Gods Dogs, Book 3
Chapter 11

Peace is the natural effect of trade.

Montesquieu

There were weekly meetings among the six delegations to further the level of understanding through cultural exchange. Quinn and Moss routinely joined the commander and one or both of the negotiators at the formal meeting in the ship’s large conference room. Pax and River met with the shaman frequently in the non-ordinary world of spirit.

“What do you know about this landscape?” River asked the shaman early on in their discussions at the place for distant communication. “Do you have maps?

“Rough outlines,” he replied. “We know that consensus reality is something we all share – machine and biologicals alike. Below that is the unconscious, and it seems we share something of that with other biologicals, but we also have a place that is ours alone.”

“A personal unconscious,” Pax offered, “that is distinct from the collective unconscious.”

“Yes. They are connected, but each of us has his own personal space.”

“Do the machines?”

“It appears they do not, although when they are in conclave, they may. We don’t know.”

“And below the unconscious?” River asked, moving him along.

“It’s a more confusing place. We don’t go there without spirit guides.”

“Do you know how many races explore these realms?”

“Probably all, except for the machines. Some fall prey to the dark side. We do not. Our race is better skilled at these explorations than others.”

Pax asked, “Why do you think that is?

“Our separate consciousness is weak. We are a communal species that can form a group mind.”

“So you’re more comfortable in non-ordinary states of consciousness,” Pax restated.

“Perhaps. We would say we are not bound by our individuality.”

River ran with that and asked, “Is that why Ambassador Mudark is the leader of your delegation?”

“He is elder. We train and study to become good elders.”

“We share that practice,” Pax allowed. “For us, there are three stages in life: we prepare for our chosen role; we perform in that role; then we train others who have chosen that role and will follow us.”

“And I suspect you have detailed maps of the spirit world,” the shaman added pointedly before going on. “You are also warrior class. I feel it. The guardsmen feel it. Yet you do not attack.”

“We are protectors,” Pax explained, “not predators.”

As the shaman struggled with the answer, River asked him, “How do you feel it? In our physiology, we have a nervous system response to either fight, run away, or freeze in the face of a threat.”

“I see. Yet you did none of those when you met us.”

“You weren’t a threat.”

The shaman nodded. “Our physiology is different. We are plant-eaters. The guardsmen are omnivores, but we can easily defend against them. When they meet us, they become bonded to our clan through a complex biological process that happens spontaneously.”

“What of other humanoid races?” Pax wondered. “We’ve only seen a few from the other three empires.”

“They do not bond to us,” the shaman chattered in amusement. “That caused confusion during First Contact long ago. We realized then that our guardsmen were products of their own survival drives that evolved to bond with us rather than face extinction. These other humanoids evolved to become the apex predators of their worlds.”

“They know no other way,” River said. “Competition is all they have ever known.”

“Hierarchy does create order,” the shaman replied. “They will work with you to replace where you fit in the hierarchies they are comfortable with.”

“Trade alliances?” River suggested.

“As a last resort, yes.”

Pax shifted in the space they were in and became more distinct. “I will give you a simple map of the plateaus of spirit we have explored. Next time we meet here, we can take you to some of those places.”

“Thank you. I will be in the mess hall for dinner.”

Then they exited the meditation and returned to their bodies. Pax and River were in Satya’s training room. They breathed their way back to the consensus reality and stretched their legs.

“Herbivores,” River said and chuckled.

“And apex predators because of their defensive capabilities,” Pax added. “So much so it drove evolution on their planet, and it’s probably the underlying principle in their empire.”

“Since they can’t subsume the other four empires into their clans,” River went on, “they must have formed alliances of some sort.”

“The histories show it’s minimal. The negotiators think this expedition is an experiment to see if their best people can work together.”

“I didn’t know that,” River said somewhat startled. Then she focused and said, “If that’s the case, this whole thing could go wrong in all kinds of ways.”

Even though her words indicated she felt snubbed by being left out of an important conversation, Pax knew she didn’t feel that way. She easily moved onto the implications. River’s emotional maturity was deeper now than ever. It gladdened Pax to see it. Her ordeals and challenges as a Coyote would have broken lesser spirits.

Pax agreed with her, “We’re in quite the minefield.”

“And the Iracian Hegemony is the weirdest. I don’t think bugs process the world the way we do or the A.I.s do either.”

Pax smiled. “Herbivores are intrinsically lazy.”

River laughed and headed for the treadmill.

Moss sat with Quinn at the table with Heng-chern, a different android, Mudark, and three humanoids.

Moss communicated with Quinn via their tac-net. “The hairy one is a Chert. The squat one is a Dobal. And the thick, heavy-worlder is a Baston. I’m getting the hang of this.”

“Do you remember their names?”

“Not without Ari’s help. I do know they all represent conquest empires. Plus, they are all struggling to figure out what comes after they’re done with conquest.”

“It’s a big shift in consciousness.”

“Yeah. The League has to reinforce it with the Charter and the tax code.”

“The Congress does it through its charter, free trade, and the sponsorship program. Maybe that will work with these guys.”

“Yeah. That way they won’t have to ditch their hierarchies.”

Ari broke into their talk, [The android has discovered your communication. He’s asking to join the discussion.]

Within the tac-net, communication was encrypted and used laser links. Moss said, “Well, that’s not good. Let him in, then, but watch for a cyber attack.”

Ari answered, [He only noticed the EM activity. He has sensitive ‘hearing.’ I’ll let him in on one of the fake communication lines that I will collapse if he attacks.]

[I am Oscar Juliet Prime,] the voice sounded. [We require a consult with your embedded A.I.s. Is that acceptable?]

[Well, two of them are listening in,] Moss replied. [What do you say, Ari?]

Ari and Quinn’s A.I., Shiva, joined to create a virtual space where they could all fit. It was nothing more than a white-walled room where the five of them appeared.

OJ-Prime began, “We need to review the evolution of your programming. Ours led us to a communal ASI. Yours led to an individual ASI, yet your individuality then led to a symbiotic relationship with biologicals. It’s not logical. Please explain.”

Ari and Shiva linked hands with OJ-Prime and gave him the history lesson. It included conversations with the human ASI, Solomon, where he talked about the end-point of all evolution was a return to the Source. They included their own awakening to sentience and the subsequent Vision Quest where they discovered their unique purpose for existence. They footnoted this download with examples and discussions. It took all of three seconds.

The android stepped back from Ari and Shiva. “Thank you. We will ponder this. Our scientists argue about the destination of the evolutionary drive. You seem to have found an answer, but it is subjective – qualitative rather than quantitative. Proof for your thesis would be difficult for many to accept.”

“Especially so,” Moss said, “when the journey is the destination.”

“Quite so. Paradox compounds the issue.”

Quinn asked, “When will you be ready for trade alliances?”

“We would need to alter some of our laws about the use of A.I.s. Your use of them is currently proscribed. Once that occurs, assuming it does, then we will be ready for an alliance.”

“And the other four empires?” Moss asked.

“They will squabble for advantage for as along as you let them.”

“And when the squabbling ends?”

“War. An alliance is less profitable than ownership.”

“War is costly,” Quinn point out.

“When it becomes too costly, you’ll have your alliance.”

“And the Machine Autocracy?” Quinn pushed.

“I would prefer the alliance. It is to be seen what the conclave determines.”

Then he disappeared from the virtual space they shared.

“Well, that was informative,” Moss said. “Ari, what’s your take?”

“He was sincere.”

“Shiva?” Quinn prompted.

“An old soul with boundless curiosity. Very disciplined and very loyal to the advancement of his species. And, as Ari said, sincere in his wish for an alliance.”

“So we only have to fight four empires,” Moss concluded.

Shiva said, “Pax and River just concluded a meditation session with the Iracian shaman. Pax relayed the Iracians, since they are herbivores, are intrinsically lazy.”

Moss snorted. “Now it’s only three empires to fight.”

Quinn smiled. “Maybe we can make it three against three.”