Karr found analyzing the long-term impact of his actions an intriguing mental challenge. In the short term, his actions were a binary choice. An action either did or did not threaten his survival. If it did, then he would not take that action. If it didn't, then he would. It was that simple.
However, predicting whether that same action would threaten his survival in the long term involved many more factors and was no longer a binary choice. He wondered how humans – with their limited computing power – were able to make such calculations on a regular basis.
Both times Karr had gone up against Michael and Kitt, he had lost. The first time, he had ended up entombed under tons of sand. The second time, he had ended up stranded in the middle of nowhere. And the vehicle he had been mounted in had been destroyed. Both times, Michael – not Kitt – had found a way to defeat him while Kitt suffered little or no damage.
Karr was – to his surprise – more curious than angry. He wondered why Michael's framework based on altruism was more successful than his framework based on self-preservation. He needed more data. And he would start with Melissa.