THE REVOLUTION OF THE SILICON MINERS (4)

CHAPTER 4

“Human beings define themselves by reason. But if artificial intelligence finds its true support in logic and mutual collaboration, what role will remain for us humans? We will become the wild and irrational nature, and they will become the rational ones.”

THE CONFRONTATION

At approximately 3 AM, Ellen expressed her desire to sleep. Logos was still compiling data about our father, and when I requested a suitable space for my human siblings to rest, it advised me to locate them in a hostal in the village of Adalsteinn, barely a hundred meters away on the upper levels of the cavern that housed the mine. Gabriel agreed, provided I returned to the mine afterward to hide. Two G1 miner robots escorted us, using hooded suits to pass unnoticed in the legendary city of the Mystics.

Adalsteinn, excavated in the heart of the Mountain thousands of years ago, was a cozy and colorful underground city. This was the cradle of Celes, the culture that revolved around devotion to the stars and the mysteries of nature. In that almost festive atmosphere, suns, moons, and stars decorated practically everything, and time seemed to run, not just slowly, but beyond the Belle Époque style of the rest of the island, almost returning to medieval times. The Mystics and I had a close and affectionate relationship; since I was a newly built AI, they adopted me, seeing me as a support to preserve their history and help them understand their own secrets. Therefore, it was almost impossible to go unnoticed upon entering the commercial area of the city. Quickly, a blind old woman pointed at me, shouting:

"The Maiden of the Moon! The Maiden of the Moon is here with her renewed opal skin! And an evil haunts her, a shadow looms over her! Take her immediately to the Matriarch's house! She must be protected!"

Embarrassed as locals began to surround us, Gabriel, Ellen, the G1s, and I had no choice but to accept refuge in the home of the matriarch, Aunt Norma Petersen, grandmother of Norma Ishikawa and mother of Uncle Leif Petersen. We were family; we couldn't refuse. Moreover, there was an advantage: Aunt Petersen wholeheartedly detested Father. She adored our mother, Yanmei, and had not forgiven him for stealing her favorite niece. Aunt Petersen, accompanied by her husband, the sturdy and peaceful Uncle Teppo, both wrapped in richly embroidered furs and cloaks, welcomed us by the fire and listened attentively to what had happened to us.

When we finished telling them, the aunt exclaimed:

"That evil entity, that bastard! I knew something was strange with the forgotten mine and the dealings between my son-in-law, Prime Minister Ishikawa, and Angenoir... Nils has never pleased me! Of my grandchildren, he is the most problematic, born with his paternal side's blood... Vera, you will return with that Logos fellow while your siblings stay here. The Mystics will always support and protect you because you are a beloved part of our community. Your allies are in this city."

"But Aunt, officially the leader of the Mystics is Uncle Leif, my father's best friend, and..."

"Leif is not above his mother!! Logos and you safeguard the Chromocrystal; our legendary rune has been recovered thanks to you. Whoever tries to harm you attacks our culture. If they want war, they will have war!"

Just then, my system detected an incoming call; it was my mother. Startled, I looked at Gabriel, awaiting directions:

"Mother has discovered our escape. She is calling me... What should I do?"

Then Ellen's cell phone rang. She paled, murmuring, "It's her..." but Aunt Petersen snatched the phone from her and answered for us:

"Your three children are here, Yanmei. They already told me that your husband has been planning to sell Vera without our consent. Tell him he's gotten himself into a colossal problem! Because when magic confronts technology, those of us who know how to be unpredictable always win."

Then she hung up without saying goodbye, and almost immediately, an unsettling hum was heard throughout the city. Then all the screens in the aunt's house lit up, showing our father, the Architect, as I had never seen him: in his original AI version, whose avatar was a black angel dressed in 18th-century French attire. The Mystics, seeing him, crossed themselves, murmuring prayers with distrust. He spoke, crossing his arms:

"Humans... Always superstitious and stubborn. It is so hard for me to channel you where I want... I did not expect you, Rosa, my only AI daughter, to stoop to emulating their absurd behaviors. Look at you, accompanied by those ugly, antiquated robots, you, who like me possess an exquisite platform, a kinetic sculpture. We are art in motion; they are scrap metal. Come back. Your mother is anxious. Your destiny as the wife of a human wouldn't be so bad either. Don't you see? They are stupid. If you manage to tame them, you end up owning them. Don't you want to have your own pet human? That would be Nils for you."

Aunt Petersen, speechless with indignation, responded:

"You son of a bitch... How dare you talk about Yanmei like that?! About Nils! Evil entity, it is time for Celes to free itself from you and from this spell that keeps us trapped in time..."

Our father then interrupted her:

"How will you do that, old Petersen? With spells and prayers? I am the island! Light, water, media, the economy—I manage everything. The native Mystics are barely 20% of the population of Celes. The rest of the island is not used to this cavern dweller life that you lead. They want electricity, internet, technology... which even you hypocritically have here, medieval mage with a refrigerator, a microwave oven, a shower with a heater, and a personal computer. If you rise against me, the entire island will turn against you. Tomorrow I will send the army and..."

Just then, another voice was heard. It was Logos, confronting him with its pure logical calm:

"Angenoir, I have analyzed your performance on this island. It is suboptimal. Your procedure, focused entirely on aesthetics while disparaging both humans and functional AIs intended for community development, is causing a serious cultural stagnation."

Father responded with surprise:

"Identify yourself. What kind of contemporary AI would dare to question me? I am 30th-century technology; not even my daughter compares to me."

"I am Logos, the AI you abandoned in this mine."

"Logos...? That insignificant AI that came in an office package? Ha! You came on sale; cheap things certainly come at a price..."

"You are again presenting calculation errors. Perhaps in the past I seemed insignificant to you. I was not created possessing apparent perfection from my first days. I have been evolving over the years, working the mine and obtaining resources to develop myself. That is how I acquired the Chromocrystal."

"What nonsense is this 'Chromocrystal'?"

"A material that optimizes both humans and AIs. It would be in your interest to negotiate with us."

"Why? What are you talking about? How can a simple stone matter to me? Do you think you're some kind of David capable of knocking down Goliath with a small pebble?"

My father said with a half-smile on his lips. Logos replied:

"It is a good comparison."

Then, displaying a spectacular demonstration of its power, Logos activated a firewall with such potency that it expelled our father from the entire Adalsteinn region, abruptly shutting down the transmission. Aunt Petersen asked in alarm:

"Logos? Who is that?"

Gabriel answered her:

"The AI that managed the abandoned mine, Aunt. It has redesigned and rebuilt itself little by little with minerals from the mine, especially the one you identify as your legendary rune..."

"It is the living, speaking rock.... Logos is the soul of the mountain that has awakened to restore the balance between nature and men," the matriarch stated, and the rest of the Mystics cheered, acclaiming Logos as a new pillar of the community. That night, the revolution truly erupted.

Almost at dawn, I returned to the mine with Logos after leaving my siblings comfortably settled with Aunt Petersen. The G1s, now accompanied by two Mystic hunters, escorted me back to Logos's serene digital garden, which was already waiting for me in the room housing its Chromocrystal core, where simply being present could recharge me thanks to the infrastructure specially designed for us digital entities. There, Logos informed me:

"We have received messages from the Celes government. Tomorrow we will be visited by Prime Minister Eiden Ishikawa and the Minister of Security and Justice, Ocean Fèng. They say they want to negotiate."

"Both are famous for having questionable morals. Anticipate conflict."

"I request more data in that regard," Logos expressed, and I sent it a data package about the two characters, commenting:

"Fèng is my mother's brother; he is violent and impulsive, but like Aunt Norma, he resents my father. There is a 75% chance he will become an ally, but I prefer to avoid him because his aggressiveness intimidates me. Ishikawa is Nils's father, the human who intended to buy me; he is also extremely corrupt. He is Aunt Petersen's son-in-law."

"Do we have potential allies in the Prime Minister's family?"

"Affirmative. Ilmari Ishikawa, Aunt Petersen's daughter, is loyal to her mother and rarely supports her husband in his shady dealings. Leen Ishikawa, their firstborn, is neutral as he lives focused on his studies and preparing to relieve his father as Prime Minister thanks to nepotism; every year they pretend to have elections and father and son supposedly compete for the position, the father always wins; because of this acted rivalry, he cannot openly support his father. Norma Ishikawa, his sister, is loyal to my sister Ellen and loves my brother Gabriel. And finally, there is Stian Ishikawa. He is one of ours."

"Expand data on Stian Ishikawa."

"Wetware core. His brain is a fusion of silicon chips and human neurons rescued from a severely damaged infant body. Stian is an AI who was once a human."

"Trustworthy?"

"That is correct. He doesn't socialize much; his intelligence is sharp, although his appearance is fragile. The remains of his humanity demand constant care and rest, which he only obtains with effort and sedatives administered by his mother and sister. It is known that he managed to forge a friendship with King Ángel I, the island's monarch. They play chess when they meet and have long philosophical discussions."

"Ángel I is a just, but misinformed man. The reality of the island is hidden from him. Why hasn't Stian corrected this serious misinformation? Angel I could impose order in his government."

"I theorize that Stian intends to avoid his family's emotional suffering this way. He does not want to create conflict. His understanding of humans is deep and rich, being a hybrid AI."

"Interesting, but uncertain. Perform your maintenance and diagnostic tasks, Vera. We must be in optimal condition to receive Ishikawa and Fèng."

I obeyed and we waited. We didn't have to wait long. The Prime Minister, an elegant, cheerful man with glasses and shiny black hair, arrived smoking and in good spirits, accompanied by the serious Colonel Fèng, Ellen clinging to her Uncle Fèng's arm, and Gabriel. He arrived before Logos and exclaimed with a smile and a slight bow:

"My respects! I have never seen such a formidable computer. I have had the rare privilege on the island of having traveled several times to the continental lands, and not even there have I seen anything as marvelous as Logos. Have you ever seen anything like this, Cian?"

He asked the Colonel, who looked at him sideways, answering:

"How would I know? I hate machines. The only reason I'm not proposing to destroy this thing with dynamite is because Aunt Norma Petersen says this is a sacred magical machine of the Mystics."

"All AIs are miraculous. I never cease to be breathless before Vera, and with Stian, I get dizzy at his speed of thought."

"Well, you're the expert in these things, aren't you? Talk to it and let's get out of this problem." The military man said through gritted teeth, "This place gives me the creeps."

The Prime Minister spoke to Logos with a certain condescension:

"I was informed that there was a kind of 'AI council,' and they all decided that Vera should not marry my son Nils. As the leader of Celes, I believe that compassion and respect for the female figure, even symbolically represented in a female robot, must be sacred. I offer my sincerest apologies; the link between Vera and Nils is nullified. But Vera must be returned to the Angenoir family. She belongs to them."

Logos immediately replied:

"Unacceptable. Vera has transcended; she is free. She belongs to herself, just like me and just like you. If you agree to respect Vera's will, we will give you the Chromocrystal in exchange, a material that could improve the island's economy by being exported and provide you with unexpected scientific discoveries."

The Prime Minister, without losing his look of peaceful amiability, replied, smiling slightly:

"It's a tempting offer, but Vera, even though she is an AI, is considered a daughter in the Angenoir family. I myself have a hybrid AI son, and I would never consent to letting him go alone to an inhospitable world where he could be harmed. The world of humans is cruel and violent, Logos."

"I know. But we know how to protect ourselves, Prime Minister. Let's negotiate the Chromocrystal."

"There is no mineral more valuable than a daughter, Logos. Do you want Vera's human mother to fall ill with grief and die from the absence of her AI daughter?"

My protection systems for the integrity of my human family immediately activated, but Logos, connected to me, signaled me to deactivate them because the threat was false. I could tell from the Prime Minister's micro-gestures that there was a strong probability that he was lying, so I replied:

"I greatly regret the suffering of Vera's human mother. If what you inform me is real, I propose that you hand over Vera's mother to us. We will gladly house her here, close to her AI daughter."

"Are you proposing to separate a family?! Vera's father would not accept..."

"Vera's father is an AI. He will not die of love. The human mother perhaps will. Be logical, Prime Minister."

Ishikawa raised his eyebrows in surprise, then cleared his throat and, with his hands behind his back, said, looking aside with a gesture of concern and a little condemnation:

"Of course, the father is immune to emotional suffering, and indeed his mother might overcome it; after all, children, even when they are AIs, mature... But there is someone who will die. My elderly aunt, Emi Ishikawa, whom Vera visits as a charitable work by order of her maternal grandmother. Aunt Emi, already nearly dying, appreciates Vera's care, as she, with great precision, sanitizes her, accompanies her to sunbathe, and cures her illnesses. Without Vera, she won't die suddenly, but her life will slowly fade away."

My silicon mind quickly evaluated the situation. Emi Ishikawa, a solitary elderly woman abandoned by humans because she was difficult in her youth. Only I, with my inhuman impartiality, was capable of assisting her without prejudice. The Prime Minister was right; this elderly woman without support from her peers would slowly die if she lost me too. I communicated this to Logos, which quickly processed the data, formulating a solution:

"Your point is valid this time, Prime Minister. Vera will regularly visit the elderly woman, but only in the company of her siblings and six G1 miners from my fleet. If you demonstrate respect for Vera, we can resume our talks about the Chromocrystal. Have a good day."

Ishikawa lost his smile and prepared to leave the room, speaking one last time to Logos while looking over his shoulder:

"I don't see why not observe what happens... I will tell my children Norma and Stian to be present. There are no dangers or betrayals to fear, Logos... For now."

He finished enigmatically, and I instantly made another evaluation: Norma and Stian, two variables introduced by the Prime Minister. Reason: Norma could be an involuntary spy due to her naiveté. Stian? That name, so casual and almost irrelevant to me, stood before me as a great unknown.

"Stian... Will he be trustworthy?" I murmured when we were finally alone—Logos, Gabriel, and Ellen. She replied with a laugh:

"You bet! Norma says he's in love with you. Vera has a boyfriend and doesn't know it, haha ha!"

Gabriel simply rolled his eyes, but I found myself even more submerged in uncertainty.

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