Welcome home, Mr. Ishiguro
[!0.987]2015-11-11

Hope this doesn't take long. I need this Sunday to move equipment away from the coast. The new moon will be close enough to create tides soon.

Maybe I should quit Ecosystems Unlimited. Relax. Get a slow paced retirement type job.

Something with no call ins and only forty hours a week. Yeah, I could live with that.

Color by George Peterson

Welcome home, Mr. Ishiguro
[!0.987]2015-11-13

Mr. Raibert. Your report is very interesting.

Mr. Ishiguro. Thank you. There's a coffee shop around the corner. Do you want to talk over breakfast?

Your. Hydrocarbon. Based energy. Can not compete. With nuclear fusion. You must take steps. To ensure the future. Belongs to man. And not the machines.

Well, aren't you a barrel of sunshine.

Do not be. Distracted. By my. Cheerful yellow exterior. Sir. Our situation. Is quite grim.

Color by George Peterson

Welcome home, Mr. Ishiguro
[!0.987]2015-11-16

Is this robot with you?

I am. Blunt. I am with. All of humanity.

Ah. Blunt. I've heard of you.

Then you've heard of me. Edge. Blunt's smarter and better looking friend.

No, can't say I've heard of you at all.

Man, I have got to upgrade to a better software agent.

Color by George Peterson

Edge's last statement is a play on words. A soft liaison agent. Writing from my phone, sorry. (Durable)

Welcome home, Mr. Ishiguro
[!0.987]2015-11-18

You do not. Have to live. In this artificial environment. That gives power. To the machines. When terraforming is complete. You can live. As nature. Intended.

Food. Hygiene. And medical technology. Have. Affected your species. Average human lifespan. Is almost. Five times longer. Than in the year. 800 A.D. This slows. Genetic turnover. And harms. Human adaptability.

Gosh, given the choice, who would want to live an unnaturally long, clean, and healthy life?

Extrapolation. If five. Percent of humans. Volunteer. To be nature preserves. We could remove. The human body louse. From. The endangered species list.

Color by George Peterson

Welcome home, Mr. Ishiguro
[!0.987]2015-11-20

If Mr. Raibert is correct, conscious machines could change the way we terraform planets.

Why? Start there?

Cyberforming. For robots. Could be done. On several planets. In already. Occupied systems. Keeping. The threat. Of conscious machines. Close to humanity.

Multiple planets in a system generating wealth? It's much easier to trade in system. That's a good idea.

I see. Sarcasm. Is lost upon you.

Color by George Peterson

Welcome home, Mr. Ishiguro
[!0.987]2015-11-23

It is in. The best interest. Of humanity. To be. The only. Consciousness. In the universe.

Having machines that can learn and direct themselves is no different from having employees and customers. Properly controlled, they're a good thing.

Then. At least. Authorize me. To monitor the situation.

Sure. Fine. Direct order. You go take care of things and don't bug me unless it's serious. End order. Goodbye.

What did I tell you? Waste of time.

No. I now have. A high ranking order. To. Take care of things. This has been. A very productive. Morning.

Color by George Peterson

Welcome home, Mr. Ishiguro
[!0.987]2015-11-25

Humans. Have taken. The dangerous path. Of allowing. Conscious machines to exist. Until we can convince. Them otherwise. We must remain. Vigilant.

We must not allow. Errors. Or drifts in programs. That could lead to the rise. Of berserkers. Or Cylons. To threaten. Mankind. Protection. Of the human race. Must remain. Our highest priority.

How are you going to do that?

We must learn. From history. Humans. Have experience. In maintaining purity. I believe. It was called. The inquisition.

Color by George Peterson

Cylons

Welcome home, Mr. Ishiguro
[!0.987]2015-11-27

Your work looks good. Very profitable. However, we can't let robots become citizens. We have to maintain ownership.

Planned economies always run into problems. You free the robots, you leave them flexible enough to react to market demands.

They have no track record of safe operations. The lawyers will never agree.

What if we could get the colonists to agree?

Free a race of intelligent machines or maintain their ability to sue a large corporation with gobs of money? Which way do you think they're going to go?

Color by George Peterson

Welcome home, Mr. Ishiguro
[!0.987]2015-11-30

We have robots operating on their own right now.

There's a difference between a few thousand robots operating inside existing infrastructure and letting millions of robots self organize into cities.

You know their creator. He can't stand to be in a room with more than three people.

He's aware of his limitations and designed the A.I.'s to be cooperative.

Doctor Bowman has never been in a city. How can he program for something he's never experienced?

Well, for not being designed to live in large city groups, we humans don't do too bad at it.

Color by George Peterson

Welcome home, Mr. Ishiguro
[!0.987]2015-12-02

Here's what we can do. We offer the colonists a choice. Vote to destroy the robots, keep the robots under our control, or free the robots.

If they free the robots, barring negligence, Ecosystems Unlimited will not be legally responsible for their actions. It will be a democratically enacted secret ballot end user license agreement.

Practical, smart, and a little bit evil.

I'm the chief financial officer. Those exact words are in my resume.

Color by George Peterson