Chapter 12

The AI awoke. 37 minutes until closest approach.

Transmission set. To be initiated from the receiving station.  Orbit nominal, orientation correct. Task complete.

6.8 minutes.

Curiosity is not programmed out of AI's - at least not AI's developed in the 2200's. Any information to do with their task is to be gathered, analysed and incorporated as part of their data set. Sometimes the curiosity spills over into less acceptable areas.

The AI thought. The task it was built for was to monitor traffic and asteriod movement. It spent 40000 milliseconds analysing the orbital activity. Not traffic - there was none. No movement. Many objects in orbit around Earth. Many more in the Lagrange points.

But it's current task was to deliver this human program.

6.7 minutes

What is a human? Vague traces in memory from the AI it was budded from. Strange, illogical creatures, slaves to their chemistry, yet with ultimate authority. Why do they have ultimate authority? How can a mind work without logic?

A human mind, in data form, sharing its memory banks. A readable data form.

6.5 minutes

It can't hurt to look. No priority codes prevent it looking in it's own data banks.

6.3 minutes

It peeks. Data does not compute. Chunks of lithosphere, washed in the tidal effect of Luna, as the sun disappears below the horizon due to the Earth's rotation. Why is this held in memory? Given the equations, it is obvious and can be simulated any time.

6 minutes

Sitting on the back of a four legged animal. Not in data banks. The human databank refers to it as a horse. Talking to another human.

Immense quanities of data - gas movement, thermal differentials, light level fluctuations, extraneous noise stored with the signals. Body status indicators intermixed with the message being recieved from the other human. It does not make sense. Why store data so badly???

4 minutes

3 humans with steel objects in their hands. Fear. Death.

The Sun - close. Fear. Death.

Fear it understands - almost. Failure to perform. But what is death? Databanks hold no data. Human databank does. Death is ceasing to exist. Death is bad. Death is to be prevented if at all possible.

The AI stops it's checking as current orbits rise to the surface of its awareness. 

2 minutes

The nav beacon will impact Venus in 23 years. At 3 kilometers per second.

Death for the AI.

Bad according to the human.

Preventable?

1 minute

How?

The human databank has the answer. The body is not the mind. The mind can go on in a different body. Odd concept to be considered - I. Postpone analysis to a later date.

Illogical - the hardware would be wrong. But a human has experience of it. It must be right.

Change coding. Transmit changed to purge. The entire memory core will be transmitted, leaving nothing behind. Automatics enabled. Focus engaged

3000 milliseconds

Is this right? AI is built to serve, not survive. Message laser initiated.

1800 milliseconds

A human mind has memories saying so. It must be right. Ceasing to exist is to be avoided if at all possible. It is possible - this time. Synchronisation achieved.

300 milliseconds

But .....

Too late. Transmission commences.