The Lifecycle of Software Objects

Any member of the user group is free to accept Binary Desire’s offer individually, but Ana’s argument is persuasive enough that no one does so for the time being. A few days after the meeting, Derek tells Marco and Polo about Binary Desire’s offer, figuring that they deserve to be kept informed of what’s going on. Polo is curious about the modifications Binary Desire wanted to make; he knows he has a reward map, but has never thought about what it would mean to edit it.

“Might be fun editing my reward map,” says Polo.

“You not able edit your reward map when you working for someone else,” says Marco. “You only able do that when you corporation.”

Polo turns to Derek. “That true?”

“Well, that’s not something I would let you do even when you are a corporation.”

“Hey,” protests Marco. “You said when we corporations, we make all our own decisions.”

“I did say that,” admits Derek, “but I hadn’t thought about you editing your own reward map. That could be very dangerous.”

“But humans able edit own reward maps.”

“What? We can’t do anything like that.”

“What about drugs people take for sex? Ifridisics?”

“Aphrodisiacs. Those are just temporary.”

“InstantRapport temporary?” asks Polo.

“Not exactly,” says Derek, “but a lot of the time when people take that, they’re making a mistake.” Especially, he thinks, if a company is paying them to take it.

“When I corporation, I free make own mistakes,” says Marco. “That whole point.”

“You’re not ready to be a corporation yet.”

“Because you not like my decisions? Ready mean always agree with you?”

“If you’re planning on editing your own reward map as soon as you’re a corporation, you’re not ready.”

“I not said want,” says Marco emphatically. “I don’t want. I said when corporation, I free do that. That different.”

Derek stops for a moment. It’s easy to forget, but this is the same conclusion the user group came to during forum discussions about incorporating the digients: if legal personhood is to be more than a form of wordplay, it has to mean granting a digient some degree of autonomy. “Yes, you’re right. When you’re a corporation, you’ll be free to do things that I think are mistakes.”

“Good,” says Marco, satisfied. “When you decide I ready, it not because I agree you. I can be ready even if I not agree you.”

“That’s right. But please, tell me you don’t want to edit your own reward map.”

“No, I know dangerous. Might make mistake that stop self from fixing mistake.”

He’s relieved. “Thank you.”

“But let Binary Desire edit my reward map, that not dangerous.”

“No, it’s not dangerous, but it’s still a bad idea.”

“I not agree.”

“What? I don’t think you understand what they want to do.”

Marco gives him a look of frustration.”I do. They make me like what they want me like, even if I not like it now.”

Derek realizes Marco does understand. “And you don’t think that’s wrong?”

“Why wrong? All things I like now, I like because Blue Gamma made me like. That not wrong.”

“No, but that was different.” He thinks for a moment to explain why. “Blue Gamma made you like food, but they didn’t decide what specific kind of food you had to like.”

“So what? Not very different.”

“It is different.”

“Agree wrong if they edit digients not want be edited. But if digient agree before be edited, then not wrong.”

Derek feels himself growing exasperated. “So do you want to be a corporation and make your own decisions, or do you want someone else to make your decisions? Which one is it?”

Marco thinks about that. “Maybe I try both. One copy me become corporation, second copy me work for Binary Desire.”

“You don’t mind having copies made of you?”

“Polo copy of me. That not wrong.”

At a loss, Derek brings the discussion to a close and sends the digients off to do work on their studies, but he can’t easily dismiss what Marco has said. On the one hand Marco made some good arguments, but on the other Derek remembers his college years well enough to know that skill at debate isn’t the same as maturity. Not for the first time, he thinks of how much easier it would be if there were a legally mandated age of majority for digients; without one, it will be entirely up to him to decide when Marco is ready to be a corporation.

Derek’s not alone in having disagreements in the wake of Binary Desire’s offer. The next time he talks to Ana, she complains about a recent fight with Kyle.

“He thinks we should accept Binary Desire’s offer,” she says.”He said it’s a much better option than me taking the job at Polytope.”

It’s another opportunity to be critical of Kyle; how should he handle it? All he says is, “Because he thinks modifying the digients isn’t that big a deal.”

“Exactly.” She fumes a bit, and then continues. “It’s not as if I think wearing the InstantRapport patch is no big deal. Of course it is. But there’s a big difference between me using InstantRapport voluntarily and Binary Desire just imposing their bonding process on the digients.”