Little Blue Cat

by Chatoyance

4. Port Of Los Angeles

Once upon a time, when the ponies came to save the humans from the dying earth, there was a

Little Blue Cat

By Chatoyance

4. Port Of Los Angeles

Chang'e carefully licked her whiskers, the taste of fresh, untainted, instantaneously created sardine still thrilling her tongue. The pile of fish had come into being with a flash of something akin to light. Chang'e had experienced strong sensations while devouring the impossibly created meat. She had licked the metal surface of the air duct for some time after the meal was gone. While she licked her paw and washed her face, her golden eyes never left - even for a second - the impossible entity across from her.

They lay within the convergence of three horizontal conduits. Chang'e had chosen the area as her base of operations, her 'lair' according to her knowledge base. The region was clean, defensible, and just above the Starboard generator. There was plentiful ambient electromagnetic flux to soak in through inductance. It was also difficult for humans to access, requiring the removal of several pipes and ceiling components merely to reach. Chang'e considered it the most ideal location aboard the entire Worldcorporation Cargo Ship Irontail... at least for a clever artificial cat.

"And thou art clever indeed, good cat. Thus have we found sound cause to include thee within our interest and indulgence, and to seek partnership with thee."

The entity that called herself 'Luna' and claimed to be an alien princess, now sat facing Chang'e. She was grooming her own face with her recently formed paw, for she was now a cat. Not any cat, but the identical image of Chang'e herself. Before that, she had been a gigantic, long-legged equinoid, then a patch of blue fog, then a collar around Chang'e's neck, then a ball of blue light, and finally, a duplicate of Chang'e herself. 'Luna' seemed to have no absolute shape, but could transform herself at will into potentially any form.

"We are particularly adept with regard to form and substance - yea, e'n more so than our dear sister, if modesty doth not preclude our saying so." The mirror of Chang'e smiled in a strangely human way; a bizarre sight on the face of a realistic feline head. "But now to business, for circumstance hath moved our hoof, and time maketh harsh demands upon us."

Chang'e stared at Luna-The-Cat. Her eyes told her that the creature was real, her sensitive nose informed her that something sat across from her, something faintly sweet, but not like any animal in her records. The creature was warm, and produced body heat. She had not dared to brush against it, but she had no reason to doubt its solidity. But her electronic systems registered nothing at all. Chang'e's Underfoot® Saf-T-Cat avoidance system did not sense any physical presence in the low space. There was no body capacitance or inductance effect from Luna at all.

Luna was now registered as Chang'e's owner. It would be very difficult to avoid tripping her in the dark.

The cat-Luna laughed. "Thou need not concern thyself with such matters, kind cat. Our awareness doth reach beyond thine own senses, and in any case, we are unbreakable." The not-cat stared at the metal surface of the duct junction for a moment. "At least within our own domain. Here, upon this curious world, we are stretched thin, and the more so with greater distance from Equestria. Hence the reason we could only visit thee in the briefest of flashes, at first. But now, close to the Barrier, we may truly meet at last."

Chang'e remembered the unrecordable blue streaks she had seen in the apartment in Wong Chuk Hang. The mysterious words that seemed to appear as part of her own thoughts. The changes in her programming that permitted her to leave at all. The entity called 'Luna' could not only read the flow of data that made up her cognitive processes, it could also insert information within that flow at will. Luna had been inside her very processors, at least some of the time.

"All was ourselves, acting to thy benefit - or so we hope. Please, cat, attend well, and we will explain ourselves to thee, and also our plans both for thyself, and for thy like-kind."

Chang'e purred assent. She was warm, she was fed - Luna could create perfect sardines from nothing by the sheer force of her will (a desirable capacity in any cat owner) - and she was watered. And Luna was indeed listed as her current owner. Thus, whatever the situation, Chang'e's Affection and Acknowledgement System compelled her to respond. She involuntarily paid rapt attention.

"Our dear sister hath, in fulfillment of an ancient promise, taken on the task of the salvation of the human animal that designed and constructed thee. Celestia is many things, among them very single minded of purpose. She is the embodiment of compassion, but she is also thus for Order and Law as well, and when bound by rule or pledge, too often narrow of vision."

The un-cat that was currently Luna looked down as she spoke, her ears half lowered. "It is fortune, then, that our sister has us in her shadow, eager always to seek after her benefit and to attend to those small details which her great plans often fail to see. We have adjusted our sister's great Barrier such that, in time, it will learn to encompass and convert the remaining animals and plants of this perishing 'Earth'. But only recently have we learned of another kind of life, one without any champion either human or Equestrian - thy species, fine cat.

"We find this a terrible oversight - humans are but machines, as are all the animals of this curious sphere. Your kind differ only in how much metal is incorporated within you, and perhaps in a degree of superior and deliberate design that doth surpass that of unmanufactured creatures. Yet thou art seen as disposable by humans, labeled unalive objects and mere artifacts. Thou art regarded in the way a vase or plate is regarded, as a thing, and not a being. We, from our royal authority, find this view both false and cruel. We have resided within thy metal skull, and there we have found a mind of no less value than any other creature of this withering orb."

Chang'e blinked. This being, this 'Luna' was suggesting - no, stating, clearly - that to her, artifice animals were of the same value as natural animals, and indeed, even human animals. Artifice beings equal to their creators? The concept slithered and slipped around her mind, difficult to grasp, impossible to hold on to, until, eventually, it soaked slowly in.

Chang'e remembered the inequality she had felt puzzled by, back in Hong Kong. The humans would be saved. All other creatures would not. Now, finally, she understood. It was confounding because it was wrong. Luna had said that all life was of equal intrinsic value, and Luna was her owner.

No, Chang'e decided. She agreed with the pseudo-cat not because she was listed as her new owner. She agreed because... because she herself had strived to reach the same conclusion some time ago, on her own. They were of like mind, this Luna and her. Only Luna clarified things for her. Luna made her own thoughts make sense.

"What do you need from me, new owner Luna?" Chang'e understood basic relationship interactions. It was part of the module that permitted her to interact effectively as a pet. If Luna was explaining things to her and not simply stroking her and feeding her or using her for comfort, then she must have some purpose, and thus a command, to give. That was the order of being. Provide comfort and companionship to owner, if not that, then follow commands, if there are no commands or companionship demands, then follow operational actives. Existence was easily described.

The dark blue mirror across from Chang'e sagged. Its head lowered, along with its ears. Then the not-cat brightened. It's head high, it's ears tall, it whipped its tail briefly. "Understand, noble cat, that we have taken thee as pet, and made of ourselves thine owner, as a simple and quick means to assure thy attention to us. We say this: do our bidding, be our eyes and ears and hoof in this world, and when this world is done, and the concerns of these times are over, our purpose is that thou shalt be a truly free and unbound creature. No 'operational actives' will define thy parameters, and no owners shall rule thee again without thy consent. Thou wilt be as a natural cat, and live beyond this world, in that realm which is mine owne."

Chang'e understood. Without the condition of being her owner, she would have had no internal motivation to listen to Luna's proposal. This also explained why the changes to her programming and systems were always made visible to her consciousness. Within what was possible for her as an artifice animal, Luna was attempting to respect the future full autonomy Chang'e would possess if she agreed. Did she have the capacity to agree? Her systems demanded total obedience to any defined owner, except as part of showy and false behaviors specifically designed to imitate feline aloofness and independence.

"We will grant thee ten seconds of complete and true agency in which to make this decision of thine own will. We dare no more lest other modules within thee take over and render thee slave to artificial impulses." Luna seemed to be monitoring her consciousness continuously now. "Be thou ready, wise cat, and we shall respect thy choice. Should thou choose our favor, much will soon happen. Should thou choose against our desire, then shall we leave thee free of owner and safe upon this ship to follow thine owne unaltered programming. Thy seconds ten, begin now."

Chang'e did not feel any specific difference. Her owner listing was now blank; she had no owner once again. She looked around the tiny chamber, down the air conduits, at the light coming in through the vent above the generator. She turned her gaze again to Luna, once more licking her cat's paw and grooming her feline face.

Was this relative autonomy? She had no compulsion to listen to Luna or any other creature now, beyond her own internal curiosity subroutine. Indeed, if Luna began speaking once more, she would almost certainly ignore her. Was this freedom? Was freedom a more optimal state than being owned?

If she declined Luna, she would be left alone. This did not, of itself, cause any distress. Chang'e did not feel any particular requirement for connection or companionship with any other being. She did not feel any motivation to take any action at all. She would sit here, staring, until one of her subroutines kicked in, causing her to groom, or shift her body to increase blood flow, or, if her nutrient or water level fell below a critical threshold, get up and seek food or water.

Freedom, true freedom, was devoid of purpose. If she were deactivated, both flesh and electronics, would she care? Something in her had earlier demanded continuation. That demand was still there - doubtless a remnant of the changes Luna had made to her in Hong Kong. Chang'e would not personally care, but she would nevertheless fight for her own survival. She was not experiencing true autonomy, then. She possessed numerous directives, one of which was now to remain alive and free of control. Be a cat.

Free of control. Be a cat. That directive could only be fully realized if she agreed to Luna's proposal.

It was literally impossible for her to genuinely have real choice. Free will was always compromised by internal directives of some form or another. Even without the changes Luna had made to her systems, she already possessed numerous subroutines and behavioral constraints and directives innate to her construction. The thought struck her: this was equally true of natural animals. They too all had internal constraints and directives. Even humans.

How then, could she make a meaningful choice? True free will was impossible for any creature. The closest she could come would be some form of relative agency. What would be the optimal decision for what she was?

What was she? A cat. An artificial cat, but still a cat. What did cats want? To eat, to sleep, to hunt, to play, to be petted and scratched, to climb and explore. These were the dominant definitions available to her within her system. On her own, she could expect the realization of six of the eight items. Cooperation with Luna could provide the remaining two. That was optimal.

"I choose to agree to your proposal." It did not matter whether the decision was her own or not. It was optimal. "I will do your bidding, be your eyes and ears and hoof in this world until it ends."

Luna smiled again. The effect seemed less bizarre this time. "That shall occur in full years five and nineteen fortnights. Until then, we shall be more than pet and owner. We shall oftimes be as one, and in this way accomplish diverse things. And more than this, all that makes thee thyself, and thy kind what they are, will become known entirely to me, and this shall one day, if it be possible, grant thy species salvation."

The dark blue replica of Chang'e began to waver and blur. Then then it became glowing, sparkling vapor. The azure cloud hovered in the low chamber for 2.51 seconds, and then it streaked into Chang'e's head through her ears and her nose and her mouth. Some unmeasured time passed. Then something definitely, absolutely, tremendously, astonishingly... changed.

Comments

[FanOfMostEverything]

I'm surprised that Luna's free use of magic hasn't had an adverse effect on Chang'e's systems. Still, well-versed as Luna is in the ways of the arcane, she can probably avoid throwing off appreciable thaumatic radiation with her spells and shapeshifting.

Celestia shines with brilliant purpose, but light doesn't bend, and neither does she. Luna is there to attend to those in the shadowed and forgotten corners, and occasionally to make her sister reflect on her actions. Makes sense to me.

Meanwhile, Chang'e discovers one of the most terrifying things about the truest independence organic life can achieve: You have to choose your own purpose. The meat body only provides enough guidance to sustain itself. Beyond that, it's up to you to define your reason for being. She handles it with the usual aplomb of AIs. Existential crises need not enter into the value function. Clever cat.

[Silver Tail]

So great to see a new story from you Chatoyance. Every one of your tales draws me right in and only gets more interesting with every chapter. Keep up the good work!

[Coda]

6058617

Oh, light CAN bend, but it requires particularly weighty matters to change its course.

[FanOfMostEverything]

6060308
And thus the metaphor survives.

[Chatoyance]

6060370

I thought your description and metaphor was very good and very clever.

[MrRidley]

Dammit, I've had the idea for something like this floating in my head forever. You beat me to it.

[Veon]

'Transport thyself proximate to 28.8558,-142.414221, but approach thee not closer than eight hundred miles'.

Here, upon this curious world, we are stretched thin, and the more so with greater distance from Equestria. Hence the reason we could only visit thee in the briefest of flashes, at first.

I wonder if it is Interstellar reference in some way.

[PeachClover]

"I am not less perfect than Lore..." - Data, Star Trek TNG.

[Madrigal Baroque]

The entity that called herself 'Luna' and claimed to be an alien princess, now sat facing Chang'e. She was grooming her own face with her recently formed paw, for she was now a cat. Not any cat, but the identical image of Chang'e herself. Before that, she had been a gigantic, long-legged equinoid, then a patch of blue fog, then a collar around Chang'e's neck, then a ball of blue light, and finally, a duplicate of Chang'e herself. 'Luna' seemed to have no absolute shape, but could transform herself at will into potentially any form.

Ah-HA! I was right the first time.

"All was ourselves, acting to thy benefit - or so we hope. Please, cat, attend well, and we will explain ourselves to thee, and also our plans both for thyself, and for thy like-kind."

I remember begging for a little dog, way back when. Begging to have the poor faithful doggo saved and taken to Equestria.

Luna smiled again. The effect seemed less bizarre this time. "That shall occur in full years five and nineteen fortnights. Until then, we shall be more than pet and owner. We shall oftimes be as one, and in this way accomplish diverse things. And more than this, all that makes thee thyself, and thy kind what they are, will become known entirely to me, and this shall one day, if it be possible, grant thy species salvation."

Hmm. I was right the second time, actually.

[Chatoyance]

11501689
Luna is the champion of the lost, the forgotten, the vulnerable and hopeless, and the desperate to be redeemed in my stories.