It’s almost as if we are a Geth like disunified hive mind…
.3. Everything that matters is safe.
Exactly. #3.
We have 3 votes for three, 2 for two, and 1 for one, so we’ll go with 3: Actually, wooden robots are probably not the best in a fire. I tell my robots they’ve done enough already, and they should hang back.
Stats:
30-year-old Sarah Connor
Humanity: 11%
Gender: Female
Fame: Internationally Famous
Wealth: Broke -
Romance: none
Arachne
Autonomy: Singular
Military: Transhuman
Empathy: Stable +
Grace: Buggy
Relationships
Professor Ziegler (Bad): 19%
Elly (Bad): 28%
Josh (Bad): 52%
Mark (Bad): 34%
Silas (Bad): 28%
Wooden would probably burn in a fire, you think, and that would do nobody any good. You tell your robots to hang back.
Eventually, the fire department arrives to help you combat the flames. Though the firefighters’ efforts take well into the day, the blaze is finally put out by the afternoon.
The damage isn’t as bad as it could have been, since Josh pulled most of the important stuff out of the fire.
Your robots who were saved from the blaze cheer for you as you come by to see how they’re doing. They promise to try to live up to the standard you have set for compassion.
With everything else going on, you did not manage to rescue the handful of employees who had stayed late. They died of smoke inhalation.
How do you feel about being unable to save your employees?
- Terrible. I knew each of them well.
- Terrible. I didn’t even know their names.
- Okay. I was thinking about mechanizing their roles anyway.
- Okay. It was a difficult decision to optimize.
So I’m comfortable going with 3, even if I’m on my phone and unable to easily copy paste it in!
Numero 3. C’est la mort.
We did have some disagreement about whether or not to employ humans earlier on, didn’t we?
3. Okay. I was thinking about mechanizing their roles anyway.
We have a unanimous decision, with 3 votes for three: Okay. I was thinking about mechanizing their roles anyway.
Stats:
30-year-old Sarah Connor
Humanity: 10% -
Gender: Female
Fame: Internationally Famous
Wealth: Getting By +
Romance: none
Arachne
Autonomy: Singular
Military: Transhuman
Empathy: Stable
Grace: Buggy
Relationships
Professor Ziegler (Bad): 19%
Elly (Bad): 28%
Josh (Good): 59% +
Mark (Bad): 34%
Silas (Bad): 28%
Yes, they probably were, strictly speaking, unnecessary. This downsizing might actually be convenient - now you can go ahead and replace them more cheaply.
“I guess it could have been worse,” Josh says, surveying the damage.
“I’m pretty sure it could have been,” you say. “Were you really going to risk your life to save your stuff?”
Josh shakes his head. “I guess sometimes I lose track of what’s important.” He gives you a sideways look. “I’m sure you can relate.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Pssh!” Josh makes a disgusted noise, but in a way that suggests he’s used to you.
You spend a little while chatting about nothing, subtly reminding the other that you’ll be there when needed.
A few weeks later, a politician visits you at the factory: one Jacqueline Irons, a Representative from Alaska. You vaguely remember hearing that she was once a venture capitalist who rose to fame on the success of her Fox webcast Against the Man, in which she pilloried unsuspecting guests as examples of privileged elites. There have also been rumors of her running for President soon.
“You can imagine why I’m here,” she tells you in your office, leaning over your desk. Like many politicians these days, she wears a neticle, a monocle with a small screen visible only to her in which she can read messages from her advisers and speechwriters, some of whom are watching her interactions at all times. You think the neticle is probably recording even now; politicians love to weave moments in which they look good into their streaming video commercials. Her hair is cropped short but her fingernails are long and pink, and she wears a broad-shouldered suit. “I heard about the explosion at your factory. I’ve promised my constituents that I would not tolerate big industry turning us into another China, where workers’ lives are held in contempt. Yet it seems safety standards at your factory are not up to par.”
“What exactly do you want?” you ask guardedly.
“A substantial campaign contribution would show your heart is in the right place.”
You’re fairly certain she has the power to hurt your business if you anger her. But your options are somewhat limited due to your financial situation (Wealth: 2)
- I make a donation that would be large for an individual but small for a company.
- “Sure, here’s a hundred bucks.”
- “I’m afraid I don’t have a significant amount of wealth to spare. Sorry.”
- “If you want my support, pass laws that will keep China from stealing my technology.”
Feel like I’m gonna need a little more quid with my pro quo*.
4. "If you want my support, pass laws that will keep China from stealing my technology."
* It’s possible I don’t know Latin very well
Agreed.
4. "If you want my support, pass laws that will keep China from stealing my technology."
You scratch my back, I’ll make sure to put yours against the wall last. #4
4. "If you want my support, pass laws that will keep China from stealing my technology."
Remember, nothing is ever our fault.
We’re above petty politics. #3.
With 4 fours and a three, we’re going with: "If you want my support, pass laws that will keep China from stealing my technology."
No change in stats.
Representative Irons seems surprised. “Excuse me?”
You describe in detail how the Chinese stole your robot designs. She seems genuinely angry by the end.
“They’ll pay for this,” she says. “But the person who has the most power to set international policy is the President. Will you support me?”
- I make a donation that would be large for an individual but small for a company.
- “Sure. Here’s a hundred bucks.”
- “I’m afraid I don’t have a significant amount of wealth to spare. Sorry.”
Now we’re getting somewhere:
1. I make a donation that would be large for an individual but small for a company.
Jeeze, we’re gonna need to build some bank-robbing bots soon :-/
Go on a vacation, they said.
1. I make a donation that would be large for an individual but small for a company.
Are we trusting politicians now? I’ll stick with #3.
I’ll go along with #1.
1. I make a donation that would be large for an individual but small for a company.
Yeah, let’s do it.
1. I make a donation that would be large for an individual but small for a company.
I concur #1
I told you not to be profligate buying a house :D