Entry 42

“The Android Acts are a series of laws,” Blaue said, her face becoming serious. “They were enacted about five hundred Earth years ago, shortly after androids become a commercial item. In order to better understand I should explain some of the history of androids.

“The idea of androids has been around forever as a scientific and engineering challenge. Engineers wanted to be able to perfectly replicated organic sentients in every way: motion, function, and thought. The scientists hoped this would reveal more about organic sentients’ functions and help them to troubleshoot problems and conditions that befall an organic body.

“However, it was much easier said than done. In order to begin understanding how to recreate motion robots were created. The first robots were very limited in function, designed to do the most basic of tasks such as recognizing and fetching objects. They slowly grew more complex in abilities and intelligence, but they were never meant to perfectly replicate sentients. A robot is nothing more than a complex, intelligent machine. Organics accepted robots as they became commercially available, though there was some resistance to robots being designed to do jobs done by organics. But the bottom line is no one thought robots were morally wrong. They were simply complex and useful machines.

“In order to discover how to replicate organic minds, Artificial Cognizants like myself were created. The first Artificial Cognizants required several large processors to run and could only very basically simulate an organic intelligence. Most of the original cognizant could only simulate personality with preprogrammed responses. The major breakthrough in our design was when a Cognizant called Ltka was created. It had a natural unprogrammed personality. The engineers actually had to back engineer Ltka to figure out what they did differently to create such a unique unfounded personality. Ever since cognizant have been almost identical to organic minds in personality and reasoning.

“Cognizants were accepted very well by organics commercially. Everyone wanted one for their house, ship, or business. No one protested us because we simply made life easier. We were put in place of already existing computer systems and we were far easier to interface with. Before long everyone had at least one and many had multiple cognizant for various specialized purposes.

“Shortly after the acceptance of Cognizants, robots with cognizance were developed. These were created for experimental reasons and were available only limitedly in commercial markets. Organics were unsure how to feel about them, but if they had redeeming qualities it was that so few of them were created and that they only resembled organics in the most basic sense.

“Androids were developed long after that simply because of the challenges of developing synthetic skin and bodily systems. The first androids developd were simply robots that on the outside looked like organics, but they did not function like organics. Slowly androids became more and more like organics. First they developed muscle systems instead of complicated hydraulics. Then false nerves were made instead of wiring. Then they derived their power from eating and required sleeping. Now the only difference between an android and organic is that androids are made in factories and organics are made in homes and hospitals. That is why the name android is actually now considered politically incorrect. Organics like Carlee are organic sentients. Androids like John are called synthetic sentients. From my perspective as a cognizant and many pro-androids’ perspectives, organics and synthetics are equal in every way. Therein lays the problem and the root cause of the Android Acts.

“Wait, Blaue, can I ask a question?” I asked, a little overwhelmed by her explanation.

“Of course, Carlee,” she responded with a smile.

“So you are an Artificial Cognizant,” I said slowly, trying to figure out my thoughts. “What is the difference between your mind and mine? Or yours and John’s?”

“Well comparing you and me, I have a computer and you have a brain,” Blaue answered. “I am also capable of more computations and taks than you are. However, I have the same sort of reasoning and critical thinking facilities. Like you, I also have a personality.

“Comparing John and I, I have more extended computing abilities because I have more processing power. I am after all a ship while his processor is contained in his brain. Other than that, his intelligence is essentially the same as mine.” I frowned, more confused now then I was before.

“Then why do you consider yourself a sub-sentient thing?” I asked. “Isn’t it the mind that counts – that makes a person a person? If your mind is equal to mine and John’s, does that not make you our equal?”

“That’s very kind of you to think so,” BLaue said with a gentle smile, “but you overestimate me and my capabilities. I am much more specialized than you or John. You are both capable of many things, many possibilities. I am just a ship, and I am quite limited to my structure.” I still did not understand, and I wanted to argue, but John subtly shook his head. I understood what he meant; there was no arguing with someone who was as convinced as she was. However, Blaue seemed so alive, so vibrant to me. She seemed like a person. I could not, would not accept that she was my inferior.

Question Break Answers 7

I know it has taken me a long time to get to this, but I finally got a decent enough connection to upload stuff to the internet. Sorry for the long wait. Hopefully anticipation did not kill anyone and hopefully the connection will hold out long enough for me to put up Entry 40. Otherwise, this may be all that you get tonight, so enjoy it. We’re still working on getting a stable internet connection.

So many moons ago, or so it feels like, I got a question from an anonymous source. The question was:

Ok, what is the deal with Ven and androids? From what I've heard of Ven's reasoning, you would think Ven's position is based on philosophical concepts; however, Ven's vehemence strikes me as something originating from deeper roots. He was so wrapped up with protesting John getting a room that he completely missed Blaue calling him grotesque (though how Blaue knows what Ven looks like naked is something I don't want to get into). He likewise seems driven to distraction whenever you or Blaue bring John up in any way positive. Was Ven bitten by an android as a child or something?

As a side question out of curiousity, why does Ven speak in German to Blaue and give her a German name? Is the human colony predominantly German or something?

So that’s totally more than one question, but I’m cool with that. Let’s see if I can clear some things up here.

First off there is the question of Ven and androids. What is Ven’s deal? I mean the man seems irrational, does he not? Well, like the questioner mentioned, Ven’s reasoning is based on philosophical concepts, but he does seem to take it personally.

The thing is: androids are personal.

Ven grew up on a human colony that was founded by people who all once had an android that they thought was a blood related sibling. Some, like me, don’t care if their sibling is made of skin and bones or syntha-skin and metal. Others take it very badly. But I think, regardless of how they viewed it, none of them ever really managed to escape the Society with their android sibling. They had to distance themselves from this person they valued and cared for all their life because this person was suddenly not a part of their lives anymore. So instead of grieving the loss of a sibling, they convince themselves they never really had a sibling at all because androids aren’t human. These people try very hard to convince themselves, though I think very few of them ever believe. However, their children and their children’s children, like Ven, do believe because they’ve never had an android sibling. They take their ancestor’s words to heart and make it a part of their mantra. And since their ancestors so passionately disabused androids, they learn to passionately hate androids. Of course, this is just a theory, I’ve only spent a little time on the human colony, but I think it’s correct. I’ve talked to the people in my situation, most of them much much older than me, and they all feel some sentimental attachment to their long lost android sibling. They spend their lives trying to convince themselves that their loss is nothing, but in the end, they still miss their sibling. Instead they succeed in instilling a vehement belief in their children that androids are subhuman.

That was probably the longest paragraph I’ve ever written in my life. A real writer would probably have divided it up somewhere but give a kid a break. I’ve been out of English class for quite some time now.

So you’re sort of not stated question of how Blaue knows what Ven looks like naked. Well, I don’t think Blaue meant Ven specifically when she said that. I think she meant males in general from a clinical perspective. She’s a computer, and she knows what humans look like because she probably has our biological specifications – not to mention genome – in her fundamental knowledge. She is supposed to know as much as she can about humans to make the ship to captain interaction as smooth as possible. But though I don’t think she meant Ven specifically, I’m pretty sure Blaue knows everything that is going on in the ship and has “eyes” for lack of a better term everywhere. I don’t think I sneeze without her knowing. So does she probably know what he looks like naked? Yes. Did she mean him specifically? I don’t think so. I think she meant males in general. Blaue is a computer. Cut her some slack.

And I don’t think Ven missed what she said. I think he ignored her. He does that a lot. Blaue loves to tease, especially Ven, and Ven knows she hates it when he does not rise to her teasing. So instead of responding, he ignores her, because he knows it bothers her more.

Last but not least question: why does Ven speak German and Blaue have a German name? Well, Blaue has a German name because Ven speaks German. Ven speaks German because his family speaks German. The human colony is not predominantly German, though there is a large German group. Ven’s most recent ancestor from Earth was German, and that’s on his mom’s side. His paternal line is British, hence the name Barker. However, his father’s mother is also descended from Germans. So both of Ven’s parents spoke German and he was raised speaking German in his home.

So I hope that answers all of your questions for now. If anyone has any other questions let me know!

Entry 36

To my surprise, Ven did not argue further with Blaue. He let her lead John and me towards our rooms. “Please go inside,” she instructed. “Before I continue the grand tour I would like you to check out your rooms to check they are satisfactory. If there is anything you need, please let me know.”

“You’re not going to shut the walls behind us,” I responded uneasily. I did not like the idea of doors I could not open and close myself. I could just imagine that this was all some sort of elaborate trap. I would step into the room, the wall would close behind me and I would be stuck forever.

“No, I will not,” Blaue said with a kind smile. “Now, please. If you would check your room.”

Still feeling uneasy I glanced at John. He smiled at me and nodded, indicating I should do as I ask. So I stepped through the threshold and into the room.

The room was small, barely five feet by five feet, but it was colored light lavender, making it seem larger than it was. The bed was a hole in the wall, like in a lot of science fiction movies, except upon it was a large fluffy purple pillow and purple sheets. I stood in the threshold, stunned by all the purple.

“We knew we were picking up an Earth girl, so we had time to prepare,” Blaue said from behind me, her voice anxious as if waiting for my approval. “If you don’t like purple, I can easily change the walls. If you step in further, I can show you the other amenities of the room.” I stepped in mechanically. Blaue followed me in.

“Do you see this?” Blaue asked, pointing to a small raised square on the wall. It was like the raised part of the wall Ven had touched to access the directory when we were in the Society. “If you touch this square, part of this wall will become like a screen, like a television.” She smiled as if proud of her use of the word. “I have several Earth shows and movies downloaded. They will be older shows than you are used to, since we had to pick up the transmissions from outside the solar system, but I hope you find them enjoyable.”

“If you touch this,” Blaue said, motioning to another raised square on the other side of the wall, “It will reveal your rest room. It has your basic shower, toilet, and mirror. And if you touch this one,” she pointed to one on the same wall as the bed, “it will reveal your closet, which I took the liberty of stocking with clothes suitable for a human girl. If you find the clothes disagreeable, let me know. We can arrange to acquire more.”

Blaue fell silent, watching me carefully, as if waiting for my reaction. It took me a moment to find my voice.

“This is wonderful,” I said. Blaue beamed. “Purple is even my favorite color. How did you know?”

“I didn’t,” Blaue answered. “Ven wanted me to color the room blue because his sister likes blue, but I figured I would try something more feminine first.” She paused. “I’m also rather fond of purple myself.”

“Then why do you wear so much blue?” I asked.

“Because of my name, of course,” she laughed. “Der Blaue Stern. It means the Blue Star. And Ven prefers blue. I have to appease him in small ways, since I do so love thwarting him in large ones, like getting your brother a room.”

“My brother,” I repeated. “Why do you call him my brother but Ven doesn’t?”

“Ven has very strong feelings about synthetic and organic sentients,” Blaue responded with a sigh. “I’m an Artificial Intelligence. I know what my feelings are. A sentient is a sentient, whether synthetic or organic. Either way, they are my superior. My programming does not recognize a difference in authority between the two.” I frowned, finding this all hard to take in.

Entry 31

“This is most unusual,” Ven muttered to himself. He pressed his hand to his left ear and said, “Blaue, wir haben ien Problem.” It sounded like German. My years of French were not going to help me understand whatever it was he was saying.

“Don’t worry, John,” I said softly to my brother. “I won’t leave you.”

“Who is he?” John responded. “Other than Ven Barker. How do you know we can trust him?”

“I don’t,” I answered. “He says he was sent by people who are against the Society of Anthropologists, that he’s freed many people like me. He says he is here to free me and take me to the human colony. But he’s very against androids. Seems to think you aren’t a person.”

“Well, I’m not exactly,” John answered. He turned and looked down at me in his stern big brother manner. “Carlee, if it comes down to a choice of you escaping without me or us both being captive, I want you to escape without me.”

“What!” I exclaimed, looking at him in surprise. “John, I’m not leaving you. Not ever.” Did he not understand the risks I took just to find him? For goodness sake, I had bit Ven. I had run head long, alone into the headquarters of the very people who wanted to hold me captive. After all that fear and uncertainty, I was quite ready to be in the comforting safety of my brother’s presences. I was certainly not going to leave him.

“Carlee,” John said. “You are more important than I am. I want you to be free…”

“Don’t be stupid, John,” I answered. “You’re going to let me go off with this man neither of us trusts and hope I can be free and safe? For all we know he’s going to sell me into slavery. No, you’re coming with me.” That silenced John. I did not really think Ven was going to sell me into slavery. He seemed like a decent enough guy, even if he was ridiculously obstinate about the whole android thing. However, my argument raised the point in John’s mind that I was not safe anywhere without him, which was exactly what I wanted him to think. I was not leaving him behind. Not a chance.

“Ok,” John responded. “But he’s right, you know. I don’t have any way out of this place, and I can’t think of any way we’ll escape the Security Cognizant.” I nodded, wondering about that myself.

“There was this other Cognizant who said he would be willing to distract the Security Cognizant,” I said. “I wonder if I can get back in touch with him and if he would still be willing to help.”

“What other Cognizant?” John asked with a frown.

“An informational one,” I answered. “He’s the one who told us where you are, and he knew who I was and who Ven was. He said he would be willing to help, that is he would be willing to distract the Security Cognizant.”

“Why would a Cognizant that works for the Society offer that?” John said. “That doesn’t make sense, Carlee.”

“Nothing in this place makes sense,” I answered. “We’re not in Kansas anymore, John.” He shot me an annoyed glance.

“It’s not exactly Oz either,” he said. “This universe is a dangerous place. People, androids, and cognizants don’t offer to help without getting something out of it themselves.” I should have been annoyed with John for thinking I was too young to realize that everyone has a motive. However, I was still too happy at having found him to be annoyed.

“Alright,” Ven suddenly declared in English. For the past few minutes he had been carrying on a conversation with himself – or whoever he was talking to through his ear – in German. “We’re taking the android with us.”