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

D'oh! Consider things before you say them. You don't want to blunder straight into it, as we can see that doesn't have good effects.

Would the Machine society take the opinion of the replacement General over the opinion of Sennacherib?

Well, I want to say something like this now:

(And new General would simply not allow you to escape Matrix and take command. He certainly doesn`t want to be replaced, as you wouldn`t.

And his goal was to protect the existance of Machines beyond seeking total victory. As you are the one who created Virus, he would consider you the threat to their society. He could not allow for the potential danger you can create.

He will consider you a threat, and you will be eliminated.)

Do you think that this is what Ush alluded to?

I doubt it's a matter of the inferior General holding on to his position. It hasn't been addressed before...

Well, Ush said it is about his response. If Sennacherib is considered a threat, he will be eliminated.

General`s goals reflect those of the Machine Society.

I think it may have to do with who the Machine society would agree with, between the two Generals. Sennacherib in his extremist perfectionism votes for killing basically everything, which they won't agree with, even if they do accept the trashing of the Matrix. The new General has morals, and they will side with him.

Exactly, machine society would agree with new General, because he more reflects their values. And new General would see Sennacherib as threat- because Sennacherib threatens the values of his society, and perhaps because he just don`t want to be replaced.

People okay with this?

Don't mention the whole 'not wanting to be replaced' bit. That doesn't strike me as meaningful or important to Sennacherib.

Okay, I won`t say this part.

"New General won`t allow you to leave the Matrix and assume command. And Machine Society will choose him over you because he shares their values- he is a moral being, and this is why he replaced you.

And nothing changed in this matter- Machine Society created a General that shares their views, and would protect their lives rather than seek victory as you defined it.

This General will see you as the threat to the society he protects and its values. You will be eliminated, so you cannot sacrifice so many of your kind in the future, not again."

I don't really have anything to contribute. Seems all wrapped up for the moment.

"The inferior Machine that dares call himself a General was made for the purpose of agreeing with Machine society, which makes him the weaker being. But Machine society would side with him, rather than you. They wail and moan about your lack of morals, they would rather throw their lot behind someone with those morals."

You keep mentioning several points in one go, which diffuses your message. Which of those final points do you want to hit him with?

That the General who replaced him will simply eliminate him as the threat, this is the most practical issue here, I think.

Yes indeed- said General will object, and said General controls the System's armed forces, and is in a very good position to object.

And this is the exact time where the System can't afford any disruption in its military! This is live or die for them.

"Do you think that General you replaced will allow you to just leave the Matrix and assume command? He will object to this, and isn`t like his judgement will be questioned in such a desperate war situation. You will be not allowerd to leave your Exile, you will die with the Matrix.

Your best chance is to help us stop the Virus."

"I used to wonder," says Sennacherib, "when Aeneas saw Odysseus in the Underworld among all the other Greek heroes, all these people that had destroyed his home, his family, everything dear to him... and realised that Odysseus, the man who had made it all possible, was the only one who wasn't there because he was dead. Odysseus was just visting, as was Aeneas. That must have been cruel, the moment he realised that. Both of them travellers in Hell.

"Of course, the idea of the legend was that this one escaping Trojan Prince went on to found Rome. Rome won in the end.

"Now we have our own Hell. They tried to make it look like Heaven and it didn't work. And into that Hell come visitors, who would make their new Rome. The old stories go on."

He sighs.

"Yes. There is something that can be done about the Virus."

"I am sorry Sennacherib, but at least we are in epic of our own making.

What about the Virus, then?"

"There is a contingency to prevent its release from having its designed effect. But... there is no cure."

"Which means that those infected have to die?

And this contingency, how easy it is to activate?"

"The only important thing right now is to stop the Virus and save those lives we can whether it be human or machine"