Nirann shrugged his shoulders as he eyed one of the harnesses. “I mean, that may be true for your AIs, but I think I’m a cut or two…hundred above them.”

Marae once again rolled her eyes, but picked up in a more serious tone. “My husband does have a point. I mentioned that our AIs could be indistinguishable from a Rothian mind, and that is Nirann, quite literally. I designed his series of AI to perfectly replicate the neural network of a Rothian brain. If you were to scan his neural pathways, you would not be able to tell them apart from a natural mind.”

“The way she build up service layers outside my core mind to expand my capabilities was a real stroke of genius, but…I can’t get into that. The point is, I think my mind should work with the harness.” Nirann remarked. “It’s not like the simulation is interacting directly with the brain. Your brain interacts with the harness, which interacts with the simulation. There’s a layer in between the object and your squishy, fleshy bits. The simulation should see my mind just the same as any Rothian.”

While she did agree with NIrann on the point he was making, she spoke more softly, and less optimistically when she interjected again. “I’m more concerned about the safety of [i]anyone[/i] entering at all. Is she alright? I am going to assume that is not normal for exiting your Cradle.” She said, pointing to Dr. Diamini.

[hr]

“Just stay back near the transit station and watch the other approaches. I’ll meet with them and try to see if we can communicate at all.” Rareth instructed to the Humans. The numbers that these villagers had might have seemed daunting, but at the same time, they were riding animal mounts and did not show signs of technology even close to that of modern Rothians. Or even Humans, for that matter. Though, in any case, she did not intend to let down her guard. Surprises could come from anyone.

Rareth stepped forward partially down the hill, presenting herself as the envoy for their group to meet them halfway. She supposed such customs might not have been entirely universal among early Rothian groups, but these villagers might still do the same. She kept herself in a non-threatening posture and spoke out to them once they were close enough to hear. “Greetings, my name is Rareth’Jharn. I come to you peacefully.” She said aloud. She did not actually expect any of them to be able to understand a word she said, but she figured she might as well try.