Quantum Katana Online: Websuit 0.E (Archived)

Chapter 8: What Is the Nature of Sentience? (Part 3 of 3)

"Soul?" He doubled over in laughter, leaned forward, and almost fell out of the recliner. A corporate attorney asking about a soul?

"The Self, then." She raised her voice and made chopping staccato motions with two fingers. "Some immutable personality that transcends physical termination."

"What the hell are you talking about?" He shook both of his hands in the air. He was getting excited again, too much for his own good. "There is no immutable self, we're constantly changing. Each person is the sum total of his or her experiences, actions, and thoughts. All of which can be collected, digitized, collated, and then input provided and output delivered."

"There are bound to be gaps... you really believe the digital Ken is a complete copy of the Ken in this universe, don't you?" she said and then took a deep breath and exhaled loudly while shaking her head. "Only through the Empress's—"

"Yeah, yeah, I get it, through the all-powerful Empress everything will be made right."

"Don't disparage the power of the Empress."

"I'm sorry," he bowed his head, his chin touching his chest, and smiled.

"You'll rue the day." She pointed her finger at him.

Talk about bad role-playing. What a shitload of hokum! She's talking as though the Empress was some kind of god, or a demon out of some B-movie horror flick.

"You haven't been exactly forthcoming this entire conversation," she said. "You know, to be the best partners, we have to trust each other."

He only nodded.

"The copy's not perfect, but it'll suit the Empress's purpose." She smiled and looked into his eyes. "Keep up the good work."

"What is the Empress's purpose?" he said.

She stared at him and narrowed her eyes. Then, she stood and walked up to the wall monitor. "Let's get back to the operational aspects," she said. "We need to lower our risk of lawsuits, so don't send any of the special helmets to households with minors in them. But we do have a common need to keep the game running, now don't we? And if addiction helps ensure that goal, then why would I or the Empress object as long as the risk is manageable within reasonable parameters?"

His superficial answer had worked, but he wondered how long their goal would remain a common one.

"By the way, the path has been smoothed, so Chie's family is the obvious exception," she said.

"Chie's path smoothed..." He furrowed his brow and then struck his fist on the recliner arm. "I get it, she's going to go after the copy of Ken."

"Bravo," she said and clapped her hands. "Now that a good enough copy of Ken"—she wiped her glasses and then repositioned them on her nose—"that is to say, good enough to fool her, is in-game, she has no choice."

"Only a copy," he said to himself, frowning and pinching his lower lip.

"You're the one who said the Ken in-game is only a copy."

"I know, I know...," he said, frowned again, and laughed.

"His soul could've been transferred," she said.

"I already told you, there is no soul," he said. But what if the in-game Ken was a perfect copy. Soul or no soul, it wouldn't matter. It would be all the proof he needed.

"Why haven't you ever logged in?" she said.

"What're you talking about?" He squinted at her with one eye. "I test each and every one of the new features. I have final approval, you know?"