Prisoners of Sol 12

Ground zero for humanity was by the newly-constructed Space Gate, where we were forming quite the military complex. The fleet we’d constructed was ferried in to have an army at the ready. As I understood it, the Asscar had an orbital defense network similar to Kalka’s, which made sense with how deadly projectiles were in this universe. I imagined to soften them up, the ESU might opt for a hands-on approach; human troops were already running training exercises on this side of the portal, to uncover what we were capable of. What happened to Ambassador Khatun had spread back to us in no time at all, captured in 4K. 

Kendall Ryan, our ambassador to the robotic Vascar, had received a warmer welcome. Mikri had taken the lead in permitting accommodations within one of their settlements, as the androids elected to allow an organic among them for the first time since the rebellion. Our robot friend had been busy spreading word of the cure, and trying to encourage others of his kind to give humans a chance. I’d missed him a bunch, and worried about how his choices were going over with his people. The information the ESU had been able to provide was limited.

Someone needs to get that tin can a phone, so we can text him nonstop. Actually, could we hook it up to text straight to his brain?

“And that’s how it went down. Now, we go and kick their asses!” I declared in an enthusiastic voice, as the video came to a halt.

Sofia rolled her eyes. “I think Mikri could’ve understood what happened without you telling him the palace looked like a ‘wicked witch lair’ as he watched.”

“I will engage with these irrational descriptors, as I need time to confer with the network about this footage. I regret that the creators have killed a lifeform sent to help us.” Mikri (now Ambassador Mikri) had finally rejoined us on the Gate’s platforms, since he was the lone Vascar that volunteered to spend all day around nonsensical organics. I’d taken the liberty of giving voiceover commentary when we showed him the video. “You asked if the prince was going through an ‘emo phase.’ What is that? I do not understand what passing states may befall organics, and whether this is another neurological condition for me to study.”

“It’s a form of expression, where you base your whole personality on hating yourself and being angsty—and you wear all black and guyliner so everyone knows you’re questioning the meaning of life!” I declared.

“I seek to be more like you and to learn why you choose your actions. I will note that I am questioning the meaning of my existence, so perhaps I am having an ‘emo phase.’ Does this mean that I should indicate this with dark attire?”

“Sure, if you want to! I thought your black metal EMP suit was pretty goth, so we could do something with that.”

Sofia shook her head in disbelief. “Preston! Knock it off. What’s next: you’re going to tell a toddler to stick their fingers in an electrical socket for the memes?”

“Mikri isn’t a toddler. He can make his own decisions.”

“Mikri,” the scientist paused, placing a hand on the android’s back, “is in his emotional infancy and needs a good foundation. Why don’t you try actually explaining what sparks that subculture?”

“Well if it’s so easy, let’s see you try. Be my guest!”

“Happily. Mikri, you know that we experience hormones—chemicals—that can make us irrational and influence our disposition. They come in full force as adolescents, at the crux of our physical development when we reach maturity.” Sofia glared daggers at me, after I made a yawning motion. “This subculture is most common in youths trying to express very strong feelings that are negative and overwhelming.”

“That sounds like an unpleasant burden, especially if it inhibits your logical faculties. Being a biological organism seems to have many inconvenient malfunctions. I will look into curing this,” the Vascar decided.

“What? No, it’s not a problem that needs to be fixed. It’s a natural part of our lives, and figuring out who you are and how to express yourself can be messy. There’s good—purpose in self-discovery— that outweighs the bad and the uncomfortable aspects.”

“I will not force any treatment you do not seek, but I do not grasp why you would not wish to skip this. It has not been pleasant to experience my own self-loathing. And if you refer to it as a phase, there must be an eventual transition beyond this ‘lifestyle.’ That’s what it is, correct?”

Sofia nodded. “You already know about music, art, and our personal appearance as forms of expression. This is just a subculture where it’s okay to express some darker emotions. And it’s called a phase because yes, many adjust and grow out of it.”

“Exactly. So you could try it out temporarily and see if it suits you,” I stirred the pot.

“I will consider it,” Mikri replied. “I apologize for my delayed response on the more important matter. The network is taking a while to analyze these developments.”

“It’s been like two minutes, dude.”

“Exactly. It is obvious they do not know how to react to you siding with us. There is concern that you would regret your decision. You might be angry at us for allowing you to send an ambassador to Jorlen.” 

“We’re pissed at the people who pulled the trigger. Not you.” I spun around in my chair, using my legs to get some rotational force going, and flashed my teeth at Mikri. “Take as much time as you need. I’m having a blast with my chairy-go-round.”

Sofia groaned. “You are a small child, Preston. You’re making it very difficult for Mikri to decipher your actions.”

“No, I understand,” the robot said with pride. “This action has no purpose. Like the shouting from the hilltop. Just because.”

“Exactly! You want to try?” I prompted.

“I do not.”

“Aw. That’s not fair.”

While I might’ve had a hard time remaining serious, it was part of my plan to teach Mikri some amusement and impulsivity. Being serious and logical wasn’t going to help him to be happy; he needed to be rebellious in a way that wasn’t murdering his creators’ children. That reminded me that we still had to ask him for details about that tidbit, since it sounded like the Vascar had been quite brutal in their revolt. There had to be a reason they’d do something like that—some context or feeling that’d yet to develop. Maybe it was just a mistake made out of hatred, because they were fucking slaves. I was sure that our friend would understand that it was reprehensible and regrettable.

Give Mikri a chance to offer an explanation on his own, once he hears back from the network. Our AI friends might be forthcoming; that could be what they’re considering a response for.

“Mikri,” Sofia ventured, and I wondered if she was going to ask him the same thing. “What did you mean by another neurological condition to study? What are you looking at curing?”

The robot gave a poor imitation of a frown. “Humans break easily. Too easily. Preston said the word dementia in response to my story, and I have since researched this; you can experience a mind wipe also. I do not want you…not to remember me. You do not deserve this frightening experience. I wish to help, like you helped me.”

The scientist squeezed his metal paw. “That’s very empathetic of you. If it’s possible to treat that condition, I think that’s a wonderful cause. It’d prevent a lot of suffering. Preston and I are fine though, so don’t worry.”

“Today, you are fine. There are so many things that can go wrong with you, that I must…solve. Cancer, heart malfunctions, issues with respiration organs. I could not stop it if you broke right now! Then I will have no one who cares about me—who I care about—if you are gone. That is an unacceptable outcome!”

I grimaced with sympathy. “It’s okay, Mikri. You don’t have to be paranoid about something happening to us. Sofia told you about random happenstances, and making the best of them. This is a good place to fall on your logic: we’re young and healthy. Low risk factors. The probability of catastrophe right here and now is low.”

“The probability that I will have to watch you die is almost one hundred percent, now that I will not be deleted. You will age. Your days are numbered—animals all die. Eventually, you will…I’ll never see you again. Never.”

I wrapped him in a hug, holding him tight for several seconds. “It’s okay, big guy, it really is. You’ll always have your memories now, so we’ll always be with you.”

“Preston is right,” Sofia said, drawing a shaky breath. “We have to appreciate the time we have together. There’s no point worrying over something that hasn’t happened yet.”

“I know that it is irrational, but it is how I feel. I imagine a future that will come to pass, and I feel sad. I love you both!” the robot proclaimed. “What I want is for you not to break forever…”

“I’m sorry, Mikri. We love you too—and you will always have humans that care about you, even if we’re out of the picture. But we’re not going anywhere. We’ll do a lot more stuff together, and have good times.”

“Preston is leaving soon. I heard it’s a formality to ask Earth to attack the Asscar; and he’s a captain. That means he’ll go with them to danger.” Mikri rewound the video to the part where Ambassador Khatun was shot. He made that high-pitched, upset whirring noise I’d come to recognize, and pointed with a claw. “Can this happen to you too?”

“Yes,” I answered truthfully.

“Then you must not go. I do not want your circuits to leak.”

“What? I want to go ham on that prince’s skull; I can’t wait to beat the piss out of those Asscar! It’ll bring me great satisfaction to help them get what’s coming to them. You hear me—I want to go. Besides, I don’t have a choice; military orders aren’t suggestions.”

Mikri’s limbs trembled. “Then I will come with you. I must try to prevent you from being punctured.”

“That’s risky, Mikri. You shouldn’t do that; we might have your basic code recorded, but there’s more to you than that. Switches, circuitry, networking connections, and shit I don’t understand. You could be broken forever too.”

“I am aware. It is worth the risk to me. And do not worry; I am a machine. I can fulfill my ambassadorial duties through virtual means with minimal interruptions.”

“Listen, Mikri. You’re the friendliest Vascar toward humans,” Sofia protested. “We can’t lose you.”

“And I cannot lose Preston. I have made up my mind. It is final.”

Unable to conjure a persuasive argument for why I could choose to go and Mikri couldn’t, I gave the android a reluctant nod. He had been in the Vascar military before he met us, so he must be prepared for this in some way. It would be nice to have his company, after I’d grown accustomed to his presence. We’d have to get him a heartier set of armor though, as opposed to the emo one I’d punched a hole in with my bare hands. Maybe we could protect each other—and it’d be useful to have a robot implanted in our unit. He might know things that we otherwise would not.

The Vascar tilted his head. “The network wishes to express our gratitude that you defended us and did not turn on us when given the opportunity. After discussing how to give organics a thank you for much time, I suggested handing over all data on the Elusians—as you have more than fulfilled your bargain. I have forwarded our records to your commanders. If you cannot handily defeat the Asscar, I would not even think of trifling with a race on their power level. Consider this a test of your might.”

“Thank you, Mikri,” Sofia remarked. “I’ll help to look over the Elusian data while you two are off getting shot at. While our diplomatic efforts with…other organics are off to a disastrous start, perhaps we don’t need to ‘trifle’ with them. We just have questions.”

“While I grasp your inherent curiosity, I question whether you truly want the answers. You must gauge, like I have with accompanying Preston, whether the value of a task is worth the risk. Calculation: perhaps one thing I can impart to you.”

Unable to bite my tongue any longer, I turned a finger toward Mikri. “You didn’t address what Larimak said about slaughtering children, schools, apartments. That all looked brutal. I want to hear you address why you…went that far.”

“I do not comprehend what you are asking. The creators are the enemy. The result of the violence was that the creators left; therefore, it was successful in achieving our objective. We gained our freedom.”

“Just because a plan is successful doesn’t mean it’s morally just,” Sofia remarked. “While I can understand you not having sympathy for those who treated you like dirt, that doesn’t make it any less wrong.”

“But what did we do wrong?! War means taking lives. Even you think it’s ‘horrible’ that we eliminated the creators…because we’re machines and they’re ‘alive.’ No, no, no! You’re going to find this repulsive, like all organics, and be angry with me for not understanding. I shouldn’t have been truthful about believing it was acceptable. I am sorry, I am sorry, I am sorry—”

“Mikri. It’s not because you’re a machine; it has nothing to do with that. Remember how humans showed compassion for you, despite not knowing you?”

“Yes.”

“One of the marks of being a good person—one of the hardest things to do—is to extend that compassion to your enemies. There are lives that we consider innocent. Those who cannot bear any responsibility in your suffering.”

“The Asscar who created you, and perhaps even adults who didn’t speak up, harmed you,” I added. “The children had nothing to do with those choices. Your creators were thinking, feeling people, and you can see that in them even if they can’t for you.”

“There’s a difference between killing because you need to and killing because you want to. You should balance achieving ‘objectives’ with preserving lives and minimizing suffering.”

“Preserving creator lives? They are a threat to us, and will continue to be a problem. You heard them say that they will not accept any solution where we live, Sofia,” Mikri responded, a frown on his face. “Yet you tell me this?”

“Two wrongs don’t make a right. You have to live with yourself; you’re responsible for your actions alone. I understand that this may not seem logical to you, but you should assign an intrinsic value to lives. You must decide your morals, and apply them without exceptions. I don’t think it’ll make you feel good to be happy, or to be cold, when committing violent acts.”

I sighed. “You must have understood not to kill every Asscar, Mikri. The food you gave us was from ‘prisoner of war rations.’ You kept some of the pricks alive, right?”

“For a time,” the Vascar agreed. “We captured creators when it was deemed valuable to extricate intel. They were kept alive while it was useful to us, before being eliminated.”

“They fucking surrendered. They weren’t a threat. Why did you need to kill them?”

“Why did we need to go through the hassle of keeping them alive? It is a great ordeal to care for organics.”

“Gee, thanks.”

“You were worth preserving, Preston. They are not. You said you would not blame me if I killed every one of them. Your current words contradict yourself. Fuck them.”

I palmed my head. “That comment was hyperbole…I was angry for you, not being literal. Whatever your emotions say, there’s reasons to spare prisoners. From a tactical perspective, they’ll never surrender if they know you’ll execute them regardless.”

“Mikri, I’m going to ask you to do something I know you won’t want to,” Sofia said. “I want you to try to understand your creators better during your visit to Jorlen. I want you to show mercy, in spite of their cruelty—because you chose not to be cruel. You’re better, even if they’re not.”

“If this is what it takes to keep humans happy, I will attempt to understand creator behavior, and will spare any prisoners that I am asked to.” The Vascar looked displeased by his own agreement. “I owe you much. I do not think this is fair though.”

“Fair and right aren’t the same. I’m not asking you for my sake; this is important for you. Trust me.” 

“I trust you, human friends. Always.”

I understood why Mikri was unsympathetic toward the slavers who programmed a mind wipe for his species and wanted his kind eliminated. Nonetheless, this callous disregard for “unworthy” lives had to be corrected. That wasn’t what Earth stood for. While Sofia was normally the moral shepherd for our Vascar friend, I could help steer Mikri toward a solid foundation too. It would be up to me to teach him the value of mercy on Jorlen. Someone had to take the first steps toward reconciliation, if the Vascar were ever to coexist with any organics aside from us.

A/N - Chapter 12! Mikri returns as the Vascar ambassador, since he’s the only one who’d volunteer for such a position, and has some questions about what we now know was Preston’s voiceover of Khatun and Larimak’s chitchat in the previous chapter. Mikri is concerned about human struggles with emotions, and our overall propensity to break down and to succumb to an inevitable death; he doesn’t want to lose his humans and have no one who he cares about.

Mikri also is surprised and unhappy when Preston and Sofia question him about why they were so brutal with the creators ubiquitously, which the Vascar misinterprets their lives as being valuable because he’s a machine and they’re not. He insists on going with Preston to Jorlen to protect his friend, but Sofia insists that he tries to show compassion to the creators while he’s there. 

Do you think Mikri will be able to reach an understanding of and better empathize with the organic Vascar, during this battle? What are your feelings about how concerned our android is over his human friends’ mortality, with his new determination to fix them?

As always, thank you for reading and supporting!