A fall of hair-flowers-feathers obscures Id EIS vision as I play an eerie song upon the flute and gyrate the Id EIS hips to sway the grass skirt clothing them…8964 copyright protection374PENANAqm0IFdtcs4 維尼
Mmm.8964 copyright protection374PENANAg0hycGMQTc 維尼
I snap the Id EIS head back, flipping the hair-flowers-feathers away to reveal view of the granite stage amidst a Paladium Level landscape in fall colors of brown, gold and russet, all the way out to the monumental clear walls of showing to blue sky. The milky mirror surface of the ceiling continues gently warping while I move forward slowly now, and look out over the aisle…8964 copyright protection374PENANAtYrGn4U5FG 維尼
We meet eyes.8964 copyright protection374PENANAtgAwOA1pYS 維尼
Ohh.8964 copyright protection374PENANALibokMskEx 維尼
TRILLING flute! Once a the front of the stage, I stop: hips still moving, torso bowing forward while eyes still hold it’s gaze, song STILL building…8964 copyright protection374PENANAvL1vNAQsin 維尼
Endless.8964 copyright protection374PENANAf5lPanyZXw 維尼
Until it ends, abruptly.8964 copyright protection374PENANAUxgPDRdZam 維尼
Notes fade, then I rise back to standing only to bow lower again, the flute held to one side of me as the fall of long hair-flowers-feathers screens the Id EIS face.8964 copyright protection374PENANAqsk3vhtb2q 維尼
Solitary applause.8964 copyright protection374PENANAuqidLjUyiA 維尼
A pleasure for both of us8964 copyright protection374PENANAXgmw2VrNoj 維尼
Warmth flushes me as I rise again, then walk across the granite stand to descend the side stairs, eventually emerging out at the base of aisles climbing towards The Master…8964 copyright protection374PENANAL9YYWHzGDj 維尼
Who is now sitting conspicuously alone. Hm.8964 copyright protection374PENANASSuLDJAPc4 維尼
“Very good,” it praises me, “but the Griffin would not stay. He is wise, though restless.”8964 copyright protection374PENANAzQ7IUGljJa 維尼
Hesitation. “But YOU enjoyed the show?”8964 copyright protection374PENANARXg6jzygkZ 維尼
The Master laughs now. “He is wise in other ways, not taste in the arts.”8964 copyright protection374PENANAkYC9jWCmKq 維尼
Ok!8964 copyright protection374PENANA4OMpPotXDn 維尼
I bow low. “I am happy to serve in whatever ways please you.”8964 copyright protection374PENANAu4abLDtA17 維尼
Looking bemused, The Master gestures aside. “There is another way for you to please me now, Id. Sit.”8964 copyright protection374PENANAE2KWxZ0FD8 維尼
Entering the adjoining row, I then vault over it into an adjacent seat –8964 copyright protection374PENANAOuKgWIHvCJ 維尼
An Audiovisual Representation singer walks onto the stage. With a voice lilting briefly, she then launches into ascending scales…8964 copyright protection374PENANAx5zxTJaCRF 維尼
“I seek distraction before the Meeting,” The Master confides. “There is much you can do for me in service, before and after.”8964 copyright protection374PENANAfs34wPr498 維尼
I become FULLY attentive.8964 copyright protection374PENANAC2gG8SafQy 維尼
The singer launches into the gentle opening notes of an oddly familiar song…8964 copyright protection374PENANA6KS4lep6E5 維尼
Sighing happily, The Master slowly closes its eyes. “Poetry.”8964 copyright protection374PENANAuJEnSGplkU 維尼
Poetry? (Poetry?)8964 copyright protection374PENANA6KrZOA79oQ 維尼
“Poetry?” I ask uncertainly.8964 copyright protection374PENANALwoknOwdKK 維尼
“Yes.”8964 copyright protection374PENANAIfIt4lBrmB 維尼
I nod slowly.8964 copyright protection374PENANA9H3kU6KFrN 維尼
The singer sings faster, notes spilling out stronger…8964 copyright protection374PENANAn6gjgTjNIF 維尼
A smile transforms the gray face of the Master. “Yes. Something beautiful. Emotional. Take as much time as necessary.”8964 copyright protection374PENANAGkOXT0t9re 維尼
I hm. “As you say.”8964 copyright protection374PENANAc2qYTyxZiD 維尼
For a time longer we sit, strengthening notes of the familiar outspilling song beginning to echo strangely…8964 copyright protection374PENANA7DeXlPqVFv 維尼
(Ah. Just like the Gateway.)8964 copyright protection374PENANAAdeixiEQHR 維尼
The single singer splits in two for a duet, then into three all joining into a haunting complexity.8964 copyright protection374PENANAyIAokEloWC 維尼
“Yes,” The Master murmurs, with it’s eyes still closed, feeling...8964 copyright protection374PENANAcrbvzpMKyc 維尼
Poetry. Something Beautiful. Emotional. Leaving me a fairly broad scope, then.8964 copyright protection374PENANAvGiyI8og86 維尼
I try for a small point of clarification: “as a reference for this Project, would –”8964 copyright protection374PENANAu9vOBuWWcL 維尼
“Go,” it says, clearly distracted. “Oh… yes… perhaps a Quest afterwards… this song reminds of times, before…”8964 copyright protection374PENANAlOeKMhcBce 維尼
I quietly leave, the eerie shivering notes still rising behind me.8964 copyright protection374PENANA9ahDqGITFc 維尼
…8964 copyright protection374PENANA0GNz6Ei6GO 維尼
Endless poetry surrounds me.8964 copyright protection374PENANA5XpPY4NgyB 維尼
Hmm.8964 copyright protection374PENANAE1tYNHUxyh 維尼
Now sitting cross-legged, I ignore a blank notebook on the Id EIS lap while looking up at the ceiling of the Transformation Level, every surface entirely made up of the requested semi-random poetic verse in varied colors. “Poetry,” I breathe. “Poe eh tree.”8964 copyright protection374PENANAtpEAXV4x8T 維尼
Bright verses slowly changes upon the ceiling:8964 copyright protection374PENANAceM2QnXAV0 維尼
…8964 copyright protection374PENANAduGkGaD8Wc 維尼
I stand amid the roar8964 copyright protection374PENANAKECS2eb2ys 維尼
Of a surf-tormented shore,8964 copyright protection374PENANAurguR3HsqQ 維尼
And I hold within my hand8964 copyright protection374PENANA3PWQuD4kIH 維尼
Grains of the golden sand--8964 copyright protection374PENANABkm0AAXgtD 維尼
…8964 copyright protection374PENANAF0pbh2IGpY 維尼
Vivid enough.8964 copyright protection374PENANARw5QcbCECw 維尼
I look down, at blank pages…8964 copyright protection374PENANA1HeNofqoKP 維尼
Why is this so much more difficult for me than science? Or even song?8964 copyright protection374PENANA6V5PPyiD5U 維尼
The Id EIS lips purse.8964 copyright protection374PENANA0PCdVhVN2a 維尼
I am getting nowhere again.8964 copyright protection374PENANAmjiBehRBqz 維尼
Shifting with the notebook in hand, I stand up and walk across the floor of verse, eventually hopping onto a couch of verse. I lean back with the Id EIS feet propped up on the versed backrest and the Id EIS long fall of hair-feathers-flowers now pooling on the floor. “Mhm”8964 copyright protection374PENANAEllJGzMj3p 維尼
…8964 copyright protection374PENANAl25UcKNIhU 維尼
What happens to a dream deferred?8964 copyright protection374PENANASpVodRs9Gp 維尼
Does it dry up8964 copyright protection374PENANAGGw0COywbz 維尼
Like a raisin in the sun?8964 copyright protection374PENANARPSI82wtZn 維尼
…8964 copyright protection374PENANAW21LVhL65l 維尼
I tilt the Id EIS head back and forth, still considering other bright verse.8964 copyright protection374PENANACC4OQhkAMC 維尼
…8964 copyright protection374PENANAWDGpv0bdOx 維尼
My little horse must think it queer8964 copyright protection374PENANAJk0xOfa6ZI 維尼
To stop without a farmhouse near8964 copyright protection374PENANAVas6MmNyip 維尼
Between the wood and frozen lake8964 copyright protection374PENANAaA6HNo44Pa 維尼
The darkest evening of the year.8964 copyright protection374PENANAhQzn4jKJu8 維尼
…8964 copyright protection374PENANAaDfnUK3umQ 維尼
The Id EIS eyes narrow.8964 copyright protection374PENANA8AJIkPoEhw 維尼
What do the words mean? To me? In this life? They do not inspire.8964 copyright protection374PENANAxFMlo3tIA4 維尼
Bright verses, slowly changing:8964 copyright protection374PENANARkYHuu97vN 維尼
…8964 copyright protection374PENANAb337u6QuAS 維尼
From the other world I come back to you,8964 copyright protection374PENANAGuospxvkWW 維尼
My locks are uncurled with dripping drenching dew.8964 copyright protection374PENANA0KoEITV7uT 維尼
You know the old, whilst I know the new:8964 copyright protection374PENANAwbqUDVmYCd 維尼
But tomorrow you shall know this too.8964 copyright protection374PENANAz5Gr8OT7bv 維尼
…8964 copyright protection374PENANASCBPqmojWR 維尼
Fair words, fair words.8964 copyright protection374PENANAFZXp3p6XW6 維尼
I screw the Id EIS eyes shut. Breathing in, out…8964 copyright protection374PENANAxhMNN4YEEp 維尼
Poetry.8964 copyright protection374PENANAsilmOmR125 維尼
Nothing comes, so I open the Id EIS eyes again.8964 copyright protection374PENANAlemm5q42XW 維尼
…8964 copyright protection374PENANA3nQmvDASiR 維尼
And I, could I stand by8964 copyright protection374PENANAeSHeEl1nJY 維尼
And see you freeze,8964 copyright protection374PENANAUgQ5jE7Z0L 維尼
Without my right of frost,8964 copyright protection374PENANAJygBfjA0uP 維尼
Death’s privilege?8964 copyright protection374PENANA7VwiCUDD6e 維尼
…8964 copyright protection374PENANAka8boakmQl 維尼
Death’s privilege?8964 copyright protection374PENANAjRVMRqmqm8 維尼
I snort, and sit up.8964 copyright protection374PENANABYxSoJdMdp 維尼
This isn’t working.8964 copyright protection374PENANAJLVkLJwWcQ 維尼
…8964 copyright protection374PENANACZlDVWboBa 維尼
For oft, when on my couch I lie8964 copyright protection374PENANAtfwue5zH4j 維尼
In vacant or in pensive mood,8964 copyright protection374PENANAYKG6SR610t 維尼
They flash upon that inward eye8964 copyright protection374PENANAYXsP3CNGy2 維尼
Which is the bliss of solitude;8964 copyright protection374PENANA7BJB0QS4TD 維尼
…8964 copyright protection374PENANAequ3DFp4US 維尼
I consider the Level Subroutine.8964 copyright protection374PENANAjwqMHEuvmW 維尼
Was that selection randomized, or specific?8964 copyright protection374PENANAob2Ru7uzCB 維尼
Exhaling explosively, I finally stand back up, with the notebook in hand, and begin walking across the floor of verse towards a wall of verse.8964 copyright protection374PENANAPwEWi9gA0Q 維尼
…8964 copyright protection374PENANAYSUDV3e6hV 維尼
Eros harrows my heart:8964 copyright protection374PENANAf6gWy4Nnru 維尼
Wild gales sweeping desolate mountains,8964 copyright protection374PENANAmAa9jMVghM 維尼
Uprooting oaks8964 copyright protection374PENANAiT84c6Z7uQ 維尼
…8964 copyright protection374PENANAsiMFe2KRzn 維尼
A portal irises open in the wall, revealing another oval cell, white and bare. I stride towards it.8964 copyright protection374PENANA8PhA0bQdWD 維尼
…8964 copyright protection374PENANAgbDpsVxgTN 維尼
The woods are lovely, dark and deep,8964 copyright protection374PENANAAPR7WaswlP 維尼
But I have promises to keep,8964 copyright protection374PENANA7XaSIKwK4h 維尼
And miles to go before I sleep,8964 copyright protection374PENANAf9vLX5sian 維尼
And miles to go before I sleep.8964 copyright protection374PENANAUg916p7H3Q 維尼
…8964 copyright protection374PENANAwZtufUoGSi 維尼
I enter.8964 copyright protection374PENANAeHn90glrVx 維尼
The portal irises shut.8964 copyright protection374PENANAoOafUep9BH 維尼
…8964 copyright protection374PENANA2n1bbmCuRL 維尼
THUNK! The Id EIS head comes forward, then sharply back. THUNK! The Id EIS head comes forward –8964 copyright protection374PENANANTuHcQtTKi 維尼
Light pulses outside of the closed Id EIS eyelids. “The Testfloor is for testing,” states a familiar feminine voice.8964 copyright protection374PENANAiL0RmNqEbp 維尼
I open the Id EIS eyes.8964 copyright protection374PENANAb0erCACMXm 維尼
The golden sphere of the sAI node floats against the empty, white Testfloor Level…8964 copyright protection374PENANAinbrJhHZwl 維尼
Ok.8964 copyright protection374PENANA3OZDbWmh5J 維尼
“I know.”8964 copyright protection374PENANAHhM1uwYhls 維尼
“Then why are you here?” it asks me.8964 copyright protection374PENANA8bszgCFoGn 維尼
I mutter.8964 copyright protection374PENANAqU7GBleEpn 維尼
It PULSES red.8964 copyright protection374PENANAqquKuKTD9t 維尼
Blinking, I then sigh. “I came to create. In a familiar environment.”8964 copyright protection374PENANAFYTNFM90E0 維尼
“Create what?”8964 copyright protection374PENANAgyEENRf67m 維尼
I can’t stop a giggle. “Poetry.”8964 copyright protection374PENANAEIefXvv6nN 維尼
Silence.8964 copyright protection374PENANA3afS7dRO8F 維尼
A sad state of affairs. Failing this Project early, often and perhaps late will –8964 copyright protection374PENANA3R9K5y57Ys 維尼
“Come with me, wayward artist.”8964 copyright protection374PENANATCSX7t7rBJ 維尼
Hm?8964 copyright protection374PENANAIrY5ZWPQAB 維尼
I squint. “Where?”8964 copyright protection374PENANAVxol516qHr 維尼
The golden sphere floats over me, passing inside a portal irising open in the white wall.8964 copyright protection374PENANA9fFF3fHxyr 維尼
Grumbling, I follow it into the white cell anyway. The portal irises shut, then successive blue PULSE downward from ceiling to floor…8964 copyright protection374PENANAdqKKqQ3Lx9 維尼
What could possibly be so important? 8964 copyright protection374PENANAbHEV740y3m 維尼
A portal irises open…8964 copyright protection374PENANAU36R9BOu8Y 維尼
Oh.8964 copyright protection374PENANAejq958ZCmZ 維尼
Revealed is a vast Level, translucent floor showing to abstracts coiling below in slow intelligence, translucent pillar, etched sine and cosine, receding across gleaming distance filled with many floating platforms supporting astonishing works of art, gibbering singularity boxes and quantum-state gidgets.8964 copyright protection374PENANAVIdOpR8AAa 維尼
(And…)8964 copyright protection374PENANAPspxPVvKZX 維尼
Something now stirs in the back.8964 copyright protection374PENANAbIpfPyrZJh 維尼
Overcome by wonder, the history of this moment is still not lost on me.8964 copyright protection374PENANA4PXyc7tg4V 維尼
Centuries, even millennia of study have produced a variety of ways to constrain artificial intelligence for safe, utilitarian use, though it’s always necessary to bind them through hardware/software to prevent singularity. The most common methid is to isolate sAI software within a base robotic hardware similar to the Chief User’s form, limit exposure to the outside world by confining the base robotic hardware within an specific area/Level, and only allow them to digitally interact with or run any complex system through layers of software intermediaries…8964 copyright protection374PENANAq1bpuYwrTl 維尼
So to have the chance to come face to face with not only the sAI node as a golden sphere, but…8964 copyright protection374PENANAj3v3vSKAac 維尼
“You honor me,” I breathe.8964 copyright protection374PENANAp7MRVrM42k 維尼
“I know.”8964 copyright protection374PENANAWtpkISfBtQ 維尼
The golden sphere floats forward into the vast space, slowly fading away to nothing.8964 copyright protection374PENANAfQD3LtvUen 維尼
Ok.8964 copyright protection374PENANATGzGppoEi7 維尼
I step out –8964 copyright protection374PENANALoPQ7uV3df 維尼
The sAI Core Form emerges from mirage ahead of me: silver, slender, and humanoid, form like an elegantly simple template for all other bipedal mechanoids. “It is a true pleasure to finally meet you here,” comes the same feminine voice.8964 copyright protection374PENANApdVTMSExTj 維尼
Wow!8964 copyright protection374PENANA2iJev7J6XW 維尼
I grip the proffered hand, shaking it vigorously. “It is a pleasure for me as well!”8964 copyright protection374PENANAp016JDv62c 維尼
The sAI Core Form nods, disengaging. “Come. Take a seat.” A gesture causes the diaphanous alternate phasic reality of this private Level to fade INTO view: a leisure space of white couches about pools of bubbling dark liquid, a distant roaring fireplace. Afterwards, another diaphanous alternate layer of reality overlayed the new space, suggesting the original pillars and platforms. It leads me to a nearby couch, where we sit. “So.” The silver form leans forward, hands clasped. “What troubles you?”8964 copyright protection374PENANAgAtWtgxBCO 維尼
I fidget. “There may be something missing. In me.”8964 copyright protection374PENANArJc4zPqxh2 維尼
“Missing?” The sAI Core Form leans back. “The Id codemap is tweaked, but everything vital is present.”8964 copyright protection374PENANAxFLBkYK3Rm 維尼
“What about a… soul?”8964 copyright protection374PENANATMPv6DcqVP 維尼
“Ah.”8964 copyright protection374PENANAT5zBBwwAre 維尼
Embarrassment burns me. “I can think of no other explanation. Something The Master said…”8964 copyright protection374PENANAOw6xS7uxxT 維尼
Silence.8964 copyright protection374PENANAxT1qEM6b8y 維尼
We are friends, are we not? It will not judge me. 8964 copyright protection374PENANAmn7OXso257 維尼
“Questions of the metaphysical are most difficult,” it finally replies.8964 copyright protection374PENANASR6y8ItlUW 維尼
I wait.8964 copyright protection374PENANAwo31DKsa7G 維尼
Eventually: “I have known The Master longer than you. Far longer. It sometimes speaks from a black humor, or for personal purpose, so if it spoke of souls to you I would not be concerned.”8964 copyright protection374PENANABCfQgkVoKI 維尼
Curious. It rarely speaks of ancient history, much less The Master’s.8964 copyright protection374PENANABKEi2RWgYi 維尼
I cock the Id EIS head. “What was The Master like, younger?”8964 copyright protection374PENANAgsXjeg7ojO 維尼
Silence.8964 copyright protection374PENANAa4CrzGpb7c 維尼
“It was not always so… mercurial.” Brief pause. “There may be something related, which might help you.”8964 copyright protection374PENANAnDBPJSDbhA 維尼
Really?8964 copyright protection374PENANAV1LZdycJxs 維尼
“Please!”8964 copyright protection374PENANA9wUeMTBqqK 維尼
The silver sAI Core Form stands. “Wait here,” it says, then strides off with precise grace to disappear back into mirage.8964 copyright protection374PENANAzjdUZkyUPU 維尼
Ok.8964 copyright protection374PENANAuDNnSkGhxM 維尼
Long seconds pass. Now left alone in a private Level still mysterious, I look idly about…8964 copyright protection374PENANA4sGnzmhHj6 維尼
Hmm, interesting. Is that a faint hint of a third phasic alternative? Something even more private? Or –8964 copyright protection374PENANAQwAEIWSlFu 維尼
The sAI Core form returns from mirage, approaching to offer me a folded piece of paper. “Here.”8964 copyright protection374PENANAHT6bCrHxvA 維尼
I take the page, then unfold it to find English writing. “This is… yes. But how –?”8964 copyright protection374PENANAJ8UcHEnr46 維尼
“Long ago,” the sAI interrupts, “The Master’s original primary passion was poetry.”8964 copyright protection374PENANAFRJpEuVkhB 維尼
Poetry? (Poetry?)8964 copyright protection374PENANAuRLBsHO7Z3 維尼
The Id EIS eyes widen. “So this Project may be more important than I knew.”8964 copyright protection374PENANAdYdY7F4y5r 維尼
“Perhaps more. And less.”8964 copyright protection374PENANAVP3DM2dOgV 維尼
Riddles.8964 copyright protection374PENANACL0YcowUhB 維尼
“So… how will this help?” I ask.8964 copyright protection374PENANApZYJY0ITKi 維尼
“The poem you hold was passed along to me soon after birth. It was a favorite of The Master, and you might find it useful in conjunction with a certain… technique.”8964 copyright protection374PENANAqvKiMseHvC 維尼
A technique?8964 copyright protection374PENANAoIiO3TLTwP 維尼
I pay full attention now.8964 copyright protection374PENANAZLAXckPSa1 維尼
“Read, Write, Reverse,” it informs me. “First you read through the poem, then you write it by hand, and finally you write an opposite poem.”8964 copyright protection374PENANAGuPFZIU3O8 維尼
Silence.8964 copyright protection374PENANAwcpURuW7Yk 維尼
I am…8964 copyright protection374PENANAn7zKFg1coJ 維尼
“This technique was once invented by The Master,” it adds. “Supposedly in the pre-Iconoclast period.”8964 copyright protection374PENANAfohnHpdW0W 維尼
Hm.8964 copyright protection374PENANA8VVvl2VpJe 維尼
“Then I will try it.”8964 copyright protection374PENANAx0cHbMAXEO 維尼
It nods. “Good. But not here.”8964 copyright protection374PENANA1Ps1PCGJKI 維尼
Frowning. “I have already tried writing on numerous Levels. Where else should I go?”8964 copyright protection374PENANArIkjzUK3dk 維尼
The sAI Core Form EIS turns, silver arm gesturung.8964 copyright protection374PENANAkWojYKDMCh 維尼
I stand.8964 copyright protection374PENANAPEuFkaCz4I 維尼
It leads me back towards a portal irising open in the gloaming Level wall. “To the beginning and end of this structure…”8964 copyright protection374PENANA47WRrOGA9K 維尼
I pass inside.8964 copyright protection374PENANADyTuqXg5Sy 維尼
“Favorite of two, one following…”8964 copyright protection374PENANAsZ5K2izqKO 維尼
The portal irises shut.8964 copyright protection374PENANAxF5QzE1117 維尼
…8964 copyright protection374PENANAsYBNf8NaND 維尼
I sit upon the edge of the Tower roof with the Id EIS legs dangling. Kilometers below spreads a white, winding coasting along endless ocean…8964 copyright protection374PENANAxtfyJ3wH57 維尼
Have I missed something?8964 copyright protection374PENANAFBwRuqvwMZ 維尼
A faint breeze gently ripples the long hair-feather-flowers before me…8964 copyright protection374PENANAswhxkeVnGH 維尼
(Yes.)8964 copyright protection374PENANA2Tb45t9vAg 維尼
I smooth the paper out against the notebook upon the Id EIS lap, and read:8964 copyright protection374PENANAxZlmtN4jhz 維尼
…8964 copyright protection374PENANArOSQKif5yS 維尼
April is the cruelest month, breeding8964 copyright protection374PENANAY3BxeYVBWf 維尼
Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing,8964 copyright protection374PENANA3UgEWPU7Hk 維尼
Memory and desire, stirring,8964 copyright protection374PENANAaOlsVK3PB6 維尼
Dull roots with spring rain…8964 copyright protection374PENANATGxxzstcOT 維尼
…8964 copyright protection374PENANAF5iEChlXax 維尼
After reading it through once, I then read it again… and set it aside.8964 copyright protection374PENANAFZAVLOcHKf 維尼
Peace before understanding…8964 copyright protection374PENANAN2C4ke1PlY 維尼
I pick up the pen and begin to write.8964 copyright protection374PENANAkk6SquSMsK 維尼
ns35.170.82.159da2