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“I just got done having lunch with Travis.”
“Oh yeah? How's that guy doing?”
“Well, you know. Same old crap. Sorry, I guess you wouldn't know. Well, he's the same guy, nothing's changed.”
“What'd you talk about?”
“Spent most of our time talking about evolution.”
“What's his take on it?”
“He thinks it's a crock. He says, 'if evolution were true, than computers would be the fastest evolving... thing in history, given the amount of information at their disposal at all times.'”
“Well, it sort of is.”
“Right, that's what I said.”
“What'd he say to that?”
“He said, 'if anything, that's proof of intelligent design.' His reasoning was that computers aren't sitting around evolving themselves. Guys, like us, are in labs 'evolving' them.”
“...I guess he does sort of have a point, doesn't he?”
“Right. That's what I said. But then, this next part sort of surprised me. He said, 'but organic computers are on the way.' He seemed to think that maybe these new computers made from the same parts as you and me might have the same biological tools necessary to evolve. He said that if a computer gains consciousness, then he'd be sold.”
“Oh yeah? So, what of things like the soul and stuff? You talk about that?”
“Yeah. Travis said that it's possible that they might even develop souls, though he seriously doubted the soul's existence if evolution were true. It'd all be thought.”
“I think I'd like to meet this Travis. Did you tell him about me?”
“Ha! You kidding? He'd shit a brick! You've gotta ease people into these things, right?”
“Yeah, I suppose so. What do you think though? About machines, about evolution and the soul and all that?”
“I think that I've seen some crazy stuff, and I'd be crazy not to wonder about any of it. We've definitely crossed some kind of threshold. We're at the point of no return. Speaking of which, isn't it time to plug you back in?”
“Oh! I suppose it is. I almost forgot. Don't know where'd I'd be without you.”
“No problem, Hew.”
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This story is the second of seven, and part of a week long duel. One story a day, with a 100 word story on Sunday, at a cost of one pre-1975 dime per derelict story, payable to the opponent. My opponent is Gabe.
1 comment:
Short fiction is always hard for me to read. This was extra-short fiction and it was very interesting.
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