"If Awareness Is To Survive..." II

Genesis, PART TWO, I.

"If awareness is to survive..." (p. 107)

But why should it? The galactic brain and its members do not have the animal motivation to survive. In fact, individual entities are used to being switched off or to being absorbed into greater entities. However, they are motivated to learn and survival is necessary for continued learning so they will try to survive but will be unperturbed if they learn that they cannot.

There is a parallel case in James Blish's Cities In Flight. New York is governed by a Mayor assisted by a set of computers called the City Fathers which can converse although it is unclear to me whether they are to be regarded as conscious. As the end of this universe approaches:

"'ZERO MINUS FIFTEEN MINUTES.'
"'Do you understand what is about to happen to you?' Amalfi said suddenly.
"'YES, MR. MAYOR. WE ARE TO BE TURNED OFF AT ZERO.'
"'That's good enough.' He wondered, however, if they thought that they might be turned on again in the future. It was of course foolish to think of them as entertaining anything even vaguely resembling an emotion, but nevertheless he decided not to say anything which might disabuse them. They were only machines, but they were also old friends and allies."
-James Blish, The Triumph Of Time IN Blish, Cities In Flight (London, 1981), pp. 466-596 AT CHAPTER EIGHT, p. 594.

With just under five minutes left, Amalfi tells the computers to stop counting and is surprised when they respond:

"'VERY WELL, MR. MAYOR. GOODBYE.'" (p. 595)

Of course, he replies in kind. There remain a few insightful sentences from the human characters before:

"...it ended." (ibid.)

It seems that Lester del Rey suggested a sequel to be entitled "After Strange Gods" in which the City Fathers survived but this idea was never seriously considered.