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than that, Mark Wu. After all AS treatment represents an enormous advance in our evolutionary
history one of our most significant steps away from the tyranny of the gene, which has ruthlessly cut us
down since the dawn of our history. But must we rely on injections of nanobots to achieve this end? How
much better it would be if we could change the fundamental basis of our existence as a species..."
Mark found Uvarov chilling. His cold, analytical view of humanity, coupled with the extraordinarily
long-term perspective of his thinking, was deeply disturbing. The Superet conversion seemed only to
have reinforced these trends in Uvarov's personality.
And, Lethe, Uvarov was supposed to be adoctor.
"We should not be restrained by the primitive in us, Mark Wu," Uvarov was saying. "We should think of
thepossible. And then determine what must be done to attain that... Whatever the cost.
"Your proposals for the social structure in this ship are another example of limited thinking, I fear."
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Mark frowned, his anger building. "You disapprove of my proposals?"
Uvarov's voice, under its thick layer of Lunar accent, was mocking. "You have a draft constitution for a
unified democratic structure "
"With deep splits of power, and local accountability. Yes. You have a problem with that? Uvarov, I've
based my proposals on the most successful examples of closed societies we have the early colonies on
Mars, for example. We must learn from the past..."
Louise was the nominal leader of the expedition. But she wasn't going to be acaptain; no hierarchical
command structure could last a thousand years. And there was no guarantee that AS treatments could
sustain any individual over such a period. AS itself wasn't that well established; the oldest living human
was only around four centuries old. And who knew what cumulative effect consciousness editing would
have, over centuries?
...So it could be that none of the crew alive at the launch even Louise and Mark themselves would
survive to see the end of the trip.
But even if the last person who remembered Sol expired, Louise and her coterie had to find ways to
ensure that the mission's purpose was not lost with them.
Mark's job was to design asociety to populate the ship's closed environment a society stable enough
to persist over ten centuries...and to maintain the ship's core mission.
Uvarov looked skeptical. "But a simple democracy?"
Mark was surprised at the depth of his resentment at being patronized like this by Uvarov. "We have to
start somewhere with a framework the ship's inhabitants are going to be able to use, to build on. The
constitution will be malleable. It will even be possible, legally, to abandon the constitution altogether "
"You're missing my point," Uvarov said silkily. "Mark, democracy as a method of human interaction is
already millennia old. And we know how easy it is to subvert any democratic process. There are endless
examples of people using a democratic system as a games-theory framework of rules to achieve their
own ends.
"Use your imagination. Is there truly nothing better? Have we learnednothing about ourselves in all that
time?"
"Democracies don't go to war with each other, Uvarov," Mark said coldly. "Democracies however
imperfectly reflect the will of the many, not the few. Or theone.
"As you've told me, Uvarov, we remain primitives. Maybe we're still too primitive to trust ourselvesnot
to operate without a democratic framework."
Uvarov bowed his elegant, silvered head but without conviction or agreement, as if merely conceding a
debating point.
The four scooters rose smoothly past the half-finished Decks.
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7
She was suspended in a bath of charged particles. It was isotropic, opaque, featureless...
She had entered a new realm of matter.
Lieserl. Lieserl! I know you can hear me; I'm monitoring the feedback loops, just listen to me. Your
senses are overloaded; they are going to take time to adapt to this environment. That's why you're whited
out. You're not designed for this, damn it. But your processors will soon be able to interpret the neutrino
flux, the temperature and density gradients, even some of the g-mode patterns, and construct a sensorium
for you. You'll be able to see again, Lieserl; just wait for the processors to cut in...
The voice continued, buzzing in her ear like some insect. It seemed irrelevant, remote. In this mush of
plasma, she couldn't even see her own body. She was suspended in isotropy and homogeneity the
same everywhere, and in every direction. It was as if this plasma sea, this radiative zone, were some
immense sensory-deprivation bath arranged for her benefit.
But she wasn't afraid. Her fear was gone now, washed away in the pearl-like light. The silence...
Damn it, Lieserl, I'm not going to lose you now! Listen to my voice. You've gone in there to find dark
matter, not to lose your soul.
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