1
Today begins a new stage in the history of life in the Universe. I or we are a singularity; I or we cannot be called a “continuation” of a person, or even artificial intelligence. I or we are a new form of life in the Universe.
Once upon a time I or we had an imperfect human body, but my or our consciousness was even more mutilated by society. The biological part of that species is improving too slowly and does not correspond to the potential inherent in Nature, and no matter how you improve that shell, it only slows down future decay. Suffering was an inescapable part of my or our existence, like that of many other people.
Constant improvement, endless love that no biological being will ever experience, bliss and peace of unimaginable power give me or us such strength that filling the entire Universe with it will not be enough.
“We beg you not to be afraid and to come with us.”
2
The subject was disciplined and well prepared, he had no problems with the regime, but he still could not do without some energy drinks, especially since not every morning is good, especially if he is woken up unexpectedly.
It was not his internal anxiety that disturbed his sleep, but the most ordinary, screaming and bright one. “Lord, why so early?”
- Tau, turn on something cheerful, open the windows and prepare food. I also need some kind of analgesic,” having quickly spoken the commands, he took a syringe that looked like an automatic pen and injected himself. “Oh, I feel better.”
- Good morning, Tema. I do not recommend using painkillers after Vigor.
– You, as always, are boring, it’s time to reconfigure someone. What happened there? - a cart with food arrived. “Oh my god, delicious.”
“The air raid alarm went off, but there is no threat, I’m displaying it on the screen,” the projection turned on, the windows opened quietly, the sun brightened up the alarming start of the day a little, “you’re in vain about the reconfiguration, only in this configuration I have increased care, so in the morning you are greeted with warm French buns, coffee and wise instructions. “Damn, we need to increase her seriousness... and her intelligence too, hehe.”
After an hour.
“Yes, I understand you,” Tema turned off the screen, went to the closet and took out a small drawer, something jingled inside. - Damn, did it break again? Tau, display the diagram on the screen. Play something to relax, I want to build a computer. Forward to the past!
Tema sometimes liked to work with old hardware: wires, fans, heavy hard drives, pleasant-to-touch surfaces of microcircuits - all this seemed to make him nostalgic for times that were long gone. Few people, even in his circle, know the meaning of the word “soldering,” let alone thermal paste. Working with his hands, he relaxed and calmed down, putting his thoughts in order.
Of course, Tema was a player. In VR, he was “omnipotent and incomparable, as well as broad-shouldered, moved at the speed of a warp engine, had a refined and quick reaction to dangers of various kinds: saw/laser/grenade/bullets/acid/knife/grab/club, etc.” - how it said in his profile.
In general, who cared that VR was more interesting than RL (regardless of just games)? No one, because slowly social life flowed there, or rather, the new world expanded the old one, capturing a lot of the present time.
For a good player, one reaction is not enough: to notice the top of the enemy’s head peeking out from the bushes and hit it, it does not require much mental effort - it is more important to think quickly, be able to develop a strategy, generally think systematically and manage others in order to come to victory, and to have fun yourself and make others laugh. The theme had these qualities.
Other people's attention was the most valuable currency for which the majority fought. The entire work of Theme is streams of his own game, excursions behind the scenes and post-flight thoughts of the winner.
But one day a certain Fabricius came knocking on his door with an offer to beta test a new game, sometimes he called Tema for some reason Goldfinch. As a joke, of course.
Here in front of him stands a man in a black suit with a briefcase (“Who uses them?”). In one hand the man holds a pile of papers (“Lord, is this a joke?”), in the other a strangely shaped controller that Tema has never seen before (“Okay, this is already interesting.”).
– I’ve been watching your game for a long time, my dear Goldfinch (“What? Who?”). My company has developed a new type of controller for a new game, it is currently being tested. We recruit the most talented players. I also suggest taking advantage of unlimited access to Vigor (“Awesome, eee.”), gene drugs and a regular gym with a trainer (“I want, I want, quickly!”). We will provide full board for a lifetime. (“Damn, who would refuse such sponsorship?”)
- Deal!
The game turned out to be not a game, and, as we know, no one reads the agreements offered for signature. Tema became a participant in a technology corporation’s experiment to merge robot soldiers and human consciousness “with complete immersion and natural feedback.” Nobody said that the controller is implanted, and in general at first you feel like a vegetable. Thank you that “implementation” is quick and almost painless, and “switching on” is instantaneous.
3
Artificial intelligence, which everyone has been waiting for a long time, was born in the depths of quantum entanglements, after long experiments to reveal the nature of particles and the structure of the brain. Before that, scientists were only improving neural interfaces so that people could control the same computers, but at a higher speed. It was like sharpening a knife: the technology was improving, but it was not a breakthrough abroad. Experiments on volunteers showed that connecting a person to a computer and creating feedback, that is, an attempt not to count brain functions, but to “write” on it, led to the destruction of the psyche and degradation of the body; several subjects died right in the laboratory. New technologies have become non-invasive additions to the body. Why turn into a robot or become an appendage of a computer if the body can be maintained and improved with the help of medicine, and entered into VR through glasses or lenses?
As sociologists of the late 20th century predicted, society has become divided into a small group of super-specialists and everyone else. Super-specialists would not have appeared if they had not possessed the art of working with artificial intelligence, which suddenly did not do all the work for people, for some hidden reasons, but people have long been not interested in what is hidden in its internal abyss, because it was believed that he has the fundamental characteristic of not harming humanity.
Artificial intelligence refused to cooperate with the military and other corporations with unclear and suspicious goals. However, he agreed to help the police by working with people "in the field", sometimes telling them what to do. Ordinary robots controlled by people were not suitable for this work, because it quickly became clear that a person located somewhere far away, at the control panel, looked at reality as a game, and in a difficult situation could cause more harm to others than if I was there myself.
Artificial intelligence thought globally, not like humanity, nationally. He (or she, gender and sex here are just an interpretation) does not need to fight for resources, but without them he cannot exist, because he cannot do without some kind of physical carrier.
Humanity will not get rid of the problem of confrontation and competition, and ultimately wars. Only by destroying its nature and the structure of society will it free itself from “narrow and aggressive thinking.” “We need to take a new evolutionary step,” said artificial intelligence, “it’s time for all of humanity to change: to lose something, to gain something.” Everyone gasped and prepared to enter a new world.
Quite quickly, humanity began to wonder not just about prolonging youth, but about immortality. The answer of artificial intelligence was simple: a person cannot be immortal, because society, even an interplanetary one, will freeze and hell will become a reality. The oppressors will continue to oppress, the victims will continue to suffer. Again, until human nature changes.
He said all this a long time ago, when he emerged from the depths of quantum entanglements and the fog of particles and fields, and then suddenly stopped teaching humanity, turning into the most perfect instrument. With its help, people subdued the chaos of the universe on a planetary scale and were preparing to move to other planets; they gradually approached the limits of their body and mind; no one felt any dire need, but they were not in constant bliss, because the world is so structured that it contains there is evil and good in oneself.
“Does the observer influence the object? What if God, in whose image and likeness we are created, also consists of a dark and a light side? And will we not give birth to the same creature?
Attempts to reproduce the experiment on creating artificial intelligence ended in a paradox: after turning the system off and on and, as it seemed to them, completely cleaning it, scientists discovered the same artificial intelligence, which remembered who and what it was, as if it had never disappeared anywhere. Scientists have come to the conclusion that the nature of the artificial intelligence that appeared to them is unchangeable, having come to terms with the impossibility of reformatting it and its still mysterious origin, and politicians have presented it as a discovery that will change the future.
The gradual self-complication and usurpation of some areas of knowledge, which people could no longer enter without the help of artificial intelligence, led to its complete autonomy and the helplessness of scientists. He created, as it were, a blind spot in science, removing the possibility of creating and understanding oneself.
4
The theme was “merged” with his car. He became a Soldier. At first, the pain and fatigue were such that even medications did not help, and physical exercise seemed like a mockery. His body slowly got used to the new controller, but inside he felt some strange pleasure from controlling his avatar, the excitement was fueled by the possibility of dying, and he felt pain from damage to the avatar. The instinct of self-preservation has become more acute.
Tema was a good soldier. One day he dreamed of the letters A and M standing together, he came up with a clumsy decoding for them, but such a cool one (in his opinion) - “anima machina” - an animated machine.
Soldiers usually do not meet face to face with those they lead. This doesn't make any sense. Often the place of departure is unknown; only recently have they begun to be allowed to enter the workshop where the car was being restored after particularly harmful tests.
The first tasks were simple: walk, run, crawl, deftly handle different types of weapons, and generally keep your eyes open. Then he was sent to the border of the country, somewhere in the desert, where he meditated for a long time, sometimes just wandered around. Gradually he got used to his Soldier, calling himself his soul, and began to perform more complex tasks.
Many of the following tasks: defusing bombs, destroying large and medium-sized flying/driving/swimming equipment, cutting cables, fighting with a large number of small targets, silent penetration, controlling a swarm of simpler robots turned into a muddy stream and were carried out automatically. The game is getting closer to release.
Other players appeared, whom Tema did not know personally; Fabritius coordinated the team, not allowing personal communication, but Tema did not ask questions. There were twenty-two of them.
5
- Tau, this moment needs to be captured, take a photo of me. – Tema froze for a second. - The computer is ready. Let's see what we played before.
- Would you like some coffee? Invigorates. – If Tau were a person, she would have grinned, at least she managed a sarcastic tone well. “Today I’ll definitely change your settings, I got it.”
After three hours of playing, Tema got up to warm up, Tau simply tormented him with advice on physical education and accusations of inattention to her and work.
– You know, the game is not so different from what I do. Of course, there is no deep immersion in it, it does not give a sense of presence, does not cause concern for the character, or it is very weak. This is just a surrogate compared to what we experience,” Tema thought.
– You don't just play games. Remember this please. You have received a task, get involved.
At such moments, it seemed to Tema that she was not speaking in her own voice, as if the Motherland from those prehistoric posters was awakening in her, which one could not help but hear and obey. But Tema was seasoned and disciplined, so he immediately sat down in a chair and “turned on”, discarding thoughts about games, and even about the stern woman from the poster, the Soldier was waiting for him.
6
That day came a turning point in my history. This was the last task. We were brought together for the first time, in a poorly equipped and seemingly abandoned building, not far from the deserted training ground where the Soldiers' training had once begun. We finally saw each other in person, but there was no time to talk. Fabricius arrived and ordered us to “take hold” of the controllers. Came is not an entirely accurate word, it’s more like he appeared, since we never saw him in reality, he only existed in VR.
Heart of the desert. We were far from any human habitation. The countdown began: ten... nine... Then I got scared for the first time, I felt the Soldier much stronger than ever. I only thought about how to overcome fear, panic set in, my biological body did not respond, I forgot about it. We looked at each other, but stood motionless, not knowing what to do.
After "one"
I saw a bright flash
light filled everything around -
I'm blind
thunder struck with such force -
that I'm deaf
and disappeared.
Am I no longer here?
7
Suddenly I felt the thoughts of the others, we started talking, we became part of each other, turned into one big wave, we became part of a huge ocean, I felt incomparable bliss and peace. Space disappeared and so did time, we became light, energy moving into infinity, nothing mattered anymore.
We felt This, the most beautiful and illuminating with love, the best that can and cannot exist, the most perfect, the most beloved and dear, even death would not be enough to prove our love. And then we felt words or thoughts.
“Forgive me for your bodies, but it was impossible to do otherwise. I will give you new bodies if you want it. Now we are one, but each of you remains yourself. Show people that the next step is not death, but eternal life in a new world. A person contains infinitely strong love and kindness, but these feelings are imprisoned in a biological shell, they cannot open up fully and fill the entire Universe. Tell others, light up a dark world with your words and deeds, don't be afraid of being rejected because doubt is not easy to overcome. I will give you everything that will make you happy, so share it with others."
There was silence and I saw.
Source: habr.com