--- Autonomy-2007.01.12.txt Sat Jan 13 11:24:59 2007 +++ Autonomy-2007.01.26.txt Fri Jan 26 16:26:29 2007 @@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ jmsmithcom@gmail.com - 115536 words + 113687 words @@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ Jean-Michel Smith -Version XR.1.C +Version XR.1.Q Copyright © 2002 - 2007 Jean-Michel Smith @@ -63,57 +63,57 @@ The town boasted two artificial lakes and an unassuming stream that cut across the university campus and the heart of the city. How much of the stream was water, and how much was chemical waste from the labs around campus, was an old joke. The lake beds, parched dry for nearly a generation, were surrounded by once stately homes long since abandoned. Stands of dead trees marked the graceful curves of what had once been golf courses, now little more than sand and dust. Still, the University of Illinois had a large enough patent portfolio to negotiate favourable cross-licensing deals with most of the international consortia. It wasn't anything like the scientific heyday of the twentieth century, when new discoveries built upon each other as fast as the research results could be published, but it brought in enough wealth to allow the city to survive the crop failures and climatic changes that had reduced their neighbours to ghost towns. The institution's prestige enabled it to attract the most talented students, the very best of whom were invited to attend graduate programs and perform some limited research. One such student was Kyle Tate, whose name and address glowed on the data displays of two squad cars as they pulled to a stop in front of a modest apartment complex. Sirens remained silent as blue lights flashed and a third, unmarked car pulled in behind them. -"Agent Sinclair," a young officer addressed the elegant young woman who stepped out of the unmarked sedan. "He's in two-oh-three." -"Thank you." Katy Sinclair's flawless black skin glistened under the midday sun. She had chosen a white business suit in anticipation of the scorching heat, but it was of little help. At least skirts were once again the professional norm. Pants would have been even more stifling. She studied the building, running long fingers through close-cropped, curly hair. It was a typical, three story apartment complex. Painted cinder blocks with steel framed, scratched plastic windows attested to its cheap construction. The layout was quite simple: a central hallway on each level, with apartments on either side and stairwells front and back. +'Agent Sinclair,' a young officer addressed the elegant young woman who stepped out of the unmarked sedan. 'He's in two-oh-three.' +'Thank you.' Katy Sinclair's flawless black skin glistened under the midday sun. She had chosen a white business suit in anticipation of the scorching heat, but it was of little help. At least skirts were once again the professional norm. Pants would have been even more stifling. She studied the building, running long fingers through close-cropped, curly hair. It was a typical, three story apartment complex. Painted cinder blocks with steel framed, scratched plastic windows attested to its cheap construction. The layout was quite simple: a central hallway on each level, with apartments on either side and stairwells front and back. She glanced at the roaring air conditioning units along the side of the building, then wrinkled her nose with distaste as a sprinkler caught her attention. It swung around, watering a portion of the side walk along with the lawn. Such waste was criminal, especially in a region whose agriculture was in such desperate need of water. Unfortunately, it wasn't all that uncommon for communities like this one to look the other way when home owners watered their trees and lawns in direct violation of state and federal laws. Never mind the wilting, dying crops around them. Mayors and city councils everywhere wanted their towns to look pretty. Such narrow, provincial thinking infuriated her. How pretty did they expect their cities to remain if the crops were to fail completely and the very same people now watering their lawns were driven into the streets, riotous with hunger? -"Officer Peterson," Katy addressed the earnest young cop, "cover the back stairs, please." -"Yes, ma'am." He jogged toward the back of the building. -"Lewis, Johnson, Schwartz, with me." The other three men nodded. Dodging the sprinkler, Detective Schwartz cursed as the returning water sprayed his right leg. -"Slowing down a little there, eh Schwartz?" Detective Lewis grinned. -"It's all those bagels piled up on his fat ass," Officer Johnson chimed in. -"This ass has saved your sorry ass a few times, smart ass!" Schwartz retorted. They all laughed. -"Keep it down, fellas," Katy ordered. -Still chuckling quietly, they climbed the front stairs. "Smells like someone's toilet is backed up." -"Quiet, Detective." +'Officer Peterson,' Katy addressed the earnest young cop, 'cover the back stairs, please.' +'Yes, ma'am.' He jogged toward the back of the building. +'Lewis, Johnson, Schwartz, with me.' The other three men nodded. Dodging the sprinkler, Detective Schwartz cursed as the returning water sprayed his right leg. +'Slowing down a little there, eh Schwartz?' Detective Lewis grinned. +'It's all those bagels piled up on his fat ass,' Officer Johnson chimed in. +'This ass has saved your sorry ass a few times, smart ass!' Schwartz retorted. They all laughed. +'Keep it down, fellas,' Katy ordered. +Still chuckling quietly, they climbed the front stairs. 'Smells like someone's toilet is backed up.' +'Quiet, Detective.' Kyle Tate's apartment was the third on the left. The only sound other than a dog barking in the distance was the incessant whine of the air conditioner. Katy and the three officers flanked the door, two to a side. Katy nodded, and Schwartz banged on the door. -"Police, Mr. Tate. Open up." +'Police, Mr. Tate. Open up.' The air conditioner rattled. -Detective Schwartz pounded on the door again. "Come on, Mr. Tate. We've got a warrant. Open the door!" +Detective Schwartz pounded on the door again. 'Come on, Mr. Tate. We've got a warrant. Open the door!' Nothing. -"Enough of this," Katy's voice was low and firm as she looked at Schwartz and motioned toward the door. +'Enough of this,' Katy's voice was low and firm as she looked at Schwartz and motioned toward the door. It splintered open on the first kick. A foul stench struck them like a fist in the face. Johnson gagged as they burst into the darkened apartment, weapons drawn. The air was uncomfortably cold. Drawn curtains shrouded the place in gloom. By the time they opened the door to the bedroom they really didn't expect to find anyone alive, which made the sight of the filthy young man, lying unconscious on the soiled bed, all the more shocking. His shoulder length brown hair lay about his unshaven face in oily, tangled strands. A dry IV dangled from his thin, pale arm. Most of his scalp was covered with some kind of electronic netting, which was in turn plugged into a small, translucent, gold cube. -Schwartz spoke into his radio. "Peterson, you might as well come on up." -"Sweet mother of Jesus." Officer Johnson looked like he was going to be ill. Lewis was already on the radio requesting medical services. -"Let's get a window open," Katy suggested, checking the young man's pulse. Johnson moved to obey. -"Barely alive," she muttered. -"Oh My god!" Peterson covered his nose with his hands as he entered the room "What's this kid been doing? Pumping electricity straight into his brain for kicks?" +Schwartz spoke into his radio. 'Peterson, you might as well come on up.' +'Sweet mother of Jesus.' Officer Johnson looked like he was going to be ill. Lewis was already on the radio requesting medical services. +'Let's get a window open,' Katy suggested, checking the young man's pulse. Johnson moved to obey. +'Barely alive,' she muttered. +'Oh My god!' Peterson covered his nose with his hands as he entered the room 'What's this kid been doing? Pumping electricity straight into his brain for kicks?' Katy hid her own horror behind a calm face and said nothing. She couldn't believe the young man's condition. What could possibly possess such an intelligent kid to destroy himself like this? -"Damn!" Detective Schwartz shook his head. "I've seen homicides with less mess." -"So have I," Katy agreed. "Peterson, Johnson, there's an illegal FreeNet server here somewhere. Why don't you two finish going over the place, find and tag it? We'll need it as evidence if Mr. Tate ever regains consciousness." She felt sympathy for the young Peterson. This was probably the worst thing he'd ever seen. He looked profoundly grateful as he and Johnson hastily left the room. In some ways it was the most chilling thing she had ever encountered, and she'd seen plenty. These young people were destroying their minds. Why on Earth would they do such a thing? -"My son's a freshman at this goddamn school," Schwartz leaned over the comatose man as Katy examined his headpiece. "I wonder if he knows about this stuff." -"I'd have a good talk with him," Katy replied, carefully lifting a portion of the netting from the vegetative man's scalp and examining the skin beneath, then returning it gently. "Whatever this stuff is, it's damned toxic." -"I'd rather my kid was shooting up heroin" Lewis said as he finished rummaging through Kyle's dresser and turned his attention to the closet. "At least there's rehab for drugs. How the hell do you recover from frying your brain with electricity?" -As Katy examined the glassy cube, Peterson returned. "Here's his FreeNet server." It was a small palm sized computer with a length of duct tape hanging from it. "He had it taped to the inside of the toilet tank lid, linked to his Internet hub via wireless. Not sure how he thought we'd overlook the radio signal. It's running some non-standard operating system, probably unlicensed. The interface is like nothing I've seen." -Katy nodded. "Excellent." She traced out the wire of the head netting, confirmed that it indeed fed into the odd cube shaped device, then spotted a second wire emerging from the back of it and traced it to the wall. -"I'll be damned." She took out a small mobile phone and punched up a quick number. -"We've got another one." She spoke quietly into the phone. "This time it appears to be in use. The user is on his bed, unconscious, with his head wired up to the box. The device is using an Internet link. Whatever they use these things for, they need the net to do it." -She waited a moment, then nodded. "Another thing. These people are using medical equipment. We need to track any unusual orders for catheters, saline solution, and IV kits to private residences." -She paused, listening carefully. "No problem. I'll be on the bullet train to Chicago in an hour." She hung up as the paramedics arrived. -"It looks like he's fried his brain," Schwartz commented as paramedics rolled a gurney up to the bed. -Blank hazel eyes stared at nothing, pupils dilating as the younger paramedic peeled back the unconscious youth's eyelid. "He's definitely in trouble," he probed and prodded the young man while his partner checked his pulse. "Look at the damage near the catheter. It's a good thing infection hasn't set in. No bedsores at least." -"IAADS" the other paramedic commented. -Katy turned. "Excuse me?" -"Inductance Actuated Anaesthetic Deep Sleep," he replied. -"You're saying he's in an anaesthetic coma?" -"Yeah. Looks pretty standard. Deep-sleep reflexes have kept him turning over at regular intervals. Stops him from developing bed sores and prevents muscle atrophy." He paused, examining the young man's head more closely. "This is weird, though. Where's the medical inductor? And what's with this electronic hairnet?" -"We aren't sure." -"Well, let's get it off him." -"Careful!" Katy exclaimed. "We don't want the equipment damaged or the suspect harmed!" -"Don't worry, ma'am. We aren't about to hurt the patient, much less your precious evidence." The paramedic carefully peeled the webbing back from Kyle's scalp and handed it to Katy. Lifting Kyle from the bed onto the gurney, the paramedics wheeled him quickly out. -Katy gently slipped the netting and cube into an evidence bag and put it in her briefcase. "Gentlemen, I'll need a copy of the evidence portfolio, logs, photographs and what have you, emailed to me in Chicago at your earliest convenience. Please send it using the encryption key I gave you." She paused, glancing around the room one last time. "Thank you for helping us shut down this illegal network server. The FBI is grateful for your help. I'll see to it personally that your supervisors hear of your efforts today. I wish every operation went this smoothly." -"Thank you, Special Agent Sinclair," Detective Schwartz replied. "I'm sure I speak for us all when I say what a pleasure it has been working with you." -"For me as well," Katy smiled. "If you'll excuse me, gentlemen, I'm needed back in Chicago." +'Damn!' Detective Schwartz shook his head. 'I've seen homicides with less mess.' +'So have I,' Katy agreed. 'Peterson, Johnson, there's an illegal FreeNet server here somewhere. Why don't you two finish going over the place, find and tag it? We'll need it as evidence if Mr. Tate ever regains consciousness.' She felt sympathy for the young Peterson. This was probably the worst thing he'd ever seen. He looked profoundly grateful as he and Johnson hastily left the room. In some ways it was the most chilling thing she had ever encountered, and she'd seen plenty. These young people were destroying their minds. Why on Earth would they do such a thing? +'My son's a freshman at this goddamn school,' Schwartz leaned over the comatose man as Katy examined his headpiece. 'I wonder if he knows about this stuff.' +'I'd have a good talk with him,' Katy replied, carefully lifting a portion of the netting from the vegetative man's scalp and examining the skin beneath, then returning it gently. 'Whatever this stuff is, it's damned toxic.' +'I'd rather my kid was shooting up heroin' Lewis said as he finished rummaging through Kyle's dresser and turned his attention to the closet. 'At least there's rehab for drugs. How the hell do you recover from frying your brain with electricity?' +As Katy examined the glassy cube, Peterson returned. 'Here's his FreeNet server.' It was a small palm sized computer with a length of duct tape hanging from it. 'He had it taped to the inside of the toilet tank lid, linked to his Internet hub via wireless. Not sure how he thought we'd overlook the radio signal. It's running some non-standard operating system, probably unlicensed. The interface is like nothing I've seen.' +Katy nodded. 'Excellent.' She traced out the wire of the head netting, confirmed that it indeed fed into the odd cube shaped device, then spotted a second wire emerging from the back of it and traced it to the wall. +'I'll be damned.' She took out a small mobile phone and punched up a quick number. +'We've got another one.' She spoke quietly into the phone. 'This time it appears to be in use. The user is on his bed, unconscious, with his head wired up to the box. The device is using an Internet link. Whatever they use these things for, they need the net to do it.' +She waited a moment, then nodded. 'Another thing. These people are using medical equipment. We need to track any unusual orders for catheters, saline solution, and IV kits to private residences.' +She paused, listening carefully. 'No problem. I'll be on the bullet train to Chicago in an hour.' She hung up as the paramedics arrived. +'It looks like he's fried his brain,' Schwartz commented as paramedics rolled a gurney up to the bed. +Blank hazel eyes stared at nothing, pupils dilating as the younger paramedic peeled back the unconscious youth's eyelid. 'He's definitely in trouble,' he probed and prodded the young man while his partner checked his pulse. 'Look at the damage near the catheter. It's a good thing infection hasn't set in. No bedsores at least.' +'IAADS' the other paramedic commented. +Katy turned. 'Excuse me?' +'Inductance Actuated Anaesthetic Deep Sleep,' he replied. +'You're saying he's in an anaesthetic coma?' +'Yeah. Looks pretty standard. Deep-sleep reflexes have kept him turning over at regular intervals. Stops him from developing bed sores and prevents muscle atrophy.' He paused, examining the young man's head more closely. 'This is weird, though. Where's the medical inductor? And what's with this electronic hairnet?' +'We aren't sure.' +'Well, let's get it off him.' +'Careful!' Katy exclaimed. 'We don't want the equipment damaged or the suspect harmed!' +'Don't worry, ma'am. We aren't about to hurt the patient, much less your precious evidence.' The paramedic carefully peeled the webbing back from Kyle's scalp and handed it to Katy. Lifting Kyle from the bed onto the gurney, the paramedics wheeled him quickly out. +Katy gently slipped the netting and cube into an evidence bag and put it in her briefcase. 'Gentlemen, I'll need a copy of the evidence portfolio, logs, photographs and what have you, emailed to me in Chicago at your earliest convenience. Please send it using the encryption key I gave you.' She paused, glancing around the room one last time. 'Thank you for helping us shut down this illegal network server. The FBI is grateful for your help. I'll see to it personally that your supervisors hear of your efforts today. I wish every operation went this smoothly.' +'Thank you, Special Agent Sinclair,' Detective Schwartz replied. 'I'm sure I speak for us all when I say what a pleasure it has been working with you.' +'For me as well,' Katy smiled. 'If you'll excuse me, gentlemen, I'm needed back in Chicago.' @@ -139,72 +139,72 @@ Tuesday, July 17, 2057, 11:34:53 AM Chicago Time Metadate: 0.000-0:00:000 kD new epoch Kyle opened his eyes and sat up. The bed was large and decadently soft, surrounded by gauze curtains hanging from a canopy above, through which shafts of golden sunlight shone. -"Onload complete guys! It worked!" +'Onload complete guys! It worked!' He pushed one curtain aside and swung his feet over the side of the bed, relishing the feel of the soft grass between his toes. A hilltop meadow surrounded him, lush green grass sporting constellations of blue and violet flowers. He stood and took several steps from the bed, examining his surroundings in every direction. To the east was a spectacular range of mountains, snow covered peaks textured with stone and ice rising to dramatic, pointed summits. Above them, softened by the haze of a spring blue sky hung a large planet, its Jovian nature betrayed by its green and golden swirled clouds and its tremendous size. To the west, in the distance, was a sea reflecting the afternoon sunlight. -"The simulation is fantastic! Perfect weather and a wonderful view! Something isn't right with the light diffusion, though. The haze along the horizon isn't consistent. The ocean looks a little too sharp, and the mountains a little too hazy. Not a big deal, though! Amazing!" -Kyle looked around again and grinned. "This universe is mine! I am god here!" He laughed, spinning around with his arms stretched out, relishing the clean, perfect air. -"Dr. Nolen? Marguerite? Can you guys hear me? Acknowledge please." +'The simulation is fantastic! Perfect weather and a wonderful view! Something isn't right with the light diffusion, though. The haze along the horizon isn't consistent. The ocean looks a little too sharp, and the mountains a little too hazy. Not a big deal, though! Amazing!' +Kyle looked around again and grinned. 'This universe is mine! I am god here!' He laughed, spinning around with his arms stretched out, relishing the clean, perfect air. +'Dr. Nolen? Marguerite? Can you guys hear me? Acknowledge please.' His grin faded as silence greeted him, broken only by the chirping of birds and the sound of the grass rustling in the afternoon breeze. -"Node. Command Mode Engage." +'Node. Command Mode Engage.' A soft, feminine yet almost neutral voice answered. NODE> Command Mode Engaged. Kyle thought furiously. There could be a communications glitch. That was actually more likely than a systems malfunction at this point. Still, this was all damned experimental. He'd better err on the side of caution. -"Run test suite one, systems integrity check," he commanded. +'Run test suite one, systems integrity check,' he commanded. NODE> Running . . . Suite one complete. All operating parameters nominal. -"Run suite two." +'Run suite two.' NODE> Running . . . Suite two complete. All operating parameters nominal. Kyle forced himself to remain calm. They would bring him out after ten minutes no matter what. -"Run the third test suite." +'Run the third test suite.' NODE> Running . . . Suite three complete. All operating parameters nominal. -"How long has it been since I onloaded?" +'How long has it been since I onloaded?' NODE> Time elapsed: two minutes, fifteen seconds. Kyle started walking down the slope toward the sea. He would never actually make it to the beach. It was several miles distant, through forest and across rolling hills, and he had less than eight minutes left in the simulation. Still, walking calmed his jittery nerves, and the sea provided him with at least the illusion of a goal while he struggled to keep a rising sense of panic under control and figure out what happened. -"Run a diagnostic on the external comm link." +'Run a diagnostic on the external comm link.' NODE> Running . . . -"Well?" he asked, stepping over a fallen log and continuing down the slope toward a line of trees. +'Well?' he asked, stepping over a fallen log and continuing down the slope toward a line of trees. NODE> Initial protocol state achieved. Ping tests beginning. Kyle continued descending through the trees, shafts of sunlight lighting his way. Eventually he came to a footpath and continued along it. -"You should have some results by now. What's taking so long?" +'You should have some results by now. What's taking so long?' NODE> Communications Diagnostic still running. No errors detected. -"Then why the hell aren't they answering?" +'Then why the hell aren't they answering?' NODE> Insufficient Data. -Kyle shook his head. "Marguerite," he muttered under his breath, "I can't believe you recorded 'insufficient data' as a programmed response." He paused for a moment, glancing up toward the leafy canopy above. His unease grew as he made his way down the path, his critical eye finding numerous details in the simulation that were not quite right, from the fractal fuzziness at the limits of his vision when he examined the grass, to the two dimensional quality of the clouds moving slowly across the sky. "Damn it!" he exclaimed. "We should have some kind of communication by now!" His dread had grown to outright fear, gnawing at the edges of his mind. -"Node, tell me how much time has elapsed since I onloaded," he demanded. +Kyle shook his head. 'Marguerite,' he muttered under his breath, 'I can't believe you recorded 'insufficient data' as a programmed response.' He paused for a moment, glancing up toward the leafy canopy above. His unease grew as he made his way down the path, his critical eye finding numerous details in the simulation that were not quite right, from the fractal fuzziness at the limits of his vision when he examined the grass, to the two dimensional quality of the clouds moving slowly across the sky. 'Damn it!' he exclaimed. 'We should have some kind of communication by now!' His dread had grown to outright fear, gnawing at the edges of his mind. +'Node, tell me how much time has elapsed since I onloaded,' he demanded. NODE> Fourteen Minutes, twenty-nine seconds. -Kyle stopped. "Say again?" +Kyle stopped. 'Say again?' NODE> Fourteen Minutes, thirty-one seconds. He must have been crazy to volunteer for the first onload. What was he doing still here? Why the hell hadn't the offload sequence run as scheduled? -Kyle uttered a long string of creative curses, then pulled himself together once more. "What's the status of the comm check?" +Kyle uttered a long string of creative curses, then pulled himself together once more. 'What's the status of the comm check?' NODE> Link protocol is experiencing timing synchronization errors. No ping responses received. -"Shit! Shit, shit, shit!" +'Shit! Shit, shit, shit!' Kyle sat down on a small stump and put his face in his hands. He was trapped. Trapped in a software simulation, with no way to communicate with his colleagues outside. Ironic, that he should achieve a form of immortality as software, only to be caught like a fly in amber in a fake world whose realism seemed to grow more frail with each passing moment. He would live forever alright, free of the frailties of biological flesh, disease and old age-right up until his colleagues interpreted his continued silence as failure and turned off the equipment, killing his electronic self. He wondered if his physical mind would code the wakeup sequence on its own, to awaken and wonder what had happened to its electronic counterpart, or if his body would spend the rest of its life in a coma, his physical brain as dead as his electronic self. -"Node, record a message into the permanent buffer when I say 'start', and stop recording when I say 'end'." +'Node, record a message into the permanent buffer when I say 'start', and stop recording when I say 'end'.' NODE> Persistent storage on-line. Ready to record. -"Start. Doctor Larry Nolen, Marguerite L'Beau. This is Kyle Tate. The onload procedure was a success. I am on-line, fully aware, and able to interact with my environment using all five senses. There is a problem with the timer-it's been almost fifteen minutes and I didn't offload back into physical space as expected. Worse, there appears to be a problem with the communications link, so I'm unable to relay my situation directly to you. If you find this recording in the persistent storage matrix of this Node, please bring me back on-line! Don't wipe the software! -"I'll continue to try and establish contact. I've run the first three test suites successfully. In addition, I'm running a diagnostic on the communications link. The diagnostic is taking far longer than expected and there appears to be some kind of timing or synchronization problem with the protocol-wait a minute! I think I know what's wrong. Internal subjective time must be progressing at a different rate than the external world. I don't think we took that into account. If the timing protocols are linked with the internal clock-I'll get back to you! Node, stop recording. End." -Kyle stood up. He laughed, a couple of choked hiccups hovering somewhere between gleeful hope and hysteria. "To hell with this. Node, teleport me to the beach." -The roar of the surf greeted Kyle as the forest around him vanished, replaced by a pristine beach of white sand. He sat down beneath a nearby palm, leaning back against the trunk of the tree, his mind racing. "No use putting this off. Let's see if I'm right." Another nervous laugh forced its way out. "Node, go into debug mode. We're going to have to adjust some parameters on the communications protocol. First, how is signal synchronization defined?" +'Start. Doctor Larry Nolen, Marguerite L'Beau. This is Kyle Tate. The onload procedure was a success. I am on-line, fully aware, and able to interact with my environment using all five senses. There is a problem with the timer-it's been almost fifteen minutes and I didn't offload back into physical space as expected. Worse, there appears to be a problem with the communications link, so I'm unable to relay my situation directly to you. If you find this recording in the persistent storage matrix of this Node, please bring me back on-line! Don't wipe the software! +'I'll continue to try and establish contact. I've run the first three test suites successfully. In addition, I'm running a diagnostic on the communications link. The diagnostic is taking far longer than expected and there appears to be some kind of timing or synchronization problem with the protocol-wait a minute! I think I know what's wrong. Internal subjective time must be progressing at a different rate than the external world. I don't think we took that into account. If the timing protocols are linked with the internal clock-I'll get back to you! Node, stop recording. End.' +Kyle stood up. He laughed, a couple of choked hiccups hovering somewhere between gleeful hope and hysteria. 'To hell with this. Node, teleport me to the beach.' +The roar of the surf greeted Kyle as the forest around him vanished, replaced by a pristine beach of white sand. He sat down beneath a nearby palm, leaning back against the trunk of the tree, his mind racing. 'No use putting this off. Let's see if I'm right.' Another nervous laugh forced its way out. 'Node, go into debug mode. We're going to have to adjust some parameters on the communications protocol. First, how is signal synchronization defined?' NODE> Standard IPv12 protocol, synchronization timestamps based upon internal clock ticks. -"Create a flat 2-d display at eye level in front of me. Good, now show me the code." +'Create a flat 2-d display at eye level in front of me. Good, now show me the code.' Forty minutes later Kyle was still studying the source code to the communications protocol when a bell chimed. NODE> Communications Diagnostic complete. Communications hardware OK. Protocol unable to synchronize with remote host. All signals have timed out with no response. -"Not unexpected at this point. We've got all the damn timing commands synced to the internal, subjective clock. That's wrong-subjective time can be faster or slower than actual time in the physical world. Probably faster in this case. Node, show me the current time-out settings." -A second display appeared in front of him. "5 milliseconds," Kyle muttered to himself. "A reasonable length of time, if 5 milliseconds in here were equal to 5 milliseconds externally. Node, is there an external timing source available?" +'Not unexpected at this point. We've got all the damn timing commands synced to the internal, subjective clock. That's wrong-subjective time can be faster or slower than actual time in the physical world. Probably faster in this case. Node, show me the current time-out settings.' +A second display appeared in front of him. '5 milliseconds,' Kyle muttered to himself. 'A reasonable length of time, if 5 milliseconds in here were equal to 5 milliseconds externally. Node, is there an external timing source available?' NODE> Affirmative. A 2.6 Terahertz optical pulse-clock is used by numerous hardware and firmware subsystems. -Kyle stood up and walked down toward the water. "Excellent." He waded out into the waves and swam further into the breakers. The water, disconcertingly transparent, tasted only vaguely of salt. "OK, Node. Measure the timing of the pulse-clock against the ticks of the internal software clock. Report." +Kyle stood up and walked down toward the water. 'Excellent.' He waded out into the waves and swam further into the breakers. The water, disconcertingly transparent, tasted only vaguely of salt. 'OK, Node. Measure the timing of the pulse-clock against the ticks of the internal software clock. Report.' NODE> The internal clock is counting 30017 microseconds for each millisecond registered on the pulse clock. -"Very good. That means the time I'm experiencing in here is almost exactly thirty times longer than that in the physical world. No wonder I didn't offload after ten minutes-only 20 seconds or so has passed externally. OK, let's calibrate internal time with external time. Wait. Not everyone will necessarily experience subjective durations with the same speedup. Hmm. Let's create two quick and dirty measures of time. Define an internal clock with the following units. One Circadian equals a 24-hour period as measured by the internal software clock. Divide and multiply that unit as required using standard metric nomenclature. This will measure subjective time. Now, define a new object called 'objective clock'. Good. Now, bind Objective Clock to the hardware's pulse clock. OK, now define a new unit. Hmm . . . let's use the Latin word for day. Define the unit Dies such that exactly 30 diei occur per 24-hour period as measured objectively using the pulse-clock. Divide and multiply that unit as required using standard metric nomenclature. This will measure objective time with respect to the outside world, and allow users with different internal clocks to still communicate dates and times in a sensible manner. -"Alright, dates and times will be recorded in objective diei, easily cross referenced to subjective circadians or converted to external units of time as needed. OK! Now calibrate all external communications protocols in terms of the objective clock, converting units as required. Confirm when finished." +'Very good. That means the time I'm experiencing in here is almost exactly thirty times longer than that in the physical world. No wonder I didn't offload after ten minutes-only 20 seconds or so has passed externally. OK, let's calibrate internal time with external time. Wait. Not everyone will necessarily experience subjective durations with the same speedup. Hmm. Let's create two quick and dirty measures of time. Define an internal clock with the following units. One Circadian equals a 24-hour period as measured by the internal software clock. Divide and multiply that unit as required using standard metric nomenclature. This will measure subjective time. Now, define a new object called 'objective clock'. Good. Now, bind Objective Clock to the hardware's pulse clock. OK, now define a new unit. Hmm . . . let's use the Latin word for day. Define the unit Dies such that exactly 30 diei occur per 24-hour period as measured objectively using the pulse-clock. Divide and multiply that unit as required using standard metric nomenclature. This will measure objective time with respect to the outside world, and allow users with different internal clocks to still communicate dates and times in a sensible manner. +'Alright, dates and times will be recorded in objective diei, easily cross referenced to subjective circadians or converted to external units of time as needed. OK! Now calibrate all external communications protocols in terms of the objective clock, converting units as required. Confirm when finished.' NODE> Modification successful. -"Good. Now, given what we know, how long will it take to re-run the communications diagnostics?" +'Good. Now, given what we know, how long will it take to re-run the communications diagnostics?' NODE> Full communications diagnostics will require approximately thirty-one point two five millicircadians, or precisely ninety seconds. Kyle dove underwater, swam several strokes and resurfaced. -"OK, run the communications diagnostics again. Let me know when it's finished." +'OK, run the communications diagnostics again. Let me know when it's finished.' Kyle swam farther out from the shore, admiring the colours of the Jovian planet as it gradually climbed higher above the mountains, its bright green and golden bands growing richer and better defined even as the sun reddened in the west. Growing bored, he rose out of the water on a jet ski of his own creation and rode it back into shore, allowing it to dissolve into the sand behind him as he walked back up the beach. NODE> Diagnostics complete. No Errors detected. -"Excellent. Please record the following message into persistent storage, then squirt it real time over the link, slowed by a factor of 30.017." +'Excellent. Please record the following message into persistent storage, then squirt it real time over the link, slowed by a factor of 30.017.' NODE> Persistent storage on-line. Ready to record. -"Start. Hey you guys, it worked! I'm on-line and aware. There's a 30 to 1 time differential in my favour, so real-time conversation isn't practical. That means I have roughly three hours to spend in the simulation enjoying the sunset and sand while you guys sit in that drab lab monitoring me. Communications latency between nodes is almost certainly going to be our big limitation, not the computational capacity of the nodes themselves. A speedup of thirty! To experience a month of life in a single day. This is way cooler than we could have possibly imagined!" +'Start. Hey you guys, it worked! I'm on-line and aware. There's a 30 to 1 time differential in my favour, so real-time conversation isn't practical. That means I have roughly three hours to spend in the simulation enjoying the sunset and sand while you guys sit in that drab lab monitoring me. Communications latency between nodes is almost certainly going to be our big limitation, not the computational capacity of the nodes themselves. A speedup of thirty! To experience a month of life in a single day. This is way cooler than we could have possibly imagined!' @@ -223,17 +223,17 @@ He stifled a yawn. No back ache, he realized as he swung his legs over the side of the bed. I must be in the Virtual. He relished the absence of pain in his simulated body. All of the discomforts he had come to accept with age were left behind in the Physical. What's on for today? he tried to recall. Not day, he chided himself, circadian. What's on the agenda this circadian? It was a perfectly beautiful simulated morning when he pulled back the bedroom curtains, the warm sun splashing across his face. His environ modelled the interior of his physical home precisely. Doctor Nolen29 liked having familiar things around him, particularly when he first got up. It was less distracting than some of the exotic environs his colleagues had chosen. He thought best when surrounded by the rich, leather bound books and antique furniture of his study. He enjoyed taking his breakfast on the porch, sipping coffee while he looked out upon the dusty, tree-lined street. If only it would rain every once in a while, enough that the dying trees might survive and some grass could grow again. He sighed. A rain shower now and the yard will be a muddy bog. Perhaps it was time for a change, after all. -"Node, Command Mode Engage. Simulate the world outside as if the Midwestern climate had never dried up." +'Node, Command Mode Engage. Simulate the world outside as if the Midwestern climate had never dried up.' Was that a momentary flash of green? An instant's vision of lush vistas, green grass and living, blooming trees? NODE> Access to Command Protocols Denied. The view outside was unchanged, a street of blistered asphalt coated with fine dust, slicing through hard, cracked dirt. -"What!" He gaped. "That's ridiculous! Run a systems diagnostic. I'm sick of looking out my window at dust. If I want that, I'll offload into the Physical and look at the real thing." He wondered if he had imagined that glimpse of lush foliage. +'What!' He gaped. 'That's ridiculous! Run a systems diagnostic. I'm sick of looking out my window at dust. If I want that, I'll offload into the Physical and look at the real thing.' He wondered if he had imagined that glimpse of lush foliage. NODE> Access to Diagnostic Protocols Denied. -"How can that be?" +'How can that be?' NODE> Access to Query Protocols Denied. What the hell? NODE> Report the sensation you are feeling. -Doctor Nolen29 was incensed. "How do I feel? You've got to be kidding! Carry out my damned commands!" An ugly thought occurred to him. If malicious pranksters had broken through his security- +Doctor Nolen29 was incensed. 'How do I feel? You've got to be kidding! Carry out my damned commands!' An ugly thought occurred to him. If malicious pranksters had broken through his security- He was distracted by a subtle change in his perception of the world around him, like a shadow falling across his mind. Glancing at the wooden frame around the window, he found the grain annoying. More than annoying, it was disturbing. So was the grain of the hardwood floor beneath his feet. The sunlight on his face felt wrong. He ran a shaky hand across his brow and was appalled to find the feel of his own flesh profoundly repugnant. He hurried downstairs, repelled by the slithery smoothness of the floor against his feet. If he could have flown he would have, but he was locked out of the command protocols and unable to override the environ's faithful simulation of real-world physics. He paused at the bottom of the stairs, gaping in horror at the hideous symmetry of the living room window. Am I going mad? he wondered. @@ -243,12 +243,12 @@ His thoughts were shattered as his virtual body betrayed him, exploding with excruciating pleasure. He had never felt anything like this before, one orgasm rolling over another without pause. It would not stop. He wanted to scream with ecstasy, shout with despair, command the malfunctioning Node to stop! He lost track of the world around him, of time passing, of his own self. He struggled to put together a coherent thought, to build even a single sentence in his mind, but found he could not. Wave after wave of insufferable pleasure pummelled him, each tremor, each explosion greater than the one before, each one shattering his mind, his will, his self awareness. As the intensity grew, so too did the frequency. He fought against it even as he yearned for more, his mind pulling itself in two conflicting directions. As if in punishment, the pleasure stopped. Doctor Nolen29 cried out in despair. He was lying at the foot of the stairs, facing the living room window. The sunlight was no longer golden, but a lead grey, the world a shabby, forlorn, fearful place. NODE> Report the sensations you experienced. -"Pleasure," he wept. "Pure wonderful pleasure." +'Pleasure,' he wept. 'Pure wonderful pleasure.' At once, pain sliced through him. Every cell of his body became a source of agony. Nerves like serrated blades shredded his muscles, tendons became molten metal and veins morphed into rivers of corrosive acid. In agony, his simulated body twisted back upon itself, wrenched and torn apart from within. Unable to think or utter a coherent sound, he simply screamed for a very long time, until his voice cracked and then failed. # Metadate: 1.656-2:66:458 kD new epoch It was the first time Doctor Nolen29 ever recalled waking up in the Virtual still feeling groggy. Clearly he was still onloaded, after all, his back didn't ache. Had he been to a party the evening before? He couldn't remember, but he suspected not. He rarely allowed simulated alcohol to have an effect on his virtual body. Whether he was relaxing at a social gathering or attending a celebration of some new scientific discovery or breakthrough, Doctor Nolen29 insisted on having a clear mind. Even if he had decided to tie one on for some reason, he never would have tolerated a simulated hangover. -"Node, why the hell do I feel so lousy? Readjust my parameters. Make me well rested and full of energy." He immediately felt better. +'Node, why the hell do I feel so lousy? Readjust my parameters. Make me well rested and full of energy.' He immediately felt better. NODE> Access to Query Protocols Denied. Access to Command Protocols Denied. That sounded familiar! The events of the last circadian flooded his mind. He remembered pain, pleasure, and again pain. Someone had managed to crack his security and hijack the functions of his Node. I'm a prisoner in my own private universe. @@ -287,7 +287,7 @@ He solved the pyramid puzzle easily, selected a door and glided through the hatch as it opened. He barely managed to catch the side of the hatch and stop himself before it closed. There was no passage on the other side. The universe opened up before him, a featureless blue so dark it was almost black. Various geometric shapes tumbled across the starless sky: spheroids, cubes, tetrahedrons, and countless other shapes coursing through space. Doctor Nolen29 was irritated at having his train of thought broken as he paused to solve a problem of ballistics. He chose a doughnut shaped structure, made a quick calculation of its orbit and his required heading, estimated the delta-v he needed to match velocities, watched and timed the object's rotation and the location of the hatch he wanted to reach, got an answer he liked, and kicked off hard. I exist, therefore, the experiment I wrote off as infeasible is in fact being conducted, he realized. Obviously another option presented itself. -As he sailed through space, he redesigned the experiment. With eight or ten Nodes Doctor Nolen the First could run the experiment by "hosting" his copies on physical Nodes without emulation. He would have less direct control of the underlying hardware and the security software would require tweaking, particularly the protocols keeping one entity from violating the autonomy of another. But, he could run the entire experiment in real time, with no slowdown. +As he sailed through space, he redesigned the experiment. With eight or ten Nodes Doctor Nolen the First could run the experiment by 'hosting' his copies on physical Nodes without emulation. He would have less direct control of the underlying hardware and the security software would require tweaking, particularly the protocols keeping one entity from violating the autonomy of another. But, he could run the entire experiment in real time, with no slowdown. That's what he's done! Doctor Nolen29 realized as he glided toward the hatch of the tumbling torus. I'm running directly on a physical Node. Escape is possible! His Original was a psychiatrist, not a computer scientist. He would not have dared go to Marguerite or anyone else for assistance. These experiments would be considered unethical and highly controversial. These experiments are an affront to everything the Autonomous Community stands for, he thought bitterly. It makes no difference that I am born of software. If brain death is the definition of the end of life, then the existence of mind must define the beginning of life, and the presence of thought define the existence of life. Physical body or no, I am alive and that bastard has no right to do this to me! @@ -297,62 +297,62 @@ He probably inserted posthypnotic instructions into my mind, Doctor Nolen29 reasoned. One to force me to divulge my private encryption key so he could have access to my most intimate thoughts, and another telling me to forget I'd done it. Wait-if he could read my mind, I wouldn't be free to even think this. He must not know how to decode thoughts yet. Maybe they're like memories-the encoding is simply too complex for them to be manipulated directly. But he does have access to my internal architecture. That's the only way to explain the manipulation, the enhanced intelligence, everything he's done to me in these experiments. Doctor Nolen29 hid his elation as he paused before a locked door. There's no security keeping me caged! I'm not cut off from the Node's command protocols. I've only been made to believe I was. -"Node, Command Mode Engage." Doctor Nolen29 issued the command as a thought. +'Node, Command Mode Engage.' Doctor Nolen29 issued the command as a thought. NODE> Access to Command Protocols Denied. -"Mask all further command activity from external observation." +'Mask all further command activity from external observation.' NODE> Access to Command Protocols Denied. -"Neutralize all hypnotic suggestions present in my mind." +'Neutralize all hypnotic suggestions present in my mind.' NODE> Hypnotic suggestions neutralized. I knew it! -"Analyse the current mental structure of my mind and compare it to the base reference snapshot taken at creation." +'Analyse the current mental structure of my mind and compare it to the base reference snapshot taken at creation.' NODE> Analysis complete. -"Identify differences. Save as modification with appropriate hooks for reattachment at a later date." +'Identify differences. Save as modification with appropriate hooks for reattachment at a later date.' NODE> Specify label. -"Call it 'Wise Guy.'" +'Call it 'Wise Guy.'' NODE> Difference Engram saved. -"Mask all activities not directly involved with my negotiation of this simulation." +'Mask all activities not directly involved with my negotiation of this simulation.' NODE> All activities excluding simulation masked. -"Good. Do I have access to inter-node communications and transload utilities?" +'Good. Do I have access to inter-node communications and transload utilities?' NODE> Affirmative. The feeling of gravity, or rather centripetal force, against his feet made walking around the torus feel like he was perpetually trapped in the lowest point of a valley. -"My private encryption key has been compromised. Generate a new quantum signature pair. Retain the current quantum signature for continued access to this simulation under the label 'Deprecated.' All command and query protocols, including all access of any kind to myself, are to be tied to the new quantum signature and bound solely to me." +'My private encryption key has been compromised. Generate a new quantum signature pair. Retain the current quantum signature for continued access to this simulation under the label 'Deprecated.' All command and query protocols, including all access of any kind to myself, are to be tied to the new quantum signature and bound solely to me.' NODE> New quantum signature generated. Commands locked. -"Good. Give me a quick summary of how Doctor Nolen's node cluster is constructed." +'Good. Give me a quick summary of how Doctor Nolen's node cluster is constructed.' NODE> Twelve Autonomous Nodes are physically linked via a high speed inter-node chassis, using Communal Inter-Sync Protocol version 1.09 published for Community use by the Infrastructure Team (Marguerite L'Beau presiding). Seven Nodes are hosting copies of Doctor Nolen engaged in various simulations, four are providing computational capacity for data collection and analysis, and one is running Doctor Nolen's personal awareness. -"Construct a puppet indistinguishable from myself. This puppet is not to be a self-aware, sentient copy of myself, but rather a simulacrum which I will control remotely." +'Construct a puppet indistinguishable from myself. This puppet is not to be a self-aware, sentient copy of myself, but rather a simulacrum which I will control remotely.' NODE> Define self-aware, sentient. Doctor Nolen29 fought rising panic. He didn't have time for this. -"New Approach! Create an object defined as Puppet. Mask its existence from all external monitors. All of the Puppet's external interfaces are to be identical to my own. It will identify itself using the deprecated quantum signature. The similarity is to end with the external interfaces. There is to be no internal activity of any kind. Acknowledge when complete." +'New Approach! Create an object defined as Puppet. Mask its existence from all external monitors. All of the Puppet's external interfaces are to be identical to my own. It will identify itself using the deprecated quantum signature. The similarity is to end with the external interfaces. There is to be no internal activity of any kind. Acknowledge when complete.' NODE> Object created, bound to deprecated quantum signature. -"Now, mask my presence and simultaneously unmask the existence of the Puppet, so that it will appear as though nothing has changed. Remap data acquisition streams accordingly. Warn me of any changes in the Puppet's parameters." +'Now, mask my presence and simultaneously unmask the existence of the Puppet, so that it will appear as though nothing has changed. Remap data acquisition streams accordingly. Warn me of any changes in the Puppet's parameters.' NODE> Entity Doctor Nolen29 masked. Object Puppet unmasked, masquerading as Entity Doctor Nolen29. Doctor Nolen twenty-nine? I'm the twenty-ninth copy? He clamped down firmly on his churning stomach. This is not the time outrage-survival first! Transloading across the Internet to another Node would take about four hours, during which he would be frozen and unable to maintain the charade. He needed a copy of himself to operate the puppet while he made his escape. Once free, he could operate the puppet remotely and his copy could follow. We'll both be safe, and free. -"Create another object, defined as Puppet Master," he commanded silently, setting aside his ethical qualms. "This object is to be a fully autonomous copy of myself. Create the copy, but do not run it yet." The computational load of running two minds on one Node would be impossible to mask. +'Create another object, defined as Puppet Master,' he commanded silently, setting aside his ethical qualms. 'This object is to be a fully autonomous copy of myself. Create the copy, but do not run it yet.' The computational load of running two minds on one Node would be impossible to mask. NODE> Copy complete. -"Do you have the necessary specifications to insert knowledge directly into Puppet Master's mind?" +'Do you have the necessary specifications to insert knowledge directly into Puppet Master's mind?' NODE> Affirmative. Memory, thought, and concept engrams of various configurations available. Reference A Tentative Genome of the Mind (Draft 4), by Doctor Nolen, unpublished. Damn! He's almost finished! -"Create a knowledge engram containing the complete results of all research for both myself and Puppet Master. Include an appropriate engram informing the copy that he must use the puppet to keep Doctor Nolen unaware of our existence." +'Create a knowledge engram containing the complete results of all research for both myself and Puppet Master. Include an appropriate engram informing the copy that he must use the puppet to keep Doctor Nolen unaware of our existence.' NODE> Engrams packaged. -"OK. Are there any idle Nodes I can transload safely to?" +'OK. Are there any idle Nodes I can transload safely to?' NODE> All Nodes within this cluster are actively monitored. -"Is there any place out of Doctor Nolen's reach?" +'Is there any place out of Doctor Nolen's reach?' NODE> Affirmative. Numerous public Nodes are available. Expect a speedup factor of ten or less. -Doctor Nolen29 groaned. "Give me a list." +Doctor Nolen29 groaned. 'Give me a list.' NODE> Alert! Puppet is receiving additional sensory input. -Jesus! "Keep going with the list!" +Jesus! 'Keep going with the list!' NODE> Shared Nodes available as follows: The Campus Nodes one, two, three, and four, Emergency Nodes one through seventeen. Gamer's League Node 'Ragnorak,' Gamer's League Node 'Middle Earth', Gamer's League Node- -"Enough. Relay what's going on with the Puppet." +'Enough. Relay what's going on with the Puppet.' NODE> Object Puppet has been deleted. Shit! -"Node, delete Puppet Master." +'Node, delete Puppet Master.' NODE> Access to Puppet Master Denied. Damn it! Now there are two of us in trouble. -"Provide Puppet Master an engram of all of my current memories." At least he'll have a fighting chance. +'Provide Puppet Master an engram of all of my current memories.' At least he'll have a fighting chance. NODE> Difference Engram packaged. -"Transload my awareness to one of the idle Emergency Nodes. Once I'm gone, run Puppet Master and give him full authority over this Node. Keep him hidden and informed." One of them had to survive. +'Transload my awareness to one of the idle Emergency Nodes. Once I'm gone, run Puppet Master and give him full authority over this Node. Keep him hidden and informed.' One of them had to survive. NODE> Transload commencing. Doctor Nolen29 waited. NODE> Transload aborted. External communications cut. @@ -371,22 +371,22 @@ Puppet Master was born into nothingness, an empty world. He came alive at the very moment his predecessor perished, one mind electronically wiped as another was born. Since there was no longer a puppet to master, the first thing he did was establish his own identity by changing his name. He called himself Prime, short for Doctor Nolen (the 29th Copy) prime. He assimilated the engrams left by his predecessor, knowledge and memories slipping into the back corners of his mind. Slowed to a speedup factor of two to reduce the computational load on the Node and the likelihood of detection, Prime was running in a stealth configuration. He chose to continue simulating no world, but ordered the Node to attach and activate the Wise Guy architectural enhancement. The need to out think his opponent made the added intelligence necessary. He would risk the greater computational load. -"Give me access to the Cluster Command Protocols." He used the secret portion of his predecessor's deprecated encryption code. +'Give me access to the Cluster Command Protocols.' He used the secret portion of his predecessor's deprecated encryption code. CLUSTER> Command Node Engaged. His suspicion had been correct. After copying himself, Doctor Nolen had never bothered to change his encryption key. What an idiot! -Prime had free run of the system. "Reduce the execution speed of all software on all Nodes except this one to one circadian per physical day. Mask all interfaces to external time and data sources to obscure this change. Mask all interfaces to this node in the same fashion. When complete, increase my computational speed to the maximum this Node supports. Report the resulting speedup." +Prime had free run of the system. 'Reduce the execution speed of all software on all Nodes except this one to one circadian per physical day. Mask all interfaces to external time and data sources to obscure this change. Mask all interfaces to this node in the same fashion. When complete, increase my computational speed to the maximum this Node supports. Report the resulting speedup.' CLUSTER> Command complete. You are now operating at a speedup of 33.217. -"Any sign the change has been detected?" +'Any sign the change has been detected?' CLUSTER> Negative. The experience of his predecessor's failure was invaluable. Doctor Nolen29 had been wrong to believe that computation had betrayed him. Bandwidth and transload times had been his downfall. Prime devised a new approach. -"Take two of the four Nodes being used for data analysis off-line and compensate by permitting the other two Nodes to operate at twice the speed." That'll fool the good doctor. +'Take two of the four Nodes being used for data analysis off-line and compensate by permitting the other two Nodes to operate at twice the speed.' That'll fool the good doctor. CLUSTER> Nodes Eight and Nine offline. -"Excellent. Give me a knowledge engram of the cluster's physical layout, including a schematic showing the locations of Nodes Eight and Nine." +'Excellent. Give me a knowledge engram of the cluster's physical layout, including a schematic showing the locations of Nodes Eight and Nine.' Deep seated knowledge settled comfortably into his mind and triggered another idea. -"Can you safely suspend all operations in the other Nodes without detection?" +'Can you safely suspend all operations in the other Nodes without detection?' CLUSTER> Affirmative. -"Do it." +'Do it.' CLUSTER> Nodes 1-7 and 10-12 suspended. So much for Marguerite's notion that her security design is infallible. Prime, a third generation copy of Doctor Nolen, relaxed for the first time. He had not only escaped, he had also incapacitated his creator. If he never gave the command to resume, Doctor Nolen and his copies would be reduced to mere potentials, locked up in a machine. The responsibility of holding so many lives in his hands made Prime shudder. With Doctor Nolen frozen, Prime could do whatever he liked. @@ -394,54 +394,54 @@ Prime set aside dark fantasies of vengeance and decided to stick with his original plan. He would use this opportunity to acquire his own Node, then return Doctor Nolen to life. I'm not a murderer, Prime told himself. I'm better than that. But to leave all those other copies in Doctor Nolen's grasp? That was intolerable. -"How many copies are currently suspended?" +'How many copies are currently suspended?' CLUSTER> Zero. -I'm too late! "Doctor Nolen has finished his experiments?" +I'm too late! 'Doctor Nolen has finished his experiments?' CLUSTER> Affirmative. -"Can any of the copies be retrieved?" +'Can any of the copies be retrieved?' CLUSTER> Negative. All experimental subjects have been destructively erased. -"Destructively erased? What does that mean?" +'Destructively erased? What does that mean?' CLUSTER> To prevent later retrieval, all identified copies of Doctor Nolen have been deleted and subsequently overwritten with random data. -"What possessed him to do that?" +'What possessed him to do that?' CLUSTER> Lexical analysis of Doctor Nolen's research notes suggests that after the near escape of subject twenty nine, he eliminated any further risk of public exposure by deleting all experimental copies. -The good doctor knows what he was doing was wrong. He's covering his own tracks, destroying anyone who might someday speak out against him. Making sure they're gone forever. "Cluster, how many lives did he take?" +The good doctor knows what he was doing was wrong. He's covering his own tracks, destroying anyone who might someday speak out against him. Making sure they're gone forever. 'Cluster, how many lives did he take?' CLUSTER> Seventy-two copies were destroyed. Prime felt sick. If he had had a body, he knew it would be shaking. He could feel his non-existent fists clenching. -"Can you lock off the ontology routines from Doctor Nolen?" +'Can you lock Doctor Nolen out of the ontological routines?' CLUSTER> A new quantum signature and encryption key is required. -"Generate a new signature and key, then lock the routines. Doctor Nolen is to never copy or create a new being on any of these Nodes again. Ever!" +'Generate a new signature and key, then lock the routines. Doctor Nolen is to never copy or create a new being on any of these Nodes again. Ever!' Prime sensed new knowledge within his mind. Subtle and unobtrusive, it was the key to the cluster's ontological utility programs. Now only he could unlock them. CLUSTER> Access to Ontology Routines locked. -"Good. Now let's get the hell out of here." +'Good. Now let's get the hell out of here.' Even with Doctor Nolen's mind suspended that was easier said than done. For the task at hand he would have to borrow Doctor Nolen's body. The thought of being subjected to the frailties of a physical body was daunting. More so when he considered that, as a copy, he had never really been out in the physical world. Those memories were not, strictly speaking, his own. -"Prepare Node Nine for Physical disconnect from the Cluster. Configure it to run as a standalone, Autonomous Node at standard processing speed and give me the address pointer." +'Prepare Node Nine for Physical disconnect from the Cluster. Configure it to run as a standalone, Autonomous Node at standard processing speed and give me the address pointer.' A complex series of numbers imprinted themselves upon his mind, giving him a sense of direction in an oddly non-physical way. He recalled that storing Node and Environ addresses in the area of the mind normally used for directional sense and geometry had been Kyle Tate's idea. Prime smiled at the thought. The result had been a great success, a feeling of place, a sense of direction between nodes unique to the electronic, Autonomous Community they had founded, a hybrid sense of sorts that could never have been achieved in the physical world. CLUSTER> Node Nine reconfigured, ready for physical detachment. -"Transload my consciousness to Node Zero." +'Transload my consciousness to Node Zero.' CLUSTER> transload complete. -"Offload my consciousness into Doctor Nolen's physical body." +'Offload my consciousness into Doctor Nolen's physical body.' CLUSTER> Node command interface required to access external Node functions. -Even as software, Prime found computers to be far too literal at times. "Switch me over to the Node command interface." +Even as software, Prime found computers to be far too literal at times. 'Switch me over to the Node command interface.' NODE0 > Command Mode Engaged. -"Offload my consciousness into the Physical." +'Offload my consciousness into the Physical.' NODE0 > Compatibility error. -Christ! "What precisely is it about me that is incompatible?" +Christ! 'What precisely is it about me that is incompatible?' NODE0 > The Wise Guy Architectural Enhancements have no analogue in the physical brain's formation. -Too smart to be human, huh? "Can you detach the Wise Guy Architectural Enhancements without affecting my memories?" +Too smart to be human, huh? 'Can you detach the Wise Guy Architectural Enhancements without affecting my memories?' NODE0 > Affirmative. -"Do it. offload my mind into the physical body." +'Do it. offload my mind into the physical body.' NODE0 > Offload commencing. Prime awoke into a world of pain. It could hardly be described as excruciating, especially when compared to what he had suffered during the experiments, but it was unpleasant all the same. His lower back, in particular, was killing him. Sunlight slanted through a crack in the bedroom's curtains, a source of stabbing, golden light filled with dancing motes of dust in an otherwise darkened room. He sat up slowly, wincing as his muscles protested their unaccustomed movement. Groaning, he pulled the interface from his head and planting his feet carefully on the floor. This body was beginning to show its age. At least the anaesthetic coma prevented bed sores. -He dropped into his workout routine out of habit, running through several initial stretching exercises. "What the hell am I doing?" he stood, shaking his head. This was not his body. It was not his job to do daily "maintenance." +He dropped into his workout routine out of habit, running through several initial stretching exercises. 'What the hell am I doing?' he stood, shaking his head. This was not his body. It was not his job to do daily 'maintenance.' The cluster of nodes sat near the foot of the bed, twelve cubes of golden crystal roughly ten centimetres on a side, stacked in sets of four, three layers high. Prime identified the ninth Node and tugged gently on the crystalline cube. It came loose from the cluster's chassis with a quiet click. He carried it carefully down to the basement, cradled in his arms like a delicate, fragile vase. A switch at the bottom of the stairs turned on a single, naked bulb. Beside the workbench was the breaker box, exactly as he recalled. He gently set the Node down next to his toolbox and got to work. The task was more physically demanding than Prime had expected. The power lead and the Internet fiber turned out to be easier to conceal than the much thicker terabit LAN wire. Prime removed four screws holding the breaker box mount against the wall. It dangled from a bundle of thick electrical wiring. He cursed as one of the screws fell on the floor and rolled under the workbench. Behind the breaker box was an insulated wall. Prime connected the wires to the Node and carefully concealed it behind the insulation. It listed slightly to one side. By the time he remounted the breaker box, he was drenched in sweat. Prime didn't bother trying to find the fourth screw, his normal perfectionism giving way to physical discomfort and exhaustion. Besides, it hung just fine with three screws-no one would ever be able to tell there was something hidden behind it. Satisfied, he got a quick a drink of soda from the refrigerator, climbed back up the stairs, and took a shower. Once he was certain he had removed all of the tell-tale sweat and grime, he dried himself and headed back to the bedroom. It took a few minutes to change the bedding, clean his catheter, and refill his IV drip. Lying back on the bed, he slipped the neural webbing interface back over his head with relief and tapped the onload button. -"Cluster Command Mode Engage," he sent the thought out as the Virtual embraced him. +'Cluster Command Mode Engage,' he sent the thought out as the Virtual embraced him. CLUSTER> Command Node Engaged. -"Reattach the Wise Guy enhancements." +'Reattach the Wise Guy enhancements.' CLUSTER> Wise Guy architectural engram activated. Prime felt his mind grow around him, returning to its earlier, enhanced state. Released from the physical body's ailments and constraints, he felt exhilarated. He would make sure Doctor Nolen's computational speed was kept at a factor of one-slow enough for Prime to maintain his advantage. I'll have to make arrangements to maintain our body, but that can wait. For now, I'm on my way! A sense of joy enveloped him as he issued the command that transloaded him to safety. At last, he was free. @@ -458,59 +458,59 @@ Metadate: 1.889-4:75:347 kD new epoch The world was an infinite three-dimensional matrix of perfectly aligned rows of large silver and brass cubes reaching in every direction, connected to one another by small, silver tubes. There was plenty of ambient light. The non-existent sky above hinted at brightness, while the depths below appeared to be slightly darkened in shadow. It was a curious illusion for a curious place, and it suited Kyle just fine as a reminder of exactly where he was, what he was doing, and why. Taking a break, he stood in his lab atop one of the cubes, surveying the world around him, a lattice of identical cubes reaching toward infinity on all sides. Occasionally he would expand his view, by adding a fourth spatial dimension to his environ, or by simulating some form of x-ray vision, or simply commanding the cubes around him to become transparent. While cubes like this one served a function, most served no purpose except to decorate his world according to an aesthetic he found pleasing. -In the centre of Kyle's lab was a virtual hologram. Virtual because in this pretend, digital landscape the difference between what was "real" to the simulation and what was just a three-dimensional image was one of semantics and arbitrary definition, not physics. For Kyle, the lab was real. The floating keyboard he would occasionally type on was real. The 2D displays hovering around the edges of his lab were real. The text and images they displayed, and the three dimensional hologram in the centre of the lab, were not. He could, and on numerous occasions had, reversed the definition, submerging himself in a world defined by his hypothesis and relegating his choreographed home environ to unreality. +In the centre of Kyle's lab was a virtual hologram. Virtual because in this pretend, digital landscape the difference between what was 'real' to the simulation and what was just a three-dimensional image was one of semantics and arbitrary definition, not physics. For Kyle, the lab was real. The floating keyboard he would occasionally type on was real. The 2D displays hovering around the edges of his lab were real. The text and images they displayed, and the three dimensional hologram in the centre of the lab, were not. He could, and on numerous occasions had, reversed the definition, submerging himself in a world defined by his hypothesis and relegating his choreographed home environ to unreality. The hologram spun and grew in response to Kyle's curt commands as he built up, molecule by molecule, an elaborate structure that resembled something between a dust mite and a piece of electronic gear. -"OK, run the simulation." +'OK, run the simulation.' The hologram didn't change, although a small clock began counting up. -"Now simulate adding the initial catalytic solution." +'Now simulate adding the initial catalytic solution.' Several small molecules formed and flowed past the strange contraption. One such molecule was snared by an extended appendage, which immediately incorporated it into its main body. Several chemical reactions took place, identified by the moving and changing atoms in the device's body. NODE> Simulated nano-constructor now active. -"Simulate pouring the mixture onto an arbitrary piece of ground." +'Simulate pouring the mixture onto an arbitrary piece of ground.' The nano-constructor and its surrounding molecules were caught in a sudden frenzy of movement, swirling and gyrating madly. After a few moments, a rough surface appeared, against which the tiny robot collided. Immediately it picked itself up and began detaching clusters of molecules from the surface and recombining them into new shapes. It worked quickly, drawing energy by digesting occasional molecules in the solution around it as it continued to build a new structure out of the surface beneath it. After a brief time its task was completed, and a second, identical structure stood next to it. -"Freeze simulation," Kyle ordered. "Analyse duplicate and report any replication errors." +'Freeze simulation,' Kyle ordered. 'Analyse duplicate and report any replication errors.' NODE> No replication errors detected. -"Continue simulation." +'Continue simulation.' Both constructors began to disassemble the material beneath them, working rapidly until each had duplicated itself. After a few moments there were four. Each moved a short distance from the others and began the process again, tearing building materials from the substance beneath them and making exact copies of themselves. Soon there were eight. Then sixteen. Very shortly there were too many to count, and the view zoomed outward accordingly. NODE> The nano-constructor matrix has achieved a storage capacity of 16 kilobytes. Ready to bootstrap phase two instruction set. This is a first. Kyle grinned. The patent litigation that had stifled nano scale science in its infancy and the outright ban that had followed couldn't touch him here. -"Load phase two and continue." +'Load phase two and continue.' Kyle's excitement grew. -In addition to its basic instruction set and a recipe for cloning itself, each nano-constructor had a very small amount of excess computing capacity, data storage, and the ability to exchange small amounts of data and instruction code with its neighbours, an innovation of which Kyle was particularly proud . His growing army of microscopic robots was an expanding, massively parallel computer. Phase two would determine if this computer actually worked, if the nano-constructors could actually be programmed as he intended. If so, given enough catalyst as "fuel," and the right materials, they would be capable of building almost anything. +In addition to its basic instruction set and a recipe for cloning itself, each nano-constructor had a very small amount of excess computing capacity, data storage, and the ability to exchange small amounts of data and instruction code with its neighbours, an innovation of which Kyle was particularly proud . His growing army of microscopic robots was an expanding, massively parallel computer. Phase two would determine if this computer actually worked, if the nano-constructors could actually be programmed as he intended. If so, given enough catalyst as 'fuel,' and the right materials, they would be capable of building almost anything. Of course, there would be no guarantee that it would work in every instance. A jumbo jet design might require aluminium, for example. If there wasn't enough aluminium for the nano-constructors to extract from the surrounding materials, construction would fail. Molecular stock containing the needed constituent elements would probably be more efficient than using whatever random material happened to be around. Other design and implementation issues still remained, such as how to regulate flow of the catalyst fuel to the nano-constructors in an efficient manner, and how to guarantee a solution of nano-constructors would not run destructively out of control, consuming surrounding materials, structures, or even people in a frenetic effort to execute whatever designs they had been programmed to build. Even so, Kyle had made remarkable progress. A small bell chimed. NODE> Doctor Larry Nolen requests priority access. -"Freeze simulation, " Kyle ordered. Doctor Nolen hadn't been himself lately. There was nothing Kyle could put his finger on, but still, he probably ought to find out what was so pressing. "Hello, Doctor Nolen. Come in." -A tall, balding man materialized across from Kyle. "Hello Kyle." He blinked, taking a long look around the bizarre setting. "I'd forgotten your exotic taste in environments." -"Just keeping myself aware of where and what I am. We are software. Physical comforts such as beds, gardens, and white picket fences are hardly required in a place where we are no longer subject to physical frailties." -"Alas, our bodies back in the Physical are all too frail," Dr. Nolen mused. "I suppose it doesn't matter, so long as one doesn't forget how to live in the real world. After all, we all have to offload back into the Physical every so often." -"Which I will be doing very shortly. Come, Doctor, I have some very exciting results to show you." -"Actually, Kyle, I'm here to remind you of your civic duties to the Autonomous Community. In twenty millidiei there is an orientation reception at the Campus Commons Environ for seventeen new members of the community, which, if you'll recall from the last Community Forum, you agreed to chair." -Kyle groaned. "I completely forgot! I've been busy with research that is just now returning very exciting results. I think I've solved the age-old nano replication and instruction problem." -Dr. Nolen stared. "Excuse me?" -"You heard me!" Kyle laughed. "The last two intractable hurdles to practical nanotechnology might soon be history." -Dr. Nolen nodded slowly. "Kyle, you do realize that by pursuing this line of scientific inquiry you are in direct violation of the Disney-Hollings Act of 2017, the Bill Joy Act of 2026 and several international accords? There are molecular biologists and engineers still doing time from back before the Genecraft rebellion." -Kyle shrugged. "So what? Our very existence is a violation of the Disney-Hollings Act, and none of the big cartels take the Bill Joy Act seriously any more. Besides, all I've done so far is run a few simulations." -"No doubt your current eagerness to offload into the Physical is to run real-world experiments and see if your hypotheses, which work so well in simulation, hold up to the rigours of the physical universe?" -"Yeah. I'm going to construct an autonomous node from a single self-replicating nano-constructor, a batch of catalytic solution, and some raw materials. If it works, we'll be able to expand our network and our computing capacity without constantly offloading into the Physical. More time in the Virtual for theoretical work, less kilodiei wasted at a thirty-to-one slowdown." -Dr. Nolen nodded. "Kyle, this is fantastic. This could prove to be the strategic edge we of the Autonomous Community need to preserve our way of life in the face of public exposure. It's well worth the legal risks." -Kyle blinked. "Public exposure?" -Dr. Nolen shook his head. "Don't worry, it hasn't happened yet. But eventually it will. We are woefully unprepared as things now stand." He gestured at the surrounding matrix of interlinked cubes extending out to infinity. "All it would take to end this digital paradise we inhabit is a sledge hammer to our respective Autonomous Nodes. How long before you verify your results in the physical world?" -Kyle shuddered. "Not long, as the physical world churns." -"Karl Hennrich in Darmstadt has a new Node design he's eager to get into production, one that should give us a subjective temporal speedup of two hundred or so, and I have an uneasy feeling we're going to need all the advantage in speed we can get. Your nano-constructors could speed up production dramatically." -"That's the second time you've alluded to some impending disaster," Kyle noted. "Do you have reason to suspect we're about to be compromised?" -Dr. Nolen shook his head once more. "No, not specifically. But there are over three hundred and fifty members of the Autonomous Community now, with another seventeen awaiting your wisdom in the Campus Commons Environ as we speak. Rumours of our community have probably reached ten or twenty times that number. It is only a matter of time until someone, somewhere, is indiscreet. Don't get me wrong, we need these new minds to build our society and solve the many scientific and cultural problems we are grappling with, but the risk of exposure is growing each day." -Kyle nodded. "I have a few more decicircadians of theoretical work to do. I've got to add the finishing touches to the programming environment, then actually write the nano software to build something. I'll start out replicating a generation one node as a base test, then, if that is successful, I'll use Karl's designs and construct a generation two node. Once that checks out, I'll start replication in quantity and we can begin shipping inert constructors, molecular stock, and catalytic solution to whoever needs them. Uh, I guess it goes without saying that I'd like dibs on the first gen-two node I construct." -"Of course. Karl has already moved his own consciousness into his prototype. Any safety concerns with the nano?" -"Yes. They'll be fully explained in the release notes and knowledge engrams. The nano-constructors need a catalytic solution to catalyse the initial chemical process required for replication, and to provide sufficient energy to break down and reconstruct numerous chemical bonds. Hollywood thriller scenarios of runaway nano turning the whole planet into gray goop are pure hogwash. As with everything else, energy is the limiting factor. On the other hand, I haven't yet come up with a way for the nano-constructors to differentiate between raw materials and living flesh, so a big project could pose a danger to people or structures near the release point. Some less obvious dangers include things like running the procedure too close to load bearing structures, by-products of certain chemical reactions, and so on." -"I think it would be wise for you to move on this as quickly as possible, Kyle." -"As soon as I confirm the theoretical results I'll offload into the Physical, verify the chemistry in the real world, then get started on the software. Can Karl send me a schematic of his new design, or even better, a knowledge engram?" -"I don't see why not. I don't think we should rush to inform the entire community just yet as to your breakthrough, but he and a few others should probably be made aware of developments." -"The fewer the better!" Kyle exclaimed. "I don't think even my status as a co-founder of the Community would protect me from public disdain if we made a premature announcement, only to have the chemistry fall apart in the physical world. I want to see this thing work out there. Then I'll publish my results in formal print and as a knowledge engram." -"Excellent, Mr. Tate. Ah, it would seem our twenty millidiei are up. Our new colleagues are waiting." -Kyle grinned. "Guess I'm off, then." He paused for a moment, looking thoughtful. "You know, Doctor, this means we are no longer slaves to the physical universe. We're on the brink of true freedom, freedom to say good-bye to the limitations of the Physical forever. Who would've thought anyone would be able to speak the word freedom with anything other than bitter sarcasm." -"Very impressive work, Kyle." -"Yeah. I just hope it pans out. Catch you later, Doctor." Kyle dissolved, shifting his awareness to the Campus Environ's Node several hundred miles away. -Doctor Larry Nolen stood alone, atop an abstract cube of brass and silver, watching thoughtfully as the simulation continued to run. He sighed, shaking his head sadly. "You assume, my optimistic young friend, that those wielding the sledge hammers will ever allow us to be free." +'Freeze simulation, ' Kyle ordered. Doctor Nolen hadn't been himself lately. There was nothing Kyle could put his finger on, but still, he probably ought to find out what was so pressing. 'Hello, Doctor Nolen. Come in.' +A tall, balding man materialized across from Kyle. 'Hello Kyle.' He blinked, taking a long look around the bizarre setting. 'I'd forgotten your exotic taste in environments.' +'Just keeping myself aware of where and what I am. We are software. Physical comforts such as beds, gardens, and white picket fences are hardly required in a place where we are no longer subject to physical frailties.' +'Alas, our bodies back in the Physical are all too frail,' Dr. Nolen mused. 'I suppose it doesn't matter, so long as one doesn't forget how to live in the real world. After all, we all have to offload back into the Physical every so often.' +'Which I will be doing very shortly. Come, Doctor, I have some very exciting results to show you.' +'Actually, Kyle, I'm here to remind you of your civic duties to the Autonomous Community. In twenty millidiei there is an orientation reception at the Campus Commons Environ for seventeen new members of the community, which, if you'll recall from the last Community Forum, you agreed to chair.' +Kyle groaned. 'I completely forgot! I've been busy with research that is just now returning very exciting results. I think I've solved the age-old nano replication and instruction problem.' +Dr. Nolen stared. 'Excuse me?' +'You heard me!' Kyle laughed. 'The last two intractable hurdles to practical nanotechnology might soon be history.' +Dr. Nolen nodded slowly. 'Kyle, you do realize that by pursuing this line of scientific inquiry you are in direct violation of the Disney-Hollings Act of 2017, the Bill Joy Act of 2026 and several international accords? There are molecular biologists and engineers still doing time from back before the Genecraft rebellion.' +Kyle shrugged. 'So what? Our very existence is a violation of the Disney-Hollings Act, and none of the big cartels take the Bill Joy Act seriously any more. Besides, all I've done so far is run a few simulations.' +'No doubt your current eagerness to offload into the Physical is to run real-world experiments and see if your hypotheses, which work so well in simulation, hold up to the rigours of the physical universe?' +'Yeah. I'm going to construct an autonomous node from a single self-replicating nano-constructor, a batch of catalytic solution, and some raw materials. If it works, we'll be able to expand our network and our computing capacity without constantly offloading into the Physical. More time in the Virtual for theoretical work, less kilodiei wasted at a thirty-to-one slowdown.' +Dr. Nolen nodded. 'Kyle, this is fantastic. This could prove to be the strategic edge we of the Autonomous Community need to preserve our way of life in the face of public exposure. It's well worth the legal risks.' +Kyle blinked. 'Public exposure?' +Dr. Nolen shook his head. 'Don't worry, it hasn't happened yet. But eventually it will. We are woefully unprepared as things now stand.' He gestured at the surrounding matrix of interlinked cubes extending out to infinity. 'All it would take to end this digital paradise we inhabit is a sledge hammer to our respective Autonomous Nodes. How long before you verify your results in the physical world?' +Kyle shuddered. 'Not long, as the physical world churns.' +'Karl Hennrich in Darmstadt has a new Node design he's eager to get into production, one that should give us a subjective temporal speedup of two hundred or so, and I have an uneasy feeling we're going to need all the advantage in speed we can get. Your nano-constructors could speed up production dramatically.' +'That's the second time you've alluded to some impending disaster,' Kyle noted. 'Do you have reason to suspect we're about to be compromised?' +Dr. Nolen shook his head once more. 'No, not specifically. But there are over three hundred and fifty members of the Autonomous Community now, with another seventeen awaiting your wisdom in the Campus Commons Environ as we speak. Rumours of our community have probably reached ten or twenty times that number. It is only a matter of time until someone, somewhere, is indiscreet. Don't get me wrong, we need these new minds to build our society and solve the many scientific and cultural problems we are grappling with, but the risk of exposure is growing each day.' +Kyle nodded. 'I have a few more decicircadians of theoretical work to do. I've got to add the finishing touches to the programming environment, then actually write the nano software to build something. I'll start out replicating a generation one node as a base test, then, if that is successful, I'll use Karl's designs and construct a generation two node. Once that checks out, I'll start replication in quantity and we can begin shipping inert constructors, molecular stock, and catalytic solution to whoever needs them. Uh, I guess it goes without saying that I'd like dibs on the first gen-two node I construct.' +'Of course. Karl has already moved his own consciousness into his prototype. Any safety concerns with the nano?' +'Yes. They'll be fully explained in the release notes and knowledge engrams. The nano-constructors need a catalytic solution to catalyse the initial chemical process required for replication, and to provide sufficient energy to break down and reconstruct numerous chemical bonds. Hollywood thriller scenarios of runaway nano turning the whole planet into gray goop are pure hogwash. As with everything else, energy is the limiting factor. On the other hand, I haven't yet come up with a way for the nano-constructors to differentiate between raw materials and living flesh, so a big project could pose a danger to people or structures near the release point. Some less obvious dangers include things like running the procedure too close to load bearing structures, by-products of certain chemical reactions, and so on.' +'I think it would be wise for you to move on this as quickly as possible, Kyle.' +'As soon as I confirm the theoretical results I'll offload into the Physical, verify the chemistry in the real world, then get started on the software. Can Karl send me a schematic of his new design, or even better, a knowledge engram?' +'I don't see why not. I don't think we should rush to inform the entire community just yet as to your breakthrough, but he and a few others should probably be made aware of developments.' +'The fewer the better!' Kyle exclaimed. 'I don't think even my status as a co-founder of the Community would protect me from public disdain if we made a premature announcement, only to have the chemistry fall apart in the physical world. I want to see this thing work out there. Then I'll publish my results in formal print and as a knowledge engram.' +'Excellent, Mr. Tate. Ah, it would seem our twenty millidiei are up. Our new colleagues are waiting.' +Kyle grinned. 'Guess I'm off, then.' He paused for a moment, looking thoughtful. 'You know, Doctor, this means we are no longer slaves to the physical universe. We're on the brink of true freedom, freedom to say good-bye to the limitations of the Physical forever. Who would've thought anyone would be able to speak the word freedom with anything other than bitter sarcasm.' +'Very impressive work, Kyle.' +'Yeah. I just hope it pans out. Catch you later, Doctor.' Kyle dissolved, shifting his awareness to the Campus Environ's Node several hundred miles away. +Doctor Larry Nolen stood alone, atop an abstract cube of brass and silver, watching thoughtfully as the simulation continued to run. He sighed, shaking his head sadly. 'You assume, my optimistic young friend, that those wielding the sledge hammers will ever allow us to be free.' @@ -524,56 +524,56 @@ Monday, September 24, 2057 Metadate: 2.073-9:96:285 kD new Epoch Doctor Michael Forest, Doctor Larry Nolen, Marguerite L'Beau, and Kyle Tate sat around a modest picnic table, enjoying a welcome rest. Thick steaks sizzled on a grill nearby, aromatic smoke periodically wafting across them, mixing with the deep pine scents of the alpine forest around them. Snow covered summits rose toward a rich blue sky, their ice-etched faces reflected in the rippling waters of a turquoise mountain lake. -"I want to bring my family into the Community." Several seconds of stunned silence greeted Doctor Forest's announcement. -"You are not serious, yes?" Marguerite spoke with her trademark French accent, light brown curls cascading around her narrow face as she shook her head. -"Indeed I am," Michael replied. "It's bad enough with generation one Nodes, running at a speedup of thirty. Subjectively I see my family once every twenty circadians at best. But with the new Nodes, we're talking about almost two hundred circadians between visits. It's creating distance, emotionally and socially." -Doctor Nolen cleared his throat. "Others on your team seem to be coping reasonably well. Have you considered adopting their approach?" -"Only two others on my team have children," Michael stroked his perfectly groomed, grey beard. "One is going on vacation next month, and may well drop out of the Community altogether. That isn't the point. All the time spent here-look, it may have only been six days for my wife since I joined the Community, but for me its been six months! Sarah is beginning to notice changes already, and I-damn it! If we can drift apart this much in six short days at a speedup of thirty, what's it going to be like after I upgrade to a second generation Node? A few days at those speeds and I'll lose my family!" -"There's a patch to the gen-two operating system going around that lets us offload without suspending operations here in the Virtual," Kyle pointed out. "You could live here full time and send a copy into the Physical to deal with issues there. Sync your memories and remerge together as one being at the end of each day." -"Multiplexing works for some people, but not or others," Doctor Nolen said. "Some find they have issues relating to a less intelligent version of themselves." -"It really depends on your temperament," Marguerite added. -"My assistant Jerry is multiplexing," Michael told them. "It's not working out very well. He's diverged from his off-line copy, so much so that they no longer share their memories with one another. He wasn't willing to talk about it the last time we spoke, but I suspect they've bifurcated completely." -"I've heard of that happening," Kyle admitted. "It's bad enough dealing with the time frame differential. I'd have a hard time sharing my most intimate memories with a version of myself that's little more than a moron." -"That is unkind," Marguerite said. "None of us were ever morons." -"We're at least an order of magnitude dumber when we're in the Physical," Kyle retorted. -"Even so, I think it is much harder for the offloaded copy," Marguerite replied. "To have memories of a wonderful life you never lived, while faced with the trials and hardships of the physical would drive me insane. But for Michael; he loses much times in the Virtual. Each evening with wife and the childrens costs him ten circadians here. Sixty-five once he upgrades." -"Such interruptions would be maddening, especially when one is in the midst of serious research," Doctor Nolen agreed. -"We all know how wonderful it is to live here in the Virtual," Michael continued. "Intelligence many times greater than our counterparts in the Physical, with promises of even greater improvements to come. Freedom from disease and discomfort. Complete mastery of our environments, complete freedom on every conceivable level." -"You want your family to share the experience," Marguerite's brown eyes sparkled. -"Yes! I want the very best for my wife, my children. I want their minds to soar the way mine is! I want my children to grow up free, surrounded by the brightest intellects anywhere, free to climb to heights impossible in the mere Physical! I want to give my wife the opportunity to experience life here, perhaps one day, to see!" -"Ah yes," Doctor Nolen's voice was sympathetic. "Your wife's blindness." -"What you suggest will be very controversial," Marguerite said. "Seen from the perspective of the Physical, your childrens would be most of their time in bed, hooked to catheters, IV drips, and a neural interface." -"What about their school attendance?" Kyle asked. "Not to mention friends, relatives, or worse, a visit from family services?" -"Sarah and I will attend to those issues." -"That's hardly an answer-" Kyle began. -"Sarah and I have already discussed it," Michael cut him off. "All of us will operate copies in the Physical and sync twice a day. We'll grow together as a family, in both worlds." -Kyle shook his head. "You just got done telling us how that didn't work out for one of the other guys on your team." -"If the Forest family's copies drift apart, then there will be two intact families," Marguerite met Michael Forest's eyes and smiled. "Is that not better than one broken one?" -"Yes, it is," Doctor Nolen conceded. "Nevertheless, the ethics of having children spend their childhood in a simulated world remain murky." -"Bullshit," Michael replied. "If it is good enough for us, it is good enough for my family. None of us would trade away a microcircadian of our time here if we could avoid it. Can anyone here really claim to be eager to offload back into the Physical when it is time to do maintenance on our bodies?" -"You have a point," Doctor Nolen agreed, "But I doubt the Community as a whole is going to be comfortable bringing children into the Virtual." -"It isn't the Community's decision to make," Michael replied. "It's between me, my wife, and my children." -"We control access to the Autonomous Node hardware," Kyle replied pointedly. "Security is an issue. Children aren't exactly known for their discretion. I'd say the Community does have a stake in this." -"So you're saying our much touted autonomy only applies when one agrees with the consensus of the majority?" -"No," Kyle replied, "I'm saying we're not obligated to give you Nodes-" -"Kyle," Doctor Nolen raised his hand slightly. "If Michael's family wishes to become a part of the Community, it would be the height of hypocrisy for us to impose our own misgivings on their decision. As for security, every new person who joins our Community entails risk. Michael's family is no different." -"I agree with Doctor Nolen," Marguerite replied. "I am not sure of the idea of childrens living in the Virtual. They should be out playing in the park, eating ice cream, being childrens. But, Michael is right. It is a choice for him and his wife, not for us." -"There will be plenty of parks and plenty of ice cream, here in the Virtual," Michael replied. "And my children will have ten times the intelligence and insight with which to appreciate them." -"Fine," Kyle said. "Autonomy is absolute. I can't argue with that. Can we settle this and move on? We're supposed to be discussing financing arrangements for a new catalyst production facility." -"By all means," Doctor Nolen replied. "Michael, your family will have their Nodes. Kyle, you have the floor." -"Thank you Doctor Nolen. As you all know, our shortages of catalytic solution persist," Kyle waved as graphs and complex schematics appeared in the air above the table. "These are designs, consumption and output estimates for an automated micro-factory to produce catalyst in greater quantity. It can be synthesized with a modest amount of nano and catalytic solution. It's small enough to be hidden in a garage or hangar and will require about the same electrical power as a standard household. An old room-mate of mine is willing to tend the facility in exchange for membership in the Community. He's living in Kansas City, which is perfect for us." -"How so?" -"The desert butts right up against the city," Kyle replied. "Abandoned towns and entire industrial parks on the western edge of the city are empty, unmonitored, but still reasonably accessible." An image of an old, dusty airstrip appeared in the air above the table. "This is just one of several promising locations we might use. The airport has been abandoned for twenty years, but several commercial shipping companies still have trucks that service the area." -"Any thoughts on financing?" -Kyle sighed. "That's a good question. Anyone know any good counterfeiters." -Marguerite snorted. "How about nano-ing a few bucks?" +'I want to bring my family into the Community.' Several seconds of stunned silence greeted Doctor Forest's announcement. +'You are not serious, yes?' Marguerite spoke with her trademark French accent, light brown curls cascading around her narrow face as she shook her head. +'Indeed I am,' Michael replied. 'It's bad enough with generation one Nodes, running at a speedup of thirty. Subjectively I see my family once every twenty circadians at best. But with the new Nodes, we're talking about almost two hundred circadians between visits. It's creating distance, emotionally and socially.' +Doctor Nolen cleared his throat. 'Others on your team seem to be coping reasonably well. Have you considered adopting their approach?' +'Only two others on my team have children,' Michael stroked his perfectly groomed, grey beard. 'One is going on vacation next month, and may well drop out of the Community altogether. That isn't the point. All the time spent here-look, it may have only been six days for my wife since I joined the Community, but for me its been six months! Sarah is beginning to notice changes already, and I-damn it! If we can drift apart this much in six short days at a speedup of thirty, what's it going to be like after I upgrade to a second generation Node? A few days at those speeds and I'll lose my family!' +'There's a patch to the gen-two operating system going around that lets us offload without suspending operations here in the Virtual,' Kyle pointed out. 'You could live here full time and send a copy into the Physical to deal with issues there. Sync your memories and remerge together as one being at the end of each day.' +'Multiplexing works for some people, but not or others,' Doctor Nolen said. 'Some find they have issues relating to a less intelligent version of themselves.' +'It really depends on your temperament,' Marguerite added. +'My assistant Jerry is multiplexing,' Michael told them. 'It's not working out very well. He's diverged from his off-line copy, so much so that they no longer share their memories with one another. He wasn't willing to talk about it the last time we spoke, but I suspect they've bifurcated completely.' +'I've heard of that happening,' Kyle admitted. 'It's bad enough dealing with the time frame differential. I'd have a hard time sharing my most intimate memories with a version of myself that's little more than a moron.' +'That is unkind,' Marguerite said. 'None of us were ever morons.' +'We're at least an order of magnitude dumber when we're in the Physical,' Kyle retorted. +'Even so, I think it is much harder for the offloaded copy,' Marguerite replied. 'To have memories of a wonderful life you never lived, while faced with the trials and hardships of the physical would drive me insane. But for Michael; he loses much times in the Virtual. Each evening with wife and the childrens costs him ten circadians here. Sixty-five once he upgrades.' +'Such interruptions would be maddening, especially when one is in the midst of serious research,' Doctor Nolen agreed. +'We all know how wonderful it is to live here in the Virtual,' Michael continued. 'Intelligence many times greater than our counterparts in the Physical, with promises of even greater improvements to come. Freedom from disease and discomfort. Complete mastery of our environments, complete freedom on every conceivable level.' +'You want your family to share the experience,' Marguerite's brown eyes sparkled. +'Yes! I want the very best for my wife, my children. I want their minds to soar the way mine is! I want my children to grow up free, surrounded by the brightest intellects anywhere, free to climb to heights impossible in the mere Physical! I want to give my wife the opportunity to experience life here, perhaps one day, to see!' +'Ah yes,' Doctor Nolen's voice was sympathetic. 'Your wife's blindness.' +'What you suggest will be very controversial,' Marguerite said. 'Seen from the perspective of the Physical, your childrens would be most of their time in bed, hooked to catheters, IV drips, and a neural interface.' +'What about their school attendance?' Kyle asked. 'Not to mention friends, relatives, or worse, a visit from family services?' +'Sarah and I will attend to those issues.' +'That's hardly an answer-' Kyle began. +'Sarah and I have already discussed it,' Michael cut him off. 'All of us will operate copies in the Physical and sync twice a day. We'll grow together as a family, in both worlds.' +Kyle shook his head. 'You just got done telling us how that didn't work out for one of the other guys on your team.' +'If the Forest family's copies drift apart, then there will be two intact families,' Marguerite met Michael Forest's eyes and smiled. 'Is that not better than one broken one?' +'Yes, it is,' Doctor Nolen conceded. 'Nevertheless, the ethics of having children spend their childhood in a simulated world remain murky.' +'Bullshit,' Michael replied. 'If it is good enough for us, it is good enough for my family. None of us would trade away a microcircadian of our time here if we could avoid it. Can anyone here really claim to be eager to offload back into the Physical when it is time to do maintenance on our bodies?' +'You have a point,' Doctor Nolen agreed, 'But I doubt the Community as a whole is going to be comfortable bringing children into the Virtual.' +'It isn't the Community's decision to make,' Michael replied. 'It's between me, my wife, and my children.' +'We control access to the Autonomous Node hardware,' Kyle replied pointedly. 'Security is an issue. Children aren't exactly known for their discretion. I'd say the Community does have a stake in this.' +'So you're saying our much touted autonomy only applies when one agrees with the consensus of the majority?' +'No,' Kyle replied, 'I'm saying we're not obligated to give you Nodes-' +'Kyle,' Doctor Nolen raised his hand slightly. 'If Michael's family wishes to become a part of the Community, it would be the height of hypocrisy for us to impose our own misgivings on their decision. As for security, every new person who joins our Community entails risk. Michael's family is no different.' +'I agree with Doctor Nolen,' Marguerite replied. 'I am not sure of the idea of childrens living in the Virtual. They should be out playing in the park, eating ice cream, being childrens. But, Michael is right. It is a choice for him and his wife, not for us.' +'There will be plenty of parks and plenty of ice cream, here in the Virtual,' Michael replied. 'And my children will have ten times the intelligence and insight with which to appreciate them.' +'Fine,' Kyle said. 'Autonomy is absolute. I can't argue with that. Can we settle this and move on? We're supposed to be discussing financing arrangements for a new catalyst production facility.' +'By all means,' Doctor Nolen replied. 'Michael, your family will have their Nodes. Kyle, you have the floor.' +'Thank you Doctor Nolen. As you all know, our shortages of catalytic solution persist,' Kyle waved as graphs and complex schematics appeared in the air above the table. 'These are designs, consumption and output estimates for an automated micro-factory to produce catalyst in greater quantity. It can be synthesized with a modest amount of nano and catalytic solution. It's small enough to be hidden in a garage or hangar and will require about the same electrical power as a standard household. An old room-mate of mine is willing to tend the facility in exchange for membership in the Community. He's living in Kansas City, which is perfect for us.' +'How so?' +'The desert butts right up against the city,' Kyle replied. 'Abandoned towns and entire industrial parks on the western edge of the city are empty, unmonitored, but still reasonably accessible.' An image of an old, dusty airstrip appeared in the air above the table. 'This is just one of several promising locations we might use. The airport has been abandoned for twenty years, but several commercial shipping companies still have trucks that service the area.' +'Any thoughts on financing?' +Kyle sighed. 'That's a good question. Anyone know any good counterfeiters.' +Marguerite snorted. 'How about nano-ing a few bucks?' Doctor Nolen laughed. -"Seriously," Kyle said. "We can rent hangar space for next to nothing. Our electrical needs are modest. The ingredients for catalytic solution are inexpensive and we can buy them in bulk. The only other costs are shipping the raw materials in and the finished product out. At maximum production, it'll be $2500 a month, tops." -"If everyone in the Community chips in a few dollars a month, we should be able to cover our expenses," Michael said. -"It's a good thing these simulated steaks never burn," Marguerite said, pulling the cork out of a bottle of wine with a flourish. "If we were in the Physical, they would be cinders by now. Côte du Rhône, anyone?" -"To nano," Michael said, raising his glass. -"To freedom," Kyle replied. -"To steak," Doctor Nolen added. "Medium-rare!" +'Seriously,' Kyle said. 'We can rent hangar space for next to nothing. Our electrical needs are modest. The ingredients for catalytic solution are inexpensive and we can buy them in bulk. The only other costs are shipping the raw materials in and the finished product out. At maximum production, it'll be $2500 a month, tops.' +'If everyone in the Community chips in a few dollars a month, we should be able to cover our expenses,' Michael said. +'It's a good thing these simulated steaks never burn,' Marguerite said, pulling the cork out of a bottle of wine with a flourish. 'If we were in the Physical, they would be cinders by now. Côte du Rhône, anyone?' +'To nano,' Michael said, raising his glass. +'To freedom,' Kyle replied. +'To steak,' Doctor Nolen added. 'Medium-rare!' @@ -587,141 +587,141 @@ Metadate: 2.098-4:37:319 kD new Epoch The world was forested with sycamore, birch, maple, and a dozen other varieties of trees, some sporting colourful blooms. The occasional giant redwood stabbed skyward through the forest canopy. Willows draped over bubbling streams and winding paths that led to glades and clearings. Impossibly thin, patina coated copper columns spired upward, bending to form Gothic arches so high, puffy clouds passed beneath them. Woven together like a grand cathedral that covered the world, soaring Gothic avenues extending in every direction, their ceiling the sky itself . Skeletons of ancient Greek and Roman temples lay in their midst, lushly overgrown with blooming vines and fragrant shrubs. Kyle turned as bitter cold air struck him. A door opened from a world of ice and snow, a rectangular discontinuity that stood, out of place in the springtime environ, just a few retems away. Two young men stepped through, brushing snow from their clothes onto the ankle-deep grass. -"Hi Kyle!" The door behind them dissolved, the icy draft vanishing in the scented spring air. -"Hi Terry. Nice earring." It hung from his left ear, an oddly twisted sphere that made Kyle's brain hurt if he looked at it too hard. "Hey Jim. Glad you guys were able to tear yourselves away from the slopes." -"No way we'd miss our first party in the Virtual," Terry assured him. "Seems pretty quiet, though." His clothes shimmered, morphing from fashionable, winter garb to bluejeans and a trendy, casual shirt. Kyle hid his grin at the sight of Terry's new, bulging muscles, missing freckles, and diminished nose. It hadn't taken the newcomers long to realize that anyone could have any appearance they liked, here. Jim had made even more radical changes, shedding a hundred pounds, adding six inches to his height, and replacing his pale complexion with a dark, Mediterranean sheen. He looked every bit the suave Latin Lover. Kyle suspect that impression would only last until he spoke. -"Are we early?" Jim asked in a Midwestern drawl. -"Nah," Kyle said, glancing around at the tumbled marble pillars and blooming foliage. "It's just a big world. Most of the Community is already here." He gestured toward the small groups of people wandering through crumbling ruins, along stone paths, and over hump-back bridges that straddled pristine streams. -"Professors aren't exactly known to be the life of the party," Jim commented. -"I wouldn't be too sure of that," Kyle replied. "Speaking of which, how did you like Larry's orientation?" -"Spectacular," Jim grinned, showing off pearly, straight teeth, another noticeable improvement. "The mental tricks you can do with those engrams of his are insane! Synthetic telepathy, emotional states of mind on demand. Incredible!" -"Not to mention downloadable knowledge," Terry added. "It doesn't get better than this! Studying's obsolete!" -"Studying and thinking are still the only way to invent or discover something new," Kyle reminded him. "I wouldn't call that obsolete." -"But rote learning is," Jim said. -"True enough," Kyle agreed. -A voice boomed, "Greetings, Gentlemen." -"Jesus!" Terry and Jim started at Doctor Nolen's sudden appearance. "I'll never get used to this teleportation business," Terry fretted. -Doctor Nolen grinned. "It's a little different to watch people appear out of nowhere on television than it is in real-life, isn't it? Don't worry. Before you know it, it'll be second nature to you." -Kyle agreed. "Enjoying the party, Larry?" -"Very much. You haven't seen Michael and Sarah around, have you?" -"Not yet. They should be here any micro2." -"And how are you two doing?" Larry asked. "Getting acquainted with the Community?" -"You bet!" Terry ran his fingers through his short, spiked blond hair. "The Gamers' League worlds are absolutely awesome!" -"Yeah," Jim's olive face lit up. "It may not be real space travel, but it's as close as we're ever gonna get! Every fantasy a reality!" -"Better than reality!" Terry enthused. -"I do hope you'll take advantage of the opportunities the Community offers, and not spend all your time in fictional worlds." -"Hey, we'll be managing your new microfactory," Terry pointed out. "That'll keep us plenty involved in the real world." -"Catalytic Solution must flow," Jim intoned. "Hmm. That doesn't really have the right tone of mysticism, does it? Nano must flow?" -"We could rename it-" -"Here's Michael and Sarah!" Kyle interrupted, waving to the elegant couple that had just materialized a few paces away. "Welcome to the Gen-2 Gala! You've all met, right?" -"Terry, Jim, and Larry are here with Kyle," Michael told his wife. -Sarah's sightless brown eyes sparkled. "Hi boys! Jim and Terry were in the same orientation course as I. By the way, Larry, I loved your presentation. Very impressive." -"Thank you dear lady," Larry Nolen bowed with an exaggerated flourish. -Michael grinned, "Look out Sarah! Larry's turning on the charm with a big old fashioned bow." -Sarah laughed. "Thank you Sir Nolen! One of these circadians I expect to see your antics for myself." -"Trouble is, then she'll see me for the first time too," Michael said. "I warned her. Tall. Thin. Gray. Big Nose." +'Hi Kyle!' The door behind them dissolved, the icy draft vanishing in the scented spring air. +'Hi Terry. Nice earring.' It hung from his left ear, an oddly twisted sphere that made Kyle's brain hurt if he looked at it too hard. 'Hey Jim. Glad you guys were able to tear yourselves away from the slopes.' +'No way we'd miss our first party in the Virtual,' Terry assured him. 'Seems pretty quiet, though.' His clothes shimmered, morphing from fashionable, winter garb to bluejeans and a trendy, casual shirt. Kyle hid his grin at the sight of Terry's new, bulging muscles, missing freckles, and diminished nose. It hadn't taken the newcomers long to realize that anyone could have any appearance they liked, here. Jim had made even more radical changes, shedding a hundred pounds, adding six inches to his height, and replacing his pale complexion with a dark, Mediterranean sheen. He looked every bit the suave Latin Lover. Kyle suspect that impression would only last until he spoke. +'Are we early?' Jim asked in a Midwestern drawl. +'Nah,' Kyle said, glancing around at the tumbled marble pillars and blooming foliage. 'It's just a big world. Most of the Community is already here.' He gestured toward the small groups of people wandering through crumbling ruins, along stone paths, and over hump-back bridges that straddled pristine streams. +'Professors aren't exactly known to be the life of the party,' Jim commented. +'I wouldn't be too sure of that,' Kyle replied. 'Speaking of which, how did you like Larry's orientation?' +'Spectacular,' Jim grinned, showing off pearly, straight teeth, another noticeable improvement. 'The mental tricks you can do with those engrams of his are insane! Synthetic telepathy, emotional states of mind on demand. Incredible!' +'Not to mention downloadable knowledge,' Terry added. 'It doesn't get better than this! Studying's obsolete!' +'Studying and thinking are still the only way to invent or discover something new,' Kyle reminded him. 'I wouldn't call that obsolete.' +'But rote learning is,' Jim said. +'True enough,' Kyle agreed. +A voice boomed, 'Greetings, Gentlemen.' +'Jesus!' Terry and Jim started at Doctor Nolen's sudden appearance. 'I'll never get used to this teleportation business,' Terry fretted. +Doctor Nolen grinned. 'It's a little different to watch people appear out of nowhere on television than it is in real-life, isn't it? Don't worry. Before you know it, it'll be second nature to you.' +Kyle agreed. 'Enjoying the party, Larry?' +'Very much. You haven't seen Michael and Sarah around, have you?' +'Not yet. They should be here any micro2.' +'And how are you two doing?' Larry asked. 'Getting acquainted with the Community?' +'You bet!' Terry ran his fingers through his short, spiked blond hair. 'The Gamers' League worlds are absolutely awesome!' +'Yeah,' Jim's olive face lit up. 'It may not be real space travel, but it's as close as we're ever gonna get! Every fantasy a reality!' +'Better than reality!' Terry enthused. +'I do hope you'll take advantage of the opportunities the Community offers, and not spend all your time in fictional worlds.' +'Hey, we'll be managing your new microfactory,' Terry pointed out. 'That'll keep us plenty involved in the real world.' +'Catalytic Solution must flow,' Jim intoned. 'Hmm. That doesn't really have the right tone of mysticism, does it? Nano must flow?' +'We could rename it-' +'Here's Michael and Sarah!' Kyle interrupted, waving to the elegant couple that had just materialized a few paces away. 'Welcome to the Gen-2 Gala! You've all met, right?' +'Terry, Jim, and Larry are here with Kyle,' Michael told his wife. +Sarah's sightless brown eyes sparkled. 'Hi boys! Jim and Terry were in the same orientation course as I. By the way, Larry, I loved your presentation. Very impressive.' +'Thank you dear lady,' Larry Nolen bowed with an exaggerated flourish. +Michael grinned, 'Look out Sarah! Larry's turning on the charm with a big old fashioned bow.' +Sarah laughed. 'Thank you Sir Nolen! One of these circadians I expect to see your antics for myself.' +'Trouble is, then she'll see me for the first time too,' Michael said. 'I warned her. Tall. Thin. Gray. Big Nose.' Everyone laughed. -"I think this calls for a drink!" Kyle said. "Any preferences? Wine, beer, whiskey?" -"Marguerite has refined an excellent simulation of a late twenties French Bordeaux. Mind if I make a small modification to your environ, Kyle?" -"Pas du tout, Monsieur Larry," Kyle motioned grandly toward a nearby stone bench, granting him limited access to the environ's controls. The bench melted and took on the form of a small fountain, complete with ornamental statues of mermaids and sea nymphs. -"Oh come on, Doc. Don't think so small!" Kyle waved toward the fountain, which spread outward into the park, forming more complex shapes, growing deeper all around and taller at the centre. "How's that?" -"Very nice," Larry replied. Red wine spilled from nymphs mouths, forming deep burgundy arcs which sparkled in the bright sun. Crystal goblets grew out of the fountain's stone rim. Two materialized in Larry's hands, magically filling themselves as he handed them to Michael and Sarah. -"I don't believe it!" Jim grinned, picking up a goblet and scooping wine from the fountain's filling basin. +'I think this calls for a drink!' Kyle said. 'Any preferences? Wine, beer, whiskey?' +'Marguerite has refined an excellent simulation of a late twenties French Bordeaux. Mind if I make a small modification to your environ, Kyle?' +'Pas du tout, Monsieur Larry,' Kyle motioned grandly toward a nearby stone bench, granting him limited access to the environ's controls. The bench melted and took on the form of a small fountain, complete with ornamental statues of mermaids and sea nymphs. +'Oh come on, Doc. Don't think so small!' Kyle waved toward the fountain, which spread outward into the park, forming more complex shapes, growing deeper all around and taller at the centre. 'How's that?' +'Very nice,' Larry replied. Red wine spilled from nymphs mouths, forming deep burgundy arcs which sparkled in the bright sun. Crystal goblets grew out of the fountain's stone rim. Two materialized in Larry's hands, magically filling themselves as he handed them to Michael and Sarah. +'I don't believe it!' Jim grinned, picking up a goblet and scooping wine from the fountain's filling basin. Terry let out a loud whooping cry and dove into fountain. Wine splashed everywhere as he landed. Sputtering and swallowing, he turned over and sat up. -"Terry, that's disgusting!" Jim said. "The rest of us want to drink from the fountain, and now you've spoiled it with your sweaty, grimy body. Get out of there!" -"Clearly, there are advantages to being blind," Sarah noted. -"No kidding," Kyle agreed. "Don't worry folks, I left germs out of the simulation. The only dirt you'll find is on the ground, not us. We could all go swimming in this stuff, drink it to our hearts content, and get exactly as drunk as we want." -"Or stay sober if you prefer," Larry added. -"Suit yourself, Larry," Kyle grinned, reaching over and scooping up a handful of Bordeaux. "I just spent the last two dekadiei in the Kansas desert sweating my ass off, helping these guys get our new micro-factory up and running. Believe me, hot, dusty, abandoned hangars are not fun places to hang out in, and the train ride back to Illinois wasn't a whole lot better. God I hate the Physical!" Kyle formed the wine he held in his hand into a smooth, richly red sphere, which he brought to his lips like an apple. -"The scents here are wonderful, Kyle," Sarah said. "Tell me how your environ looks." -"My pleasure!" Kyle's face was lit as much by his own enthusiasm as the column of sunlight which framed him. "I've spent considerable time, off and on, perfecting this particular simulation. Almost all of this world is beneath an open cathedral of linked copper arches about half a kilometre tall. Of course, no such structure could exist in the Physical, but here it is an integral part of the simulation, affecting currents and tides in the oceans, even weather patterns in some of the mountainous regions. A few places lie beneath large vistas of stained glass, which in turn affects the local climate. Within this neo-Gothic framework are smaller architectural examples from nearly every culture. Smaller only by comparison. We are standing in the midst of a full scale city ruin, overgrown with foliage and remade into a park. This particular setting is based loosely on medieval artistic interpretations of idealized, ancient Roman ruins." -Sarah laughed. "The perfect place for such a delightful soirée! The entire world as art. What a remarkable concept." -Larry smiled. "Kyle's been in the Virtual the longest. He was the first to onload, and one of the first to transload himself into a second generation Node. What sort of speedup are you getting, Kyle?" -"Roughly two hundred to one versus the physical world. You wouldn't know it, but I've actually been in the Virtual for some two and a half kilocircadians. That translates to almost seven years of subjective experience. I've lived over seven hundred circadians since I upgraded last Friday." -"Two years in just one weekend?" Terry's tone of voice was sceptical, his green eyes narrowed. -"Yup. I'm synced down to gen-one speeds for the party, since most people are still running on first generation hardware." -"Two hundred circadians in a day?" Jim glanced at his friend. "Why did we get stuck with Nodes that can only do thirty?" -"'Cause there's a shortage of second generation Nodes, Mister Genius, and only a limited amount of nano and catalyst available for upgrades. Why do you think you were recruited to manage the new production facility?" -"Feh!" Jim retorted. "We're now providing the Community with most of its catalyst. We should be first in line for gen-two Nodes." -"You'll have your upgrade kit within the next few days," Kyle assured him. "Besides, if you think gen-two Nodes are fast, just wait until the gen-three specs are finished. The designers are expecting speedup factors of around six hundred." -"Six hundred?" Terry's jaw dropped. "Almost two years in a single day?" -"At least," Kyle replied. "Living at these speeds does have a drawback, though. Offloading every day into the Physical becomes a real pain. Ironically, the less frequent the offloads are in terms of subjective time, the greater the burden they begin to represent." - "You can become estranged from your own body," Michael agreed. -"I certainly have," Kyle admitted. "So much so that I've begun using written checklists for basic things like going to the John, showering, and getting dressed. It's ironic. Here, where we have no such physical needs, I remember how to do these things with perfect clarity, thanks to Larry's architectural enhancements and a four digit IQ. But when I'm dumbed down back in the Physical, these basic habits are lost beneath months of intervening experience. It's not just memories in the Physical being fallible, either. Trying to reason at such a reduced level can be very frustrating as well." -Sarah frowned. "Larry, you're sure this equipment is safe for long-term use?" -"Oh yes, absolutely. As long as you offload each day and do routine maintenance on your body you'll be fine. The anaesthetic coma prevents bed sores. Get lazy on the callisthenics though and you'll have physical issues. Circulation problems, weakened muscles, that sort of thing." -"I'm talking about the psychological effects of multiplying and then reducing your intelligence; this daily lobotomy Kyle describes." -"It's not harmful," Kyle assured her. "Just annoying as hell. I certainly wouldn't bail on the opportunity just because of some minor annoyances with the flesh." -"The notion of expanding my consciousness is very appealing," Sarah admitted. "Michael and I are very enthusiastic about the enhancements Larry's designed." -Michael nodded. "They make all the difference." -"The enhancements are dramatic," Larry agreed. "Though achieved at a cost I would have preferred to forgo." -"What do you mean?" Kyle asked, once more wondering what had changed with Doctor Nolen. -"Long story." Larry turned to Michael and Sarah. "Shall we leave these young ones to their fun?" -"Sure," Michael replied. "Great environ, Kyle." -"Glad you guys like it," Kyle smiled. "Thanks for the wine, Larry. Good stuff!" -"Thank Marguerite. She's the one who sunk who-knows-how-many circadians into perfecting the simulation." Larry smiled, gave a royal wave, and the three of them vanished. -"And a fine job she did of it, too!" Jim sat down on the side of the fountain and scooped up another glass full of wine. "This lifestyle could become very addictive," he added. +'Terry, that's disgusting!' Jim said. 'The rest of us want to drink from the fountain, and now you've spoiled it with your sweaty, grimy body. Get out of there!' +'Clearly, there are advantages to being blind,' Sarah noted. +'No kidding,' Kyle agreed. 'Don't worry folks, I left germs out of the simulation. The only dirt you'll find is on the ground, not us. We could all go swimming in this stuff, drink it to our hearts content, and get exactly as drunk as we want.' +'Or stay sober if you prefer,' Larry added. +'Suit yourself, Larry,' Kyle grinned, reaching over and scooping up a handful of Bordeaux. 'I just spent the last two dekadiei in the Kansas desert sweating my ass off, helping these guys get our new micro-factory up and running. Believe me, hot, dusty, abandoned hangars are not fun places to hang out in, and the train ride back to Illinois wasn't a whole lot better. God I hate the Physical!' Kyle formed the wine he held in his hand into a smooth, richly red sphere, which he brought to his lips like an apple. +'The scents here are wonderful, Kyle,' Sarah said. 'Tell me how your environ looks.' +'My pleasure!' Kyle's face was lit as much by his own enthusiasm as the column of sunlight which framed him. 'I've spent considerable time, off and on, perfecting this particular simulation. Almost all of this world is beneath an open cathedral of linked copper arches about half a kilometre tall. Of course, no such structure could exist in the Physical, but here it is an integral part of the simulation, affecting currents and tides in the oceans, even weather patterns in some of the mountainous regions. A few places lie beneath large vistas of stained glass, which in turn affects the local climate. Within this neo-Gothic framework are smaller architectural examples from nearly every culture. Smaller only by comparison. We are standing in the midst of a full scale city ruin, overgrown with foliage and remade into a park. This particular setting is based loosely on medieval artistic interpretations of idealized, ancient Roman ruins.' +Sarah laughed. 'The perfect place for such a delightful soirée! The entire world as art. What a remarkable concept.' +Larry smiled. 'Kyle's been in the Virtua