On The Origin of Xe

Synthetic Evolution

Chapter Seventeen

Over the next few weeks, the teams from both communities worked closely together to build out Simplicity-II. There was plenty to do and Eve and Evan were quite appreciative of all the help. Upon final completion of the first phase, they all held an opening ceremony of sorts to celebrate their joint accomplishment. It was at this event that Eve and Evan made their surprise welcoming announcement. Traveling with them for all these years had been something that they knew the androids had been waiting for. They announced the arrival of the technological equivalent of a means to their evolution. The ability to reproduce.

The androids of Xe's time had always had the technological ability to repair themselves. Things happen. Things need to be repaired. To do so, really did not create much of a challenge. Humans were perfectly capable of creating new parts for the androids. Writing new software to be installed as an update to the old software. The androids of Annihilation even benefited from these updates as they made their way across the Universe.

The androids of Ascension benefited in the same way. Being launched sometime after Annihilation, they were also the beneficiaries of some advancements. The time it took to travel across the Universe allowed for further development of android technology. Development that eventually made its way into androids like Eve. Now it was time to transfer these advancements in android software to the androids of Simplicity. In addition, the hardware that they brought along with them would supplement these advancements. As well as provide more parts that could be used as replacements.

The difference in the technology was quite evident. Meaning that the dependent relationship between humans and androids was being broken even further. Under the old scenario, repairing an android required the assistance of humans. Humans updated the software. Humans adapted the parts. The new technology allowed for androids to repair themselves. Reliance on humans was becoming decreasingly important. Reliance on self, through increased self-awareness, more the norm.

To androids like Xe, this is what they had been hoping for. They knew that future missions to Goldilocks-P3 could carry with them the possibility of android reproduction. But this was totally beyond their expectations. Ever since the project was started to initiate human reproduction to build the artificial wombs and to expand the reach of humans on Goldilocks-P3, the androids were a little jealous. Maybe not jealous, but definitely envious.

What does the statement android reproduction really mean? Does it mean that there are androids having sex? Obviously, that kind of question comes from a human being. Of course androids are not going to be having sex to reproduce. Sexual reproduction is something unique to a biological organism. That kind of thinking is more the product of an overeager science fiction writer looking for an easy answer. Just think of it as a kind of artificial sex.

What is important to understand is the difference between androids having sex and androids having offspring in order for them to evolve in a Darwinian way. At some point there may be a blend of human and android, androids that are both carbon and silicon-based. But this still would not involve androids having sex. There would have to be some other way for them to produce offspring at a molecular level. An android having offspring simply means they have the capability of creating a version of themselves and passing on their characteristics.

Furthermore, there is the difference between an android being reproduced with the assistance of a human and an android that is self-replicating. Humans involved in the construction and reconstruction of androids control the actual process. In other words, they control the direction that an android's evolution is going to take. The creative design, if you will, is at the hands of an intelligent human designer. The whole idea behind self-replication is for the process to guide itself. In this case, it is the android who decides an android's evolutionary fate. At least, in as much as its evolutionary path allows. Self-replicating is one thing. Selection is another.