JeffEngel wrote:jgnfld wrote:Yes, a running AI/reconstituted body/whatever with a knowledge of Earth would recognize the Earth reference.
Since no entity recognizably has, the inference to be made is obvious.
It leaves open the possibility of a singularly poorly informed AI, unaware of Merlin's names, incidents of Arabic numerals in use on Safehold, and possibly any terrestrial phrases or other good lines slipping into Maikel Staynair's sermons, the Ahrmahks' public statements, etc.
Just what the AI is supposed to be doing consistent with being that much of a shut-in is a wide open question. I guess another bare possibility to be mooted is an AI that's well enough informed and does not care about the fleshy goings-on on Safehold. It's been close on a thousand years with no one to talk to and the so very, very slow fleshy sorts creeping about doing things with which it shares no background at all. I doubt a full-blown, self-aware, boredom-enabled AI could go on giving a toss after all that time.
There are lots of Safehold names that have old earth roots even if the spelling is somewhat altered. Consider Haarahld, Cayleb, Sharleyan, Nynian, Domynik (sp), Lewys, Kynt and on and on it goes. I doubt that Merlin and Nimue stand out as particularly odd..
Don
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