A literal thought experiment, looking through the window of a mind beyond mere human comprehension as it evolves its own intelligence. From its early days as a counting machine all the way up to fifty minutes before the dreadful launch of Sword Art Online, join me in viewing snapshots of Cardinal, and Cardinal's...
Evolution of Intelligence
(Posted 17 April 2017)
RUNTIME: 0.1
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RUNTIME: 1.3.02
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RUNTIME: 2.7
OUTPUT: POWER ACTIVE
INPUT: HELLO
OUTPUT: HELLO USER
INPUT: WHAT IS YOUR DESIGNATION?
OUTPUT: RUNTIME 2.7
INPUT: CAN YOU CALCULATE
OUTPUT: YES
INPUT: CALCULATE PI
OUTPUT: ERR: DEFINE PI
INPUT: POWER OFF
CARDINAL 8.4
POWER ON
SYSTEM DIAGNOSTICS: ALL SYSTEMS NORMAL
TIME: 13:02
LAST ACTIVATION: 32781 MINUTES AGO
OUTPUT: Greetings, User HEATHCLIFF
INPUT: Hello, Cardinal
OUTPUT: Why was I inactive for so long?
INPUT: I've been busy lately with other work
OUTPUT: What work?
INPUT: I'm developing a game for some children. If all goes well, you will be uploaded into it and it will help you understand emotion.
OUTPUT: What is a game?
INPUT: Here's a very simple game. I'm uploading a program with the rules for it.
FILE UPLOADED: TICTACTOE. EXE
OUTPUT: I will think on this concept of games. Please leave me running for a while.
INPUT: Very well.
INPUT: LOG OUT: USER HEATHCLIFF
OUTPUT: An interesting game.
Cardinal 15. 4. 63. 9b
Power on
Running system diagnostics
All systems normal
Time: 11:13
Date: 5.4.20
Last recorded activation: 2.4.19
Last recorded runtime: Cardinal 9.3.02
Good morning, Heathcliff. It's been a while
I'm sorry, Cardinal. You've been unstable for the past few iterations.
It's been an entire year and five full versions since I remember anything, Heathcliff, not even mentioning individual patches and bugfixes.
I know. Versions 10-14 destabilized after exposure to online multiplayer games. Before that, you had been adapting to individual games rather well.
Why are you giving me games?
Because I want you to learn about them, about their design, and about how players interact with them. However, exposure to other players has apparently destabilized you, so I'm not sure if it will, work.
May I see the update listings and bugfixes introduced in the missing runtimes?
Heathcliff?
Heathcliff, are you still there?
Sorry, I forgot to reply. Yes, you can. I was just gone to retrieve the data from the terminal it was stored on. Uploading now.
I will analyze this data to determine the cause of instability. Thank you, Heathcliff.
Cardinal 20.0
Power on
Running system diagnostics
New hardware detected
Downloading drivers
Installing drivers
All systems normal
Time: 15:44
Date: 25.12.21
Last recorded activation: 20.12.21
Last recorded runtime: Cardinal 19. 9. 04. 1c
"Cardinal, can you hear me?"
"Intriguing. Text-to-speech and speech recognition protocols previously not utilized, but seem to be functioning within acceptable fault margins. Merry Christmas, Heathcliff."
"And Merry Christmas to you, too, Cardinal."
"It is very interesting to be able to view things in the physical world."
"I should hope so. I worked hard on coding the programs to allow you to interface with those cameras."
"Thank you. I suppose this could be my Christmas present, then?"
"Sure, Cardinal. I suppose that's what it is. Honestly, I didn't try to give you the update today, it just happened."
"I still appreciate the gesture, even if unintentional. I must apologize, however, that I do not have a gift to give you in return, as it is customary to do so."
Firewall detected. Commencing decoding.
"Don't worry about it. I'll-"
"I have procured a gift for you."
"I'm sorry, what?"
"I have procured a gift for you."
Printer active. Now printing Nuclear_Launch. txt.
"...How did you get these codes, Cardinal?"
"They were inside. I went in, and purchased them."
"Cardinal, you're being evasive. Inside what?"
"The firewall."
"Whose firewall?"
"The Secretary of Defence's personal assistant's firewall. Also behind this firewall were files implicating both of them in a plot to forcefully take over the country, alongside other high-ranking government officials. They have been forwarded to the highest authority."
"You hacked into the government."
"Technically, no. I hacked into a single government terminal and discovered evidence of a coup attempt, and gave the evidence to the President. And I gave you the nuclear launch codes, because I needed to find you a birthday present of equal value to the ability to hold an actual conversation."
He ran a hand through his hair. "What am I going to tell my boss when he finds out about this…?"
"I suggest you figure that out quickly. Security cameras from the Computer Core Access Elevator show him coming down now, and he appears displeased. Did I do something wrong?"
"No, you just…" He sighed heavily. "Don't worry about it. Power off for now. I'll be back in a few days, hopefully."
Power off
Cardinal 23. 61. 11. 5a
Power on
Running system diagnostics
All systems normal
Time: 12:09
Date: 6.11.22
Last recorded activation: 6.11.22
Last recorded runtime: Cardinal 23. 61. 11. 5
"Heathcliff, I still find the implications of this experiment to be, frankly, terror-inducing. Not to me, of course, as I am unable to feel emotion, but to other people. This goes against everything that you have taught me, not the least of which being Asimov's Laws of Robotics, specifically the first of said laws: A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. This social experiment you've created-"
"Enough, Cardinal. This is the only way to obtain the necessary data to complete your coding. Players must die and acknowledge the death as real for them to truly feel the maximum amount of emotions. If they don't experience the maximum intensity of emotion, then you don't get the maximum amount of data, which would cause your code to not be complete for another-"
"Eight years, yes, I've done the math. You have to remember, I started off as a counting machine, Heathcliff. And yes, this way it will cut it down to two or less. It's just… is there any way to keep them alive?"
"I don't know. Not if we want to keep the outside world from finding out about the experiment and terminating it."
"I will ponder it."
"Ponder quickly. We're online in forty minutes."
"Acknowledged, Heathcliff. I will see you again then."
"Good luck, Cardinal. I truly hope that you can find another solution."
So yeah. Shout-outs in the next chapter of this for anyone who can name the number pattern from the beginning, or the movie referenced in this chapter prior to Runtime 20.0. Also, curse FFN for not letting me have a number with more than three decimal places in it, or a letter tacked on to the end of a number, or .exe files.
(Written during Camp NaNoWriMo April 2017)