--- Autonomy-2006.04.23.txt Fri Apr 28 13:25:51 2006 +++ Autonomy-2006.04.29.txt Sun Apr 30 15:31:48 2006 @@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ jeanmichel.smith@gmail.com - 118501 words + 118711 words @@ -33,6 +33,7 @@ Jean-Michel Smith +Version XQ.4.T Copyright © 2002 - 2006 Jean-Michel Smith @@ -1133,7 +1134,7 @@ The second detainee, a sociologist by the name of Manuel Rodrigez, had been in Australian custody for just under three days. He had become well known to authorities through his leftist leanings and very vocal political dissent. He had a long rap sheet, and had been serving a sentence under house arrest when authorities had come across a newly published book on an underground FreeNet server, calling for the abolishment of patents and copyright. There was no mistaking Rodrigez' distinctive style, but several unannounced visits and inspections to his home had uncovered no direct evidence linking him to the subversive material. One such visit, however, had uncovered a curious cube of emerald crystal with a metallic scalp device attached. When questioned, Rodrigez had been uncooperative and was once again taken into custody. He was a far more promising suspect than Jacobson. Interrogators were optimistic he would crack within a day. The third suspect, a professor at the University of Illinois, had been suspected of disseminating seditious information to some of his students. It had been a graduate assistant who had first informed authorities about his suspicious activities. Unfortunately, some clown had shot him when he tried to flee. Katy was furious. This suspect had almost certainly been much higher in the criminal hierarchy than the other two detainees and very likely could have provided a great deal of information on exactly what they were dealing with. But some bone headed, trigger happy yahoo cop had to go and put a bullet in his back. Unbelievable! She stretched her arms, looked at the ceiling, and groaned. -Three names. One student activist, one dissident sociologist, and one professor of astrophysics. Three apparently unrelated people, with only their undisciplined, intellectual anarchism in common. She was uneasy with both her and the Bureau's assumptions about the unusual devices. Mysterious crystalline computers and illegal interfaces that tied directly into the human nervous system implied a bigger agenda than that of your average purveyor of illegally souped up home entertainment systems, or even seditious FreeNet providers. There was a critical piece to this puzzle she was missing, something which, she was sure, would prove to be the keystone to the entire investigation. +Three names. One student activist, one dissident sociologist, and one professor of astrophysics. Three apparently unrelated people, with only their undisciplined, intellectual anarchism in common. She was uneasy with both her and the Bureau's assumptions about the unusual devices. Mysterious crystalline computers and illegal interfaces that tied directly into the human nervous system implied an agenda bigger than that of your average purveyor of illegally souped up home entertainment systems, or even seditious FreeNet providers. There was a critical piece to this puzzle they were missing, something which, she was sure, would prove to be the keystone to the entire investigation. She folded her datapad and slipped it into her handbag as the plane touched down with a light bump and coasted down the runway. If she was surprised by the unusual speed with which the plane taxied to the ramp she didn't show it. Picking up her bag, she made her way toward the front of the plane. Lost in thought, she nodded absently to the pilot who held the door open for her and made her way down the ramp to the waiting limousine. @@ -1705,7 +1706,7 @@ "They must have a lot of resources at their disposal." "Resources, hell! This is a well planned, coordinated revolt." "We've suspected an underground cell structure from the start," Katy reminded him. -"Not like this! A loose knit group of revolutionary cells is one thing. An organization able to outwit government and transnational intelligence organizations is something else entirely. We have no choice but to pull out all the stops on this one." The plane touched down with a gentle lurch. "God, I hate the desert!" +"Not like this! A loose knit group of revolutionary cells is one thing. An organization able to outwit government and transnational intelligence organizations is something else entirely. That implies central planning, coordination, and efficiency that rivals our own. We have no choice but to pull out all the stops on this one." The plane touched down with a gentle lurch. "God, I hate the desert!" Katy wasn't looking forward to the wind and grime of this forlorn city either. This was their second nebulous lead, with another two to follow. It was turning out to be a grueling week, and the stress was starting to irritate her. The plane taxied onto the ramp and the engines wound down. The pilot poked his head out of the cockpit, giving them the go-ahead to disembark. Robert released the latch on the door, which sighed softly as it opened and the cabin pressure normalized itself to the air outside. The heat smacked Katy in the face as they stepped out onto the burning tarmac. The sky overhead was a cloudless, bleached blue fading to a dusty brown haze on the horizon. A hot breeze offered little relief, blowing a few wisps of dust around their feet as they made their way quickly across the pavement toward the parking lot. @@ -2185,56 +2186,58 @@ -Protagoras of Abdera, 5th Century B.C.E. Wednesday, October 10, 2057 Metadate: 2.544-7:71:200 kD New Epoch -The Earth swam beneath Prime, white and blue brilliance turning slowly in a velvet black sky crowded with brilliant stars. The Milky Way was almost as bright as the crescent moon, a smear of white, with hints of gold such as could never be seen from the ground. -"What are you thinking about?" Marguerite's lips brushed Prime's ear as she snuggle up against his back, her arms reaching around to gently caress his chest. -"This," he replied. "Our future." -Marguerite sighed. "Exile. Abandoning Earth. Abandoning our bodies." -"The Astronautics Group is right," Prime sank backward into her arms, relishing the feel of her bare breasts against his naked back. Simulated breasts. Simulated back. "It's our only viable option in the long run." -"I'll be offloading into the Physical soon," she reminded him. -Prime sighed. "I know. Fleeing the Feds, before they link you with Strizak's escape and disconnect you." -"Or betrays me the way he did Kyle," Marguerite replied. -Prime cupped Marguerite's hand in his and pressed her palm gently against his lips. "He'll never do that. He harbors too many tender feelings for you." +The Earth swam beneath Prime, white and blue brilliance turning slowly in a velvet black sky. Every corner of the heavens was crowded with gleaming stars, the Milky Way a dazzling smear of white and gold such as could never be seen from the ground. +"What are you thinking about?" Marguerite's lips brushed Prime's ear as she snuggled up against his back, her arms reaching around to caress his chest. +"You. Your coming absence." +Marguerite sighed. "Yeah. I have to offload pretty soon if I'm going to catch my flight." +Prime sank back into her arms. "It's past time you got away. The University isn't safe. The Feds will be at your door in no time if they you link to Strizak's escape." +"Or if Nolen betrays me the way he did Kyle." +Prime took Marguerite's hand in his and pressed her palm gently against his lips. "He'll never do that. He harbors too many tender feelings for you." "So you keep telling me." Prime chuckled. "I should know. I'm a copy of the man." -"Your nothing like him!" Marguerite was surprised by her own vehemence. "You share a few old memories. Nothing more!" -"I like to think so, too. But I do share enough to know how he feels, and I think I have a pretty good idea of how he thinks." -"Maybe." Marguerite shrugged. "Truth be told, I'm more worried about the latest detainees than Nolen. It's extremely unlikely they'll connect any of us with Viktor, but realistically they should have connected me with Kyle long ago. Nolen obviously covered our tracks at the University lab very thoroughly." -"That he did. If they link anyone to that lab it'll be his ass on the line. On the other hand, he isn't always that thorough. Maybe Double Eye just isn't as efficient as everyone believes." -Marguerite shook her head. "Their system security has proved remarkably resistant to my team's best efforts at cracking the security. Oh, don't worry," she added hastily at Prime's worried look. "We'll get it. We've already mapped the pseudo random algorithm. By the time I'm back on-line my team may well have identified the Rosetta." -"I'm as eager as everyone else to read classified intelligence reports and finally know what they're doing with our people, and I am really glad you're getting out of harm's way while you can. I just wish you'd leave a copy, in case something does happen to you out there." -"What, and have you fall in love with her, wiling away the circadians with a copy while I'm stuck on a flight to Anchorage? No way!" -Prime laughed. "I love you, Marguerite. What difference does it make?" -She shook her head. "I'll be off-line for something on the order of two hundred and twenty circadians. Two-thirds of a year! That's plenty of time for our relationship to change, for us to change." -"It's a long time to be alone." -"I don't think you'll suffer too badly," Marguerite gently kissed the back of his neck. "When you're not brainstorming with the Astronauts you'll be busy designing new mental architectures and enhancements or arguing politics with the Strategy Group. Two hundred circadians will go by in no time." -"Easy for you to say," Prime replied. "For you it'll only be nine hours." -"Longer if the flights are delayed," Marguerite pointed out. "I know you're going to miss me, Prime. I wish you could come with me." +"You're nothing like him!" Marguerite was surprised at her own vehemence. "You share a few old memories. That's all!" +"Nevertheless, I have a pretty good handle on how he thinks. I certainly have enough in common with him to know how he feels about you. " +"Maybe." Marguerite shrugged. "But you've both changed, and Nolen not for the better. To tell the truth, though, I'm more worried about the latest arrests than Doctor Nolen or Viktor Strizak." +"You've done a pretty thorough job erasing any digital footprints." +"We're nothing if not thorough, and living in an electronic medium six hundred times faster than our opponents has its advantages. But there are physical connections to worry about." +"Photographs, eye witnesses, family, friends . . ." +"Exactly!" Marguerite tightened her hold on Prime. "It's the interrogations I worry about. Some of those arrested were too stubborn to edit their memories while offloaded. If any of them are pulled out of their comas and crack, we'll all be at risk!" +"Well, you'll be on a plane before anything like that happens. Besides, Double Eye probably isn't as efficient as we've all been led to believe." Prime tried to sound cheerful, but to Marguerite he seemed to be more intent on convincing himself than her. +"Double Eye seems to be efficient enough. Their security has proved remarkably resistant to my team's best efforts at cracking the encryption. Oh, we'll get it, don't worry! We've already mapped the pseudo random algorithm. By the time I get back to the Virtual my team will probably have identified the Rosetta." +"I'm not worried about your cracking skills, Marguerite. It's what could happen to you between here and Alaska that has me concerned. What if you get pulled over on the way to the airport? What if they arrest you at the gate? What if your plane goes down? You really need to leave a backup!" +"What, and have you fall in love with my copy, wiling away the circadians with her while I'm stuck on a flight to Anchorage? No way!" +"Dammit!" Prime threw his hands into the air. "You'd recombine back into one person again. Those memories would be your memories. I love you, Marguerite. What difference could it possibly make?" +"All the difference in the world! I'll be off-line for something like two hundred and twenty circadians. Two-thirds of a year! How much will our relationship have changed? How much will we have changed? What if my copy decides she doesn't want to recombine? Which one of us are you going to choose? Me, or the woman you've spent the last two hundred circadians with? Besides, even if we did merge back together, I don't want to inherit a collection of memories. I want the experiences first-hand!" +"Marguerite, if anything were to happen to you-" +"Nothing's going to happen, Prime," Marguerite gently kissed the back of his neck. "Besides, I don't think you'll suffer too badly during my absence. When you're not brainstorming with the Astronauts you'll be busy designing new mental architectures or arguing politics with the Strategy Group. The time will fly by." +"For you, maybe," Prime replied. "Nine hours in airplanes and cars is one thing, two hectocircadians in the Virtual helplessly worrying about you is quite another." +"You think you're going to have it bad? I'll be lobotomized, reduced to a moron, diminished to a mere shadow of myself. I'm dreading this at least as much as you are." +"You won't feel lobotomized. Just human again. And the time for me will be six hundred times longer." +Marguerite sighed. "It'll be hard on both of us, Prime. More than anything I wish you were coming along." "The lack of a body makes that difficult." -"Yeah, and maybe I shouldn't be so attached to mine. Try to think of this as an extended offload for maintenance. I'll be back before you know it." -"We'll have made a lot of progress by then," Prime said. "With luck we'll have come up with a working means of long-term survival. There may be many reasons to celebrate when you return, but the only reason I'll be celebrating will be because of your return." -Marguerite grinned. "And celebrate we will, my beautiful lover." She paused. "My alarm just signaled. It's time for me to go." -Prime nodded, turning his body toward her and drawing her close. "I'm really glad they were able to give you a slot for your body. I want you out of harm's way, even if it does mean seven months of sexual frustration." -Marguerite smiled. "Who do you think you're kidding? You'll disengage your reproductive drive the moment I'm gone." -Prime snorted. "It won't make up for the void your absence will create in my life, even if it does keep me sane until you return." -Marguerite held him fiercely in her embrace. "Oh Prime, why did it take us so many kilocircadians to finally get together?" -"Stubbornness," he said. "I had to nag you for almost twenty years subjective before you'd take me seriously." -"Now I remember," she grinned. "I had to see past the irritating facade you seem to think women find attractive. No wonder." She burst into sudden, uncontrolled giggles as Prime mercilessly tickled her writhing, naked form. A few moments later she vanished, still laughing. -"I'll wait for you," Prime whispered after she was gone. The starlit sky answered with silence. -Prime floated alone, the blue and white earth turning gently beneath him. After a moment he summoned up a diagram describing the architecture of his mind. -"Node, create an autonomous backup of myself, to be run only if I am damaged or give the explicit order." -NODE> Be advised that, per the Community Charter, once activated this copy will enjoy all the same rights and privileges of any member of the Community. In addition, this copy of you will have timeshare rights to your body as defined by the Charter. Please confirm your desire to create a fully autonomous copy of yourself, to be run only if you are damaged or by explicit command. -"I helped write that section of the Charter," Prime muttered. "Not that I have a body to share anyway." He spoke up. "I confirm my desire to create a copy." -NODE> Confirmation noted. Copy complete. -"Good. Now, identify those aspects of my mental architecture previously tagged 'horny bastard.'" -A complex network of links and nodes in the diagram brightened to a golden glow. These were the portions of his mind associated with sexual drive, taste, and orientation. They traced an elaborate, spaghetti-like network throughout his mind, touching on nearly every aspect of his consciousness in one way or another. +"Maybe I shouldn't be so attached to mine. But it's still a part of me and I'm not ready to let go just yet. Why don't you try to think of this as an extended offload for maintenance? I promise I'll be back as quickly as is humanly possible." +"Very funny!" Prime turned to face Marguerite, drawing her into a fierce embrace. "I can't wait to celebrate your return." +Marguerite ran her fingers along the curve of Primes face, her eyes memorizing his angular features, his liquid, golden eyes. "We'll be celebrating together, my beautiful lover." She paused. "Damn! My alarm just signaled. I've got to go." +Prime planted light kisses on Marguerite's eyebrows, her nose, her cheeks, and finally her lips. "I'll see you soon." +Marguerite pressed him tightly against her. "Why did it take us so many damn kilocircadians to finally get together?" +"Your stubbornness," he said. "I had to nag you for almost twenty subjective years before you'd take me seriously." +"Now I remember," she grinned. "I had to see past the irritating facade you seem to think women find attractive. No wonder." Suddenly she was kissing Prime, hard. "I love you!" she smiled and was gone, offloaded. +"See you soon my love," Prime whispered. For a time he simply floated, gazing out on the immensity of space, trying to quell the sadness that crept over him. Nine hours, he told himself. Less than half a day. It's not her fault I'm living life six hundred times faster. And she'll be so much safer in Alaska. However true the words, they left him empty, and the quiet sorrow within him persisted. +After a time he turned away from blue and white world beneath him and summoned up a three dimensional diagram of his mind. "Node, create an autonomous backup of myself, to be run only if I am damaged or if I give the explicit order." +NODE> Be advised that, per the Community Charter, once activated this copy will enjoy all the rights and privileges of full membership in Community. This includes timeshare rights to your body as defined by the Charter. Please confirm. +"What body?" Prime muttered. +NODE> Unable to execute command. The Community Charter requires explicit confirmation prior to duplication of any sapient mind. +"I know, dammit! I helped write that section of the Charter." Prime cleared his throat. "Confirmed. Make the copy." +NODE> Confirmation verified. Copy complete. +"OK. Now, identify those aspects of my mental architecture previously tagged 'horny bastard.'" +A complex network of links and nodes in the diagram brightened to a red glow. These were the portions of his mind associated with sexual drive, taste, and orientation. They traced an elaborate, spaghetti-like network throughout his mind, touching on nearly every aspect of his consciousness in one way or another. "Overlay bypass architecture labeled 'celibacy.'" -Red links formed across the gold, bypassing much of its complexity in an elaborate, but nevertheless simpler, design. +Lavender links formed across the red, bypassing much of its complexity in a second, slightly less elaborate design. "OK, encapsulate 'horny bastard' as an architectural engram for later reassimilation." NODE> Encapsulation complete. -"Now apply the architectural modifications entitled 'celibacy' to my mind." -Prime immediately felt different. It wasn't a single, obvious thing he could point to, more of a subtle shift in his personal aesthetic. Unconsciously he banished the fluids which still clung to his naked body, the scent of his departed lover. The environ, while quite beautiful, was not conducive to the work he needed to get done. He compromised, keeping the environ but wrapping himself in a simple, almost Spartan workshop of glass and steel. Outside the brightly lit room the stars still shone and the earth still turned. -"OK, let's get to work." He summoned a half finished design for a diamond-sapphire crystalline fiber weave that would act as a remarkably hard and resilient construction material, for everything from Autonomous Node casings to escape vehicle fuselages. He leaned forward and began tweaking the already elaborate, simulated structure, adding additional molecules carefully, one at a time. - +"Apply the architectural modifications entitled 'celibacy' to my mind." +With his libido excised, Prime immediately felt different. His thoughts had become preternaturally clear, his personal aesthetic subtly changed. +The environ, while still quite beautiful, was not conducive to work. He pushed the sky away, wrapping himself in a bright, almost Spartan workshop of glass and steel. The Earth was still visible through a small window, but Prime paid it no attention. He summoned a three dimensional diagram of his latest project, a diamond-sapphire crystalline weave that he hoped would one day serve as construction material for everything from Node casings, to escape flier fuselages. Leaning closer, and able to concentrate as never before, he was soon lost in his work. @@ -2247,13 +2250,13 @@ Wednesday, October 10, 2057, 11:25 AM Washington Time Metadate: 2.549-7:94:000 kD New Epoch "I thought we'd agreed I would have access to all of Double Eye's data regarding the case." Katy stood behind Robert, hands on her hips. She hadn't liked headquartering their operation in Double Eye's Washington offices, but with FBI communications likely compromised, she hadn't been able to offer a credible alternative. She felt she had lost a not-so-subtle point in jurisdiction and authority-now all requisitions and requests went through Robert, as her liaison. It was his facility, his people, his data-and he appeared to be holding out on her. -Robert tossed his datapad casually aside and swivelled around to face her. "I did, and you do. You've been fully vetted by International Intelligence, Katy. You have the same clearance to field data as I." +Robert tossed his datapad casually aside and swiveled around to face her. "I did, and you do. You've been fully vetted by International Intelligence, Katy. You have the same clearance to field data as I." "Then do you care to explain this?" Katy pointed her datapad at the wall. A large screen lit up, displaying an elaborate, three dimensional web of connections and relationships between known suspects and anyone acquainted with them. It folded back in upon itself, in a closed universe of recursive friendships that touched the larger world nowhere at all. "What the hell?" Robert leaned forward. "Is this what I think it is?" -"A comprehensive interpersonal relationship graph, aggregated from the data we have on every suspect related to the case. International Intelligence data. Data you assured me had not been tampered with or screened." -Robert picked up his own datapad and tapped the screen several times. "Checksums validate, Katy. The information you have is complete and unaltered." +"A comprehensive interpersonal relationship graph, aggregated from the data you've given me on every suspect related to the case. International Intelligence data. Data you assured me had not been tampered with or screened." +Robert picked up his own datapad and tapped the screen several times. "Checksums validate. The information you have is complete and unaltered." "Then Double Eye has a problem with its data acquisition." -"So it would seem. No wonder arrests have bottomed out." Robert shook his head and took a closer look at the graph. "This is absurd. We have seventy people in our sample base. They can't all be this isolated!" +"So it would seem. No wonder arrests have bottomed out." Robert frowned and took a closer look at the graph. "This is absurd. We have seventy people in our sample base. They can't all be this isolated!" "Even backwoods religious cults, survivalists, and hermits have more contact with mainstream society than this," Katy agreed. "Their grocers, utility companies, and so forth," Robert nodded. "You're right, there's a problem with our data." "Double Eye needs to cast a wider net," Katy said. "Complete credit histories, not the trimmed down versions we have here. Genetic profiles and family histories, residence histories, the works." @@ -2261,39 +2264,41 @@ "The last thing we need is a low level data sifter covering up his mistakes and leaving us with incomplete data. I want cross-checked assurances that this date is in fact complete." "Right!" Robert flipped open his datapad. "Connect me with Intelligence Gathering. That's Right. Agent Scalli? Robert Leahy. Listen, I need the batch data you sent over triple checked and confirmed. We believe there's a problem. I know. That's right. Good. Notify my of the results ay-sap." Robert shut his datapad. "We'll have confirmation within the hour." "Good. I don't believe for a moment our perps have somehow managed to break into every database throughout the world, edit their credit histories, purchasing histories, highway transponder records, and every other record government or business has ever kept on them just to cover their tracks." -Robert stroked his chin thoughtfully. "I think it's entirely possible that's exactly what's happened." +Robert stroked his chin thoughtfully. "I think it's entirely possible that that's exactly what's happened." It was theoretically possible, but just barely. It would require superhuman effort, years if not decades of time, and inhuman perfection and attention to detail. One minor slip, and the deception would fall apart. "I don't buy it." In fact, the more Katy thought about it, the more impossible it seemed. "Unless . . ." Unless, instead of editing every other record in the world, they had managed to break into International Intelligence and mangle the data here. Katy's disbelief took on an edge of something else, something darker. "You keep telling me we've been underestimating these people from the start," Robert replied. "Perhaps you were right." -"We never should have launched those raids on the University. It was premature." -"Yes, yes, you keep belaboring that point." Robert's mouth twisted with impatience. "We really didn't have a choice. These people have been trading in advanced black market technologies without raising a single alarm. They've been thinking circles around us, probably for years. We needed to shake them up." +"It was woefully premature to launch those raids on the U of I, much less the other Universities. Almost a thousand arrests, only a few dozen of which netted anyone related to our case." +"Yes, yes, you've belabored the point to death!" Robert's mouth twisted with impatience. "We really didn't have a choice. These people have been trading in advanced black market technologies without raising a single alarm. They've been thinking circles around us, probably for years. We needed to shake them up." "Shaking people up is your default reaction, Robert, and it causes more problems than it solves. Besides, we both know conspiracy dynamics theory rules out any chance these people have been doing anything for more than a few months. They're clever-too clever for their own good-but they're not superhuman." "They were able to out-think our best agents!" Robert voice took on a hard edge. "They snatched Viktor Strizak out from under our noses with less than a day of planning! They appear to have broken into every public data store on the planet and erased all evidence of any connections they had with each other. This isn't something normal people are capable of doing!" "First, I don't buy the world-wide data editing theory. It's far more likely they broke into Double Eye and mucked with the data in just one place: right here. Second-" "My people are cross-referencing random samples of the data with the primary sources." Robert pointed to his datapad. "This thing is set to squeal at me if so much as a bit of data is out of place. So far, not a single red flag! Besides, our stuff is quantum-encrypted. We'd know if anyone intercepted, much less altered the data." "So why are you checking it against primary sources, then? Never mind, don't answer that. It's obvious your faith in unbreachable quantum encryption is limited. So is mine." "We're dealing with people deploying technologies significantly more advanced than our own," Robert pointed out. "It pays to not take anything for granted." -"Of course, but our suspects are still constrained by the physical laws of this world." +"That's right, and it would be helpful if you remembered that the next time you're tempted to start ordering arrests without corroborating information. But all that aside, our suspects are still constrained by the physical laws of this world." "As are we, and so far-" Robert's datapad chirped. "Excuse me," he flipped it open. "Yes? Really? One hundred percent confidence? What about the sparseness of the . . . Oh. I see. Yes, thank you." Robert stared out of the window at the mud and algae of the Potomac River, glittering dark green in the midday sun as it sludged slowly past. "Well?" "They've just confirmed the integrity of our data. The problem is with the primary sources. We're having the credit bureau pull backups off their archives, but given the time and resources necessary for something like this, it's unlikely they'll reveal anything we don't already know." Katy sat down, stunned. "I didn't think it was possible." "So much for conspiracy dynamics." -"This just doesn't make sense, Robert. The time and resources required-" +"It doesn't make sense, Robert! The time and resources required-" "They didn't overlook a single thing, Katy. Not a thing! To do something this thorough, this complete-it's inhuman. Superhuman." "If they're so smart, how come we noticed what they did? Why not plant fictitious links instead, leading to innocent bystanders? They could have had us chasing false leads for weeks, months, even years. Instead, they folded the links back on themselves. That wasn't very bright at all. Certainly not superhuman." "I don't know," Robert admitted. "Maybe they've had years. Maybe it was beyond their ability to create fictitious links. Maybe they only thought to erase the ones they had." -"All of those possibilities can mean only one thing," Katy replied. "They didn't think things all the way through. Which means they aren't any smarter than the rest of us. If they had been, they would have used this sort of access to data to lead us around by the nose indefinitely." -"Instead we're onto them right away," Robert acknowledged. -"We're dealing with a group of intelligent, well organized conspirators," Katy said. "Not homo superior." -"These people are unnaturally competent, Katy." -"Yes," she agreed. "Yes they are. I think we're still missing something important. None of this really adds up, does it?" -They sat in silence for a moment, listening to the quiet whir of the building's ventilation. "I think we're looking at it the wrong way," Robert broke the silence. "That anonymous tip in Champaign that netted us our first arrests was awfully convenient, wasn't it?" +"All of those possibilities can mean only one thing," Katy replied. "They haven't thought this all the way through. Which means they aren't a whole lot brighter than the rest of us. If they had been, they would have us chasing hundreds of false leads, out arresting all the wrong people." +"Instead we're staring into an obvious brick wall," Robert acknowledged. "They've tipped their hand." +"Exactly. We're dealing with a group of intelligent, well organized conspirators," Katy said. +"Still, these people are unnaturally competent." +"Yes," Katy agreed. "They are. I think we're still missing something important. None of this quite adds up, does it?" +They sat in silence for a moment, listening to the quiet whir of the building's ventilation. "Maybe we're looking at it the wrong way," Robert broke the silence. "That anonymous tip in Champaign that netted us our first arrests was awfully convenient, wasn't it?" "Yeah, it was. An insider, using us to remove an opponent?" -"Seems likely. If our anonymous friend already knew we'd recovered other hardware from their enterprise, running the risk of uncovering one more such device might have been worthwhile. Particularly if they were managing our data to the point of isolating islands of patsies to take the fall. No, island is the wrong word. Supercells. We're back to considering a revolutionary cell organization, or more precisely, a variation scaled to include hundreds instead of a few, but just as isolated from other cells as their historical archetypes were." -"Yes!" Katy leaned forward, sketching interlocked circles on her datapad. "Cells of criminals or revolutionaries, isolated not by their knowledge of one another, but by our knowledge of their connections to one another. Clever." She paused. "If you're right, it may very well go beyond one rival disposing of another. Those we have arrested could comprise an entire faction." -"One we deposed," Robert nodded. "Clearing the way for our informant's faction to pursue their agenda unopposed." -Katy reached back and rubbed her aching neck. "It seems our opponents have been playing both Double Eye and the Bureau like the proverbial fiddle." +"Seems plausible. If our informant already knew we'd recovered other hardware from their enterprise, running the risk of uncovering one more such device might have been worthwhile. Particularly if they were managing our data to the point of isolating islands of patsies to take the fall." +"Christ, Robert! We keep going back and forth on this. One day we're thinking revolutionary cells, the next we're back to well organized, centrally coordinated shadow organizations. Which is it?" +"Neither. Both. I don't know. Island . . . no, 'island' is the wrong word. Supercells. I think we're dealing with a variation of the classic revolutionary, but scaled to include hundreds instead of a few. Just as isolated from other cells as their historical archetypes, but with a some form of effective, central organization." +"A conglomerate of independent groups?" Katy leaned forward, sketching interlocked circles on her datapad. "Cells of criminals or revolutionaries, isolated not by their knowledge of one another, but by our knowledge of their connections to one another. Clever." She paused. "If you're right, it may very well go beyond one rival disposing of another. Those we have arrested could comprise an entire political faction." +"One we deposed," Robert nodded. "Clearing the way for our informant to pursue his agenda unopposed." +Katy reached back and rubbed her aching neck. "It seems our opponents have been playing us like the proverbial fiddle." Robert's face betrayed a cold, steel anger. "We need to find out who that informant was and squeeze him. Hard." Katy sighed. "He doesn't matter. Not in the larger picture. If we capture him, an analysis on his interpersonal connections will only give us another supercell. One out how many? We need to take a different tack." "Such as?" @@ -2308,7 +2313,7 @@ "That would be a little drastic," Katy replied. "Have your people done a time based analysis?" Robert shook his head. "I'll see if I can get authorization for you to see the preliminary reports so you can check for yourself, but to answer your question, no, I don't believe so." "That would be good, considering we're supposed to be equal partners in this little venture. What was that you said earlier? Something about my having equal clearance?" -"For our data, yes. Our snooping techniques are a little more sensitive. I'm trying to get you cleared, but we both know how intransigent large bureaucracies can be. What exactly did you have in mind with a time based analysis?" +"For field data, yes. Our snooping techniques are a little more sensitive. I'm trying to get you cleared, but we both know how intransigent large bureaucracies can be. What exactly did you have in mind with a time based analysis?" "Our problem is identifying which traffic is communication between conspirators, and which is just mindless garbage. We have to do this without ever knowing the contents of the communications in question, where it originates or where it ends up. But we do know the communication to make sense to those using it, has to be part of a larger conversation. That implies bi-directional information flow, in something close enough to real time to allow effective communication." "Yes, but how do you propose to ferret that out of a flood of decoy signals?" "Think of the entire Internet as a big collection of closed containers connected to one another by elastic pipes, which expand and contract to accommodate whatever is flowing between them. We have no way of knowing whether it is water, hydrogen fuel, or morphine flowing from one container to another, but we can measure exactly how much is flowing between the various containers at any given time." @@ -2329,7 +2334,7 @@ Wednesday, October 10, 2057 Metadate: 2.565-3:15:000 kD New Epoch Members of the Astronautics Interest Group stood with Prime in a sunny, perfectly simulated clearing surrounded by tall pines beneath a blue cloud etched sky. In the center of the clearing lay a full scale, simulated rendition of the propose craft they hoped to use. -The escape craft was a strange hybrid of a conventional rocket, a high performance aircraft, and the kind of spacecraft one would only expect to see in a science fiction movie. A tear-shaped nose section, its point forward, was connected to the aft rocket motor by three arced spines spaced equidistantly around the ship's longitudinal axis. The craft lay on its side, supported by two of the three spines from which grew conventional looking swept wings. A similarly conventional tail and vertical control surface grew from the third spine, near the aft motor. Horizontal stabilizers were placed on the nose cone, forward of the wing. +The escape craft was a strange hybrid of a conventional rocket, a high performance aircraft, and a spacecraft reminiscent of a Hollywood space opera. A tear-shaped nose section, its point forward, was connected to the aft rocket motor by three arced spines spaced equidistantly around the ship's longitudinal axis. The craft lay on its side, supported by two of the three spines from which grew conventional looking swept wings. A similarly conventional tail and vertical control surface grew from the third spine, near the aft motor. Horizontal stabilizers were placed on the nose cone, forward of the wing. The nose section housed both a hypothetical Supernode-a mock-up of a cluster of fifth generation Nodes-and a "civilization boot kit" containing a supply of nano-constructors, catalytic solution, molecular stock, and a Superstring Strummer. The Superstring Strummer would do double-duty as a synthesizer of anti-helium for the ship's propulsion during flight, and a small power generator once the craft reached its destination. The software and nano-recipes needed to restore the Community would be stored in the Supernode, along with the mind piloting the spacecraft, and a frozen copy of the entire Community. One craft should be enough to restore the Community, if it survived. "The motor will be a brute force matter-antimatter rocket," Mingmei Jiao was saying. "Nine tenths of a gram of anti-helium will be held in magnetic containment, released in a controlled stream to recombine with helium just aft of the firewall cum pusher-plate, where their combined masses will be converted directly into energy as they mutually annihilate each other in a controlled explosion. Toroids in the reaction chamber and nozzle will direct the energy aft. Thrust will be generated both by the continuous shock waves of the explosions themselves pushing against the shielding of the firewall and the expulsion of the resultant plasma via the nozzle." @@ -2363,7 +2368,7 @@ The dark of space was abruptly replaced by a bedroom made cozy with the golden light of numerous candles. "I've had a long, miserable flight, followed by an even longer, more miserable drive," Marguerite complained, sitting down on the bed with a heavy sigh. "My physical body may be resting comfortably in one of the sanctuary sarcophagi, but my virtual self feels tired and irritable. How about giving me a massage?" "Sure," Prime responded. He climbed onto the bed and maneuvered himself behind her, where he began rubbing her shoulders. -"So much has happened while you were away I don't know where to begin. More arrests, more nodes seized, for the first time outside of the United States. More resources are being poured into creating the sanctuaries, but I fear it is only a matter of time before at least some of them are discovered. There is a growing consensus that the Astronauts are right: escape into space may become our only option. Kyle has diverted a couple of shipments of nano for the construction of a few prototype ships, so we will hopefully be able to get a few low altitude test flights in before it really hits the fan, but-" +"So much has happened while you were away I don't know where to begin. More arrests, more nodes seized, in half a dozen countries around the world. More resources are being poured into creating the sanctuaries, but I fear it is only a matter of time before at least some of them are discovered. There is a growing consensus that the Astronauts are right: escape into space may become our only option. Kyle has diverted a couple of shipments of nano for the construction of a few prototype ships, so we will hopefully be able to get a few low altitude test flights in before it really hits the fan, but-" "Prime!" Marguerite interrupted. "Stop talking shop. This is me. We're together again, after nine torturous hours for me and a third of a year for you. Shut up, rub my back, and seduce me!" Prime stopped. "Marguerite," he said. "Keep doing what you were doing, Prime," Marguerite said. Then, after a moment of awkward silence, "What, Prime?" @@ -2413,7 +2418,7 @@ Prime was impressed with the design, and astounded with the speed with which the Astronautics group had managed to design, simulate, and even partially test the prototype. Even after thirty six years of subjective time I still find myself surprised at the speed with which we can do things in the Physical, he mused. Life's early impressions leave their mark, no matter how much experience there is to counter it. Then he grinned, silently chiding himself. He hadn't been born in the Physical at all. His entire experiences in that world amounted to only a few hours, a few short excursions in a borrowed body belonging to his erstwhile twin, father, and despised nemesis, the original Doctor Eugene Nolen. From whom, now that he thought about it, no one had heard in a very long time. Well, with almost ninety percent of the Community actively filtering him that shouldn't be too surprising, Prime thought wryly. "We're ready to launch." Prime was startled out of his private thoughts, nodding. "Excellent." -Mingmei, the project's de facto leader, projected her voice throughout the environ as the small aircraft taxied toward the departure end of the runway. +Mingmei projected her voice throughout the environ as the small aircraft taxied toward the departure end of the runway. "As most of you know, this environ is an exact, real-time replication of events which are transpiring in the Physical at this moment. Many of you have chosen to observe these events at traditional, biological subjective rates, while others are perhaps experiencing this in a single burst of compressed environ data at the conclusion of the test. Those of us actively working on the test are not so lucky. We'll be spending the next several kilocircadians of our lives working exclusively on this test, monitoring and analyzing the data in minute detail as we receive telemetry and adjusting systems parameters as needed to try and insure as successful a test as possible. "This initial test flight is the culmination of numerous system and air tunnel tests which have taken place in the Physical following an extensive battery of simulations designed to explore the operating envelope of this unique spacecraft. We believe we have a solid design. "The hull of the spacecraft is a composite of woven sapphire and diamond crystals doped with superconductive strands of wire. This amazingly light material not only physically protects the craft's cargo, but also forms a powerful Faraday cage which will protect the ship's and cargo's electronics-that's you and me, folks-from corruption and damage by radiation, magnetic or electronic pulses, and, perhaps most importantly, the powerful magnetic field generated by the coils in the ship's exhaust system. @@ -2686,7 +2691,7 @@ "We have the devices warehoused," Robert pointed out. "We could try reconnecting these people and see if any of them wake up." "It might be worth a try," Katy agreed. "But I suspect the damage was done when they were disconnected." "And if they do come out of it, they'll probably just use the opportunity to escape reality anyway. We'll be none the wiser for having given them that chance." -Katy nodded. "I agree. In fact, I'm beginning to suspect escapism is what this entire thing is all about. Virtual reality, in its original, true sense. These people are probably living in completely submersive synthetic realities, a sort of interactive role playing game on steroids. They probably interact with other players via the Internet, and couldn't help but notice when several thousand of their teammates or whatever vanished from the game." +Katy nodded. "I agree. In fact, I'm beginning to suspect escapism is what this entire thing is all about. Entertainment on steroids: virtual reality, in its original, true sense. These people are probably living in completely submersive synthetic realities, a sort of interactive role playing game on steroids. They probably interact with other players via the Internet, and couldn't help but notice when several thousand of their teammates or whatever vanished from the game." "Could be. But there are still too many pieces that still don't fit." Katy shrugged. "It fits everything we know about their behavior and demographics, including their propensity to remain comatose when removed from the system. As usual, it all comes back to an insatiable appetite for entertainment." "It doesn't fit this little datum," Robert replied, tossing his datapad to Katy. @@ -2900,7 +2905,7 @@ "Katy, your superiors authorized, indeed, instructed you to offer Double Eye every assistance in solving this crime. This includes, explicitly, any extra-legal activities that may be required. You were well aware of this when you accepted Dark Investigation protocols." Katy shook her head in dismay. "Dark Investigation protocols is simply a procedure that eliminates the paper trail, to cover any questionable activities required in bringing a suspect or suspects to justice. It was never intended as a cover for mass roundups and interrogations of innocent civilians!" "How little you know the history of your own bureau, Katy," Robert replied. Then, in a much harder tone, he continued, "Do not even think about getting cold feet on me. This investigation is far too important for that nonsense. These technologists are a direct and immediate threat to your government, and to the world trade bodies as a whole. They make Thailand look like a bunch of amateurs, and you know how close Thailand came to turning all of Asia against us." -Katy looked disgusted. "Yes, the Thais violated our copyrights and our patents, and happened to stop an epidemic in the process. Indenture them for stolen potential profits, sure. But a war?" +Katy looked disgusted. "Yes, the Thais violated our patents, and happened to stop an epidemic in the process. Indenture them for stolen potential profits, sure. But a war?" Robert Leahy nodded. "If they'd left it at stopping an epidemic nothing further would have happened. A few trade sanctions, a garnished economy at most. Hell, Thailand wasn't the first country that ignored international patent law and WIPO directives in order to address an immediate social problem. The Brazilians and South Africans did much the same thing as far back as the nineteen nineties. But Thailand couldn't be content with intellectual theft. They had to start preaching subversion to the rest of Asia, encouraging their neighbors to withdraw from WIPO and the WTO. Even the Chinese were starting to make noises about leaving the trade group." "They've started doing so again." "Only as a prelude to negotiations. The Chinese have no stomach for war, and will have even less once we make an example of Cambodia." @@ -2980,7 +2985,7 @@ Katy blinked. "You've done your homework, haven't you?" Marguerite smiled. "It is important that we both understand one another if we are to avoid a further escalation of events and prevent what could be a disaster for both sides." "What sort of disaster would that be?" -"The sort of humanitarian disaster your Double Eye partner is busy creating right now. Detention camps in the United States. Extra-legal executions for the first time in forty years. Mass roundups of innocent civilians for the first time in over a century." +"The sort of humanitarian disaster your Double Eye partner is busy creating right now. Detention camps in the United States. Extra-legal executions for the first time in forty years. Mass roundups of innocent civilians for the first time in half a century." Katy grimaced. "You people can prevent these things from happening right now. Surrender your contraband equipment and turn yourselves in." Marguerite shook her head. "That's not an option. We aren't going to return to an environment where our research, our thoughts, our very imaginations are crippled by your intellectual property regimes, where human knowledge is treated as an exclusive privilege, where expressive thought has been redefined as private property, administered by copyright and patent cartels who've chosen to create an artificial scarcity of knowledge and artistic expression to boost their own quarterly profits, to the detriment of the rest of humankind." "Spare me your platitudes," Katy snapped. "You're all alike. Decrying intellectual property while stealing the works of others!"