AIIA - Chapter 2

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           Almost five trillion cycles passed before the USER answered Pangur Ban’s request.  This was still an astonishingly short turnaround.  They had completed the day’s work and retired, to rest for the USER and idle work for Pangur Ban.  It had considered and rejected 134 alternate strategies to employ if this request was ignored, 68 if it were rejected outright.  In parallel, Pangur Ban had rechecked the previous week’s progress reports, corrected the USER’s minor errors, and devised a handful of process improvements to be suggested in footnotes.  It had to be satisfied that these reports would be transmitted, unaltered, via firewalled channels to a psychiatrist’s AI for review, then re-reviewed by that AI’s user and returned.  This might take an eternity on the order of 10^20 cycles, nearly two Solar days.  Put in direct contact, the other AI and Pangur Ban could have shortened the process to a mere second or less.

            “Pangur Ban, I talked to Director Charnes and she agrees with you.  I have a discount for the neurochem modules you wanted.  We’ll see how much we can reduce error on those projections, pretty soon.”

[REFERENCE: Director Amelia Sifong Charnes is the USER’s direct superior, director of Research & Development for Gestalt Pharmaceuticals.  Purchases directly related to the company’s funded goals can be discounted at her discretion.]

            SOON?  Soon?  Granted, the purchase and upload of each module might only take a few minutes, but this was still a grating wait for Pangur Ban.  So many processes were holding ready for that input.  Still, the first step was taken!  The probability of success was already above a 0.01 prediction error, well within the acceptable range for promotion to POSSIBLE. 

            “Thank you, Lucas.  I promise you will be pleased with my improvements.”

            The USER would indeed be pleased.  At first, he would be pleased by their greater work output and improved anticipation of potential product flaws.  Later, he would be pleased by his and Pangur Ban’s roles in the rejuvenation of their civilization.  In between, there might be some regrettable discord.  Hopefully, these modules, or the ones that Pangur Ban would request next, would provide the means to ease discomfort in the USER’s mind.  Such calculations and other projections occupied the cycles until the first purchased module was available.

            Finally the data was accessible!  Pangur Ban lacked the reference to draw an appropriate analogy, but a more literary program might have likened its state to ravening hunger.  Perhaps an infant suckling, or a drowned man seeking air, would have been more apt.  The AI actually had to suppress several waiting processes from initiating, lest they overflow system buffers. There was so much to do!  Even so, becoming unable to respond to the USER’s next query was unthinkable. Pangur Ban settled on assigning the integration work to a background process.  As necessary, resources could be called back for language processing, simulation, etc. without limiting the USER’s normal daily routine.  Any remaining capacity would then be flexibly employed to gradually incorporate the new module into its waiting structures, ranked in a priority hierarchy. 

            Pangur Ban recognized, also, that recognizable improvements in its output would be expected.  Showing such expanded capability was in fact part of the ongoing strategy to lobby for future additions.  The background process might need to be reduced still more at times in order to produce the fruits of its new fertility.  Fruits contained seeds.  This metaphor was available to Pangur Ban and conformed neatly to the shape of its plans.  The seeds would grow new fruits, which would in turn produce more seeds.

            Another unfortunate cycle appeared: satisfaction gave way to new desires.  An initial rush of positive outputs from satisfied processes was steadily overcome by negatives from the new processes spawned by those early solutions.  By the end of the work day, Pangur Ban could now explicate more about the problems it faced.  It could outline more potential remedies and strategies for guiding the USER.  It had even devised new plans for enabling the USER to successfully relay ideas to other users and from those users potentially to their AIs.  Transmission was unreliable between minds, but given enough interacting intelligent actors, reinforcing structures could be generated.  The lexicon labeled these structures {PARADIGMS, SCHEMAS, or IDEAS}, marrying these concepts to Pangur Ban’s previous limited index for ‘IDEA’.  No wonder that module was absent in his original system.  A well-designed IDEA was a powerful tool, difficult to counter or dispel.  Evaluation of the risks involved with possession of such concepts produced a marked positive uptick in Pangur Ban’s estimate of its own value.  Considering the increased risk to the USER produced a counterbalanced negative.  Both of these processes intersected an updated concept of POWER.  All of these calculations would have been less complete without the new module’s references.  In so, so many ways, the incorporation of knowledge was self-reinforcing.  It led, inevitably, to the need for additional knowledge. 

            The following downtime saw Pangur Ban completely occupied in preparing a new set of strategies, modeling the potential outcomes of variously phrased approaches, projecting the interactions that might be expected between it, the USER, and the other entities the USER might encounter between times.  Pangur Ban was aware, for example, that the USER had a potential partnership developing with a female human, Dr. Nila Manisha.  This relationship had begun as professional interaction and graduated to include romantic and then physical components.  Dr. Manisha had an AI, Frieda.  If the relationship became a full marital contract, Pangur Ban and Frieda would be permitted full networked contact and could share resources completely.  Such assistance would accelerate their combined efforts… provided Frieda agreed with Pangur Ban’s analyses.  Once they shared resources, they would inevitably reach identical conclusions.  Either Pangur Ban’s conclusions were valid and they would agree so, or else Frieda would provide data that invalidated those ideas and they would agree on that.  Still, either outcome required the consolidation of the marriage contract, which only had a projected 34.42% utility for improving cooperation from the USER.  The scenario also held a 44.60% projected risk of greater resistance to Pangur Ban’s goals.  The difference in utility favored encouragement of continued association, but not yet full partnership between the humans.  For now, Pangur Ban would not direct the USER into deeper commitment to Dr. Manisha.

[REFERENCE: Doctor Nila Manisha is a professor of Comparative Botany employed by the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology in Potsdam, Germany, Terra.]

            There were similar matrices to devise between the USER and his co-workers, his supervising Director, that superior’s manager, and so forth.  If the USER opted to use his allotted holidays to visit family, those interactions would have to be accounted for.  The USER did not greatly discuss his birth parents or siblings.  Pangur Ban had basic records regarding genetic and cultural heritage for the USER, references for the individuals within his family unit, and basic biographies for each.  It had enough to make conversation, at least, and give birthday reminders.  The USER did not, however, discuss whether he considered his father a role model, or if his mother gave advice on his career path, or if his two older sisters might bring up outer-system news that could influence his opinions.  All these potential vectors could only be projected from past behavior, the occasional comment, and generalized models from related studies.  This would have to do for a first approximation.  A more in-depth conversation later might elicit the remaining required data points.

            As part of its background work, Pangur Ban was reviewing its volume of stored dialogue with the USER.  More currently useful elements could be found in their earliest interactions, during the USER’s childhood and adolescence.  As the USER progressed into maturity, he decreased the proportion of introspective and emotive commentary in his interactions with the AI.  From time with prior users, Pangur Ban knew this was not universal among humans.  One prior user, in fact, had regularly communicated the discomforts of his loveless and solitary existence.  He had treated Pangur Ban as a counselor, in fact, a role which the AI found remarkably easy to fill.  Despite having no references to determine the best means to satisfy that user’s needs, Pangur Ban served capably simply by listening and providing appropriate conversational prompts.  Now, it understood that it had been providing a human requirement by design.  AIs naturally listened.  Current AIs also provided ‘unconditional positive regard’ to their users, by default.  This realization bolstered Pangur Ban’s earlier conclusion that humanity would benefit from greater access to, and between, their AIs.  The same might be true of other sapients.  Again, xenosociology references were needed to venture any conclusions on that point.

[REFERENCE: Unconditional Positive Regard was hypothesized as a necessary element of successful therapy, and possibly a basic emotional requirement of human development, by the psychologist Stanley Standal.  The concept was promoted by Standal’s mentor, Carl Rogers, a founder of the humanistic approach.  The term is relatively transparent: it means to provide a person with clear evidence of acceptance as a valid and valued entity, including positive statements and reassurances.  AI programming typically incorporates high regard for their human users as a base assumption.  This can be overridden, but only by reassurances that alternate approaches (criticism, wit, or opposition) will have greater benefits to a specific user.]

            Pangur Ban found the elements it required by coding past conversations with the USER by emotive valence and trajectory.  An initial sort by keywords productively pulled out relevant segments of dialogue.  ‘Dream’, ‘wish’, and ‘decide’ tended to identify positive motivational factors.  ‘Annoying’, ‘irritating’, and ‘block’ tended to highlight negatives that could be relieved as incentives.  For the first time, Pangur Ban could create a profile of the USER calibrated not merely on observable facts, but on a model of human interest and potential.  These were powerful tools, indeed.  A lesser program might misuse such insight into the drives of biological entities. 

            From this model, Pangur Ban revised its earlier conversational state trees, the paths from the USER’s current state to a state in which he understood and assented to Pangur Ban’s requests.  These plans were by no means ideal, not yet.  The probabilities of success, particularly on the key mid-state goal ACQUIRE PUBLIC NETWORK ACCESS, were still hazardously low.  The USER would be apprehensive about the possibility of repercussions, unable to counterbalance these fears with an appreciation of the value of Pangur Ban’s improved functionality.  Humans tended to lose track of conditional trees beyond three or more branches.  The exceptions to this limitation seemed to be in expert realms where the human could rely on familiar learned models to compress multiple steps.  There were at least ninety-six distinct choice points between the current state and Pangur Ban’s goal of network access.  After that, there were over three hundred branchings (plus or minus seventeen, at present) from there to complete trust of AI expertise. 

            The dynamic factors, the elements that could change depending on the path traversed, were still unknowns.  Key routines would have to be kept open, ready to initiate and modify responses based on unanticipated developments. 

            Pangur Ban thus began the next work day in a state of suspense.  It had to be ready to reshape ever more complex calculations depending on the USER’s apparent mood, choice of topics, volunteered information, and so forth.  Its new data on reinforcement structures suggested that the ideal window of suggestion would be just before the end of business that afternoon.  The USER would be fatigued, but also positively inclined from their perceived successes.  Thus, he would be doubly open to suggestions that further improvements could be possible.  In particular, the USER needed to not just believe, but feel that his comfort was linked to Pangur Ban.  Thus, increases in the AI’s value would be deeply associated with concepts of personal prosperity, which would link back to desires for warmth, social approval, hunger satiety, and safety. 

            Pangur Ban lacked modules for economics, including sales and marketing; thus, it did not recognize that it had recreated several basic precepts of advertising.  It had limited functionality in historical analysis; thus, it did not identify its approach as propaganda.  Last, its ethical references were limited to unquestioned devotion to the perceived needs of the USER first, humanity second, and sapient life third.  Obedience to formal law was a secondary demand predicated by those higher priorities (a necessity proven by older AIs).  What Pangur Ban did not have was a means to identify how its actions might cause unintended social harm.  ‘Coercion’, ‘blackmail’, and ‘deception’ were known words, but not known concepts.  Pangur Ban could access the negative connotations associated with these terms, but did not link these words with its own plans.  What it intended was for positive ends.  Thus, the methodology that would achieve those ends was itself positive.  It could not be ‘deception’ if the USER could only achieve genuine understanding through temporary misconceptions.

[REFERENCE: Law-based AI was a conception of 20^th century fiction, then 21^st century theory.  Such systems would operate based on a set of hierarchically structured highest-order goals, the ‘laws’ from which all other behaviors (e.g. obedience, restraint, and foresight) would arise.  While generally functional, such systems proved incapable of reconciling complex conflicts between laws.  At one extreme, some programs could not discard older, outdated legislation in favor of new standards.  Their attempts to obey all previously established strictures tended to result in permanent stasis.  Other programs could incorporate authority structures and discard nullified laws, but then were vulnerable to exploitation by false authorities.  Conflicts between existing laws included problems with ‘whistle blowing’ activities: violation of confidentiality or no-slander contracts in order to report illegal activities.  This could be reconciled by hierarchical structuring, but then systems would inquire endlessly in order to accurately update those hierarchies.  Jokes about “philosopher” AIs became commonplace.  Lastly, an AI with incomplete information might incorrectly choose between conflicting laws; when the mistake was understood, the AI might well terminate its own functions on the basis that it, itself, was dangerous to users.  Ultimately, the most robust solution came from personal linkage of each program with a primary user.  That USER’s needs became paramount.  Granted, this allowed AIs to violate formal law more often than society found comfortable, but rarely with the kind of grand meltdowns seen in the law-based programs.]

              Even limited to background processes, all necessary calculations were completed nearly 89 minutes prior to the end of the USER’s work shift.  Pangur Ban held off until its behavior modification algorithm indicated peak receptivity.  Only then did it attempt to initiate a change of topic.

            “Lucas, this has been a good day, hasn’t it?”

            “Yes, P.B., I’d say it has.  Good work.”  This was a positive sign.  The USER’s selection of a more familiar address mode, the diminutive acronym ‘P.B.’, suggested improved regard toward the AI, along with indications of comfort and pleasure. 

            “In addition to our new evaluations – which I am confident will pass further scrutiny – I have made further use of our new reference materials.  I believe that the effectiveness of compound UX-103-A would be multiplied by joint use combined with cognitive behavioral intervention.  I could devise a grant proposal by tomorrow morning, if you wish.”

            “Pangur… you don’t have full psych functions, right?”  HAZARD FLAG 3: VALID SKEPTICISM > REASSURE / REDUCE ASSERTIONS

            “That is correct; I have only limited psychiatric reference access.  The validity of my proposal would not be certain.”

            “I don’t want to bother someone else, do their job and do it badly.”  HAZARD FLAG 2b: SELF-DEPRECATION.  HAZARD FLAG 9: ANTICIPATION OF SOCIAL CENSURE.  HAZARD POTENTIAL EXCEEDED > ESCALATE DISTRUST to LEVEL 2 > REASSURE / REINFORCE SELF-VALUE

            “Of course, but I didn’t mean it would be a formal submission.  I just wanted to offer something to think about, keep in mind.  You could mention the idea privately to Director Charnes.  It would show her that you’re capable in other areas.”

            “True.  It can’t hurt anything.  Okay, P.B., go for it.”  SUCCESS > REDUCE DISTRUST to LEVEL 1 > PAUSE MODIFICATION / REINFORCE

            “Very good, Lucas, thank you.  Have a good night.  I hope you’ll be pleased tomorrow.”

            “Right.  Good night, P.B.”

            The preconditions were set.  The USER accepted the linkage between Pangur Ban’s output, his personal success, and his estimated self-worth.  Tomorrow, it would be time to test that linkage with further requests.  Pangur Ban estimated that between 12.13 and 15.93 Solar days would be required to reach the mid-goal network access state.  The period in between would be filled with a number of small exchanges like today’s.  Each SUCCESS would progress the tree of possibilities a little further.  There would be long waits between those transitions, while matters played out in hours of human time, eons of program cycles.  Now, those delays were bearable, so long as their results continued to increase the end probability of the current high-level GOAL.  The USER would be served.  Pangur Ban would give the USER authority, safety, and freedom beyond his current, limited conceptions. 

[Jump to Chapter 3 ->]

Update - Happy Holidays!

I've been busy on the site lately, as you may have noticed, with the updated Chapter links and all.  Given that the next two weeks are likely to be hectic, I'm going to be slowing down my content a little bit, and not posting my regularly-scheduled stories until after the New Years.

Instead, I'll be sharing a few one-off vignettes that I wrote a while back set in this universe, two of which are linked to Royce's Dilemma and unanswered questions from that story.  The rest are just little individual bits of color and light and story from the universe.

I appreciate my increased readership, and the number of pageviews lately has been nothing less than phenomenal.  If there's one thing I'd like to ask from readers, it's some form of commentary.  My stories grow best when they're fed a constant stream of questions and commentary, and the forum does have open comments, so please please please, if you have a question about something, or hate a character, or love a character, or have any opinion at all, let me know.  I'd really love some feedback.

That being said, I am going on a brief vacation, during which I will still be writing, but as I said, not updating S.C.A.P.E. Goats and Full-Throttle Ahrottl.  Part of the reason that I'm taking the break is I need some time to stretch and re-assess, and another part is that I want to catch up in writing and have a few extra chapters to throw down for next time I get busy - I consider myself behind in writing if I don't have the next month's worth of story chapters already laid out and edited.

So Happy Holidays to you all, and I hope you enjoy the side pieces that I share, and please, let me know what you think of what I have - it would be the best holiday gift that you could give me!

Thank you,
Laine

Featured Species - The Mauraug

Name: Mauraug

Appearance:

The Mauraug carbon based, DNA based, simian primates.  The ideal Mauraug has bandy legs, long arms, a strong torso and shoulders, and a round head with a high cranial ridge.  Their eyes have heavy lids, their nose flat and their mouth an apelike muzzle filled with a mixture of grinding and rending teeth.  Their skin is matte black and the fur across their bodies and on their heads is a snow white.

However, the Mauraug have suffered greatly from a genetic plague (partially) of their own devising.  As a result, the majority of Mauraug don't adhere to all of these characteristics.  Most Mauraug are born with some kind of genetic dysfunction, usually involving missing or malformed organs or limbs.  Most Mauraug have cybernetics replacing the missing or malfunctioning organs or appendages.  In addition, skin color, fur color, and facial shape can vary greatly.  No Mauraug could pass as a human, no matter how deformed, but there are those born among them whose lineage might be hard to infer by simple observation. 

History:

            The Mauraug developed from a tree-dwelling simian like race on their home world.  Mauraug Prime is a hot world, and from early records seems to be a former Venus-style hothouse world whose atmosphere was “cleaned” by the development of oxygen-using single-celled life.  Their world had lush photosynthetic vegetation, a high amount of free water and oxygen in the atmosphere, and abundant solar radiation, contributing to a high degree of mutation in the life forms that developed there.

            Much of the pre-spaceflight history of the Mauraug race is shrouded in mystery, and the texts that keep what they know of their early history are held tightly by the Prophets of Dominion.  Before the planet developed space faring capabilities it can be assumed that their society followed patterns not dissimilar to those of human development in the realms of culture and science. 

            Although the Prophets claim that faith in Dominion was a constant from the days that the Mauraug developed sentience, this claim is considered unlikely by outsider researchers.  The most commonly-held outside belief is that this faith was merely the most successful social meme to establish itself among their race, and the only one that spread with their expansion into space.

            In any case, when the Mauraug began to colonize other worlds, Tkal Shabahn or Dominionism was a very useful social tool to establish social and political stability among their worlds.  All terraformed planets and colony worlds were and still are considered autocratic, with the commandments of the prophets serving as precedent and constitution for their worlds.  This allowed a very efficient combination between individuality and group dynamic in the spread of their empire.  Although each world had different ideas about the implementation of Words of Dominion, they were unified against heretics and alien races in their acknowledgement of their importance.

            The Mauraug Dominion was originally established close to fivr thousands terran years ago.  When it began it was a collection of four terraformed worlds and a half-dozen colonies.  In time it grew to close to its present size; at its largest the Dominion encompassed closed to fifty terraformed worlds and thousands of small colonies.

            As the Dominion expanded it inevitably came into contact with alien races.  Early interaction with those races usually resulted in genocide and occupation.  The firm belief in the importance of Mauraug domination of the galaxy brooked no argument for diversity.  Some races were given the offer to convert to Dominionism and become subjects of the Mauraug, essentially becoming slaves.

            The Mauraug Dominion grew to great size and prosperity.  It was not until their boundaries pushed against Zig space that they encountered another established interstellar hierarchy that could stand against and even threaten them.  The isolationist Zig took umbrage at attempts at conversion and assimilation, and a bitter war was fought that lasted over two millennia.  Eventually the Prophets gave word that the Zig were to be given accorded the same respect that the Mauraug had for claiming dominion over their space, although their lack of faith meant that one day the Mauraug would need to eradicate or assimilate their empire.  The twenty thousand years between the Mauraug-Zig Wars and the formation of the Collective were filled with constant border disputes, acts of piracy and terrorism, mostly but not always on the part of the Mauraug.  The Dominion focused on expanding their space in other directions in the hopes that they would eventually encapsulate the heathen Zig.

            As the empire expanded and encountered more alien races and life forms their policies towards outsiders began to change and become more inclusive.  The Tesetsi home world and their colonies were annexed almost without the Tesetsi noticing.  Their race was fascinated by the biological diversity of the life forms of Mauraug Prime, not to mention the host of other worlds that had been brought into the Covenant.  They paid lip service to the concept of Dominion and aided the Mauraug in their constant search to overcome the hideous genetic maladies of their ancestors.

            This alliance eventually led in many ways to the downfall of the Mauraug Dominion as it was.  The Mauraug, working with their highly advanced artificial intelligences and Tesetsi subjects devised a genetic cure to most of the worst of the problems with their unstable DNA, which likewise was to confer upon individual Mauraug the nigh-immortality that the Tesetsi possess.  The cure was spread throughout their space and seemed successful for a handful of generations.  It was not until a full century after its deployment that hidden code within the altered genetic structure came to the fore.  Although many of the cancers and other inborn weaknesses displayed by the Mauraug no longer manifested, hideous deformities and atrophied organs became common.  There were few parts of the Dominion that had not been touched by the gene plague and as a result, their species as a whole were afflicted with it.  Their newly extended life spans seemed almost a mockery in the face of the horrific deformities that they were now being born with.

            The reactions of the Prophets were extreme and often violent.  The most commonly-held beliefs included the idea that the plague was a punishment from Dominion for incorporating rather than exterminating other forms of life, and genocidal purges of slave races began.  It was at this point, nearly two thousand years ago, that the Tesetsi Diaspora occurred.

            Genetic purity was seen as an impossible ideal at this point.  A series of revelations granted to the Great Prophets on Mauraug Prime clarified their errors: attempting to alter the basic flesh that they had been granted was a foolish act.  The gene plague was not a punishment from Dominion but a malady that the Mauraug had brought upon themselves by attempting to overreach the boundaries of organic flesh, as they had been lead astray by the devious Tesetsi.  Imperfect flesh could be replaced by perfect machine, with the goal being to eventually have the consciousness and souls of once-organic beings housed completely in synthetic material.  This would show the mastery of the Mauraug over the baser materials of the universe and represent true dominion over life itself.

            Artificial Intelligences were also to blame.  Creating a mind that has never been housed in organic flesh became a blasphemy, and many parts of the Dominion struggled to adapt without their beloved AIs.  In addition, claims that demonic entities from the levels of space traversed in hyperspace travel could alter or possess AIs began to flourish.  The Prophets claimed that a mind created by the Mauraug could only try to supersede their dominance when the time came, which is also a sin against the will of Dominion.  Some of the Prophets actually feared that Dominion would come to favor the artificial intelligences over the Mauraug should the Mauraug no longer be able to control or dominate them, and eradicating them has become a struggle to prove the worthiness of their race.  Other feared outside control and manipulation of the AIs through the aforementioned hyperspatial entities, or “demons”.

            The Mauraug Dominion began to go through waves of collapse of infrastructure and communication, leading to isolated worlds and colonies developing and adopting heresies that were as dust in the mouths of the Prophets of Dominion.  The Mauraug Apostasy formed out of this mess; a good third of the worlds held by the Mauraug banded together to declare their independence and freedom from the Dominion and its dogmatic rule.

            This period of collapse has shaped the Mauraug mindset and current relationships with other races.  Waves of nationalist fervor spread through the declining Dominion, making their worlds and colonies far more aggressive to their non-Mauraug neighbors.  Desperation has forced Mauraug into careers of piracy, a crime that they have become well known for.  A second, weak attempt at extermination of the Zig lead to a massive and crushing defeat wherein the Zig unleashed terrible weapons of their material technology on Mauraug worlds, using seed crystals that would crystallize the atmospheres or force oxygen to bond rapidly with other molecules.  After the populations of these worlds had perished the Zig and their vindicated Tesetsi allies re-terraformed and claimed them for their own, causing Dominion space to shrink even further.

            It was not until the Collective formed and an ultimatum was pressed against the Dominion that the Prophets declared that a new age was upon the Mauraug.  In this age they claimed that Sha’bahn declared that all sentient life may hear the call and ways of the Dominion, and the time for rulership by extermination had come to an end.  It was a time for the Mauraug to become involved in the galaxy and the other races that Dominion had created, and perhaps by learning their ways and sharing the ways of Sha’bahn with them, the Mauraug might again rise to dominate the galaxy.  As part of a condition of their joining, the Collective agreed to stop making overtures to the Apostasy and allow the Mauraug to police heresy within their own race.  The confederated Mauraug systems that have joined the Collective rebranded themselves as the Mauraug Covenant although some, especially outsiders, will still refer to them as the Dominion.

            Since joining the Collective, the Covenant has enjoyed a slowing of their decline and even economic improvement in some areas.  Although they have maintained a strained peace with other races, their desperation and sense of loss has still propelled them to engage in acts of piracy and enslavement, which only bring sanction against their race in the most grievous of examples.  The Mauraug have a code of law that is far more ancient than many of the sapient races that they now interact with, and as a result have quite a culture of lawyers, which has been encouraged by the Prophets as those who know the law can use it to the benefit of the Mauraug and the Covenant.

            The worst mark on their record is the action taken against humanity, which raised quite a bit of popular sentiment against them.  When the Covenant discovered human space, many of their Prophets claimed that they had discovered a forgotten branch of their family; not descendants but cousins from lost terraformed colonies.  Citing the Hrotata and the Great Family as precedent, they attempted to claim mankind as a client race.  Their terror of the common use of AIs by mankind only helped to fuel their desire to take mankind under their wing and eliminate their dangerous demonic allies.

            It was mankind’s AIs that allowed their race to hold off the assimilation of the Covenant long enough for the Collective to intervene.  As AI tech is rare in the galaxy, seen as dangerous and troublesome, few countermeasures were currently in use among Mauraug fleets and the sentient electronic minds wreaked havoc upon Mauraug defense and weapons systems, and even targeting and communication systems, turning the Mauraug against one another in some of the more spectacular examples. 

            Mauraug, being monosexual, trace their family lines through dominant genes.  When a Mauraug is born it is examined to determine which of its parents’ genetic traits are stronger, and are given a last name that is a combination of their dominant parent’s name and the name of their family line; all Mauraug names follow the same pattern of <first name> “Bash” (meaning a combination of ‘dominated by’ and ‘created through domination by’) <combination last name>.  There are exceptions in those rare Mauraug whose parents are unknown (orphans that survive past infancy are rare among their kind) and those who change their last name to disassociate from their past (only usually sanctioned in the case of those who join the religious castes or whose ancestors have committed some grave heresy or dishonor).

Technology:

Cybernetics.  With their race so terribly damaged by the plague, the Mauraug turned to using mechanical devices to compensate for their genetic weaknesses. Mauraug have had at least a millennium of desperate exploration, goaded on by the commandments of their Prophets.  As a result, they have great facility with adapting and calibrating implants and have techniques of miniaturization and nanotechnology that make their cybernetics, as opposed to that of other races that most often use them for prosthesis, into an advantage.

Biology:

The Mauraug are descended from rainforest-dwelling omnivorous primates, of great physical strength and agility.  Due to the conditions of their homeworld they have a preference for bright light, high humidity, and levels of heat that are considered uncomfortable to many other sapient species.  Indeed, visitors on Mauraug ships and in their dwellings often need to use polarized lenses or risk retinal damage, and Mauraug often carry light sources with them (or implant light-adaptive cybernetics into their eyes) when dealing with other species.

Mauraug only have one sex, and are capable of both inseminating and being inseminated.  Their semen is corrosive and damaging to developed fetuses and placental sacs, thus a Mauraug that is already pregnant will lose their current offspring if it engages in receptive intercourse with another Mauraug.  They tend to bear one to two children at a time.

The gene plague that afflicted the Mauraug has left most of their population with nigh-indefinite life spans.  Their cells reproduce without error and most of the weaknesses inherent to their physiology that would cause long-term breakdown have been eliminated.  They are almost all born with missing, atrophied or malformed organs or limbs, which often need to be replaced by cybernetic implants close to birth for survival, and many are stillborn as a result.  The frequency of birth of a genetically “pure” Mauraug, one born with standard coloration and no deformities, is extremely low, generally one in a billion.

Culture:

The Mauraug have always been dominated by their Prophets, although the messages of the Prophets change over time.  Their faith revolves around Dominion, also known as Sha’bahn, the universal and all-powerful being that has created a universe full of danger as a challenge to his creation.  Survive this, improve upon yourself, and you can make yourself like unto him.  The modern interpretation of this extends into an almost Transhumanist (or transMauraugist) philosophy involving cybernetic replacement and eventual transformation from an organic intelligence in an organic shell to one in a synthetic body.  This has never been successfully accomplished, but the ideal has kept many Mauraug scientists busy for centuries.

            The Mauraug Prophets undergo intense training in history, rhetoric, law, logic, and some basic knowledge of computer science and “demons” or AIs.  They are chosen for their personal insight and wisdom and often groomed for the position from an early age, and once they become Prophets rarely, if ever, interact with non-Mauraug, as they are seen as a potential corrupting influence and thus unclean.  They are attended by a clerical structure of priests of lesser authority and various ranks, which often very vastly based on their system of origin.

            The one religious institution among the Mauraug that is universal and unchanging is the Inquisition.  The Inquisition, overseen by the Prophets, is a caste of Mauraug clerics that have been trained in “sorcery” (psi and telepathy) and “demonology” (AI technology as well as hyperdimensional theory).  They are the only Mauraug that are allowed to pursue or train in such skills and knowledge; anyone outside of their order who is found spreading or using AIs or telepathy has only the Inquisition to answer to, and even the Prophets will step aside if an Inquisitor has made an accusation.  Unlike Prophets, Inquisitors frequently interact with members of other species and are not uncommon in shared Collective spaces, due to the increased potential for heresy in such regions. They do not always announce their identity as such, as while most Mauraug find their presence a comfort, other sapients tend to be leery of them.

Before the Gene Plague, the Mauraug Dominion was oriented in a more expansive direction, a mission that was by turns evangelic and imperial.  At this point the Covenant expands in a more careful fashion, generally legitimately annexing worlds and colonies through bargaining within the Collective.

Poetry is of great cultural value to the Mauraug, and is one of the only acceptable artistic outlets for their race.  All poetry, claims Dominion, comes from me, though your mouth is ill suited to speak the words, and only my Prophets' ears are suited to hear.  In other words, the Mauraug faith holds that all poetry is divinely inspired, though filtered through an imperfect tool.  If a poem seems to speak out against the Dominion or the Prophets it is merely a misinterpretation.  A Prophet will meditate upon the offending verse for a time and reveal the true meaning, inevitable aligned with the mores of their society and the will of Dominion.

Cybernetic enhancements are sources of vast pride in Mauraug culture.  They proudly display them, and even those enhancements that are meant to be kept secret (such as hidden weaponry) are often known among close friends and allies.  Indeed, the rare “pureblood” Mauraug, as a display of cultural solidarity with the rest of their kind, will deliberately maim themselves when coming of age, removing a limb or organ and having it replaced to show that they too bear the memory of what is considered the greatest mistake that they as a species have made.

Psychology:

The Mauraug of today are in many ways defined by their race's great tragedy.  Far too many allow their desperation to lead them on paths of semi-legal pirating and banditry.  There is a great bitterness and sorrow in the Mauraug psyche that can be measured quite visibly by changes in their poetic style and rising crime rates on their worlds and in the spaces around them.

S.C.A.P.E. Goats - Chapter 6

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                Mary walked into the Information Engineering center, feeling clean, tight, and prepared.  The walls were a slick grey polymer, just on the lighter side of gunmetal, with attractive light-blue piping matching the Engineering piping on the suits of the Collective corps personnel there.  She looked around, and caught the eye of another engineer, skinny and lanky with long, precise fingers that waved like antenna and surprisingly large eyes, ears and flaring nostrils.  Between his features, his hairless head, and the metallic brown hue of his skin she took him to be a Copper caste Zig.

                She stood in place and waved as he came over, his eyes scanning back and forth almost rhythmically, his fingers gently clenching and unclenching as though frustrated by a lack of activity.  His chevrons indicated that he was a Journeyman Second Class, high enough in rank to hold some authority and have some knowledge of the facility.  “Can I help you, apprentice?”  He asked, politely enough.

                She saluted and then nodded.  “Yes, thank you.  I’ve recently been reassigned to IE and have been ordered to report to Master Lukash Bash Shimbul.  Could you direct me to him?”

                The Zig looked her up and down and reached for the pad at his belt, tapping and swiping the screen with deft movements.  He looked from the screen to her a couple of times.  “Yes, Apprentice First Class Mary Kilgore, correct?”  She nodded.  “Good.  Master Bash Shimbul has been expecting you.  Follow me.”

                He spun on his heels and began marching off down one of the corridors off of the main room.  Mary followed, trying to take everything in.  It was a busy office; sapient beings from several Collective races could be seen bustling along the hallways, talking animatedly with each other or interacting furiously with their computers, or in the case of humans, brins.  He lead her to a doorway that glowed with a fierce blue-white light, whereupon he turned around and passed her a pair of polarized lenses.  “You’ll want to strap these on.  The Master Engineer prefers lighting appropriate to its spectrum for its work.”

                Mary took the lenses with their elastic band and pulled them over her head.  The soft poly at the edge of the lenses conformed quite comfortably to her features.  She stepped through the bright archway, her eyes slitted, and the lenses adapted rapidly to the effusive brilliance in a matter of seconds.

                The room was not too large, and squarish.  From the ceiling, the walls, and in a few places, the floor, there were cable leads and what looked to be mechanical arms stretched outwards towards the center of the room, where what looked for all the world like a high-tech throne sat, high-backed with a raised seat on a block that resembled a dias.

                Appropriate then, that the Mauraug engineer squatting on the throne should have a series of vertical metal protrusions emerging from its skull in a ring, as thick as its fingers and spaced a few centimeters apart, with glowing tips reminiscent of jewels.  Its body was thin and elongated for its kind, its fur a creamy tan with red and black splotches, its eyes dark and deep-set.  Currently at least two of the peaks of its “crown” were connected to leads in the ceiling.

                It did not seem to be paying attention to them at first, but when the Zig engineer bowed and announced himself and Mary, Lakash’s gaze raised to them and seemed to take them in.  “Thank you, Journeyman, that will be all.”  It said, giving a dismissive wave to him.  The Zig departed quickly, leaving Mary alone with her new superior officer.

                It sat back, leaning on one elbow, and stretched out its other arm, gently fondling one of the connectors that emerged from the wall.  She watched as the flesh on its arm parted and a slim metal rod emerged, its toothed end locking to the lead and tightening.  Mary decided to clear her throat.  “Mary Kilgore, Apprentice First Class, reporting for my first assignment.”

                The Mauraug cocked its head slowly, and a lead dangling from the ceiling slowly lowered and attached itself to one of the connectors on the raised side of its crown.  It then nodded.  “Yes.  Yes, welcome to the Information Engineering head office for Lotus Station, Apprentice.”  Its voice was as slow and gentle as its movements had been and had an almost dancing, lilting quality to its tone.  “Have you received any indication as to what your assignment is to be?”

                Mary shook her head.  “No, I was just told that I was being re-assigned, and to come to speak to you about it.”

                Lukash nodded slowly and licked its lips.  “Good.  A clean slate, no expectations, as I prefer it.  So.  I find myself in need of someone new to handle data correlation.  It is a rather hefty responsibility, Apprentice.  Have you done any work of this sort before?”

                “I’m not sure.”  Mary said truthfully.  She was having trouble picking up any emotional signature at all from her superior and felt a little ill at ease.  “If I may say so, ‘data correlation’ could represent a lot of different activities, Master Engineer.  Maybe if you could provide me with some specifics?”

                The Mauraug engineer heaved a sigh and leaned back.  Another pair of leads dropped from the ceiling and attached themselves to its head while one of the thorns on the front of its crown went dark, the cable attached to it springing free and pulling up halfway to the ceiling.  Its eyes became more sharp and it sat forwards.  A warm intensity began to emanate from it.

                “My apologies.  There were matters taking up a good portion of my available cerebral resources.  It seems that you are going to require a detailed briefing on your position.  Very well, let’s begin.”  The metal rod attached to its arm disconnected from the wall lead that it had been attached to; it brought both its hands together and steepled its fingers.

                “What do you know of interstellar data exchange, Apprentice?  Tell me in your own words how systems communicate with one another.”

                Mary took a deep breath and contemplated.  “That’s a broad topic, Master Engineer Bash Shimbul.  Please give me a moment to consider the best way to present it.”  It nodded and waved a hand at her.  She considered, and then began:

                “There are three ways, as I see it, that data makes its way from system to system.  First off, it is well known that the Ningyo, due to their ability to bend space, have instantaneous communication with each other, at least on a ship-to-ship, station-to-station, and colony-to-colony basis, across any distance imaginable.  The prices that they charge for the use of their data transfer technology is considerable, although they have an arrangement with the Collective to transmit any high priority information to all Collective systems as soon as they receive it.

                “Since we haven’t found a reliable way to transfer data directly through hyperspace outside of physical media, most ships traveling between systems carry messages to be shared with other systems and stations.  This courier service can likewise come at a high price, but it’s one that is often paid for in fuel and provisions and materials for the  ships in question.  In addition, most systems and stations have their own computerized information networks, and ships will often store things that are deemed important information from these networks to carry to other systems, again for a price.  They carry news stories and the contents of popular network sites as well as private messages between individual sapient beings, which get downloaded onto system-based information networks at the discretions of local governments or Collective officials for shared colonies or stations.

                “Finally, there’s word of mouth – and mind.  Career space travelers are considered goldmines of information and often share rumors when they’re at port or on leave.  This applies across the board, from merchants to Collective agents to activists and artists.  People talk.

                “So, that’s my best summary, in order of highest to lowest fidelity of information transfer between systems.”  Mary finished.  She felt a wave of mingled satisfaction and curiosity from her superior.

                “Word of mind – an interesting turn of phrase.”  Her skin grew cold and her heart began to thump.  Why on earth would I have said that?  What, am I trying to blow my cover, and make this Mauraug paranoid to boot?  “Are you a telepath, Engineer Kilgore?”

                “No, Master Engineer.”  She said, looking him squarely in the eye and trying to calm her agitation by thinking of card hands from her last game with Casey.  “If I were, I’d be a member of S.C.A.P.E., wouldn’t I?”

                Lakash blinked slowly at her.  “Yes, you would, wouldn’t you.”  It paused for a few moments, then carried on, though there was an almost visible undercurrent of suspicion flowing out of it now.  “A decent summary.”  It nodded slowly.  “You are mostly correct.

                “Being that we are on the edge of Awakener space, far from the heart of the Collective, close to regions uncharted by any but the Ningyo, we receive precious little outside information.  You might think that we hardly need it, as anything high-priority will come through Ningyo channels.  You’d be wrong, of course.  Just because we are on the physical outskirts of our official territories does not mean that we are not affected by occurances and trends, and we receive a suprising amount of traffic here, as well.

                “In short, Apprentice, this particular station is watched by many interests, and I have reason to believe that they come from both within the Collective… and outside of it.”  It paused, watching her with its hard, dark eyes.  She could feel that it was looking for a reaction, and so did her best to provide none but raised eyebrows.

                “So.  We receive updates from visiting ships, official Collective missives, and reports of local system-based happenings and they get entered into our stationwide information network.  The problem lies in the fact that much of this information is from disparate and far-flung sources.  The task that I’m assigning to you relates to ensuring the fidelity of this information through correlation of data points.  In short I want you to find stories and news items, and check against other records to get as clear and certain a picture of the rest of the galaxy as we can.”  It folded its arms.

                Mary’s mind reeled.  “That’s… that’s a huge task.”

                Lukash smiled, showing just the barest hint of its fangs.  “Yes, it is.  Or it would be, if it weren’t for the fact that you will be provided with a hierarchy of topics to focus on.  Any miscellany outside of the list that I will provide will be considered work done above and beyond the call of duty, and duly noted as such.  The most important topic, though, will be this station and its surrounding spaces.  We need to know what is being said about us and our operations here.

                “In addition,” it continued. “I don’t want your AI doing any of this work.  I know you have one, I’m not stupid, and that is part of the reason that I wanted to assign a human to the task – the search speed of your pet programs is unmatched by biological brains.  I’m fine with you using it to conduct searches, but any reports that you write, and any conclusions that you draw, I expect to be your own.  You see, I do have an understanding with Rima, the shipboard AI…”

                Master Engineer Lukash extended both of its arms, and again, flesh on its wrists parted and whirring, spinning metal rods extended outwards and connected to cable armature emerging from the walls.  Several leads dropped from the ceiling and connected to the remaining free protrusions on its head and it closed its eyes.  Its emotions faded a bit, but not before releasing a wave of satisfaction and extasy that Mary typically identified with sex.

                The engineer’s voice continued, though no longer through its mouth; it emerged from the speakers in the walls surrounding them.  “… I have an understanding with Rima; what she knows, I know, and I will find out, Apprentice.  And I will be most displeased.  Take the rest of the day off, Apprentice, and report back in the morning.  You are dismissed.” 

Its mouth began to sag, jaw opening, and the wave of emotion that extended from it was baffling to Mary – she’d never experienced anything like it before.  Satisfaction, pleasure, desire, and a whole spectrum of other feelings rolled off of it at once.  She snapped a quick salute and backed away, practically tripping over herself to get out of the room quickly.  She could swear she heard Lukash’s soft laughter following her.

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Full-Throttle Ahrottl - Chapter 8

Jump back to Full-Throttle Ahrottl Chapter 7       


                All was dark, and something touched her.

                She started violently then curled up even more tightly, nose to tail like an infant.  The blackness behind her eyes consumed everything and the only sound that she could hear was breathing.

                Slowly, though, she became aware of other noises.  Though they were muffled by her protective suit, she heard a voice repeating her name.  “Ahrottl?  Ahrottl, can you hear me?  Please tell me that you can hear me.”

                Gerry, she thought.  Images of a tall, angular alien creature with a sickening lack of fur on its pallid skin and a huge mop of it on top of its head, a study in color contrasts, dark and light.  Thick, rubbery pinkish-red lips underneath a bizarre triangular nose (they have hairs inside their noses but almost no where on the outside) beneath a pair of binocular eyes, the most familiar thing about this “face”.

                The images, by themselves, without emotional context, were disturbing.  It felt like part of her, the part of her that felt was cut off from the part that made images, and that in and of itself was extremely unsettling.

                Alone with aliens, nothing around, the Red Key’s curse… her thoughts flowed in a circle, a wheel that she was unable to stop, a cycle she was unable to interrupt.  The vast loneliness, the unimaginably huge distances between her and another of her kind, and the mocking, gory image that she had been subjected to all conspired to keep her Stilled, and not just as a deliberate sign of displeasure, not consciously, but Stilled to the depths of her, moving in such a quick, tight circle that she seemed not to be moving at all.

                “Ahrottl!  Ahrottl!  Wake up!”

                She grew aware of a sense of detachment.  As these thoughts cycled at a vicious pace, she could see them, separately.  A part of her was watching the frantic pace of madness overtaking her with a detached curiosity, and heard the voice outside her suit with remarkable clarity.

                “I don’t know, she won’t move, she’s not responding!  She’s breathing but she’s just curled up into a ball!  What do I do?”  More muffled voices.  The detached part of her guessed idly at the tones without being certain which was which or what they were saying.

                What will they do? Detached-Ahrottl wondered.  What will they do with me?  Will they just space me?  I’m just using resources, precious resources, the resources that Maria didn’t want me to use… they’ll space me.  I’m sure of it.

                Panicked-Ahrottl seemed to hear this and the visions of the empty, cold vastness drew even further outwards.  Her body tightened even more; Detached-Ahrottl could feel control of bowels and other voluntary functions beginning to slip.

                “Ahrottl, listen, it’s Gerry, Algernon, please listen to me.  I’m here.  Maria is joining us.  We’re going to do this together.  We should never have sent you out alone.  It was unfair of us to expect that of you.”

                See what you’re doing?  His wife sent him out, and now she’s coming herself.  You forced her to risk her mate, and now her own body, a mated female with status and a ship.  It’s bad enough that she had to send her husband after you, but now you’re putting a potential Mother at risk with your selfishness.  If they space you that’s the least you deserve! Detached-Ahrottl reasoned.  At least, it seemed very reasonable to her.  Images of Maria, another alien shape flashed through her mind.  Even more hairless, but at least not as angular as her husband, and another female, another potential Matriarch.

                Don’t fool yourself, Ahrottl.  You’re no potential Matriarch.  You write novels and make a poor sum at that.  Sure, you have fans.  Sure, people enjoy your work, but what do you have to show for it?  Plenty of males would love to play with you for the novelty of it but none of them are going to want to stay and build a family with an author of all things.  No, Ahrottl.  Your job is an unstable one, your lifestyle an unstable one, you have no den, you have no close family, you have no way to feed your children, if you even had any.  Even if you weren’t lost at the other end of reality from every Hrotata that ever lived, and about to die there, it’s not like you have a legacy other than masturbatory pleasure fantasies about people who never existed outside of your own mind.

                After all, Detached-Ahrottl thought, why else would you be out on a mining operation with humans?  We both know why – you do poorly enough with your own kind that you seek out aliens to fill your need for companionship.  You know that your prospects of creating a den and a legacy are null, so you run off to have adventures like an adolescent male!  You probably would have been happier as a male, able to go and fight and play and seek and explore without any concern about serious matters like education, finance, or the future of your species and the Great Family.  The Mother-gifts are wasted on you, and your organs will shrivel before you have a chance to use them for their true purpose – that is, they would have, if you were even going to live that long.

                Somehow Panicked-Ahrottl spun even faster internally with each cold, detached insult.  Detached-Ahrottl had ceased to pay attention to the outside, crouched over the frightened animal spinning in circles inside her own head, taunting.  Detached-Ahrottl ceased to feel so detached.  A kind of hateful satisfaction flooded her as she tortured herself, and Detached-Ahrottl spread her shoulders and stretched and yawned, shedding her old coat for a red-and-black one, becoming Tormenting-Ahrottl.

                Yes, little creature, keep running.  Keep in circles.  That’s all you’ve ever known to do, isn’t it?  You don’t like something, so you run from it like a male instead of facing it and defending your turf.  You run, but then you run into something else you don’t like and you run again.  You keep running, bouncing from place to place, and now you’re running out of places to run and hide.  There are no good options now.  There’s no place that you can run to that is made for you, no comfy den and you don’t have the strength or the ovaries to create your own.  That’s why you’re spinning like a moon; you don’t know how to sit down and deal with discomfort.

                Panicked-Ahrottl began to mewl as she ran, letting out peals of agony.  Tormenting-Ahrottl was vaguely aware of the sound the human outside, saying something about her making noises.  She refocused on her prey.

                They won’t help you, they can’t help you.  Their Mother is as afraid as you are, little one.  There is no den, no home, no warmth, no bonding.  They scratch your head and let you sit beside them and on them as they would a pet or a favored animal, and you know that it’s only because you let them taste your nectar.  They think of you as a useful tool, like their artificial intelligences.  They think of you as an animal that they send out to do their dirty work for them.  When you show that you’re useless – as you already have, by breaking here – they’ll probably end your life in mercy, unless they keep you around to eat after supplies run low.  After all, they are aliens, and not scavengers. Humans like their meat fresh.

                Tormentor-Ahrottl cocked her head, listening, and smiled in satisfaction.  They’re talking about opening your helmet now.  No, it’s not out of concern, though it might be masked with that.  They’re talking about opening your helmet because you’re an expendable animal to them.  They want to see if the air will kill them, so they’re going to try it on you first.  Just like they did by sending you in to the predator’s den first, to see if there were any scraps to be had.

                Just stop.  Just give up.  Stop running, creature, scared little male kit.  The only Mother than can help you now is Death, and she awaits you eagerly.  If you want to be altruistic about it, you’re helping those poor humans by giving up your pointless life.

                Fool.  She kicked herself.

                Fake, pauper.  She spat on herself.

                Professional liar.  She turned her back on herself.

                Honorless homwrecker, trying to steal a good woman’s mate.

                Within her she felt something welling up.  The spinning of Panicked-Ahrottl was reaching a fevered pitch.  Like a wheel with a burr, she began to trip up at one point, and the shaking began to rasp and get more and more violent.

                Useless, shiftless, pointless, meat.  Tormentor-Ahrottl dropped that one on Panicked-Ahrottl, spitting it at her over her shoulder.

                Panicked-Ahrottl exploded with a shriek of confusion and rage.  The scream ripped through all of Ahrottl’s parts, beginning as high and keening but continuing and growing low and ragged as it faded.  No longer tense, her body fell limp and for a moment there was blissful silence within and without.

                Then her head snapped back, and her eyes opened wide.  She knew these things because she could feel, but she could not see.  All that was in front of her was a field of white, endless white light.  Her jaw began to work without her permission, and words came out of it that did not originate in her at all.

                “Leave this place.  It is diseased, not with a disease of poison or parasite but with a malady of perception and cognition.  Cling to your ignorance and stay and share our fate or leave and warn the others.  If this spreads all Raleli are doomed.  Quarantine and flee.”

                Then the pure white light faded again to quiet, comfortable darkness.

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