The Russia thread.
Out of context: Reply #974
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The Captain said into the microphone, "To the south of this place is a valley. There are large buildings there. The buildings contain skeletons, and in the earth, all around, are graves."
"Wait, you can't say graves." The Cyberneticist pulled the flexible arm of the microphone closer to himself. "To the south are archi cuthtectural constructions, and near them, in holes in the earth, are dead bodies. The bodies of doublers. What does that mean?"
On this occasion the computer exchanged a long series of coughs and squawks with the doubler. The men noticed that for the first time the machine appeared to be asking, and repeating, a question of its own. Finally the speaker spoke in a monotone.
"Doubler. Physical work, no. Pause. Electrical organ. Organ work, yes, but acceleration involution degeneration overload. Pause. South is exemplification of self-directed procrustics. Bio- and socio-occlusion deathavoid. Pause. Social isolation not with force, not by compulsion. Voluntary. Pause. Group microadaptation autocentroat-traction. Production, yes. No."
"Brilliant suggestion," the Cyberneticist said to the Physicist. "Autocentroattraction, deathavoid, bio- and socio-occlusion. I warned you."
"Just a minute," said the Physicist. "This has something to do with forced labor."
"Just the opposite. He said 'not with force, not by compulsion.' It was voluntary."
"Well, we'll ask again." The Physicist bent over the microphone. "Not clear," he said. "Tell us, very simply, what is in the valley to the south? A penal colony? A labor camp? What do they produce? And why?"
The computer had another discussion with the doubler. After almost five minutes it replied:
"Microgroup voluntary. Interadhesion by compulsion, no. Pause. Each doubler against the microgroup. Chief relationship centripetal. The binding agent is anger. Pause. Who transgresses is punished. Punishment is microgroup voluntary identification. What is the microgroup? Feedback interrelations polyindividualized. Anger is the selfaim. Anger is the selfaim. Pause. Circulation socio-psychointernal. Deathavoid."
"Wait, what does 'selfaim' mean?" asked the Cyberneticist, seeing that the others were growing impatient.
"Selfaim, selfsave," said the computer, this time not even consulting the doubler.
"The instinct of self-preservation?" asked the Physicist.
"Yes, yes, self-preservation," said the computer.
"You mean to say you understand that?" cried the Engineer, jumping up from his seat.
"Understand it, no, but I think he's talking about a prison system. You have small groups within that community, and they keep one another under control."
"Without guards? Without surveillance?"
"He said there was no compulsion."
"Impossible!"
"Not at all. Imagine two people: one has matches, the other has a matchbox. They hate each other, but can strike a light only together. Anger, he said. Cooperation results from feedback. The compulsion somehow is a product of the internal dynamics of the group."
"But what are they doing? What are they making? Who is lying in those graves? And why?"
"You heard what the computer said? 'Procrustics.' That's obviously from 'Procrustean bed.' Assuring conformity by violent means."