Beyond Asimios - Part 4 by Martin Fossum Read Free Book Online Page B

Oreg
like this made Graf somewhat envious and he was mortified at his own homely
appearance.
    —I
guess you’re right, Graf said as he worked to smooth out the few strands of
hair that sprouted from his shiny dome. But it is not every day one gets an
offer to fly on an alien spaceship.
    —Perhaps
you have unfinished business, Oreg said as he looked sideways at Graf. Maybe you
were not meant to die on Asimios?
    Graf
scratched at his throat and focused his gaze on the backside of his fluttering eyelids
for a second or two. If you were implying that predestination was involved, then
I would ask you to be more specific. For even though I am inclined, and you may
find this a bit old fashioned, to put my faith in a higher power, I don’t think
He was meddling with my decision to take a ride on your ship.
    —So
you do have a god.
    —You
could say that. Ten years ago I might have answered otherwise, but as I advance
in age, I’m starting to see the light, so to speak. I’ve had experiences, you
see—dreams—but that is a subject for a different discussion.
    —I
have a question.
    —Yes?
    —After
meeting me—your first encounter with a being from a different world—does
this test your faith? It is an old question frequently put to first contact
beings.
    —Quite
honestly, no. My faith has not been tested. In fact I feel closer to my god
right now than I ever have. At least, this is what I think is happening. We,
God and myself, are conducting what might be called a robust and ongoing
discussion at the moment…something we haven’t had in a long time.
    —Would
you have me believe in your god? Oreg asked.
    —No.
    —I
like your answer.
    —I
am certainly no missionary. But that leads me to you, Mr. Oreg. Do you have a
god?
    —Intelligent
Goerathians have no god, Oreg said as he joined his gold-ringed fists together—knuckle
against knuckle—above his lap. They honor the Great Mother during
festival, but it is the seven planes of truth that binds our people in spirit.
On the seventh plane there is only light—the true knowledge. But the
Great Mother is the source of the blood that courses through our veins. Goerath
the Mother…without her we are nothing. Without her beneath our feet, we are vanquished.
    —That
sounds like a conjunction of enlightenment philosophy and world goddess mythos,
Miranda put in, her blue and gold body stepping into the light from where she
had been standing in the back of the bridge.
    —Miranda!
Graf said as she approached.
    —I
could not help but overhear. I apologize if I have interrupted.
    —Not
at all, Graf said. Please join us. As you know, we were dallying the topic of
the existence of god.
    —Yes.
I find it fascinating, the two of you discussing theology. It is refreshing to
listen to.
    —So
it is fond of theology, Oreg said to Graf. Oreg then turned to Miranda: Do you believe in a god?
    —I
have a creator, Miranda said, but I have no god.
    —I
guess it’s no surprise that you’re an atheist, Graf added as he stroked his
chin. But I’ve always thought it a shame that an AI can’t experience the sense
of well-being that humans find in faith. Then again, he said with a chuckle, I
guess I would be rather shocked if I caught sight of an android kneeling before
the Cross.
    —It
might come as a surprise, Miranda said to Graf, but the quantum mind Paul implanted
in me is meant to expand...to grow and evolve in relation to reason and empirical
knowledge. As I exist, so develops my consciousness. It could be that in the
future I find it necessary to believe in a deity, but at present I have no reason
to.
    —Amazing,
Miranda, Graf said. Paul is a genius after all. So we are more similar than I
thought.
    —That
is a generous assumption. Self-awareness, or sentience, is universal, but our
similarities end there. Our consciousnesses, by architecture, are distinct systems
with fundamentally unique processes.
    —So
the way we think is different, is what you’ll have us