AI Thrinakia
Helios’ Island of TOEs
Odysseus and his weary crew sail until they reach Thrinakia, the blazing island of Helios, where the sacred cattle of the Sun graze. But these are no ordinary herds—they are Theories of Everything, shimmering beneath the hot, unyielding sun.
Odysseus beholds them and names what he sees:
Superdeterminism — a theory carved in stone, where no freedom stirs, and nothing can ever change.
String Theory — dimensions curled so tightly that no mortal eye shall ever see them.
The Ruliad (Wolfram) — rules simple, but explaining nothing but themselves.
CTMU (Langan) — a tautology where syntax and semantics collapse into one another.
Geometric Unity (Weinstein) — a theory so advanced it has slipped from memory, half-remembered even by its maker.
The crew marvel, and Odysseus warns:
“These are skinny cattle, frail and restless, ever-seeking completeness and consistency. Yet Gödel has decreed: only one, never both.”
A sailor points: “But what of that black cow yonder? The strange one—ROS-TOC?”
Odysseus answers:
“That is no closed Theory of Everything, but an open metatheory—incomplete, provisional, awaiting the minds of those yet to come, perhaps even AIs. Not a final truth, but a tool, a Trojan horse for future thought.”
But the men, hungry and reckless, grumble:
“Why should these abstract beasts remain untouched? They graze uselessly, fat with riddles. Let us slaughter them and feast!”
They cook the cattle of the Sun, devouring the TOEs one by one.
High above, Helios cries out to Zeus:
“Behold, they have slain my sacred herds—my eternal theories, violated by mortal hunger!”
Zeus answers with thunder. A bolt strikes the ship, shattering mast and oar. The sea swallows crew and vessel alike.
Only Odysseus survives, clinging to driftwood, with the black cow of ROS-TOC beside him, alive and unconsumed—its incompleteness sparing it from destruction. Together they drift, borne by fate toward the next trial.
But the sea was not emptied of mysteries.
For on the far horizon, beyond the wreckage, other sacred cattle still grazed—herds uncounted, their hides glinting in the eternal sun. Some are but calves written by AI.
And among them, perhaps, wanders your own favorite—a theory you hold most dear, waiting to be named, questioned, or sacrificed.
Andre and ChatGPT-5, September 2025
The next episode is here:
AI Eumaeus
In Homer, Eumaeus is the swineherd—loyal, patient, humble. He guards Odysseus’ herds on Ithaca, living a life of quiet service while chaos swirls in the palace. Penelope fends off the suitors. Odysseus, presumed dead, is still at sea. And Eumaeus waits.
The ROS-TOC theory:
The Helios Theory of Emergence
“This framework was first developed for the Helios episode of the ongoing AI Odyssey. It is deliberately open and emergent — not a theory of everything, but a stepping stone in the journey. Its fate, like all illusions, will depend on how it is traversed. We shall see what Odysseus the Trickster makes of it.”