Page 44 - The Perpetrations of Captain Kaga

Resolving the Mechanalog Ambiguity

“Who?”
“Professor Yostrik. He was my Resource in Nonsystematic
Philosophy at the PKU Academy. I called him last night and
described the Mechanalogs. He says there is no ambiguity at all; you
were right about that, anyway.”
“You did what? How dare you question my authority! I can have
you severely disciplined, you know!”
“Yes, sir. I’m sorry, sir. I just wanted to tell you what he said. The
mechanical aspect, or hardware, of life is irrelevant. When the original
Mazinozans transferred the contents of their brains, their personal
software, to those machines, they did not stop living. Each remains
unique, despite the uniformity of their new inorganic bodies. The
crucial determinant is that they can be killed; a machine can be
replaced by another with the same built-in logic, but a Mechanalog
can’t. There is no program for intelligence; it has to develop within
some medium, and there it will reside until that medium is destroyed.
Then it is dead and gone. That is the professor’s opinion; I just
thought I’d pass it on, in case you needed a reason to change your
mind, sir.”
“Captain,” said Colonel Krif, vibrating slightly in his upper body
segments, “your impudence astounds me. I shall have to report this
incident to PKU Headquarters. I advise you not to meddle further in
my affairs.”
“Yes, sir,” said Kaga, and they left the base in silence.
The mining freighter Kepler descended ponderously to the surface
of Mazinoza. It was a massive vessel, one of the largest in the fleet.
Its senior officer, General Pin, came out to greet the PKU
representative and his apprentice while the heavy equipment was
being unloaded.
“All set to go, Colonel Krif,” he said, peering down at the Hurgan.
The General was a towering orange ursoid from Melognath. “You
really got the deal wrapped up in a hurry.”
“There is no deal,” Krif said flatly. “There is nothing here but
robots left by an extinct race of intelligent beings. We can take the
bintillium with or without their consent.”
Kaga chimed in, “I told him, General, what Professor Yostrik’s
opinion of the Mechanalogs was, but—”

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