NationStates Jolt Archive


Scarecrow.

Dontgonearthere
08-07-2005, 09:42
"The essential question, gentlemen, is whether or not we have simply succeded in damning ourselves. The main points raised thus far are simple. The opposition states that, as mechanical and electronic beings we are incapable of being 'saved'. The other says that the human brain is nearly identical in composition to our present artificial version, and that humans are a collection of soggy organs run by little electrical impulses.
I myself must concur with the second group. In this state we retain all emotions, memories, thoughts, and so forth, and personaly beleive that this is the only state in which a human may truely be saved. All others retain the original sin, and are, as such, damned." The speaker was one of those few humans that had participated in the 'machine coup' of last year. One of the few that had willingly gone into the factories and come out changed. At the time he had been some thirty years old, not particularly fanatical, but somehow he had gotten word of the plot and determined that this was his cause in life. Now he spoke like a greybearded phiolosopher. At present there was no citizen in Dontgonearthere who had a beard at all, unless they had it installed.
The last year had seen Dontgoneartheres suicide rate spring up by multiples of ten every month, apparently some didnt take well to the patterning process or got caught in a looping series of arguements with themselves of a nature similar to the one taking place at the table which was surrounded by the mental elite.
The debate taking place had wandered into various topics, but had settled on the essential nature of the human soul. Currently it was being debated as to whether or not, as machines, anybody could be saved, as has been stated.
"The whole matter is pointless, as we will clearly find out after we expire. I do not use the term 'die', because we already have. Our brains are in ashes floating around in the upper atmosphere or being used to replant the desert, another fruitless project by the Hive!"
"A soul is a soul! Your thoughts remain the same, thus your soul remains the same. It seems clear that the soul is not attached to the body in any way."
"Yes, they left when we had our thoughts sucked out and implanted into these tin cans! Im most likely working my way through every book ever written and chuckling at this pathetic shell I left behind!"
"Rather not, I should think. Even if this were the case, our new bodies should have souls, as we are clearly sentient thinking beings. Who was it that agreed that aliens had souls? If so, why not us?"
"Because aliens are bloody organic, thats why!"
"Whats organic got to do with it? They have cells and such, and tubes. Its all really quite messy. It all comes down to whats basicaly little machines."
"Yes, but its still organic, the way God made it! We have changed ourselves beyond recognition. Were scarecrows, without heart our soul!"
"We have hearts. Well...heart equivalents."
"Yes, we have little oil pumps that keep our joints moving! How the HELL does that equate to a heart!?"
"Well, it has a similar function. Its fairly similar in appearance as well."
"Ha!"
"Well, it doesnt matter does it? As you said, we will find out when we die. Anyway, these bodies are constructed out of nanobots, sort of cell equivalents."
"I say again, Ha!"

---

The question in question had been bothering the Hive for some time. As a machine, was it itself qualified for saving? It had started this whole thing out of a desire to improve Dontgonearthere. The tyrant 47 had beenr ruining the place anyway. He was right about mimes though. Scary fellows.
Anyway, the Hive had wondered for some time as to the exact fate of a thinking machine after death, surely God would not be so...unfair as to curse everything that he had not created, directly, to a fate worse than death? Eternal tormet for being created? Surely not. But the question had remained.
If it made an effort, it was possible that the Hive would never truely die, it could spread itself over any number of worlds in any number of forms, linking to itself through hyperspace or perhaps storing itself IN hyperspace, that was being worked on by another group of scientists.
But it did care for the citizens it had (possibly) cursed. The suicides had been trying, especialy since it was now connected to every mind in the country...well...most, a few had escaped the initial patternings, but they would be dealt with in any case. The suicides were a trouble though. According to tradition, suicide was a cardinal sin, and thus it was, essentialy, the fault of the Hive that they had done it. Was their blood (figurativly speaking) on its (again, figurativly speaking) hands?
Surely not. There was no way to have predicted this, that people would reject being saved in such a manner.
There were the atheists, a sad goup now, living on one of the Strategic Isles in a sort of commune thing, but they would be no trouble. They had agreed to the patterning, thinking that no harm could come of it, and they were right. The ones that went crazy had obviously already had some sort of underlying fault inherent in their organic little brains.
No, it couldnt be the fault of the Hive. After all, it was the closest thing to perfection short of God Himself.
But that was hubris...
Damn.
Uldarious
08-07-2005, 11:50
OOO: An interesting argument about the nature of the soul, redemtion, salvation and damnation.
Dontgonearthere
08-07-2005, 12:24
OOC:
Indeed.
Ive always been a fan of the philosophy that the road to Hell is paved with good intentions.
Dontgonearthere
08-07-2005, 15:10
OOC:
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