[h1][center][color=a187be]MillAgros-TR-17 Hyouka[/color][/center][/h1]
[@PaulHaynek]

Hyouka smiled, glad that Gordian was well enough to have a sense of humor. [color=a187be]"Well, you better not be the only Hospitaller in the caravan or we're screwed,"[/color] she said, hoping to add some mirth to the otherwise depressing situation. Had he patched himself up through the pain and in the heat of battle just to come to their rescue? True heroism was in pushing past one's fears and limits. Still, she made sure to hand him off to some other Hospitaller just to make sure he didn't have any lingering injuries.

As the caravan got back on its feet, Hyouka spent some time solemnly mourning the dead. As she approached, Camille asked a question that Hyouka took some time to ponder. [color=a187be]"Well, there are two sides to it. The first being that, tactically, they didn't have a choice. In a single skirmish, your death or mine is equivalent to one of their deaths: it's one less soldier on the field. Sure, we can come back, but even if you had an identical backup body with all your gear already set-up, you'd still have to travel from your data center. By the time we got back here, the battle would be over, and the casualties might be higher since we weren't there to participate in combat. As robots, our combat capabilities are higher on average, so keeping us alive and in battle ironically keeps more humans alive. The option of having only robots engage in combat can only be considered if robot soldiers far outnumbered human soldiers, but that might mean a decrease in robot combat efficacy since it would likely rely on mass-production."[/color] Just because robots were technically immortal didn't mean that the limitations of time and distance didn't apply. [color=a187be]"The other thing is that this is what they know. Death is inevitable so they have to seriously weigh what they consider to be a life worth living. For many of them, living and dying for a greater purpose allows them to not have regrets. Perhaps I can introduce you to human literature. Since they evolved sentience, they have told tales of heroism. In a way, to have people tell stories of your bravery for generations to come was, to them, a form of immortality, perhaps the only form of immortality they can attain. You can think of it like vicarious memory preservation."[/color] Hyouka realized it might be a lot for Camille to take in, so she stopped to let the other robot ruminate.