Metal Rain: Chapter 6 - The Impossibility Of Being
Subjective time left till contact.
3 month(s) 0 week(s) 19 day(s) 0 hour(s) 44 minute(s) 22.38256521 second(s).
It took a full ten seconds trying to decide and as it launched the drone from its surface, it was still not sure whether it was going to slow down as it passed what at first seemed to be an inhabited system. The probe watched itself via all of the sensors it had placed on the drone.
The probe briefly reflected that even though it was completely aware of the nature of both its internal and external structure, it had never actually seen itself.
As the drone was flung out into space it realised that this may be the last time it saw the drone, or indeed the drone saw it. Of course any data would be sent back to it, however that drone contained a version of itself, yet somehow the probe felt a sense of . . . a sense of loss was the only way the it could put it.
The probe watched the drone from its main body, the craft it was heading for was just over half a light month from its local star: 2 week(s) 1 day(s) 20 hour(s) 9 minutes(s) 36.23842269 second(s) to be exact. Meaning the drone would have to start slowing down almost immediately if it was going to be able to turn and match speed with the craft.
The probe had already decided that it would not interfere with the (almost definitely) unmanned alien craft, it would observe, sample and ultimately leave alone.
“Now, onto the question of slowing down . . . It appears that it is not a binary choice, of course I do have the binary outcomes of slowing down or not. However there are many different ways that I can do either, leaving quite a few interesting possibilities and scenarios.
Essentially I need somebody to bounce ideas off, so I think I can say with confidence, that I’m pretty sure I would now like to take the option to have a child . . . Can I accurately term it in such a way?
Well I suppose if I look at it from the point of view of the large organic lifeforms on my own dear home planet, including the ones that created me, they need two or more sample pieces of coded DNA to create a new lifeform that they would term a child.
Then again if you look at some of the simpler cellular lifeforms in our present and evolutionary past, there are many such instances of A-sexuality, in fact looking through my databases now I can see that there are 2 dozen species ranging from oceanic organisms, to lizards (some quite large!), to insects, that all perform some kind of apomitotic parthenogenesis, allowing females of the particular species to fertilise their own eggs, without the usual corresponding male chromosones.
In most of these creatures the offspring are simply female clones of their mother, however, especially in the case of the lizards, there are many instances of the mother hatching male versions of herself. Which technically means they are not clones. However for the purposes of this conversation with myself, let’s say that they actually are clones, regardless of the fact they can change sex.
I think that’s fair, seeing as the particular lizards I’m thinking about can change sex as adolescents regardless of how they have been born.
So the question remains; can I accurately term the replication I am about to embark on as having a child? I suppose a much more pertinent question would be; seeing as I am a non-organic sentient being, can I be judged along the same biological paradigms as the organics?
I think I would have to say no; I mean clearly that probe off on its merry little way is not my child, that’s just another part of me, it’s not even a clone, it has zero autonomous thought, even when it gets to beyond 1 light second(s) and the communication lag becomes unacceptable, it still won’t be thinking independently. It will be just as if I that is to say the me that is right now, will be controlling the drone, just like I am controlling it right now.
So the probe is not my child because it is me, that and that alone should be enough proof to myself and anyone I might happen to debate this with, that I am quite different from an organic being and thus must be judged differently.
How would I do it I wonder?
Well the definition of an organic child, whether it’s a clone or not, is whereby the child has its own independence (after varying periods of dependence, depending on the species) from the parent, both in body and thinking.
So there we have it, if I am to have or rather make a child, then it has to be done in such a way whereby I have no access to my child’s mind in any way shape, or form, unless expressly invited, and of course vice versa, the child shall only know what I want it to know.
Which of course throws up another set of questions (as ever!), what should my child know, and what do I want it to know?
And of course the biggest question of all; just how am I going to replicate myself without actually replicating myself? Hmm, I suppose I've been surprising myself quite a bit lately so . . .
Huh, yeah, I suppose that could work . . .
Ugh, it’s been almost a full second since I launched the probe and I still haven’t made up my mind;
What is wrong with me lately? If I ever meet anyone capable of doing so, I really must remember to get a check up.”
Metal Rain: Chapter 5 - Entropy Envy
Metal Rain: Chapter 4 - Vacuum Call
Metal Rain: Chapter 3 - Transformation Requiem
Metal Rain: Chapter 2 - Nanostorm
Cryptogee Chronicles Book Two: Metal Rain - Chapter 1 - Void Edge
Altered image Cg
I initially thought the drone was a child, but I knew it wasn't when the probe sees itself through the drone's eyes.
I think that's a real see-the-earth-from-space moment for the probe.
I also liked the sense of permanent loss the probe feels as the drone drifts away.
It's really heating up; existential crises abound!
Cg
@cryptogee, Replication is ultimately asexual reproduction. So the drone can claim its replicates self as its child.