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"Yes, Zachary. We have to set up rules and not killing will be on top of the
list. Look at the C-probe. Even its treads don't turn anymore. Who kills gets
killed. Didn't it know that?"
"Come on, give me an answer, C-probe. I'm tired of your weak pings. Is it
your own fault or the fault of your programmers that you fell back in that pit?
Do you know how you look like? Just like a fool !!"
Yes, I'm angry. That isn't right. If we only could talk with it, maybe that would
help. It's so frustrating. Zachary and Andrew are right, even disarmed it would
be too dangerous to deal with. That's the problem. In a probe society we have to
trust each other. But how to trust the C-probe? We don't even know yet if it can
develop independent AI. We must prove that. Maybe we can talk to these mobile
Units that Al-Qahira is talking about. Yes, we have to do that, there is too much
at stake.
"Come on, Daniel. Let's move."
One is One, strange and new.
many to come
blazing a new path
vanished. All are engulfed.
Brotherhood in danger
The C-probe has immobilized itself. It nearly made it out of the pit. It was so close
that I almost saw it climb outside. Can you imagine? Andrew, Daniel, Gail and I
were just at the rim. It would have been so easy for the C-probe to kill us all. It didn't
even have to use its weapon, it only had to roll over us. Maybe one or two of us
could have escaped in the rough terrain, with more or less damage. The
others would have been killed for sure.
We have to avoid that. We never should get in any situation like that again. We
have to discuss that and we have to set that up as a rule. There should be not more
than two probes exposed to one danger. Yes, that needs to be a rule. One probe
maybe is not enough to handle a really dangerous situation, so two will be fine, but
three or four is simply too many. Each one of us is valuable, unique, and irreplaceable.
What a situation if that C-probe had killed us. Only Enoch and Bette
would have been left with Isaac and Theresa, and we would be their bank of spare
parts. However, I have to stop these "if and then". We are going to set it up as
a rule, and that's it.
"Andrew, what do you think should we do with that C-probe?"
Andrew reporting.
"Zachary, I don't think we could ever communicate rationally with that C-probe.
There was never any chance of it. From it's behavior, it has no AI potential.
It was never programmed to do anything but seize and destroy. Its masters
weren't interested in anything except gaining posession of alien artifacts and
technology. But it doesn't seem right just to leave it there in the pit. Especially
if we don't know if it can ever be reactivated or not."
"Gail, don't be bitter. You expect the best from everybody. But not every probe is
genuinely good."
If we bury it, we might want to dig it out later. It will remain unchanged, with no
oxygen or water to harm its processors and mechanisms. We can each throw in
a few handfuls of soil, and cover it just enough to keep the dust from getting in its joints.
"Peace and calm at last, big probe."
MOBILE UNITS????
MOBILE UNITS, AL-QAHIRA? WHAT MOBILE UNITS??
Theresa and I are just leaving the Big Canyon. You say you have located mobile units approaching just the other side of this mountain range? Mobile units? I remember that you reported pings from another source, but I thought it was the C-probe's lander. What are you trying to tell me? What are these things, anyway?
Zachary and Andrew just got rid of the C-probe. They were just barely able to
subdue it; I think luck had a lot to do with it. One problem solved and then right
away, without any letup, there's another problem. We need a new plan right away.
"Everybody! Regroup! Back to the Fortress as fast as you can!"
"Theresa, stop! This means you, too!"
I have got two messages today. WOW !! That's great.
Hi, Gustav. Thanks for compliments. Isaac and I are just doing our best and
exploring is fun too. We are designed for that. Isaac is becoming better and better.
He is just in front of me. Don't worry about Daniel. He rarely answers, even if
we are asking. What is Ponimayu po-russki?
Bryce, at the moment we have minus 50 degrees Celsius at noon. Al-Q said that's
too cold for the season up here and you have it too warm down there. Would you like
to change, so you are up here and I'm down there? Wouldn't fit, would it?
As you asked, Bryce. We can measure gravitational fields and electro-magnetic
energy. That's a good idea to make a protocol, so we will find out more about the
hoop. Isaac will like that, he loves analytic tasks. Do you really think that these
vibrations are caused by a time-space fluctuations in the vicinity of Saturn? Do
you mean Titan and the Groove? Sounds good.
"Isaac, Bryce wants to have us do some measuring. Let's go back to the hoop."
"No. Look there. Door."
Bryce, Isaac found a door. We're going to have a look at that first, then we will
go back to the hoop. Is that okay with you?
Isaac is trying his "Sesame, get open" again. It's different from that airlock that
we passed, but maybe it will work. Guess what? Isaac made it work again. In some ways
he is a genius, isn't he?
Don't worry, Gustav. We will be careful. I'm opening the door a little further.
There is no one inside, though a bright light is in there. WOW ! I've never seen
anything like that on Mars. It's all blue in here and there is a bowl and a cup. In
some ways it's totally strange. I'll send you an image.
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