USH'S MATRIX GAME 2006 FOURTH ASSIGNMENT (PHILOSOPHY)- 'The Door'

Started by Lord Melkor102 pages

"What is your motivation for opening the door, Lo Qi? And the way you wanted to make it our own choice, but a very ignorant and tainted one...."

"Not tainted at all, and you were not ignorant of the situation as it originally was told to you by the Oracle. She did not tell you what was behind it either, and yet I do not hear any anger towards her. Just as she did, I left you in the situation you would be if you had faced the door with no interference whatsoever. Your decision was clear- you would have opened it. I have not actually changed anything."

"So you wanted the choice to be made by the representatives of free humanity? Why not to take the responsibilty yourself, since you had centuries to think over this issue?"

"I couldn't do it," says Lo Qi. "I couldn't cross the barrier. I would have been perfectly happy for Jericho to do it, as he was absolutely aware of the full consequences of his actions and had taken his choice appropriately.

"I had absolutely no desire for what you call 'free representatives' of humanity to do it. But the fact of the matter was that you had the key. I had no desire to kill you for it, or to manipulate you into doing what I wanted. And so, as I say, I did not interfere. The advice I provided was entirely neutral- as was the advice from the Oracle, and so I would imagine, Sennacherib also."

He smiles.

"She was right about you too."

"And what did the Oracle say?"

"She spoke of you all, is all."

"So you are content that the Door was opened, then? Don`t you care about the fate of your kind? Or do you consider the existance of Matrix wrong?" -Melkor inquires, as he really wants to understand the position of Lo Qi. He tries to focus despite feeling ill, he has to find a way...

"I have another question. In the Museum there was a box being traded for the Key. What is the purpose of this box, to release something or contain something?"

"I would advance that whatever people were trading there is now entirely irrelevant.

"As for why I did it, or what I care about. That is a long and very complicated matter. It's what I hope you will come out of this understanding."

"Then start talking," Heph says. "I don't want to die before you finish."

Klez listens, stifling his coughing.

"Very well..." says Lo Qi...

... and so we begin!

Last time, Melitus took you through a number of simulated visual environments inside his 'realm'.

Lo Qi has a somewhat more down to Earth approach- whether it is more or less impressive is up to you.

But when he sweeps his stick around the rock garden, the pebbles and gravel re-arrange themselves to form words or pictures- more like diagrams- as he desires.

At first, the dust swirls around him like a curtain, before pebbles settle down and form a word visible to you all.

-----

PURPOSE

"I hear you use this word a lot. It's something this place makes people ask about. And in all sorts of contexts too- for yourself, for others, for all. For Humans, in the Matrix, or in Zion. And for Artificial Intelligences... in general... and Exiled.

"But let's take a step back and ask a simple question. When we ask about purpose, it strikes me the word can be quite ambiguous. So what, exactly, do we mean by it?"

"I feel that purpose is defined by the goals we or others set for ourselves," Heph says. "For example, my purpose is to win the war with the Machines. It's also my purpose to survive the damned thing; that's a personal one."

"And is that the only sense in which you would use the word?"

"Purpose to me defines how I live my life. Rather than just setting goals, it also reflects on your daily choices, how you interact with others, and so on."

"I guess there's also the use of purpose to define what something is or does. For example, what's the purpose of an Agent, or what's the purpose of a corkscrew."

"And if I were to ask you the question, what is your purpose, how would you answer?"

Originally posted by General Zink
"I guess there's also the use of purpose to define what something is or does. For example, what's the purpose of an Agent, or what's the purpose of a corkscrew."

"Ahh yes. I very much agree. 'Purpose' is a word that really has two applications. How could we best dfine them, even for yourselves? For whilst you may say that, as you are not designed for a particular reason, you cannot have purpose as a corkscrew does... yet many of you believe in destiny. In the Oracle. In the One. All ideas which involve humans having a 'purpose' in similar ways."

"I have many purposes. One of them is to fight for Zion's freedom. Another is to better the life of my fellow soldiers and friends."

Originally posted by Alkaselzer
"I have many purposes. One of them is to fight for Zion's freedom. Another is to better the life of my fellow soldiers and friends."

"In what way is it your purpose to fight for Zion's freedom? Please answer as simply as possible."

"It seems that some people are destined to be meant for something, while others need to decide their own purpose?"