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Over the next week, Isabella gets the alethiometer to tell her that the planets they looked at don't contain microorganisms that know what to do with a human body (although the one with the giant bugs has some multicellular parasites that might be able to make do with the foreign macro-scale features of a human body if they got the chance). "The present", it includes in one of its answer phrasings, which is kind of worrying. But Adarin makes enough progress with his scry in little enough time that it's worth the double-check.
Isabella also hires ticket-takers, gives them little pots of ink to verify the authenticity of the passes she handed out, and opens the Los Angeles - New York route for the employees of her three companies of choice and anyone who shells out a cool fifteen thousand dollars per round trip (ten K for a one-way). This is steep, but it's within an order of magnitude of what people sometimes pay for short-notice first-class cross-country flights - with less novelty and more hassle. Albeit she doesn't supply inflight meals. She expects to have to raise the price when more people hear about it in response to volume and then be able to drop it again.
By the time the thing has been open for a few days she's fired and replaced one ticket-taker and the others have settled into a routine that she's willing to try out leaving unsupervised for awhile.
If Adarin's up for some up close and personal planet shopping and his results suggest it'll go well, anyway.
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"That's the plan! Plant robot army. Next one I have reason to name gets 'Wisteria'." She flies after Rosie. Rosie is not all that fast.
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"I love you too."
Rosie leads them to what appears to be an entrance to an underground facility.
"Is this locked?" Isabella asks it.
"YES"
"Is it trapped or attached to an alarm system?"
"NO"
English again. "Okay. So I guess we get to finesse the lock with magic. I'll try to come up with a verse for it but if I don't get anywhere you can probably manage, or we can just note where this is for our next visit."
Rosie leads them to what appears to be an entrance to an underground facility.
"Is this locked?" Isabella asks it.
"YES"
"Is it trapped or attached to an alarm system?"
"NO"
English again. "Okay. So I guess we get to finesse the lock with magic. I'll try to come up with a verse for it but if I don't get anywhere you can probably manage, or we can just note where this is for our next visit."
prodigal_miser
"I can probably manage! But you get to go first, I am the walking battery. Slowly charging myself up," he says dryly.
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"Right. Hmmm. I don't think the only unlocking spell I have memorized will work on anything high-tech, let alone high-tech and also alien..." Isabella gets to composing. (Rosie has no comment.)
Eventually Isabella puts her hand on the door and says:
"Lock from centuries ago,
Let the door ajar,
Stand aside and open wide,
Unlock, release, unbar."
There is a grinding noise. The door unlatches and swings free - from hinges at the top, like a cat door, not from the side.
Eventually Isabella puts her hand on the door and says:
"Lock from centuries ago,
Let the door ajar,
Stand aside and open wide,
Unlock, release, unbar."
There is a grinding noise. The door unlatches and swings free - from hinges at the top, like a cat door, not from the side.
prodigal_miser
Adarin grins. "Your magic's so much more theatrical than mine, it's so delightful."
He peers inside! Is there anything possibly dangerous? Does he need to get defensive of Isabella and put up a shield?
He peers inside! Is there anything possibly dangerous? Does he need to get defensive of Isabella and put up a shield?
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There's another robot! It does not bother them.
"I'm designating you Wisteria," Isabella tells this one, since Rosie hasn't followed them in.
"UNDERSTOOD" says Wisteria.
"Show us where the commands to the robots get issued."
"THIS IS NOT AUTHORIZED" says Wisteria.
"Okay... Adarin, what do you think, field-promotion or is there still a reason that might be a bad idea?"
"I'm designating you Wisteria," Isabella tells this one, since Rosie hasn't followed them in.
"UNDERSTOOD" says Wisteria.
"Show us where the commands to the robots get issued."
"THIS IS NOT AUTHORIZED" says Wisteria.
"Okay... Adarin, what do you think, field-promotion or is there still a reason that might be a bad idea?"
prodigal_miser
He considers, then says, "We should check intelligence and possible sentience levels first, if you don't mind."
Adarin switches languages, then just asks bluntly, "Wisteria, are you sentient?"
Adarin switches languages, then just asks bluntly, "Wisteria, are you sentient?"
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"REPHRASE INQUIRY FOR LANGUAGE PROCESSOR" suggests Wisteria.
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"UNITS ARE PROGRAMMED TO RESPOND DYNAMICALLY TO NOVEL INPUT FOR CORRECT DECISION-MAKING ON BEHALF OF NOBLE NNSARXPH"
prodigal_miser
Head-tilt. Okay, that's... Kinda intelligence? Sort of? "Do you have opinions on things? If something broke you, would you feel anything about it?"
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"UNITS ARE PROGRAMMED TO SELF-SACRIFICE FOR STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES OR TO ENABLE THE FIELD MAINTENANCE OF OTHER UNITS - UNDER OTHER CIRCUMSTANCES PRESERVATION OF UNITS IS WORTHWHILE"
prodigal_miser
Well that kind of bothers him, a little. He understands strategically why it would be a thing that's programmed, but it bugs him to make something that will kill itself if necessary. Responsibility to things that you create, and all.
"Do you have preferences about things? Is there something you prefer doing over other things?"
"Do you have preferences about things? Is there something you prefer doing over other things?"
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"IN THE ABSENCE OF MISSIONS UNITS REMAIN AT THEIR MOST RECENTLY ORDERED POSTS EXCEPT WHEN RENDEZVOUS FOR CANNIBALIZATION IS NECESSARY OR TO REPLACE A UNIT AT A MORE HIGHLY PRIORITIZED LOCATION WHICH HAS BEEN DESTROYED" says Wisteria.
prodigal_miser
"That's really not helpful," mutters Adarin in English. Then, back to addressing Wisteria. "Is there anything you would like to do as a unit? A goal to accomplish?"
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"ALL UNITS ARE NETWORKED TO SHARE INFORMATION AND COORDINATE," Wisteria says.
"I think it's correcting your assumption that it matters which robot we're talking to," says Isabella.
"I think it's correcting your assumption that it matters which robot we're talking to," says Isabella.
prodigal_miser
"Yeaah, that was kind of assuming of me, wasn't it? Oh well."
Clear poor abused throat, then, "Wisteria, if you were destroyed, would your - programs remain intact somewhere else?"
Clear poor abused throat, then, "Wisteria, if you were destroyed, would your - programs remain intact somewhere else?"
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"ALL PROGRAMMING AND DATA IS SHARED IN COMMON WITH ALL UNITS - THIS UNIT'S NETWORKING IS UP TO DATE"
"So it's like they're one shared distributed organism, not like there are nine hundred eighty-eight of them."
"So it's like they're one shared distributed organism, not like there are nine hundred eighty-eight of them."
prodigal_miser
"That helps with some moral issues of taking them apart, certainly. I mean - I don't think they're people, they don't seem like it, but I kind of still feel obliged to keep checking. Because paranoid."
In the throat-abuser: "Do you have an opinion on something changing your programming?"
In the throat-abuser: "Do you have an opinion on something changing your programming?"
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"THE PROGRAMMING DIRECTIVES ISSUED FROM THE COMMAND CENTER AUTHORIZED BY THE HIGHEST RANKING MEMBER OF THE MILITARY OF THE NOBLE NNSARXPH WILL BE OBEYED"
prodigal_miser
"Yes, but what if - what if it gave an order that doesn't make sense to your current programming?"
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"THE PURPOSE OF REVISED ORDERS IS TO SUPERSEDE PRIOR ORDERS" says Wisteria.
prodigal_miser
Adarin sighs. "If one robot were destroyed - is anything lost? Aside from the unit itself, anything like programs, memories - anything?"
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"DATA WHICH WAS NOT YET BROUGHT INTO THE NETWORK DUE TO DELAYED CONNECTIVITY OR LOSS OF COMMUNICATIONS EQUIPMENT MAY BE LOST"