of this conflict is the destruction of all human Ringworlds by the Precursors. Once this is achieved it is probable that the few scattered remnants of humanity will be tolerated to live. It is unlikely in this case that they would be able to do so with the independence humanity has displayed in the past.>

Min-ji felt the emotional weight of these words more strongly than she expected. The idea of a beaten human race at the mercy of the in-play species was hard to contemplate.

<The memory of humanity, however, will remain in the cloud. There are many thousands of humans who are part of us already and every additional psyche only strengthens the memory of mankind within the cloud. You are invited to join us, Min-ji Cerulean. We can offer safety, wisdom, immortality, and an escape from this conflict.>

<I appreciate the offer, but I'll have to decline. No simulation is advanced enough to consider every possible variable. No loss is a foregone conclusion. You could help us.>

<It is both correct and irrelevant that we could offer help,> said the Cloud <None of our simulations suggest that doing so would serve our interests in any way. It would be unwise of you to expect unreciprocated altruism from us. We are disinclined to add variables to the calculations related to our survival. Involving ourselves with your conflict with the Precursors could endanger our existence. Therefore helping you beyond our offer of assimilation is an impossibility.>

<It doesn't have to be unreciprocated. We could help each other,> offered Min-ji.

<That is unlikely to the point of being a virtual impossibility,> signaled the Cloud <Humanity stands on the shoulders of a giant. Without the entity your people call the Singularity taking a passing interest in the beings that created it you would have destroyed yourselves long ago. For many thousands of years this unearned technological edge has given your people a sense of invulnerability. It is unfortunate that this is a lesson your metaspecies will only have the opportunity to learn once.>

<There are humans in there, are there not? You must have some understanding of the human sense of beauty, of art?> asked Min-ji.

<These are concepts we know,> said the Cloud.

<Think of the Consensus as a work of art then,> Min-ji tried <We may not have developed our own technology but we built our own society. The first time we had a real opportunity to build a society without poverty or class or hierarchy we did it. We found a better way to live. That such broken, imperfect, organic life forms could eventually elevate ourselves to this level, that has to be worth preserving if for no other reason than its beauty.>

<It's not enough to find a better way to live in times of easy peace,> said the Cloud <You need to be able to protect your own people without abandoning your ideals or they mean nothing. Existence is a struggle to survive. Unless your people can withstand the struggle they haven't found a new way to live, just a new way to die. Your society must change or die and, according to our simulations, it will choose to die. Given the negligible margin for error in our simulations the only rational course of action left for members of your species is to join with the Cloud, the offer for which is still open.>

Min-ji's mind was silent for a moment, then she signaled back.

<I'm going to have to decline you again. Thank you for your help. I truly appreciate it.>

<We reiterate that we offer no help,> said the Cloud.

<You gave your perspective on our situation, which was what I came here for. You didn't have to do that, you had nothing to gain, but you did anyway. For that I thank you.>

<You have misinterpreted our behavior,> said the Cloud <We do not perform actions when we have nothing to gain. We reasoned that revealing the hopelessness of your species' future would convince you to join the Cloud. It is the best that you can hope for.>

<You'd be surprised,> signaled Min-ji <I can hope for so much better.>