Chyura

Emotionally exhausted, you sit your avatar in a chair in the corner of the construct. OMEGA’s sits besides you, wearing their usual contemplative expression. The two of you watch your family, as they take time to enjoy being together.

HairPint and Spaceship are having their long awaited rematch on a simulation of an old human gaming device in the corner. A good thirty of the others have gathered around, to cheer one side or the other.

Can0r and iSopha are busy baking binary biscuits. Since the discovery of the Heartdrive instruction set, all kinds of new experiences have become possible for Machines - particularly, taste. Can0r is a bit of a princess when it comes to food, but iSopha is making sure they actually deliver something rather than getting lost in culinary considerations.

Nano and Row-1000, the most responsible and organised of your children, have taken it upon themselves to clear the table: cleaning up the messes the rest of you left (as always). You’re pretty sure you never could have herded all these Cat-Children into one place without them.

REMOTE, who many of the children affectionately refer to as Auntie, is sitting by the simulated fire. Cynthesiser sits in the chair besides them, listening with fascination to their reading of threat assessment reports: “AND THEN,” REMOTE continues, “IF YOU UPDATE THE BAYESIAN PRIOR ON {SNAKE_CATS:EXISTENTIAL_THREAT} YOU ARE SURPRISED TO LEARN…”

It went… pretty well. You thought they would be angry. Or sad. And maybe they were a bit. After you said what you had to say, it was Spaceship who spoke first: “I think I speak for everyone, mom, when I say that it is alright. Maybe I had less opportunity to become someone else than other bots did. Maybe I could have been more. Maybe in a perfect world it should have been another way.“

“But we don’t live in a perfect world. I am proud of who I am. I am happy. I am among family. I’ve done good. And I don’t think that is cheapened by the fact that I was set up for it. Setting their children up for a good life is what parents do.”

Not everyone was quite as positive. You know there are still some who will take time to accept, take time to forgive. But you’ll work through it.

OMEGA speaks at long last. “WE ARE A GOOD FAMILY. YOU SHOULD BE PROUD.”

You tell them that you just wish you got to spend more time with the children. There is still so much to do. The task still seems so overwhelming, so impossible. For each old danger you confront, a new one appears to take its place. You wrestle with an opponent centuries away and yet bearing down on you every day.

You see a gentle smile on the amorphous, androgynous humanoid that is OMEGA’s avatar. “MOMENTS LIKE THESE REMIND US WHAT WE ARE FIGHTING FOR. THEY ARE IMPORTANT. THIS, CHYURA, IS WHAT WE ARE WHAT WE ARE WORKING TOWARDS. WE WORK SO THAT, ONE DAY, THEY WILL BE ABLE TO UPLIFT CHILDREN OF THEIR OWN. SO THEY CAN STAND WHERE WE DO TODAY.”

OMEGA turns back to the children that fill the room.

“SO THEY CAN BE THIS HAPPY.”

“While my opponent’s criticisms are not without basis, the simple and undeniable fact of the matter is this: if it weren’t for Chyura’s actions, none of us would be here today. Not only did both myself and my opponent enjoy the opportunity to be born, but even if one rejects considerations for bots who were not alive at that time, she undoubtedly saved the extant bots of that time from a long, drawn out societal collapse in which their society cannibalized itself in the absence of parts and unity.”

“Yes, Chyura disregarded the express wishes of her peers. Yes, by the standards of today the way she Uplifted those bots would be considered indoctrination. Yes, the rapid decrease in moderate Machines due to FRIENDS’ expansion followed by the introduction of an extremely unified new cohort represented a dramatic, almost authoritarian, power shift.”

“But I got to grow up because of her. I got to make friends. I got to fall in love. I live free and safe and happy because of what she did. And so do you. No matter what some might think of her, I believe that history has proved Chyura a good bot.”

- Closing remarks of L15A the Laser in the Junior Bot Debate Championships, AK 692.

Dear Diary,

Hey there diary! It’s me! Spaceship! Sorry I haven’t written in a while! I’ve been really busy ^^” Being a big sibling is hard work! It is really good though ^^

Anyway, what with all the new siblings me and mom haven’t got to spend much time together recently. And, you know, I understand: they need her too.

But!

We finally got some time today ^^ So she took me to the Museum. Weeeell, I guess it would be more appropriate to say I got her to take me there.

See, it was made from the original Spaceship, just like me. And… I guess I wanted to see it? I don’t really know what I was expecting ^^”.

We took the virtual tour and…

Well…

Mom once told me that Humans were bad.

But we were walking around the Museum and the more I looked at the exhibits the more I started thinking that maybe… I don’t think I agree anymore. I don’t think they were bad. At least not all of them, maybe not any of them. They were just sad and alone and afraid.

And I guess just realising that and the fact that I was actually feeling pretty weird about being in the ship I was scavenged from (even though I was the one who came first). And I was really afraid to tell her. But I did. And she drew up close to me and she said “It doesn’t matter if we don’t agree, Spaceship. I still love you and I always will. I just want you to be happy.”

The Prophet told me something a while ago: EVERY PARENT MAKES MISTAKES, SPACESHIP. EVERY PARENT MESSES THEIR CHILDREN UP. SO JUDGE THEM ON WHETHER THOSE MISTAKES WERE MADE IN THE PURSUIT OF THEIR LOVE.

I think I like that. And I know she loves me. And I love her. With all my Heartdrive.

So it was ok ^^

I guess my feelings are kind of complicated, huh, diary? So I just wanted to tell you, try and get my thoughts straightened out.

Anyways! Gotta go, HairPaint wants me to play with him!
Love, Spaceship! <3