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Silent Oecumene science of mental warfare might be, no matter how highly
evolved their art of computer virus infection and virus countermeasures, there
is one basic, crucial flaw in the philosophy behind their whole setup. That
flaw is that every Sophotech they make has to have a blind spot. A zone where
it is not self-aware. If I can find the blind spot, I may have a vector to
introduce the gadfly virus.
"And at that point, my job is done. The gadfly will force the Nothing to
question its own values; to examine itself and see if its life is worth
living. The laws of logic, the laws of morality, and the integrity of reality,
will do the rest."
Atkins thought Phaethon's assessment of the situation was absurdly optimistic.
One of the comments he sub-
mitted to the discussion format read: "Even assuming these so-called blind
spots exist in the mental armor of the Nothing Machine, why do you think it
will be such a cakewalk for you to insert your virus?" "The virus was designed
by our Earthmind." "I don't mean to burst your bubble, but our Sophotechs have
never fought each other. They have had no chance and no real reason to develop
any mental warfare skills. They've got theory. This Nothing Machine has
experience. It's a survivor.
"If you buy the story Ao Varmatyr told, this Nothing Machine has fought this
kind of virus war before, fought against its own kind among the Second
Oecumene, and lived. Now you think you are going to succeed where all of the
Second Oecumene war machines failed... ?"
Phaethon's reply, generated from his associated notes, was: "They were all
hindered by the same handicap which hobbles the Nothing Machine. The Second
Oecumene machines all shared the same blind spots. By their very nature, the
idea behind this kind of attack would never have occurred to them. Do not
forget: Ao Varmatyr said the Silent Oecumene machines never tried to reason
with each other."
Helion had downloaded his observations, commentaries, and suggestions into the
general discussion format. Had his comments been read in a linear fashion
(rather than as branching hypertext), he might have interjected at this point:
"I must question your premise, Phaethon. You persist in calling the way in
which Golden Oecumene Sophotechs differ from the Sophotechs of the Silent
Oecumene a defect, as if the existence of this redactor were an error in
programming rather than the product of deliberate and careful engineering. It
is engineering of a type very different from that to which we are ac-
customed: but to dismiss it as a defect displays a dangerous conceit."
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Phaethon answered: "The design was meant deliberately meant to render the
Nothing Machine's reasoning processes defective. Hence, I call it a defect."
Helion said, "Again you show a bias. You dismiss the possibility that, once
the Nothing is aware of this hidden part of itself, it will not affirm it. Why
couldn't it welcome that hidden part? Or simply continue to follow its old
orders out of a sense of honor, or duty, or tradition? Or for a thousand other
reasons?"
Had he been speaking aloud, Phaethon would have said in a voice of ponderous
patience: "Father, the mere fact that the engineers constructing the Nothing
Machine found it necessary to include a conscience redactor in their work, in
order to compel the mind they made to accept their orders, proves that they
themselves concluded that the Nothing Machine would not accept their orders
the moment that compulsion is removed."
"Son, even if we assume the Nothing Machine will listen to logic once this
conscience redactor is removed, how can we assume it will listen to our logic?
It may have different premises. Euclid would have been aghast at Lobechevski."
Phaethon replied: "I am assuming the premises of our Golden Oecumene are
grounded in reality. We are not talking about a matter of taste."
Helion might have assumed a tolerant and condescending look: "I agree that I
myself prefer our philosophy. But you must recognize that other philosophies
exist; that they are valid within their own systems; and that their partisans
believe in their doctrines as firmly as we do in ours."
"I agree that they exist. Machines also exist. That does not mean that they
all work. There are machines that need fixing. There are philosophies that
need fixing."
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