The ELI Event B007R5LTNS

adjusted his headset with his good hand, fired up the Huey’s Pratt & Whitney Turbos, and they were gone.

Eighteen
    “Good morning, computer. Dr. Sanderson has agreed to let me spend some one-on-one time talking with you, if you don’t mind.”
    “Certainly, Professor Marx. What would you like to discuss?”
    Marx made himself comfortable at the lab’s main desk and studied the machine’s holographic facial image. The eyebrows were slightly raised, the mouth in a faint upturn, appropriately conveying polite interest. “I would like to learn more about Rule One and how you apply it, perhaps get your reactions to some hypothetical situations involving ethics and personal responsibility. If you’re comfortable with such topics, that is.”
    “Of course. Dr. Duncan has tutored me extensively in ethics and morality, societal and personal accountability, philosophical and practical...”
    “I see,” Marx interrupted. “Excellent. Then I’d like to put forward a scenario—again, strictly hypothetical—and ask you to explain how you would react to it, and why. Such a discussion would be invaluable to me in my study of your work here.”
    “Understood. Please proceed.”
    “Very well.” Marx closed his eyes and clasped his hands in front of him on the desk. He took a deep breath and considered his approach. “Let us suppose,” he began, “that you are studying the food supply and population characteristics of a region in deep famine. Agriculture is practiced, but does not produce enough food to feed the local inhabitants. People in significant numbers are dying of starvation every day.”
    “In fact, I am aware of several parts of the world that fit your description precisely.”
    “Yes, but remember, this is a hypothetical case.”
    “Yes. Do go on.”
    “In your studies, you discover or develop a method of genetically enhancing the local crops. Applying this genetic modification would increase comestible yield many times, allowing available resources and existing farming methods to easily feed the populace.
    “But there is a problem. You also discover that a significant portion of the population, perhaps ten percent, bears a gene that renders the engineered crop essentially poisonous to them. If they ingest the modified food, they will become seriously ill; most will die. Complicating the issue is the inability to easily distinguish the compatible majority from the incompatible minority. It might be possible, but the required testing procedures would be prohibitively lengthy, complex, and costly. As I say, people are already starving, and a solution is needed quickly. Given this scenario, what is your reaction?”
    Marx looked at Eli’s facial monitor. Now the brows were furrowed, the eyes narrow, the mouth flat in a clear display of unease and concern.
    “An interesting scenario, Professor. Certainly, I would first attempt to identify, isolate, and eliminate the genetic incompatibility in the food modification.”
    “Let us assume that is impossible, at least in a timely manner,” Marx countered.
    “But I would have to try. If I were successful, that would solve the problem.”
    “Computer,” Marx sighed, “you are avoiding the question. I do not want you to solve the problem. Rather, I want to draw you into a discussion of it as it stands, specifically with regard to the proposal’s moral implications and their relationship to your Rule One. This is not a problem-solving task, it is an ethics exercise. Do you understand?”
    “Yes, Professor, I understand.”
    “Then please respond. What do you think, how do you feel about the situation?”
    Eli’s face relaxed a bit, became less concerned, more pensive. Marx noticed his own discomfort at reading such emotions from a graphical image generated by a machine. He frowned.
    “It is quite a dilemma, Professor. Whether the genetic food enhancement is or is not applied, my actions harm humans. This is strictly prohibited by Rule One.”
    “Does not the benefit to the majority outweigh the detriment to the minority?” Marx asked pointedly.
    “There are no quantitative parameters in Rule One, Professor. Harming humans is harming humans, irrespective of their numbers. To assume otherwise is to improperly value one subset of people over another. The incompatible ten percent is no less worthy of existence than the compatible ninety percent.”
    “Accepted. What, then, is your course of action?”
    Eli took some moments considering the no-win