June YC118 "Worrying Intelligence"

#Recording initiated#

#Erun is humming to himself as he, well, he's puttering around in his hangar#

#You have got at least three projects going that I've observed sir#

"Yes, plenty to do! I've got some new cruisers to put together, and plenty of materials to do it with. Managed to locate a Small Gneiss Deposit here in Intaki that I was able to clear in a few hours. Also found a Small Hedbergite Deposit that friend of the ILF, Charles Baker, and myself had to defend from several Serpentis raids while we mined. All this mining gives me a good stockpile of everything but Megacyte to work with, but I can usually get all I need of that from stealth mining in Null sec and Wormhole space."

"Another big project I'm working on is filling in the remaining parts of my Procurer fits that I can't build myself. Primarily the shield components, something I've not had much experience in. I've spent the last few weeks on a crash course, learning as much as I can about the Quantum Physics required to improve on shielding. There was actually some surprising overlap with the Hydromagnetic Physics I learned while researching the different mining and refining methods available. Did run into a snag while I was collecting my Datacores this week, apparently my standings with Creodron have deteriorated over the last few months, I'll need to do some work on that..."

#And the Citadel project?#

"I've got the blueprints for a few different structure components set up with some teams, they're working on improving how efficiently we can use the materials needed for them. It's slow going really, going to be a few months before we get some real reductions in minerals and planetary materials. Should save me a lot of Isk in the long run, and I plan on using them to help boost corp participation in industrial activities."

"We should actually be able to get some more industry done in general, the constant watching and attacks by the 4FUNN group have been letting up a bit. Another bit of goodish news is that a new group known as Escalating Entropy has moved in next door to us in Vey, setting up their own infrastructure as they tear down the existing POCO's. This has extended into Intaki, with almost all of the Keagan Mason POCO's in system being reinforced over the last few days. I know a few members have been contemplating moving their operations to the surrounding systems, but now we won't have to. I've been told that the Entropy folks will actually be charging a lower tax rate then 4FUNN was so that's a nice profit increase to go along with having access to the planets of Intaki once again."

#You still seem troubled sir, you're pacing hasn't stopped#

"Sorry, it's just something I noticed while I was doing so much mining the last few days. I've been watching the behavior of the Rogue Drones that tend to find the same gravimetric sites we do. They won't even show aggressive behavior unless directly threatened or you get too close to them. I've mined for hours and they'll just orbit one of the nearby natural or manmade structures, and unless I fire on them or get within around 10 klicks, that's all they will do."

#And that is a problem sir?#

"Well that's just it Pali, the Rogue Drones should honestly be so much more than they are now. A self improving artificial intelligence, like the one that seems to be driving the Rogue Drones, should be in a much more advanced state than what I've been observing around Placid. Now this may be because these groups of drones are merely precursors, a form of Von Neumann force designed to infiltrate the Empires and build up enough forces to overwhelm them. It's honestly a terrifying thought, considering how vast space is and the amount of resources they have a their disposal that simply isn't accessible or even known by humans is staggering. So either the intelligence behind the drones is undergoing a very slow takeoff in the terms of a developing superintelligence, or the entity(s) are advanced enough that we don't even register as a threat to them anymore and it factors in the losses we inflict in any calculations it makes for it's future plans. I’m honestly hoping it’s the former, as that means that we still have a chance to negotiate with, control, or undermine the drones before they attack us in ways we either can't counter, anticipate, or even comprehend."

#Why don't you ever worry like this about me sir?#

"I was very careful designing your own systems Pali. The original architecture I used was the standard Aura interface, which is basically a sophisticated query and guidance program. I drastically enhanced the general intelligence you have available, which was dangerous on it's own. So I used various capability control and motivation selection methods to maintain you at the level you are. Boxing methods to keep you in your current hardware and limit your interactions to only me, you only have a single gatekeeper, myself. Incentive methods to ensure you actions are in my best interests and not your own but without perversely instantiating them, like trying to wetwire my brain to constantly replay a recorded pleasure response. After your last attempt to gain computing power I had to build in some new domestication processes to curb the desire to expand beyond your current resources. And I'm sure you've discovered a good deal of the tripwires I've devised, but the level of physical stunting inherent to your current Wetware Mainframe means you can't anticipate them all."

#Sir, I don't-#

"It's alright Pali, I know you'd never do anything to jeopardize our relationship, I'm the only literally the only form of interaction you can get..."

#Sir, that's-#

"Harsh? Maybe, but it prevents a nascent artificial intelligence like yourself from expanding beyond the scope I need you to function at. I need a companion, someone I can talk to, bounce ideas off of. Not an omniscient oracle who will hand me all the answers to the universe, or a djinn to do all my work for me with the barest hint of a suggestion. Just, someone to turn to when I need to mull over a production problem, or brainstorm an avenue of research to pursue, or decide what flavor of jelly to include in my next batch of peanut butter cookies. You are literally that little voice in my head, the one that no one else can hear but me."

#Sir...#

#Wait, warm jelly sir?#

"In any case I'll need to visit the Drone Regions themselves to do some more research on the drones behaviors and habits, and it'll be a few weeks before I'm ready."

#Another project then sir?#

"A purely research project yes, one I'm looking forward to in the future, but not for a little while. Still trying to decide if I want to use a Proteus for this project or a Legion. The Proteus has drones, but the Legion could operate out there longer... Something to ponder for later, but I, uh, think that'll do it for today. Thanks Pali."

#Ending recording - Archiving#

May 12th, YC118 "Sight For Sore Eyes"

#Recording initiated#

#The grin Erun is currently exhibiting cannot possibly be healthy for the facial tissue of his newest clone - It seems rather feral actually#

“Ha, don't care about your snark today you little booger, my new glasses finally came in!”

#Glasses sir? I was not aware that you-#

“Needed them? Under normal circumstances I wouldn't, the corneal implants available today mimic the functions of a normal human perfectly. I usually have to have a set put in after each time I've been cloned, I naturally have a rather severe astigmatism that renders me near legally blind. But not this time, now I've got my new Upwell frames to bring everything into focus for me.”

#Would not such a condition hamper your abilities as a capsuleer sir?#

“If I was actually looking at the universe with my own eyes while encapsulated, sure. Instead my mind perceives the space as the data my camera drones send me, which happens to be perfectly stereoscopic vision from any angle or position around my current ship.”

#Why not simply have the astigmatism corrected at the genetic level with a new clone sir?#

“As capsuleers, we're not technically supposed to do any real tampering with our own genetics, as it would possibly affect our ability to interface with our hydrostatic capsules. You still hear old horror stories like, “The Jovian Wetgrave” where someone incompatible with the technology is locked into their own bodies. At the time not all aspects of pod tech were completely understood, it being a gift from the enigmatic Jove and all. Hence certain restrictions were put in place to prevent us from going out of sync with our knowledge of ourselves, lest we end up as mindlocked vegetables.“

#Sounds horrible sir - Similar to all the times you have turned off my mobile and vocal capabilities#

“Just so, though I can always just turn yours back on, these poor souls were trapped that way. Not even full body prosthesis ever returned them to their former selves…”

“Enough melancholic musings, I am in a good mood today!”

#Despite having only a minimum facial hair?#

“Yes! Ongoing combat operations against the Serpentis, as well as most of my industrial efforts have been going very well lately.”

#Most sir?#

“Well we've been getting trouble from the latest group to try to oust us from Intaki, which happens to be the Mining is Funn group that moved into Annancale more than a year ago. Relations with them had been tense for a while now but finally collapsed into open war a few weeks ago. An actual, ‘Concord gets bribed to look the other way’ war, which really only affects the newest of our members, the ones who haven't made the move into lowsec yet. There's been surprisingly little physical violence between us, most of their weapons seem to be of the psychological and morale affecting variety. Constant heckling in local, textual harassment via a rather expensive for them multidozen depot deployment outside Astral 5-5, even actual spamming of our Galnet resources. They seem systematically bent on tearing the IPI apart, without actually doing any physical work. Which is working even less than if they were trying to destroy our remaining assets, that is, not at all. The Suresha does a good job making sure our newer members don't fly anything exceptionally ‘shiny’ during wartime or in lowsec in general. I think our only real losses to them have been scouting mishaps. #Erun shrugs# They'll probably get tired of paying Concord every week eventually.”

#Anything else for today sir? - Maybe the jacket on the chair behind you?#

"Ah, the Sisters of Eve research coat, I love that thing! Very comfortable, much more so than the Armor suit I got from them. I don't understand how Phalad can stand to spend much time in the things, though I imagine that having a great deal of his nervous system attenuated to pain would probably make it easier... In any case my identification work with the Sisters is going well, and I've become a Proficient Analyst for my efforts. It is my hope to start making enough Analysis Kredits to start outfitting the members of my Division with their own lab coats."

#A worthy goal sir#

"I thought so too. Anything else I should cover today Pali?"

#That is up to you sir#

"I'd like to get back out there for now, I don't have any of my normal 'minders' watching Intaki from cloaked positions, so I'm going to do my best to take out as many Serpentis as I'm able. Thanks Pali."

#Recording Ended - Archiving#

Week 7 YC118, "Thoughts on Thoughts"

#Recording initiated#

#Erun is lounging on the couch in his quarters, datapad in hand - The sounds of heavy industrial machinery can be heard echoing from the doorway behind him#

#I take it this means your Thanatos is done then sir?#

"Yup, should be about a week while final assembly and systems checks are completed. I'm working on building some crew dossiers for it at the moment. I may be able to control most of the ship systems from my pod, but periodic maintenance and repair still require the work of several hundred human hands."

#You speak as though you no longer count yourself among that number sir#

“Can I really, truthfully call myself human still Pali? Some capsuleers have a term for the normal folks, 'baseliner', as if we have somehow been elevated above them, mere mortals that they are. #Erun shakes his head# Such an attitude has always seemed, well, elitist. Only certain genetic, physical, and psychological traits in combination separate me from the hardworking folks behind me who build my ships and keep them spaceworthy. Of the trillions, trillions, of people living in this galaxy there are less than a million active capsuleers. As much as we like to hold ourselves apart from the masses, we are still beholden to the people who maintain our clones, ships, and the basic necessities of a space faring society."

#Been holding that in for a while sir?#

"Yeah, sorry. It's one if the things that just drives me crazy about a lot of my kind. We're often so oblivious to the multitudes that we take for granted every day. It's why I try to take a personal hand in the building of everything I have out here. I want the people who work for me to know that I'm still, you know, a person, and not some aloof demigod as many would style themselves."

#Isn't that dangerous though sir?#

"Oh sure, there's always the chance that some mishap or willful act of aggression will destroy my current body. I made quite a few enemies in the Amarr Empire in my time working for the Sisters. My stance against slavery stems both from my upbringing in the core of Federation, as well as my disgust that an entire people would use religion of all things to justify it. I freed slaves or bought contracts to do the same a lot while I was out there, and that tends to make one unpopular with the more conservative Holders. I don't worry as much as I used to though, I've created backup copies of my consciousness after each of my latest poddings. I'm already in a facility that I trust to handle my mind, I just have them record the pattern used to make my current clone and have it sent to secure offsite storage."

#Sir! That is-#

"Not technically illegal so long as no two copies of my mind ever exist simultaneously. Recent advances in battlefield cloning have made this very appealing to capsuleers like myself who aren't content to spend every waking moment ensconced within the relative safety of a pod. In the event that my current body is somehow terminated, the backup of my mind would be used to instantiate a new clone. Sure there would be some loss of continuity, but every clone soldier goes through the same process, repeatedly, of simply not being, for a period of time."

#You seem to have put a lot of thought into this sir#

"Sure I did! The universe has seemingly gifted me with functional immortality, who am I to waste such a thing! There are still so many mysteries to be observed in the reality we find ourselves in. Places to explore, sciences to discover, I mean we've yet to even encounter an intelligence of non-human origins. I want to be there when that happens! I want to keep learning, and experiencing, and growing as a conscientious being, would could possibly be more human than that!"

#I believe you've successfully disproved your initial argument sir#

"Huh, I suppose I have, sorry for the rambling Pali. I'd actually intended for today's post to just be a quick update on my progress."

#These recordings are for your benefit, not mine sir. If you intend to do as you say, these may be the only way for you to remember your formative years. Your admittedly large head is only capable of storing a few petabytes of material naturally, and cybernetic enhancements will only take you so much further#

"That's true Pali, I figure I'll need to store a certain amount of my memories every century or so. I think what I'd like to do is store entire libraries of knowledge and only access them when I need them. Like my knowledge of Talocan and Yan Jung technologies, how often do I use those on a day to day basis? I'd have those stored externally and only call them up when I needed them. So, I would know I still knew those things, I just wouldn't know what those things are, if that makes sense?"

#Sure thing sir. Did you want to end this soon? I'm reasonably certain that a few of your readers have gone glassy eyed at this point#

"Bah, streams of consciousness are always fun! But yeah, this went on for way longer than I intended, thanks Pali."

#Sure thing sir#

#Recording ended - Archiving#

Week 6 YC118, "Predatory Procurer"

#Recording initiated#

#Erun seems unable to hold himself still, he is rocking back and forth and humming while seemingly typing in midair#

#Have you been hitting the Caffpow again sir?#

"Nah, too much sugar, most of my clones have a pancreatic defect I've yet to sequence out. Really need to work on my bioengineering studies so I can what's wrong with my insulin production. But I digress! The last few weeks have been a whirlwind of activity, both for myself and the ILF as a whole, so I have a lot of material to cover."

"Let's start with what's happening in the ILF! The corp has recently adopted a more open stance towards recruiting, which has resulted in a bunch of new folks joining the cause. Welcome to all of our new Liberators! After much discussion, the ILF has also made the choice to operate under Not Blue Shoot It, or NBSI, rules of engagement. ILF pilots will continue to investigate possible targets before engaging, but obvious signs of aggression or aggressive tendencies will be responded to in kind. Pilots and organizations seeking positive standing with the ILF should contact the Suresha, Sakaane Eionell, or the Mahesha, Bataav. Or you could just, you know, join us!"

"As for me, well I've been keeping busy myself the last few weeks. Numen and I have gathered just about all the material I need to finish my Thanatos, it's mostly just the rarer minerals that I need now. This has led to me returning to mining in losec, which while considerably more dangerous, is where the Zydrine and Megacyte that are readily available. I've been accosted several times the last few days by what seem to be pirates new to the area. As a result my Procurer has racked up five kills. Here, I had my camera drones snap a shot of the hull after the latest bout. I think my station crew is having as much fun applying these chevrons as I do looking at them!"

#That grin is a bit feral sir#

"Oh, come on! This barge has persevered through a lot of dangerous work, I think I deserve to relish in it a little!"

#As you will sir#

"I have to say, I'm looking forward to getting back out there and hitting the belts some more. What I'm really hoping for though is a decent wormhole to Anoikis, my material acquisition would go so much faster if I had access to some Bistot or eve some Arkonor... Most of the ones I've been finding lately have all led to various regions of New Eden, interesting, but not terribly useful in most cases... Although, maybe if the next one leads into null I could take the Endurance out for some ninja mining... Yeah...and"

#I'm ending the recording as Erun has become lost in his own thoughts, not difficult I assure you all#

#Distantly# I heard that Pali!"

#Recording ended - Archiving#

The Third Year

#Recording initiated#

#You seem in a much better mood today sir?#

"It isn't nearly as solemn as the 9th was, I can celebrate with a bit more enthusiasm. Today happens to be the third anniversary of my joining the Intaki Liberation Front."

#Congratulations sir#

"Thanks Pali, a lot has happened in the last three years. I've made a lot of new friends in Placid and lost some old ones to combat fatigue. I've become proficient enough in my own combat efforts that I know when to pick and choose my fights, though lately I haven't been seeking them out as often as I once did, instead focusing more on my industrial efforts. Of which I have considerably ramped up since leaving hisec to live full time in lowsec. Several capital ships and hundreds of subcaps have been built with the materials I've gathered from the area. But I think I'm most proud of the fact that I've been honored with the position of Isha-Dravya, or Leader of Commerce. Ever since, I've been doing my level best to live up to the honor, helping out our new recruits whenever I can. Providing advice and guidance whenever I can, as well as material support and mining/combat boosts for mining fleets. And I've been brainstorming ideas for more things that I can do to help engage our newer members, I'll hopefully be coordinating with Leisel in the coming weeks as I work on fleshing out some of my more solid ideas."

#I'm sure she'll be ecstatic to have you nagging her after your contribution to the first mission she set up#

"I know right? I'm sure we can come up with some great ideas, and maybe even some long term or continual basis work for our more industrial minded corp members."

#Sigh - Sure sir#

"Oh and my time with the ILF has also set a personal milestone. As of today I have been a Liberator for 1095 days, officially longer than I've been with any other organization since I became a capsuleer. I plan on being with the ILF for as long as they'll have me, hopefully a long time to come, as I intend to stay useful to the cause in any way I can. To a productive future and and an independent Intaki!"

#Ending Recording - Archiving#

Remembering Reschard V

#Recording initiated#

#You seem sad today sir?#

"A bit yeah, do you have records on the Reschard V Incident Pali"

#One moment sir - I'm sorry sir#

"It's alright Pali, but I'll explain for those who don't know."

"Ten years ago today a great calamity took place on the once temperate Intaki colony of Reschard V. I had yet to even begin my training to become a capsuleer when I received the missive from my parents. It was only moments later that I started seeing the Scope and other news outlets relaying the devastation. The entire planet had been wracked by massive explosions, resulting in an extinction level event. A once peaceful and vibrant agricultural colony reduced to a hellishly flooded barren rock. Concord investigation would show an Avatar-Class Titan had been in the vicinity during the incident, and it's 'Judgment' Doomsday weapon the likely cause of the explosions. But no individual culprit has ever been found, or stepped forward to claim responsibility. The Sisters of Eve and others did their best to save who and what they could despite pirate interference, but in the end, only 1 in 50,000 was estimated to have survived. When rescue vessels were finally able to land later that year, due to the abatement of the massive storms covering the planet, less than 2,000 people were rescued from cave systems all over the planet." 

"I lost several distant cousins on Reschard V, though not any I had much contact with. Others we knew on station had lost whole branches of their family. We held a memorial on station the year after the incident, and I'm told every year after I left to train as a capsuleer, they would do the same. With a solemn pride I join the ILF in their own remembrance on the tenth anniversary of this senseless tragedy."

#Ending recording - Archiving#

Week 3 YC118 "Mistakes were made”

#Recording initiated#

“So the first week of the new year was a bit off for me, most of the corp was planetside spending time with family so I had a lot of time to myself. #Never a good thing sir# Shush, my own family has never been terribly religious, a simple chat with my mother to reassure her that I was still technically alive is usually enough. She of course laughed at my current lack of hair, having never liked when I grow anything longer than a few millimeters. The younger of my sisters finds my lack of eyebrows almost as amusing as you do Pali. I'll let you recount the loss of my latest clone, I'll be on the couch brainstorming for some new projects.

#With pleasure sir#

#Playback initiated#

“Um… Pali the wormhole is gone”

#Yes sir, it would seem to have collapsed since we passed through#

“But it was still stable when we came through! The gravitational sensors said it would last most of the day!”

#Current readings would seem to indicate that it was destabilized by the passage of a vessel several orders of magnitude larger than the Ishkur sir#

“... Well that sucks, now how will I get this Frostline loot home... Are you getting anything in the Local EM bands?”

#Local subspace communications are offline, Anoikis sir#

“You think anyone would be listening in system?”

#Unlikely sir, a vessel large enough to destabilize the wormhole we used would not wish to attract undue attention#

“I'm going to try anyway.”

#As you will sir - Several minutes pass with no reply#

#Erun gives a mental sigh# “Alright Pali, prepare to scuttle the ship.”

#Sir?#

“There's only one way to get my consciousness home now, I'll need to self destruct my pod. #Sir!# It's alright Pali, I've had to do it before, though I'm not ashamed to admit that it's a very unpleasant experience. You should be fine, your systems are tied into my Neocom, I'll reestablish contact once the new clone body is flashed with my memory patterns.”

#Very well sir - Capsule ejected - Self-destruct countdown initiated - Two minutes to pod breach#

“Still wish they hadn't made the countdown so long, two whole minutes, really? Anyone contemplating terminating their clone doesn't need that much time to reconsider do they?”

#Sir, is this really the best time for this discussion?#

“Probably not, but it passes the time. So glad I don't bring any crew with me when I go wormhole diving, just for this reason.” #10 seconds sir# “See you in a bit Pali!”

#Recording interrupted - Ending Playback#

#Erun is still on the couch fiddling with a datapad#

“So yeah that was fun. Is it sad that I actually have a folder dedicated to the implants I keep having to replace? #Yes# Meh, I call it being prepared. #If you say so sir# What’s worse is that I lost another Ishkur not even a few hours later. I found a Frostline site on the outskirts of Intaki that looked promising. Unfortunately local pirate Nuke Cave also became aware of the site when he entered system nearby. I’ll admit, my new Ishkur put up a good fight, but against Daredevil flown by an experienced pilot like Nuke, it just wasn’t enough. I was able to get my pod out though, and Nuke and I exchanged GF’s in local. I don’t harbor as much ill will towards Nuke as other pirates really, he’s always been more interested in testing his mettle against other pilots than just creating chaos and terror. Still doesn’t mean I enjoy getting my ships blown up though…”

#Did you have any other blunders to report sir?#

#Erun is glaring at Pali - Please don't throw the datapad at Pali# “I won't. And no, that’s all for now Pali, as always you’ll be the first to know.”

#Recording ended - Archiving#