mc.prey-第34部分

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　For　a　moment　I　didn't　understand　what　he　was　talking　about。　What　difference　did　it　make　about　room　temperature　or　desert　heat？　What　did　that　have　to　do　with　memory　chips　in　cars？　And　then　suddenly；　finally；　the　penny　dropped。
　〃Holy　shit；〃　I　said。
　He　nodded。　〃Yeah。〃
　David　was　saying　that　a　mixture　of　ponents　had　been　vented　into　the　desert；　and　that　these　ponents…which　were　designed　to　self…assemble　in　the　fabrication　structure…would　also　self…assemble　in　the　outside　world。　Assembly　could　be　carried　out　autonomously　in　the　desert。　And　obviously；　that's　exactly　what　was　happening。
　I　ticked　the　points　off　to　make　sure　I　had　it　right。　〃Basic　assembly　begins　with　the　bacteria。　They've　been　engineered　to　eat　anything；　even　garbage；　so　they　can　find　something　in　the　desert　to　live　off　of。〃
　〃Right。〃
　〃Which　means　the　bacteria　multiply；　and　begin　churning　out　molecules　that　self…bine；　forming　larger　molecules。　Pretty　soon　you　have　assemblers；　and　the　assemblers　begin　to　do　the　final　work　and　turn　out　new　microagents。〃
　〃Right；　right。〃
　〃Which　means　that　the　swarms　are　reproducing。〃
　〃Yes。　They　are。〃
　〃And　the　individual　agents　have　memory。〃
　〃Yes。　A　small　amount。〃
　〃And　they　don't　need　much；　that's　the　whole　point　of　distributed　intelligence。　It's　collective。　So　they　have　intelligence；　and　since　they　have　memory；　they　can　learn　from　experience。〃
　〃Yes。〃
　〃And　the　PREDPREY　program　means　they　can　solve　problems。　And　the　program　generates　enough　random　elements　to　let　them　innovate。〃
　〃Right。　Yes。〃
　My　head　throbbed。　I　was　seeing　all　the　implications；　now；　and　they　weren't　good。　〃So；〃　I　said；　〃what　you're　telling　me　is　this　swarm　reproduces；　is　self…sustaining；　learns　from　experience；　has　collective　intelligence；　and　can　innovate　to　solve　problems。〃
　〃Yes。〃
　〃Which　means　for　all　practical　purposes；　it's　alive。〃
　〃Yes。〃　David　nodded。　〃At　least；　it　behaves　as　if　it　is　alive。　Functionally　it's　alive；　Jack。〃
　I　said；　〃This　is　very　fucking　bad　news。〃
　Brooks　said；　〃Tell　me。〃
　〃I'd　like　to　know；〃　I　said；　〃why　this　thing　wasn't　destroyed　a　long　time　ago。〃
　David　said　nothing。　He　just　smoothed　his　tie；　and　looked　unfortable。　〃Because　you　realize；〃　I　said；　〃that　you're　talking　about　a　mechanical　plague。　That's　what　you've　got　here。　It's　just　like　a　bacterial　plague；　or　a　viral　plague。　Except　it's　mechanical　organisms。　You've　got　a　fucking　man…made　plague。〃
　He　nodded。　〃Yes。〃
　〃That's　evolving。〃
　〃Yes。〃
　〃And　it's　not　limited　by　biological　rates　of　evolution。　It's　probably　evolving　much　faster。〃
　He　nodded。　〃It　is　evolving　faster。〃
　〃How　much　faster；　David？〃
　Brooks　sighed。　〃Pretty　damn　fast。　It'll　be　different　this　afternoon；　when　it　es　back。〃
　〃Will　it　e　back？〃
　〃It　always　does。〃
　〃And　why　does　it　e　back？〃　I　said。
　〃It's　trying　to　get　inside。〃
　〃And　why　is　that？〃
　David　shifted　unfortably。　〃We　have　only　theories；　Jack。〃
　〃Try　me。〃
　〃One　possibility　is　that　it's　a　territorial　thing。　As　you　know；　the　original　PREDPREY　code　includes　a　concept　of　a　range；　of　a　territory　in　which　the　predators　will　roam。　And　within　that　core　range；　it　defines　a　sort　of　home　base；　which　the　swarm　may　consider　to　be　the　inside　of　this　facility。〃
　I　said；　〃You　believe　that？〃
　〃Not　really；　no。〃　He　hesitated。　〃Actually；〃　he　said；　〃most　of　us　think　that　it　es　back　looking　for　your　wife；　Jack。　It's　looking　for　Julia。〃
　　
　DAY　6　
　11：42　A。M。
　That　was　how；　with　a　splitting　headache；　I　found　myself　on　the　phone　to　the　hospital　in　San　Jose。　〃Julia　Forman；　please。〃　I　spelled　the　name　for　the　operator。　〃She's　in　the　ICU；〃　the　operator　said。
　〃Yes；　that's　right。〃
　〃I'm　sorry　but　direct　calls　are　not　allowed。〃
　〃Then　the　nursing　station。〃
　〃Thank　you；　please　hold。〃
　I　waited。　No　one　was　answering　the　phone。　I　called　back；　went　through　the　operator　again；　and　finally　got　through　to　the　ICU　nursing　station。　The　nurse　told　me　Julia　was　in　X…ray　and　didn't　know　when　she　would　be　back。　I　said　Julia　was　supposed　to　be　back　by　now。　The　nurse　said　rather　testily　that　she　was　looking　at　Julia's　bed　right　now；　and　she　could　assure　me　Julia　wasn't　in　it。
　I　said　I'd　call　back。
　I　shut　the　phone　and　turned　to　David。　〃What　was　Julia　doing　in　all　this？〃
　〃Helping　us；　Jack。〃
　〃I'm　sure。　But　how；　exactly？〃
　〃In　the　beginning；　she　was　trying　to　coax　it　back；〃　he　said。　〃We　needed　the　swarm　close　to　the　building　to　take　control　again　by　radio。　So　Julia　helped　us　keep　it　close。〃
　〃How？〃
　〃Well；　she　entertained　it。〃
　〃She　what？〃
　〃I　guess　you'd　call　it　that。　It　was　very　quickly　obvious　that　the　swarm　had　rudimentary　intelligence。　It　was　Julia's　idea　to　treat　it　like　a　child。　She　went　outside　with　bright　blocks；　toys。　Things　a　kid　would　like。　And　the　swarm　seemed　to　be　responding　to　her。　She　was　very　excited　about　it。〃
　〃The　swarm　was　safe　to　be　around　at　that　time？〃
　〃Yes；　pletely　safe。　It　was　just　a　particle　cloud。〃　David　shrugged。　〃Anyway；　after　the　first　day　or　so；　she　decided　to　go　a　step　further　and　formally　test　it。　You　know；　test　it　like　a　child　psychologist。〃
　〃You　mean；　teach　it；〃　I　said。
　〃No。　Her　idea　was　to　test　it。〃
　〃David；〃　I　said。　〃That　swarm's　a　distributed　intelligence。　It's　a　goddamn　net。　It'll　learn　from　whatever　you　do。　Testing　is　teaching。　What　exactly　was　she　doing　with　it？〃
　〃Just；　you　know；　sort　of　games。　She'd　lay　out　three　colored　blocks　on　the　ground；　two　blue　and　one　yellow；　see　if　it　would　choose　the　yellow。　Then　with　squares　and　triangles。　Stuff　like　that。〃
　〃But　David；〃　I　said。　〃You　all　knew　this　was　a　runaway；　evolving　outside　the　laboratory。　Didn't　anybody　think　to　just　go　out　and　destroy　it？〃
　〃Sure。　We　all　wanted　to。　Julia　wouldn't　allow　it。〃
　〃Why？〃
　〃She　wanted　it　kept　alive。〃
　〃And　nobody　argued　with　her？〃
　〃She's　a　vice　president　of　the　pany；　Jack。　She　kept　saying　the　swarm　was　a　lucky　accident；　that　we　had　stumbled　onto　something　really　big；　that　it　could　eventually　save　the　pany　and　we　mustn't　destroy　it。　She　was；　I　don't　know；　she　was　really　taken　with　it。　I　mean；　she　was　proud　of　it。　Like　it　was　her　invention。　All　she　wanted　to　do　was　'rein　it　in。'　Her　words。〃
　〃Yeah。　Well。　How　long　ago　did　she　say　that？〃
　〃Yesterday；　Jack。〃　David　shrugged。　〃You　know；　she　only　left　here　yesterday　afternoon。〃　It　took　me　a　moment　to　realize　that　he　was　right。　Just　a　single　day　had　passed　since　Julia　had　been　here；　and　then　had　had　her　accident。　And　in　that　time；　the　swarms　had　already　advanced　enormously。
　〃How　many　swarms　were　there　yesterday？〃
　〃Three。　But　we　only　saw　two。　I　guess　one　was　hiding。〃　He　shook　his　head。　〃You　know；　one　of　the　swarms　had　bee　like　a　pet　to　her。　It　was　smaller　than　the　others。　It'd　wait　for　her　to　e　outside；　and　it　always　stuck　close　to　her。　Sometimes　when　she　came　out　it　swirled　around　her；　like　it　was　excited　to　see　her。　She'd　talk　to　it；　too；　like　it　was　a　dog　or　something。〃　I　pressed　my　throbbing　temples。　〃She　talked　to　it；〃　I　repeated。　Jesus　Christ。　〃Don't　tell　me　the　swarms　have　auditory　sensors；　too。〃
　〃No。　They　don't。〃
　〃So　talking　was　a　waste　of　time。〃
　〃Uh；　well　。。。　we　think　the　cloud　was　close　enough　that　her　breath　deflected　some　of　the　particles。　In　a　rhythmic　pattern。〃
　〃So　the　whole　cloud　was　one　giant　eardrum？〃
　〃In　a　way；　yeah。〃
　〃And　it's　a　net；　so　it　learned　。。。〃
　〃Yeah。〃
　I　sighed。　〃Are　you　going　to　tell　me　it　talked　back？〃
　〃No；　but　it　started　making　weird　sounds。〃
　I　nodded。　I'd　heard　those　weird　sounds。　〃How　does　it　do　that？〃
　〃We're　not　sure。　Bobby　thinks　it's　the　reverse　of　the　auditory　deflection　that　allows　it　to　hear。　The　particles　pulse　in　a　coordinated　front；　and　generate　a　sound　wave。　Sort　of　like　an　audio　speaker。〃
　It　would　have　to　be　something　like　that；　I　thought。　Even　though　it　seemed　unlikely　that　it　could　do　it。　The　swarm　was　basically　a　dust　cloud　of　miniature　particles。　The　particles　didn't　have　either　the　mass　or　the　energy　to　generate　a　sound　wave。
　A　thought　occurred　to　me。　〃David；〃　I　said；　〃was　Julia　out　there　yesterday；　with　the　swarms？〃
　〃Yes；　in　the　morning。　No　problem。　It　was　a　few　hours　later；　after　she　left；　that　they　killed　the　snake。〃
　〃And　was　anything　killed　before　that？〃
　〃Uh　。。。　possibly　a　coyote　a　few　days　ago；　I'm　not　sure。〃
　〃So　maybe　the　snake　wasn't　the　first？〃
　〃Maybe　。。。〃
　〃And　today　they　killed　a　rabbit。〃
　〃Yeah。　So　it's　progressing　fast；　now。〃
　〃Thank　you；　Julia；〃　I　said。
　I　was　pretty　sure　the　accelerated　behavior　of　the　swarms　that　we　were　seeing　was　a　function　of　past　learning。　This　was　a　characteristic　of　distributed　systems…and　for　that　matter　a　characteristic　of　evolution；　which　could　be　considered　a　kind　of　learning；　if　you　wanted　to　think　of　it　in　those　terms。　In　either　case；　it　meant　that　systems　experienced　a　long；　slow　starting　period；　followed　by　ever…increasing　speed。
　You　could　see　that　exact　speedup　in　the　evolution　of　life　on　earth。　The　first　life　shows　up　four　billion　years　ago　as　single…cell　creatures。　Nothing　changes　for　the　next　two　billion　years。　Then　nuclei　appear　in　the　cells。　Things　start　to　pick　up。　Only　a　few　hundred　million　years　later；　multicellular　organisms。　A　few　hundred　million　years　after　that；　explosive　diversity　of　life。　And　more　diversity。　By　a　couple　of　hundred　mil