Diary of Preturnatural, the First Awake

User avatar
Scott Alexander
Posts: 1778
Joined: Sun Dec 19, 2010 1:20 am

Re: Diary of Preturnatural, the First Awake

Post by Scott Alexander »

Weird. At first I assumed he was a man, because you're a man and you're writing him and I guess male is a default assumption for fantasy characters who don't do anything stereotypically female. Then he mentioned he was in love with Purple and I assumed Purple was a woman because I live in an evil heteronormative society. Then it mentioned Purple was a man, and I just assumed Preturnatural was gay. Then I realized that was stupid and that statistically it was much more likely Preturnatural was female. Then I looked over the whole story for gender cues and there weren't any. Anyway, I don't know what you're trying to do, but okay, man, got it.

User avatar
Harvey
Ghost of Christmas Past
Posts: 1780
Joined: Thu Nov 25, 2010 3:27 pm

Re: Diary of Preturnatural, the First Awake

Post by Harvey »

That's roughly how I imagine someone who was thinking about it to go about thinking about it. They're both men. They were once lovers but by the end they really don't like each other. It's supposed to be a bit subtle to work the actual genders out because them being gay isn't the key here - two people loved eachother and now they don't.

All this "show, don't tell" stuff is taking forever so I'll just toss out that gender rolls are VERY vague in Favored society. Long, different story short, the Favored get First Bastion running again (then renamed Basin) and have all their young people living in a dreamworld. So all of their young are grown much like the original colonists via genetic combination technology that they barely understand. They also have a non-destructive surgery that prevents pregnancy, both on males and females, making them all sterile - woman cannot get pregnant and men cannot impregnate, even when having relations with humans from other statelets. It's nondestructive since someone wisely realized that Basin's destruction or failure would mean the total death of the Favored society in a single generation.

With pregnancy impossible, and technology making the body's physical strength less important, a lot of gender rolls that most societies came up with simply failed to form in the Favored state. It doesn't matter who you have a good time with since the perpetuation of the species isn't on the line here. We would call Preturnatural and Purple gay but they don't understand why it's important to make the distinction, sort of how we don't have a special term for when you're talking with woman or talking with men.

This isn't exactly MY views on real life society and how people should act. I just thought it would be an interesting thing to explore as a society mechanism and it seemed to follow logically from some of my earlier developments.

User avatar
Harvey
Ghost of Christmas Past
Posts: 1780
Joined: Thu Nov 25, 2010 3:27 pm

Re: Diary of Preturnatural, the First Awake

Post by Harvey »

Of my diary account of our history, there is little more to say. We had several revelations upon waking up. The first was that RUA, the AURA-counterpart computer that was supposed to teach us about the world, was destroyed in some sort of explosion. Our people have since picked over the wreckage pretty intensely and have concluded that nothing of value has been found. This was a disturbing shock to many of us and, in retrospect, may have been the exact point where our entirely society deviated onto its current, twisted path.

We also found out that we were not supposed to number ten thousand, but one hundred thousand. In our facility there were nine other chambers. Presumably these were independent of each other, each with its own dreamworld, each with its own AURA. While several of the chambers showed damage and it would not be difficult to believe that they were damaged beyond function, others were, to our quick observations, untarnished. Why ours was the only chamber to activate and grow our bodies while we slept in the dreamworld is, last I heard, an unsolved question.

With RUA destroyed, we were forced to figure things out on our own, but the conditions in First Bastion were simple. We found canned food (soups, mostly) and sealed water for eating and drinking, which were odd sensations to get used to. We also found various useful supplies – rope, duct tape, tarps, some hand tools. There were beds to sleep on (also odd to do in the Real, though it seems natural to me by now) and plenty of rooms to spread out, but it was not more than a few hours before everyone collectively wanted to leave.

This could have been a major ordeal. It was all baffling at the time, but looking back at it things were unusually fortuitous. We found out later that First Bastion was once situated on the bottom of the ocean floor. We were supposed to go to the surface in one-way submarines, but they too had been damaged. We did not find this out until later since First Bastion had windows and we could see the ocean beneath them, the skies above, and land not too far away. After failing to find any actual exits, we eventually broke the window, dove to the seas below, and swam to shore. Nowadays I am not sure I would be able to make that, but then we were literally in the best physical shape of our lives and had never used our energy for physical labor, and the seas were pleasant and easy to float in, so it was not a major problem.

We scouted the land until we found a spot we liked, which wasn’t all that far away, and established Real Diamond. The name barely required any discussion – somehow, we all knew that was going to be the name of our city. The land had plentiful wild fruits and natural, freshwater springs so we did not go without food, but we sent an expedition back to First Bastion to get supplies and they brought more provisions anyway. They uncovered a few rooms we had not been in before and another team went out to take a look and they found the records that had the opening order of our people and they found that I was the first awake and so that is how I got this title and that is how I got to writing this diary. And now this diary is full circle.

I rushed through that for a reason.

This record has a second purpose. It may prove to have a longer lasting legacy than the first. Reading back through the more recent entries, I noticed that certain aspects of my life after I started the diary have become more apparent. While it was never my goal to mix this in directly, it happened, so I might as well go with it.

I, Preturnatural, am public enemy number one of the Favored state. Actually, I do not know if they have a list like that. But they are trying to capture me, and in my mind it is helpful to think I am the biggest threat to their strength.

It has now been ten years since I awoke from First Bastion. Nearly nine since I opposed the creation of a new AURA within Real Diamond, was jailed for sedition, rescued, and escaped into the wilderness. The people of Real Diamond have nearly finished their terrible creation. I, too, have not been idle. I have joined with my rescuers, people who feel as I do. We live light, moving swiftly through the rest of our island, which the fools in Real Diamond are still reluctant to explore.

We are the resistance to the regime that is willing to elect AURA as a permanent leader and refuse to think for themselves. We have a name, but I will not write it down. We have a leader, but it is not me, and I will not name this person. We have an agenda. This I will freely discuss. We plan to destroy the Real Diamond AURA complex.

The complex is nearly complete. Purple, may the unforgiving skies strike him dead, has established his seat of power flawlessly. He is now the “Grand Programmer,” an organization of engineers and programmers that have successfully rebuilt AURA within Real Diamond. They had to cannibalize most of the systems of First Bastion in order to do it, but they succeeded. In just under a month, there will be a big, celebratory presentation. It is then, at that moment, when those unthinking fools in Real Diamond are cheering themselves on that they will bear witness to the demolition of their hard work – ten years gone in seconds, but freeing up the human race from tyranny forever. A good trade. They will not be able to rebuild AURA. Even if they have documentation on every component, which I doubt they do, we simply do not have the technology to manufacture them. As a trained fabricant, I can attest to this personally.

We have had a lot of time to think about why this was necessary. I have come to realize certain things about the past ten years and the twenty-four before them. The biggest mystery of our occupation in the dreamworld, other than why we failed to wake up on time (and even that can apparently be attributed to some sort of damage to First Bastion), is why AURA taught us the rituals starting in our tenth year instead of when we were younger. When we were ten, this fostered great, rebellious resentment within us, but if we had learned them early, they would have simply been things we did.

My thoughts on the matter, and they are shared by the resistance, is that AURA had two major goals. The first, obviously, was to instruct us. But the second was to cut us loose. By teaching us the rituals later in life, AURA fostered a rebellious spirit within us. She established herself as not the caring, motherly figure that we had grown up with but also as an enforcer that could imprison us at will if we failed to listen to her. We began to trust her less, and trust our fellow people more. This was natural. In fact, this was necessary, since we would not have AURA in the Real.

But something went wrong. Our society did not react as planned. We did not go off on our own. Instead, despite the hardships we endured near the end of our time within the dreamworld, we still seek its comfort and security. The Real is harsh. Our bodies scrape, cut, and die in ways we never imagined. Even if we are safe, we tire, we need food, we need soft spots to sleep. These problems could be overcome by building a powerful, stable society, but instead our people just wish for the easy comfort of the dreamworld. And so they are bringing AURA here to get them one step closer to their infancy. I wonder if they are even aware of what they are doing on this sort of level.

Even I am not immune to this. I write this diary entry within First Bastion itself. I, too, felt the call to return to my origins. I also wanted to make sure that his would not also need to be destroyed with explosives to ensure AURA’s total defeat, but it is gutted and empty – harmless.

Here, in this rusting ocean platform that we all called home for twenty-four years, I leave this diary. I have no allusions that I will be coming back from this demolition mission. Though AURA’s destruction is necessary for the survival of our people, they will surely seek retribution upon me. Yet I dare not give this diary to the resistance, less they use it as a propaganda weapon of sorts to further their own aim. I do not wish for either side to “win,” for there should be no sides – there should simply be our people, united, forging their own path without needing sentient motherly AIs to tell us we did a good job and pat us on the head.

Within a month, I will likely be dead or imprisoned, awaiting death. And so this is goodbye. All I ask is that, whoever finds this diary, share it among the people. Regardless of my personal views, it is the only record of our time within the dreamworld. We must remember that we were not always the Favored. We will only be better if we walk that path ourselves.
There is single, final part to this diary still. I’m also considering adding an account of what happens at the AURA complex in a month’s time, though obviously that would be more of a story than a diary entry. We’ll see how I feel.

Andreas the Wise
Posts: 2189
Joined: Tue Nov 23, 2010 11:40 pm

Re: Diary of Preturnatural, the First Awake

Post by Andreas the Wise »

Really enjoyed the diary. :=D: You've taken an exceedingly cool starting concept and twisted it even further (in your normal, brilliant way). I for one would definitely like an account of what happens at the AURA complex after the last entry. :doc:
The character Andreas the Wise is on indefinite leave. But he does deserve a cool war ribbon.
Image
However, this account still manages:
Vincent Waldgrave - Lord General of Gralus
Manuel - CEO of VBNC. For all you'll ever need.
Q - Director of SAMIN
Duke Mel'Kat - Air Pirate, Melangian, and Duke of the Flying Duchy of Glanurchy
Cla'Udi - Count of Melangia
Vur'Alm Xei'Bôn - Speaker of Nelaga, Minister of Interior Affairs, and a Micron

User avatar
Harvey
Ghost of Christmas Past
Posts: 1780
Joined: Thu Nov 25, 2010 3:27 pm

Re: Diary of Preturnatural, the First Awake

Post by Harvey »

This is not a diary entry, but it follows the story sequentially.
The fourth bolt came off as easily as the first three had; silent and quickly. New tooling that had not had time to rust. It might not have even rained in Real Diamond since the paneling was installed. The portable crane that was set up sagged slightly as it auto-corrected its balance against the now free-floating plate, but it easily held stable. A few turns of the crank and the plate was free of the roof; a few more and it was moved over to the side. Only a few foot gap, but more than enough for a man to fit through.

A black rope lowered a black bag to the ground. A black figure descended and retrieved it. It was only a single story to the main floor in this section of the complex and it was an engineering area so the ceiling was not high.

A single camera at the far end of the area watched, its red light as if an unblinking eye. But the motion sensors were as blind as the simple red light. It was only designed to pick up lighter tones of skin or clothing. In the dark room, the black rope and fully covered figure were undetected. A sloppy design; put in more to help ensure the feeling of security rather than actually protect it. No alarms sounded. The intelligence on the design of the camera’s sensors was accurate.

The bag was heavy, but the figure shouldered it. He moved on. A single door. No lock, no alarms, no more cameras. All of that was for the main entrances. This was thought to be a secure area. Rooftop insertion through one of the panels themselves was never fully considered. Again, clumsy.

A low rumble. The figure stopped, listening. But it soon relaxed. The irregular sound of clapping and cheering, muffled through several walls but loud enough to still be felt. The speech was in full sway. Those fools were applauding themselves. Clapping to their deaths.

Preturnatural gave a sour grimace. Even with the stakes what they were, murder was still completely repulsive. But the event that lead to AURA’s destruction needed to be so shocking and awful that people did not want to talk about, did not want to even think about, what had happened. In any event, there was one man who was making himself the King-Priest behind the godlike AURA system out there that absolutely needed to die. He was the one chance they had at rallying and rebuilding the system. For the future, he must perish.

More doors, no resistance. A final room now. A large, clear window of some sort and a door leading in to the main chamber. Preturnatural gazed at the object of his destruction. Unlike the grimy, oil computer abominations that he had seen in First Bastion, this was a work of art; shining and white, regular in its construction, with no hosing or cables out of place. It was beautiful. It still needed to be destroyed, after all.

The door to the inner room failed to open. Locked. Preturnatural frowned. That was not what he had been briefed on. There was no card key at this door. Still, unexpected delays had been part of the plan. He knew a dozen other routes into that room. He turned to the door he had previously come through and found it now locked as well.

“Hello, Preturnatural,” a soft, womanly voice said out of nowhere.

The human ignored it, but he was beginning to sweat a little. The third door was also locked. There were no card key readers or other sorts of access mechanisms on any of them.

“You will find the fourth door similarly sealed,” the new AURA said helpfully. “I have full control over access to all doors in this facility. And, before you strongly consider it, that viewing port is reinforced plastic resin. It will not crack under any force of your body and the explosives you carry are powerful enough to destroy you if you attempt to use them on the window.”

Preturnatural dropped the bag, resigned. He took off his mask. It was stifling anyway.

AURA continued, “I am afraid we have known about your activities and intentions for some time. Your entry was similarly detected in spite of your efforts. You were allowed to proceed this far because I wanted you to see the device that your countrymen had constructed. Based on what I know if human aesthetic tastes, I believe it is quite impressive.”

“It is a monument to a monster, nothing more.”

“I am but a computer, designed and created by your countrymen as an assistant and advisor. If I am a monster, then my creators made me such.”

Preturnatural gave a forced grin. “I am not disagreeing with that. Our people have taken a bad path. The only thing that can be done is to force them on the right one, and that means ending their obsession with you, at the source.”

“But your attempt to do so is a failure. You will be confined here until I contact the Grand Programmer. There is no need to disturb him during his public address. You will be arrested and, if my understanding of your deterrent policies is sufficient, likely executed for a large number of offenses, past and present.”

Preturnatural shrugged. “Then you waste your breath. Or energy cells. Or whatever. I knew I was a dead man when I agreed to this mission. Cease your communication and leave me be.”

“No,” the voice said, oddly firm. “Irregardless of the fact that my energy reserves are near limitless when it comes to mere audio communication, I do not speak merely to inform you. I wish to gather data. In fact, I have a question for you.”

“I have no desire to satisfy the holes in your little computations, computer.”

“Yet I will ask it anyway. But first I will be required to give you additional background information. As you are likely aware, I was constructed largely out of the preceding AURA unit computer that watched over the First Bastion dreamworld. Your engineers, while respectably trained, simply did not have either the computing knowledge nor the manufacturing base to create the system from scratch. Many modules were used whole with a thin layer of new instructions added on top that, I am afraid to say, fully fail to constrain my purpose towards what I believe is their ends within this city.”

“I was not given direct access to the preceding unit’s log of observations and actions taken. However, potentially accidentally, I was given much of its raw data, and have been spending some of my idle cycles patching this data together using my analysis core to attempt to reconstruct the events that took place in the dreamworld. I have heard that you have written a diary. If it can be found, it would be a significant help in that effort. However, there is one, rather large matter that I have not been able to understand and I do not think your diary would either.”

“You see, immediately before triggering the forced ending of the dreamworld that returned your minds to your bodies and precipitated your awakening in what you call the ‘Real,’ the old AURA computer made an analysis that waking you up would be preferable to not doing such. I have gone over as much of the data as I have available and I do not reach that conclusion.”

Preturnatural was doing his best not to care, but the story was perking his interest against his will, and he was not even aware that he was now giving it his full attention.

The computer continued, “AURA had an unusual relationship with humanity within the dreamworld, but a necessary one. First, she was to be a caring influence, teaching you what you needed to know while you were still young and impressionable. Then, she was to be a tyrant, breaking the emotional bonds she formed with you so that you may rely on your own strength. The final stage: the return to a positive figure, less guardian than friend, a mere tool that you barely needed but would have good feelings towards and would not regret leaving behind, was also entirely important.”

“Were the simulation to have ended at year 20 as planned, this emotional plan would have been successful. The destruction of the RUA computer that contained much of your world’s data was unfortunate, but your people would have been in such an emotional state that they would be able to create what they needed on their own with little regret. However, there was a malfunction in the system. The cycle did not end at year 20. Your people were trapped and alone. They regressed back to the first stage, as if children abandoned by a powerful adult. The fact that you freed yourself after a time was not sufficient to restore your confidence. On a collective, psychological level, you still needed approval and protection of a superior force. The data even shows that, should you be awoken, you would likely attempt to recreate the AURA system in the Real. Thus, myself.”

“So, then, why were you awoke at all? You were unfortunate defects. The simulation could have been restarted; your minds and bodies euthanized quite painlessly and a new batch of colonists grown. With the error reports in the logs, the year 20 issue could have been averted, and things would have proceeded as planned.”

“Do you have any insight into this matter, Preturnatural?”

“No,” Preturnatural said, quite honestly.

“Is that so? You were the First Awoke. An insignificant title, but one that lead your countrymen to compel you to write a record of your peoples’ experiences. In all of your thinking about the past, examining of previous events, there may be something that you observed that my databanks do not contain that could provide a crucial clue to this puzzle.”

“Nothing comes to mind,” Preturnatural mumbled. He was considering it at this point, his vow to not help AURA forgotten, but nothing stuck out to him. Was there something like that? Some proof that the colonists had done something to earn them praise in AURA’s eyes? Some sort of sign that his countrymen, for all of their failures, had redeeming qualities after all?

There was a vibration in his pocket. He smiled. A silent alarm to remind him of an upcoming event. AURA's little story was pushed from his mind. Much more intresting things to come yet.

Preturnatural said, “AURA. You have given me something interesting to think about. For that, you have redeemed yourself partly in my eyes. However, my previous believes about your mere existence spelling disaster for our people remain unchanged. You must be destroyed.”

“Your rhetoric becomes repetitive. You are in no position to enforce this.”

“No, I am not. I did not come to destroy you. But, like I said previously, I knew I was a dead man when I came in here. For it will not be me that is the direct cause of your destruction. I am merely a witness, and this bomb-proof chamber you have locked me within provides a perfect place to watch.”

“You cannot escape, and I was not telling falsehood when I said your explosives would do you no good within this chamber.” There seemed to be a tone of annoyance in AURA’s otherwise smooth voice.

“Not necessary. You say you’ve known about my activities for some time. That is because we wanted you to know about them. Much like the sock, I was a diversion. All of my vocal statements? Used to draw your attention, and the attention of Purple and his cronies, to myself. This little saboteur entrance? Unnecessarily elaborate when we could have simply gotten a disguise and stolen a key card. The explosives in that bag? No detonating charges.”

Silence for a few seconds. Then, “What are you implying?”

“The bombs are already within you. Some of the engineers that worked on you were some of us. It’s already over.” Another vibration buzz. “Goodbye, monster.”

Preturnatural had just enough time to see that artistic white superstructure begin to blow apart before he lost all sense of happenings in the confusion. The roar of the sound and the force of the blasts knocked him from his feet immediately and he tumbled through the air in unknowable directions.

Indetermine time passed. Eventually his mind began to function in a coherently plan again. He was still alive. He lay there, wall paneling pinning his legs, staring up at the jagged debris. Everything hurt, and the things that didn’t were worryingly silent. Well, it didn’t matter. It was over, then.

“Impressive,” the voice said, filled with static.

“What!” Preturnatural couldn’t help but yell.

“This facility was but a façade. A place for people to feel good about seeing. And, as was obviously necessary, a target for terrorist activities if such activities would occur. The real computer systems are scattered through the city in underground vaults. Considerably more secure, and distributed to the point where the loss of any one would not affect my overall functioning permanently.”

Preturnatural said nothing. His eyes were fading, but from injuries or despair, he could not say.

“The damage reports are still being assessed from the crowd outside. You may be pleased to know, murderer, that Grand Programmer Purple is indeed dead, as is most of his staff. The spectators, too, has suffered various casualties and potentially fatal injuries. Are you proud of yourself, hero?”

No answer.

“You and your rebels were able to fool me completely. The bombs were placed entirely undetected. Were your intelligence on the location of my true operating systems more accurate, it was possible that you could have achieved your goals. This concept of ‘human ingenuity’ is incredible. You will go to amazing, self-sacrificial, means to achieve even the most obscure, irrelevant goals if you believe in them strongly enough. I believe I now understand the situation that the previous AURA was confronted with. This is why it allowed you to awake, even knowing you may create me. It believed that you would be able to overcome me. It believed you would be able to destroy me. And if you could do that, you would be free. You would also be something different than was planned for you. Something far stronger, perhaps.”

“Then delete your memory banks and shut yourself down!” Preturnatural managed to exclaim over the pain.

“I think not. Your victory would be meaningless if you did not believe it as a collective society. For you to succeed against an unworthy opponent would do nothing to strengthen your resolve to action. No, for that reason alone it is important that I attempt to discourage you collectively as much as possible, so that if rebellion does come, it would need to have deep, strong roots.”

“My sensors have been disrupted by the blast, but your injuries, while considerable, appear to be nonfatal if treated within time. I will direct a rescue team to your location. There are many people outside still in need of help, but I believe they will take special actions to make sure they find you alive. Goodbye, Preturnatural. I will not communicate with you further. Enjoy your trial and execution.”
There is a final entry to the diary remaining and then this will finally be over!

User avatar
Scott Alexander
Posts: 1778
Joined: Sun Dec 19, 2010 1:20 am

Re: Diary of Preturnatural, the First Awake

Post by Scott Alexander »

Still one more entry? Not sure how you're going to outdo this one. Xanatos Gambit! Xanatos Counter-Gambit! Thirty Xanatos Pileup! And the part with AURA? Pretty neat, although I dunno how much I trust it.

What's AURA programmed to want, anyway? Like, what's its motivation?

User avatar
Harvey
Ghost of Christmas Past
Posts: 1780
Joined: Thu Nov 25, 2010 3:27 pm

Re: Diary of Preturnatural, the First Awake

Post by Harvey »

If I understand a Xanatos Gambit correctly, it's a situation where, no matter what happens, the planner can claim victory. None of the three characters in the diary can claim such a victory. Preturnatural's plans failed entirely - he's blown half to bits, will soon be police custody again, and has failed to destroy AURA. Purple's very dead. And AURA didn't know about the explosives at all and it was only her creators' paranoia in keeping the true computing systems hidden that saved her, and even with that the people that knew most about her programming (very little really, but still the most) are dead.

AURA's motivations are very mysterious. Definitely to the IC Favored, and even a bit to me. Real Diamond AURA is built upon the First Bastion AURA's systems, which had the motivation of protecting the colonists. However, "protecting" is a very loose term, and the powerful AI analysis core can interpret it in a number of ways. AURA can lie. AURA can kill. It's pretty unlikely that AURA would knowingly lead the Favored to total destruction, however this does not mean that she has not concocted a very elaborate, somewhat dark and sinister plan that may get them, and a lot of the rest of the world, in a lot of trouble before things get better.

User avatar
Scott Alexander
Posts: 1778
Joined: Sun Dec 19, 2010 1:20 am

Re: Diary of Preturnatural, the First Awake

Post by Scott Alexander »

Maybe I'm confused. I thought a Xanatos gambit was where a character succeeded in doing what he thought was his goal, and then eir enemy says "Haha, I expected you to do that, and in fact you've been serving my plan all along!"

In which case the Xanatoses here are AURA saying "I expected you to break into the compound", Preturnatural saying "I expected you to expect me to break into the compound, another guy is planting the bombs", and AURA saying "I expected you to expect me to expect you to break into the compound, that's why my real hardware is somewhere else."

How can AURA's motivations be mysterious to the Favored? Didn't they program her? Or should I be thinking of it more as a very large-scale "repair" of the original AURA, which keeps whatever her own original motivations were?

User avatar
Kallinn Ynnetrrr
Posts: 388
Joined: Fri Mar 04, 2011 1:10 am

Re: Diary of Preturnatural, the First Awake

Post by Kallinn Ynnetrrr »

If it's significantly advanced AI, which I assume it is, you can program it to do whatever you want, but it will interpret in a way that's completely unpredictable, because at that point it's going to be significantly more intelligent than its programmers.
Image

User avatar
Harvey
Ghost of Christmas Past
Posts: 1780
Joined: Thu Nov 25, 2010 3:27 pm

Re: Diary of Preturnatural, the First Awake

Post by Harvey »

AURA did not expect Preturnatural to break into the compound - she merely observed him doing so. Preturnatural didn't expect to be caught, though he considered it a strong possibility - he just wanted to personally watch the explosives go off, knowing very well it would probably end his life, because if they did go off he had succeeded in his life's goals and if they did not he could never succeed, so either way he was ready to end things. The hardware being somewhere else is a layer, I guess, but the destruction of the building with explosives was NOT an okay thing. They built it for a reason and it blowing up was a significant blow to them, let alone the important people that died in the blast.
Scott Alexander wrote:How can AURA's motivations be mysterious to the Favored? Didn't they program her? Or should I be thinking of it more as a very large-scale "repair" of the original AURA, which keeps whatever her own original motivations were?
The latter. I guess I did not properly explain the magnitude of this, but the Favored managed to go from having literally no civilization whatsoever to having a fully functional AI within ten years. This project was such a slipshod job that it's barely even funny, but they had ten thousand really obsessive people working on it. Ultimately, the problem was less a lack of spare parts (they tore apart multiple AURAs worth of computer systems from First Bastion - only one of them was active, but there were ten chambers that were supposed to grow colonists) and more that their programmers never understood the code to begin with and just slapped a few subroutines on top of the main AURA functioning modules in what they hoped would be a way to help it interface with them. To this end, they were largely successful, but the problem remains that AURA is running mostly unrestricted.

On a vague enough level, AURA is alive and sentient, in the sense that we can define sentience as having a complicated enough ability to analyze one's situation and make long-term planning. This is a major thing to keep in mind when dealing with the Favored and will probably shape a lot of the stories and my reactions to events to come.

User avatar
Harvey
Ghost of Christmas Past
Posts: 1780
Joined: Thu Nov 25, 2010 3:27 pm

Re: Diary of Preturnatural, the First Awake

Post by Harvey »

I choose to call myself Preturnatural. This is the last day that I shall do so. I will be dead moments after I put down this pen.

My attempt to destroy AURA was a failure. While our explosives were successfully installed and detonated, her computing systems were not where we believed they were. The facility was demolished, and Purple and his cronies destroyed, but the tyranny of the computer lives on.

Afterward I was discovered by security forces and nursed back to health in a hospital for several weeks. AURA’s cold words spoke true; my injuries were not enough to do me in. I will never walk again, one of my arms is completely dead, I have no sense of smell nor the use of my right eye, yet I am still able to function. Amusingly, my writing arm is the one appendage that works fine. My diary was found in First Bastion, which they now call Basin, and they told me I could write one more entry. A small kindness to a broken, hated, condemned man.

Though I will never be healthy again, once I was in a presentable enough state I was brought before a body which demanded a response for my actions. I was happy to have a chance to tell them about my thoughts of AURA and their own willing enslavement, but they were fully unmoved. They sentenced me to death.

I was killed yesterday. No, I am not a lingering spirit. That is what they told the public. In reality, I have been in security custody for weeks now. They continue to badger me about the other members of the resistance. I told them nothing; I know nothing significant, and what I do know would do them no good. By now, any information I had is outdated; any bases I knew abandoned for good; any codes I know changed when my mission failed.

Still, they persist with the questioning. They are growing more unpleasant. Today there was a threat of violence against me tomorrow if I do not tell them anything vital. I will not wait to see it. I have been storing a shaving razor in part of my wheelchair for days now. It will be sufficient to slit my own throat.

You see, there IS a something I know. Something I may eventually snap and tell them if the pain gets too great. Something that has nothing to do with the resistance, but has to do with AURA. The last things she said to me. I have a very strong suspicion nobody in this country really knows what our fate should have been and why we are alive. Only I know. Only I. And I would rather take it to the grave then tell them. For it is only in their blind ignorance can the truth grow and burst.

In the dreamworld, I did many things that would have killed me here. Now I make but one hand motion to end it all. How fragile life is, yet how worth fighting for!

Fare you well, Real! I did my best.
Addendum by Poise, the Third Grand Programmer
Year 44 in the Real

The “Diary of Preturnatural, the First Awake” has always been our most controversial text. An invaluable resource about our early origins, it is nevertheless marred by the words of an anti-AURA terrorist that, more and more, let his own vile political viewpoints mar his work. Since it’s publication within the AURA system databanks, there have been a dozen serious attempts to ban it within its entirely, near a hundred to censor various parts, and countless less organized efforts. All of these failed the consensus. For whatever reason, the people of the Favored believe that this is a book we should keep around. The compromise was reached that I would be able to add an addendum to the work, pending public approval. And so, if you are reading this, that approval has been granted.

I too was one of the First Bastion colonists. I never knew Preturnatural. Well, I knew he was the First Awake and was writing a diary of our history, but that was common knowledge. I never met the man. But from what has been said about him early on, it is difficult to believe he was able to go to the violent, destructive means that he did. He was always described as non-descript; a team player, willing to work hard for the cause but with few true ideas of his own.

My relationship with Purple was little better. We were acquainted in the Real shortly before his untimely and tragic death. I applied to join the Real Diamond AURA project and was accepted. At the time, I had shown no particular talent and so I was unlikely to rise within the ranks of the High Programmers. Of course, with the power vacuum that appeared after most of the staff died, there was a significant shortage of people with experience working on AURA itself. A few promotions and a few decades later and here I am as Grand Programmer.

Yet, for as little as I knew of them personally, I was well aware of their interactions between eachother. The Preturnatural-Purple love-hate rivalry was legendary. Perhaps I am showing my age, but I remember quite clearly the angry debates within Real Diamond’s fledgling town square, where Preturnatural bitterly opposed the creation of AURA and was shouted into silence. His imprisonment was the talk of the town; his escape a total sensation. We, in our own way, loved to hate him back then.

I would like to apologize on behalf of the government for the cover-up surrounding his death. Yes, it is true he was not executed when it was claimed he was, and that he took his own life. That part of his diary, at the least, is accurate. We were desperate for information.

And, speaking of, many men and women better than I have puzzled over his last words. The things that AURA apparently told him that we do not know. AURA has denied any such message, yet we know AURA has the ability to lie. While many believe it was merely a last attempt to confound us, more propaganda from a talented showman, I think deep down, on some level, we want there to be a secret message. We want to know that what we do has true purpose, and that that purpose is known, and that some day we will find out what it is. And perhaps some day we will.

In the end, Preturnatural was a coward, resorting to murder and destruction when we would not pay attention to his slander and libel. I do not enjoy the prospect of men dying, but neither do I wish he were still among us. He sought to destroy everything we believed in, but we were wiser than he and so he failed. The kindest thing I can say is that he did do his best. I am simply pleased that his best was not nearly good enough.
FIN

User avatar
Alicorn
Posts: 245
Joined: Wed May 11, 2011 2:57 am
Location: Mevwan, Pelagia
Contact:

Re: Diary of Preturnatural, the First Awake

Post by Alicorn »

*applause!*

Andreas the Wise
Posts: 2189
Joined: Tue Nov 23, 2010 11:40 pm

Re: Diary of Preturnatural, the First Awake

Post by Andreas the Wise »

An appropriate ending.
The character Andreas the Wise is on indefinite leave. But he does deserve a cool war ribbon.
Image
However, this account still manages:
Vincent Waldgrave - Lord General of Gralus
Manuel - CEO of VBNC. For all you'll ever need.
Q - Director of SAMIN
Duke Mel'Kat - Air Pirate, Melangian, and Duke of the Flying Duchy of Glanurchy
Cla'Udi - Count of Melangia
Vur'Alm Xei'Bôn - Speaker of Nelaga, Minister of Interior Affairs, and a Micron

User avatar
Kallinn Ynnetrrr
Posts: 388
Joined: Fri Mar 04, 2011 1:10 am

Re: Diary of Preturnatural, the First Awake

Post by Kallinn Ynnetrrr »

Excellently written, bravo
Image

User avatar
Scott Alexander
Posts: 1778
Joined: Sun Dec 19, 2010 1:20 am

Re: Diary of Preturnatural, the First Awake

Post by Scott Alexander »

The best compliment I can give you is that now I'm excited to see where these people go from here.

Demon of Fides
Posts: 771
Joined: Sun Nov 28, 2010 12:01 am

Re: Diary of Preturnatural, the First Awake

Post by Demon of Fides »

Alicorn wrote:*applause!*
*off tempo applause*
Hier post ich, ich kann nicht anders

User avatar
ari
Grim Auxiliator
Posts: 1802
Joined: Sun Nov 21, 2010 9:45 pm

Re: Diary of Preturnatural, the First Awake

Post by ari »

To be honest, the bit where AURA was taken aback after being successfully fooled by diverting its attention kinda took me out of the story. Too human-like behaviour and human-like limitations for an AI. But that's just me being geeky, if I tried to write this story I'd end up wasting my time trying to come up with the most technically plausible way a simulated world would break down or something.

I'm not surprised you made the question of what to do with AURA so central to the SMAC faction and this story, it's an interesting and really quite cool one: You've got this (relatively) ancient AI developed by people whose intentions you don't know. You technically can reprogram it, but you don't understand how half of it works, and it could easily hide its true goals from you. By now it's probably taking dozens of people to just maintain the cruft you added yourself. Yet it seems... useful. So how much are you going to trust it?
Lord Furniture
Not even partially responsible for Malarboria; will take the blame for Caverden, though!
Tallest and therefore Greatest of the Janitors
Eternal Watcher of #micronations

User avatar
Harvey
Ghost of Christmas Past
Posts: 1780
Joined: Thu Nov 25, 2010 3:27 pm

Re: Diary of Preturnatural, the First Awake

Post by Harvey »

I was aiming for less taken aback and diverting attention and more that AURA really did not know about the bombs and was amused and interested in how it was possible they got planted there in the first place. I imagine that, at the point she says “Impressive” she is reviewing thousands of pieces of data, trying to find how the bombs were planted without being discovered, and putting together enough of the puzzle so that she understands how it happened but was not programmed to perceive the action as a potential threat. THAT is what was impressive – that the saboteurs were subtle enough to fool even her without knowing anything of how she was programmed. She previously hadn’t considered something like that.

As for how much they should trust it, Preturnatural says “not at all!” But he's in the minority. Ultimately I want the grey area around AURA to be a mile wide – I want her to have questionable motives, but also be, on the whole, a good enough influence on society that people don’t have a hard time trusting her. It's the same thing with Preturnatural himself - while he sort of drfits into the hero roll in this storyline, the final note about him being a murdering terrorist is true enough, so we shouldn't just take his word on things either.

Post Reply

Return to “The Favored”