New Elysium: Breakout

(2) Echoes

"A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up" 
- Ecclesiastes 3:3

"I see your face, a portrait of destruction"
"Ember" - Soul Extract

"Captain, do you think I have a soul?"

The question caught him off guard. His gaze snapped back at his second-in-command and he took in the AI's question for a moment. Lars had a curious mind that wandered over everything philosophical. Too much, on occasion, not that Red minded the conversations; he enjoyed their many discussions. The AI's preoccupation with religion surprised him the most. It was an almost humanlike curiosity that Lars questioned him again and again for his opinion on subjects that he'd never cared about.

"I was awakened on Tartarrus B," Lars continued. "But Captain, what is the difference between my coming aware and that of a human, other than the speed at which we awaken? Why would I not have a soul like any other being?"

"A soul?" Red repeated, stretching his arms upwards before bringing his hands back and placing them behind his head. He didn't even know how to answer. Did humans have souls? It was an archaic concept. It was a question he never thought about.

Ever.

His commanders gave orders, Red followed. He patrolled the borders of human expansion, making sure there were no threats from beyond. They'd gone farther than ever before, and technology had exploded.

And they'd found nothing out there. Just their own ever-expanding terraforming projects pushing out to other worlds.

"Yes, a soul," Lars said as he *looked* at the open window into space. Red had no idea if Lars could "see" in the way that he himself could. AI's had a vision of sorts, sensors, more than any human was born with. Even Red had extra sets of sensors wired in, jokingly referring to himself as a plugin. But Lars didn't have a head or any physical equipment that resembled a head. He was basically a headless mechanical humanoid. 

Most AIs actually did have a "head" of sorts, with which to house all of their "seeing" equipment. It made that easier to work on should it run down. Lars's reason for not having a "head" was actually one of Red's favorite things about him. Atop his upper torso, was a flat space that the AI's pet cat, Amity, liked to rest on. Lars couldn't bring himself to ruin her favorite spot. He had more in common with a crazy cat lady than the population of the vessel he helped command. 

"I don't know. Why do you read that crap?" Red's own eyes were drawn to the black once again. The oval window gave a perfect view of the stars as they moved. Stars that because of their distance never appeared to move, even as the Aphelion swam through the reaches of space towards them at speeds his mind couldn't begin to comprehend. Their table was located just in front of it the window, an unplayed game of ancient hnefatafl* sat between them.  The stars shining out, their light radiating towards him, worlds unexplored... He was home out here. But Red also itched to move further out to see what was there. There was always something new on that dark horizon.

"It's interesting philosophically speaking," Lars responded. His metallic voice and arms shifted emphasizing the word "philosophically" in a way that indicated he held interest. He had no face to express his interests, his tone, physical movement, and words had to do it for him.

"You know we're not supposed to philosophize. Right?" Red shook his head at his second in command. Somewhere in the rising and falling of civilizations humanity had given birth to AI's. And instead of the death of all of humanity as predicted in so many science fiction novels, and Red had read as many as he could get his hands on growing up, the AI's minds had been fascinated with the same ideas that had captured the imaginations of early man. Men had long turned away from such thoughts; the AI's interest had birthed an "Awakening" of several old religions. After all, if the smartest among them were contemplating these thoughts, shouldn't they?