From:	"Robert A. Hayden" <hayden@*******.MANKATO.MSUS.EDU>
Subject:	More Thoughts on MONICA
Date:	Wed, 13 Apr 1994 22:02:04 -0500

Ok, sorry I couldn't go into more detail last night, but I was in the
midsts of a bunch of other stuff at the same time.

Here's some thoughts, please let me know what you think:

Sometime next week, maybe the week after, Wolf 359 posts a report from a
press conference that Meyers held where he tried to woo investors. It
worked and he got several million invested in his net-cop idea.

Ramirez then releases CLU (no better name yet) upon AI.

Ok, this is where things get really weird, so stay with me.

CLU investigates AI and discovers that, as you should have guessed, the
whole net-cop plan is for MONICA is spy on the net traffic and "try to
take over the world".

Now, MONICA captures CLU, and we would lose contact with him except for
that during his infiltration, he launched hundreds of frames that serve
to effectively 'bug' the whole AI system.

CLU interests MONICA, and instead of killing him outright, she downloads
him, scrams Ramirez's systems and puts him 'jail'.

Hang on, don't run yet.

While in jail, he is visited by a construct of some kind. They get to
talking. She doesn't have a name, but says that she's a prototype for
"mother's" new breed of ICE. Mother is, of course, MONICA. CLU names
her SPRITE, which is a tiny element in a graphical environment (think
about it).

Over the course of a few days, we get reports of the conversations
between CLU and SPRITE. He's being tortured, and she always comes down
to talk afterwords. He slowly begins to convince her that MONICA isn't
the benevolent 'mother' that SPRITE believes.

Finally, SPRITE agrees to bust CLU out. CLU and SPRITE escape from the
system and hole up in an unknown location, getting word out to Ramirez.

The next day, a bug in the AI system overhears MONICA tell Meyers that
they are vulnerable and they must evacuate. Meyers agrees.

Ramirez, fearing that the evidence he needs will be gone, makes a
last-ditch run on AI, accompanied by CLU and SPRITE. It turns out that
AI is completely empty. No data, no ICE, no nothing. Just an empty
system that was wiped to its bare hard-wired firmware, but too bulky to
disconnect and move.

It's a hollow victory.

Now comes the tough part. Both SPRITE and CLU are here, and Ramirez
wants to disconnect them (CLU's just a program, ya'know).

Now comes a morality and philisophical quandry. What defines life, and
is a silicon lifeform any less alive than one based on carbon? Can
Ramirez 'kill' CLU and SPRITE for no reason except that they are not
carbon? Could any of us?

Ramirez lowers his gun and CLU and SPRITE walk away, becomming permanent
members of the shadowland community.

==================

Now, I know that someone is quickly going to pipe up and say "HEY
ASSHOLE! NO AIs!".

For quite some time I've wanted to bring another character or two online
since I've long killed off Splut, Dante (the original Dante, [nov 1992]),
RUFUS, and Lincoln Howe. I feel I need to bring in some fresh blood for
my participation and this provides an interesting and fun way to do it.

Now, while technically CLU and SPRITE could be termed AIs, but I
definately do not plan to play them that way. They'll be just like any
other character on the net (although a little emotionless, but that will
change). Like children entering the world (or perhaps soldiers returing
from war), they will grow and evolve just like anyone. And not knowing
their story and background, people will be hard to determine that they
are silicon and not carbon.

In any case, while less than a week ago I campaigned against the use of
AIs, that was because I was concerned about the munckinous use of AIs or
any other odd-type character. These two characters will be like any other
character.

Does anyone have a real serious problem with this storyline and the
future this will go into?

____ Robert A. Hayden <=> hayden@*******.mankato.msus.edu
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