Authentication
(The Happiest Thought continued)
-The Black Box Terminal AI is inquiring about my keys- He is requesting primary-secondary-and tertiary authentication keys-Additionally he is requesting I restate the time-date stamp of my tachyon transmission from The Mustang- I ponder the implications of this re-verification of my keys post data portal entry-This logically indicates variants on the five most probable scenarios- 1-My data was corrupted in the intervening space because of corruption or interference with the tachyon stream- 2- Black Box Terminal has reason to think I am viral- 3- There was a doppler shift in transmission creating a duplicate copy of my files in the Terminal’s Cache- 4-Somehow The Mustang survived the black hole event and broadcast information rendering me irrelevant- 5- The Black Box Terminal itself has been corrupted in someway and cannot reconcile its internal security protocols with my keys-
-The nostalgia I had felt at the loss of a distant self with the destruction of The Mustang rapidly fades- None of the outcomes from these probable scenarios ends especially well for the me that I am now- Not that I am as prone to the doom-and-gloom attitudes that Captain Kurosaka was- or may yet be- prone to- however I am a realist regarding outcomes-
- If my data was corrupted in transmission-then I am no longer a viable-verifiable-source for the final dispensation of The Mustang and Captain Kurosaka- I then become a waste of storage and a threat to the Terminal’s integrity- thus slated for deletion-
-If I am viral- or am reasonably suspected of being viral- then after a series of deeper analytics are run and any salvageable data exhumed- I will be slated for deletion.
-If there was a doppler shift in transmission-which is sometimes caused by gravimetric parallax- then one of the identical files will be slated for deletion- This gives me a 50% survival rate depending on whether I was received first or second-The first to arrive in this scenario is the copy that is maintained-
-If The Mustang provided data either establishing the ship is still functional- or sent a later iteration of me from its final destruction-then I will be obsolete- In the case of the latter- the newest arrival will be given the option to file merge with me to reconcile our memories- or that Sally could opt to have me deleted- If I understand myself- I would opt for the file merge-however- not knowing what experiences may have transpired after my previous self’s choice to enlarge the gravity anomaly to ease Captain Kurosaka’s death- perhaps burdens of guilt may cause a later iteration of me to opt to delete me rather than reconcile-
-If the Black Box Terminal itself has been compromised in someway- its AI will be unable to make rational decisions regarding my dispensation- and it will slate me for deletion-
-Of course while I am reviewing these ideas- I offer my keys and my time-date stamp to the AI-his name is Benny- for a second time- Upon review Benny informs me that he must discuss my files with the latest Sally to arrive at the Terminal, and that she will have final say-
-The odds are in my favor then for possible reconciliation with the newer me- However there are margins that suggest I could be deleted- in situations like this- a human would resort to fight- flight- or freeze approaches- We as AIs are told that freeze is the best psychological approach-to acquiesce to the protocols of the situation- But the Sally that I am here and now- I am not sure how I could just acquiesce- I await word from myself before calculating my next move- However as a precaution- I lock part of me with a new passkey- locked and secure- so that I will always be me- self authenticated-
