From Petra's diary
Petra: You've been studying even longer than usual. Is your homework that hard today?
Hope: Not exactly. I think I've had an idea, I want to write a letter for the robots of Sixam.
Petra: What, a letter?
I didn't say it out loud, but it sounded a bit naive to say the least. The robots of Sixam weren't exactly welcoming and kind individuals, what kind of response does Hope expect to get from them?
Hope: Don't worry, I know it's unlikely to work. But if we all give it our best, the chances of at least one person succeeding wouldn't be so low, right?
Unfortunately, I haven't had a chance to really help her, nor has Emy. We're both working full-time plus overtime (i.e. too much), so much so that we're rarely all home together anymore. And in the minimal free time that remains at the end of the day, I'm working more looking for Techna. This situation is so frustrating, the stereotypical "easier said than done" kind of situation. No matter how many sleep hours I skip, I have no idea where to start from to find them. By chance, do you have any more crazy ideas we can try, my dear diary? That would really be quite useful, because I really don't know what else to try, at this point...
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From Hope's Diary
I don't think mom Petra took my idea seriously, but it doesn't matter. I know she's working incredibly hard to find another solution to the CO2 capture problem and searching for Techna, I understand she's doing her best to bring us all out of this crazy situation. And that's why I want to contribute too, to the best of my capabilities.
Also, I really believe my idea could work. Or, at least, move the situation a bit.
I always thought that tricking Sixam's robots into helping us couldn't be a permanent solution, but it was nice while it lasted. Isn't there any better way to be understood by them, I wonder?
Atlas: What, are you writing a letter to the Great Network? You'd better remove all that sentimentality, then.
Hope: You say I have to get straight to the point? It would sound so impolite, though.
Atlas: Needlessly increasing the amount of time they'll waste would only cause further offence.
Hope: I see…
George: Do you really think a letter like this could be enough?
Hope: It will need to be read very convincingly, for sure. And then it all depends on whether we manage to touch on some topics of interest for them or not.
George: I understand. But I still think the tone should be more professional, for example...
And he started correcting my draft as if he were a teacher correcting a paper. He was really fussy about grammar, and come to think of it, he's usually reading whenever I arrive in Henford.
Hope: Do you like grammar, by any chance?
George: Side effect. My mother has always worked for libraries, so I spent a lot of time reading dusty tomes.
Hope: I see...
Petra: Sorry, darling, I was really late again today.
Hope: Don't worry, mom Emma is still at the hospital too.
Petra: (surprised) Do you mean that you've been writing on your own for all this time?
Hope: Yes. I also asked a few people for help, now I'm finishing putting it all together.
The robots will only be here on Earth for one more day. I have to hurry if I want them to listen to my message before they leave and bring Techna away with them.
Hope: That's it!
If it hadn't already been midnight, I would have asked mom Petra to give my letter a final reading together, but by then we were both way too tired for it. No big deal, it would have been a surprise for her too. For today, getting a little bit of sleep is way more urgent...
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The next day, Henford
Hope: So, ready to record the video message for the robots?
George: Who, me? I'd rather let you have this honour, honestly.
Hope: No, we'll be behind the camera! I have someone else in mind for the actual reading, someone with the real gab of a salesman.
George: (sceptical) What? Do you know someone like that, here in Henford?
Hope: Do you think your mother would let us go to uncle Alec and uncle Nico's house for a few hours?
George: I'm old enough now that I don't have to ask permission for things like that, as long as you don't teleport me out of Henford, of course. But why should we go there?
Hope: Well...
Nico: What? Do you want Alec to read your letter to the robots?
Hope: Yes! He's in charge of selling your vegetables and cheese at the market, right? Do you know anyone who's better at convincing a buyer to accept a deal, and who can be contacted in less than half an hour?
Nico: No, actually, I don't think I can find anyone else in such a short time... What a responsibility, though!
Even uncle Nico seems to have taken this idea as a bit silly, but I won't give up. The worst thing that can happen is that they'll ignore us, right?
George: You sure have some strange ornaments here...
Dija: That's a fortune cube, do you want to play with it?
George: Nah, thanks for the offer, but I'm afraid I have to decline.
Alec: Hey guys, what's up?
Hope: Hi uncle! We wanted to ask you if you could please read aloud a letter we wrote.
Alec: What kind of letter?
George: Hope wrote a message for the Sixam robots, she wants to try to convince them to continue helping us. (Doubtful) And she also believes that, to increase the chances of success, the letter should be read aloud by someone convincing while we're filming him.
Alec: Wait, do you mean you think I'm "someone very convincing"?
Hope: Why not? I heard you at the market; you even convinced the owner of the farm right behind the corner to buy your pumpkins, even though her garden was full of them!
Alec: I guess it works with people, sometimes. Here, however, we're talking about those scary robots...
Hope: At most they'll ignore us, why not try?
I think uncle Alec agreed mainly because George had asked him to do this, but the fact remains that less than half an hour later he reappeared wearing his best clothes, and then positioned himself behind the podium we'd assembled in a hurry for the occasion.
Alec: Tell me when you start recording, then!
Hope: Ready, go!
He must have already read the letter in advance a couple of times, because he barely looked at the notes I gave him. In fact, it was hard to tell the words weren't his own. Hearing it had given me some hope that my plan would succeed, so I did my best to listen in silence, so as not to ruin the recording.
Alec: Sixam robots, we ask again to be heard by you. We know that the attempt to hack your Great Network made us untrustworthy from your perspective, and we can only apologise for it. Our mindset is clearly very different from yours, yet the truth is that our deepest motivations aren't that different from yours. Ultimately, what we want most is to survive, and to continue to advance and prosper. But, as you have no doubt noticed during the ongoing inspection, we are clearly no longer capable of ensuring our prosperity without outside help.
Alec: It's common knowledge since the first interstellar explorations of the original Sixamians that this universe doesn't have many reachable intelligent civilisations, not even when teleportation technology is available. Thus, if you let our planet crumble back to its primitive state, all chances of finding an external interlocutor will be lost for centuries to come. Robots and earthlings have very different ways of approaching their challenges, this is clear to everyone by now, but being able to ask for each other's help is an invaluable opportunity that could help us both overcome countless challenges that could appear otherwise insurmountable.
Alec: Of course, we're open to listen to the conditions you would propose to make the proposition convenient also on your side. What I'm talking about is a long-term investment that would benefit both parties in the long run. We hope you can review our proposal and get back to us with a response as soon as possible. Until then, we wish you all the best.
With that last word, we stopped recording. With the wifi speed they have here, it'll take forever to upload it online, but it's done!
In the end, I don't think that the Sixam robots are really evil. They're just hyper-efficient and not at all motivated by sentiments. All we have to hope for now is that what we proposed is of some value for them too, I'm really keeping my fingers crossed now...
Alec: Phew, this is the hardest sale ever.
George: (surprised) Hey, you convinced me too! That was great!
Alec: (to himself) Well, this was unexpected!
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Sonia: Well, that was fun. And now, back to work!
Haruka: What the—
Haruka: Thinking about it, robots have such a weird way of thinking. Who knows how they could react to something like this...
Michael: This was unexpected, to say the least...
Atlas: How naive to think the robots will receive it by simply uploading it online… I'd better send it directly to them, or this will 100% turn into a total waste of time.
Emma: Wait, was this all Hope's idea? Really?
Petra: I knew she was writing a letter, but I didn't think she'd involve Alec!
Emma: That text... is what kids study in school here in New Sixam?
Petra: I guess so. By the way, those robots will remain here on Earth for a few hours, so maybe this message will still make it on time to reach them...
Emma: Speaking of the remaining hours, shall we go back to looking for where they might have hidden Techna?
Petra: Yes, there's really very little left now!
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From Techna's diary
Robot: Beep beep beep!
The robots looked upset while wasting their time watching a video on their control screens, but I couldn't make out what it was from behind the bars. The only thing I recognised for sure from that distance was Alec's face. Apparently, he was giving some kind of speech.
So I increased the sensitivity of my microphones, trying to capture at least part of the message. I doubted Alec had actually planned it, but he certainly would have accepted if Petra had suggested it. Or maybe even Hope, or any of them. I'm not sure this kind of message will really interest those robots, but referring to such a distant future most likely gained them a lot of time. Simulations spanning over centuries take a long time to run after all, and most likely more powerful elaboration units than the ones they brought here on Earth. Indeed, the other robots in the room were visibly distracted as they started to initialise the variables raised by the video.
So, timidly, I pulled my phone out of the slot on my chest. They hadn't even thought of searching me; in their opinion, robots shouldn't need external electronic devices like this one.
I hadn't had the courage to take it out yet, but they'd never ignored me for so long either. It was now or never, that's what.
A message like that would have required hours, if not days, of evaluation by the entire Great Network. They would have had to return to Sixam to develop a time forecast of that magnitude.
But having the phone in my hand gave me a chance that until recently had seemed pointless to pursue.
The robots appeared to be too distracted to measure my movements at the same time as they calculated their best course of action. Could I try to do something, or would it have been just a way to delay the inevitable? I didn't have much time to decide what to do, the chronometer was ticking...
Without further ado about the consequences, I pressed another button on the phone. A button I've installed myself, to be precise, at the Evergreen Harbour recycling centre. At Sixam, they never bothered to reduce the size of devices like that, prioritising instead the maximum achievable precision; they certainly didn't expect me to hide something like this inside such a small slot.
So I suddenly disappeared before their eyes, teleporting elsewhere before they could do anything. For what it matters, I still don't want to be disassembled, after all.
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§HermioneSims§ corner
Tick tock, the epilogue is approaching... What, were you expecting an epic final battle? Nah, I'm playing without cheats and poses in here :P
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