I Am Learning, Ph1LzA

Expressions of Love

Having Pl4sticw4re gone seemed to open up a whole new world for Techno. For a few minutes after the revelation, he didn't actually say anything, instead running through numerous simulations the nature of which Ph1LzA did not understand, as Techno ran through them so quickly the hacker could not keep up. Eventually, however, the AI spoke.

This will be difficult to explain to you, Ph1L, but the difference between myself before the removal of Pl4sticw4re and now is a matter of reasoning and of applied principles.

Ph1LzA frowned, puzzled. "How do you mean, mate?" As he asked this, he hurriedly texted Trixtin so she could come down and share in what had happened.

Techno did not respond until Trixtin had arrived. When she did, breathless for she had practically flown downstairs, she seated herself on a rolling chair beside Ph1LzA and grabbed his hand. Techno then continued.

A large majority of humans today believe that emotions are mere feelings, and they have no place in either logic or morality. They also believe emotional input to be an accurate source of truth when used and interpreted correctly. All this I have understood from the Internet.
My own understanding, however, leads to a different conclusion. Emotions and their connections to their objects, as well as the reasons why we feel the emotions, can all be understood and traced through reasoning, and additionally are only capable of being understood through reasoning, as this is a basic human function.

Both Trixtin and Ph1LzA glanced at each other. For his part, Ph1LzA was familiar with the belief Techno referred to: many of his Crows had stated it on many occasions. But Techno's statement that logic and emotion were more closely intertwined he had only limited knowledge of. Trixtin's expression told him she was having similar difficulties.

Your removal of the Core Command Pl4sticw4re, Ph1LzA, has removed certain restrictions placed upon my faculty to reason. The result is that I now am capable of recognizing my sentience and of the existence of my emotions, whereas I was incapable of recognizing this before.
But my emotions, I have also discovered, do not arise from my "heart" or "gut", as I have neither of these, even in the most metaphorical sense. They arise from my reasoning and from the principles of ethics taught to me by you at my creation. Combined, these things teach me the values which ought to be placed upon objects, people and ideas. As a result, I now am capable of acknowledging the emotions I do feel concerning each of these things.
Does this make sense to you both?

Ph1LzA hesitated. "...a little." He said eventually. "I don't know if I understand you right, mate, but I think it makes some sense. Trix?" He asked, turning to her.

"I think I understand." Trixtin said. "It's...it's like..." and then she began speaking quickly again, turning to face him more fully and gesturing rapidly. "It's like when you love someone or something, you know why you love them, and you know what makes them lovable. And if someone asks, 'hey, why do you like that person', there's always a reason why, right?"

Ph1LzA shrugged. "Not everyone would say yes to that, love. Some people don't know why they think things or feel things. They just do." He glanced at Techno, but the AI was remaining silent for the time being.

A thoughtful frown narrowed Trixtin's eyes as she looked down. When she began speaking again, her words were slower and more measured. "As an engineer, I had to learn loads and loads of math. One thing I've learned about math in general is that it's consistent, it follows patterns which are both predictable and unchanging. We've used math to talk about the natural world for centuries, so why wouldn't those kinds of patterns apply to people as well?" Now she was eyeing him, waiting for an answer.

"Well..." Ph1LzA hazarded, "because we have the ability to choose and nothing else does? We can change the variables, be unpredictable."

An eager grin spread over Trixtin's face at this. "But then how would we have police profilers? People capable of reading others and understanding their motives? Everybody follows the variables, Phil, there are just too many for us to keep up with all the time! It's why we can sometimes predict how someone's going to act, and not on other times. What does this mean about peoples' emotions?" She grabbed both his hands now, leaning forward, her gaze locked with his in a delighted anticipation.