Is there anything I can do to help people with this, or do people simply not care? I'm pretty seriously concerned about this, because a lack of care speaks directly to failings on my part as a writer and a potential death knell for the quest. If people aren't engaged, then a quest dies, after all.
I think the problem I've had in engaging with the Unison arc is that... how do I put this...

I'm facing extremely broad and profound questions, but just about the only thing about them that I can really come to grips with is their profundity.

The Unison intelligences are so alien to humanity as I know it that I have no intuitive sense of their struggles and pains. I want them to be successful and happy, I want us to chart a course for them that promotes their flourishing. But I don't feel like I have anything to say, and there's no clear way in which I can gauge the competing options and figure out which of them are (comparatively speaking) better or worse.

This makes it very hard for me to feel competent to engage in the discussion.
 
  1. This is as close to functionally impossible as it gets - the first part, I mean. The synchronisation process creates a partner. If a Unison Intelligence could break away from their Potential and survive is something that no one is quite sure on. Though there's a lot of fear that you're going to find out in a few years, when the Shiplords come again.
What I was getting at is that, as we widen the net on who gets a Unison device, we'll eventually start to hit on the more corner-case psyches, the kinds of people who may not like themselves very much, or would clash if faced with having to work closely with someone who is similar to themselves. I mean, Kalilah is already somewhat isolated from her Platform, to the point where her interactions with Asi are being used as a template for how Unison Devices can operate semi-independently, at least in thought; it's not too hard to imagine finding a Potential with a personality that actually conflicts with her Platform.

What I'm getting at is that, both for this reason and because Unisonbound are unlikely to retain the 0% casualty rate they enjoyed in Third Sol, it may be a good idea to try to figure out now if it's possible for a Platform to survive the death of or separation from their Potential.

I think the problem I've had in engaging with the Unison arc is that... how do I put this...

I'm facing extremely broad and profound questions, but just about the only thing about them that I can really come to grips with is their profundity.

The Unison intelligences are so alien to humanity as I know it that I have no intuitive sense of their struggles and pains. I want them to be successful and happy, I want us to chart a course for them that promotes their flourishing. But I don't feel like I have anything to say, and there's no clear way in which I can gauge the competing options and figure out which of them are (comparatively speaking) better or worse.

This makes it very hard for me to feel competent to engage in the discussion.
I have to agree with that. Heck, I think I have demonstrated on a few occasions that I have a hard time building an intuitive sense of Humanity 2.0's mindset, let alone the Unison Devices'. It's partly why my practical vote discussion has been limited to aphorisms, reassurances, and vague meta-plans about getting more information and relying on the Platforms' own judgments.
 
Blah. Sorry, I was going to contribute several hours ago, but things happened. :x

I see a lot of the ideas suggested so far and I like what my fellow questers have come up with. I was trying to synthesize the ideas together into something I liked, but I was inspired to go consider a different perspective -- Sidra asked a concrete question, and I believe they deserve an answer to that question. So here's my offering, taking points from the discussion so far:

[] Answer the "what if": The worst case scenario is that you look back and wonder if you should have made a different choice. We stand here in this moment as the result of all of the choices that humanity ever made in the past, and countless times humans have wondered if our choices were the best. The fact remains that we are here to give you the opportunity to make this choice now. Each choice may lead to a different future, but all of them have one thing in common: If the time comes that you find yourselves wondering about that, it will be in a future that you built -- that we all built, together, Platform and human, hand-in-hand. Take your time and weigh your options. Reach out to each other. Reach out to humanity, if you wish. When you make your choice, whatever it is, we will gladly walk the path with you.
 
Is there anything I can do to help people with this, or do people simply not care? I'm pretty seriously concerned about this, because a lack of care speaks directly to failings on my part as a writer and a potential death knell for the quest. If people aren't engaged, then a quest dies, after all.
Snowfire, for my part I can say that this vote isn't as trivial as "left or right?". I need time and the right mindset to engage with this vote. Means, weekend earliest because, in my day job, I currently got a peak of "ONCE with profis! :cry:".
 
Ok. I'm going to put together a basic outline of how Amanda feels the current votes will play out and then open the vote up. I have no idea how to solve the issue of making this matter make sense of this issue beyond it profound as has been pointed out, which is obviously a massive failing on my part and severely disheartening. Still, all I can do is try. I hope it'll help.

Will have that stuff up this evening.
 
I will go over the current options, condensing them where I can. Please stand by, this post will change.

I am doing this because a lot of your write-ins are long and overly-complicated. This isn't a bad thing normally, but here, it is absolutely the wrong thing.
[] Answer the "what if": The worst case scenario is that you look back and wonder if you should have made a different choice. We stand here in this moment as the result of all of the choices that humanity ever made in the past, and countless times humans have wondered if our choices were the best. The fact remains that we are here to give you the opportunity to make this choice now. Each choice may lead to a different future, but all of them have one thing in common: If the time comes that you find yourselves wondering about that, it will be in a future that you built -- that we all built, together, Platform and human, hand-in-hand. Take your time and weigh your options. Reach out to each other. Reach out to humanity, if you wish. When you make your choice, whatever it is, we will gladly walk the path with you.
This is very long and overly complicated, but says something roughly similar to "is there a wrong choice?" In that it takes into the possibility of many futures, but there only really being one that matters, with that one being the one you have.
[] Is there truly a wrong choice to pick? There are different choices. With different consequences and results. But what matters is that you choose, I think. I'll support you as much as I can through this. We're family. We're here for eachother.
-[] Life is inherently uncertain. Sometimes you have to push through that and come out the other side.
--[] And...don't limit yourself in searching for how you want things to be.
Again, this is a whole speech. It makes sense, and is well written, but entirely too long, especially for a tonal vote. In the end, it tells her that there isn't really a wrong choice if she simply does her best. I also feel like it says that even though her choices might make things harder, they are hers to make, and following through with those choices is important.
[ ] You start by making a choice Sidra. Even if that choice is to not make a choice in fear of choosing wrong. And once that choice has been made, you deal with the results. Then make another choice. And so you keep living, making choice after choice and living with the results. For life isn't about making the perfect choice, even the right and wrong choices. It's about constantly choosing a path through life, and dealing with the results of those choices as they appear. Others can help you make your choices and deal with the results, as can you can help others. But in the end, it comes down to you choosing the path that you will follow.
This one is once, again rather wordy, but essentially says the same as the one above, telling Sidra that it's her choice to make, and that Amanda and the others will support her and the Platforms however they can.
[] Encourage Sidra and the other Devices to reach out for advice, ideas and strategies. The choice may be theirs, but they don't have to do it alone.
[] Remind them that humanity does have certain inherent biases, both biological like the desire to breed and pair-bond, and Practice-induced, thanks to the Humanity 2.0 transition and Amanda's own work with the Circles and the morale-binding tours of her Presidency. Unison Devices are born from Humanity, but they are not Humanity; their choices may not be the same as the ones that Humanity as a whole or even their bonded Potentials would be, and that's okay.
[] Suggest that the Unison Network use their mental acceleration hardware. Yes, it may use extra resources, but this is what resources are for.
Tbh, this is something Sidra already knows? This is why she's talking to Amanda about this, after all. As for humanity's "inherent biases" I know a fairly large number of people who are polyamorous or asexual, so I find that weird to just throw in there.
[] Reassure Sidra that, whatever they choose, there is no wrong path for her or the other Unison devices. That's not just an empty platitude, either: you can state with authority that she, as the joint creation of two of the strongest Practice users in Sol, have more intentionality and purpose ingrained into their very beings than the random convergence of chemicals that is Humanity 1.0 ever did, and possibly still even with the advent of Humanity 2.0. When they make a decision, they can have the reassurance of knowing that they were, and are, wanted.
I find this one weird as well, as the first half reads very similarly to the others above, but the second half absolutely feels like a platitude pretending to not be one.

In a sort of conclusion: You are all overthinking this massively. Complexity is not what is required here. What IS required is tone, and staring remark or sorts that informs the conversation in general, as such, I have prepared a few potential votes.

[] - Is there a wrong one? - This one speaks of Amanda's faith in Sidra's, and by extension, the Platforms, decision making ability, trusting them to choose correctly, regardless of the path you all end up on.
[] - Whatever happens, we're with you. - This option is less of a 'faith' thing, and more a reassurance that Amanda and humanity 2.0 in general will be there to help the platforms, both in decision making and also with the consequences that follow.

As far as I know, this is the sort of thing we were looking for. Something short, that leads into the conversation more than answering every point.
 
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Ok. I'm going to put together a basic outline of how Amanda feels the current votes will play out and then open the vote up. I have no idea how to solve the issue of making this matter make sense of this issue beyond it profound as has been pointed out, which is obviously a massive failing on my part and severely disheartening. Still, all I can do is try. I hope it'll help.

Will have that stuff up this evening.
I think the best thing you could do is to actually spell out what's in your head. How do you foresee the Unison Platforms evolving? What are their basic drives, if any? What trends or directions are there? Even if you can't share that because [spoilers] or something, specifically thinking in terms of "what paths exist and what stimuli would lead us down them" will help narrow things down a lot...

Tbh, this is something Sidra already knows? This is why she's talking to Amanda about this, after all. As for humanity's "inherent biases" I know a fairly large number of people who are polyamorous or asexual, so I find that weird to just throw in there.
I don't think it's weird to throw in- because while there are individual exceptions, it's still a bias in human nature. When people say "I want to have kids," nobody blinks and goes "wait why would you want to do that" the way they might if that person said "I want to go live in Antarctica" or something. It's not a universal human aspiration, but it's a common one.
 
I'm going to go through these all in order and produce slimline version of each vote, in as much as I understand them, as a lot of these have way too many words. There will be a short explanation beside each reduction, pointing out how Amanda guesses the direction will affect things.

[] Reassure Sidra that, whatever they choose, there is no wrong path for her or the other Unison devices. That's not just an empty platitude, either: you can state with authority that she, as the joint creation of two of the strongest Practice users in Sol, have more intentionality and purpose ingrained into their very beings than the random convergence of chemicals that is Humanity 1.0 ever did, and possibly still even with the advent of Humanity 2.0. When they make a decision, they can have the reassurance of knowing that they were, and are, wanted.
[] Encourage Sidra and the other Devices to reach out for advice, ideas and strategies. The choice may be theirs, but they don't have to do it alone.
[] Remind them that humanity does have certain inherent biases, both biological like the desire to breed and pair-bond, and Practice-induced, thanks to the Humanity 2.0 transition and Amanda's own work with the Circles and the morale-binding tours of her Presidency. Unison Devices are born from Humanity, but they are not Humanity; their choices may not be the same as the ones that Humanity as a whole or even their bonded Potentials would be, and that's okay.
[] Suggest that the Unison Network use their mental acceleration hardware. Yes, it may use extra resources, but this is what resources are for.

I'm honestly not really sure where to begin with this, but that's a general problem that I've been having with some of the votes being produced here. I asked, specifically, for tonality. Detail was fine, but there's detail and there's trying to cover every single base at once - the latter of which never works. Still, driving into this I can pick out a few primary threads. So a vote in this line can be reduced down to something like this:

Comfort, Community, Computation - This vote seeks to reassure Sidra that regardless of the choice they make, the Unison Intelligences will always be treasured for what they are. It places emphasis on the Unison Intelligences as a community, on the bonds they have between each other, and not to their Unisonbound. It is likely to promote greater levels of personal independence and separation between those like Sidra and their Potential partners as an end goal. Though children of humanity, they don't have to be human if they choose not to be. This would direct Unison Intelligences towards a more Asi-like state of existence, separate from their Potential in most cases, though ready and able to join when needed. Two parts of something much bigger.

I'm honestly a little curious about why the suggestion for mental acceleration is being made. It's not that they're working 'slow' because it would take more energy. It's because they want to. The suggestion can still be made, but it's...unlikely to do much in the grand scale of things.

[ ] You start by making a choice Sidra. Even if that choice is to not make a choice in fear of choosing wrong. And once that choice has been made, you deal with the results. Then make another choice. And so you keep living, making choice after choice and living with the results. For life isn't about making the perfect choice, even the right and wrong choices. It's about constantly choosing a path through life, and dealing with the results of those choices as they appear. Others can help you make your choices and deal with the results, as can you can help others. But in the end, it comes down to you choosing the path that you will follow.
[] Is there truly a wrong choice to pick? There are different choices. With different consequences and results. But what matters is that you choose, I think. I'll support you as much as I can through this. We're family. We're here for eachother.
-[] Life is inherently uncertain. Sometimes you have to push through that and come out the other side.
--[] And...don't limit yourself in searching for how you want things to be.
[] Is there a wrong one?

If I'm honest, these three have a lot in common. They generally focus on the idea that the point of a choice is to make one, in the end. Those choices will have consequences, but part of life is taking those consequences and doing more than just living with them. Married to that is the ideal that in this case, as in many others, there is no right or wrong choice. This is bigger than any one person, any one thing, but if all one does is contemplate what might be, you'll never be able to step past the threshold to make something new. To steal the name of a recent STD episode, I'd condense this vote into...

Saints of Imperfection - This vote is based on the idea that all life is choices. Good, bad, middling, but never perfect. The point is to choose a way, to commit, and follow it. That's what life is, and though living as the Unison Intelligences have may have removed much of that from them, they still have the power to exert their will. Amanda believes that this would lead the Unison Intelligences towards a deeply personal but less overwhelmingly interwoven existence. This evolution is, she thinks, also the one most likely to eventually give the UIs the knowledge and deeper contextual understanding necessary to create on their own, without the aid of the synchronisation process.

[] You've got a lot of help, and I know you, so you aren't going to deliberately choose wrong, which puts you in a better starting place than a lot of humanity before the Shiplords came. I can give you a lot of other platitudes, but the best I can do to reassure you is that I know you will do your best, even if you can't find an optimal choice.
[] Answer the "what if": The worst case scenario is that you look back and wonder if you should have made a different choice. We stand here in this moment as the result of all of the choices that humanity ever made in the past, and countless times humans have wondered if our choices were the best. The fact remains that we are here to give you the opportunity to make this choice now. Each choice may lead to a different future, but all of them have one thing in common: If the time comes that you find yourselves wondering about that, it will be in a future that you built -- that we all built, together, Platform and human, hand-in-hand. Take your time and weigh your options. Reach out to each other. Reach out to humanity, if you wish. When you make your choice, whatever it is, we will gladly walk the path with you.

And here...is a difficult choice, but one that I could see Amanda making if you push for it. The issue within these suggestions lies around the suggestion of the involvement of greater humanity, though I don't believe it's said in the manner of one seeking dependence. At the same time, it offers the promise of creation, and a shared reality in a way none of the others focus on. There are threads of no wrong answer in here, but the focus of the condensed vote would look a little like what follows. However, this is a very dangerous vote, as it could also bind the Unison Intelligences far, far more deeply to their human partners. The result of this could lead them to a realisation of their own humanity, given time, but equally...it might not. Amanda isn't particularly enthused by that possibility.

Bright Mirror - This vote seeks to direct Sidra towards the realisation that they aren't alone, on much grander scale than the other Unison Intelligences. It connects to depth of human empathy, and points out that those born of the synchronisation process are just as human as their technical progenitors, no matter the differences. The people they are, and the choices before them, are ones they must make, that is certain. But they need not do so in such total isolation. This is likely to create a much deeper connection between the Unison Intelligences and humanity in general, but also with their Potential. How the UIs would grow out of that, Amanda isn't sure. They could grow from that depth of connection, learn from it, become more. They could also simply fall into an evolutionary stasis.



And with that, I'm going to kill this seemingly futile Moratorium and just let this take the path it takes. All I can do is hope that this works. I would like to point out the post made by @Jeboboid above, that is rather well done, and could use some attention before you actually cast your vote. Voting options as of now are:

[] Comfort, Community, Computation - This vote seeks to reassure Sidra that regardless of the choice they make, the Unison Intelligences will always be treasured for what they are. It places emphasis on the Unison Intelligences as a community, on the bonds they have between each other, and not to their Unisonbound. It is likely to promote greater levels of personal independence and separation between those like Sidra and their Potential partners as an end goal. Though children of humanity, they don't have to be human if they choose not to be. This would direct Unison Intelligences towards a more Asi-like state of existence, separate from their Potential in most cases, though ready and able to join when needed. Two parts of something much bigger.
[] Saints of Imperfection - This vote is based on the idea that all life is choices. Good, bad, middling, but never perfect. The point is to choose a way, to commit, and follow it. That's what life is, and though living as the Unison Intelligences have may have removed much of that from them, they still have the power to exert their will. Amanda believes that this would lead the Unison Intelligences towards a deeply personal but less overwhelmingly interwoven existence. This evolution is, she thinks, also the one most likely to eventually give the UIs the knowledge and deeper contextual understanding necessary to create on their own, without the aid of the synchronisation process.
[] Bright Mirror - This vote seeks to direct Sidra towards the realisation that they aren't alone, on much grander scale than the other Unison Intelligences. It connects to depth of human empathy, and points out that those born of the synchronisation process are just as human as their technical progenitors, no matter the differences. The people they are, and the choices before them, are ones they must make, that is certain. But they need not do so in such total isolation. This is likely to create a much deeper connection between the Unison Intelligences and humanity in general, but also with their Potential. How the UIs would grow out of that, Amanda isn't sure. They could grow from that depth of connection, learn from it, become more. They could also simply fall into an evolutionary stasis.
[] Write-in

Voting is Open
 
@Snowfire

This is exactly the kind of thing that gets us out of the logjam we were in before. Very deftly handled; you have my compliments.

Are we in approval voting mode or single-voting mode? Because I'm partial to some of yours, but also to @Jeboboid 's "Whatever happens, we're with you" option, which you didn't directly roll into any of the three curated options... though I see threads of it in all of them. What are your thoughts/comments?
 
Considering that there are only three options, I'd go with single voting.

But then, I also think approval voting is all kinds of stupid, so eh.

[X] Saints of Imperfection - This vote is based on the idea that all life is choices. Good, bad, middling, but never perfect. The point is to choose a way, to commit, and follow it. That's what life is, and though living as the Unison Intelligences have may have removed much of that from them, they still have the power to exert their will. Amanda believes that this would lead the Unison Intelligences towards a deeply personal but less overwhelmingly interwoven existence. This evolution is, she thinks, also the one most likely to eventually give the UIs the knowledge and deeper contextual understanding necessary to create on their own, without the aid of the synchronisation process.
 
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@Snowfire

This is exactly the kind of thing that gets us out of the logjam we were in before. Very deftly handled; you have my compliments.

Are we in approval voting mode or single-voting mode? Because I'm partial to some of yours, but also to @Jeboboid 's "Whatever happens, we're with you" option, which you didn't directly roll into any of the three curated options... though I see threads of it in all of them. What are your thoughts/comments?

I'm leery of approval voting for...reasons that are for more to do with general hazy emotion than reason, I guess. That said, splicing a focus of that into a write-in is viable, though it will change how the vote influences the conversation to come. In general, however, there's no great reason to labour that point unless you specifically wish to. Amanda is going to be pretty clear in ensuring that Sidra is aware that they're not alone, and that they'll respect the decision the Unison Intelligences make.
 
[] Comfort, Community, Computation - This vote seeks to reassure Sidra that regardless of the choice they make, the Unison Intelligences will always be treasured for what they are. It places emphasis on the Unison Intelligences as a community, on the bonds they have between each other, and not to their Unisonbound. It is likely to promote greater levels of personal independence and separation between those like Sidra and their Potential partners as an end goal. Though children of humanity, they don't have to be human if they choose not to be. This would direct Unison Intelligences towards a more Asi-like state of existence, separate from their Potential in most cases, though ready and able to join when needed. Two parts of something much bigger.
[] Saints of Imperfection - This vote is based on the idea that all life is choices. Good, bad, middling, but never perfect. The point is to choose a way, to commit, and follow it. That's what life is, and though living as the Unison Intelligences have may have removed much of that from them, they still have the power to exert their will. Amanda believes that this would lead the Unison Intelligences towards a deeply personal but less overwhelmingly interwoven existence. This evolution is, she thinks, also the one most likely to eventually give the UIs the knowledge and deeper contextual understanding necessary to create on their own, without the aid of the synchronisation process.
[] Bright Mirror - This vote seeks to direct Sidra towards the realisation that they aren't alone, on much grander scale than the other Unison Intelligences. It connects to depth of human empathy, and points out that those born of the synchronisation process are just as human as their technical progenitors, no matter the differences. The people they are, and the choices before them, are ones they must make, that is certain. But they need not do so in such total isolation. This is likely to create a much deeper connection between the Unison Intelligences and humanity in general, but also with their Potential. How the UIs would grow out of that, Amanda isn't sure. They could grow from that depth of connection, learn from it, become more. They could also simply fall into an evolutionary stasis.
Here's how I view these options:

  • The first vote, I think, is a "coexistence" vote, a middle road of sorts. I consider it to be one without any overwhelming pitfalls or peaks. However, it seemingly puts value on the role of Unison Intelligences as devices, I think, not as people.
  • The second vote, I think, is an "independence" vote. In a way, it gives an absolution to make choices they wouldn't otherwise make for fear of erring. It offers a great peak of independent Unison procreation, and has a pitfall of removing the need to strive for the "golden answer" that Sidra seemed to have.
  • The third vote, I think, is a "codependence" vote. It puts great emphasis on cooperation, on connection, but - it seems the only option to have given us a clear pitfall - that Unison Intelligences might fall into an evolutionary stasis. And it is a concern - this vote seems to have Unisons focus on everything they already are, rather than on what they might become.

I actually don't think that the Two Twenty Three will stray much from what they are - this vote will probably affect future generations more. If so, then:

[X] Saints of Imperfection
 
[] Saints of Imperfection

I know I'm not voting for the one that was derived from my own write-in, but that's because I think I got a little bit too poetic and obfuscated the actual tone I was aiming for.

My actual intent was to focus on the fact that there is no wrong answer -- not that imperfection is part of life. Each choice will lead to a different future, but none of those would truly be a mistake. There wouldn't even be a way to tell if you picked a sub-optimal one; you could end up looking back and wondering if you did the right thing no matter what. And no matter which choice is made, there will be certain things that you can be sure will be true in any of the possible futures. Walking the path alongside Humanity is one of those common truths, not the core focus in and of itself.

If it's okay with @Snowfire, I propose this interpretation as a voting option:
[x] Every Road Leads Home

EDIT: Write-in was approved, so editing my vote.

EDIT 2: To borrow from @Faraway-R's phrasing, this focuses on the absolution necessary to get past the choice paralysis. It leaves independence vs coexistence vs codependence up to the platforms instead of having Amanda weigh in on what she thinks the relationship will be -- it only asserts that there WILL be a relationship, a bond that can't be broken.

EDIT 3: @Simon_Jester, I think this catches the tone you were looking for?
 
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@Coda that is a valid write-in option.
Adhoc vote count started by Snowfire on Mar 26, 2019 at 8:49 AM, finished with 14176 posts and 12 votes.

  • [x] Every Road Leads Home
    [X] Saints of Imperfection
    [X] Bright Mirror - This vote seeks to direct Sidra towards the realisation that they aren't alone, on much grander scale than the other Unison Intelligences. It connects to depth of human empathy, and points out that those born of the synchronisation process are just as human as their technical progenitors, no matter the differences. The people they are, and the choices before them, are ones they must make, that is certain. But they need not do so in such total isolation. This is likely to create a much deeper connection between the Unison Intelligences and humanity in general, but also with their Potential. How the UIs would grow out of that, Amanda isn't sure. They could grow from that depth of connection, learn from it, become more. They could also simply fall into an evolutionary stasis.

Adhoc vote count started by Snowfire on Mar 26, 2019 at 11:48 AM, finished with 14176 posts and 12 votes.

  • [x] Every Road Leads Home
    [X] Saints of Imperfection
    [X] Bright Mirror - This vote seeks to direct Sidra towards the realisation that they aren't alone, on much grander scale than the other Unison Intelligences. It connects to depth of human empathy, and points out that those born of the synchronisation process are just as human as their technical progenitors, no matter the differences. The people they are, and the choices before them, are ones they must make, that is certain. But they need not do so in such total isolation. This is likely to create a much deeper connection between the Unison Intelligences and humanity in general, but also with their Potential. How the UIs would grow out of that, Amanda isn't sure. They could grow from that depth of connection, learn from it, become more. They could also simply fall into an evolutionary stasis.
 
So it's a choice between making the Unison Intelligences:
a) A hivemind
b) America
c) A humanity 3.0 (Linux version)
I'm honestly a little curious about why the suggestion for mental acceleration is being made. It's not that they're working 'slow' because it would take more energy. It's because they want to. The suggestion can still be made, but it's...unlikely to do much in the grand scale of things.
Because faster thinking means more thinking, and more thinking is more ground covered, and generally a better conclusion (at least assuming a relatively linear progression of knowledge and reason, and not circular arguments that get nowhere fast; they are not human, so who knows).
At least, that's what it is for me.
 
And here...is a difficult choice, but one that I could see Amanda making if you push for it. The issue within these suggestions lies around the suggestion of the involvement of greater humanity, though I don't believe it's said in the manner of one seeking dependence. At the same time, it offers the promise of creation, and a shared reality in a way none of the others focus on. There are threads of no wrong answer in here, but the focus of the condensed vote would look a little like what follows. However, this is a very dangerous vote, as it could also bind the Unison Intelligences far, far more deeply to their human partners. The result of this could lead them to a realisation of their own humanity, given time, but equally...it might not. Amanda isn't particularly enthused by that possibility.
Huh. I was aiming for something more between Saints of Imperfection and Every Road Leads home, honestly... Focusing less on their connection to humanity, other than as a support, and more on the idea that, as Coda said, you often can't tell "optimal" even in hindsight, just differing (hopefully good) outcomes.

[x] Saints of Imperfection
 
Huh. I was aiming for something more between Saints of Imperfection and Every Road Leads home, honestly... Focusing less on their connection to humanity, other than as a support, and more on the idea that, as Coda said, you often can't tell "optimal" even in hindsight, just differing (hopefully good) outcomes.
That's really what I was aiming for with Every Road Leads Home anyway. Their connection to humanity isn't the point. Humanity isn't the reason to carry on in and of itself, but we're going to be there to support them in every possible future.
 
[X] Bright Mirror - This vote seeks to direct Sidra towards the realisation that they aren't alone, on much grander scale than the other Unison Intelligences. It connects to depth of human empathy, and points out that those born of the synchronisation process are just as human as their technical progenitors, no matter the differences. The people they are, and the choices before them, are ones they must make, that is certain. But they need not do so in such total isolation. This is likely to create a much deeper connection between the Unison Intelligences and humanity in general, but also with their Potential. How the UIs would grow out of that, Amanda isn't sure. They could grow from that depth of connection, learn from it, become more. They could also simply fall into an evolutionary stasis.

c) A humanity 3.0 (Linux version)
Sold!
:p
 
[X] Bright Mirror - This vote seeks to direct Sidra towards the realisation that they aren't alone, on much grander scale than the other Unison Intelligences. It connects to depth of human empathy, and points out that those born of the synchronisation process are just as human as their technical progenitors, no matter the differences. The people they are, and the choices before them, are ones they must make, that is certain. But they need not do so in such total isolation. This is likely to create a much deeper connection between the Unison Intelligences and humanity in general, but also with their Potential. How the UIs would grow out of that, Amanda isn't sure. They could grow from that depth of connection, learn from it, become more. They could also simply fall into an evolutionary stasis.
 
@Snowfire there's an important aspect to all of this I just realized hasn't been addressed: Are the Unison Devices operating under the benefits of social/governmental Practice enhancement? If so, ok. If not, then an interesting factor for the humans involved would be the this being the second time they've ever really interacted with decision making that doesn't have Practice greasing the wheels ... and should probably offer to apply that grease.

On a related note, is there anything Amanda's study of the Music Of Society (or whatever you call that network/song that she crushed L.I.F.E. for) could offer up as help? Such as supplying the Unison network with a holistic snapshot of humanity?
 
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[x] Every Road Leads Home

@Coda's vote seems to be a blend of Saints of Imperfection and Comfort, Community, Computation: it emphasizes Unison Devices as having independent agency, but doesn't steer them towards a communal existence or an independent one. I actually like that, because I do like the idea of Unison Devices developing a tightly-knit community, which is in a way a parallel to what Humanity itself did when it became Humanity 2.0 and not Amanda's Circles-and-song driven Humanity 2.1, but not enough that I think it's a good idea to specifically steer them in that direction, since Humanity has already walked along that path and I'd rather the Unison Devices forge something new.
 
[x] Every Road Leads Home

I really like Saints of Imperfection. Yes, yes, I know my write-in is what made part of it, but it's evolved further beyond that. I think that that might be the path I would like to see the Unison platforms travel down.

However. I must vote Every Road Leads Home for the simple fact that it looks like it's purely about getting the Unison Devices to choose their path. But not influencing them how to choose. And thus wherever they go from here is all up to them. Whether that be to tie themselves more tightly with humanity, to become independent yet a part of a greater whole, or even to become their own true 'species' independent of the need for the bond with a potential to create more. It is ultimately, and must be, their own decision. Amanda can help with the results of their decision, and assist them down the path they choose. But if they don't choose their path for themselves, I feel they will always be lesser than they could have been.
 
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