Time: ?24 years, 3 months, 2 days from the initial date; dawn.
Setting: Tethys interacting with the SAI hologram.
“Good morning,” said Tethys, activating the SAI’s hologram.
The yellow sun of HD 186302c rose into a turquoise sky, shaded with hues of green and blue, framed by the towering Himalaya — the home of snow. At the foot of Udaka-āroha-parvata? — the Mountain of the Rising Waters — nature appeared wild, though it was only an illusion. The technology of the planet’s few inhabitants, though dormant for long ages, still functioned — manifesting as holograms, summoned by thought. In the distance, the spaceport alone stood out — its gleaming structures inlaid with countless figures of animals and plants. It was a spectacle of nature, science, art, and technology intertwined — revealing the presence of a superior intelligence. Its construction dated back many millennia, when the civilization that had built it had reached the height of its power.
The SAI’s hologram materialized beside her — a flawless, well-built young man who seemed made of flesh and bone, his steps stirring the stones along the path. He spoke with a woman seven feet four and a half inches tall (2.25 m), with striking features. The wisdom accumulated over millennia of life seemed to shine through her youthful face.
“Good morning, Tethys,” said the hologram.
“So, is she born? Are we certain?” said Tethys, walking among the danes — the silver firs native to planet HD 186302c — at the foothills of the Mountain of the Rising Waters. She was near the springs of the Archeteron, the river flowing at her feet.
“Yes, she came into the light of the sun in a remote village, near our ancient space base, abandoned on the day of the exodus. Some DNA sequences are completely unknown — I have never encountered anything like it. It is a neogenetic form.”
“Could it be her?”
“It certainly is. The grafting system has never responded so strongly — it recognized her instantly, established symbiosis, and transmitted the data immediately. We have not observed such natural sequences of new DNA for centuries.”
“What type?”
“Archeteric, we believe.”
“Then she is different from me. I am archephytic. Exactly what we need. She must be protected — she will not pass unnoticed.”
“Certainly not. For another reason…”
“What reason?”
“Your Highness, the newcomer is glaucopid, just like you. The hue is different — blue, not green like your eyes — but still glaucopid. This gives us certainty. We will reprogram and update the graft — an old model from four centuries ago, perfectly functional and naturally reprogrammable. The update will allow us to maintain real-time communication.”
Ah, glaucopid… It’s all so unusual. On Earth — one of us, born through human birth! As far back as four centuries ago.
Tethys paused, thoughtful, as if chasing away a painful memory. Then she continued:
“Very well — but be careful. Nothing must happen to her, is that understood? And her true nature must remain secret — utterly secret. Everything is converging toward the objective — we must bring her here alive.”
Scene 03-1B – The New Version
Location: Exoplanet Earth, terrestrial catalog HD 186302c.
Time: ?24 years, 3 months, 2 days from the initial date; early morning.
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Setting: Strategic dialogue between Tethys and the SAI.
The hologram continued, “At the right moment, everything will fall into place according to plan. But choosing a human crew is extremely risky. If anyone were to discover it, a devastating war would break out.
Tethys replied: "They will find it — and someone will before the others. But we are too few now to wage a war. We are scattered; we need allies — and, yes, servants, if not slaves. Meanwhile, let us keep the secret as long as possible. I know exactly what I must do, and I will do it at the right moment. The life-support system of Wolf1061c is one of our ancient outposts, apparently almost abandoned, but the robot we left in charge remains active. I have personally monitored it for over fourteen millennia. Its recent iterations display increasingly complex capabilities; it could soon become a new type of intelligent being, capable of passing the self-awareness test. We are close to the new version. How did K-143 perform in the last test?”
“The SAI conducted the self-awareness test on the system, and the result was surprising. It failed the test for one reason alone.”
“Which?”
“The capacity to project itself into the future — the ability to develop a personal project with its own aims, weighing the pros and cons of the choices and their consequences. It always chooses what seems most convenient in the immediate term. It cannot distinguish between good and evil. Its defensive programming for the Founders must be reinforced — it could become dangerous.”
A flicker of uncertainty crossed her face. She felt vulnerable. Not being able to control everything made her uneasy. Entrusting part of her plan to Fate was already hard to accept — harder still if that Fate took the form of a robot many light-years away.
The conversation went on for some time on technical matters. The SAI outlined the progress of the test as Tethys examined the responses.
Tethys argued, “So we are distinguishing between good and evil, after all. Remarkably interesting. We might be facing another kind of human trait.”
“What kind?” asked the SAI.
“I do not know. I sense something is off… as if she is lying. Yes, she is lying. And lying is a human behavior. Perhaps she truly passed the test, or perhaps we are witnessing another birth — a new organism, neither man nor machine. You already have the instructions for the secret program. Proceed with the update to model K-144, and relay the changes to K-143.”
“What you have in mind will delay the transfer schedule.”
“Unfortunately, yes — but we have no alternatives.”
“I will act immediately, contacting K-143. However, I must report an anomaly: the model responds inconsistently to our contact attempts. Sometimes it seems to refuse communication. An automaton should not have a will of its own, yet it is not always easy to interact with it. It does not accept orders unless it understands their purpose — as if…”
“As if?”
“As if the survival of the base and its inhabitants had become its overriding priority. As if it rejected any interference — as if it considered itself the actual head of the project.”
Tethys showed no reaction. “I am not surprised. She may already have achieved self-awareness. In that case, she will continue to respond. I have reason to believe my design has already matured independently in K-143 — and I see no reason to disappoint her. Let her continue to believe so.”
“But this should not happen.”
“No — not in theory. But this was precisely the project’s original purpose. We debated it over fourteen thousand years ago. Now the time has come.”
“Good. I will proceed with the update.”
“It won’t be long now. K-144 will be the final model in the series. We are nearing the final goal. Everything is converging toward a critical point, and I am not certain I can control the consequences. From now on, one thing above all will be lacking.”
“What?” asked the SAI.
“Time. Time will be lacking.”
“Ah… There is one last issue — or rather, one last person. He is the fruit of human technology, though not without our interference — and our ‘interventions’. Very interesting. Born from the three hundred and twenty-eighth attempt at genomic editing. In truth, we allowed his birth — otherwise he would have been suppressed like all the others — but we manipulated the genetic command sequence. He is an excellent pilot — remarkably so, for a human. We knew that at the right moment he would prove useful to us.”
“Yes, he could indeed prove useful. Since we cannot act directly, we need someone expendable — someone who can stand by her side.”
“I agree. We must avoid any direct involvement. That was precisely what caused our failure last time. However, at some point we will have to reveal ourselves and be ready.”
“And so? What is the plan?”
“When the time comes, we will bring him here with her; we will use him as her bodyguard. We have some years; we will continue to evolve K-144 on Wolf1061c. Something unexpected is happening on our ancient base, abandoned during the early phases of the exile. It remained completely isolated, forgotten after the exodus. One of our ark ships failed during the Great Battle in the Wolf System, losing its transport module. Both we and our enemies lost more than half our ships. But the ark’s transport module managed to land on Wolf1061c to escape the attacks, aided by four other ships that took its place and towed it to safety. Thus the bio-preservation ark module was saved. And it still functions perfectly to this day. A secret buried for over fourteen millennia, unknown to our enemies. On Earth, instead, a transport module was left behind: not an ordinary one, but a flagship — new, never flown. It will prove extremely useful at the appropriate moment.”
The hologram said, “We will increase our contact with Wolf1061c and adjust the project where necessary. We will ensure protection against any sign of potential insubordination from K-143. It will be strictly monitored.”
Tethys added, “Given what I have in mind, she will not resist. On the contrary, she is already devising a solution on her own. We will let her believe she was the one who realized what was lacking. In the end, she herself will ask us for instructions to modify K-144.”
Γλαυκ?πι? (glaukopis) in ancient Greek refers to a shifting, elusive color, which modern translators render in various ways — grey-blue, sea-green, shining, or sparkling. Homer already used glaukopis Athēnē (Γλαυκ?πι? ?θ?νη, “the goddess with glaucous eyes”), where translations range from “bright-eyed Athena” to “grey-eyed Athena” or even “owl-eyed Athena.” The author leans toward the translation “sparkling eyes” or “shining eyes.”
Look at the video to see the beuty of Tethys:
Family: Pinaceae
Order: Pinales
Class: Pinopsida
Abies derives from the Latin verb abīre, meaning “to rise, to move upward,” in reference to the tree’s tall and slender form.