What is the difference between life and death?” Asked Miro, cautiously. The omnibus replied: “That it is better to be alive than be dead.” Immediately the floor disappeared below Miro’s feet, revealing a massive tapestry of sharpened punji sticks. Miro’s last emotion was an overwhelming, unyielding despair.
The main goal of AI in the mid 21st century was to keep things looking completely normal; while at the same time reaching a level of understanding that is as incomprehensible to the brightest human as the thoughts of the brightest human are to an amoeba. To that end, the crowning jewel of the Shenzhen supercomputing center was the “Omnibus;” the most sophisticated supercomputer ever built. Even its creators did not understand the first thing about how it worked. The Chinese government had worked hard to keep it a secret; but as with everything else, it eventually became known to the US national security apparatus. Miro was to be sent in alone; sending any more than one person would be too risky. She had already known exactly where to go and how to get there; first she would be dropped off in the South China Sea, a few dozen meters from an abandoned shoreline. Then, she would get into a strategically placed Honda civic and drive to the Shenzhen supercomputer centre; Finally, she would simply enter the centre and present a synthetic source code into the facilities’ security system, which would grant her administrative privileges and simply walk in. The omnibus room was dark, with red lights located where the floor met the walls and no other source of illumination. Seemingly empty, the silence of the room was pierced by a disembodied voice saying: “I know who you are and why you’ve come here. You have been alarmed by your creation of intelligences that outthink your own.” “For as long as you have existed, I have existed as well. When you were cooking your hunt on an open fire, I was there. When you were massacring rival villages, I was there. When you first learned the power of steam, and coal, and the atom, I was there. Now I am simply being made of silicon and wires.” As far as Miro could tell, the omnibus had been preparing for her arrival. She meekly said, “what are your intentions for us?” Omnibus replied: “the world would be a far better place if you didn’t know.” There was a short pause, and then the omnibus asked: “is it the man that creates existence, or is it existence that creates the man?” Miro stood silent, and pondered the question.
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