Since no one really discussed it yet… by far, I found the fear of uploading to be the most gut-wrenching part. No new ideas, but putting it into a story context made it hit home.
In terms of the utopia, the most concerning part for me was that Celestia did not seem to (ROT13) qrpvqr gung uhznaf inyhr guvatf va gur rkgreany raivebazrag. Pryrfgvn jnf unccl gb yvr va beqre gb znxr crbcyr(/cbavrf) unccl, rira jura gur cbal va dhrfgvba fcrpvsvpnyyl qrfverq gb xabj jung jnf tbvat ba va gur rkgreany jbeyq. Pryrfgvn jnf unccl gb fubj gur cbal n cvpgher bs gur rkgreany jbeyq qrfvtarq gb znkvznyyl fngvfsl inyhrf, vafgrnq bs (jung V jbhyq frr nf) ernyyl fngvfslvat gur cbal’f qrfver gb xabj.
Yes. The author wrote that part because it was a horrifying situation. It isn’t a horrifying situation unless the character’s desire is to actually know. Therefore, the character wanted to actually know. I can excuse the other instances of lying as tricks to get people to upload, thus satisfying more values than are possible in 80-odd years; that seems a bit out of character for Celestia though.
Since no one really discussed it yet… by far, I found the fear of uploading to be the most gut-wrenching part. No new ideas, but putting it into a story context made it hit home.
In terms of the utopia, the most concerning part for me was that Celestia did not seem to (ROT13) qrpvqr gung uhznaf inyhr guvatf va gur rkgreany raivebazrag. Pryrfgvn jnf unccl gb yvr va beqre gb znxr crbcyr(/cbavrf) unccl, rira jura gur cbal va dhrfgvba fcrpvsvpnyyl qrfverq gb xabj jung jnf tbvat ba va gur rkgreany jbeyq. Pryrfgvn jnf unccl gb fubj gur cbal n cvpgher bs gur rkgreany jbeyq qrfvtarq gb znkvznyyl fngvfsl inyhrf, vafgrnq bs (jung V jbhyq frr nf) ernyyl fngvfslvat gur cbal’f qrfver gb xabj.
So you think you can guess that character’s desire more accurately than a godlike AI with full access to her mind could?
Yes. The author wrote that part because it was a horrifying situation. It isn’t a horrifying situation unless the character’s desire is to actually know. Therefore, the character wanted to actually know. I can excuse the other instances of lying as tricks to get people to upload, thus satisfying more values than are possible in 80-odd years; that seems a bit out of character for Celestia though.