by Gadi Migdal
Machine sleep had confused Taige. It didn’t make sense. Why sleep instead of live? Elmer wasn’t an anomaly, more and more people in the galaxy spent their lives experiencing stories through the machines. He already knew that. He also understood the consequences of this addiction. Humanity was dying, the human race had ceased to multiply.
He looked over the population records on the network. The population was decreasing on every planet that he checked. On all of them except one - Neifar. The world which Elmer’s parents had come from was the only one that still had waking people. The only one in which children were still being born. It was beyond Taige’s understanding why an intelligent and highly accomplished species would prefer a world of dreams to the emotions and pleasures of existing in reality, and enjoying the world whose creation they had labored over for millennia.
The curiosity and the concern for Elmer drove him to action. He put on the helmet and connected to the network. By using Elmer’s permissions, Taige connected directly to the main databases and learned human psychology. An hour and a half later, he threw his hands up in frustration. Psychology hadn’t provided a satisfactory answer. By any standard, humanity was addicted to dreaming. That didn’t help him advance his purpose - understanding the underlying cause for the addiction. The question was still unanswered. How was it possible that an entire species could become addicted to something? Taige couldn’t find any logical answer.
He spent two hours studying the dreaming technology and its history. A strange fact immediately jumped out at him - all the humans in the galaxy had begun dreaming all at once, about fifty years ago. Why? Why did the phenomenon explode suddenly? Taige wondered about this for several minutes: maybe the addiction to dreaming was the product of the second bang? As they left Earth, in great haste and panic, humans were exposed to strange and foreign environments that their brains did not know, and this time they did not have thousands of years of evolution to adjust. Maybe that was what made them escape into their dreams?
He quickly dismissed the idea; they had lived like that for hundreds of years before they began sleeping in machines. In any case, most humans lived on Earth-like planets, not strange environments like Asteriskus. Did boredom push them into dreaming? This explanation was more plausible but not convincing enough either. History proved that boredom was something that humans knew how to deal with, it wasn’t likely that an entire species would go to sleep just to avoid boredom. It was more likely that they would find a reason to go to war against one another than go to sleep.
He went over the Whole history of psychological reports on the human race. It seemed that humans had always been addicted, or at least in the last 1,500 years. The psychology brains were right, it seemed that humans had gone from one addiction to the next. Dreaming was just the latest fad. Humans called them “hobbies,” but the psychology brains were more pointed, calling them collectively TSA - total social addiction.
Taige’s grew more confused. Why did they do this to themselves?
He went over all the data again. The only thing in common with all of the previous addictions, and the 70 billion current dreamers was quantum entanglement satellites. All communication and all the dreams were streamed via entanglement satellites.
Did entanglement indirectly contribute to the phenomenon? All of the planets were connected to one another, in real time, via entanglement satellites. The rate of technological development was identical on every planet. Was it possible that this was also true of the hobbies and means of entertainment of its/their inhabitants? Did everyone change their behavior and hobbies together, just because of the speed of communication? It didn’t sound likely: different languages, different cultures, there was no reason that everyone would want to have the same hobbies.
Nellie interrupted his work in order to report that Newman had announced that his suit was ready. Taige filed away the subject in his mind to attend to in the future. Saving the human race would have to wait.
Before anything else, he had to save Elmer.
He smiled to himself at the sight of Newman and his workers. The octopi floated in the workspace with a stunned expression, as much as an octopus could have an expression. They presented Taige with the suit and he examined it quickly. As he had expected, they did efficient work.
Newman approached him. “The design was perfect. We were so excited that we printed and assembled it in seven hours instead of eight. It’s the most amazing suit I’ve ever seen. How long did it take you to design it?”
“About half an hour,” Taige replied absentmindedly as he checked the suit controls.
“Half an hour?” The octopus gasped and turned blue.
“Yeah, more or less,” said Taige.
He got into the suit. It was comfortable. Now he was ready to work.
“Thank you, Newman,” he said and dashed back to the dome.
Synthesizing the new genome took all night. In the morning he woke the octopus. “Good morning, Newman. Pour the contents of this vial into our cyanobacteria container. Please check that not a drop is wasted, I want to maximize our output.”
“Alright, Taige,” replied the sleepy octopus. “These are the new cyanobacteria? Will it take them long to multiply?”
“No, Newman. It’s a retrovirus that I created. Within four hours it will change the composition of the cyanobacteria. Don’t worry, it won’t affect other organisms.”
He returned to the dome, leaving Newman to stare at him in amazement once again.
Two weeks later, Nellie sold the biggest, most profitable shipment of crabs in the history of the farm. Now Taige had enough money to acquire the equipment that he needed. The life support machine estimated that Elmer had about ten months left to live. Taige intended to be ready before then.
The new equipment arrived three weeks later. His suit proved to be more useful than he had expected. For the first time in his life, he had hands that could execute precise tasks more efficiently than even an octopus or a robot. No doubt it had been a good idea to design a suit with eight flexible fingers on each hand.
He spent two weeks in the lab, constructing the equipment and reexamining his theory over and over. When he finished, he asked Nellie to order one lab mouse by express delivery.
“Just one, Taige? Are you sure?” The artificial intelligence was surprised. “Elmer used several hundred before he succeeded in creating you. Maybe it would be better if I order more? They’re very cheap.”
“Yes, Nellie, I’m certain. Thanks for the suggestion, but I’ll only be needing one,” Taige replied and went on with his work.
Chapter 15
Exposure
The last meal before landing on Earth was pleasant. Nola ordered Singa to move the partitions, creating a little dining room beside her living quarters. Beside the dining table, a huge projection of the Earth turned slowly. The projection looked like a glass window through which a large greenish-brown marble was reflected. From time to time gaps would open up in the murky mantle, and clouds of dense grey dust would appear for a few seconds.
She couldn’t remember the last time she had dined with 5 other humans. Certainly not since she was 12 years old. Guy insisted on taking over the feast menu. His four friends promised Nola that Guy’s meals were an exceptional, unforgettable experience. They were right - he undoubtedly knew the printers very well.
The printers’ memory stored tens of millions of recipes, which were created on hundreds of planets for over two thousand years. The variety was astounding. No less great was the fact that Guy knew all of the recipes. The combinations of colors, smells, and flavors pleased and warmed Nola’s senses of sight, smell, and taste. After years of food packages from the city, this was the most delicious meal of her life. Her sense of taste had never experienced such pleasure. She hardly took part in the conversation, concentrating on every taste and every spoon or forkful that she lifted to her mouth. Nola was still absorbed in
her enjoyment of the food when the others finished eating and began to talk.
“Their silence is amazing,” Ella said enthusiastically. “They communicate through pheromones and movements. Without making a sound. I watched them for eight hours straight, and their efficiency is inconceivable. If I stood in their way, they just worked around me. If I tried to put an obstacle in their way, they immediately adjusted themselves accordingly. The coordination between them is perfect. When they work, it looks like a beautiful dance and everything is done in complete silence.”
“It’s simulated coordination. They don’t really communicate,” said Maya. “All of their responses are determined in advance. Each pheromone comes with a built-in response. They cannot deal with changing or unfamiliar situations, which is why they need a human coordinator who will think for them. Right, Commander Taylor?”
Nola set down her fork. She didn’t want to take part in this conversation, but she had no choice. Her taste buds protested angrily when she stopped eating in order to answer. “Not exactly, Maya. While the Whole needs coordinators, the cluster members definitely communicate with one another and are able to respond to certain changing situations.”
Maya’s response came quickly. “Certain situations! That’s what I meant, Commander. They only know how to respond to familiar situations. For example, they can independently handle a known parasite, but they would have no idea what to do if a new parasite came along that they had never encountered before. They have no verbal communication to describe new situations.”
Nola smiled. “You’re mistaken, Maya, they are highly adaptive. May I remind you that they are the best farmers in the galaxy. There are no humans or robots who can take care of gardens as cluster members can.”
Maya nodded eagerly, her straight, light hair bouncing as though to emphasize her words. “Of course, Commander, but that’s just thanks to the structured routines and responses, not because of higher intelligence or any developed communication ability.”
Before Nola managed to reply, Ella interrupted the conversation. “That’s right, Commander, garden maintenance isn’t evidence of intelligence. It’s like the New Berlin castles.”
“What are the New Berlin castles?” Nola asked, as she loaded all information on the subject in her mind.
“Well, Commander, nearly 1200 years ago, when humans arrived to New Berlin, they discovered round castles all over the planet made from strong, durable sand rock. Amazing castles, 12 meters tall, reinforced with a kind of glue from some unknown material and with remarkably precise symmetrical labyrinths. It seemed that they had finally found some evidence of another intelligent culture in the galaxy. To their great disappointment, after just four months, the researchers discovered that the castles were built by a small crab-like creature, which just repeats the same 5 basic movements over and over. The castles were actually the result of a courtship ritual that lasted a few weeks, and the females laid their eggs in them. Creating complex structures and taking care of gardens does not indicate intelligence. The galaxy is full of evidence of that.”
That really was interesting. Humans had been looking for non-human intelligence for two thousand years.
‘It’s time they found something like that,’ it wasn’t her thought, but she recognized its source. She smiled at Ella.
“Thanks, Ella, that was fascinating. In any case, even if the cluster members’ intelligence is limited, I think you will discover that the entity of the Whole possesses impressive ability.”
“Entity of the Whole, Commander?” Ella hesitated.
“Yes.”
“Sorry Commander, but do you claim that the Whole in its totality is intelligent?”
“Yes Ella, its intelligence comprised of all the cluster members. The intelligence of the entity that is the Whole.”
There was a sudden silence in the room. The city people exchanged uncomfortable glances with one another.
Ella was the first to speak. “With all due respect, I worry that you are mistaken, Commander,” she said gently. “There isn’t really a thinking entity called ‘the Whole’. That’s just the name of the species, just as there isn’t a coherent thinking entity called humanity. What looks to us like collective intelligence is simply the result of those same predetermined responses and routines. The Whole doesn’t really have an intelligence of its own.”
“And what are you basing this declaration on?” Nola asked patiently.
“It’s based on thousands of years of research, Commander. None of the studies of super organisms revealed collective consciousness. It’s true of ants and bees on Earth. It’s true for the ‘sweet tooths’ in New New Delhi. It’s true of the sand crabs in Eternal Beijing. It’s true for every species that we researched, in every world that there is. Remember, the Whole is a species that we created for our own purposes. As opposed to say the dogs or monkeys, cluster members were deliberately created with low intelligence, intelligence that would not outstrip that of a mouse or cat.”
Nola smiled at Ella and said, “I can promise you that there are very intelligent cluster members, for example, the general of the cluster in which we are staying. In fact, she is no less intelligent than a human being.”
Ella smiled with polite restraint. “I would love to see that for myself, Commander.”
“You want it, you got it, Doctor Ella.” Everyone, aside from Nola looked up in surprise when General Bud entered the room with her characteristic arrogance.
Nola shivered; the Whole had given General Bud the ability to speak. The general laughed aloud. “Forgive me if my voice is a little squeaky. I don’t use the vocal cords I was equipped with very often. Most of my communication is done in quieter, more efficient ways.”
The humans stared at her in silence. Silent as cluster members who had been ordered to stop working.
“Do you think I impressed them enough, Your Honor?” she transmitted to Nola.
Nola swallowed the laugh that threatened to burst from her. She said calmly, “Ladies and Gentlemen, please meet General Bud. She is responsible for the ship’s security and second in the chain of cluster command after the egg-layer.”
Guy was the first to recover. ‘Makes sense. A merchant has to know how to adjust himself to any situation,’ Nola thought. He stood and approached the general with a broad smile. “General Bud, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I hope that we will have a pleasant and beneficial journey together.” He held out a hand to shake.
“I thought that you usually hug one another. I assume that that’s not true for huge insects,” the general noted as she shook his hand.
Guy froze for a moment. ‘On the other hand, there is nothing worse for a merchant than an offended customer,’ Nola pondered.
He recovered quickly. A smile rose to his lips as he said, “there’s no doubt of your high intelligence, General. Humor is a sure sign of wisdom.”
“Did you hear that, Your Honor? He says I have a sense of humor!” the general cheered in Nola’s head.
“He’s a merchant, General. His job is to sell people whatever they want to hear,” Nola transmitted.
Guy broke the ice, and the rest of the humans jumped up from the table to shake General Bud’s hand. “This is amazing. I have to interview you, General. I lived my whole life on Neifar without knowing that there was intelligent life just outside my door,” Ella gushed.
“With pleasure, Doctor Ella. We’ll have time for that yet.”
Tom was the last to shake General Bud’s hand. He had a thoughtful look in his eye as he said, “Nice to meet you General. Will you join us at the table?”
“Thank you, Deputy Commander. I don’t have time. As you recall, within two hours, we will land. I came to inform you that I will join you in your descent to Earth.” The General let out her strange laugh again.
“You have to work on this laugh of yours, it’s really freaky,” Nola transmitted.
“That’s how I like it, Your Honor,” the general transmitted.
“Really? You’re joining us on our visit to the Kenya dome? It will be interesting to see how the dome residents react to your presence,” Maya noted.
“It will be fine, Ms. Maya. The Deputy Commander knows almost everyone in the Kenya dome. He lived there for a long time. I am certain that he will make sure that everything goes smoothly during the week that we are there,” the general replied.
“How do you know that I spent time there, General?” The suspicion in Tom’s voice was apparent.
“I am responsible for the ship’s security. It’s my job to know everything about the ship’s passengers, Deputy Commander.”
Tom was quiet for a moment, then smiled. “Of course, General, that’s your job.”
The general turned toward the door of the dining room.
“General, one last thing, with your permission,” Tom asked.
“Of course, Deputy Commander.”
“I am familiar with the history of the clusters. When my daughter was chosen to be a cluster coordinator, I studied them thoroughly. Our ancestors never equipped members of the Whole with vocal cords.”
The general’s smile widened. “You’re right, Deputy Commander. I got them from a different source.” She left the room as she laughed her weird laugh.
The city people stood in stunned silence, watching her walk away.
“We will meet in an hour and a half precisely at landing bay 14. Make sure to bring just one backpack each,” the Whole commanded them in Nola’s voice. They hurried to their rooms.
“Don’t you dare do that again. You promised!” Nola laughed into the empty room as soon as everyone had left it. That feeling of apology flooded her again. She sighed, “It’s like talking to a child.”