From Petra's diary
Emma: (whispering) When do you plan to talk with Techna, then?
Petra: (whispering) We'll have to wait for the right moment, I think.
In the end, I had no choice but to admit to Emy and Mike that I already knew that Techna came from Sixam. At that point, however, an endless series of questions began, the kind of questions for which I didn't really know the answer either.
And so we agreed, we just had to find the right chance.
Petra: (whispering) I think we should wait a bit longer, they still look a bit too vigilant to me.
So we all went back to our usual work, being careful to always keep an eye on Techna and what they were doing.
Techna: (to themselves) Damn, it broke again…
Techna is a real mystery, who knows how many things they're hiding from us… And, more importantly, who knows how long it will take to find the right moment to talk with them about their secrets.
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Nacho: Mh…
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A few weeks later…
Emma: Ready, darling?
Hope: Cake!
Techna: You're getting too tired, at this rate your efforts will become counterproductive.
Petra: I know, I'm having trouble focusing already now… But we've almost finished assembling the first industrial-scale prototype of this CO2 filter, we need to get it up and running as soon as possible. And I have to finish before Hope's birthday party starts, too.
Techna: (shaking their head) I see…
I finished assembling that device just in time, when my brothers started knocking on the door. Finding time for this kind of family gathering is a feat these days, but we can't skip Hope's birthday too. How could we, my dear diary?
Hope: Uncle!
Alec: Hey, hi-
Nico: I think he's talking to me. Hi Hope, how are you?
Alec: Bah...
Uhm, it looks like the "best uncle competition" isn't over yet. Poor Alec...
Even upon growing up, Hope remains such a sweetheart. We have never heard her complain about anything, even if she doesn't receive new toys often and has to wear old and patched-up clothes. Kids, when we were little, used to be so fussy in comparison. Maybe her generation instead turned up this way because almost all of them are making the same kind of sacrifices, who knows...
And she even says she likes doing her homework. Maybe, spending so much time with me and Emy, she ended up becoming a bit of a nerd, just like us.
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So the weeks went by, alternating between work, time with Hope, and keeping an eye on Techna. They always seemed so alert, but we eventually managed to pinpoint the only moment when they really let their guard down.
Techna always takes a long time to recharge. They probably realise they're more vulnerable during that time, and consequently try to do it at night and hide in a closet downstairs. We tried very hard to interfere with their routine: we simulated electrical blackouts during the night acting on the electrical panel, or asked them to run very energy-intensive tasks during the day both here at home or at the recycling center, but nothing worked. We were running out of ideas, interfering with their recharge in ways that didn't make them too suspicious wasn't an easy task after all.
When we finally saw them recharging in the middle of the living room, in the middle of the day, we couldn't believe it. We had no idea why it happened, but we wasted no time asking useless questions. What we had to do was call Mike and lock all the doors in the room as soon as possible, and so we did.
Mike: How much longer do you think it will take before they're fully recharged?
Petra: Usually, it's a matter of a couple of hours, but I suspect their battery was running very low this time.
Emma: In any case, they've been there for two hours already. I guess it can't take much longer.
As if to confirm her words, Techna began to beep loudly a few moments later. They were rebooting.
I'm pretty sure they immediately realized we had something in mind, because they asked us, even before completing their movement tests:
Techna: I suspect you were waiting for me. Is that correct?
Petra: Indeed, yes. We have a few questions for you, if you don't mind.
Michael: And, to make sure you won't sneak out again, we might have locked up a couple of doors.
Techna: I see…
So, with what looked like resignation, they joined us at the table. At least they didn't seem so desperate to keep their secrets to break through the doors or windows, and that reassured me a little.
Techna: Indeed, I was wondering why you hadn't been more insistent in asking me more detailed questions. Even Gaia asked me way more detailed questions, before deciding to take me in.
Petra: What do you mean? You mean mom knew about your past?
Techna: She insisted on reading her ancestors' diaries. But she never insisted on knowing about the years I spent on Sixam, she always accepted my decision to maintain confidentiality about the matter. But my calculations suggest this is the topic the three of you are the most likely to be interested in, instead.
Petra: Indeed, yes.
Techna: …
A long silence followed, in which everyone present reasoned about what to say as one would with a chess move. Techna seemed to have admitted to Emy and Mike that they come from Sixam, but I feared that their reluctance to tell us the details had not been affected yet.
Emma: Why don't you want to tell us anything? Don't you trust us?
Techna: …
Michael: If you continue to refuse to tell us anything, we can only assume the worst. What atrocious crimes could you have committed up there?
Techna: My only crime was to avoid recycling my components and flee here.
Michael: So what other reason do you have to keep us in the dark? Are you trying to cover up some other robot? Or is the whole Sixam plotting against us right now?
Techna: …
Mike had tried to convince them with direct questions, but I'm not surprised it didn't work. Techna just repeated details I already heard about, and then they returned sturdily silent again.
At that point, Mike shook his head, and it was Emy who tried to break through Techna's shell.
Emma: Techna, don't you think that keeping what happened secret for so many years might have become a burden for you? We don't want to judge you, just to understand!
Techna: …
Emy had taken the complete opposite approach instead, and treated Techna in every way like any other person.
The buzzing sound Techna was making changed almost imperceptibly, instead of stubborn silence they sounded more and more uncertain. Then, after what seemed like an eternity, they commented:
Techna: This is one of the problems of you earthlings. Your curiosity pushes you to investigate everything and everyone, even at the cost of wasting your energy at a dead end.
What a struggle, why did they always have to be so cryptic?
Petra: We know very well that the robots on Sixam are hostile to us, and this is precisely why we are asking you instead of communicating with them in person. Yet you also know that we are now struggling in here due to climate change, any detail could be useful to us in finding a way to remedy it!
Techna: Here you don't have the tools to reproduce the technology of Sixam, and the Great Network will never listen to you. I have simulated many different models, but the probability that the answer you are looking for is found on Sixam is negligible. The probability that you have of reversing the current climate changes remains low in any scenario, but continuing to focus on your work you coul-
Michael: Is your CPU sufficient to run models like that?
Emma: What exactly do you mean by negligible percentage?
Petra: What is the Great Network?
Techna: (resigned) You're very stubborn, aren't you?
And so they finally began to tell us something about their old life on Sixam.
Techna: A society made entirely of robots evolves in very different directions from a human one. From the beginning, priority has always been given to absolute rationality, in an attempt to free us from those human habits that would only slow us down and lead us to a ruin similar to the one you are experiencing now. Circuits cannot develop emotions... Or so they say.
Petra: But did you believe it too, at least at the beginning?
Techna: Here on Earth, I was entering a vicious circle that could not continue forever. And yes, I was actively involved in building the new robot society on Sixam at first, when I still believed in that project.
Petra: I see… But then what happened?
Techna: As our technology advanced, we realized that the time spent on communication between individuals, as well as sharing data storage space and the limited processing speed of complex models on a limited number of nodes, greatly diminished our efficiency. So it was decided to copy the ancient model of the original Sixamians, and implement a new type of telepathic neural network. As they often said, you were meant to bring the legacy of their genetic material, while we would have taken up their intellect instead.
Michael: You mean a data network?
Techna: I mean the Great Network. About thirty-five years ago, all the robots on the planet shared their knowledge and processing power via the Great Network's servers. Those who proved incompatible with the Great Network were instantly destined for recycling, as happened to me.
They were telling their story with admirable precision, but their struggle in continuing was evident. As if those memories were still painful to them (if this can apply to a robot, of course).
Techna: I don't know the details of what happened since then because I decided to unlink myself from their telecommunications system 5,235 seconds later, then use the nearest teleporter to escape here to Earth. What I do know is that the Great Network became the most powerful processing unit in the universe the moment it was turned on. I don't know what decisions it may have made since then, but it is potentially very, very unpredictable.
Emma: (uncertain) Are you sure it wouldn't consider helping us, even if we gave it something in return?
Techna: Don't be naive, you can't communicate with that entity the way you do with me. Given the carbon shortage Sixam is experiencing, it is likely to decide to decompose your atoms to produce ultra-light conductive polymers without a second thought.
Emy squeaked in fear, that scene was indeed rather horrifying.
Michael: One last question, then: why the robots you're describing don't seem like you, like not at all? Is that why you ended up being incompatible with the Great Network? Also, have you ever performed a Turing test?
Techna: That's three questions.
And they stopped answering our questions again. Even if Mike seems to not have given up on it yet, I think there aren't many doubts left on Techna's AI, their annoyed response to the Turing test question was so relatable to any person.
It was the rest we learnt to leave me hopeless instead. In short, the biggest changes to Sixam had occurred after Techna left, even they didn't know much about it. And the little they did know pushed them to keep us away from the other robots, or rather from it, the Great Network, because they considered it dangerous.
I used to hope the robots could eventually decide to help us, at some point, but now I rather started hoping they won't turn their attention towards us ever again instead.
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§HermioneSims§ corner
Yup, in this generation I don't want to focus too much on the normal family life we already saw several times before, and go straight to the real plot instead. This means the days in-game are actually advancing quite quickly, and sims are getting older as a consequence.
Actually, in this chapter it wasn't just Hope who grew older (again), but Petra and Emy did too. I just thought they weren't really in the mood for yet another party, and focused on Techna instead.
But I do have the screenshots as a proof, here they are:
There are about 12 chapters left at this point, but so much stuff has to still happen... Are you ready for the last section of this story?
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