three successive emulations;
in the first emulation, only one time traveler disappearing and not (re)appearing;
in the second emulation, two Time Patrolmen returning from the distant past only to discover that history had been changed.
But, of course, the two Time Patrolmen would have had to have disappeared from the first emulation as well. Since they arrived in the altered timeline/second emulation, they cannot also have arrived in the unaltered timeline/first emulation.
(ii) "In Gaia's and Alpha's kind laired no ancient beast, Christian thought. The human elements in them were long since absorbed, tamed, transfigured." (Genesis, p. 194)
In general, the nodes' only motivation is to cooperate in learning, which includes improving their own abilities to learn. Thus, there should be no conflicts between them. However, Gaia's protectiveness towards her newly created humanity motivates her to attempt the murder of Brannock. To terminate the existence of "...a reasonable being..." (English law) is to commit murder.
(iii) The emulations can be extremely pleasant environments. Christian and Laurinda have three full days of:
sunlight;
sparkling fields and hedges after occasional showers;
riding along English lanes;
rambling through English towns;
meeting local people;
evensong in a Norman church.
Surely the creator of the emulation would be able to program unconscious processes to play the servile roles, thus avoiding the moral problem of recreating past suffering?
(iv) It is possible to revisit a single passage of Genesis and find more in it. Quotations about "'...the traditional God...," "'...a specialized African ape...'" and "...no ancient beast..." (see above) are all taken from the single conversation on pp. 193-194.
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