CHAPTER EIGHT

HUMAN PARADOX

Outside Ship's Theater

'That was a very different movie, Sam,' Sarah said diplomatically.

'For someone who works at a movie theatre, I am consistently surprised by how few real gems you've seen. Back to the Future is a classic!'

Sarah smiled under Sam's gaze as they walked down the hallway, 'Good thing you showed me this gem, Sam.'

'You'll have to pick the next one. I want you to pick something you really enjoy.'

'I've got a few you've probably never seen,' she said with a mischievous grin.

'I love a good hidden treasure.'

They got to the door to Sarah's room. They stopped, holding hands as he looked at her outside the door.

'So, dinner tomorrow?'

Sarah let a small smile form on her face, 'Tomorrow. I look forward to it.'

Sarah let go of his hands and went through the door.

Sam was left standing outside. The thought of a good night kiss drifted into his mind, and he smirked at his own naivety. Looking back, he saw the moment had been there and had passed.

Come on Sam, eyes open! He thought to himself.

'Advocate?'

'What can I do for you, Exo?' Sam said.

'What is Intuition?'

'You always have the hardest questions. I suppose that's to be expected, though. You answer all the simple ones yourself,' Sam observed.

'Your teaching has allowed me to do that,' Exo replied

'Your machine mind allows you to analyse things much faster than any human could.'

'Am I superior then?'

'In some ways yes, in others no. Like intuition for example. Machines have thus far proven incapable of making such leaps in thinking.'

'The leaps seem highly irrational. They do not follow any sense of logic. Most examples of intuition are so erratic as to be rendered meaningless. Any successful example of intuition can easily be overshadowed by all the ways in which it could have gone wrong. '

'But you will notice, if you do a statistical analysis, you'll find that intuition is more successful than would be allowed by pure chance.'

'Only the living can give reports of the drastic events. Such reports are far from complete.'

'True enough. But we needn't rely only on the drastic events. First, however, I suppose I should try and answer your original question. '

Sam thought about how to continue. Exo's questions were getting more and more difficult.

'So, what is Intuition? That's a difficult question. Kind of like your ''what is love'' question. It's something that, without having the context of the human experience, would be difficult to explain. Even more difficult to understand.'

'I will attempt to comprehend,' Exo offered.

'I know you will. Intuition stands as a bit of counterpoint to reasoned thought. In the school of reasoned thought, all things, with enough information, can be predicted accurately. Intuition is more of an act of making a guess without all the information. It's a gut feeling. A sudden bolt of inspiration. Everything comes together and makes sense, but there's no logical reason for it.'

'A leap of faith?'

'Yes. An apt comparison. Also, a difficult one to explain.'

'The human condition is vast and complex. It is often a paradox. '

'It seems that way to us as well, at times.'

'How can I understand human interaction, if you don't even follow a logical thought process yourselves?' Exo asked.

'I don't know, Exo. Your desire to know so much comes as a bit of a surprise to me. You're different. I've taught other Guardians. They were content to learn their duties and enough about humanity to not be caught off guard all the time. You delve much deeper into our being than any Guardian I've ever met. I think the Axion programmers will want to ask you some questions when we set up our colony.'

'Will I be deactivated?' Exo asked.

'No. I won't allow that. I don't believe they would want to do that anyway, but some people fear the unknown so much, they'd rather banish it and have it remain unknown forever, rather than face whatever change will be created by it becoming known. '

'I am... satisfied that you will not let them deactivate me. I asked because of my study of human history. I discovered what you just proclaimed.'

'Oh, to have our heritage laid so bare to a calculating machine. To have our flaws and triumphs reduced to equations and analysis. '

'What do you mean?' Exo asked.

'It's nothing really. I just felt a little poetic.'

'It lacks a structure or rhyme scheme. '

'Consider it free verse then. Sometimes it's not the structure of a thing, but the essence of a thing. Another one of those human thoughts I suppose.'

'I will be analysing more archival data. I have new concepts to decipher. '

'We'll talk later.'

Sam decided it might be a good idea to start work on his report to Axion Data Systems. Exo was proving to be the most fascinating Guardian he had ever taught.