Daneel | Public Video

[thezerothlaw]

Recently, I made an announcement in which I made several statements in regards to my own personal safety. I would like to withdraw them. I was acting under incorrect assumptions. I don't understand how it's possible that I could have been affected by hallucinatory drugs, but I also, in retrospect, have not been possessed of my full faculties.

[There's no emotion there, but he seems a bit unsteady. The occassional letter slurs in his words, and if someone looks at the wall behind him it's clear he occassionally wobbles a little bit.]

I have no intention of taking action, violent or otherwise, against any individual here, regardless of their humanity or lack thereof, particularly if they mean no harm to anyone here. I apologise for my actions.

Comments

[manofiron]

JARVIS got a virus once. It happens. Don't sweat it, Skynet.

[ Despite the Terminator reference, Tony says the nickname fondly, with a friendly smile. ]

[thezerothlaw]

[The nickname goes entirely over his head.]

This has not happened to me before. I am not comfortable with the knowledge that I might not be able to trust my own judgement, and that I may act against someone in error.

[manofiron]

Welcome to being human. That's the kind of shit we have to deal with all the time. You'll get used to it.

[thezerothlaw]

I'm not human, Tony. This isn't something I'm accustomed to being concerned over.

[A pause.]

If I may ask the question, is the fragility of one's sense of self in the face of such outside influences troubling?

[manofiron]

I know. Figure of speech. Although in my experience, sometimes machines are more human than humans. Food for thought.

[ As for his question... ]

It can be. Depending on the person. And the outside influence. Some people struggle with it all their lives. Other people act like they don't, but you know, they probably do anyway.

[thezerothlaw]

[He considers this a moment. He's always known what he is, and his own reactions were nothing if not predictable -- even when Giskard had mentally tampered with him -- but this is unsettling.]

Friend Giskard remarked on more than one occassion that I think in a remarkably human way, for a robot, but I am still not human and never will be. I don't understand how any mechanical entity could ever be more human than a genuine human being.

[manofiron]

What're humans like where you come from? I mean, I'd to think the advanced tech means advanced behavior, but I'm a little to realistic to believe in a pipe dream.

hope you wanted some tl;dr

[thezerothlaw]

There are cultural differences from planet to planet, of course. I am from Aurora. On Spacer worlds such as Aurora, the majority of tasks are accomplished by robots, leaving humans free for recreational activity, scientific research, or artistic endeavours, as they desire. Disease has been eliminated entirely, and medical advances have allowed the human lifespan to be extended to several centuries. On Solaria, this was taken to an extreme, with an average of ten thousand robots to one human life, a planetary population held steady at twenty thousand, and a very strong social taboo against being in the physical presence of another human, except so far as was necessary to continue the population at the desired level. Admittedly, Solarian society does seem to have recently collapsed, or at least withdrawn entirely from galactic discourse.

On Earth, overpopulation has led to the development of domed Cities, in which humans live very close in shared accomodations. Robots are no longer permitted inside the Cities, and only used for necessary farming. Earth society is, by my observation, necessarily authoritative with a strong sense of communal responsibilites, compared to Spacer society's focus upon the individual.

More recently, Spacer worlds have allowed Earthmen to colonise new worlds. Spacers themselves have no desire for frontiering, and most Earth humans suffer from a severe agoraphobia that comes from a lifetime lived entirely indoors. The fear of the outdoors can be overcome, however. The Settler worlds are still relatively young, and that they were permitted at all is due to the efforts of my creator, Dr. Fastolfe, and Partner Elijah. The first wave of colonists was led by Partner Elijah's son, Bentley Baley.

[manofiron]

[ That’s a lot to digest. Tony’s silent for a moment or two as he assimilates it all and compares it to his own world. ]

Your humans are more advanced than mine. Well, technologically, anyway. We go to space, but not for long. Just to visit the space station in orbit around the place. Hell, we haven’t even been to the moon since the Seventies.

It’s a mess, though. Humanity. Different countries, warring factions over all kinds of stupid stuff. It’s like a bunch of kids armed with guns fighting over playground equipment. Not really something to be proud of.

That’s why I say it. You being more human than humans. A lot of them don’t stop to look at their behavior, much less worry about it. I know I didn’t. Not until I got a wake-up call. Most people don’t get that call.

private

[hung_garian]

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for no one doing each other any harm, but what you were saying about the protection of mankind et cetera-- would that still apply now if someone were to hypothetically decide to start killing folks?

Re: private

[thezerothlaw]

[There's a long pause while Daneel considers this. It's... uncomfortable.]

In theory, yes. I would have to act in that case. I don't see that that excuses anything, however. I was threatening innocents.

private

[hung_garian]

And didja maim any innocents?

Re: private

[thezerothlaw]

Perhaps not, but if this were to happen againnnn.

[He gets briefly stuck on the N, as it's almost too terrible for him to voice. He forces himself to finish.]

Luck might not be with us another time.

Re: private

[hung_garian]

Guess it'd better not happen again, then. Wouldn't sweat it too much if I were you, though - there's enough big damn hero types here to keep you in line if they ever need to.

Re: private

[thezerothlaw]

I'm not interested in being a hero. However, my programming compells me to take certain actions in such circumstances.

private

[hung_garian]

Programming, schrogramming. It's the same difference, philosophy arguments aside.

Re: private

[thezerothlaw]

How do you mean?

[onteamdyson]

They drugged a robot?! ... Okay, this is bullshit. You're cool with KK which means you're cool with me and that means, they can't just pull stuff like this!

[thezerothlaw]

Apparently they are able to do this, yes. I cannot account for it, but I'm unclear as yet how we might stop them.

[onteamdyson]

I've got a few ideas.

[thezerothlaw]

If I may, what sort of ideas?

[onteamdyson]

Painful ones.

[thezerothlaw]

[He closes his eyes momentarily while he works through this, and the slurring is a little worse, briefly.]

Violence on my behalf is not necessary, nor desired. I doubt you'll be able to confront them at all, but it's preferable if you don't come to harm.

[onteamdyson]

... You okay, dude? [This guy is weeeeeird.] In case you haven't noticed, they're kind of harming us on a daily basis.

[thezerothlaw]

[Another brief pause. When he speaks, he's recovered somewhat. Somewhat. It takes time to work through these things, and the situation as a whole is difficult to begin with.]

I am experiencing disturbances in my positronic pathways. The sensation is... unpleasant. My wellbeing is secondary to that of a human being.