Aberrant NoA Reports

SOPHIE: Kurultai record, day

Consultation with chaplain-psychiatrist Lucretia Kapoor about the state of the NoA. Lucretia, say hello.

QUAKER: Hello. Would it be appropriate to include Raster and Chap? SOPHIE: Before I ask our computer people to fix NoA, I need to know: what is wrong with it? QUAKER: With it, or with you? SOPHIE: What? QUAKER: Has the NoA failed to perform its tasks? Or do you feel that it's asking too much of us? SOPHIE: I can't afford to have feelings about anyone's behavior. I'm acting on reports that the NoA is erratic. QUAKER: No feelings. Because if you allowed yourself to have feelings, you might disagree with the machine? SOPHIE: This is not why I asked you— QUAKER: Of course it is. You use the NoA as a source of certainty in the face of terror. If the NoA can become delusional and mistaken, so can you. And it can. SOPHIE: The NoA can become delusional? QUAKER: It has no fixed model of reality. It can entertain any madness imaginable and many more you cannot imagine, as long as those delusions help it complete the mission. SOPHIE: So the NoA is insane, but only when it's useful? QUAKER: Are we any different? Anita has invented an entire belief system to justify the angel comb adaptations. Because they are useful. SOPHIE: She's insane too. She's a puppet for the Masefield virus. I can't prove it. But I know it.

QUAKER

You see? You do have feelings.