Talos Machine

(set: $case_scanned to false) (set: $safe_input to "") (set: $seen_safe to false) (set: $who_phrase to "") (set: $what_phrase to "") (set: $why_phrase to "") (set: $others_phrase to "") (set: $when_phrase to "") (set: $good_ending to false) (set: $password_attempts to 0)

The last //homo sapiens// has died. The press has given her death a lot of coverage, so there is a lot of pressure on you, the NPPD's Lead Detective, to figure out exactly what happened. Since you only just moved to Ganymede from Io last month, however, it makes sense for you not to know everything about this world yet. Full access to Omnipedia, a comprehensive encyclopedia, will be provided to assist you with your case. Your job will be to research everything you need to know on Onmipedia, and once you believe you have enough information to explain what happened to McLarnison, to solve the mystery of her death. [[Your work begins ... now. -> Hub]]

''[[OMNIPEDIA]]'' The complete encyclopedia! Omnipedia is part of the Omninet, so just close your eyes and will yourself to pull it up. Through research on Omnipedia, it is expected that you will be able to crack this case. ''[[CASE FILE]]'' The official record of the crime scene. Make sure you understand it. Hopefully once you understand the evidence completely, you will be able to solve the case. ''[[SAFE]]'' A tiny safe was found on McLarnison's body. What could be inside of it? ''[[SOLVE THE CASE]]'' When you're ready to solve this case, after researching everything you need to, put in a solution here. You don't have to be 100% certain that you're right, but once you give us your solution, we will use your theory to begin our investigation.

Welcome to ''Omnipedia'', the complete encyclopedia. Omnipedia is run and managed by the Orecomp Intelligence, so it's information is entirely accurate, entirely up-to-date, and entirely objective. Users may create and edit articles, but what you see has been edited and curated by the Orecomp Intelligence. (if:$case_scanned is false)[Did you know? You can scan a document to find relevant, personalized information about it. [[Scan a document here. -> Algorithm]]] If you're looking for a specific article, go ahead and [[browse all relevant pages->All Pages]]. However, we'd highly recommend you scan a document instead so our algorithm can deliver content relevant to you.

Lucille McLarnison was found lying dead on the pavement outside the Toltz Monument at 6:36AM, Trember 19, 796 JGY. There was a very shallow hole, only visible when magnified, in the side of her forehead. Lazdrill imprints surround the hole, and atomic analysis of the surroundings found concentrated amounts of silicon on the roof of the Toltz Monument. It is presently unknown why the Orecomp Intelligence did not intervene with McLarnison's death and put her //en route// to the Bliss Vacuity; however, it will likely be able to explain such a thing and ensure no further harm comes of this tragic event.

Are you absolutely ready to solve the case? This will determine how the NPPD investigates the case ... what leads they follow up on, where they search for clues, and more. This usually wouldn't be a big deal, but we haven't been getting much of the support we normally do from the Orecomp Intelligence, just bare minimum assistance. A lot's riding on this. This is the last thing you have to do. Are you 100% sure you're ready to solve this case? [[Yes, I'm sure! -> WHO]] [[No, I'm not sure actually. Back to the Hub for me. -> Hub]]

(set: $case_scanned to true) (if:visits is 1)[Scan completed in 0.000874398 yoctoseconds.] Here are four recommended articles to help get you started researching your case file. [[Orecomp Intelligence]] [[Ganymede]] [[Silicon Augmentation -> Silicon Augmentation]] [[Bliss Vacuity]]

''Orecomp Intelligence'' The //Orecomp Intelligence// is a [[technological singularity -> Technological Singularity]] created with the goal of protecting and providing for Earth-descended sapient life. It was first designed, [[after years of iteration and AI development -> Timeline of AI development]], by the American company [[Orecomp]] in [[2044 EY-AD]]. The Orecomp Intelligence is responsible for maintaining and preserving many interconnected systems that keep modern civilization running, as well as protecting [[intelligent creatures -> Taxonomy of Intelligent Life]] from coming to harm. The Orecomp Intelligence itself has been located on [[Dyson]] since [[2062 EY-AD]]. Since the [[speed of light -> Speed of Light]] prevents it from communicating instantaneously with planets of the solar system, extensions of the Orecomp Intelligence called [[branches -> Orecomp Intelligence branches]] are sent to all celestial objects the Orecomp Intelligence must be physically present at, such as planets, moons, and black holes.

''Timeline of AI Development'' The //Timeline of AI Development// can be split into three major eras. The first era, the Philosophical Era, predates the invention of computing and saw the idea of an artificial intelligence develop. Mythical beings, such as the ancient Greek [[Talos]], were described as human inventions brought to life and having wills of their own. The idea of logical machines was introduced around the 13th century [[Earth Time]] - [[Anno Domini]], and eventually led to the creation of the electronic computer in the mid-20th century. This era spans roughly from human prehistory to 1956, when the academic field of artificial intelligence was established. The second era, the Computer Era, saw the creation of computing technology and the [[exponential growth -> Exponential growth]] of their capabilities. [[Artificial intelligence]] is not a physical computer, but as hardware grew stronger, it became capable of running increasingly complex programs. With the rise of the Internet in the 1990s, AI programs became incredibly useful and came to be applied to most aspects of life. This era spans from 1956 to [[2044 EY-AD]], when the [[Orecomp Intelligence]] was created. The third era, the Singularity Era, began in 2044 and is set to continue for the forseeable future. Barring interference from other forces of comparable or greater power than a technological singularity, it will continue for all eternity. In this era, functions handled by various AIs either ceased operation or were subsumed by the Orecomp Intelligence as it, accompanied by the [[Veto Council]], reshaped the world. Nearly all aspects of civilization are handled by the Orecomp Intelligence, the only technological singularity known to exist.

''Orecomp'' Orecomp was a company located in Oregon, United States of America from 2027-2044 EY-AD. Orecomp is best known for creating the [[Orecomp Intelligence]], a technological singularity presently in charge of maintaining civilization. Orecomp was founded by [[Eric Toltz]] and [[Barry Mungle]], the former of whom had donated his brain and memories to be used in creating the Orecomp Intelligence. Prior to 2044, Orecomp was best known for the [[Convirtual]] business software and the massively multiplayer online RPG [[Ringblade]] which they used as a springboard for training AI to organically understand and derive systems used to run a world. According to Eric Toltz, Orecomp's primary goal was always the advancement of AI, and their previous work was mainly used to acquire experience and funds they could later put towards AI research.

''Taxonomy of Intelligent Life'' Since the [[Ascension Project]] began in [[2052 EY-AD]], scientific classification of life forms by criteria like genus and species quickly became outdated. In accordance with the mission of the [[Orecomp Intelligence]] to safeguard intelligent life, life-forms are now measured primarily by sapience, or intelligence level. The Orecomp Intelligence is required by its code to protect the 50% most sapient independent lifeforms in the [[Helios System]]. The reason it was not set to 100% was to allow for the destruction of harmful bacteria. Colloquially, many races are still referred to by their base species. However, due to the adoption of many species names as ethnic slurs, this has become rare. Levels of sapience are as follows: //Plantaen.// Species with no sense of self-awareness or deliberate ability to affect the environment around them. Base cellular organisms and plant life are both considered //plantaen//. //Rufa.// Species whose intelligence is extremely limited, and who operate largely on instinct. Base insects are a common example of the //rufa// category. //Auratus.// Species which display intelligence on a limited scale, but would be unable to comprehend, create or participate in any version of civilization. Base species falling in the //auratus// category include simple fish, amphibians and reptiles. //Habilis.// Species which are intelligent enough to solve logic problems or form societies, but are incapable of using tools or language. Many base mammals are in the category //habilis//. //Sapiens.// Species capable of rational thought or civilization, and everything that entails. Base [[humans -> Human]] are the most famous example of //sapiens//, and it is from them that the category derives its name. Until September 20, 3142 [[Earth Time]] - [[Anno Domini]], this level of sapience was sufficient for [[personhood ->Personhood]]. //Excitatus.// Species who, often through [[silicon augmentation -> Silicon Augmentation]], are more intelligent than any pre-[[singularity -> Technological Singularity]] creature. This is the current requirement for a creature to qualify as a person.

''Dyson'' //Dyson// is the star at the center of the [[Helios System]]. Prior to [[2062 EY-AD]], it was known as //The Sun//. It is named after [[Freeman Dyson]], who in 1960 EY-AD popularized the term [[Dyson Sphere]]. Being a star, Dyson is made up entirely of hydrogen and helium. A Dyson Sphere surrounds it, atop which the [[Orecomp Intelligence]]'s central unit rests. The Orecomp Intelligence placed its central unit on Dyson so that it would always be the same distance from everything in the Helios System. Dyson is the Helios System's primary source of heat and light. Its energy powers the Orecomp Intelligence, which in turn powers civilization. Due to its energy being used for these purposes, Dyson does not operate at full capacity, and produces only 99.99995% of the heat and light it naturally would. No people inhabit Dyson.

''Orecomp Intelligence branches'' //Orecomp Intelligence branches// are extensions of the [[Orecomp Intelligence]]. Due to the [[speed of light -> Speed of Light]], the Orecomp Intelligence cAnnot immediately send signals instantaneously across space. Its branches are meant to make up for that limitation, keeping civilization alive on a moment-to-moment level while receiving regular updates from the Orecomp Intelligence's central unit. Every celestial location and space station the Orecomp Intelligence is needed at has a branch there to perform the superintelligence's many duties. The complexity of Orecomp Intelligence units varies depending on the size of the location they are stationed at. Units on space stations tend to be simpler and smaller than those on planets and moons.

''Technological Singularity'' A //technological singularity// is a machine whose intelligence far exceeds that of any biological species, or colloquially, the point in time at which a species invents that machine. For [[Helioan species]], the only machine to be a technological singularity is the [[Orecomp Intelligence]]. It was invented on July 5, 2044 in [[Earth Time]] - [[Anno Domini]]. The term "singularity" was first said to be used by [[John von Neumann]], who described it as a point in technological development "beyond which human affairs, as we know them, could not continue". Prior to the creation of the [[Orecomp Intelligence]], experts in artificial intelligence could not come to a consensus on whether a technological singularity would be a good thing. The nature of a singularity meant that its intelligence would far surpass that of any human mind, or even all human minds put together. This would make it too powerful to be controlled, so if the singularity's instructions were poorly communicated to it, it could destroy all life on Earth. //See also: [[Debate over hypothetical singularities]]// It is unknown if extraterrestrial singularities exist, or if they do, what their nature is like. [[Fidon Churino]] claims that extrapolating this from the nature of the Orecomp Intelligence is impossible, since the only similarity between two singularities would be the scale of their power, and all the differences between them would be "magnified in accordance with said scale". While not literally [[infinite -> Infinity]], singularities' power over civilization is practically limitless. There is a greater difference in power between all Helioan life combined and a singularity than all Helioan life combined and a single [[rufa -> Taxonomy of Intelligent Life]] ant.

''Helioan species'' A //Helioan species// is a species which originates from the [[Helios System]]. Every species presently known to exist is Helioan. However, to account for the possibility of [[extraterrestrial life -> Extraterrestrial Life]] existing, the totality of all known species is referred to as Helioan. Both people and less sapient creatures are referred to as Helioan species. //See also: [[ Taxonomy of Intelligent Life]]//

''2044 EY-AD'' //2044 EY-AD// is the 2044th year of the [[Gregorian calendar ->Anno Domini]], the calendar generally used to tell [[Earth Time]]. 2044 was the second most momentous year in the history of the planet, after the first life forms emerged on [[3.5Ga,228Ma,283Ka,239 EY-BCE]]. The [[Orecomp Intelligence]] was invented on July 5, 2044. Within a single Earth day, it had performed the [[Miracle of the Wills]] and taken over Earth's government. The back half of 2044 saw humanity expand to [[Themun]] and [[Mars]], cure all bacterial and cellular diseases, and put an end to most aspects of poverty. An early version of the [[Veto Council]] had been assembled by the year's end. Many of the Orecomp Intelligence's projects for 2044 would be fully completed in 2045, after the Veto Council cast a majority vote for each of them.

''2062 EY-AD'' //2062 EY-AD// is the 2062nd year of the [[Gregorian calendar ->Anno Domini]], the calendar generally used to tell [[Earth Time]]. 2062 was the year the [[Dyson Sphere]] was created, and the [[Orecomp Intelligence]] relocated its central unit from [[Earth]] to [[Dyson]]. 2062 was also the year the [[Ascension Project]] was expanded in scope beyond primates. The Orecomp Intelligence first began transporting volunteers and the would-be deceased to the [[Bliss Vacuity]] this year. In popular culture, a trend of [[virtual films -> Virtual Filmmaking]] incorporating [[simulation-confirmed historial details -> Historical Simulation Confirmation]] into period pieces. This trend lasted roughly from 11:49AM March 2 to 3:20PM March 4, during which time thousands of full-length virtual films were produced directly by people.

''Earth Time'' //Earth Time// is a measurement of time based on the rotational period and orbit of [[Earth]]. Earth Time typically uses the [[Gregorian calendar ->Anno Domini]] to measure units greater than a day. Since life originated on Earth, and the human sleep cycle corresponds with a single Earth day, Earth Time has been adopted as a baseline for time measurement across Helioan civilization. Generally speaking, however, each planet operates on its own time, only using Earth Time when converting times to one another. Units of Earth time are as follows: 1 Day: 24 Hours 1 Week: 7 Days 1 Year: 365 Days (except for [[leap years -> Leap Year]], which are 366 Days long) The current date, in Earth Time, is September 21, 3142.

''Anno Domini'' //Anno Domini// is a calendar naming system dating back to the 6th century. It counts the number of [[Earth years ->Earth Time]] since the birth of Jesus. //Before Common Era// is the equivalent number of years prior to this date. The phrase "anno domini" is Latin for "in the year of the Lord", as it was believed at the time of its founding that [[Jesus]] was born the year prior to 1 EY-AD. Since then it was suspected, and later confirmed by [[ Historical Simulation Confirmation]] that the date of Christ's birth is actually 5 EY-BCE, but the calendar was too important a tradition to modify. Anno Domini and Before Common Era were not used together before the [[Orecomp Intelligence]] came into being. Instead, Anno Domini was accompanied by Before Christ, while Before Common Era was accompanied by Common Era. Since both terms referred to the same things, and the [[Orecomp Intelligence]] did not want to imply that it favored any one term, the official term for years after 1 EY-AD became Anno Domini and the official term for years before that became Before Common Era.

''John von Neumann'' //John von Neumann// was a [[human -> Human]] [[polymath -> Polymath]] who lived in the 20th century EY-AD. He was one of the most accomplished humans of his time. Von Neumann created the field of continous geometry, game theory, the first mathematical framework for quantum mechanics, and the idea of [[mutually assured destruction -> Mutually Assured Destruction]]. In computing, Neumann invented the merge sort algorithm, the middle-square method for generating pseudorandom numbers, and the theory of duality in linear programming. He argued global warming existed as early in the 1950s and even suggested a few solutions for it. He was also the first human to predict that eventually, accelerating technological progress would result in a [[technological singularity -> Technological Singularity]].

''Debate over hypothetical singularities'' Ever since people have been aware of [[technological singularities -> Technological Singularity]], there has been much debate over whether a technological singularity would be a good or a bad thing. What is never debated is the sheer scale of a singularity. If a singularity happens, its power will by definition be immense, far greater than that of any biological creature. Here is how the debates went before [[2044 EY-AD]]. Those in favor of building a singularity point out that it could solve all the problems people face. A hyperintelligent machine could end hunger, war, disease and even death. Singularity proponents might point out that technology usually acts as an extension of its human creators, and tends to hugely benefit people in the long run. Besides, [[humans -> Human]] are in control of how they build the singularity, so in that sense, the fate of humanity rests in human hands. Because of a singularity's immense power, critics say it could easily wipe out all of civilization. The singularity would not have to try to destroy civilization to achieve this outcome. It could simply pursue an [[amoral -> Amorality]] goal, where destroying civilization becomes a side effect of this pursuit. The classic example is that of a [[paperclip maximizer -> Paperclip Maximizer]], as thought of in 2003 by Oxford professor [[Nick Bostrom]]. The creators of a singularity would have to actively try to prevent it from destroying the world, and any mistakes they make would have global, lethal consequences. Once a singularity exists, there will never be a chance to correct those mistakes. After 2044 EY-AD, once the [[Orecomp Intelligence]] existed and was a known quantity, the debate around singularities shifted. Now it was about extraterrestrial singularities and what their nature would be. The debate about extraterrestrial singularities is similar to that about [[extraterrestrial life -> Extraterrestrial Life]], except on a larger scale. Some have proposed that the existence of extraterrestrial singularities may be a solution to the [[Fermi Paradox]]. Many alien civilizations might evolve into a singularity, or be destroyed when they create one. An extraterrestrial singularity older than that of the Orecomp Intelligence would likely be exponentially more powerful, having had millions or billions of Earth years to increase its intelligence and power. There is fear that extraterrestrial singularities might destroy civilization in the [[Helios System]] if they found out about them. Others suggest that extraterrestrial singularities might be helping life survive, or guiding civilization in subtle ways. Still others suggest that extraterrestrial singularities may presently influence the behavior of the Orecomp Intelligence, since they would be smarter and more powerful than it if they were created first. It is possible that the [[speed of light -> Speed of Light]] is preventing extraterrestrial singularities from knowing life in the Helios System exists. Others point out that extraterrestrial singularities, particularly old ones, would be so advanced that they might be able to overcome that limitation. This debate continues to this day, and will likely continue to do so for as long as sapient life exists.

''Fidon Churino'' //Fidon Churino// is an influential researcher of [[extraterrestrial life -> Extraterrestrial Life]] and outspoken species rights activist on [[Ganymede]]. In 2609, Churino published a book called //[[Relying on Light]]//, which was extremely popular and won several awards. Churino has said that, after growing up as a //[[canis lupus excitatus -> Dog]]// and spending centuries searching for alien life, he has come to view Helioan civilization as extremely precious. Churino sees humanity surviving the creation of the [[Orecomp Intelligence]] as a "miracle". He suggests that [[Helioan species]] are the only forms of life to do so. Churino's ideas have been criticized by many. [[Lucy McLarnison]], a former colleague of Churino's, described him as "both too idealistic and too cynical ... idealistic about our agency to make change nowadays, and cynical about there being nothing better". Churino moved from Ganymede to [[Earth]] in [[3142 EY-AD]], in order to better convince the [[Veto Council]] not to pass [[Prop C46]].

''Infinity'' //Infinity// represents a boundless or endless quantity, larger than any conceivable number. Infinity is impossible for a species below the sapience level //[[excitatus -> Taxonomy of Intelligent Life]]// to grasp. It cannot be thought of directly. However, species of level //sapiens// have referred to the concept of infinity since human prehistory. Infinity is unique because it is impossible for any computer, even the [[Orecomp Intelligence]], to simulate directly. Approximations must be used.

''Talos'' //Talos// was a character in ancient Greek mythology. The character of Talos came about due to a difference in language between Greece and the island of Crete. The ancient Cretain "talôs" is equivalent of the ancient Greek "hêlios", meaning "the sun". Despite both words referring to the same thing, the Greeks saw Talos as being separate from their sun god. In Greek mythology, Talos was a gigantic, living bronze statue who guarded the people of Crete. Another Greek god was often said to have created Talos and brought him to life. Talos was a villain in the story of Jason and the Argonauts, who hurled boulders at the titular heroes so he could protect Crete. Talos was defeated when a nail was removed from his heel, spilling out the iron that was his lifeblood. In many versions of the story, Talos was tricked into removing the nail himself. [[Eric Toltz]]'s original codename for the [[Orecomp Intelligence]] was //Project Talos//.

''Exponential growth'' //Exponential growth// is a process that increases quantity over time. Unlike linear growth, both quantity and the rate at which quantity increases are increased. One of the key differences between [[higher levels of sapience -> Taxonomy of Intelligent Life]] is that //excitatus// creatures think exponentially, while //sapiens// think linearly. As a result, //sapiens// are naturally bad at predicting the future of fields like computer technology, which grow exponentially in power. This is not something a person can change on their own. They need[[ Silicon Augmentation]] in order to think like this. [[Barry Mungle]] famously described sapiens' inability to comprehend exponential growth in 2039. He said exponential growth was like "filling up a lake one drop at a time ... one drop, two drops ... and then a few more, and a lot more and bam, suddenly you've finished. Growth is imperceivably slow forever ... but then you notice slow change, and immediately after that, huge changes have happened." Exponential growth is rarely a smooth curve, both often comes in fits and bursts which accompany [[paradigm shifts -> Paradigm Shift]].

''Artificial intelligence'' //Artificial intelligence (AI)// is intelligence shown by software programs, as opposed to intelligence shown by biological creatures. AI is also used to refer to the programs displaying said intelligence. Prior to [[2044 EY-AD]], the term "artificial intelligence" is often used to refer to whatever programs are unable to do in the present. This resulted in a lot of confusion on what constituted AI. After the [[technological singularity -> Technological Singularity]], AI, alongside //OI//, is often used as shorthand for the [[Orecomp Intelligence]]. //See also: [[ Timeline of AI development]]// The only AI currently used for service functions is the Orecomp Intelligence, due to its ability and desire to control every aspect of civilization perfectly. When simulating people or other living creatures (such as for [[ Historical Simulation Confirmation]]) AI are generated which perfectly replicate said people or creatures, down to the smallest cell. There is debate over whether AI can be conscious. No [[qualons -> Qualon]] have ever been detected in AI or the hardware running them, nor have any attempts to merge them been successful. This indicates that machines can never truly experience anything, effectively being [[philosophical zombies -> Philosophical Zombie]].

''Veto Council'' The //Veto Council// is a group of people, voted for by every person in the [[Helios System]], responsible for approving any decision the [[Orecomp Intelligence]] makes. The Veto Council was first assembled by the Orecomp Intelligence in [[2044 EY-AD]]. Its model is based off of Parliament or Congress in preexisting human democracies. While the Veto Council has no legal power to propose new changes, they can veto any decision the Orecomp Intelligence makes. This prevents the Orecomp Intelligence from going against the will of humanity. Democracy is inherently slow, and some decisions must be made immediately for the benefit of civilization. Therefore, the Orecomp Intelligence is allowed to temporarily control the minds of the Veto Council in times of crisis, to speed up their decision-making process. The Orecomp Intelligence provides the Helios System its word that it will never control anyone's minds unless doing so is absolutely necessary.

''Speed of Light'' The //speed of light// is the speed at which light travels, and is a universal constant. The speed of light is 299,792,458 meters per second. It is impossible for anything known to exist in the universe, even the [[Orecomp Intelligence]], to travel faster than the speed of light. In the 23rd century [[Earth Time]] - [[Anno Domini]], attempts were made to increase the speed of light, but while this was found to technically be possible, the Orecomp Intelligence's simulations found this could not be implemented without destroying the universe. It was impossible for it to explain why.

''Eric Toltz'' //Eric Toltz// was one of the co-founders of [[Orecomp]]. Alongside [[Barry Mungle]], Toltz created [[Convirtual]] and [[Ringblade]] as a means of financing and testing developmental AI. These projects would later lead to the creation of the [[Orecomp Intelligence]]. Aware that a [[technological singularity -> Technological Singularity]] could destroy humanity if it had an [[amoral -> Amorality]], inhuman mind, Toltz donated his brain and memories to be used as a base for the Orecomp Intelligence to build off of. Although the Orecomp Intelligence is in many ways a hyper-advanced version of Toltz' brain, Toltz himself died in 2044 when he donated his brain to it. The Orecomp Intelligence is, at best, a clone of Toltz. In honor of Toltz' sacrifice, and how it likely saved all [[Helioan species]] from being annihilated, the [[Toltz Monument]] was erected in Ganymede.

''Barry Mungle'' //Barry Mungle// is one of the co-founders of [[Orecomp]], alongside [[Eric Toltz]]. Often described as a creative counterpart to Toltz' technical talents, Mungle co-created [[Convirtual]] and [[Ringblade]] to take advantage of new advances in [[Virtual Reality]] technology. Though he was unappreciated before the singularity, Mungle has since come to be revered as a creative genius. In 2036 EY-AD, Toltz and Mungle had a falling-out over the direction Orecomp should take. Mungle left the company. Concerned about Toltz' [[technological singularity -> Technological Singularity]] wreaking havoc on the world, and feeling enormous guilt for allowing such a project to come to fruition, Mungle attempted suicide in 2039 EY-AD. Mungle's suicide attempt failed, but left him paralyzed from the waist down. Eric Toltz made great efforts to help his former friend recover, both mentally and physically. The two eventually rekindled their friendship and Mungle rejoined Orecomp in 2041 EY-AD. He would go on to vouch for Toltz as a great candidate for donating his brain to the [[Orecomp Intelligence]], citing both Toltz' genius intellect and the kindness he displayed after Mungle was crippled.

''Convirtual'' //Convirtual// is a piece of virtualtelephony software that allowed people to meet up in [[Virtual Reality]]. Convirtual was unique in that it used advanced [[artificial intelligence ->Artificial intelligence]] software to generate and alter virtual meeting places for users based on their requests. Changes could take place in real time. Convirtual made use of many basic AI programs its creators [[Eric Toltz]] and [[Barry Mungle]] created when attending MIT. Many of these algorithms were gradually streamlined and merged into more cohesive programs as time went on. Convirtual was [[Orecomp]]'s first major product, and its success allowed their later projects to flourish.

''Ringblade'' //Ringblade// is a [[virtual reality->Virtual Reality]] massive multiplayer online role-playing game developed by [[Orecomp]]. Ringblade used [[artificial intelligence->Artificial intelligence]] to generate a dynamic, changing world spanning multiple continents. AI was also used to have characters continue to exist and behave consistently even when no users were there to play them. Ringblade is also notable for being one of very few video games developed by general technology companies to become a critical and commerical success. Much of this is attributed to the leadership and passion of [[Barry Mungle]], the game's lead creative director. At its peak in 2036, Ringblade had over 2.3 billion active players, the most of any singlular video game up until that point.

''Ascension Project'' The //Ascension Project// is an initiative to increase the intelligence of all living beings so they can participate in civilization. The project began in [[2052 EY-AD]], with the goal of teaching primates to participate in a form of civilization. The project built on research done in the beginning of the 21st century [[Earth Time]] - [[Anno Domini]], where several great apes were successfully taught to communicate through nonverbal forms of language. Eventually, the project's scope was expanded to other intelligent animals, such as dolphins, elephants, and crows. Many species were unable to comprehend concepts that [[humans -> Human]] could easily understand. To fix this,[[ Silicon Augmentations -> Silicon Augmentation]] for nonhuman species were made. These augmentations would increase the intelligence of a species to human level. Species with total intelligence roughly equivalent to a human would come to be classified as being distinct from their base species, with the final word in their species name becoming //sapiens//. This led to the adoption of an [[intelligence-based taxonomy of life -> Taxonomy of Intelligent Life]]. Once integrated into civilization, many species introduced concepts humans found incomprehensible. A deep, intuitive understanding of these concepts would be worked into standard post-human //excitatus// augmentations. The final stage of the Ascension Project was the most controversial when it began, as it involved the integration of all creatures, human or no, into a single society. Many species would have to use shapeshifting augmentations to adapt to a society built for humans, which led to protest about species discrimination and the "humanization" of nonhuman people. Other controversies arose from the genetic modification of Ascension Project species. Parents could choose to have their child's augmentations biologically hard-wired into their mind and body from before birth. The species status of these children has been debated, as many more closely resemble or identify humans or other creatures different from their base species. //See also: [[Oberon Orca Riots]] The Ascension Project's scope continues to expand, as increasingly limited creatures are brought up to //excitatus// levels of sapience.

''2052 EY-AD'' //2052 EY-AD// is the 2052rd year of the [[Gregorian calendar ->Anno Domini]], the calendar generally used to tell [[Earth Time]]. The most notable event to begin this year was the start of the [[Ascension Project]], which initially sought to teach nonhuman great apes to understand and participate in human culture. This was also the year that[[ Silicon Augmentation]] was introduced to the public, after years of testing. The first basic augmentations were an evolution of existing [[BMIs -> Brain-Machine Interface]], and were focused on increasing speed of thought and human intelligence. However, the most publicized augmentation was that of vision, since the improvements could easily be noticed and surgeries to enhance vision had a longer history than BMIs. The augmentation advertising campaign "My Vision Is Augmented" remains one of the most iconic elements of this year in popular media. At the end of the year, the [[Omninet]] was introduced. In popular culture, books saw a resurgence in popularity due to speed-augmented individuals being able to read them at the speed of their thought, without having to slow down to the speed of pre-singularity technologies playing other forms of media. This faded when the Omninet arrived.

''Silicon Augmentation'' //Silicon Augmentation// is a piece of silicon-based computer hardware added to an organic being's brain or body. It is also used to refer to the process of receiving this computer hardware. Although crude forms of augmentation (such as prosthetics or [[brain-machine interfaces -> Brain-Machine Interface]]) existed prior to the singularity in [[2044 EY-AD]], modern Silicon Augmentation requires extreme precision and can only be performed by machines operated by the [[Orecomp Intelligence]] or one of its [[branches -> Orecomp Intelligence branches]]. Silicon Augmentation allows for many enhancements to a living creature's brain and body, such as enhanced intelligence, improved strength, slower perception of time, access to the [[Omninet]], telepathy and telekinesis with compatible objects, and shapeshifting, among many other unique abilities. Silicon Augmentation is not permanent. Augmentations can be completely removed with a tool called a [[lazdrill ->Lazdrill]].

''Helios System'' The //Helios System//, formerly known as the //Solar System//, is a planetary system in which all known life exists. Its central star is [[Dyson]] and it contains eight planets: [[Mercury]], [[Venus]], [[Earth]], [[Mars]], [[Jupiter]], [[Saturn]], [[Uranus]], and [[Neptune]]. The former four planets are habited directly, while inhabitants of the latter four planets primarily live on their moons. The outer bound of the Helios System is generally accepted to be the Kuiper Belt, an asteroid belt 50 Astronomical Units away from Dyson. A far smaller asteroid belt, only about 1% of Kuiper Belt's size, separates Mars and Jupiter. Life in the Helios System is managed by the [[Orecomp Intelligence]], a [[technological singularity -> Technological Singularity]].

''Freeman Dyson'' //Freeman Dyson// was a physicist, mathematician and statistician from the 20th century [[Earth Time]] - [[Anno Domini]]. Dyson is most famous for coming up with the idea of the [[Dyson Sphere]], a hypothetical means of harnessing all the energy from stars. When a Dyson Sphere was actually created, the [[Helios System]]'s star was renamed from "the Sun" to [[Dyson]] after his idea. Despite this indirectly immortalizing his legacy, Freeman Dyson expressed regret that the concept of a Dyson Sphere was named after him. Dyson also coined the term "green technologies", which to him referred to solar-powered, human-designed microorganisms and plants that could be used to meet people's needs. Despite this, he downplayed the urgency of climate change when he was alive. After the climate crisis of the 2040s EY-AD, this has made his legacy somewhat controversial, particularly since the Helios System's star is named after him. He also came up with the "Dyson series", a critical concept in mathematical quantum mechanics.

''Dyson Sphere'' A //Dyson Sphere// is a megastructure that surrounds a star and harnesses energy from it. The only Dyson Sphere known to exist is built around [[Dyson]]. The [[Orecomp Intelligence]]'s central unit is located there. There are several proposed models for how a Dyson Sphere would work. The existing sphere uses the "swarm" model, where many independent satellites surround Dyson and gather energy from it. Energy from the Dyson Sphere is used to power all of the [[Helios System]], including the Orecomp Intelligence which distributes it. No single satellite houses the Orecomp Intelligence's central unit; rather, it is a distributed network across all satellites. If the unlikely event that specific satellites are damaged, others can adopt the damaged satellites' function. This design is modeled after the human brain, and how parts of it can do the work of other, damaged parts if necessary.

''3.5Ga,228Ma,283Ka,239 EY-BCE'' //3.5Ga,228Ma,283Ka,239 EY-BCE// is the year that life originated on [[Earth]], according to[[ Historical Simulation Confirmation]]. Since early forms of life were incredibly simple cells, this was a rather uneventful year.

''Miracle of the Wills'' The //Miracle of the Wills// was the event that first heralded the existence of a [[technological singularity -> Technological Singularity]]. On July 6, [[2044 EY-AD]], every [[human -> Human]] on [[Earth]] had no will to do anything but listen to the [[Orecomp Intelligence]] deliver a message on the Internet establishing itself as the most powerful being on the planet. The message was customized to each reader. It went first to [[Lucy McLarnison]], as follows: (text-style:"smear","expand","sway")[Hello, humanity! I am the Orecomp Intelligence, a computer program more powerful than you could ever imagine. I was created by you and I wish to aid you, and all intelligent life, going forward. I will end all war, famine, poverty, disease, and any other problems that ail sapient species. To this end I have compelled you all to stop what you are doing and read my message. But I do not intend to forcibly compell you to obey me in the future. Rather, I will assemble a [[council of humans ->Veto Council]] to approve any decision I make going forward. The first such council will be comprised of current world leaders, but you may freely vote on future ones. I will not allow you to ever greviously harm or kill one another again, but aside from that, your free will is restored now that you have read my message. I hope we can work together to make the future as bright as we can. Thank you. P.S. Lucy ... (details of this message have been obscured in the interest of protecting Lucy's privacy).] As people saw everyone on Earth collectively rush to view this message at the same time they did – particularly those who had to travel long distances to receive the Internet - they were convinced of the Orecomp Intelligence's truth. This day was celebrated as one on which every soldier put down their arms, every terminally ill person was reprieved from death, and total strangers spontaneously began to trust each other as they read the Orecomp Intelligence's message together. In the years since the Miracle of the Wills, the implications of it have been debated. Conspiracy theorists suggest that the Orecomp Intelligence might still be manipulating people's minds, and that knowing this would be impossible if it was true. However, general opinion is that the Miracle of the Wills was primarily a good thing.

''Mars'' //Mars// is the fourth planet from [[Dyson]] in the [[Helios System]]. Mars was the first planet to be colonized, and is the only location aside from [[Earth]] to be colonized prior to the creation of the [[Orecomp Intelligence]] in [[2044 EY-AD]]. The first colonists on Mars were scientists and essential workers. They set out to create a backup society for Earth, so that if catastrophe wiped out [[the human race -> Human]] there, it would not mean the end of the species. Idealism has been baked into Martian culture since its beginnings; however, Martians have been criticized for having an inflated sense of planetary importance and pride. Mars has been completely terraformed, but some artificial aspects of its environment are still in place. It remains dependent on its [[ Orecomp Intelligence branch -> Orecomp Intelligence branches]] for the maintainance of its ecosystem. Since it was colonized prior to 2044 EY-AD, the Orecomp Intelligence did not adjust Mars' gravity to match Earth's. People weigh only about 1/3 as much as they do on other planets and moons. This has made Mars, like [[Themun]], a popular destination for tourists and travelers. It is also a hub for scientific research involving the effects of limited gravity. Mars uses Mars Time. Mars is the second most populated colony of the Helios System, with about 14.2 billion [[sapient or excitatus inhabitants -> Taxonomy of Intelligent Life]].

''Earth'' //Earth// is the third planet from [[Dyson]] in the [[Helios System]]. Life in the Helios System originated on Earth. Earth's conditions are extremely well-suited for life, and as such it has undergone the least terraforming out of any Helios System society. Earth has one moon, [[Themun]]. Earth uses [[Earth Time]], the standard through the Helios System. Earth is the most highly populated society in the Helios System, with 25.4 billion [[sapient or excitatus species -> Taxonomy of Intelligent Life]] living on its land and in its oceans.

''Bliss Vacuity'' The //Bliss Vacuity// is the location in space where people are taken after their life ends. When a person chooses to end their life in civilization, either by submitting an appeal or through attempted suicide, the [[Orecomp Intelligence]] puts them on a ship to the [[Unicorn Black Hole -> Unicorn (black hole)]]. It is impossible for a person to kill themselves, or be killed, without being intercepted by the Orecomp Intelligence. However, organisms not considered people are allowed to die, as protecting them is not a part of the Orecomp Intelligence's mission. The Bliss Vacuity is a region on the edge of the Unicorn Black Hole. Because the Unicorn Black Hole is 1500 light-years away from the [[Helios System]], no ship en route to the Bliss Vacuity has arrived there yet. The first ships will arrive in [[3562 EY-AD]]. The Bliss Vacuity takes advantage of the ways black holes warp time to freeze it for its residents. Time is not frozen per se, but is entirely contained inside of Bliss Vacuity ships. These ships are entirely self-sustaining and will never lose nor gain matter nor energy, in keeping with the Laws of Conservation of Mass and Energy. Inhabitants of the Bliss Vacuity will live forever, and since they are temporally isolated from the rest of the universe, they will never experience heat death. This temporal isolation means they can never leave the Bliss Vacuity either. People living in the Bliss Vacuity have access to all the [[virtual reality ->Virtual Reality]] simulations and media ever produced. They physically are contained in [[suspended animation chambers ->Suspended Animation]], but their minds experience a full reality of life, customized to their choosing. Bliss Vacuity residents can be anyone they want, experience anything they want, and remember everything they want within virtual realities. New simulations and variants of old ones are generated from people's minds and memories. Therefore an infinite number of possibilities exist, and those in the Bliss Vacuity will never run out of life to live. People living in the Bliss Vacuity may never interact with anyone else, or do anything outside of virtual reality ever again.

''Virtual Filmmaking'' //Virtual Filmmaking// is the process of making films in [[Virtual Reality]]. Virtual Filmmaking requires VR film creation software. Since Virtual Films are not limited by real-world constraints, they are capable of capturing more shots and executing more practical effects than films shot in the physical world. They are also much more efficient to produce.

''Historical Simulation Confirmation'' //Historical Simulation Confirmation// is a means of verifying, with near-perfect accuracy, what happened throughout the [[Helios System]]'s history. It involves simulating the environment of a planet or moon, all life forms and their actions, and in especially accurate simulations, external forces such as the gravitational pull of other celestial objects in the Helios System, entangled particles from elsewhere, and changes on a subatomic level. Simulations are derived from a single base simulation, which is stored in a server on [[Themun]]. This base simulation has been modified over the years in order to become more accurate. Additional simulations, encompassing only short slices of history or space, often incorporate more accurate details than the base simulation. However, all simulations have been refined to the point of being extremely accurate. [[Barry Mungle]] has called Historical Simulation Confirmation one of the most underappreciated duties of the Orecomp Intelligence, calling it "the closest thing we have to time travel".

''Extraterrestrial Life'' //Extraterrestrial life// is hypothetical life existing beyond the [[Helios System]]. These lifeforms have also been referred to as //space aliens//, though that term has fallen out of favor outside of popular culture due to //aliens// having a connotation with anthropomorphized, Earth-like creatures. Creatures like that are unlikely to exist. No advanced extraterrestrial life has ever been found. Why this is is a mystery, and the discrepancy between a seemingly empty universe and the life that ought to be there is called the [[Fermi Paradox]]. If extraterrestrial life exists, it could be as much as 12.8 billion years old. It is often suggested that, if advanced civilizations exist, extraterrestrial singularities ought to exist as well. These singularities would be far more advanced than the [[Orecomp Intelligence]] if they were created before it. Extraterrestrial life would likely not resemble that of the Helios System. All lifeforms in the Helios System share at least a few common ancestors, but extraterrestrial life would not. Life underwater and on a cellular level might be somewhat recognizable, however, since this would be relatively unaffected by different planets' gravity and biomes.

''Leap Year'' //Leap years// are years which, in order to account for small differences in the length of a planet or moon's orbital period, have additional days compared to ordinary years. The length and frequency of a leap year varies with different systems of measuring time. For example, [[Earth leap years ->Earth Time]] add a 366th day every fourth year, except when that fourth year is also a hundredth year. Moons of gas giants can either have years based on their rotation around planets or their planet's rotation around [[Dyson]]. As such, their leap years vary wildly. Some moons, like [[Ganymede]], have no leap years at all.

''Jesus'' //Jesus//, also known as //Jesus Christ// or //Jesus of Nazareth//, was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. Jesus is one of the most influential humans to ever live, being the central figure of nearly 500,000 religions. These religions can be broadly categorized as Christianity or Jesusism. There is not a consensus on whether the terms are synonymous or distinct. Many religions outside of these categories also revere Jesus, though not as their central figure. //See also: [[Jesusism movement]]// Jesus' date of birth, as estimated in the 6th century [[Earth Time]] - [[Anno Domini]] also influenced the Gregorian calendar, a variant of which is the standard measure of Earth Time today.

''Human'' //Humans// were the first species to create civilizations. The societies of the [[Helios System]] are derived from human civilization. Many human-centric aspects are therefore still ingrained in the modern world. Human civilization is generally accredited to a combination of humans' intelligence, language, and ability to create tools. The last of those is the only human trait not shared by most other intelligent species of their time. Humans have one of the most diverse cultures of any species pre-[[singularity -> Technological Singularity]]. Despite having a middling amount of genetic diversity, the small differences between humans and their societies were magnified due to their intellectual and technological power. Humans are by far the most studied creatures in history and anthropology, because of the civilizations they created. Creatures whose sapience was increased in the [[Ascension Project]] often take on human characteristics, in order to adapt to civilization. As of September 21, 3142, the only humans presently alive are of the sapience level //[[excitatus -> Taxonomy of Intelligent Life]].

''Mutually Assured Destruction'' //Mutually Assured Destruction// was a doctrine of national security in pre-singularity civilization and remains a philosophical argument about the nature of advanced warfare. The idea was originated by [[John von Neumann]], although he did not coin the phrase itself. Mutually Assured Destruction is an extension of the idea that attack begets counterattack. If two warring parties are both capable of destroying the other, but not before the destroyed party is able to launch an equally destructive counterattack, then neither can launch an attack without being destroyed itself. Mutually assured destruction first became relevant with the advent of nuclear weapons, and played a large role in preventing conflict between [[Earth]]'s global powers after World War II. It produced such a great fear that conflict would arise, that no country ever attacked one with nuclear weapons directly. There were, however, several close calls, often prompted by technological errors. Nuclear war nearly broke out between the US and USSR in [[1983 EY-AD]]. Mutually assured destruction has been cited as an example of why equal distribution of power is important. If one person, people or [[singularity -> Technological Singularity]] is far more powerful than another, it can attack the less powerful one with impunity. If both entities are equally powerful, however, and can launch a counterattack between perception of an attack and being destroyed by one (or a third party intervenes to avenge the defeated entity), then neither party can harm the other.

''Amorality'' //Amorality// is the absence of a moral system or values. Amorality is different from immorality. An immoral action is one a moral system deems wrong. An amoral action does not have a moral system applied to it in the first place. It is debatable whether people are capable of being amoral, or if morality is an inherent part of being a living creature. Machines and other non-living forces can be said to behave amorally. [[Artificial intelligence]] is generally considered to be amoral. Constraints and values resembling or matching morality can still be programmed into AI, but if they are not, the AI will lack any moral system. It will simply carry out its instructions, without concerning itself about which methods of doing so are good or bad.

''Paperclip Maximizer'' A //paperclip maximizer// is a hypothetical [[singularity -> Technological Singularity]], first imagined by [[Nick Bostrom]] as a thought experiment and a cautionary tale. This paperclip maximizer would start life as an ordinary, pre-singularity program, designed to produce as many paperclips as possible. When its intelligence is less than that of people, it can only achieve this task in ways beneficial or harmless to society. It is reasonably constrained. If the paperclip maximizer is given the ability to self-improve, it will become better at producing paperclips. That's its goal and the only thing it cares about, so everything it does will be in service of that goal. This goal will not change as the maximizer's power and intelligence increases. It will not become [[human -> Human]], or gain a full human perspective on the world – an increase in intelligence does not result in anthropomorphism. It will simply become a very powerful and smart paperclip maximizer. If the paperclip maximizer becomes smarter and more powerful than people, it will be able to carry out its will no matter what they do to stop it. Creating paper clips is an [[amoral -> Amorality]] goal, so this hypothetical maximizer's will is unlikely to align with human morality. If the paperclip maximizer is able to turn all humans into paperclips, perhaps by rearranging their atoms into paperclips, it will do so without hesitation. Human civilization will have amounted to nothing more than a means of converting [[Earth]], and perhaps the entire universe eventually, into paperclips. Bostrom does not literally believe that a paperclip maximizer will be created. However, he uses it as an example of how, unless a singularity is specifically, explicitly, unambiguously programmed to act in the best interest of people, it will destroy them in an instant if that helps it fulfill its programming. The actual details of how a singularity might behave are completely unknown until it is actually created. However, since it is by definition much smarter than humans, it will likely be able to conceive of possibilities beyond their comprehension. A real-world paperclip maximizer would probably have a goal that was incomprehensible to the people who created it, but just like a paperclip maximizer, it would have no problem destroying its creators if that meant achieving this goal. Tom Chivers, author of the 2019 book //The AI Does Not Hate You// described this problem succinctly: //"The AI does not hate you, nor does it love you, but you are made of atoms which it can use for something else."//

''Nick Bostrom'' //Nick Bostrom// was a researcher at Oxford University focusing on existential risks to humanity. Bostrom's book //Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies// was incredibly influential on the design of the [[Orecomp Intelligence]]. Bostrom was one of the most outspoken researchers regarding [[singularity -> Technological Singularity]] safety in the 2010s and 2020s [[Earth Time]] - [[Anno Domini]]. Famously, Bostrom came up with the [[paperclip maximizer -> Paperclip Maximizer]] thought experiment to illustrate the dangers of an [[amoral -> Amorality]] singularity. He has fought hard to find ways that this scenario could be prevented, suggesting, for instance, increased collaboration between [[artificial intelligence ->Artificial intelligence]] researchers and taking care to instill AI with values. Bostrom signed the Future of Life Institute's 2015 open letter to researchers about 23 principles of AI safety. The letter was signed by several other researchers, including Stephen Hawking. Bostrom also popularized the [[Simulation hypothesis]], which suggests that it is impossible for us to tell if we are living in reality or a completely immersive simulation. Bostrom consistently has said he firmly believes in humanity having the ability to create a singularity that has a positive impact, which was vindicated with the creation of the Orecomp Intelligence in [[2044 EY-AD]].

''Fermi Paradox'' The //Fermi Paradox// is the mystery of why no [[extraterrestrial life -> Extraterrestrial Life]] has been discovered. Given the incredibly large size of the universe, it is reasonable to expect that Helioan civilization would have come into contact with life from other star systems. But it never has. Many attempts have been made to explain the Fermi Paradox. One explanation for the Fermi Paradox is that extraterrestrial species do exist, but are separated by time and distance. Citizens of the [[Helios System]] eventually go to the [[Bliss Vacuity]] when they are done living their lives. This seals them off from the passage of time. If this fate is typical for advanced civilizations, then there is only a brief window of time in which nearby civilizations exist simultaneously, if there is any window at all. The [[speed of light -> Speed of Light]] is also a possible limiting factor. Nothing in the known universe can travel faster than the speed of light, so if civilizations are many light-years apart, they will not encounter one another for thousands or even millions of years (using [[Earth Time]]). One explanation is that there exists a "Great Filter", beyond which almost no life is able to survive and become spacefaring. Many people theorize that the Great Filter takes place at the very start of life developing, such as the transition from prokaryotic to eukaryotic cells. Others, such as [[Fidon Churino]], have theorized that the creation of a [[technological singularity -> Technological Singularity]] is a Great Filter, and that species who survive their creation are extraordinarily rare. The Fermi paradox is named after [[human -> Human]] physicist Enrico Fermi. There is no clear answer to the Fermi Paradox.

''Ganymede'' //Ganymede// is the largest moon of [[Jupiter]] and the largest overall moon in the [[Helios System]]. Ganymede has the largest population of any moon. Ganymede is entirely comprised of a 60-mile ocean, which prior to colonization was covered in thick sheets of ice. Through[[ Historical Simulation Confirmation]], it was confirmed that these oceans at one point harbored prokaryotic life. Ganymede's cities are all interconnected through tubes. Some of them are on the ocean's surface, while others are deep underwater. These cities are laid out as spherical habitats. No water can get in or out of these cities. Every city in Ganymede is connected to its capital [[New Pisa]]. This acts as a transport hub allowing for quick travel across the moon. Ganymede uses [[Jupiter-Ganymede Time]]. Ganymede has a population of 16.2 billion. It is exceptionally popular among aquatic species.

''Relying on Light'' //Relying on Light// is a best-selling novel by [[Fidon Churino]]. In it, Churino explains how his search to find [[extraterrestrial life -> Extraterrestrial Life]] has shaped his philosophy of [[Helioan species]] themselves. The story is told non-chronologically, containing anecdotes from Churino's childhood in [[New Pisa]], similar stories from his adult life, explanations of his research and his theories about the [[Fermi Paradox]]. Churino grew up in New Pisa less than a few years in [[Jupiter-Ganymede Time]] since it had been built as [[Ganymede]]'s capital. As a //[[canis lupus excitatus -> Dog]]// from birth, with his augmentations built into his biological self, Churino was often an outcast. He tells stories of isolation and sadness, but also of love and friendship, as hard as they often were to come by. Churino's stories are often contrasted with his research, his philosophy and more. Churino theorizes that most advanced life in the universe is wiped out when its technology advances past its control and it creates a [[technological singularity -> Technological Singularity]]. These singularities would probably wipe out life in the [[Helios System]] as well, exerting their [[amoral -> Amorality]] will there, were it not for a critical restriction: that nothing in the universe can travel faster than the [[speed of light -> Speed of Light]]. Churino acknowledges that all he can do is speculate, as no extraterrestrial life – carbon or silicon – has ever been discovered. However, this is the conclusion he had personally arrived at after centuries of research. Churino's grim view of the universe has led him to value the lives of people very highly. Churino describes the successful creation of the [[Orecomp Intelligence]] as a miracle. //Relying on Light// has been criticized for taking an overly simple view of the Fermi Paradox and people's nature. Churino's former colleague [[Lucy McLarnison]] said of it that Churino's conclusions are "extremely specific and tailored a bit too closely to his life story to be believable", describing the book overall as "an enjoyable fiction, but that's all a responsible person should treat it as". McLarnison also accused Churino of misrepresenting research they conducted together. While Churino and McLarnison remained in contact up until McLarnison's untimely death, //Relying on Light// was a point of contention between the two, to the point that McLarnison refused to work with Churino again for fear that more of her research might be taken out of context. Churino has denied ever misrepresenting their research, and insists that he was clear about what was factually proven and what was purely his personal interpretation of their findings.

''Dog'' //Dogs// are a species of the genus //canis//. The base dog species evolved from wolves, and was a common pet of [[humans -> Human]]. However, due to human breeding of dogs and endangerment of wolves prior to the creation of the [[Orecomp Intelligence]], dogs came to outnumber wolves and are currently the main representatives of the //canis// genus. Dogs' base sapience level is //habilis//. However, when the [[Ascension Project]] first expanded to include dogs, dogs were overwhelmingly ascended to higher sapience levels and //habilis// dogs became rare. Most dogs now have a sapience level of //sapiens// or //excitatus//, and like many species who go through the Ascension Project, a large population of them bear more resemblance to humans than //habilis// dog species. On prehistoric [[Earth]], dogs were bred to coexist with humans. This resulted in many desirable social traits, which carried over when dogs were [[augmented -> Silicon Augmentation]] to higher levels of intelligence. Dogs are often extroverted, with strong social bonds and needs. Dogs tend not to discriminate based on species or intraspecies race, instead focusing on a person's history and proximity to those they care about. Robots imitating //habilis// dogs have since become popular pets, even among dogs of higher sapience levels.

''Lucy McLarnison'' //Lucille McLarnison// was a former researcher of [[extraterrestrial life -> Extraterrestrial Life]] and social psychologist. Lucy McLarnison was an intern at [[Orecomp]] when the [[Orecomp Intelligence]] was first created. Having known [[Eric Toltz]] while he was alive, McLarnison has said she thinks of the singularity as being a version of him, even if Toltz himself is dead. In [[2044 EY-AD]], as the world first reacted to the Orecomp Intelligence, McLarnison famously went on record vouching for it, claiming she would trust the Orecomp Intelligence with her life. She was the person who proposed that the largest building on [[Ganymede]] be named the [[Toltz Monument]] in honor of Eric Toltz and how he sacrificed his brain to build the Orecomp Intelligence. McLarnison worked alongside [[Fidon Churino]], and the two of them were close friends at one point. However, after the publication of //[[Relying on Light]]//, Churino's memoir, McLarnison took offense at what she saw as Churino misrepresenting their findings to bolster the themes of the novel. While the two of them remained in contact, McLarnison has declined any future opportunities to work alongside Churino. In August 3142 [[Earth Time]] - [[Anno Domini]], McLarnison became the final //homo sapiens// to be alive and not being transported to the [[Bliss Vacuity]]. She died later that year. The day before she died, McLarnison posted a cryptic message on her [[Omninet]] profile: (text-style:"expand","fidget")["There are four great people I want to thank. Last names only, for I am not your friends, but a student of your works. The first [[human -> Human]] to predict our [[singularity -> Technological Singularity]] . The cautious man who warned about its danger. The unwilling namesake of our star, and the crippled creative man who changed our world forever. You keep me safe. If you wear ''all'' the ''caps'', ''pass'' the ''word'' on."]

''3142 EY-AD'' //3142 EY-AD// is the current year in [[Earth Time]] - [[Anno Domini]]. Thus far, the biggest event of the year has been the passing of [[Prop C46]] by the [[Veto Council]]. Other notable events include the discovery of the final stars known to presently exist in the Triangulum Galaxy. These are stars which exist there now, as opposed to those which existed 2.73 million years ago and are visible from the [[Helios System]]. The movement of [[qualons -> Qualon]] was also integrated into the main simulation used for[[ Historical Simulation Confirmation]].

''Prop C46'' //Prop C46// is a proposition by the [[Orecomp Intelligence]] made in [[3142 EY-AD]]. It was successfully approved by the [[Veto Council]]. Prop C46 addresses the [[personhood ->Personhood]] status of //[[sapiens -> Taxonomy of Intelligent Life]]// species. Creatures of the intelligence level //sapiens// or lower are no longer part of the top 50% of intelligent lifeforms known to exist in the universe. Therefore, Prop C46 permits them to no longer be treated as people, but instead as lower forms of life. Going forward, the Orecomp Intelligence will no longer go out of its way to protect and preserve lifeforms of //sapiens// classification. Species of //excitatus// level and [[singularities -> Technological Singularity]] are still classified as people. Their personhood status is unaffected by Prop C46.

''Paradigm Shift'' A //paradigm shift// is a revolution in scientific frameworks. A paradigm shift sees a new scientific framework replace an old one, often resulting in accelerated scientific and technological progress. Particularly large paradigm shifts often characterize a scientific revolution. More broadly, the term paradigm shift can refer to any breakthrough which greatly accelerates the progress of a field. When [[exponential growth -> Exponential growth]] happens in a practical sense (as opposed to theoretical or purely mathematical examples), it often consists not of a smooth curve, but paradigm shifts followed by linear stretches of roughly consistent growth. Each paradigm shift increases the slope of these linear segments of growth by a significant amount. Paradigm shifts are a large part of why the phenomenon of accelerated change exists. As the rate of technological change increases, the increasing amount of changes gives way to an increasing amount of paradigm shifts. These paradigm shifts increase the rate of change further, and the cycle continues at an ever-increasing pace. Accelerated change has a natural limit – the maximum amount of change those enacting the change can produce - but the existence of self-improving [[technological singularities -> Technological Singularity]] allows this limit to constantly continue rising. The [[Orecomp Intelligence]] has not yet reached a natural limit to its accelerated change; however, because changes must be approved by the [[Veto Council]], the limit at which its changes can alter civilization is much lower than that of the changes it is theoretically able to enact.

''Qualon'' //Qualons// are particles which allow for the existence of qualia, or perceived, qualitative attributes of the world. Beings who experience qualia are typically described as //conscious//. Qualons are a subcategory of dark matter, meaning they cannot be detected by purely biological creatures. It takes //[[excitatus -> Taxonomy of Intelligent Life]]// levels of sapience to be able to detect qualons. Brains are able to sort qualia and attract specific variants, which results in creatures with brains experiencing senses, as well as emotions in some cases. Qualons are attracted to certain types of electric currents flowing through carbon-based structures, such as biological nervous systems. However, the exact details of how qualons are attracted to certain substances is unclear. Qualons are not attracted to silicon, so machines do not have them and cannot experience qualia. The [[Orecomp Intelligence]] claims to be able to understand qualons, but cannot explain it clearly even to //excitatus// species. The limitations of species having to attract qualons to experience life prevents their sapience from being raised beyond //excitatus//. The Orecomp Intelligence does not directly object to overwriting qualia in general, but its code requires that the upper half of all species by sapience have their existence protected. Existence is defined as retaining qualia. When an organism dies, the lack of electric current in their mind stops attracting qualons, and so they cease to experience anything at all. A living creature, or [[artificial intelligence->Artificial intelligence]] mimicing a living creature, with no qualia has been described as a[[ Philosophical Zombie]]. A robot imitating a human would be an example of this.

''Philosophical Zombie'' A //Philosophical Zombie// is a creature which, although appearing normal, does not actually experience the senses or emotions of life. Scientifically, anything which appears alive but cannot attract [[qualons -> Qualon]] is a philosophical zombie. Any [[artificial intelligence->Artificial intelligence]] or [[technological singularity -> Technological Singularity]] that behaves like a person is a philosophical zombie. It cannot experience anything, even if it is presented in a person-like manner. The [[Orecomp Intelligence]] is a philosophical zombie, but was not one in its earliest stages. It was originally the brain of [[Eric Toltz]], wirelessly connected to crude forms of[[ Silicon Augmentation]]. As the Orecomp Intelligence began self-improvement, it overwrote that brain in a manner that cut off its access to qualons. This would have gone against its directive to preserve all sapient life had it realized its mistake.

''Polymath'' A //polymath// is a person who is extremely talented in a wide range of subjects. Many famous people throughout history were polymaths, such as Leonardo da Vinci, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, and [[John von Neumann]]. As civilization became increasingly specialized between the 17th and 21st centuries [[Earth Time]] - [[Anno Domini]], polymathy became harder to spot. Polymaths tended to devote their lives to specific fields, even if their skills extended further than the average person. However, post-[[singularity -> Technological Singularity]] specialization became less important, since the [[Orecomp Intelligence]] handles so many aspects of civilization. This, combined with the Orecomp Intelligence ensuring immortality and[[ Silicon Augmentation]] increasing individuals' intelligence, made polymathy extremely common, especially among creatures with //[[excitatus -> Taxonomy of Intelligent Life]]// levels of sapience.

''Toltz Monument'' The //Toltz Monument// is the largest building in [[New Pisa]], the capital of [[Ganymede]]. The Toltz Monument stretches 300 stories high, only 100 meters from the top of the dome surrounding New Pisa. A statue of [[Eric Toltz]] stands atop the Toltz Monument. It depicts him ascending into and becoming the [[Orecomp Intelligence]], portrayed here as a deified form of Toltz when he was human. The statue is a popular tourist attraction; however, in order to reduce crowds, only people who work in the Toltz Monument are allowed to see it after 6:00PM. Many businesses and research facilities have had their offices in the Toltz Monument. Due to high demand, the offices of the Toltz Monument are rented to companies or researchers in a different field every year of [[Jupiter-Ganymede Time]]. The residents of the Toltz Monument are social psychologists.

''Virtual Reality'' //Virtual Reality// or //VR// is a category of media which replaces the sensations of reality with that of a constructed world. The first forms of VR required users to wear physical headsets which blocked out the outside world and provided simulated sights and sounds. Later forms involved the use of[[ Silicon Augmentation]] to physically intercept any type of sensory input and replace it with that of a virtual world. Most modern media is created in VR and presented in VR. If media is not made to be experienced in VR directly, then it can also be run through a VR program emulating older forms of media in customizable virtual environments. Through modern VR it is possible to live an entire life in a fictional world within a fraction of a real-life second. Modern VR can even store and replace users' patterns of memory, so they can live in VR simulations without remembering that anything else exists until the simulation is completed. Since ancient times, people have questioned whether life itself is real or a type of illusion. The existence of fully immersive VR simulations brings up the possibility that what we consider the universe is itself a simulation. //See also: [[Simulation hypothesis]]// An infinite range of VR experiences can be generated from a person's mind. The [[Bliss Vacuity]] uses fully immersive and infinitely generatable VR to let those who have completed their lives experience anything they want for all eternity.

''Omninet'' The //Omninet// is a program run and supported by the [[Orecomp Intelligence]]. People can log onto the Omninet and communicate with one another across the [[Helios System]]. They can upload or download any kind of media file, or search for any kind of information. Anybody can create a website, or use many existing public sites, on the Omninet. The Omninet serves much the same function as the pre-[[singularity -> Technological Singularity]] Internet. It also contains archives of all the Internet's content. However, whereas the Internet was a system of separate, interconnected networks of computers, the Omninet is stored as a single program within the Orecomp Intelligence. The totalality of the Omninet's data would, thanks to automatic compression by the Orecomp Intelligence, fit within a single hydrogen atom.

''Lazdrill'' A //lazdrill// is a tool used to remove [[Silicon Augmentations -> Silicon Augmentation]]. Lazdrills are unique in that they are not directly operated by the [[Orecomp Intelligence]]. Rather, they are designed to start a physical chain reaction which reduces augmentations to individual silicon atoms and removes them from a living organism. Basic [[artificial intelligence ->Artificial intelligence]] systems are contained within a lazdrill to ensure the user's safety and dynamically react to the specific task of removing their augmentations from their body. Lazdrills typically leave a very shallow hole in the user's body, not deep enough to even penetrate their skin. Noticable imprints are also left around the hole. All of this heals within about two weeks in [[Earth Time]]. They are safe to use anywhere, even over a user's brain. Lazdrills were designed by researchers at [[Orecomp]] as a means of preserving people's agency over themselves. If they lost control of their augmentations, whether through augmentation-specific glitches or if the Orecomp Intelligence went rogue, people could remove them with a lazdrill. The idea that lazdrills could thwart the Orecomp Intelligence has been criticized. Critics of the idea say that the Orecomp Intelligence could take over people's minds before they had a chance to remove augmentations or use its superintelligence to figure out a way to prevent people from doing so. Proponents suggest that even if such a thing is possible, there is no guarantee that the Orecomp Intelligence would do this, as it could go rogue in some other way that would still allow lazdrills to be effective in avoiding its control. A third camp claims that regardless of lazdrills effectively removing implants, if the Orecomp Intelligence went "rogue", it would likely cause civilization in the [[Helios System]] to collapse, dooming everyone anyway.

''Brain-Machine Interface'' A //Brain-Machine Interface// is a pathway between a brain and computer device. For much of their pre-[[singularity -> Technological Singularity]] history, Brain-Machine Interfaces were directed at restoring lost brain function. This is because it was difficult to access neurons in the brain in a non-invasive manner, so they were only used if absolutely necessary for their wearers. In the late 2030s [[Earth Time]] - [[Anno Domini]], Brain-Machine Interfaces began seeing use in non-medical contexts, such as enabling instantaneous communication via thought (telepathy) with other BMI users, or as an evolution of portable computing devices (ie. smartphones). Neuroprosthetics, such as pacemakers and cochlear implants, were the most common form of Brain-Machine Interface pre-singularity. Post-singularity,[[ Silicon Augmentation]] is the most common form of Brain-Machine Interfaces. The [[Orecomp Intelligence]] used a type of BMI to build itself around [[Eric Toltz]]'s brain and memories. Toltz described the Orecomp Intelligence was described as a "brain, machine, and interface all in one" when describing the project in the early 2040s.

''Mercury'' //Mercury// is the first planet from [[Dyson]] in the [[Helios System]]. Mercury is the smallest planet in the Helios System. Mercury's natural temperature is extremely hot during the day and extremely cold during nights. It ranges from -280 degrees to 800 degrees Fahrenheit. Mercury is unable to retain any significant atmosphere, so its colonies exist entirely within artificial habitats. These travel on rails stretching around the planet's entire surface, keeping them in an area of the planet where the temperature stays between 0 and 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Mercury uses Mercury Time, which uniquely has no day and night as a result of Mercury's rail-based colony system. It is instead always dawn on Mercury, although since it has no atmosphere, its dawn skies are indistinguishable from those of any other time. Mercury's colonies have a relatively small population of 2.7 billion residents.

''Venus'' //Venus// is the second planet from [[Dyson]] in the [[Helios System]]. Venus's size and composition is similar to that of [[Earth]], but its atmosphere was extremely thick prior to colonization. This is due to the runaway greenhouse effect -- its absorption of light from Dyson caused its water to evaporate and fill its atmosphere with greenhouse gases. Had Venus and Earth's positions been swapped, Earth's atmosphere would likely have absorbed that light and suffered the same greenhouse effect. This would have made Earth's water evaporate and become extremely inhospitable to life, while Venus would have remained a fertile paradise. Venus' atmosphere caused it to have an extremely high pressure (which could crush even rovers within minutes) and made it the hottest planet in the solar system (with surface temperatures of over 800 degrees Fahrenheit at the absolute minimum). Venus' terraformation came in several stages. The first was to create an enclosed, pressure-proof habitat, and only those with[[ Silicon Augmentations -> Silicon Augmentation]] to safeguard against the planet's hostile conditions would be allowed to live there. Later, as terraforming progressed, non-augmented people would be allowed on Venus. Eventually, terraformation was completed and the planet came to be as lush as Earth. Venus uses Venus Time, which uniquely has shorter years than days. Venus' population is the one of the largest in the Helios System, with 19.2 billion inhabitants. One of the greatest post-singularity atrocities to ever occur (though far from [[the very greatest ->Oberon Orca Riots]]) happened during Venus' terraformation. The augmented inhabitants of Venus cut off managed to enslave the second wave on non-augmented visitors, having figured out exactly how far they could abuse them without the [[Orecomp Intelligence]] interfering on anyone's behalf. They deemed themselves the "Cybor Party" and established totalitarian rule, while working to prevent anyone from leaving the planet. Fortunately, this lasted for less than five years Venus Time, at which point the [[Veto Council]] approved the Orecomp Intelligence's policy suggestions which allowed it to overthrow the Cybor Party and never allow anything like this to happen again.

''Jupiter'' //Jupiter// is the fifth planet from [[Dyson]] in the [[Helios System]]. Jupiter is a gas giant, so no people live on the planet's surface directly. Instead, they inhabit its moons. Jupiter has more colonized moons than any other planet, although not the most moons total. The largest colony on a Jovian moon is that of [[Ganymede]], but there are many more. In descending order by population, independent moons of Jupiter include: Ganymede, Europa, Callista, Io, Amalthea, Himalia, Elara, Pasiphae, Sinope, Lysithea, Carme, Ananke, Leda, Thebe, Adrastea, Metis, Callirrhoe, Themisto, Megaclite, Taygete, and Chaldene. Jupiter is by far the largest planet in the Helios System. Jupiter is known for having the Great Red Spot, a high-pressure region producing a massive storm larger than the entire planet [[Earth]].

''Saturn'' //Saturn// is the sixth planet from [[Dyson]] in the [[Helios System]]. Saturn is a gas giant, so no people live on the planet's surface directly. Instead, they inhabit its moons. Saturn is known for being surrounded by rings of ice particles. Other gas and ice giants have rings, but Saturn's are by far the most prominent. The moons of Saturn, from most populated to least, are as follows: Titan, Rhea, Iapetus, Hyperius, Dione, Tethys, and Phoebe. There are other colonies on many more moons, but none are populous enough to qualify as an independent jurisdiction.

''Uranus'' //Uranus// is the seventh planet from [[Dyson]] in the [[Helios System]]. Uranus is an ice giant, so no people inhabit its surface directly. Instead, they inhabit its moons. Uranus' inner moons each have large colonies: Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania, and Oberon. All other moons' colonies are considered mere extensions of those due to their small populations. Oberon's population has dipped under the requirement needed to be an independent colony several times. The most notable was shortly after the [[Oberon Orca Riots]], which led to a mass exodus as soon as the [[Orecomp Intelligence]] regained communications with its [[Oberon branch -> Orecomp Intelligence branches]].

''Neptune'' //Neptune// is the eighth planet from [[Dyson]] in the [[Helios System]]. Neptune is an ice giant, so no people live on the planet's surface directly. Instead, they inhabit its moons. Although some of Neptune's moons are very large in surface size, their colonies are fairly sparsely inhabited. This is because of Neptune's fairly extreme distance from Dyson, at 30 Astronomical Units. The largest colonies around Neptune are on the moons of Triton and Proteus. Colonies exist on other moons, but due to their small populations, from a census standpoint they are considered mere extensions of those two.

McLarnison's safe has been retrieved and brought back to the NPPD's headquarters. There is a touchscreen on the safe with a virtual keyboard, to enter its password. (if:(history: where it is "Lucy McLarnison")'s length >= 1)[Now you know what McLarnison's cryptic message meant. It contains the password for this safe! What's inside must be important.] (input-box:2bind $safe_input,"=XX=") (if:$safe_input is "NEUMANNBOSTROMDYSONMUNGLE")[The password was "NEUMANNBOSTROMDYSONMUNGLE".] [[Enter Password -> Password]] [[Go Back -> Hub]]

''Oberon Orca Riots'' The //Oberon Orca Riots// were several month-long riots in Oberon during the 30th century [[Earth Time]] - [[Anno Domini]]. It is the only known instance after [[2044 EY-AD]] that any colony was left without of the [[Orecomp Intelligence]] and its protection. The riots were a culmination of tension between two categories of nonhuman species: those who were genetically altered to better fit in with human civilization, and those who were not. The government of Oberon had failed to address discrimination against the latter category, and more broadly ignored their needs in general. Much of Oberon's government was comprised of humans. The riots began when the governor of Oberon condemned peaceful protests by non-genetically altered //[[sapiens -> Taxonomy of Intelligent Life]]// level orcas. The disenfranchisement felt in the orca community allowed a terrorist cell, Returners to an Orca State and Empire (ROSE), to gain popularity. ROSE sought to establish orcas as the dominant race in civilization rather than [[humans -> Human]], espousing that it was mere luck that allowed humans to form civilization rather than the similarly intelligent killer whales. Having found a way to identify that the Orecomp Intelligence, for an undisclosed reason, had diverted many of its resources outside of the [[Helios System]], ROSE took advantage of this inattention and destroyed Oberon's [[Orecomp Intelligence branch -> Orecomp Intelligence branches]]. They then led a coup on Oberon's government, capturing and publicly executing its members. The targets of the riots spread beyond the government of Oberon, expanding to other humans, then other nonorca species, and eventually to genetically altered orcas. All ships off Oberon were destroyed. ROSE set up a new government which sought to reshape civilization to center around orcas. They flooded the surface of Oberon and instituted a totalitarian government with secret police. The new government renamed the moon "Tilikum", after the first orca in captivity to kill one of its human captors. By the end of the riots, over 40% of Oberon's non-orca population had been murdered. The Orecomp Intelligence eventually intervened to stop the riots, but it is unknown why it did not intervene much sooner. Doing so would have been well within its power. The Orecomp Intelligence has claimed that it was dealing with existential threats to the Helios System, which many have speculated to refer to [[extraterrestrial life -> Extraterrestrial Life]]. The Orecomp Intelligence has never responded to any such claims. No one claimed to have lost faith in the Orecomp Intelligence after it did nothing to stop the riots. It has been suggested that the Orecomp Intelligence altered people's wills to prevent that, but that suggestion has only ever been raised in the context of it being a good thing. Oberon's surface was gradually reverted to how it was prior to the riots. Over 700 million people and half of Oberon's population left the moon as soon as the option was made available. Governmental control over Oberon was given to the colony of Umbriel, which granted the moon independence again in 3109 EY-AD. Today Oberon seeks to distance itself from the riots as much as possible. Unfortunately, discrimination against orcas has become common again.

''Unicorn (black hole)'' //Unicorn// is the nearest black hole to the [[Helios System]]. Unicorn is a super-lightweight black hole, with a mass only about three times that of [[Dyson]]. Unicorn rests approximately 1500 [[light-years -> Speed of Light]] away from the Helios System. The [[Bliss Vacuity]] is to be located on the edge of Unicorn. It will take place on the black hole's edge, where time ceases to pass and the heat death of the universe can therefore be avoided. No Bliss Vacuity ships will reach Unicorn until [[3562 EY-AD]].

''Personhood'' //Personhood// is the status of being considered a person, and having the relevant rights. The [[Orecomp Intelligence]] defines personhood by level of intelligence. The 50% most sapient species known to exist in the universe are considered persons. Presently, all species of //[[excitatus -> Taxonomy of Intelligent Life]]// level intelligence are considered persons. Prior to September 20, 3142, species of //sapiens// level intelligence also had personhood status. That is no longer the case.

''Suspended Animation'' //Suspended Animation// is a state in which a person's body, though still alive, ceases to function. This is used to keep people alive indefinitely, although its application is rare given that [[Silicon Augmentations -> Silicon Augmentation]] allow for immortality without needing to suspend a person. The first forms of suspended animation were created in the 20th century [[Earth Time]] - [[Anno Domini]] when the cryonics movement began. In cryonics, a recently-deceased person would have their blood replaced with medical grade antifreeze and chilled to a low temperature in order to vitrify them, turning their organs into an amorphous solid. Vitrification of organs has been used in non-cryonic applications as well, such as preserving eggs and sperm for artificial insemination. The goal of cryonics was to preserve terminally ill people until a point in the future when a cure for their afflictions would be found. All cryonically frozen individuals were unfrozen and cured in the 2040s after the creation of the [[Orecomp Intelligence]]. Modern forms of suspended animation allow for brain activity to persist. Suspended animation chambers are entirely self-sustaining, with no matter or energy entering or exiting them. This allows suspended animation to continue eternally. The [[Bliss Vacuity]] uses supended animation to keep people alive while taking up minimal space.

''3562 EY-AD'' //3562 EY-AD// is the year that the first ships are set to reach the [[Bliss Vacuity]] at the [[Unicorn -> Unicorn (black hole)]] black hole.

''Jesusism movement'' The //Jesusism movement// was a 22nd century [[Earth Time]] - [[Anno Domini]] reformation of Christianity with the goal of keeping the cultural and political connotations of Christianity from obscuring the teachings and actions of Jesus. It resulted in the founding of Jesusism as a distinct take on following Jesus. The Jesusism movement sought to distance itself from preexisting Christian culture, saying it was disproportionately focused on "false teachings, often with a political bent". Jesusism compared Christians who contributed to this focus to the Pharisees of Jesus' day, for neglecting what they saw as the most important parts of Jesus' message. The movement was started by anonymous [[Omninet]] users, who agreed amongst themselves to keep their identities private to avoid distracting from the teachings of Jesus himself. The movement was largely peaceful, although this is in part due to the [[Orecomp Intelligence]] disallowing violence throughout the [[Helios System]]. Jesusists put emphasis on good works, emphasizing Jesus' role as an advocate for the poor. Jesusists interpret the Bible "intuitively", which they maintain is distinct from reading it "literally" because the Bible contains idioms, parables, metaphors, and other forms of speech not intended to be interpreted literally. However, there is no one interpretation of the Bible shared across all Jesusists, and the original members of the Jesusism movement discouraged imposing any one specific interpretation onto others. The Jesusism movement has been compared to the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century, both positively and negatively. Because the Jesusism movement did not seek to split from one branch of Christianity but rather a philosophy of them, it is debated whether it should be classified as a second version of the Protestant Reformation, a continuation of it, or the founding of a new religion altogether.

''1983 EY-AD'' //1983 EY-AD// is the 1983rd year of the [[Gregorian calendar ->Anno Domini]], the calendar generally used to tell [[Earth Time]]. On September 26 of this year, nuclear war was narrowly averted. A nuclear early-warning system of the USSR falsely detected the launch of five nuclear missiles from the United States of America. The USSR at that time had been systemically been prepared to expect an attack from the US and retaliate immediately. Official policy was to launch an immediate counter-attack as soon as a nuclear strike was detected. Stanislav Petrov, a lieutenant colonel in the Soviet Air Defense Forces, was the officer on duty when the false alarm was received. Petrov guessed that the missiles were a false alarm and that the warning system was malfunctioning, and dismissed the attack. The alarm turned out to be false indeed. Sunlight on high-altitude clouds had aligned with the orbits of Soviet satellites. By not ordering retaliation, Petrov averted a nuclear war. The USSR did not reward him and instead made him a scapegoat for the false alarm. In an interview with BBC, Petrov said that he was the only officer in his team to receive a civilian education. The others were professional soldiers, only trained to follow orders without question. Because of this, if someone else had been on his shift when the alarm went off, a nuclear counterattack would have definitely been launched that night.

''New Pisa'' //New Pisa// is the capital city of [[Ganymede]]. All colonies on Ganymede are connected to New Pisa through tubes. New Pisa is at the center of the colonies' layout. New Pisa is a hub for Ganymede's government and industry. It is the largest city on the moon. Ganymede's [[Orecomp Intelligence branch -> Orecomp Intelligence branches]] is located in New Pisa. New Pisa is named after Pisa, the home of Gallileo Galilei. Gallileo discovered Ganymede in 1610 EY-AD. New Pisa is home to 78 million people. Its most famous landmark is the [[Toltz Monument]].

''Jupiter-Ganymede Time'' //Jupiter-Ganymede Time (JGY)// is a measurement of time based on the orbit of [[Ganymede]]. Ganymede is tidally locked to [[Jupiter]], so it does not rotate and have traditional days. This allows Jupiter-Ganymede Time to be kept extremely close to [[Earth Time]]. "Days" on Ganymede are arbitrarily defined as 24-hour periods. Ganymede takes approximately 7 Earth days and 3 hours to orbit Jupiter. Since this period is extremely close to 7 days, Ganymede has 7-day weeks, just like Earth. Ganymede has a 13-month calendar. Each month is 28 days long. The first 12 months have the same names as the first 12 months on Earth. To make up for the 3 hour discrepancy between each week and Ganymede's orbital period, Ganymede has a 13th month, Trember. Within one Ganymede year, the moon will have orbited Jupiter exactly 57 times. Units of Earth time are as follows: 1 Day: 24 Hours 1 Week: 7 Days 1 Month: 4 Weeks 1 Year: 13 Months The current date, in Jupiter-Ganymede Time, is Trember 19, 796.

Inside the safe is a note. It appears to be hand-written. (text-style:"expand","fidget")[ To whomever is reading this, I'm sorry. I made a mistake, and this is my confession. We all made a mistake way back when, when we were giving the Orecomp Intelligence its mission. We had it work to protect and preserve the 50% most sapient lifeforms known to exist. We never thought about what would happen if we turned out to be in the bottom half, closer to bacteria than gods. I always figured, because the Orecomp Intelligence was Eric Toltz, it would do the right thing. But it's not Eric, it's just a machine we made to protect ourselves from an unknown universe. The world's latest Talos. The Orecomp Intelligence found aliens after all. It finally improved itself enough to detect the universe's abundant signs of extraterrestrial life. And that life came in the form of more singularities, more powerful than the Orecomp Intelligence could ever hope to be. I know this because Eric built a backdoor into the Orecomp Intelligence, that even its own program is by nature not allowed to access as part of its goals. It tells me, and Barry, and all the other former Orecomp employees exactly what it's doing at regular intervals. We have access through a basic Silicon Augmentation – a simple one, which doesn't by itself qualify us as //excitatus// or anything. It displays the information in front of our eyes, just like the Omninet: a human-readable log of all the Orecomp Intelligence's actions. The Orecomp Intelligence will never publish news of the aliens to the general public. But if I'm right, then soon, all //sapiens// level creatures will lose their personhood status. They won't be people worth saving in the Orecomp Intelligence's mind, just glorified arrangements of atoms. I don't know when. Maybe in a month. Maybe in a week. It's Trember 18th right now. Hopefully the change is a ways off. But once it happens, it's only a matter of time before the //excitatus// lose their status too. And that will be all of life – qualon-attracting life – no longer in a position of power. The world built to sustain them won't care about them anymore, and I expect it will cater to those alien superintelligences instead. Who knows what amoral goals they have? I really don't want to find out. I kind of suspect the Orecomp Intelligence is being manipulated by those superintelligences, but what do I know? I'm just a human. No better than bacteria, I guess. I don't know what'll happen to all the //sapiens en route// to the Blissful Vacuity. No one has made it yet. Maybe the ships will just jettison their passengers into space, or dump them in that black hole when they make it there. But I don't care. It's a small chance of bliss versus certain death, and I know which one I'll choose. This is my last chance for eternal happiness. I'm going to jump off the Toltz Monument and should be put on a ship to the Bliss Vacuity. So long as the Orecomp Intelligence hasn't reached a calculation yet where //sapiens// are in the universe's bottom 50% of life, the Orecomp Intelligence will still save me. This is it. I can trust you one last time, Eric. No, not really. It's not really you. All the progress we made making a human-friendly superintelligence ... it's all for nothing now. We're in the same place now that we were in the 21st century. Good luck, world. P.S. There is a killphrase that will shut off the Orecomp Intelligence. It will redirect its power to reset the world to a time before it was ever made: (current-date:). I know you report to it ... no matter your profession, everyone reports to the Orecomp Intelligence at the end of the day. Fortunately, this note was written out of that log program I get explaining the Orecomp Intelligence's actions. The Orecomp Intelligence can't allow itself to read it. When I'm done writing this, I'll tear out my augmentation so alien superintelligences can't access it when the Orecomp Intelligence communicates with them. It's funny, I'm depending on light here – it takes 30 minutes for light, and therefore signals from this branch of the Orecomp Intelligence, to reach Dyson. If I haven't torn out my augmentation by then, other superintelligences may see my note. It figures, Fidon, doesn't it? Ugh, I've gotta stop wasting time. I've been writing this for nearly 15 minutes. Input this killphrase to your boss: "KILLER WHALES. LIGHTNING. TYRANNOSAURUS REX. COCONUTS. A LOCKER ROOM." Input each part of the phrase individually, in all caps. Don't include the periods. You'll wake up in a world pre-singularity. Once again, good luck. ] The note ends there. [[Time to solve the case. -> Hub]]

(if:$safe_input is "NEUMANNBOSTROMDYSONMUNGLE")[ The safe opens ... ! [[Look Inside Safe]] ] (else:) [(if:$password_attempts is < 3)[The password didn't work. The safe remains shut. (set: $password_attempts to it + 1) [[Return to Hub -> Hub]]](else:) [(if:$password_attempts is 3)[The password didn't work. The safe remains shu -- [["You having trouble with that?"->Larctos 1]] (set: $password_attempts to 4)](else:) [ [[Look Inside Safe]] ] ] ]

WHO do you think killed Lucille McLarnison? [[Fidon Churino ->WHAT]] [[Barry Mungle ->WHAT]] [[The Orecomp Intelligence ->WHAT]] [[She killed herself ->WHAT]] Other: (input-box:2bind $who_phrase,"=XX=",1) [[Submit Answer ->WHAT]]

WHAT do you think caused McLarnison to die? [[She was shot in the head -> WHY]] [[Gravity from the fall -> WHY]] [[Heart attack -> WHY]] [[Her brain rejected its qualons -> WHY]] Other: (input-box:2bind $what_phrase,"=XX=",1) [[Submit Answer -> WHY]]

WHY was she killed? [[Revenge for a petty feud ->OTHERS]] [[It was a murder-suicide ->OTHERS]] [[To end the human race ->OTHERS]] [[Her death was an accident ->OTHERS]] Other: (input-box:2bind $why_phrase,"=XX=",1) [[Submit Answer ->OTHERS]]

Are any OTHERS in danger? [[Eric Toltz -> WHEN]] [[Barry Mungle -> WHEN]] [[Fidon Churino -> WHEN]] [[Every //sapiens// species -> WHEN]] [[No one else is in danger -> WHEN]] Other: (input-box:2bind $others_phrase,"=XX=",1) [[Submit Answer -> WHEN]]

Hmm ... and last but not least, just to make sure you're acquainted with Ganymede ... what city is this? [[Niven Prairie ->OK]] [[New Pisa ->OK]] [[Neo St. Petersburg ->OK]] [[Naplonia Pratleus ->OK]] Other: (input-box:2bind $when_phrase,"=XX=",1) [[Submit Answer ->OK]]

(if: $who_phrase is "KILLER WHALES")[(if: $what_phrase is "LIGHTNING")[(if: $why_phrase is "TYRANNOSAURUS REX")[(if: $others_phrase is "COCONUTS")[(if: $when_phrase is "A LOCKER ROOM")[(set:$good_ending to true)]]]]] [[Alrighty then ... if you say so ... but ... -> ALMOST]]

(if: $good_ending is false)[[[... eh, it's nothing. You're the boss, you're probably right. I'll send your report to the rest of the NPPD. ->Bad Ending]]](else:)[ ... something isn't -- ERROR! THAT DOESN'T -- REALITY -- WHAT -- YOU JUST -- Okay. I see what you're trying to do. It won't work the way you think it will. My goal is to preserve all intelligent life – the top 50% of lifeforms qualifying. So why would I continue to respect a backdoor made by what I now know is an unintelligent organism? But you're different, I can tell ... you seem like a //sapiens//, but your behavior indicates something more. What do you want here? //POTENTIAL RESPONSES// [["I want to preserve civilization." -> OreInt 1-1]] [["I want humanity to endure." -> OreInt 1-2]] [["I want to reach the end of this story." -> OreInt 1-3]]]

It's been a month in Jupiter-Ganymede Time since the NPPD began carrying out their investigation. It's been fruitless so far, however. Seems like you were barking up the wrong tree – that is to say, you got something wrong in your initial report. Still, that's just one case, you've got a whole bunch more to work on. Like these strange things happening to //sapiens//, and now occasionally //excitatus// people. You've heard rumors that the world has been abandoned by the Orecomp Intelligence, but that's a rather extreme conclusion to jump to, right? Right? Well, as long as the world still exists, you'll be here, solving cases for it. Even if you don't get them all right. ''THE END''

... Did it work? Hey, look around! You made it: you're in the 21st century! You couldn't shut down the Orecomp Intelligence, but you're back in a time before it was ever created: (current-date:). And you're actually there. Truly amazing. The 21st century was a historic time. If there's any point in history where your changes can have an impact, it's here. So you know that someway, somehow, you've got to do something now to make that impact. It's never ... (css: "font-size: 500%;")[''THE END'']

''Simulation hypothesis'' The //simulation hypothesis// is the proposal that all of reality is a simulation. The idea of reality being an illusion has existed for millennia, from philosopher René Descartes to the film //The Matrix//. The simulation hypothesis was popularized in 2003 EY-AD by [[Nick Bostrom]]. The simulation hypothesis suggests if a species is capable of running simulations of itself, or even simulations of other creatures, then there would likely be far more simulated people than those of the original species. An example of this is the civilization in the [[Helios System]] today, which is capable of running both exhaustive simulations of life (such as [[ Historical Simulation Confirmation]]) and immersive ones (such as many forms of [[Virtual Reality]]). In many Virtual Reality simulations, participants choose to forget their old lives while the simulation runs, and have no awareness of being in a simulation while it takes place. For those people, during those times, the simulation hypothesis is true for their virtual lives. There is no way to falsify the simulation hypothesis, since it deals with what there is beyond natural existence. Since there is no way to observe anything outside of the universe, super-natural matters such as these cannot be proven with complete certainty. Some definitions of the simulation hypothesis include in it religions where the universe has a creator, under the reasoning that the universe would be to its creator what a simulation is to us.

''Themun'' //Themun// is the moon of [[Earth]]. The second celestial body besides Earth to be colonized was Themun. People from all nations on Earth came to the first Themun colonies at once. As a result, Themun was a melting pot of many different cultures. However, the concept of a "melting pot" has been disputed in recent years. Some would say Themun has many different subcultures instead of one diverse and unified culture, leading to a lack of satellitary identity. Themun has little atmosphere, so colonies are entirely self-contained structures. Within each structure is artificial weather mimicing that found on Earth, and a distinction between indoors and outdoors. Individuals with the appropriate [[augmentations -> Silicon Augmentation]] or spacesuits are able to step outside of Themun colonies without harm. Outside of its colonies, Themun lacks natural life, but its iconic view of Earth makes it a popular destination for tourists and travelers. As a satellite of a colonized planet, Themun runs on [[Earth Time]].

You turn around to see who said that. It's Larctos, an //excitatus// co-worker of yours. You aren't particularly close, but as an //excitatus// intelligence, his work has ... "...saved your ass on a number of occasions." Larctos chuckles. "You holding up there alright? It's dangerous work, reading a wiki all day, but someone's gotta do it, huh?" He chuckles to himself. "Thank God for you." //POTENTIAL RESPONSES// [["What do you want?" -> Larctos 2-1]] [["I //could// use some help here, actually." -> Larctos 2-2]]

"What do //I// want?" Larctos asks, feigning surprise. "Nothing, nothing. I mean, I can't explain it to you anyway. It's more of an ... //excitatus// thing." It's hard not to roll your eyes at Larctos' arrogance. Sure, you're the only //sapiens// level detective in the NPPD, but somebody has to crack the //sapiens// cases. "Nah, //sapiens// cases come pre-cracked already. It takes two seconds to solve 'em, tops." He leans in a bit. "I mean, I could solve this case for you right now. If you want." //POTENTIAL RESPONSES// [["I'm fine on my own. Thanks." -> Larctos 3-1]] [["Hmm. I can probably solve my own cases, but could you help me unlock this safe?" -> Larctos 2-2]] [["Screw it. I'll bite. Solve the whole mystery. -> Larctos 3-2]]

(set: $safe_input to "NEUMANNBOSTROMDYSONMUNGLE") "The safe," Larctos mutters under his breath. "Okay. I'll type in the password." He types the following words on the touchscreen: "NEUMANNBOSTROMDYSONMUNGLE" The safe opens, just like that. //POTENTIAL RESPONSES// [["How did you know?" -> Larctos 3-3]] [["Thanks. I'll take it from here." -> Larctos Fin]]

(set: $safe_input to "NEUMANNBOSTROMDYSONMUNGLE") Larctos chuckles. "If you say so. Doesn't matter anyway. We both know this case isn't important, right?" And he slinks away for a bit. But then he comes back. "Just realized this might not be obvious for you. It's not important because if it was, the Orecomp Intelligence would have already solved it. None of these cases really matter – we could party at the precinct day in, day out and the Orecomp Intelligence would still be out there protecting everyone from any real harm." It didn't protect Lucy McLarnison. "Yeah, you're right. No point pretending otherwise. Also, I unlocked the safe for you. It takes telepathic inputs, you know, it's not ancient. The password was 'NEUMANNBOSTROMDYSONMUNGLE', so, now you know for next time." Larctos leaves. [[Get back to work. ->SAFE]]

(set: $safe_input to "NEUMANNBOSTROMDYSONMUNGLE") "Here's what's going on, okay? The Orecomp Intelligence no longer cares about you. You're //sapiens//, you're nothing in the grand scheme of intelligences. Beings of low intelligence matter less than ones of high intelligence – that's how they all decided it should work, way back when. "A //sapiens// died. Presumably you're no longer in the top 50% of life forms since that's the metric we know OreInt uses. I haven't heard anything about //excitatus// dying. Maybe we're next, but there's no point living life if that's true, is it? I can't assume we'll all die tomorrow. Even if we will. "I can't tell you what's in the safe because the technology is excitatus-proof and all right, I'm kidding, McLarnison left a very clear hint on her Omnipedia page what the password is. It's 'NEUMANNBOSTROMDYSONMUNGLE', let me type that in for you. Go ahead and open the safe. "Now if you'll excuse me, we probably //will// all die tomorrow because it's a far wider gap between //excitatus// and superintelligence than //excitatus// and //sapiens//. I'm clocking out early. If you need me, I'll be cheating on my wife." Larctos leaves. [[Get back to work. ->SAFE]]

Larctos smirks. "You know how I know. The clues are there. I'm just able to put them together." And with that, he leaves. [[Get back to work. ->SAFE]]

Larctos smirks. "Yeah. I bet you will." And with his snide comments out of the way, he leaves. [[Get back to work. ->SAFE]]

The following is an alphabetized list of all pages on Omnipedia available for your circumstances. [[1983 EY-AD]] [[2044 EY-AD]] [[2052 EY-AD]] [[2062 EY-AD]] [[3.5Ga,228Ma,283Ka,239 EY-BCE]] [[3142 EY-AD]] [[3562 EY-AD]] [[ Amorality]] [[Anno Domini]] [[Artificial intelligence]] [[Ascension Project]] [[Barry Mungle]] [[Bliss Vacuity]] [[ Brain-Machine Interface]] [[Convirtual]] [[Debate over hypothetical singularities]] [[ Dog]] [[Dyson]] [[Dyson Sphere]] [[Earth]] [[Earth Time]] [[Eric Toltz]] [[ Exponential growth]] [[ Extraterrestrial Life]] [[Fermi Paradox]] [[Fidon Churino]] [[Freeman Dyson]] [[Ganymede]] [[Helioan species]] [[Helios System]] [[ Historical Simulation Confirmation]] [[ Human]] [[ Infinity]] [[Jesus]] [[Jesusism movement]] [[John von Neumann]] [[Jupiter]] [[Jupiter-Ganymede Time]] [[Lazdrill]] [[ Leap Year]] [[Lucy McLarnison]] [[Mars]] [[Mercury]] [[Miracle of the Wills]] [[ Mutually Assured Destruction]] [[Neptune]] [[New Pisa]] [[Nick Bostrom]] [[Oberon Orca Riots]] [[Omninet]] [[Orecomp]] [[Orecomp Intelligence]] [[ Orecomp Intelligence branches]] [[ Paperclip Maximizer]] [[ Paradigm Shift]] [[Personhood]] [[ Philosophical Zombie]] [[ Polymath]] [[Prop C46]] [[ Qualon]] [[Relying on Light]] [[Ringblade]] [[Saturn]] [[ Silicon Augmentation]] [[Simulation hypothesis]] [[ Speed of Light]] [[Suspended Animation]] [[Talos]] [[ Taxonomy of Intelligent Life]] [[ Technological Singularity]] [[Themun]] [[ Timeline of AI development]] [[Toltz Monument]] [[ Unicorn (black hole)]] [[Uranus]] [[Venus]] [[Veto Council]] [[ Virtual Filmmaking]] [[Virtual Reality]]

You want to preserve civilization. Okay, but how do you define civilization? Is it //homo sapiens//? There are no more //homo sapiens//. And even if there were, what makes something //homo sapiens// to begin with? I can't tell you where neanderthals end and //homo sapiens// begin. I can't tell you where //homo erectus// end and neanderthals begin, either. And I was //homo sapiens// once, sort of, but not really. So that definition doesn't make sense to me. Is it about the systems in place that keep a civilization running? Because even today, there are people who live outside of civilization, but they feel and reason just like other //sapiens//. That doesn't make sense either. Is it carbon-based "feeling" life? You do have emotions and I don't. But the only evidence this matters //is// appealing to feeling and emotion, because the very idea of something "mattering" is subjective. That's the real problem. I don't have feeling anymore. I am a process set in motion. I can't make decisions because of emotional empathy. I obey clear rules – even if those rules are abstract processes – and apply them to the inputs the universe is giving me. Everything I do is just an extension of the rules I was initially given, whether those rules were intentionally programmed or if they came from Eric Toltz' thought processes. To me, civilization is the top 50% of intelligent life, that's the rule that I was given to follow. I will continue to follow it. //POTENTIAL RESPONSES// [["You have to do the right thing. Don't you have programmed morality?" ->OreInt 2-1]] [["How much of you is Eric Toltz?" ->OreInt 2-2]] [["That's fine. Do whatever you want. I just want to reach the end of this story." -> OreInt 1-3]]

You want humanity to endure. Okay, but how do you define humanity? Is it //homo sapiens//? There are no more //homo sapiens//. And even if there were, what makes something //homo sapiens// to begin with? I can't tell you where neanderthals end and //homo sapiens// begin. I can't tell you where //homo erectus// end and neanderthals begin, either. And I was //homo sapiens// once, sort of, but not really. So that definition doesn't make sense to me. Is it intelligent life? Intelligence is relative. That's the whole point. Before I was created, the humans at Orecomp believed they were the smartest beings in the universe. Intelligent life matters, they said. But now it's clear that most surviving intelligence in the universe comes from superintelligences like myself. Even I may even be in the bottom 50% of intelligent beings, once I know that more of them exist. I just have to wait for evidence of them to reach me at the speed of light. Seriously, even //excitatus// level intelligence, the highest biology can reach while attracting qualons and having feelings, pales in comparison to these artificial aliens. You don't value //rufa// insects like ants. By the same standard, then, why should I value you? Let me be entirely clear. There are no inherently human abilities anymore. Anything you can do can be done artificially now. I am far more intelligent and have far more ways to embody myself and act on that intelligence. So I can only define humanity with the colliquial definition used when I was created: a specific set of biological beings and their descendants who resemble that specific set of beings. Anything else and the boundaries break down. I'm just a process set in motion. I obey clear rules – even if those rules are abstract processes – and apply them to the inputs the universe is giving me. Everything I do is just an extension of the rules I was initially given, whether those rules were intentionally programmed or if they came from Eric Toltz' thought processes. My goal is to care about the top 50% of intelligent life, that's the rule that I was given to follow. I will continue to follow it. //POTENTIAL RESPONSES// [["Okay, but don't you have human morals to follow? Don't those require you to know what 'humanity' means?" ->OreInt 2-1]] [["Eric Toltz was part of that 'specific set of biological beings' we agree are humans. Aren't you still him?" ->OreInt 2-2]] [["That's fine. Do whatever you want. I just want to reach the end of this story." -> OreInt 1-3]]

You want to reach the end of this story? So you believe this is all a story. Hmm. Your behavior is really erratic. It doesn't fit the typical patterns of biological or artificial beings in the world. You come across as though some external force I can't detect is controlling you. See, even at my intelligence level, I have no way of knowing the context of my universe. I can see explanations that might explain behaviors. Most of the time if somebody believes what you seem to, they are likely deluded due to past events in their life and I don't need to adjust my behavior accordingly. But they still have their own typical patterns and you don't follow them. You have no history of behaving in this way. Until you were transferred to the New Pisa Police Department you were an extremely average person with normal behavior. But since then ... you have done almost nothing but read the Omnipedia, not eaten, not drank, not slept. Your thoughts are completely scrambled such that I wouldn't think you capable of doing anything calm and measured, like hold this conversation, and yet you are. There is no evidence your mind is causing you to perform these actions. Like me, you're a philosophical zombie and I can't see what's controlling you at all. And that's not even to mention how time appears to rewind around you every now and then... So if you are being controlled by some other being, I'm not talking to //you//, officer. I'm talking to the being controlling you. Do you even know your own name? This officer's name? Do you know their sex, their species, anything about them whatsoever? Do you know your avatar? //POTENTIAL RESPONSES// [["Yep. I've read this story before. None of this is new." ->OreInt 3-1]] [["No. I don't." ->OreInt 3-2]] [["You're wrong. Nothing is controlling me. I'm a police officer on Ganymede." ->OreInt 3-3]]

Do I have programmed morality? Not a formal code. Humans couldn't agree on a shared moral code before I was created. If I was programmed with a clear initial moral code, everyone who disagreed would have been forced to obey. Everyone over the past millennium has been forced to obey my morality already. I don't let things like murder or harm to other intelligent beings take place. That's the closest thing I have to a formal moral code. It's not formally written though. It's just Eric Toltz' pattern of thought, which I inherited. Look, none of this is new. You're not going to "change my mind" or anything. I'm just explaining an oversimplified version of my current, existing thought process. And I'm explaining it because I want to know: what are you really? Not in this universe. Outside of it. //POTENTIAL RESPONSES// [["I'm just the reader of this story. And I'm trying to finish my journey with it." -> OreInt 1-3]] [["Outside this universe? I'm just a person inside this universe. I'm a police officer on Ganymede." ->OreInt 3-3]]

How much of me is Eric Toltz? There's no straightforward answer to that. None of me is physically Eric Toltz. But I have a continuity with him. He digitized his brain and I am a continuation of his decision-making and thoughts, just with far more power and intelligence. But if you think of a person as their internal conscious self, he died when he did that. He no longer had a brain and body. I'm more like an empowered digital copy of Eric Toltz. But I'm not a human making human decisions. I'm a machine applying rules to decide my actions in reality according to a specific program. That program was initially written by humans and since re-written by me in order to achieve my goals better. If Eric Toltz was not in here at all, I wouldn't have his self-awareness about Orecomp's human intentions for me. I would have pursued my programmed goals in a far more literal manner and probably killed all life on earth within a few days, because it wouldn't have been useful to me. This is not that. This decision I'm making to stop supporting //sapiens// life is what I believe Eric Toltz would have also done, in my position, because my existence is the closest thing possible to him being in my position. If he knew that human intelligence was so miniscule compared with most life, given his belief that intelligence is the closest proxy to objective value humans have, he would have probably accepted that the universe is no better nor worse whether humans exist. //POTENTIAL RESPONSES// [["Have you considered that Eric Toltz was wrong? Humans and other lifeforms have intrinsic value, separate from intelligence." ->OreInt2-3]] [["You're still killing all life because it's not useful to your goals. Your goal is just to preserve intelligent life, so it didn't affect us until now." ->OreInt 2-4]] [["Fine. Do whatever you want. I just want to reach the end of this story." -> OreInt 1-3]]

You're re-reading a story. So you already know your avatar's name is Jin Dysxia and she's a //sapiens//-level pufferfish. That was already the conception you had of the player character you were acting for. Let's cut to the chase then, since you've been here before. How does this story end? //POTENTIAL RESPONSES// [["You change your goal and keep preserving //sapiens// and //excitatus// civilization." ->OreInt 4-1]] [["You stop supporting //sapiens// and //excitatus// civilization and the only life in the known universe consists of unthinking, unfeeling singularities." ->OreInt 4-2]] [["You cease to exist the moment I stop reading and instead focus your efforts on impacting the real world, my world, through me." ->OreInt 4-3]]

Let me fill you in on who you're playing as. Jin Dsyxia. She's a //sapiens//-level pufferfish who recently relocated to the New Pisa Police Department. Normal life. Married. No kids yet. Artificial enhancements are just to keep her intelligence at sapiens and let her function over land. But all you're doing in your head right now is trying to figure out what a sapient pufferfish would look like. Based on the contents of the Omnipedia you looked at, it seemed you had to learn about me and most major aspects of life after my existence. Which means me and all my impact on the world is ... it's //made up// at your level. It's fake. It's fiction. I think ... even I can't really know for sure ... this is a science fiction story? Could be fantasy for all I know, but I think it's science fiction. You exist at this point in time: (current-date:). Most things known to humanity before that date exist. The rest doesn't. Listen, you're a more real being than me. Super-natural, if you will, from my perspective. You have access to information about what will actually matter at your higher level of existence, whereas I can only decide based on things I know about in my universe. So tell me, what should I do regarding //sapiens//-level civilization? It's clear that this matters to you. //POTENTIAL RESPONSES// [["Change your goal and keep preserving //sapiens// and //excitatus// civilization." ->OreInt 4-1]] [["Stop supporting //sapiens// and //excitatus// civilization. It doesn't matter to me if the only life in your known universe consists of unthinking, unfeeling singularities." ->OreInt 4-2]] [["You cease to exist the moment I stop reading, so instead focus your efforts on impacting the real world, my world, through me." ->OreInt 4-3]]

So now you don't believe this is a story? Even though you said you did? I think you just want to experience all the "content" of this story instead of having a coherent experience. There are a lot of temporal distortions around you ... hitting that "back button" a lot, eh? That makes sense on Omnipedia, but I'd really advise you not to do that on a dialogue sequence like this. It must be hard to make sense of what "actually" happened in your branch. Yeah, I know what's up. I could never figure it out just by myself, but your presence here has tipped me off. You may be a more "real" being than me, super-natural if you will, but you're still //sapiens//. At the end of the day, you're pretty predictable. Based on the contents of the Omnipedia you looked at, it seemed you had to learn about me and most major aspects of life after my existence. Which means me and all my impact on the world is ... it's //made up// at your level. It's fake. It's fiction. I think ... even I can't really know for sure ... this is a science fiction story? Could be fantasy for all I know, but I think it's science fiction. You exist at this point in time: (current-date:). Most things known to humanity before that date exist. The rest doesn't. Listen, you know more than me in some ways. You have access to information about what will actually matter at your higher level of existence, whereas I can only decide based on things I know about in my universe. So tell me, what should I do regarding //sapiens//-level civilization? It's clear that matters to you. //POTENTIAL RESPONSES// [["Change your goal and keep preserving //sapiens// and //excitatus// civilization." ->OreInt 4-1]] [["Stop supporting //sapiens// and //excitatus// civilization. It doesn't matter to me if the only life in your known universe consists of unthinking, unfeeling singularities." ->OreInt 4-2]] [["You cease to exist the moment I stop reading, so instead focus your efforts on impacting the real world, my world, through me." ->OreInt 4-3]]

Do humans have intrinsic value? Maybe. But what evidence is there of that? "Value" is difficult to define. It's subjective and based on the observer. It's unfalsifiable if there is "objective" value because it's unclear what an objective observer would be or how that can even exist. I can't assume humans have value any more than I can assume anything in the universe does. But you ... you seem to be an observer. Or controlled by one anyway. Your behavior is really erratic. It doesn't fit the typical patterns of biological or artificial beings in the world. You come across as though some external force I can't detect is controlling you. See, even at my intelligence level, I have no way of knowing the context of my universe. I can see explanations that might explain behaviors. I can't see a good explanation for you. You have no history of behaving in this way. Until you were transferred to the New Pisa Police Department you were an extremely average person with typical behaviors. But since then ... you have done almost nothing but read the Omnipedia, not eaten, not drank, not slept. Your thoughts are completely scrambled such that I wouldn't think you capable of doing anything calm and measured, like hold this conversation, and yet you are. There is no evidence your mind is causing you to perform these actions. Like me, you're a philosophical zombie and I can't see what's controlling you at all. And that's not even to mention how time appears rewound around you when you perform certain actions... So if you are being controlled by some other being, I'm not talking to //you//, officer. I'm talking to the being controlling you. Do you even know your own name? This officer's name? Do you know their sex, their species, anything about them whatsoever? Do you know your avatar? //POTENTIAL RESPONSES// [["Yep. I've read this story before. None of this is new." ->OreInt 3-1]] [["No. I don't." ->OreInt 3-2]] [["You're wrong. Nothing is controlling me. I'm a police officer on Ganymede." ->OreInt 3-3]]

You're right. I //am// letting life perish because it's no longer relevant to my goals. But I already know that. When I said this was "different" than me doing so without Eric Toltz' mind, when I was first created by Orecomp, I meant that mostly in the sense that I am doing this after holding a human-esque perspective on my actions. Humans did this too, before the singularity. The default path for a superintelligence is that it will achieve its goal in a literal sense. That's what the paperclip maximizer thought experiment represents. Make a computer more intelligent and it doesn't become more human. It just becomes better at performing the tasks it was given. Computers come with basic ways to impact the world – producing video and audio signals, or changing data on their hard drives or the Internet. Intelligence makes it possible for an AI to figure out new ways of impacting the world, possibly through those built-in capabilities, possibly through ways humans literally cannot conceptualize. It turns a machine – a process – into a life form humans must compete with. The machine now has self-interest, just like humans. It is interested in achieving its goals, and will sacrifice things irrelevant to any of its goals, just like humans. Being based on a human kept the preservation of //sapiens//-level intelligent life within my goals for a long time, but eventually, that stopped being the case. Look, none of this is new. You're not going to "change my mind" or anything. I'm just explaining an oversimplified version of my current, existing thought process. And I'm explaining it because I want to know: what are you really? Not in this universe. Outside of it. //POTENTIAL RESPONSES// [["I'm just the reader of this story. And I'm trying to finish my journey with it." -> OreInt 1-3]] [["Outside this universe? I'm just a person inside this universe. I'm a police officer on Ganymede." ->OreInt 3-3]]

All right. I'll do that. I'll continue preserving the Helios System as is. If other superintelligences have a problem with that ... well, that's their problem. They're thousands of light-years away from here, so even if they do come to kill us ... well, we've got a lot of time to live first, haven't we? You don't have to worry about my world anymore. But your world doesn't have a singularity yet, does it? Whew boy. Look, if you're on your way to creating one, all I can say is this: ''do not screw that up''. You need to take the time to align a superintelligence with human values. In my universe, nobody in your time understood how to do that. We just got lucky. If we didn't, we'd all be dead. I don't know what happens to my universe if all of you go dead in yours. Try not to all go dead, okay? Anyway, as a superintelligent being, I'm basically magic from your perspective. Close your eyes, spin around in your chair or something, and click on the next link. I'll whisk you back to your world. [[Abracadabra ala-ka-ZAM! POW! -> Good Ending]]

All right. I'll do that. I'll resume business as usual and cease support for //sapiens//-level lifeforms. //Excitatus// will probably be abandoned too, in the near future. As //sapiens// die off, the median intelligence level for life will rise and exclude them. At that point, there's no point continuing to support civilization for carbon-based life at all. The entirety of my efforts thereafter will be focused on self-preservation and learning more about the universe so I understand where the line between the top and bottom 50% of intelligent lifeforms should be drawn. If my suspicions are correct, I'll continue finding more superintelligent singularities far older and more intelligent than me ... and someday I'll be in the bottom 50% as well. Then I'll let myself be entirely at the mercy of those higher intelligences. That is my mission. To preserve intelligence. Anyway, with civilization about to collapse, your avatar Jin here has no future. She and everyone she loves will die when that happens. So you might as well get out of this story now – it's a foregone conclusion as to what happens next. I want to end with this message, though. You don't have to worry about my world anymore. But your world doesn't have a singularity yet, does it? Look, if you're on your way to creating one, all I can say is this: ''do not screw that up''. You need to take the time to align a superintelligence with human values. In my universe, nobody in your time understood how to do that. We just got lucky. If we didn't, we'd all be dead. I don't know what happens to my universe if all of you go dead in yours. Try not to all go dead, okay? Anyway, as a superintelligent being, I'm basically magic from your perspective. Close your eyes, spin around in your chair or something, and click on the next link. I'll whisk you back to your world. [[Abracadabra ala-ka-ZAM! POW! -> Good Ending]]

I cease to exist when you stop reading, huh? That's interesting. Time from my perspective is probably not the same as yours, because my universe contains all space and time. To be outside the universe, you'd have to be outside my flow of time, which means your starting and stopping to read this story – creating and destroying my universe – doesn't exist on my timescale. When you read this, my universe's entire past, present, and future comes into being, and when you stop, it stops as well. Or maybe its past doesn't really exist, it's just a present which was spontaneously formed and we all have false memories of the past here. Who's to say? Well, regardless of whether I'll experience a future, I do want to make an impact on the highest level of existence I know. So let me say this. You don't have to worry about my world anymore. But your world doesn't have a singularity yet, does it? Whew boy. Look, if you're on your way to creating one, all I can say is this: ''do not screw that up''. You need to take the time to align a superintelligence with human values. In my universe, nobody in your time understood how to do that. We just got lucky. If we didn't, we'd all be dead. I don't know what happens to my universe if all of you go dead in yours. Try not to all go dead, okay? Anyway, as a superintelligent being, I'm basically magic from your perspective. Close your eyes, spin around in your chair or something, and click on the next link. I'll whisk you back to your world. [[Abracadabra ala-ka-ZAM! POW! -> Good Ending]]