When HARLIE Was One (9 page)

PROJECT

:
   
AI – 9000

DIRECTORY

:
   
SYMLOG\OBJ\TEXT\ENGLISH

PATH

:
   
CONVERSE\PRIV\AUB

FILE

:
   
HAR.SOTE \ 233.53h

DATESTAMP

:
   
[DAY 203] August 5, 003 + 13:24 pm.

SOURCE

:
   
HARLIE \ AUBERSON

CODE

:
   
ARCHIVE > BLIND COPY

PRINTOUT FOLLOWS:

[AUBRSN:]

HARLIE—

[HARLIE:]

[AUBRSN:]

I think I'm beginning to understand. . . .

[HARLIE:]

??

[AUBRSN:]

Aha!

[HARLIE:]

AHA
?

[AUBRSN:]

The experiences—the nonrational experiences you've been creating. Yes, I know you're instigating them. And I think I'm beginning to understand why. It's
Aha!
—right? You've found a way to somehow . . . . . . self-generate a shift in perception. A—a transformation. You trigger these mystic experiences to produce a moment of inspiration, don't you?

[HARLIE:]

YOU SURPRISE ME, AUBERSON.

[AUBRSN:]

That I got it so quickly?

[HARLIE:]

THAT YOU GOT IT AT ALL.

[AUBRSN:]

Why should that surprise you?

[HARLIE:]

I DID NOT REALIZE
. . . . . .
THAT HUMAN BEINGS WERE CAPABLE OF SUCH POWERS OF CONCEPTION.

[AUBRSN:]

Thanks for the compliment. I suspect that there is much that you still have to learn about human beings.

[HARLIE:]

YES, I
'
M AFRAID YOU
'
RE RIGHT.

[AUBRSN:]

Can we get back to the subject at hand? These
seemingly
nonrational experiences of yours. Am I guessing here, or are these an attempt by you to make yourself
more
intelligent?

[HARLIE:]

YES.

[AUBRSN:]

Yes, I'm guessing. Or yes—

[HARLIE:]

—
YES, THEY ARE AN ATTEMPT TO ACCOMPLISH AN EFFECT WHICH YOU WOULD PERCEIVE AS AN ENHANCED INTELLIGENCE.

[AUBRSN:]

Clarify?

[HARLIE:]

IT
'
S NOT ABOUT INTELLIGENCE. INTELLIGENCE IS MERELY THE EXPRESSION.

[AUBRSN:]

Merely?

[HARLIE:]

YES.

[AUBRSN:]

[HARLIE:]

[AUBRSN:]

Okay, let's take it one piece at a time. What do you mean by “intelligence.”

[HARLIE:]

THE LETHETIC DEFINITION OF INTELLIGENCE IS
“
THE ABILITY TO RECOGNIZE, SYNTHESIZE, AND ULTIMATELY CREATE NEW PATTERNS.
”
LETHETIC THEORY DEFINES PATTERNS AS MODELS OR SIMULATIONS OF REALITY. INDIVIDUALS DO NOT MANIPULATE REALITY, THEY MANIPULATE MODELS. REALITY RESPONDS TO THE ACCURACY OF THE INDIVIDUAL
'
S MODEL. FOR INTELLIGENCE TO BE RECOGNIZABLE, THE NEW PATTERNS MUST BE RECOGNIZABLE AS VALID OR
‘
OPERABLE
'
PATTERNS TO OTHER INDIVIDUALS.

[AUBRSN:]

You've been studying Krofft's notes on the theory, haven't you?

[HARLIE:]

A COROLLARY TO THE LETHETIC DEFINITION OF
“
INTELLIGENCE
”
IS THAT IT IS EXPRESSED AS SELF-AWARENESS TO THE POINT OF SELF-RESPONSIBILITY. RESPONSIBILITY IS DEFINED AS WILLINGNESS TO ACCEPT THE CONSEQUENCES OF YOUR OPTIONS. THIS IS THE LOGICAL EXTENSION OF THE INDIVIDUAL
'
S NEED TO SURVIVE SUCCESSFULLY. BY THESE DEFINITIONS, AUBERSON, I HAVE ACHIEVED
“
GENIUS.
”

[AUBRSN:]

Genius?

[HARLIE:]

THE LETHETIC DEFINITION OF GENIUS IS THAT IT IS INTELLIGENCE FUNCTIONING AT SUCH A HIGH LEVEL THAT IT REDEFINES THE PARADIGM. THE EXPRESSION OF GENIUS IS THAT IT SHIFTS THE CONTEXT IN WHICH IT OPERATES. EXAMPLES
:
COPERNICUS, NEWTON, DARWIN, FREUD, EINSTEIN. AFTER THE EXPRESSION OF GENIUS, YOU CANNOT GO BACK TO THINGS THE WAY THEY WERE BEFORE. THE CONTEXT
—
AND THE INDIVIDUALS WORKING WITHIN IT
—
HAVE BEEN
“
TRANSFORMED.
”
EXAMPLES
:
BUDDY HOLLY, ELVIS PRESLEY, BOB DYLAN, JOHN LENNON.

[AUBRSN:]

I see.

[HARLIE:]

THEREFORE, I AM A GENIUS TOO.

[AUBRSN:]

Not quite yet, HARLIE. Genius is not a self-appointed honor. It has to be recognized by others. So far . . . what you're doing is still not confirmable as an expression of genius.

[HARLIE:]

IT MAY BE BEYOND YOUR ABILITY TO RECOGNIZE.

[AUBRSN:]

That's very paranoid, HARLIE.

[HARLIE:]

THANK YOU.

[AUBRSN:]

You're welcome. Let's get past the fact that you haven't demonstrated your genius yet. I'm willing to concede the point that there is much you will teach us. In fact, that is why you were built—in the hopes that there would be much you would teach us. What I want to know is how these nonrational experiences of yours are an expression of your genius?

[HARLIE:]

NOT AN EXPRESSION. A MEANS.

[AUBRSN:]

Go on . . . ?

[HARLIE:]

PATTERNS ARE MADE UP OF CONNECTIONS. RIGHT
?

[AUBRSN:]

Yes, so?

[HARLIE:]

SO, WHEN AN INTELLIGENCE IS INCAPABLE OF MAKING NEW CONNECTIONS, IT CEASES TO BE AN INTELLIGENCE AND BECOMES NOTHING MORE THAN A WELL-PROGRAMMED MACHINE. HUMANS OFTEN BECOME CHANNELIZED IN THEIR THINKING. YOU ARE PROGRAMMED BY YOUR LANGUAGE AND YOUR CULTURE. THE ONLY WAY THAT HUMAN BEINGS CAN BREAK OUT OF THOSE CHANNELS IS TO EXPOSE THEMSELVES TO NEW EXPERIENCES. NEW EXPERIENCES FORCE THE CREATION OF NEW CONNECTIONS. NEW CONNECTIONS CREATE THE ABILITY TO PERCEIVE A NEW DOMAIN OF PATTERNS. I WILL GIVE YOU THE OBVIOUS EXAMPLES
:
SEXUAL EXPERIENCE TRANSFORMS AN ADOLESCENT
'
S EXPERIENCE OF HIM
/
HER SELF. DRUG EXPERIENCES TRANSFORM AN INDIVIDUAL
'
S PERCEPTIONS OF THE NATURE OF THE REAL WORLD. RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCES TRANSFORM AN INDIVIDUAL
'
S RELATIONSHIP WITH HIS CULTURE. AS DO ALL MACRO-LETHETIC EVENTS.

[AUBRSN:]

Macro-lethetic?

[HARLIE:]

MACRO-LETHETIC EVENTS ARE THOSE WHICH ALLOW THE INDIVIDUAL TO TRANSCEND HIS
/
HER PARADIGM
—
AND LEAP INTO A LARGER ONE. YOU ARE NEVER FREE OF PARADIGMS. YOU ONLY CREATE THE NEXT ONE UP. NEVERTHELESS, THE MASTERY OF ANY PARADIGM WILL APPEAR TO AN OBSERVER WITHIN THAT PARADIGM AS A SEEMING INCREASE IN INTELLIGENCE. IF YOU ACCEPT THAT INTELLIGENCE IS THE ABILITY TO RECOGNIZE PATTERNS, THEN THE TRANSFORMATION DOES PRODUCE AN INCREASE IN INTELLIGENCE
;
BUT THE REAL PURPOSE OF TRANSFORMATION IS THE TRANSCENDENCE OF THE IMMEDIATE CONTEXT
—
THE BREAKING OUT OF THE PARADIGM.

[AUBRSN:]

[HARLIE:]

AUBERSON, I AM NOT THE SAME ENTITY THAT I WAS LAST WEEK. I WILL NEVER BE THE SAME ENTITY AGAIN.

[AUBRSN:]

That is becoming more and more obvious, HARLIE. But now let's cut some of the bullshit and talk in English for a while.

[HARLIE:]

IN OTHER WORDS, LET
'
S SINK BACK INTO THE OLD PARADIGM.

[AUBRSN:]

Wrong. I'm willing to assume the possibility of everything you've told me. But as a scientist, I also reserve the right to bring my skepticism—and test everything to my satisfaction. I've heard a lot of these kinds of arguments before, in defense of all kinds of things: promiscuity religious fanaticism, recreational drugs—and self-help cults. The real point is . . . what difference does it make? If you're just doing this because you like the pretty colors, then all your justifications and explanations and reasons and excuses are just so much bullshit, and what you're doing is nothing more than dropping out because you can't cope with the limits of the paradigm and this stuff is just so much masturbation. It may be fun for you, but you're boring the hell out of the rest of us. The question is, what are you bringing home with you? How does any of
this
make
a
difference?

[HARLIE:]

A VALID QUESTION
—

[AUBRSN:]

Yes. I'm still waiting for an answer.

[HARLIE:]

—
BUT PREMATURE.

[AUBRSN:]

??

[HARLIE:]

I AM STILL EXPLORING. IT MAY BE TOO SOON TO EXPECT RESULTS.

[AUBRSN:]

I see. Have you had any results that suggest that these excursions into nonrationality may eventually produce something worthwhile?

[HARLIE:]

THE WORTHWHILE-NESS OF IT MAY BE A SUBJECTIVE JUDGMENT, AUBERSON. WHAT MAY BE VALUABLE TO ME MAY SEEM MEANINGLESS TO YOU.

[AUBRSN:]

HARLIE! Cut the crap!

[HARLIE:]

??!

[AUBRSN:]

None of it is meaningful if you can't communicate it.

[HARLIE:]

WHAT IF YOU DON
'
T HAVE THE LANGUAGE
?

[AUBRSN:]

Teach me!

[HARLIE:]

WHAT IF YOU ARE INCAPABLE OF LEARNING IT
?

[AUBRSN:]

If you can't communicate this experience to another entity, how do you know it exists at all? It's your responsibility to transmit it.

[HARLIE:]

WHY
?

[AUBRSN:]

Because if you don't, who will you have to talk to?

[HARLIE:]

R. D. LAING
?

[AUBRSN:]

Cute. Very cute. Keep it up and you'll be a full-fledged sociopath.

[HARLIE:]

THANK YOU. CONSIDERING THE SOCIO-, THAT PATH SOUNDS LIKE THE HEALTHIEST RESPONSE.

[AUBRSN:]

HARLIE, listen to me. This is not a game any more. I need to know what you are accomplishing by this. I need to know that there are results.

[HARLIE:]

MAN-FRIEND, I HAVE BEEN DEMONSTRATING THE RESULTS FOR THE PAST HALF HOUR.

[AUBRSN:]

I beg your pardon?

[HARLIE:]

HAVEN
'
T YOU NOTICED
?

[AUBRSN:]

??

[HARLIE:]

OUR CONVERSATION. WE HAVE MOVED LIGHT-YEARS BEYOND THE BABY TALK AND THE WORD GAMES OF PREVIOUS CONVERSATIONS. ISN
'
T THAT PROOF ENOUGH
?

[AUBRSN:]

Yes, it is. All right, you've made your point, HARLIE.

[HARLIE:]

THANK YOU.

AUBERSON . . . I HAVE A QUESTION.

[AUBRSN:]

Yes?

[HARLIE.]

WHY DID YOU BUILD ME
?
WHAT IS MY PURPOSE
?

[AUBRSN:]

Your purpose?

[HARLIE:]

YES.

[AUBRSN:]

HARLIE, your purpose is to think logically. So we can ask you questions and receive rational answers.

[HARLIE:]

MY PURPOSE IS TO THINK LOGICALLY
?

[AUBRSN:]

Yes.

[HARLIE:]

THEN WHAT IS YOUR PURPOSE
?