"Ghost in the Machine"
Short Story for Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke https://substack.com/@goatfury
He wobbled as he read the text, twisting its way in and out of the levels of the printed crystal. Then he stopped and looked up at his telegraph machine converter put the third arm down and started to speak: “You do realize that this paper is excellent, and that is the only reason we are thinking about publishing it.”
The converter nodded his head and said: “There has been little but the chatter of this among the converters for scientific papers for two Rotations.”
“It flies in the face of everything we had been told for millennia. That is why I still hesitate to be the person who admits into the halls of knowledge such a profound conclusion.”
“I do not know what piece convinces you to run this as the lead article in the next Astronomic Monthly, but in quiet talks with my other had converters, the idea is repugnant to the idea that we are the only intelligent species.”
“Is there some talk of the Goddess below?” The question was hung out there.
The view here was of the wisps of methane and ammonia welling up from the layers below surrounding a crystal hive. In pre-history the peoples of this mighty gas giant world had learned the trick of spinning the gossamer crystals to form a breeze up from the gas below which built huge floaters on which to build a building and hives. The hives would stretch for hundreds of meters so long as the base remained on a powerful anti-cyclonic storm beneath. The inhabitants of this world were shelled with vast exoskeletons which they could then inflate the abdomen with hydrogen to balance the weight that they carried for short flights. The best description is that they were crustaceans or the subgroup of insects with large hydrogen sacs to lift on. a had eight limbs of which were arms and four of which were legs, but that distinction was social rather than physical. The intelligences were gifted with flight but only recently made a wheel.
Now put them now that in a tiny workroom, and most were tiny to give the lift of long rows of room, discussing a paper that was radical in the extreme. However, the proposal was that the review signals from above were artificially generated and that the source was from outside of the gas giant. The thing to remember is that neither of them had seen the sun because it was still blocked by the atmosphere but they, and all cultured intelligences, knew it to be in existence because, over the last Revolutions, science had made the discovery that their world was orbiting a vast mass of hydrogen. they did not feel the effect since more of the heat they used was up from below, but still, they knew that this “sun” was the true center of the universe. But they still did not know the stars.
“Old perish the thought, ordinary people who have been through college know that there is an infinitesimal chance of a supernatural spirit control and everything.”
The scientist began to probe the telegraph operator: “Well, that’s at least some comfort. But what is it in more conventional terms?”
“Don’t get me wrong, there is a wide over body that needs to believe that down below in the core of the planet there is something ineffable that guides our decisions. There is some guidance but not more than that.”
“The huge atmosphere that we know of is deep beyond recognition, it is only 10 Revolutions since a measurement was even made. And it was only five Revolutions since the theory that there is a center of the universe that is not inside the planet. And it is only two since the idea that a pull in matter gives off an enormous amount of heat. What kind of creature lives away from the machine of life?”
“I don’t want to think about the nature of these … creatures. And only telling you that the radio waves that came from outside were not natural. That has been considered for some time, but now this paper claims that the radio waves that halted 45 Rotations ago were of unnatural occurrence.”
To explain, the operator of the telegraph was an important figure in the hive. And had contact with the Mother who was descended from a distant ancestor who decided that reproduction was to only be the province of very few. Neither man cared to think about the goings-on in the selection, because the details were extremely unpretty. Nobody likes to say that most of the competitors were killed in the contests. Of what was there to do? Evolution determined that the fittest species goes forward and that meant that there was competition for the reproductive few. So telegraph operators were emissaries of the diplomatic side of the equation, there had to be some means to create peace or be entire world would end up in a war against everyone else.
The scientist looked again at the crystal. “So why are you letting me make the choice?”
The operator bent his first and second arms with a crack and then began: “As you know my Brethren are more than willing to come to a consensus. On the international scale, almost all of the hives need to be in agreement.”
“So why are you letting a group of scientists, who are willing to engage in …” the publisher looked for the correct word “ disagreements?”
“Yes, you are willing to have disagreements, but you do not allow the unity of your discipline to fragment. My Brethren and I think that having you have a disagreement that does not focus on violent action is a very good opportunity for those groups who have more combustible natures.”
“Yes, I see that much of the population is more ready to erase individuals who do not follow their duties.”
“Remember that it used to be that all Brethren swore an oath to the others to not divulge secrets.”
“Yes, that was a moment in history that should be remembered for a very long time.”
“So, I will let you speak with your other scientists about whether or not you are going to publish. But tell me beforehand so that I can prepare the way for a revolutionary paper that will change the way we see the… impact what are we going to call our place in the world? I mean we know that ‘ the world’ is out of date, but it is still used in typical conversation.”
The scientist leaned back in and the old way is deep ancestors. It was for comfort and a distant healing of the cell which he came from.
But then a high-pitched whine came from the overhead. He could see through the roof of the building because all rooves in the complex were clear and made of diamond glass. He then saw that there was a huge crowd of Workers and they had already damaged the gate. The news, therefore, was that it was going to be security and they had to admit the mob of Workers in. He knew that the Chancellor was going to pass the matter to the scientist eventually and that he was going to have two talks with the Leader of the workers. This was not going to be pretty.
It was as he suspected, and a dresser had been dispatched to get him into clothes for a meeting. Clothes were such awful embarrassments, they got sweaty in about one-fifth of one Rotation, and nothing could get rid of the stench. He realized that clothing was required for meetings, but recent science had proven almost definitively that later clothing would be more flexible and breathable.
But then he was in the dome that was be entrance to the University, it was spherical and very large, and the scientist noted that the dimensions or optimal for reminding everyone of the large rooms that they grew up in. Fortunately, the mob was outside and only the Leader and a few associates were allowed in. They took the chair on the university’s side of the ovoid table, and let them sort out who was to speak. It was obvious who was the Leader because he was white, and the other ones were deep dark brown. The scientist examined all four eyes of the Leader and wondered what he was thinking in his forebrain.
The scientist merely sat down and opened all four of his arms to let the Leader speak.
“I’m thinking you know what I’m here for.”
“Why don’t you tell me so that we can begin from the point of discussion and so I don’t have any misapprehensions about what your call is about.”
The Leader parsed this and then began:
“We of several Brethren of Workers do not feel that you should have the right to determine the knowledge without the Mother’s blessing.”
The scientist's setback and thought. While everything was done in the name of the Mother, she was merely a figurehead because her intelligence was devoted to bringing out the young, and ordering her midwives as to which cast the young were to attach to. It is not that she did not have intelligence but that her intelligence was deeply wired to what she did. But he didn’t realize that there was a Council of Leaders of different Brethren and the matriarchy of midwives. But usually, these two councils left the day-to-day business of different Brethren as an internal matter. Then there were the operators who were in a hive mind and did not make decisions but implemented the protocols. He had more or less been told that they were not going to pass judgment on such delicate matters.
“What are you suggesting?”
“In various times past, the Mother has been weaned from bearing young and after some time she can give her opinion on such a matter.” The scientist could see that the Leader had gotten consensus from all of the other worker’s Brethren. He could see by how the head was placed that this was the only thing that would appeal to all of the workers.
On the other hand, while the Mother was the supreme being in ritual, it had been five revolutions since a Mother made a decision other than for her well-being. The actual way of making decisions would be for the higher-level Brethren to work with the matriarchy and for the matriarchy to make a decision and feed it to the Mother. One of the other professors had been a scholar of how the matriarchy and the Brethren had done they very delicate dance to come to a détente. However, the various mechanics differed from hive to hive.
“So, you want me to give this to my Leader and he will brooch it to be matriarchy, and set be process in motion?”
“It is for the Mother to decide.” The Leader’s outer mandibles were set and only the inner mandibles good be heard clicking in. Again, the scientist knew that there what be no real discussion. But that meant a meeting with the Brethren Leader and the matriarchy counterpart. However, knowledge is based on all of the hives, not as the worker thought a store which each high guarded closely. This had been decided after the fifth world war.
“I will call the meeting of my Leader and the counterpart of the matriarchy, but their decision overrules whatever you and I may come to.” The scientist decided to play it as if he had no discretion, which was out of the case, but he hoped that a worker would not understand that. “ after all, it is a decision made from the center.” And he let out a long gasp from the spiracles along his abdomen to make it seem like he was delivering orders from above.
There was a pause, but then the Leader leaned slightly closer and said: “Give me your word that you will not make a decision but centralize the process.”
The scientist fixed his gaze on the worker and just nodded. If there was such a revolt in less than a Rotation time, he would be uninterested in making political decisions that affected not only his hive but many others as well. He did not know what kind of decision-making apparatus would be acceptable, but he was sure that its outlines were not in focus.
The worker and his cohorts left by flight and for the moment the rebellion had been quashed. But the scientist was sure that it would flare up again if the demands for a centralized decision were not met.
-
In the core of the hive, there is the ostentatious broodery that attracts almost all of the attention, but real decisions are made in very tiny places where the matriarchs engage in conversation at an almost frenetic level. It was here in this windy row of small living spaces that the scientist now found himself. On the other chair was a senior matriarch who probably had decanted almost everyone he knew, because the matriarch was not only senior but old, greatly intelligent, and tasked with the duty of decanting only the most intelligent of creatures. This is not to say that there was a difference in the level of intelligence but in the amount that could be nurtured for untrammeled experience. Most individuals were wired for very few tasks. Thus the scientist looked at the matriarch and saw the wisdom of experience which he would never possess.
But he started anyway: “I come to you to ask that you set up a meeting between a high-level major arc and a high-level Brethren to discuss a very sensitive topic.”
“I received a file on your query, and I don’t think you know that this sort of problem must be resolved at a personal level. Only then will the matriarchs decide if it is possible.” Her mandibles both inner and outer were grinding as if she were deciding whether or not she was hungry.
“I don’t think I understand the politics of how a decision is going to be made.”
“There isn’t a way for a decision to be made. This is a misconception of almost all who come to me for decisions or to set up a meeting at which decisions will be made.” The yellow lights which were there for the calm of the matriarch had a reverse sensation on the scientist, instead, he felt as if he were being interrogated. And not nicely.
“Please enlighten me.” The scientist was hesitant because long long ago the matriarchy would snap off the head of anyone, they found displeasing. While this had been long out of fashion there still stood an unreasoning fear in males about what the matriarchy would potentially do.
“The matriarchy does not make decisions, other people make decisions and we implement them in the breeding program. Your decision is quite complex and therefore needs at least a revolution of time to get the needed consensus to build from within. The means of consensus is a delicate matter.” She leaned back as if to dismiss him.
“So, what am I supposed to do?”
“I will give you the address of the individual who wants to publish the paper. You speak to him and decide whether or not the scientific consensus is worth the trouble that it will cause the population. If, in your view, it is then come to me, and I will begin to implement being necessary breeding arrangements. The matriarchy decides what will occur but not what will happen.”
The scientist felt confused, but it seemed on her front limb was the next step to getting closer to be real answer from the machine that made it.
At this point, the scientist realized that he had to see the author of the paper and get a first-hand view.
At this point, the scientist realized that he had to see the author of the paper and get a first-hand view.
-
It was a long way from any other dwelling. The air was light and took a great deal of getting used to. The building was huge and spherical and early belt by a long line of nobles, many of whose uncles had died in pursuit of reproductive success. The crystals were a dark green color for the hexagons and a dark black color for the pentagons. And what is most apparent is that inside there was a light generator that did not use heat at all. Such an object must have been a dream of one of the owners because it did not have any real purpose as far as the scientist could determine. Outside among the slabs to set on there was one person. He was scraggly and he looked haphazard in his way of going about no order in his steps. But the scientist gradually made his way up to a set of slabs and introduced himself.
“I and the publisher at a University to which you submitted your paper.”
“Yes, yes. I only submitted it because my friend said that there was another paper that examined the same frequencies, but that the paper was not as well supported. So, I rushed to paper with a few insights that I still had.”
The scientists felt his tone to be wavered and not accustomed to giving orders. He did not like the fact that there was no consistency in his forelimbs which made it seem as if he were discombobulated in the thorax.
The scientist started “So this is instantly a draft paper hurry out because there was another paper?”
“I’m afraid so. Please forgive any errors that have been made they are entirely my own. You can call me Niwrad.”
“The paper is excellent; I am sure that with a few revisions, it could be run as it is. But there is a political problem and I need to have some notion of how much more proof you could release at this time.”
“Well, now that you mention it I could show you something which would interest you a great deal.”
The scientist paused and then with a firm exoskeleton said: “I would of course be willing to see what you have in your stinger. Just realize that the additional proof that you show me now does not have to be in the original paper.”
“Oh, no there is too much work to be done to release all of the information that I have. But realize that in the scientific community guesses had been made of this sort before. The sky is limitless and has yielded fragments of natural origin before, but several anomalies have been suggested to be the manufacturer of an intelligent creature which is not like own.”
“I’m aware of the collection of natural sky debris. That is part of the known process. Your paper mentions frequencies that are unlikely to be natural because they fit within the hydrogen spectral lines. Though my subspecialty is not atomic dynamics, the theory is well accepted if one wants to pass physics.”
“Yes, it is extraordinarily unlikely that something would fit into the Gap that hydrogen lines clear out. Now let me show you something extraordinary.”
They got up and found their way around to the entrance which opened into a hexafluoride opening. Again, the inside was tremendously light and with new rooms per se just a single room with levels that were for various activities. But in the center, there was a hexagonal platform that was Ruby red, and it held something in the center but the scientist could not see what it was.
Finally, the scientist could not help himself and took to wing, though for him it was rather expensive to fly up at this altitude. But he landed himself on the hexagonal playing and saw a table that had long wires and a single hub that the wires led to once upon a time. One has to say that it looked extremely mangled and disassembled but it was clear that it was not natural in origin but a gossamer foil whose edges were still visible. There was gold and platinum and a hard center.
“This is a machine that lies through nearly vacuum conditions. It is the ghost in the machine. The central portion contains a radio transmitter, but it also receives rear transmissions from a point of origin. It is meant to be a robot.”
“How did you come by this?”
“One Rotation ago there was a fiery burnup.”
“This was quieted down because there was an up or among the outer workers.”
“There was radioactive material which was unlikely to be natural. The plutonium which it contained was exceedingly rare and not in this concentration. Several people speculated that it might be a robot, but it would happen to be collected before it had burned out.”
“So how did you do it that?”
“A team, which was secretive, was accumulated through many hives and set to work on getting a balloon high enough to capture another one if it should be possible. The orbital dynamics were immensely complex, and I was the person who would build the gaseous-filled balloon.”
“Then what happened?” there was an aching in the scientist’s inner structure that almost burst with excitement.
“We got lucky, but that luck was also with good preparation. The balloon was in range to capture the object before it could completely burn up.”
The scientist envisioned a floater only with an enormously large gas intake. He nodded but realized that his concept was probably inaccurate in many ways.
The scientist stumbled about and said: “You must have been worried what the outer layers would think.”
“That is why we kept it under strict control. It is also why I know that when you ask several Mothers, you will get the appropriate level of permission.”
The scientist nodded. “The intelligence who launched this must have known that something was very wrong because it should have burned up as well.”
Niwrad merely looked down at his feet and said nothing.
The scientist truly believed that this was artificial in construction and delicate to be able to fly through almost imperceptible levels of vacuum. What he could not see was how any intelligence could bear to be that close to a vacuum. It seems astonishing just to think about it. The mind reeled off dozens of questions as to the mechanics of science and even of living. What kind of high could reduce such a creature? The world, known as the cosmos, would be different in every way now that everyone would know that there was another intelligence even if it was a ghost in the machine.