In Aeternum

by Traintrack to Nowhere

To Determine

Chapter 7: To Determine

It was late. Celestia had long ago lowered the sun,turned Equestria over to her sister for the night, and climbed into her bed for some well-deserved rest after several centuries of managing affairs both during the day and the night. Even now, nearly a year after her sister’s return, Celestia enjoyed this time to its utmost, sleeping quite deeply given the opportunity…

As a result, when a letter appeared over her head in a flash of green dragon-fire, tied unusually sloppily (the loop was slightly uneven), Celestia was not disturbed at all and it fell to the tip of her nose before rolling off onto the floor as she shifted slightly in her sleep.

.X.

It had taken no small amount of convincing to get Eternity to agree to let Twilight return home that night, and even that was if the gynoid determined that she didn’t need medical attention at any point during the night. As a result, when Twilight’s hooves carried her tiredly to the door of her library, Eternity was right behind her, looming up like some monster out of a children’s tale, ready to sweep her away and carry her off into the night to a horrible fate of extensive bed rest at... the hospital. Somewhere, that analogy seemed to have fallen apart. Maybe she was more tired than she thought.

Still, this needed to be done as soon as possible, and a detour to the hospital over something so silly as a couple of scratches and minor exhaustion wasn’t conducive to that goal. The letter she’d written was a bit abrupt, but Twilight was keeping both herself and Spike up far later than usual as it is. As a result, the letter had been much shorter than the unicorn would have preferred. But… a yawn escaped her mouth… it was late. She could send a follow-up later.

For now, her bed was calling her name most convincingly.

Twilight fell asleep before she could even leave her chair.

.X.

At the unicorn’s request, I left her to prepare for sleep by herself, keeping a close ear on her activity. It seemed she had been writing something. A diary entry, possibly. Her breathing and heart-rate were consistent with what I’d observed so far, however, and didn’t seemed to be changing. Thus, I determined she was as well as she claimed and returned most of my attention to my surroundings. A small portion of my processing power was still dedicated to observation of her health. It would not do for her to suffer due to inattention.

There were a lot of stars out this night.

It was just like all those nights, so long ago, when I wandered the world in solitude. Here in this small town, where the streets were not lit at night by anything, and away from any major population centers, there was nothing obscuring my view of the night sky. The glittering sky above me was immense and vast, wrapping about the world like a great blanket. It was unfamiliar. I did not recognize this sky. The constellations I knew were still present, but they were scattered oddly. There were far too many stars, as if someone had decided sprinkling them across the sky wasn’t enough and decided to start dropping them here and there as they pleased.

It looked like the black tile of a school I once observed, after a child spilled glitter all over the floor and tried wiping it away with their shoe, only to spread it about further. Childish… but there was an odd sort of innocence to it. It was a work made roughly and imperfectly, but with sincerity. If I could feel, I could not hate this sky for that reason, I’m certain. Yet, I could not love this unfamiliar sky all the same.

Time passed, and I observed the world about me carefully. Was it a habit?

At night, I always found myself outside of the building, overlooking the world around me. It offered a vantage point. Nothing could get inside if I was outside, watching. It was a defensive behavior. Defensive... The unicorn was not my charge. I failed my charge. I failed everyone. Everything… but it was under my protection.

“...doesn’t it get lonely out here, every night?”

I wouldn’t fail to protect something again. It would not happen again.

”No. It is fine. I don’t get lonely...”

Never again.

.X.

Twilight woke up the following morning in her bed the scent of breakfast cooking downstairs. Which might have been odd, considering she didn’t remember actually reaching her bed last night, but that could easily be explained by the fatigue she had felt. Opening her eyes and sighting a picture on her nightstand, Twilight briefly levitated it. The picture lifted into the air easily without any unusual difficulty or pain, and Twilight lowered it back into its proper place, satisfied that she had recovered from last night’s activities.

Last night.

There was something she was fo-

‘Where’s ‘Eternity?’’ Panicked, Twilight nearly through herself from her sheets - only to be held back by a firm, gentle… hand? Suddenly, Twilight’s vision was filled with blue. ‘Where did she come from?’ The unicorn wondered distractedly, staring at the bipedal being before her in blunted shock.

“Please do not stress yourself,” Eternity intoned, giving the unicorn a serious look before removing her hand and stepping back.

“You…” Twilight murmured, trying to process what had just happened. “...were watching me?”

The being before her didn’t miss a beat replying, “Since the sun has risen, yes. I determined my presence outside was causing the inhabitants undue stress and have retreated indoors to maintain a more direct observation of your wellbeing.”

Twilight pondered this for a moment before she posed her next question, “Direct observation?”

Eternity took slightly more time answering this question, face impassive as always, before speaking, “I was listening.” She must have seen the next question on Twilight’s face, because she elaborated a moment later, “...to the rhythm of your breathing. It remained consistent. I determined your condition was at least stable, if not improving, as a result.”

Twilight blinked. Then blinked again. Slowly, the shock wore off and she took in the entirety of that statement. “You were… serious about monitoring my health?”

“Yes.” The biped responded simply. “I do not tell falsehoods. It is against my nature.”

Twilight noted this, but wasn’t sure she could believe it. On one hoof; this being had been nothing but helpful so far. On the other hoof; aside from that behavior there was no proof of it’s inherent intent… but, then again, it was impossible to prove a negative. Eternity could do nothing to definitively prove she doesn’t have any ulterior motives beyond acquire trust so… could she give the benefit of the doubt? Oh, how she wished the Princess had responded to her letter…

Taking a risk, Twilight decided there was nothing for it. She would take its word at face value until proven otherwise - there was no other option, really. Was she or was she not a student of friendship? It didn’t seem very friendly to treat some… thing that had been so benign so far with such suspicion. This mental obstacle overcome, or at least put aside for the moment, Twilight’s natural inquisitiveness rose to the fore.

“Against your nature?” She asked. It was not the first question to come to mind, or indeed the one she wanted to ask most, but it was the most relevant to their current subject of conversation.

“I am a construct,” Eternity answered, without hesitation, and with absolute certainty. “To that end, the core traits of my personality and nature were imparted onto me by others and are immutable. Among these core traits, I may only speak facts.”

The details of that statement were run through Twilight’s exemplary mind and several things stood out immediately. Principally, “You mean… that is…” How to phrase this question? She couldn’t find the proper-

“I am a free-thinking, free acting individual.” Her guest interrupted, guessing her question. “However, I may only act within certain parameters. There are guidelines. I have the capability to be… a dangerous entity. My creator needed to ensure I would remain safe for his kin. I do not begrudge him this. I desire to protect, not to destroy.”

“Then… you have a... code you are bound to?” Twilight observed.

Eternity nodded. “I have a moral compass. I am obligated to follow these guidelines, and cannot operate against my code.”

Twilight frowned pensively, taking in what she head learned, before asking the next reasonable question. “And that code is?”

“Do not harm a human being. Do not harm the self. Do not allow a human being to come to harm unless it would interfere with the second rule. Do not allow the self to come to harm. Answer all questions truthfully…” There was a brief pause, and a slight narrowing of Eternity’s eyes, as if focusing on something distant. “...Protect those around you. Protect the priority target, above all else.”

“Priori-” Twilight was cut off by a Spike’s voice shouting from downstairs.

“Hey Twilight, breakfast’s ready!”

Author's Note:

Yes, yes I would do that to you.

And I'm running out of infinitives.

Comments

[John Tannius]

“Do not harm a human being. Do not harm the self. Do not allow a human being to come to harm unless it would interfere with the second rule. Do not allow the self to come to harm. Answer all questions truthfully…” There was a brief pause, and a slight narrowing of Eternity’s eyes, as if focusing on something distant. “...Protect those around you. Protect the priority target, above all else.”

Interesting, but ponies are not human. I wonder how an A.I. might interpret that.

[Traintrack to Nowhere]

4200943
Literally, of course. They are not human, therefor those rules do not apply. However: "Protect those around you," still keeps them covered, and:

"...I desire to protect, not destroy."

Eternity is not liable to go around hurting, harming, murdering, causing general mayhem, etc. without a very, very pressing reason. She values life - of any variety - too highly for that.

[John Tannius]

4201171

Still, it would be what attributes were programmed in to determine what is Human. Is it form, intelligence, culture? There are so many things to describe humanity that if there were enough overlap, ponies could theoretically qualify. It's an interesting thought for programming A.I.

[Traintrack to Nowhere]

4201344
Biology.

Spoiler alert below, seriously.
However, she is capable of making the judgement call herself. If she can rationalize someone as 'not human' she is capable of bypassing the law, and has done so in the past. That said, it was done in order to 'protect the priority target' - which is her prime directive. Her code is much more complicated than the basic synopsis she gave Twilight, as well.

[John Tannius]

4201547

That's cool, I enjoy seeing how different people conceptualize artificial intelligences. It would seem there as many different types as there are people to think about it.

[Traintrack to Nowhere]

4201595
The bulk of Eternity's restraint comes from: 'Protect basic human rights,' followed by, 'Obey the law of the land.'

[Shadowhime]

I readied your story like you asked me to,and loved it. ,and want to read more . So my dear baby brother pls UPDATE it