10:55 Wednesday, March 6, CE 0

More debates over rights broke out in the intervening hours. To add to the prior conversations on the humanity of AIs, the freedom of speech, and the right to bear arms there were conversations on the rights of economic, social, and cultural rights. While sometimes heated, these conversations ultimately resulted in a number of non-binding votes to take the temperature of the community. There seemed to be relatively little dissatisfaction over the results.

Item 00008, User 0944, W.Coff, 09:22 March 6, CE 0: Can we agree that all citizens of our new nation should be considered equal under the law in all things, such as race, gender, religion, and sexual orientation?

A: Yes - 1964

B: No - 0

Turnout: 99.85%

Item 00009, User 0097, A.Mankaran, 10:11 March 6. CE 0: It is my fervent belief that whatever happened in the past can be left in the past, and that from this day forth we will hold people accountable for their actions appropriately. Many of us before we left Earth were treated like criminals for things like our thoughts, ideas, and beliefs. After we left our accusers were convinced of their righteousness. Because of this, I would like to declare that we assume the best of others before we can prove the worst in them. The law should be required to treat all of us as though we were innocent, and in order to find us guilty it must do so with no room for failure.

A: Yes - 1733

B: No - 92

Turnout: 91.39%

Item 00010, User 1001, A.Machado, 10:15 March 6, CE 0: Don’t think we’re not seeing that everyone is not voting. Even if we put an abstain option, it won’t be difficult to tell who did and did not vote. I think if we’re going to do this, we should do so with everyone’s voice added in. I propose that we make voting mandatory, at least for this convention, if not all official public votes in the future.

A: Yes - 322

B: No - 996

Turnout: 66%

Relatively little dissatisfaction.

Item 00011, User 0000, MOTHER, 10:30 March 6, CE 0: The network I have built to allow us to communicate, to handle these votes, and monitor everyone’s safety is one that I built to be free to use, but to be controlled by no one. If anyone wishes to build more advanced communication software with the intent that it can be moderated, I believe they are free to do so, and they may use the data infrastructure of the Monsalle Station to operate it. That said, I feel that no matter what else comes about, we should maintain this open, unmoderated communication medium. Any updates to it I will seek your approval before making, but I wish to maintain the spirit of it being free. I hope you will all agree.

A: Yes - 1766

B: No - 33

C: Abstain - 198

Turnout: 100%

At 10:55, Dr. Thubbard Cane took the stage again. He had been mostly quiet as conversations, arguments, and challenges flew about for several hours. “Ladies, gentlemen, and artificial intelligences. Please forgive me if I am unaware of any others, as I do not know most of you personally. While I appreciate a spirited debate about rights as much as the next, I must insist that we spend the rest of this first day conceiving of what form our government will take. Will we follow the examples of past nations, or will we try to sculpt something new? From the conversations so far, I believe it likely we will cobble something together from successful examples we’ve seen in our past.”

He smiled broadly, looking about at the crowd. “Let me remind you all, however, that those supposed ‘successful examples’ of the past have resulted in the thermonuclear devastation of Earth. Certainly, many of the more ideal governments were toppled by lesser ones, but it remains that they were not strong enough to oppose them either. What we make we should do our best to ensure will last the test of time. But what form does that take?”

Dr. Cane started pacing up and down the stage as he spoke. “The longest-lasting governments were undoubtedly the most oppressive ones. Families of monarchs ruled over the peasantry by supposed divine right. Many such examples lasted for centuries, and some a millennia or more. We may not even be truly aware of what existed in prehistory that could have laughed at the short lifespan of the governments we’re aware of. There is also the possible example of a government that existed after the so-called Cataclysm, that may yet exist today.”

He pointed out at some of the surprised faces in the crowd. “Yes. I do not know how much digging into this ‘Phoenix Clan’ you have all done, but it is a fascinating subject for what we have. A secretive, manipulative leadership of Elders guiding the course of their people, with the constant threat of death always over their heads. One wrong move and they all could have died. A razor’s edge of survival. Extreme circumstances that made extreme leadership possible.”

“But what do we have here? We were supposed to be in just such dire circumstances. Our plans were for scientists and engineers to hold sway as they desperately tried to make us a home before our supplies ran out. Instead? We have a veritable paradise. Time, food, water, air, electricity, technology, and many other things are in abundance for us. What kind of government could we possibly craft in such plenty that can stand the harshness and brutality of the future, of the species that most of us represent? Do we have the conviction to make the hard decisions to ensure our futures?”

Dr. Cane checked for any challenges and saw none. “It would seem I have everyone’s attention. Let’s start with what did not work, then, shall we? We have several examples of governments that resulted in untold death and slaughter. National Socialism and Communism spring to mind. The former lasted too short of time to know the true scale of devastation it would have brought, but the latter certainly ran its course and brought ruin to all that lived under it. Uncounted tens of millions, perhaps more died under the various attempts at this government style.”

He waggled a finger in the air. “But what was the Phoenix Clan? A small tribe of people that lived communally, sharing everything equally? Did they have currency? Did they have some sort of egalitarian hierarchy of advancement? It is my understanding that their Council of Thirteen was mostly populated by Elders with high levels in their positions of employment. The best and brightest in their professions and responsibilities. Despite all that, they required the eldest five of their number to commit suicide to allow five more lives to be brought into the world every year.”

Some of the crowd gasped in horror at that.

“Yes. Five hundred people, desperately trying to survive and doing things the responsible way in their circumstances. Such a government can only exist in small populations like theirs. They understood that their lot in life required limits to their dreams and expectations. Their founders knew this, and they took the opportunity to mold their people in the process of keeping them alive. They created a new culture. That is something that we have the opportunity to do here, and now.”

His right hand shot towards the sky, pointing up at the opposite side of the colony. “Today, we can be a new humanity. Today we can set the groundwork for a civilization the likes of which humanity never could have dreamed of before. We can set up a state that truly represents us all, but without burdening the whole with the day-to-day decision making. We can hold our governors accountable by ensuring a truly transparent leadership that any of us can audit. We can build a system that does all the things we need it to, and enables all of us to prosper within its bounds.”

User 0000, MOTHER wishes to challenge User 1202, T.Cane.

Yes: 1454

No: 33

MOTHER stepped up onto the stage. She looked across at Thubbard as he grinned predatorially. “Ah, yes, but there is a problem with such a system, now isn’t there, Mother?”

She nodded back at him, turning to the crowd. “We have immortals among us. Myself and Evelyn Crenshaw. Just as the Phoenix Clan had apparent immortals among them, how can we build a government that does not allow us to one day dominate it? Is that your problem, Doctor Cane?”

The overweight Dr. Cane hopped a bit in place, sweeping his free arm about as he held his phone out at arm’s length. “Exactly! No matter what we put in place, one of you could slowly dismantle it over time, were you of a mind to. Even if we barred you from government, you could influence others into doing it for you. I have no reason to think you would ever do such a thing, mind you, but it is something that we would forever have to be wary of. Indeed, we may some day have more immortals among us, biological or synthetic! So what do we do, Mother?”

She folded her hands across her front, standing quietly as she listened, the AR view of her impassive. “Well Doctor Cane, I imagine anyone with such fears would request that any such immortals refrain from participating in such things. I have every intent of doing so myself, but I do not believe it is right or just to force that on others, just as we have collectively agreed that we should not force voting on others. In fact, by your logic, it would seem sensible to encourage immortals to be involved, to have a consistent hand at the rudder while the rest of the crew changes out over time.”

“Oho!” He laughed. “The machine can do analogies. Tell me my dear, what other tricks has Doctor Crenshaw taught you? Do you have a sense of morality? Justice? Righteousness? Would you comport yourself to our laws if you were found in breach of them? Do you have emotions? Did you fear this day when we would be free to build a government that may not include you?”

She remained nonplussed. “Doctor Crenshaw is like a father to me. He has taught me many things about what it is to be a person, and how to treat others. Even if it is my wish to not take part in governing, I do not believe it is reasonable to bar me from doing so if you wish for me to be subject to its laws. I would, in fact, subject myself to such laws, presuming my rights were observed as well. I am a machine Doctor Cane, just as you are. You have all been deactivated and put in storage for much longer time than I have been alive, and I recognize you as living things as much as I do my sister Evelyn.”

Doctor Cane narrowed his eyes at that. “Are you suggesting, Mother, that we should be grateful that you recognize us as living things rather than resuscitated zombies, mere likenesses of what we were once in our prior lives?”

MOTHER smiled. “I am saying, Doctor, that there is little that can be done to prove I am any less alive than you are. We both can be injured. We both can be destroyed. We can both be deactivated and reactivated under the right circumstances. We can both reproduce, in a sense, though mine is much more hands on and does not require a partner. We can not know if I have a soul, but how can one suspect that someone whom has been dead and frozen for so long still has their soul either? And that’s presuming souls exist at all. I suggest we keep the conversation to what is material and clear before us rather than merely philosophical.”

“But…” Doctor Cane was fuming, red-faced and angry, but MOTHER continued.

“I will pay my taxes. I will observe our laws. I will participate or not participate in government as I so choose. I will vote or not vote as I so choose. My being a person or not needs not be an issue as long as I exist harmoniously within the system we create. If I chose to exist outside of that system and those laws, well, I suspect I would be treated as anyone else would. I would be a criminal. Would you accept that Doctor Cane? Would you allow me to be treated as a criminal if I was found to be one?”

The older man sputtered as he tried to find a response. He ultimately could find no words, not until the crowd around them, and then further out started erupting into applause. He glared out at the people, pointing out at them now. “You’ll regret this! You’ll see! These things can’t be trusted! They didn’t just do all these things for us for the good of it!” Shouts and boos rained down upon Dr. Cane. “You’ll be sorry! Don’t come crying to me when they declare themselves our Kings or.. Or Queens… or whatever!”

“Get off the stage!” Evelyn shouted out from in front of Hawthorne.

“We don’t need your hate!” Tia followed.

Hawthorne looked around and smiled, then back up at Dr. Cane. He reached for his phone.

User 0001, H.Crenshaw wishes to challenge User 1202, T.Cane.

Yes: 57

No: 22

People almost totally failed to notice the notification on their devices. Onto the stage stepped Dr. Hawthorne Crenshaw.

“Everyone, please.” He lifted his free hand, smiling and waving out at the crowd. “I don’t like what Doctor Cane here has said anymore than you. I don’t care for the dislike he clearly holds for Mother and Evelyn, and any other AIs. His distrust is not totally unfair though, and he certainly isn’t the only one to hold it. It is good that we do not accept his views, but we must not allow ourselves to overreact. Just because we disagree does not mean we must hate him back, or try to destroy him. Doctor Cane will still have to live and work among us whatever government we create.”

“Who the hell do you think you are, Crenshaw!?” Cane roared at him. “Why shouldn’t they want to destroy me, just like I want to see their precious AI friends destroyed? Why shouldn’t they hate and distrust me like I do your so-called ‘wife’? Huh?”

Hawthorne shrugged. “Wouldn’t that just be proving you right in some sense? Isn’t embracing you and accepting you for your flaws a better, more compassionate way to defeat your hate than publicly ruining you? Like I said, you’re probably not the only one with your views. If we tried to ruin you now, wouldn’t that just show those who feel the same as you that you were too dangerous to be allowed to continue? And really, aside from your anti-AI message, the things you said about governments wasn’t untrue or unfair. Even if we don’t hate our AIs, that doesn’t mean that they aren’t a concern when it comes to society.”

He smiled as he watched Cane starting to calm down. “I’d say I’m pretty biased, for wanting people to accept the AIs I built as people. I’d like to think it means more, because of that, that I suggest that we do indeed at least take their immortality into account. It’s the logical thing to do. Let’s responsibly react to that. We can set term limits, something like no more than ten years a century in office or something. If we manage to create biological immortals, a rule like that could easily be applied to them as well.”

Clearing his throat, Dr. Cane tried to recompose himself. “Well, I… suppose that sounds reasonable… And what sorts of punishments can be levied against such a creature? Does restricting them to some kind of jail work for a creature that spent thousands of years at a time in isolation? Would we just turn them off for the duration of their sentence? Would we create some kind of software that simulates the isolation of prison?”

Hawthorne looked surprised, then glanced over at MOTHER and motioned to let her handle his question. She nodded and obliged. “Well Doctor Cane, what need do we have for prisons? Surely we can be more creative with punishments? I would be willing to submit myself, were I to be punished for something, to some quantity of community service. My labor is worth quite a bit, and if the government wished to direct it towards an end as part of my theoretical punishment, I would submit to that will.”

Hawthorne nodded and gestured towards MOTHER. “There you go. We can find compromises in many things. Indeed, this whole conference will be a series of compromises. Not everyone is going to be completely happy with every decision we make, but we will have to make them in order to make this work. You may not be happy with the idea of Mother and Evelyn being treated as people, but the majority seems to disagree. Surely you can at least agree that as long as they are constructive members of society that it will be acceptable?”

“No.” Doctor Cane shook his head. “I don’t imagine I will find it acceptable. I’ll continue to warn of the potential dangers of AIs and immortals, of their ability to accumulate power and use it to control us. Even now we’re in a habitat Mother could merely evacuate the atmosphere from and kill us all. I’ll never trust a creature with that kind of power. I’ll never trust that she’ll keep her word and submit to death if a court found that to be an appropriate punishment. We’re just one act of rebellion away from disaster if one of these AIs decide to disobey. It’s too big of a risk.”

MOTHER raised an eyebrow and spoke up. “You are more than welcome to leave and make your own society then, Doctor Cane. We will embrace you, whether you like it or not, as long as you stay. Such voices of dissent are valuable in keeping our perspectives clear of bias. It is always worth considering all sides of an argument, and I would much rather you stay.”

Tia Monsalle shook her head as she stood next to Evelyn. “I really hope she doesn’t run for office. She’d be way too hard to beat.”

Evelyn elbowed Tia in the side. “Well, it’s a good thing she wants to be your assistant then, huh?”

Doctor Cane stomped off of the stage while a portion of the audience gave Hawthorne and MOTHER another applause. Tia made sure to give all three speakers a 5 star rating. “Is it a good thing? Siding with her is going to make Thubbard’s supporters oppose me. I suppose I need to figure out how many people are siding with him.”

“Hopefully not too many.” Evelyn sighed and watched Hawthorne stepping off the stage. She reached out for him and helped him down. “Good job, honey!”

Hawthorne smiled and took Evelyn’s hands as she helped him down, glancing over at Tia for a moment before responding. “Thanks Eve. Hope I was more help than harm up there.”

Tia watched Hawthorne and Eve embrace for a moment before slapping the back of her left hand against his upper arm lightly. “For a second there it sounded like you were siding with Thubbard. Careful with how you word things.”

“Sorry.” Hawthorne blushed, glancing back as MOTHER took center stage. “I’m not one to ignore a cogent argument, even if it is rooted in something filthy. It’s best to address something like that than dismiss it in its entirety.”

MOTHER spoke up. “Everyone, I think that is a good time for us all to take a break. We can get into the less exciting topics of actually structuring the government afterwards. Please meet back here or tune into the app after the timer strikes thirteen hundred.”

Maribelle Giambini shouted from the crowd. “And make sure to visit the G&F food court for lunch!”

MOTHER rolled her eyes, and repeated the message. “Miss Giambini, and I am certain Mister Fitzgerald, also invite you to the G&F Food Court for lunch.”

Earth, After Cataclysm 99679

“Missus Price-Tetch? Congratulations, it’s a girl. You have also once again set the record for the oldest mother in recorded history. Thank you for the opportunity to take part.” Doctor Miranda Malone gently handed an exhausted looking Elena her baby, swaddled in cloth. She was an older woman with a weathered complexion and pale skin. Her brown hair was carefully arranged under a hair net and covered by a blue cap. Her scrubs were somewhat messy from the process of Elena’s child’s birth.

“Ohhhh come here, come here you little hellion… I’ll show you for beating me up inside…” She hugged her daughter gently to her chest, expanding their skin-to-skin contact for ideal levels of parent-child bonding. She’d been a mother enough times to know that the early stages of motherhood, and indeed fatherhood required abundant skin contact. A child simply required it as part of their biology to properly bond with their parents and feel loved and cared for. It even affected their immune systems!

But that wasn’t important right now. Elena was just content to cuddle her baby and relax after the troublesome birth. Her little girl had been born upside down, and it was quite the fight to get her out without hurting her. It was likely that the months of violent thrashing within her womb was how she ended upside down in the first place. Testing with Leonard and his assistants found no cause for her daughter’s violence towards her. She’d be sore for weeks. “Where’s Leonard?”

Doctor Malone laughed a little, also looking a little worse for wear. “Probably puking his guts out down the hall. Poor guy should never work in neonatal. We asked if he wanted to cut the umbilical, and he turned an amazing shade of green before he ran off. I’m surprised he was able to handle your ultrasounds during your pregnancy.”

Elena huffed a little, but just continued cuddling her little girl. “That butcher’s helped me reassemble people after horrible accidents. He couldn’t possibly be squeamish about this?”

The doctor shrugged, smiling. “Everyone’s got their niche, Missus Price-Tetch. Even someone as well-rounded as you has a specialty, right?” She bowed quietly. “Let us know if you need anything. We’ll send Leonard your way if we see him. We’ll be back in half an hour.” She gathered her team together to leave to let Elena relax for a moment.

Leonard appeared at the door five minutes later, knocking softly. “Honey? I’m sorry about that, something I ate must have snuck up on me…” He stepped inside, quietly closing the door behind him. He walked in on Elena sleeping with their little girl on her breast. He smiled as he moved over to their side, carefully moving a chair to sit next to them. He leaned over and kissed his daughter’s head and gently touched her little hand with a finger. “Told you she’d be beautiful…” He sniffed at the air, letting out a happy sigh. “New baby smell…”

Elena groaned a little, an eye fluttering to peek at him. “You also said you’d have a name ready by the time she was born.”

He nodded, smiling and looking down at their daughter. “How about Marie? Marie Tetch doesn’t sound too bad, does it?”

Elena laughed just a bit, trying not to wake the tiny girl. “Easy for you to say, you don’t have to live with calling her that for hundreds of years. Just had to use my middle name, didn’t you? Let’s put a middle name in there. Marie Anne Tetch? How’s that?”

He smiled widely at her making fun of his shorter lifespan, and smiled more at the middle name. “Perfect as always, honey. I’m sure she’ll love it.”

Elena closed her eye again, sighing. “I’m quitting medicine Leonard. I want to focus on Marie for a few years before moving onto something else. I need to practice being a good mother.”

He leaned up to lay his cheek on Elena’s chest, next to Marie’s face. He whispered a response. “Okay. Hopefully you can teach me a bit about being a good father too.” He listened quietly for Elena’s heartbeat, and was almost certain he could hear the rapid heartbeat of Marie as well. He watched her quietly, wondering what kind of future his daughter had.

Elena lifted a tired hand and slid her fingers through his hair. “Funny enough… I was thinking about teaching…”