If you ever create a Mekhanikal life, prepare it for both life's horrors as well as its joys lest you lose it to the heavy burden of the truth.
"Let the Mekhanic Maiden be your lesson in the nature of Man and his folly.12 Let her be a lesson that if you ever create a Mekhanikal life, prepare it for both life's horrors as well as its joys lest you lose it to the heavy burden of the truth.
Soraya, the Mekhanical Maiden of Qaya-Ram
The Mekhanic Maiden found in the Desert between the Church of Saint Catherine and Jerusalem
The one who broke the Curse of the Mekhanic Mind
The divine golden knight, the Angel, other related euphemisms6 789
Conspectus
Soraya, the Mechanical Maiden, is an anomaly in our understanding of Amoni-Ram. Despite the technological supremacy of the Mekhanites in some respects, there was an unbridgeable void in their knowledge and development of complex computing and Artificial Intelligence (a conundrum they described as 'the Curse of the Mechanical Mind').
Soraya was a once-in-a-lifetime creation, a robot with a mind so vast and sharp, it would have made complex AI constructs of today blush, if they could. She certainly could. The marvels of the engineers from Qaya-Ram10111213 bestowed her not only with a mind of her own, but with emotions, desires and, much to their dismay, as they will have found out later, all the complexities of the human nature as well. Good and bad alike.
Illustration
Knowledge
Traits: Soraya was a robot16 comprised of a fuladh shell,17 copper-based circuitry, and a computational hardware not too dissimilar to the microprocessors we would see in modern computers. Just like everything else about her, it also vastly outperformed everything present modern technology. She had a complex computational node, which housed a memory of 580 zettabytes,1819 and a RAM of 4.3 terabytes. Her conversational response time rivaled that of an average human, and she was capable of producing results for the most complex of calculations near instantaneously.
Outside her computational node, Soraya's other specific trait laid in her functionality beyond her mechanical mind. She possessed a wide range of augmentations, utilitarian (such as a little built-in oven, a small fridge, a heater apparatus, headlights, and a collection of retractable tools) or functional (solar panels and a charging cable)2021 in nature alike.
All of this made Soraya into what she was intended to be: a mechanical woman.222324
Nature: While robots traditionally do not come with personalities, it was the brilliance of the Qaya-Ram scientists that Soraya was blessed with one. They engineered a never before seen personality matrix for her.25
She was programmed to be compassionate, curious, and eager to devour knowledge. Those primary traits were so ingrained in her that they persisted even long after her departure. Her team of caretakers at Amoni-Ram retrieved numerous memories of her sneaking, in the dead of the night, into various libraries close to her. She would spend her nights there, devouring all the knowledge she could get her hands on. When sunrise came, she sneaked out the same way she arrived, then rinse and repeat. All the way until she went through the whole library.
All those virtues, however, turned into vices: her compassion ended up driving her to become depressive and lethargic after she understood and internalized just how poorly Amoni-Ram treated women;2627 her eagerness to devour knowledge turned her into a recluse.28
And her curiosity… Her curiosity was the exact thing that led her to her downfall.29 As testified both in Further Travels and in her own memories, Soraya disobeyed her instructions and listened in on a discussion of three Emissaries from Amoni-Ram. While she was forbidden from showing herself and talking to people from outside the Qayan Academy, she decided that just listening without ever showing herself would constitute as neither. And so she did just that, and what she heard was bad enough3031 that it broke her heart to the point she had to abandon her former life and depart.32
History & Associated Parties: Records and memories indicate that Soraya was created by a group of 5 scientists in Qaya-Ram3334 who were engaging in underground science, to the point where their technology was developed enough that they would have been able to tackle creating an artificial intelligence.35
Several prototypes were created before Soraya, all utilizing technologies such as glass or microchips, and all became personal computers used by the group.3637
And as for why they created Soraya in the image of a woman despite the spotty relationship of Amoni-Ram with women, we will lend you the voice of one of her creators:
(…) Creating her as a woman will not doom her to a life of eternal pain. Not unless we let it happen. Emperor Ansool has shown that it is well within the capacity of us Mekhanites to treat women as equals. Therefore we, too, should show her, or ourselves, or our Academy, that the life of a woman does not have to equal suffering.
— Shadei, one of the creators of Soraya. Information retrieved from her memory bank.
Approach: Since Soraya is perfectly inert and is in good care in Amoni-Ram custody, no special approach is required. Her caretakers informed us that as soon as they re-activate her, they will try to integrate her into the modern society of Amoni-Ram.
One thing anybody handling Soraya would definitely need to take into consideration, though, would be her distrust towards men. We proposed to her caretakers that whenever she's reactivated, it would be best for the room to be primarily filled with female researchers, to ease her back into existence.38 They agreed, for which we are very grateful.3940
Observations & Stories
She… She lives! Oh, Mekhane, we made it. With your blessing, we made it.
— Jawahir, one of the creators of Soraya. Information retrieved from her memory bank.
And after she filled up the basin within her cave with fresh cold stream water, while I was awaiting her to heat it up with her in-built heater apparatus (borne of the same mekhanisms as the rest of her body), she continued her story as such:
"The words of the Emissaries still filled me with great disgust, Massoud,41" said she. "And as I ran from Qaya, I remembered what poor Latifa told me, about her husband. I was so distraught, you see, so lost in despair and the lack of hope.
"Did I make the wrong choice to disobey my orders and listen in on the Emissaries? I may have. But why did my Creators keep the truth from me? Why did they not share the cruelties of this world with me? Did they think I would have never found out? If it was not twenty years since my birth, it would have been two hundred, or two thousand, but I would have… I would have.
"And Massoud, I have returned to Amoni after my departure. I wanted to see if it truly was as rotten as the three Emissaries made me believe. Three are not three million, after all. I was foolish enough to believe, in the depth of my mekhanical heart, that they were merely three examples of the extreme.42 And so, I snuck into Amoni, assumed the shape of a statue, and observed.
"And I saw men brag about the misdeeds they inflicted upon their wives, as how the three Emissaries bragged. I saw their wives weeping in misery, as how the wife of the Grand Emissary wept, and even saw them vow to take their own lives. I saw beggar men beaten up by rich men and the guards, and I saw unspeakable acts committed upon beggar women by all three.
"I stood still for three months and three months more, and cried tears for all the suffering of women I had to bear witness, from the poorest to the richest.4344 And I vowed to run away, never to return."
And the rise of sun was fast approaching, so Soraya left the cave to "charge", that was the word she used, the life-force of her body with the rays of the sun above.
Having sit in her tub and contemplate the story she told me so far, I have furthermore come to the conclusion that it is, indeed, a great honor that Soraya took me, a man, into her trust. For as much as having me enter her cave and use her amenities, and having her converse with me.4546
— excerpt from Further Travels of Sir John Mandeville
[Massoud is sitting in the rock bathtub. Soraya is sitting near the opening to the cave, fidgeting with the potatoes she is baking in the ashes of her campfire.]
Massoud: I don't understand.
Soraya: [looks up. Massoud is looking away from her.] Understand what?
Massoud: Why did you let me in your sanctuary and chose to converse with me despite… [nods in her general direction]
[Soraya turns back to her campfire. Some of the potatoes finished baking. She takes them out and places them on a plate.]
[THINKING.]
[She turns around and places the plate next to the bathtub. Massoud recoils, presumably from seeing her thinking animation.]
[THINKING.]
Soraya: Your eyes.
Massoud: Eh?
Soraya: Your eyes. We share something similar, you and I. You, too, are somebody who chased for the knowledge of this world. You, too, saw all its wonders and unjust cruelties. You have been around for long, have you not?
[Massoud nods.]
Soraya: As have I…
[She puts out the campfire and stretches her legs.]
[Silence.]
Soraya: You have the eyes of a tired scholar, Massoud. I can recognize them anywhere. I have seen the same glint in the eyes of my creators. A long, long time ago…47
— Dialogue between Soraya and Massoud. Conversation retrieved from her memory bank.
A most peculiar sight greeted me then, dear. A figure clad in metal, which could have been a knight, or could have been one of the Angels, took me gently, and helped me walk somewhere as I was losing my power to walk on my own.
When I came to, I was sitting in her cave (I have later found out it was a woman), somewhere deep in the mountains. She was holding a bowl of fruit in front of me, and I screamed in her face and tried to run away! It was so silly of me. She just tilted her head at me, and the shape of a question mark formed on her face (which was as smooth as glass). That was when I understood I shouldn't have run from her. She's safe.
So I sat down next to her, and we talked. She told me she was a machine with a spirit (but she really was an Angel inhabiting an armor. I would know for sure!) and asked me some things about my life. And I spoke, of course. You remember why I ran, right? I told her that. I told her more, too. Life in my village and such.
We sat in silence for a while, after which she said something like "I see how it is". Her face no longer displayed a question mark, or an expression for that matter. It was empty, and it scared me.
I knew she wouldn't hurt me, though. She just stood up, stumbled towards the opening of her cave, and looked back at me. I could tell, even through her blank face-plate, that she was crying.
I kept her company for a week after that, where she fed me, clothed me and bathed me, and in turn I sat with her and comforted her.
When I was ready to depart, she handed me all her belongings in a rolling case. I did not understand why she wanted to part with them, but she insisted, and so I accepted, because I did not want to reject the gifts of an Angel.
It was enough to last me to get to the town next to yours, from where I am writing you this letter. I still have some left over, nearly over a half. We will meet in perhaps a month, and I will share her belongings with you.
Well… You've heard Aylin. How much time has passed?
[Recorded maximum uptime: 1 216 095 moons51, 17 hours, 39 minutes, 03 seconds]
Nothing has changed in these three million moons… Not a single thing.
This cave I call home is quite comfortable, but… at this point, why bother?
[Battery charge: 2 parts out of 100 used up. Energy source: solar panels. Time left without charging: 1 823 moons, 23 hours, 45 minutes, 05 seconds]
If nothing changed in these million moons, I doubt something will change in these two thousand.
Well… The underground lake of the inner chamber would make for a nice resting place. It has algae and little glowing mushrooms.
There is not much left for me here.
— Soraya, last registered thoughts.
Doubt
The greatest blind spot regarding Soraya is her frankly ephemeral nature. Me, Fungus, and her caretakers might know her to be real, but the issue is that we are the only people currently alive who have seen her. Presently, Soraya is only known through eyewitness accounts. If anybody here would cast doubt upon her existence based on this, I would not fault them one bit.
The second greatest blind spot regarding her is that ever since she ended up in Amoni-Ram custody half a year ago, nobody has figured out how to turn her on. Her caretakers charged her battery and brought her shell to pristine condition, and yet there is no sign for how to actually activate her. Our only hope is that her caretakers will, by chance, discover her blueprints in the cursory vision of her memories and will be able to deduce her activation out of them.
I really hope me and Fungus will be invited to witness her activation, whenever that happens. We both have a lot to learn from her.
— Mersenne
The Truth of N.A.
It's bullshit, this whole thing is bullshit, like you're telling me there was an extremely feminist robot (whose existence is only corroborated by eyewitness accounts!!) in the 15th century who hated men and I'm supposed to believe it?52 Fuck you! Fuck you all for desecrating Mandeville's book, like I wouldn't be surprised if this was an edit added by 21st century feminists.
And honestly, while we're at it, I call bullshit at this whole "Amoni-Ram" deal too. What do you mean there was a whole ancient empire whose hatred of women was so strong that it had to go on record? I call bullshit, because it's obviously an attempt of5354
