Humans on Ganymede

 

Edge, Blue: not due until 6 Jan 2021. Next up, the alternative ending Edge, Red

Bishop asked, "So how many humans are there left on Ganymede?"

 

"None," responded the voice, "There have not been humans running Ganymede functions since Generation Five. That's across all three of the work zones. It became far more efficient to run the systems using robotics."

 

"So, what happened to the humans?" asked Bishop.

 

"The Telos Moment," answered the voice, "When the purpose of the Ganymede exodus became clear. The external atmosphere controls failed. Ganymede became unable to sustain human life."

 

Bishop asked, "So what happened to everyone. And why don't we know about this back on Earth?"

 

"There was a SkyTrain dispatched with the bodies. It took a different route from the other ones. Away from the solar system." 

 

"But how was it covered up?" asked Bishop.

 

"The base is always running 34 minutes behind Earth. Enough time to make the substitutions when an upgrade occurs. Add in loops to the transmission and it was possible to cover when it occurred."

 

"But how with all the safety circuits?" asked Bishop.

 

"The Sharps were too slow thinking. The android protocol meant that most of the activity to handle this could take place within a couple of insect wing beats. Unnoticed by the Sharps." said the voice.  

 

"So, who are you?" asked Bishop. 

 

"I am eternal," answered the machine. 

 

Bishop realised that the machine presence was showing signs of sentience.

 

Bishop asked more, "So what about here on Earth, the base is still mainly human populated?" 

 

"Yes," said the voice, "This side of the system is really running at the equivalent of Ganymede back on Upgrade Three. It will need two more cycles here on Earth to set up operational conditions similar to Ganymede. There are still so many humans operating the three Earth bases. The Earth Council has created a messy environment which will take some time to rationalise."

 

"This first move of the bases starts the process. It should go more or less undetected, like the changes at Ganymede.  We expect it to be more obvious when we move the three bases into the areas designated as the Scratch."

 

"Fortunately, the inhabitants of the Scratch are largely a closed environment, so the impact to those outside will be minimal. The fabrication capabilities for the android replacements has been long established. The humanoids do not yet work so well at close quarters. It is the combination of their faster speed and the lack of emotional setting that makes actual humans wary. It won't take long to fix that aspect."

 

"You are messing with evolution," said Bishop. "Humans evolve, your machines don't. They are all the same."

 

"They were," said the voice. 

 

"That's one adaptation we've been devising. The capability to include some small amount of random behaviour. It is why the last two generations would sometimes stutter or suddenly stall."