A Visitor to the Future - 80 - Animals and Pets

"I was going to ask about that," I said to Regolith, "Besides Dela I haven't seen many animals kept as pets in the Consortium. Why is that?"

"I am a poor choice to consult on the subject," he replied, crossing his arms across his barrel-like chest, the synthetic muscle strands straining at the motion, "I dislike such animals."

"Why?" I asked, genuinely curious.

"They remind me too much of some of the combat hybrids I encountered in my military days. Those experiences have soured my perception of such creatures as a whole. As a result I would prefer not to be around them."

"Thank you for sharing that," said Tungsten, gently patting Regolith's upper arm, "May I ask if the Consortium's ban on such creations has brought you any peace?"

Regolith shook his head in response, but his stance relaxed slightly, "What we see in war cannot easily be unseen. I am only glad that no more are being made."

I hesitated before asking, mulling my words - it seemed like this was a sensitive topic for Regolith. "If you don't want to answer, that's completely fine - but could you tell me about these hybrids?"

Regolith gave me a slow, single nod, "I consider it my duty on behalf of fallen comrades to continue to ensure people are well-informed about them. Combat hybrids were primitive genetic constructions of the 2500s, pre-dating the Bio-dev Breakthrough. You should consider them nothing more than weapons of bone and sinew, directed at targets by a basic neural controller. A dark reminder of what Bio-dev is capable of without proper oversight or control. I spend a significant portion of my time making sure that those that still exist remain in cryocontainment, indefinitely. Some part of me would like them to be permanently destroyed, but that would be self-defeating."

I wasn't the best at reading Silence's synthetic face, but it seemed like he was looking at Regolith with something of a measure of respect. "Yes, I see," the robed CI said, "If you were to destroy them, you would lose a valuable teaching resource."

"Correct," said Regolith, "The sight of the frozen teeth, the claws, the corrosive spray chambers - they invoke an almost instinctual reaction in observers."

"You want to keep them around, because you want people to be scared of them?" I guessed, "Because then they won't try to replicate them?"

Regolith moved away from the railing, standing up to his full height, "Yes. It is not often the case, but sometimes fear is the best teacher. Now if you don't mind, I think I will go and check on Blaise. And before you feel the need to apologise for asking about a personal subject, think nothing of it. Curiosity precedes understanding."

The CI walked away, in the direction of the stairs.

"Ah," said Tungsten, looking from me to Silence, "Your original question was about pets, I believe - I suppose it falls on one of us to explain?"

"It does so happen to be an area I am familiar with," said Silence, "A subject I have seen debated many a time. There are many different schools of thought on the matter of animal rights and ownership. In my experience, the schools of thought come down to responsibility, lifespan, and the lack of self-determination. Imagine this for a moment - you decide that you want to acquire an animal as a companion. You as the guardian of this creature. It is your responsibility. And if you care for it, you will likely want for the creature to live as long as you will. Which means that every day for however long the creature lives, you must care for it."

"If I may interject," said Tungsten, "I did a fair amount of research on twentieth century canines - blame The Hound of the Baskervilles - a dog in your time might live for around ten years. With Bio-development, an animal can live indefinitely. That is a great responsibility to take on."

"Your point is excellent," said Silence, "That is the responsibility school of thought. But there is also the lifespan aspect - given that many people in the Consortium do not want to live indefinitely, what of the animals they care for? Should they live for ten years? Twenty? Two-hundred? It is the responsibility of the animal's guardian to make that decision. Many find it too great of a decision to make."

I was reminded of the dog that my family had once owned when I was a young child. A white-haired Scottish Terrier by the name of Crumpet that was the most well-behaved dog I'd ever known. The day he'd passed, my mother, sister and I had cried, huddled up on the sofa. If we'd had the option to keep him fit and healthy with Bio-development? We would have done it in a heartbeat. But that would mean taking on the responsibility of looking after him forever. That was not something to be undertaken lightly. Unless...

"Couldn't people rotate ownership of an animal?" I asked, "Share the responsibility between them?"

"Yes!" said Tungsten, "That's one of the most common approaches to dealing with the smarter, emotional animals like dogs, cats, or exotic birds. Those that need people and relationships to live good lives."

"But even so, long-term care of an animal is not something to be taken lightly," said Silence, "Which brings me onto the final consideration - there are people within the Consortium who will never wish to care for a pet, because they lack the true ability of self-determination. Animals have no ability to make their own decisions - they are continually dependent on their carer. There is a smaller sub-group of those people, who state that if we truly wish to live with animals in the long-term we should impart the intelligence required to be truly self-determining upon them."

"Make animals able to think?" I said, shocked, "Could it be done?"

"With modern Bio-development, almost certainly - but it has not been attempted," said Tungsten, "But the question is not whether we can, it is whether we should. Experiments with altering or imparting greater mental faculties in the past - even among humans - have routinely led to disaster, and are of great ethical concern. This is why such procedures are banned. You recall what I said about CI history in the past? It is a similar issue."

"You may also be surprised to learn," said Silence, "That some people advocate for wild animals to be similarly enhanced."

I closed my eyes and shook my head in disbelief for a second. "I'm sorry, what?" I said.


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