When Agents Go Wrong

[ottarrus]

So, I'm re-reading Ao/tI for the fifth time or so and something occurred to me that should have occurred to me earlier.

How would a given Emperor/ress handle it when one of the Agent personalities does something that the HIM didn't want to happen?

A couple things that I noticed in the Agent Wafer program as MM wrote it:
Bland had to continually update himself on what was current in technology and the current political situation in the 3-I.
Now, the first can be updated as technology advances by updating the wafer. No problem. But politics are a lot more 'squishy' and temporary. Mind you politics in the Third Imperium are not volatile as contemporary democratic processes are [assassinations aside, of course]. The time lag slows things down for one thing.
But what if Empress X makes a policy decision that everyone has to follow, but here comes Agent A waving Edict 97 around in Diaspora Sector [weeks away from Capital at the best possible speed] that actively countermands the stated Imperial Will? Nobody who obeys the Agent's orders can be held liable or responsible. That's clearly stated in the authorizing Edict. So how do you think the Imperial policy and the Agent program can be reconciled?

Another interesting question is 'How is the specific Agent wafer [Admiral, Decider, General, etc.] chosen?' Does the ship's computer run an algorithm to suggest one to the commander on scene?

 

[Sigtrygg]

You mean something unwanted like assassinating said emperor?
Bland is loyal to the concept of the Imperium, not the Emperor of the time. Now this may be due to the unique path his digital persona follows, I doubt if they other Agent wafers have similar schemes in the works.

But what if an different Agent takes exception to what Bland is up to?

 

[ottarrus]

You mean something unwanted like assassinating said emperor?
Bland is loyal to the concept of the Imperium, not the Emperor of the time. Now this may be due to the unique path his digital persona follows, I doubt if they other Agent wafers have similar schemes in the works.

But what if an different Agent takes exception to what Bland is up to?

Well, an Agent's 'schemes' can only run for 30 days. What's more, unless it's something as major as the Civil War, an Agent's actions will only effect 1 or 2 systems. It would be an incredible roll of odds for two Agents to be operating in the same subsector, much less enacting plans that conflict with each other. And in the case of multiple Agents being activated for the same incident, MM's writing appears to say that the most recent activation is the legally binding one.
But it's a good question. Those are my thoughts/answers but YTUWV, right?