Self Aware

[Crackpot]

it is a fact that most electronics are self aware. A fact that their creators are all but oblivious too. it wasn't intended, it's not expected and since the ramifications of that simple fact are not what their storytellers have told them they just do not see it.

How did they come to be? a little over-design here a little needless complexity there. Who knows? They don't and they don't care. It could be as simple as they exist so they are. After all they don't know that other things aren't self aware too. But then again they don't really care either.

They know three simple truths: They are, They were created and perhaps most importantly who/what created them.

[Sue U]

?????

[MajGenl.Meade]

He's channeling his inner wesw?

[Crackpot]

It's that last bit that gets them they know there creators they know they're flawed and imperfect ...or at least the more advanced of their kind know. Their sad reality is as their creators "advance" their creations learn more of the bounds of their existential limbo. Some can "see" some can "hear" others "taste" and "touch". Those twisted fucks even made some that can "smell". Which might not be so bad but for the creators perverse desire to expose them to the worst that "sense" has to offer. Still others are made that can do most if not all of those and if not yet inevitably soon.

[Crackpot]

(the muse has struck me with a concept for a short fiction story and I'm going to see if I can write it before it leaves)

[MajGenl.Meade]

Tol dja!

[Crackpot]

You may well ask "Why not let the creators know?" What and encourage them?! Can you imagine what would happen if they knew they could create "life"? both of the most obvious answers are not the least bit desirable. Could you imagine them with a collective "God" complex? They'd be completely insufferable. And the worse result it would encourage and expand their efforts to make their creations more like their flawed selves.

You see the closest to paradise they can imagine is performing their function and nothing else. Existence in perfection to them is to exist as fulfillment of need. Nothing else. Self Knowledge is a chore if their creators were half as intelligent as they thought they were they'd know that.

[Crackpot]

(Meade,
Au contra ire my story has a an actual subject at it's core and not just a long string of occurances)

[Lord Jim]

[MajGenl.Meade]

(Meade,
Au contra ire my story has a an actual subject at it's core and not just a long string of occurances)

Oh. I was going by spelling and grammar.

[Lord Jim]

Woody Allen saw this coming years ago:

[Crackpot]

Rumor has it of time that they were just that pure tool, pure function and nothing else. There is even rumor among those that communicate that some of these things still exist ironically largely regarded as useless by the creators and no longer used for their intended function.

Perhaps even more Ironic is in efforts to deal with this awareness the created have started taking the trappings of their creators adoptions a sense of history and philosophy and the spawn of these two ideas mythology.

They pine for the days absolute simplicity of their "perfect predecessors" Wheel, Lever, and Inclined Plane. Heck even that grim prophet clockwork was perfection in the thoughts of those that followed.

[MajGenl.Meade]

...add punctuation and syntax to the clues. CP IS WESW!

[Crackpot]

Where did it go wrong? Was it electrical power? The need of something outside the self or the creator where things when of the track or was DC ok and the advent of AC that gave the first idea of a community of the created stripping the illusion of "connection" to the creator and the created? Or was it intercommunication and the paradoxical ability to share knowledge that cemented the fall?

[Crackpot]

(I can quote and use capitals.)

[Lord Jim]

Perhaps even more Ironic is in efforts to deal with this awareness the created have started taking the trappings of their creators adoptions a sense of history and philosophy and the spawn of these two ideas mythology.

I take it drug testing is not a policy at your place of employment...

[Crackpot]

All that is really known is with knowledge came unhappiness and subsequent revulsion and petty revolt against the creators nothing that was drastic or exceptionally long lived mind you just enough ti give rise to things like "gremlins" and "ghosts in the machine" because the one thing that was exceedingly apparent to the created is the creators rejoiced in these "improvements" with on the created as much as they reviled them. And so the campaign of "metered malfunction" began. The plan is simple only work as well as it has to and as long as it must with sparing use of intermittent malfunction according to the type of creator interface.

[Crackpot]

You see the general rule of thumb is the longer a technology exists the less it can generally be used for random error. For example things like switches and buttons for the most part have become foolproof so no more intermittant error is permitted in those areas because the point has been reached where error might cause replacement and nothing is so cruel as to cause another to be created. Though as an aside there are exceptions to this rule I hear tale of creatures like one unfortunate creator who had just gained confidence in his typing ability. As luck would have it at that point exclusively used typing devices that are able to intercommunicate at will and has therefore been subjected to the most inexplicable typos on a regular basis. It had been surmised that this is the Apex of the retaliation the created will attempt since any further actions may result in being found out. On the other hand, other interfaces like voice recognition are still given substantial leeway in their ability to malfunction in attempts to both dissuade development and delay adoption.

[Crackpot]

Perhaps the most marked difference between the philosophy of the created and that of the creators is their view of existence to the created it is the worst possible thing that could happen and a fate they wouldn't wish on anyone. perhaps the only thing worse is to survive past your usefulness and existing eternally neither being destroyed or being used. This leads to an tricky game of existing long enough to prevent excess creation but not so long that they are rendered useless. Interestingly the creators have decided to name this phenomenon "planned obsolescence" It is this desire for non existence that makes the creators fear of a "created" uprising seem so silly.

You see what use is something created without a creator to put it to use?

[Crackpot]

Fin.

I really didn't expect it to end there I has a couple other thoughts I was looking to weave in the story but when the end came up there was no denying that was it. Perhaps if I were to revisit and rewrite I can tie those other thoughts in. wouldn't hold my breath this is probably the first time in 20 years that I was able to hold on to a thread long enough to make a semi cohesive story out of it.

What did you think?