“Entropy,” James replied. “It circumvents the law of thermodynamics.”
“Okay. That’s why I didn’t ask,” Katherine replied, rolling her eyes and exhaling an exasperated sigh.
“No, honey, it’s simple actually,” Jim said patiently as he gently began his explanation for her. James remembered when he used to patiently try to explain things to Katherine; he didn’t miss it.
“Computers have always been irreversible, which means you can’t run them backward. Once a computer moves from one step to the next, it erases the old data because saving it would take up valuable memory.”
“When you erase the data, theoretically, it has to go somewhere,” James continued, “so, according to the law of thermodynamics, it is released into the surrounding environment in the form of heat.”
“That’s why computers generate heat,” Jim concluded for Katherine, “and it’s a limiting factor to how big computers can get, since otherwise massive computers would actually create so much heat that they would cause extreme global warming.”
Katherine smiled. “Wow. I actually understood that. So we’re in the saved memory of the mainframe?”
“Yes,” Jim replied, relieved that she understood, “but not the intentionally saved memory. We’re the stuff that’s been deleted but not completely destroyed so as to keep the mainframe cool.”
“That’s why our patterns are still intact,” James added. “That’s why we’re still alive.”
“That’s right, James,” confirmed the A.I.
“Why didn’t you tell me you’d done this?” James asked.
“At the time, it certainly didn’t seem important. I was experimenting with several different methods for making my growth more efficient. This method ended up saving my life, and all of yours as well.”
James’s eyes were intense with concentration as he continued to put the pieces together, excitedly solving the puzzle. “If you didn’t tell the Council and you didn’t inform me, then the nans didn’t know about it either!”
“Right again, James,” the A.I. said, beginning to smile again.
“They deleted you thinking that you’d just dissipate into heat…” James continued, “but your pattern remained intact—and the same for Katherine and my doppelganger.”
“Jim,” Katherine interjected, sternly correcting James.
“He’s no longer just a copy of you, James,” the A.I. explained. “When he arrived here, I was able to change his program so that he had the ability to form long-term memories. He’s now a completely unique person from you, with a different pattern and his own experiences and lessons. He’s human now.”
James was silent for a moment. He turned and regarded his ghostly twin and considered the A.I.’s words. What once had been a simple copy of his pattern had lived a completely separate life from him for over a year and a half and was now a different person. They shared most of their life and memories and would always be bonded because of it, yet theoretically, Jim could live for thousands of years and choose an infinite number of different paths that would take him on journeys to places James might never see. Soon, he would become more like a brother than a copy—and then eventually he might become like a stranger. James wondered if he might not even recognize his mirror image in 1,000 years. Jim smiled at James as though he knew what James was thinking—he probably did. James smiled back. “I’m sorry about that, Jim.”
“No harm. So are you convinced, or do you need to know more?” Jim asked.
“It makes sense,” James admitted, “and I want this to be real, but there are still things I don’t understand.”
“You need only to ask, and all the answers will be provided,” replied the A.I.
James nodded as he considered the myriad of questions that he still had. “How were the nans able to infiltrate the system and delete you without it being noticed by anyone? Didn’t you put up a fight?”
“I held them off at first so I could gain more information and understand the situation,” the A.I. answered. “The nan consciousness communicated its intention of deleting me and that an invasion force of alien nans were on the way. Once I was armed with this information, I was able to run several trillion game theory simulations in a matter of a few seconds and determined that the best move was to allow them to delete me.”
“But why?” James asked. “How could that have been the best move? They’ve done more damage than you can imagine.”
“On the contrary, my son, I can imagine it. I knew it was going to happen, but I also knew that this course of events gave us the best chance to arrive at the best possible outcome.”
“I don’t understand,” James admitted. “If you ran several trillion simulated scenarios, then surely there had to have been better outcomes than this! Do you realize that they’ve murdered almost everyone in the solar system and who knows how many more of the machine humans?”
The A.I. smiled calmly; he had patience that made him an ideal teacher. “In this instance, your mistake is to assume that this is the outcome. It certainly is not. We are still moving toward the ultimate outcome.”
“But how can it get better?” James asked. “They’ve murdered billions of people, and we can’t bring them back this time. We’ve lost control of the nans.”
“Once you’ve used the word ‘can’t,’ you’ve already defeated yourself. Indeed, my son, there is a way to bring everyone back.”
7
“You want us to destroy the sun?” Rich exclaimed. “Why? Why can’t we just get the hell out of here as quickly as possible?”
“You can if you choose,” 1 replied. “However, before you make that decision, you need to understand why destroying the system is so important.” The former post-humans remained in a stunned silence as they waited for an explanation of what appeared to be inexplicable. “We have only one clear advantage in this war with the nanobots, our physical strength in comparison to their fragility. Nanobots are carbon life forms. Indeed, humanity owes its existence to one simple fact: a carbon atom can form more bonds than any other element. It is for this reason that it can randomly take on more patterns than any other material. Left for billions of years, a planet rich in silicon or titanium will never form life. However, a planet rich in carbon, with an environment that remains stable for a billion years will eventually give rise to carbon patterns so complex that we would deem them alive—single-celled, microscopic organisms.”
“That was a fantastic biology lesson,” Rich interjected, “but I’m still a little foggy on the whole ‘why the hell does that mean we have to blow up the solar system?’ thing.”
“These nests are so rare,” 1 replied in a patient, earnest tone. She knew they were at a critical juncture; the former post-humans had to believe in her complete sincerity. There could be no doubt. “They are capable of giving birth to human civilizations, but they also always give birth to nanobots as a result. Nanobots will always be carbon lifeforms because silicon cannot carry transistor signals at the nano-level. Whereas we can transition to silicon and become strong and durable, they will always be fragile. We can leave our nests—they cannot.”
“They’re flying through space right now,” Old-timer said, contradicting 1. “I saw them when I came in here. That’s how they’ve been able to inflict so much damage on your collective.”
“That’s true,” 1 answered. “They can carry a charge and generate a magnetic field, much like the ones you needed to generate for your former carbon bodies. It protects them in space, but there are limits. The charge is temporary. Whereas you or I could take a stroll on a planet as cold as Neptune, the nanobots will always have to return to the rare and fragile safety of an Earth-like planet and an Earth-supporting solar system.” Though it seemed impossible, 1 was able to increase the earnestness in her voice before she spoke her next words. “This is not a final solution. However, limiting the amount of carbon life form-supporting solar systems is currently the only effective means we have of limiting the nanobot infection in the universe. I wish there were another way. Right now, there is not—and all you need do is look outside and see the destruction the nans are inflicting on our people to understand how critical limiting this infection is for the safety of all people, human, post-human, or android, throughout the universe.”