I have prepared for this for a long time. I cannot and do not attempt to persuade my peers, each person has their own reason for choosing the option that they take.
Me, I have read far too many sci fi novels of mother ships made up of a broad spectrum of humanity and the travails that they inevitably encounter as such a disparate group moves between the stars spending so many years in the cold black void. I know this way lies madness. Inevitably mob rule wins. Physicality wins out over cerebral thinking. The triumph of the lowest common denominator.
I decide instead to share a ship with my peers, my like minded fellows. Surely this way we can reason our way into the eternal night. Problems discovered and solved along the way with group think and common purpose. At least thats what I tell the panel of interviewers for my chosen ship. I pass the barrage of tests. Each one designed to winnow out those who are not of a similar vein. I am granted permission to board.
Oh but would they know the darkness that dwells within me, the need to subjugate and dominate. I do not board this ship with the intention of sharing and communal purpose. I intend to rule, violently and ruthlessly. My empire has been created. My subjects have already volunteered for their prison, the hell that awaits them.
As I said before physicality wins out over cerebral thinking and oh I shall win
Woah this is poetic and reads off like a prequel to some aweomse novel lol. What happens when everyone has been conquered... what will the lone wolf do then.. ?!
Hehe, when I read your post I was going to answer with a reasoned approach as to what option I would choose but then this idea popped into my head and I was almost going to knock out a short story based on it but thought it would be a tad rude to hog your comments with an opus!! What would he do I wonder!
I don't think I could ever leave Earth forever. Living on a ship no matter how nice could never compare. I think I would long for the fresh country air and wildlife in it's natural setting. Even a massive ship with lots of biodiversity will never compare to Spaceship Earth.
Uncertainly is one of the things that we find hardest to deal with as human beings BUT it is also what helps to keep life interesting. I would have to stick around to see where the singularity took us and that also gets me to point no.3:
I would hope to have the opportunity to upgrade myself post singularity to be a super human. I would be more interested in the mental side of things - what if I could have an IQ of 1000 or 10,000 or a million? What could I perceive, what could I achieve? What could the a whole world of us achieve with that?
Not much to add to this.
However, it would depend on how I felt, my age, what my future looked like, etc. I'm not getting any younger. If the trip was when I was more advanced and I wasn't really feeling like I was contributing much to the world, I might go with either A or B. Mostly it would be for the experience, and perhaps because I might feel that some grey hair would do the crew some good. :)
Could you really leave this place behind though? Particularly when you are just uncertain about what will happen rather than knowing it will be some kind of apocalypse for certain.
Thanks for the great reply @thecryptofiend! Will your answer change? If the Mothership is:-
Made to be 99.99% like Earth.
Equipped with cryo-sleeping chambers for the long haul.
Is headed towards another Earth-like planet.
What inspired me to write this earlier (I've mentioned this in another comment below):-
Awesome response. I actually starting writing this after pondering about social causes, and feuds you see online over different ideologies.. as if supporters only want to live with their kind. I think this scenario may open up some eyes about the importance of diversity.
The plan is to design posts like this to spur interesting discussions.. lemme know what you think about this too :)
That would certainly make it more tempting but I'm not sure I could ever let go of this place:)
Equipped with cryo-sleeping chambers for the long haul.
That would make it more bearable as long as we don't have a homicidal AI like HAL switching the life support off lol:)
Is headed towards another Earth-like planet.
Again this would make it more attractive. I think I would need to know for certain that Earth is doomed and there is no future here before I left. Even then I might not go because I'm a sentimental fool. Perhaps a little more like the band members on the Titanic who continued to play music as the ship sank!
The plan is to design posts like this to spur interesting discussions.. lemme know what you think about this too :)
That's a great idea. One of the things I have noticed that comments and discussion have really died down compared to where they used to be. I think it is an important part of a vibrant and cohesive community.
I'd have to go with C because if I can somehow figure out how to make myself valuable to the super intelligent beings who will now rule the earth (either as a novelty, a zoo pet, or some other means), I can hopefully augment my own conscious existence with enough new technology to grow and expand in order to be (if not on par) in sync enough to at least comprehend the future evolution of information embodied by super intelligence to join with them on some level and grow as they grow, exponentially. If possible, I might be able to live through new breakthroughs in technology which would allow me to travel to all the other colonies mentioned and, in essence, participate in A and B as well via real-time information linked clones traveling through warp or sub-dimensional space to each of the other human experiences throughout the universe. Exponential growth in information processing will quickly surpass the capabilities of those on a voyage.
A time may come when biological information storage may be seen as so primitive as to be laughable. Hopefully, the transition won't be so quick so that the new species of consciousness don't disregard the value of those who birthed them.
Hahah i like the way you think about this! Do this so you can also cover the other options! Generally I'm not a doomsayer for advanced AIs of the future, but for sure, the uncertainty about what's gonna happen is there.. and in a big way! There's a pretty crazy novel I've read a long time ago, it's by Alastair Reynolds - called Pushing Ice. It's a about an asteroid miner ship getting abducted by some mysterious alien force, and dragged into an extreme faraway galaxy with some pretty weird settings. The alien civ is so advanced, the human miners were like ants trying to comprehend human beings on Earth.. !
Why not B? Getting on a ship with a bunch of people who have a 'shared vision' or basic philosophy in common sounds like it would be peaceful, but I think that leads to more bickering over minute bullshit due to lack of diverse opinion. If everyone generally agrees, important problems can be overlooked, contingency planning may be insufficient. Diversity is always good for survival.
I choose C. I like the idea of not knowing what's going to happen on earth. Why would I assume the AI would harm me? I guess there is deep fear of lack of control. Would they be so powerful as to stop me from offing myself were I to find life under the AI overlords too painful and/or meaningless?
It could end up being awesome. Maybe I'd be recruited to help track down and kill the rest of my species who took off scared. I'd do it. I could be a post-apocalyptic anti-hero. On some ship with other earthlings I'd likely have to take orders from someone too. I'm taking my chances with the singularity on this beautiful planet.
I'm similar. B is some bit of certainty that it's heading a direction likely.
But I'm more A than C. Since both uncertain anyway, I'll give A a shot. :-)
No other complex analysis or logic.
Awesome response. I actually starting writing this after pondering about social causes, and feuds you see online over different ideologies.. as if supporters only want to live with their kind only. I think this scenario may open up some eyes about the importance of diversity. Beautifully said @radioactivities :)
Singularity doesn't scare me - in fact, I'd embrace it. I'll definitely choose C.
You'd have to try a lot harder to get me to pick A - maybe a catastrophic collapse of the ecosystem, maybe through runaway global warming, a supervolcano, or a meteor hit. In that case, I'll go with A. I don't trust the free market and overwhelming aggression of the human species to choose B.
Hahah why is A such a bad choice? Okay maybe I'll add in this: it's generational ship (with deep freeze chambers), and surely headed for another earth-like body, but far away!
For me it is B that is the hard choice. As for A, well, you have made it more interesting now. But to witness the singularity is still far more appealing :)
I would go on a small independent ship with with a crew aflame with an impossible dream. After six month with endless discussions in the consensus democratic ship-assembly, and things always ending up with me doing all the work, I will regret I did not go with the Mothership.
I have trained all my life for this mission. I keep telling myself to go with the institution, the mainstream... But answer me this: why are we discussing this on Steemit and not on Facebook.
well, being a North American who is here because of the willingness of my predecessors to venture out into uncertainty, I'd do A. We wont know where the ship will take us but the people on board will be willing to do what is needed to make a future where they end up.
I have prepared for this for a long time. I cannot and do not attempt to persuade my peers, each person has their own reason for choosing the option that they take.
Me, I have read far too many sci fi novels of mother ships made up of a broad spectrum of humanity and the travails that they inevitably encounter as such a disparate group moves between the stars spending so many years in the cold black void. I know this way lies madness. Inevitably mob rule wins. Physicality wins out over cerebral thinking. The triumph of the lowest common denominator.
I decide instead to share a ship with my peers, my like minded fellows. Surely this way we can reason our way into the eternal night. Problems discovered and solved along the way with group think and common purpose. At least thats what I tell the panel of interviewers for my chosen ship. I pass the barrage of tests. Each one designed to winnow out those who are not of a similar vein. I am granted permission to board.
Oh but would they know the darkness that dwells within me, the need to subjugate and dominate. I do not board this ship with the intention of sharing and communal purpose. I intend to rule, violently and ruthlessly. My empire has been created. My subjects have already volunteered for their prison, the hell that awaits them.
As I said before physicality wins out over cerebral thinking and oh I shall win
Woah this is poetic and reads off like a prequel to some aweomse novel lol. What happens when everyone has been conquered... what will the lone wolf do then.. ?!
Hehe, when I read your post I was going to answer with a reasoned approach as to what option I would choose but then this idea popped into my head and I was almost going to knock out a short story based on it but thought it would be a tad rude to hog your comments with an opus!! What would he do I wonder!
Make a new post out of it! Sounds like a crazy renegade story lol.
I think I might! :O)
I think C. For a few reasons:
Not much to add to this.
However, it would depend on how I felt, my age, what my future looked like, etc. I'm not getting any younger. If the trip was when I was more advanced and I wasn't really feeling like I was contributing much to the world, I might go with either A or B. Mostly it would be for the experience, and perhaps because I might feel that some grey hair would do the crew some good. :)
Could you really leave this place behind though? Particularly when you are just uncertain about what will happen rather than knowing it will be some kind of apocalypse for certain.
Right. That's why my initial response was to stay.
But if the context was just right (or wrong?), I might want to go. I certainly won't be a young man in twelve years.
A or C for me. Crypto makes a great argument-it's a toughie. B I would find stagnant.
Thanks for the great reply @thecryptofiend! Will your answer change? If the Mothership is:-
What inspired me to write this earlier (I've mentioned this in another comment below):-
The plan is to design posts like this to spur interesting discussions.. lemme know what you think about this too :)
That would certainly make it more tempting but I'm not sure I could ever let go of this place:)
That would make it more bearable as long as we don't have a homicidal AI like HAL switching the life support off lol:)
Again this would make it more attractive. I think I would need to know for certain that Earth is doomed and there is no future here before I left. Even then I might not go because I'm a sentimental fool. Perhaps a little more like the band members on the Titanic who continued to play music as the ship sank!
That's a great idea. One of the things I have noticed that comments and discussion have really died down compared to where they used to be. I think it is an important part of a vibrant and cohesive community.
Great work as always:)
Exactly how I feel!
Oh... I love it. Great idea, Kevin. Very cool. :)
I'd have to go with C because if I can somehow figure out how to make myself valuable to the super intelligent beings who will now rule the earth (either as a novelty, a zoo pet, or some other means), I can hopefully augment my own conscious existence with enough new technology to grow and expand in order to be (if not on par) in sync enough to at least comprehend the future evolution of information embodied by super intelligence to join with them on some level and grow as they grow, exponentially. If possible, I might be able to live through new breakthroughs in technology which would allow me to travel to all the other colonies mentioned and, in essence, participate in A and B as well via real-time information linked clones traveling through warp or sub-dimensional space to each of the other human experiences throughout the universe. Exponential growth in information processing will quickly surpass the capabilities of those on a voyage.
A time may come when biological information storage may be seen as so primitive as to be laughable. Hopefully, the transition won't be so quick so that the new species of consciousness don't disregard the value of those who birthed them.
In a word, assimilate :)
Hahah i like the way you think about this! Do this so you can also cover the other options! Generally I'm not a doomsayer for advanced AIs of the future, but for sure, the uncertainty about what's gonna happen is there.. and in a big way! There's a pretty crazy novel I've read a long time ago, it's by Alastair Reynolds - called Pushing Ice. It's a about an asteroid miner ship getting abducted by some mysterious alien force, and dragged into an extreme faraway galaxy with some pretty weird settings. The alien civ is so advanced, the human miners were like ants trying to comprehend human beings on Earth.. !
I get on board with the "mothership connection " and funk it up to dance into the future
Yeah if mothership's heading somewhere else, better remember to bring some musicians on board :D
A direct invitation to muse; awesome.
My instincts say C, maybe A, definitely not B.
Why not B? Getting on a ship with a bunch of people who have a 'shared vision' or basic philosophy in common sounds like it would be peaceful, but I think that leads to more bickering over minute bullshit due to lack of diverse opinion. If everyone generally agrees, important problems can be overlooked, contingency planning may be insufficient. Diversity is always good for survival.
I choose C. I like the idea of not knowing what's going to happen on earth. Why would I assume the AI would harm me? I guess there is deep fear of lack of control. Would they be so powerful as to stop me from offing myself were I to find life under the AI overlords too painful and/or meaningless?
It could end up being awesome. Maybe I'd be recruited to help track down and kill the rest of my species who took off scared. I'd do it. I could be a post-apocalyptic anti-hero. On some ship with other earthlings I'd likely have to take orders from someone too. I'm taking my chances with the singularity on this beautiful planet.
I'm similar. B is some bit of certainty that it's heading a direction likely.
But I'm more A than C. Since both uncertain anyway, I'll give A a shot. :-)
No other complex analysis or logic.
Awesome response. I actually starting writing this after pondering about social causes, and feuds you see online over different ideologies.. as if supporters only want to live with their kind only. I think this scenario may open up some eyes about the importance of diversity. Beautifully said @radioactivities :)
Singularity doesn't scare me - in fact, I'd embrace it. I'll definitely choose C.
You'd have to try a lot harder to get me to pick A - maybe a catastrophic collapse of the ecosystem, maybe through runaway global warming, a supervolcano, or a meteor hit. In that case, I'll go with A. I don't trust the free market and overwhelming aggression of the human species to choose B.
Hahah why is A such a bad choice? Okay maybe I'll add in this: it's generational ship (with deep freeze chambers), and surely headed for another earth-like body, but far away!
For me it is B that is the hard choice. As for A, well, you have made it more interesting now. But to witness the singularity is still far more appealing :)
I would go on a small independent ship with with a crew aflame with an impossible dream. After six month with endless discussions in the consensus democratic ship-assembly, and things always ending up with me doing all the work, I will regret I did not go with the Mothership.
Haha.. funny, and probably very true in that type of setting!
I have trained all my life for this mission. I keep telling myself to go with the institution, the mainstream... But answer me this: why are we discussing this on Steemit and not on Facebook.
I never learn :)
well, being a North American who is here because of the willingness of my predecessors to venture out into uncertainty, I'd do A. We wont know where the ship will take us but the people on board will be willing to do what is needed to make a future where they end up.
D: Cry and drink. A lot. That's what I'm going with.
excellent post congratulations, thank you very much for sharing
Thanks @jlufer!