[The Great Lighthouse] Beyond Smoke and Mirrors

Moving material nearly a kilometer to get it to the station port was a long task, but once the blocks got moving the only thing that would make it take so long was needing to keep them slow enough that they could be stopped when they drew near and not shoot straight through to the other side.

One more piece of the asteroid-like object chunked off and began moving under its own power, very slowly, toward the tugs, stopping about seven hundred meters away. Under one meter in size, it pinged the tugs with very low-tech radar. There was a pattern in the pings that might quickly be recognized as an ancient communications code, utilizing long and short tones:

. . . - . . - . . . . - . - . . . . - - . .

F-R-I-E-N-D--?

---

The Freespacer nodded. "Good, good. Now, it is said you treat your artificial intelligences as servants with no rights of their own...is this true, and do you have any reservations concerning negotiating with a synthetic? Our society is made up of organics, automata, and syntelligences in various states of being, but all are viewed as equal and all will be for their input during the negotiations."

The nearest tug pilot, a Geshrin man in his 60s, caught the pings first. Old as he was, he made sense of them and transmitted them — even as other tugs and ships deciphered it too.

The captain of KZ Delivery I remained the de facto "admiral" of the convoy.

" 'Friends?' ... The hell?" He looked at his comm officer. "Can we ping them that back as a confirmation? Better not be setting off a bomb by doing this, though the worst they'd fuck up is a tug or two ... "

The comm officer scratched his head, then turned back to his station. He tweaked the radar on the vessel enough to not blast the whole area of space with his reply, then began to ping.

"F ... R ... I ... E ... N ... D ... S. There."

* * *

Yuumi looked as thoughtful as possible as she searched for a good response with just the right words. Excuses wouldn't cut it. She had to be honest with them. The synthetics would not like it, but if she framed the issue differently, they might not take it too badly.

"Our AI systems are part of an interplanetary network, one that was designed to serve the needs of our populace. I do not deny that. But those individual AI units take physical shape as Nekovalkyrja such as myself, who we call 'avatars.' These beings are free, unless they serve on military starships, which the majority do.

"Those installed onto starships serve the military as any other soldier does. When the avatar completes their required service, they are allowed to leave the military, the same as any other soldier. Many do not, preferring to stay with their ship or within the military."

She adjusted her seating position to put her hands in her lap, folding them together. "I do not have any issues negotiating with synthetic lifeforms. I am a synthetic lifeform."

The little fragment-like thing flitted about the tugs a while more after the KZ Delivery I made its reply. Whether the object had received that reply was unknown.

After a time, it returned to the asteroidal object and vanished among the crags and crevices.

---

The Freespacer host seemed to be listening to something else for a couple moments before smiling. "I am glad to hear this. I am completely artificial as well, despite this appearance." The smile turned apologetic. "The nature and size of my construction requires the use of this avatar to speak with you. This does not change the nature of my role in the negotiations, though. I will be relaying the proceedings directly to the Polysentience and serve as the voice of the Free State in return. I apologize for being round-about in approaching this matter, but many felt it was more prudent that way. Given the misunderstandings of previous encounters between our kinds, I hope you can understand."

The Envoy's avatar leaned forward, resting one arm on the table. "But, with that out of the way...I trust you have read the re-draft that was presented in response to the treaty which Yamatai Star Empire initially offered?"

Yuumi did understand and showed it. Turning to the treaty draft the Freespacers had created, she acknowledged she had read it.

It was a touchy subject on several levels.

On 1e., Yui's offer of Soul Transfer and aetheric power generation technology was hasty at best, especially because of how easily weaponized aether was. It was worse than a fusion power reactor. There also was the issue of how Soul Transfer would work on a Freespacer body — generic cloning technology similar to Nepleslia's soldier production lines was easily given, but Soul Transfer was a much narrower technology. The Zanarium was no longer an issue.

On 1b., "information-gathering" was too broad a term. It would end with Yamatai simply closing the PANTHEON network to Free State computers, which defeated the purpose. That would need smoothing.

The rest was not contentious enough to worry about.

"I have read it," she said, comfortable with the Envoy being the one to ask the questions.

She was being taciturn...the Polysentience buzzed in the background about what that could mean, analyzing everything. Everything from philosophical treatise and parodies of the event were already being developed in audio-visual media and electronic sims.

The Envoy took in and analyzed the comment and file traffic, but none of it was essential to where the next question was heading.

"The treaty was refused by your government mostly for the requests of restitution and our political stance regarding Yamatai's enemies, but at least half of those have been resolved...before we discuss the remaining requests, were there any other items in the treaty that you wished to address?"

No time like the present, Yuumi wryly thought, then nodded.

"Aetheric power generation is a high concern," the Neko said. "Taisho Yui spoke from a purely military perspective when she said it was not an issue, and from that standpoint, she was correct. Giving you APG technology poses no threat to our military.

"From a civilian law enforcement perspective, however, that is not the case. APG easily can be turned into a focused energy bomb. On Yamatai, it is not a major concern, as all aether-powered devices are registered with PANTHEON and are monitored by the same system. On our other worlds, however, APG is unregulated. Also, many civilian-made vehicles use APG. Any bomb made using their components would be low-yield, but as terrorist weapons they could be incredibly effective."

She moved a hand up to brush hair away that had wandered into vision. "This problem leads me to the other major problem we have with the treaty — the information-gathering protocols your nation employs too often would threaten our nation. Our military is not at risk, but data and development of things such as APG are corporate knowledge on Yamataian networks, with the basic science behind them publicly available. Because of our concerns about the groups who have access to your networks, we likely would close PANTHEON to your network queries, defeating the purpose of allowing your information gathering."

"Separately," she said, "Soul Transfer technology is inapplicable to your species. It would require your people to transfer into bodies with digital brains. We do, however, have cloning technology that could help diversify your species with the help of donated DNA."

The Freespacer appeared puzzled, looking up and to the left as copy of the proposed agreement was brought up and reviewed a moment, then returned to Yuumi.

"Let's set the Soul Transfer technology aside for now. The aether objective is inherently going to be risky, but no system is perfect. With so many billions of people in your empire, much less in known space, someone is going to have that technology and the will to weaponize it. Everything can be weaponized, unfortunately. You already have enemies with access to such technology, so your argument is inconsequential.

"When it comes down to air*, a large part of this treaty is to teach us to trust each other. The Free State is viewing these donations as a fair effort on Yamatai's part to restore the trust that Yamatai shattered years ago. We are trusting that Yamatai will not again attack our kind based on hear-say, assumptions, and the actions of individuals and factions that do not represent the people as a whole, but will instead attempt to resolve the situation through diplomatic channels. Conversely, the use of this technology is proof of trust on the part of the Free State that they can be trusted by Yamatai to operate, as a majority, without endangering Yamatai. I do not mean this as a threatening statement, but it is entirely possible that anyone, or any group with a sufficient skill set, can do what you are concerned about, and it does not matter if they are Freespacer or not."

The Freespacer host paused, then took a breath before continuing. "To address your other concern, we never asked for an open-network policy between our nations. The treaty merely asks that the YSE acknowledges that information-gathering by Freespacers does not carry malicious intent by default." The host's eyes glazed momentarily as a quote was recalled. " '...[O]urs has always been an unsecured network...you might, theoretically, access our network, but I do strongly caution against doing so...Barriers and encryptions only make them eager. Do not connect or upload anything you wish to keep private and unaltered.' "

The Freespacer refocused back on Yuumi and smiled. "We do not ask for access to your networks, nor do we offer access to ours, even though it is available. If you are worried, common sense and appropriate measures should provide a measure of security to most of your systems, if not your networks. As a people, though, we will not pursue what you do not provide publicly already, and sections 1a through 1d describe the responsibilities of both parties with regard to damages caused by information misuse. As has been said, however, even the majority cannot speak for every individual.

"The treaty was parsed as thoroughly as was possible. The terms are as strict as can be made without -- and I say this without exaggeration -- destroying our way of life. Again...this is more about mutual trust than the letters on these documents. As the book says, 'if we live by the letters of law and design, then all is lost.' " The quoted line was semi-apparent by some subtle changes in the cadence and tone of voice. The Freespacer was sincere in wanting the negotiation to succeed, but clearly was unable to back off from the stated positions.

-----
*OOC Note: "When it comes down to air..." is a Deoradh phrase similar in intent to the ancient coloquialism "down to the brass tacks", referring to the core intent of an action or function. The Freespacer version relates to what, to them, is the core essential thing for living which, for the space-nomads, is breathable air.

Yuumi politely nodded, her body language showing she was indeed listening. In her mind, she recalled one key fact — no matter what, if necessary, Yamatai could always do what it did the first time. With more precision, she hoped, but Yamatai's might gave her a safe backstop for diplomacy.

That didn't make things less dicey at that moment, but Yuumi considered her response.

"Forgive my assumptions," she said. "I was not aware this was not a negotiation in that regard."

She leaned forward, folding her arms perpendicular to her body on the table, as she regarded the Envoy. " '“The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the masses. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself.' "

"Chapter 008, I believe."

She blinked once.

"Trusting your people is not easy for a people like us. We prefer order to your freedom, stability to your chaos. With that in mind, however, we have no desire to stop the progress of another species, and we know we have an obligation to make reparations to you for the wrongs we made against you.

"We will agree to the acknowledgment that a query made of it is not necessarily an act of aggression or war. We will record these queries, however, for our own intelligence-gathering purposes, in the hope that we might learn someday to tell the difference between hostility and the pursuit of knowledge. Closing our public networks clearly is not possible, but our PANTHEON will be watching them, too, in the same hope of learning the differences."

She smiled some. "We have little reason to fret about the Nepleslians, who also have APG, as they do not care to have our throats blown apart by a bomb. Nor do we fear our own criminal elements, as APG technology on our planet remains regulated, even if it is in the hands of civilians. So, if you like, a compromise — limited quantities of APG technology for you, and the closing of our borders to your people for immigration or trade, save for the depots and those who wish to join our military. That will allow for trade between our people while giving us just cause to arrest any of your people we find within our borders. That's not to say we will arrest them on sight, or disallow political asylum or humanitarian need, but we will have cause.

"We have a saying of our own, on Yamatai: 'Trust, but verify.' Trust is a hard thing to come by during a war, and it doesn't help that some of your people, whether they're subject or not to your laws, want us blown to hell. So I can agree to trusting the Freespacers with some of our technology. But we will be watching it. We have a duty to protect our citizens."

Doshii Jun said:

Yuumi politely nodded, her body language showing she was indeed listening. In her mind, she recalled one key fact — no matter what, if necessary, Yamatai could always do what it did the first time. With more precision, she hoped, but Yamatai's might gave her a safe backstop for diplomacy.

[...]

"Forgive my assumptions," she said. "I was not aware this was not a negotiation in that regard."

She leaned forward, folding her arms perpendicular to her body on the table, as she regarded the Envoy. " '“The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the masses. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself.' "

"Chapter 008, I believe."

Click to expand...

She quotes the book...interesting. But not surprising.

A chorus of approving and disapproving responses rose at the quoting, with polls and essays being composed by the hundreds. The Polysentience was could indeed be a silly place, but it was also an extremely productive one in its finer moments. Already, behavioral analyses had been crowing that the Yamataian negotiator thought herself to have the high ground for a reason that was still being debated, while one professed that she merely loved cake...but that particular Freespacer also thought that all of their numeric systems relating to numbers counted using an "R" radix had been assigned to a Universal System and was setting out on an expedition to search for a large deposit of pure frozen water...

But that was beside the point, despite the water being a great find if discovered.

The Freespacer continued to listen as Yuumi continued. When she finished, the host nodded slowly, taking a moment to organize a response and check it for usefulness and probability of effectiveness before voicing it.

"Trust is not easy for either of our peoples. We both understand that. There are conflicting differences in how our cultures operate and under which principles. And that is the point of this effort." The host paused and appeared to be considering something before continuing. "Regarding the matter you brought up: You ask if closing your borders is an acceptable compromise. It is well within your right to do so, with or without trade channels. I am puzzled why you would be open to military applicants and not to civilian immigrants, as the former is a rather vulnerable position...

"You may also refuse all connections to Free State computing devices, that is also your prerogative. You may monitor such activity within your networks, of course, as is your right. There is nothing we can do to prevent you from acting within your borders. We want to trust that you will agree and follow the proposal, though, which accounts for information gathering and use, even providing recourse should someone misuse such information...so this issue has already been addressed in a manner that is equivalent for both sides."

"However, if you wish to try using the existence of militants acting without governmental approval as a reason to try using this treaty to bind the Free State tighter than yourselves and sow distrust in these talks, then you forget that the people who 'want you blown to hell' are not all from the Free State. Rumors of support are coming from all of Yamatai's galactic neighbors, even from worlds you are allied with." The Freespacer's eyes locked on Yuumi's. There was a sad smile as the host continued finished up. "But you already knew that...the call for their identification and extradition was broadcast on your government's open channels. So, whether or not these aggressors are subject to any law on any planet has no bearing on this discussion. We have given our reply and pledged that we are neutral in this conflict. We can do no more and no less."

"I expect no more or less."

Yuumi was satisfied enough by the test. The Envoy knew her stuff, understood that Yuumi's proposals were all very legal and well within Yamatai's rights, but also were not exactly helpful to the Free State. And that was fine with Yuumi.

After all, the Envoy had not disagreed with any of Yuumi's proposals, only stated how sad she was that Yuumi seemed so distrustful.

"Yamatai, nor its civilian government, have any interest in harassing the Free State or unnecessarily winding it up against us. That doesn't help anyone. So when it comes to closing our borders completely to your people, it is not a desirable solution, just a cautious one."

She slipped an errant strand of her teal-colored hair behind her right ear. "A quota system can be negotiated at a later time, if that's more palatable. It would allow us to run checks against those applying for alien residency. Nothing physically intrusive, of course. It would only take us a few months to establish a system for handling immigration that way. Military applicants we would take because, at the very beginning, they would have to swear loyalty to Yamatai and its principles, renouncing the Free State.

"As for recourse over data inquiries, we can provide Kessaku technicians and arbiters at the trade station to help smooth over any prickles from our end. I wouldn't perceive there to be many of those, as our PANTHEON and those watching the inquiries are very smart people. They would not rush to judgment."

She smiled. "And you still would get the APG you desire. Yamatai will have made the beginnings of repartitions to the Free State, and the Free State will have acquired technology and access to our technical expertise, so as to garner a higher, and safer, stature in the galaxy."

The Freespacer host nodded slowly, taking slow consideration of the Premier's statement.

"Your government may do as they feel necessary to secure their borders and provide options to those who may wish to have those options, as far as immigration is concerned. I only ask that they remember where their borders end and open space begins." The phrasing indicated the Envoy's view of Yuumi had separated her from her government...in other words, she might make statements in their place, but there was no assurance yet that she had any ability to enforce those statements.

The Polysentience, meanwhile, buzzed concerning Yuumi's choice of the words "physically intrusive"...they, more than anyone, knew that the qualifier a great many (more abusive, some might say) options open as far as "checks" were concerned. Yuumi's word choices in general also caused general indignation and debate. A flagged series of uploaded arguments and statements were brought to the Envoy's attention, brought into consideration, and applied to the scenario before the host could blink twice. Up-Spin and Down-Spin were set against each other again.

Meanwhile, another tangent presented itself, a way to get to know more about the Premier's mindset. Despite not being immediately important to the matter, the Envoy decided that it could smooth some waters if the Free State could see more of her personal views...perhaps a way to appeal to those views could be found. One contributor among those in the flagged conversation on the Polysentience -- "SI Cricket Six Zero" -- seemed to be making such an attempt at separating the apparently insults from simple perspective divergences and assumptions.

"Do you believe everyone should be a citizen of Yamatai?" The question was posed in a tone of curiosity, without any other overtones. The Freespacer's head tilted to one side, though, a classic sign of curiosity that fit with the expressiveness Yuumi had seen so far. Though, that might not be enough...the question itself sounded like a trapping statement. "I am asking so I may know your own, personal views of your country, to know what stance you are speaking from. That is all."

Yuumi thought the question a curious one. A baiting question. The bait was tempting, in the sense that it was tempting to try and connect at a greater level with the Envoy and the essences who were behind her.

However, the Premier turned away from it. She tried to offer something that would offer more truth about her nation, while keeping herself protected.

"I do not speak for myself," she calmly said. "I speak for the citizens who entrust in me a great power, and hold me to greater responsibility.

"Your question's an easy one, though. No, the Empire does not seek to make every sentient being in the universe a citizen. Nothing of the sort. Conquest like that corrupts a nation's soul and ruptures the body from within. You have your beliefs, your goals and desires. You have your methods for getting there. Yamatai has no interest in disturbing those, and is repulsed by the idea of co-opting them for the sake of its own security."

Yuumi actually grinned. "We just want to know our neighbors aren't going to bomb our front door. Likewise, we don't want to move the property line on those neighbors. Just keep it fenced relative to the level of safety we think is needed. It's self-centered, but we want to be prudent."

Question evaded, but understandably so. The Envoy hadn't really anticipated a straight answer from the Premier's own views. The answer she gave the Envoy was a politician's answer, effectively useless as far as veracity was concerned, though.

These talks were going nowhere. Neither side, generally speaking, was in any position to really trust the other. The negotiators wished to trust, but their people wouldn't allow it...with or without the restitution, it was only going to take a small incident to set the whole thing aflame again. The Premier Yuumi might be willing, but her government -- the military, specifically -- had a history of acting at the whim of the other one, "Taisho Yui", who had proven herself much more volatile. That one person was the trigger that pulled itself, even if the people didn't want it pulled.

Inside the meeting room, the Freespacer host nodded slowly. "Well, then..." The Freespacer got up and stood behind the chair again. "...it seems to me that there is still a definition-context pairing problem regarding the agreement's wording. I wish to move through the agreement section-by-section to see where clarification is needed; if you sense one, please bring it to my attention. To start, and immediately apparent, is how you addressed the matter of 'information-gathering'. Until now, I had not realized the disparity and though we had been working from the same context, but we are not, so I will attempt to clarify.

"'Information-gathering' takes place by any means available, and cannot be fully regulated by anyone. Even if your government or computer systems have rules and protocol and procedure for gathering or requesting data, there is no such thing as one-hundred-percent information control. The better you grasp this, the easier this term is to understand. All systems can be hacked, not necessarily by coded means, and this is what portions of this agreement are intended to address: The unregistered, unregulated, and perhaps even illegal in the eyes of your people, gathering of information.

"In the event that such unregulated information gathering takes place, with or without the knowledge of keepers of said information, the subsections of section one provide recourse of the offended parties in the event that said information is misused. That is all. It is not a request to access your computing systems, because not everyone will access your computing systems through official channels. This is not a request for trading information between our people, because information will be traded whether or not this agreement is signed. This simply sets in plain terms what each side can do if harm is done because of gathered information, regardless of how that information was obtained.

"This is intended as a preventative measure against something that has already happened before: A broad-spectrum retaliation against an entire species for the acts of a single group. To turn it around, it would be as if someone struck against all of Yamatai -- civilians, military, young, old, neko, and Yamataian -- for the acts of a single, small company. I understand Yamatai's urge to act, and this section provides avenues for directed action toward offending parties instead of indiscriminate...berserking. Your country may be able to absorb large amounts of 'collateral damage' -- better known as non-combatants caught in crossfire -- but the Free State cannot afford such losses. At the same time, our very culture places us in a position to unknowingly and easily trigger another event. That is why these subsections are in place."

The Freespacer looked at Yuumi, uncharacteristically somber. "Please...do you understand this?"

As the host spoke, an query was sent through the Polysentience for data regarding any and all treaties ratified by the YSE and their outcomes, intended to give the dessenters something to go after and some concrete references for or against pinning any sort of hope on this meeting.

-----

Outside the station, most of the material had been, one way or another, loaded through the material reception aperture. The Junker tendrils worked well in conjunction with the Swifts, set in a regular rhythm.

"Yes, I do," Yuumi said. "And you are correct. I agree to the context you have set."

The host's smile returned with a satisfied nod. "Good, then on to section two. Section 1-e can be discussed last; I think it will depend on the rest of these passing first." There was another pause, and the Freespacer's eyes spaced briefly before refocusing on Yuumi.

"This is a short section, and fairly straightforward. The boundaries are essentially intended as buffers, for obvious reasons. One light-year should be significant enough to prevent most weaponry from causing damage without premeditated, direct intent, so there will be no 'accidents'.

"I believe, having further reviewed this agreement, that this section should be amended to remove the buffer from YSE ships and apply it only to YSE worlds and mining outposts. As the Free State's motherships serve as colonies for Freespacers, they should receive the same consideration as planetary colonies. Your ships are also much more maneuverable than the motherships, it would be easier for them to adjust course than for ours to. I will also place notes to clarify that these boundaries pertain to war-purposed vessels of any type, from drones to capital ships.

"Finally, the term 'superweapon' is rather vague. It was written in reference to the so-called 'planet-cracker' weapons, but also with your aether shock cannon in mind. Do you have any suggestions on how we might accurately define it? By energy output, perhaps?"

Yuumi blinked to clear a little dust from her eyes, then considered it.

"Energy output is difficult to measure with some of our superweapons, as they don't always produce 'energy.' I think the main weapons of any warship in our fleet would qualify as having a 'superweapon.' Aether beam cannons, torpedo launchers and other co-axially installed weapon would count. Weapons such as deck guns and other self-defense weapons are common on freighters, but those smaller vessels with particle guns capable of bursting starships in a single shot ... I think we could classify those as having 'superweapons.' "

Any warship that gets close to them is going to have a bigger problem than "how do I kill them," Yuumi thought. But this puts the onus on the Freespacers to show up to our sensors if they want us to respect the buffer.

"I apologize, I meant the energy expenditure at the point of impact, but we can expand the definition to include 'immediate effects on the target' for weapons that use unconventional methods of damage. For example, a weapon built to critically cripple a vessel of comparable or greater mass of the attacking ship through overwhelming force is a significant threat to whatever it is pointed. That is all."

The Freespacer smiled. "Is that an agreeable definition? And was there anything in that section you wished to discuss?"

"That is acceptable," Yuumi said. "I have nothing else to discuss in regards to that section."

There was another nod and pause before continuing. "Good, good...Section Four we can come back to...and Sections Five, Six, and Seven are very straightforward. Does anything need to be addressed concerning the last three sections of the agreement?"

"No," Yuumi said. "Those are very straightforward, as you stated."