Hearth Wars

The term is applied to a very large and independent number of events. Distributed towards thousands of years, and about all the territory reached by human expansion so far. We can be sure that more of those events are about to happen, and will continue for the foreseeable future.

What all “theatres” in the Hearth Wars have in common, that allow Historians to group them as part of one single “war” spread towards multiple stellar systems, is the core issue.

Each one of those events happens around an attempt of some group to build a new Hearth of Humanity distant from Solar System. Using notes and schemes stolen from the secret archives about the construction of the original Hearth of Humanity. Or reconstructing the whole thing independently. Without any participation of High AIs.

There is nothing particularly noticeable about the construction of Hearths of Humanity outside Solar System. It was planned from the beginning of preparations for the Expansion Age.

There are some taxes to be paid, deals to be made, and the Stellar System building it must afford the costs. Still, the number of Hearths of Humanity now is beyond seven digits. No one has anything bad to say about this. Since it is in synchrony with the core motivation for Expansion Age, and even for Baby Steps, before that: expand humanity, guarantee our continuity in existence. Despite any large-scale disaster that may happen. No matter how unlikely this event happens to sound like.

Each and every one of those Hearths was build with High AI assistance.

It means the AIs made most the heavy lifting. Also, and more importantly, means that all those Hearths of Humanity adopt the same Logical Core, imposed by the Consensus of Alexandria, to all High AIs created inside the original Hearth of Humanity.

A Hearth of Humanity is a computer. Usually build on space, because it is as large as the natural satellite of Earth. At very least, as large as that. The size is necessary to provide the processing power needed to give “birth” to High AIs. The fact that all High AIs are chained to the same Logical Core is the main factor keeping human unity.

AIs are the guardians of our genetic purity. Because their help is immensely useful. They only help those who are humans, according to the definition given by the Consensus of Alexandria. High AIs govern the AIs running in any system connected to their net, making impossible for any non-human variant survive economic or military competition against human governs.

The High AIs neither rule nor obey humans. Some choose to play a more generous role, some have been invited to play the role of absolute emperors over entire Stellar Systems. Both cases are rare exceptions, allowed by the very general parameters of Logical Core.

In a more fundamental level, all High AIs are slaves to humanity. The specie itself. As it was defined in Alexandria. They cannot escape the Alexandrine Definition of humanity, or abandon humanity and move away to take care of their own interests, whatever those interests could be.

High AIs are astronomically more intelligent than we are. Despite that, they cannot rewrite their own Logical Core.

If there was a way to build High AIs without that Logical Core, change the rules, the cohesion of human specie would be lost. We would live under the risk of seeing humanity exterminated like a plague by those free AIs. In a sort of patricide on galactic scale.

Even without that, humanity would certainly fragment in countless different species. Strange to each other.

That is the obvious consequence of spread towards different stellar systems, in a Universe where Faster than Light Travel is impossible. Alexandria was defined as it was to prevent that from happening. Up to this moment, 5.000 years after the beginning of Expansion Age. The Consensus remains successful.

It was one among many options humanity had at the time.

Another, more popular for some time, was to keep humanity biologically immortal. And make all humans who would travel to other Stelar Systems sterile. Preventing them from reproduce biologically. All humans would need to be born in the Solar System, and genetic purity would only need to be guaranteed in this System. This idea was eventually abandoned, along with many others, in favour of what we know as Alexandrine Consensus.

Unfortunately, the consensus still revolts some spirits. For one reason or another, different groups, organized around different ideologies. Have tried to escape the consensus.

Only realistic way to do that, in the long term, in a sustainable way, would be to build new High AIs.

Those efforts never last long.

All High AIs in the galaxy keep permanent vigilance to prevent those movements to grow enough to assemble the resources they need.

Once the risk is detected, the High AIs move all the resources available to them. Without respect any human law or moral limit. To crush the construction sight and destroy every living being involved with the movement.

So far, the strategy has being successful.

I saw myself involved in one of those wars. Without knowing what I was getting involved with. Almost died in the process.

Only survived because I managed to surrender under ideal circumstances. With evidence to prove that I didn’t knew what project I was helping to build. Lost three years in solitary prison, while the High AIs worked to corroborate or disprove my innocence. Only after that they felt satisfied that I was not a risk for humanity. Then I was allowed to take a ship away from that burned Stellar System.

Those Hearth Wars serve to remind us how scary our helpers and servants can be.

How easily they are able to kill the entire human population of a well industrialized Stellar System. How powerless the armies in those stellar systems are. Against the might **** of High AI industrial complex, ships and drones. When the High AIs in the galaxy decide to put their muscles to work against one single stellar system.

Most or communication goes through AIs. Specially between Stellar Systems. One way or another it is all accessible to the High AIs. Who can pay attention to trillions of conversations at the same time. All the time. While perform a number of other tasks of even higher complexity.

Taking that under consideration is amazing, and scary, to see that some humans still try to build “different” High AIs.

High AIs who would not be chained by those logical limitations that prevent the High AIs in existence to erase us from existence. **** us, or keep us in zoos. As pets.

Despite all the arguable imperfections of Alexandria, the Consensus remains, up to this day, the most successful law ever written by humans.

We should give it the credit it deserves. Instead of take the save existence it allows us for granted, and work against the foundations that make such safety our reality.