mc.prey-第32章

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tinuously；　but　in　a　repeating　rhythm…or　rather　a　series　of　superimposed　rhythms。　〃Shit；〃　Ricky　said。　〃I　don't　see　the　others。　And　I　know　it's　not　alone。〃　He　pressed　the　radio　again。　〃Vince？　You　see　any　others？〃
　〃No；　Ricky。〃
　〃Where　are　the　others？　Guys？　Speak　to　me。〃
　Radios　crackled　all　over　the　facility。　Bobby　Lembeck：　〃Ricky；　it's　alone。〃
　〃It　can't　be　alone。〃
　Mae　Chang：　〃Ricky；　nothing　else　is　registering　out　there。〃
　〃Just　one　swarm；　Ricky。〃　That　was　David　Brooks。
　〃It　can't　be　alone！〃　Ricky　was　gripping　the　radio　so　tightly　his　fingers　were　white。　He　pressed　the　button。　〃Vince？　Take　the　PPI　up　to　seven。〃
　〃You　sure？〃
　〃Do　it。〃
　〃Well；　all　right；　if　you　really　think…〃
　〃Just　skip　the　fucking　mentary；　and　do　it！〃
　Ricky　was　talking　about　increasing　the　positive　pressure　inside　the　building　to　seven　pounds　per　square　inch。　All　clean　facilities　maintained　a　positive　pressure　so　that　outside　dust　particles　could　not　enter　from　any　leak；　they　would　be　blown　outward　by　the　escaping　air。　But　one　or　two　pounds　was　enough　to　maintain　that。　Seven　pounds　of　positive　pressure　was　a　lot。　It　was　unnecessary　to　keep　out　passive　particles。
　But　of　course　these　particles　weren't　passive。
　Watching　the　cloud　swirl　and　undulate　as　it　came　closer；　I　saw　that　parts　of　it　occasionally　caught　the　sunlight　in　a　way　that　turned　it　a　shimmering；　iridescent　silver。　Then　the　color　faded；　and　the　swarm　became　black　again。　That　had　to　be　the　piezo　panels　catching　the　sun。　But　it　clearly　demonstrated　that　the　individual　microunits　were　highly　mobile；　since　the　entire　cloud　never　turned　silver　at　the　same　time；　but　only　portions；　or　bands。　〃I　thought　you　said　the　Pentagon　was　giving　up　on　you；　because　you　couldn't　control　this　swarm　in　wind。〃
　〃Right。　We　couldn't。〃
　〃But　you　must　have　had　strong　wind　in　the　last　few　days。〃
　〃Of　course。　Usually　es　up　in　late　afternoon。　We　had　ten　knots　yesterday。〃
　〃Why　wasn't　the　swarm　blown　away？〃
　〃Because　it's　figured　that　one　out；〃　Ricky　said　gloomily。　〃It's　adapted　to　it。〃
　〃How？〃
　〃Keep　watching；　you'll　probably　see　it。　Whenever　the　wind　gusts；　the　swarm　sinks；　hangs　near　the　ground。　Then　it　rises　up　again　once　the　wind　dies　down。〃
　〃This　is　emergent　behavior？〃
　〃Right。　Nobody　programmed　it。〃　He　bit　his　lip。　Was　he　lying　again？
　〃So　you're　telling　me　it's　learned　。。。〃
　〃Right；　right。〃
　〃How　can　it　learn？　The　agents　have　no　memory。〃
　〃Uh　。。。　well；　that's　a　long　story；〃　Ricky　said。
　〃They　have　memory？〃
　〃Yes；　they　have　memory。　Limited。　We　built　it　in。〃　Ricky　pressed　the　button　on　his　radio。　〃Anybody　hear　anything？〃
　The　answers　came　back；　crackling　in　his　handset。
　〃Not　yet。〃
　〃Nothing。〃
　〃No　sounds？〃
　〃Not　yet。〃
　I　said　to　Ricky；　〃It　makes　sounds？〃
　〃We're　not　sure。　Sometimes　it　seems　like　it。　We've　been　trying　to　record　it　。。。〃　He　flicked　keys　on　the　workstation；　quickly　shifting　the　monitor　images；　making　them　larger；　one　after　another。　He　shook　his　head。　〃I　don't　like　this。　That　thing　can't　be　alone；〃　he　said。　〃I　want　to　know　where　the　others　are。〃
　〃How　do　you　know　there　are　others？〃
　〃Because　there　always　are。〃　He　chewed　his　lip　tensely　as　he　looked　at　the　monitor。　〃I　wonder　what　it's　up　to　now　。。。〃
　We　didn't　have　long　to　wait。　In　a　few　moments；　the　black　swarm　had　e　within　a　few　yards　of　the　building。　Abruptly；　it　divided　in　two；　and　then　divided　again。　Now　there　were　three　swarms；　swirling　side　by　side。
　〃Son　of　a　bitch；〃　Ricky　said。　〃It　was　hiding　the　others　inside　itself。〃　He　pushed　his　button　again。　〃Guys；　we　got　all　three。　And　they're　close。〃
　They　were；　in　fact；　too　close　to　be　seen　by　the　ground…view　camera。　Ricky　switched　to　the　overhead　views。　I　saw　three　black　clouds；　all　moving　laterally　along　the　side　of　the　building。　The　behavior　seemed　distinctly　purposeful。
　〃What're　they　trying　to　do？〃　I　said。
　〃Get　inside；〃　Ricky　said。
　〃Why？〃
　〃You'd　have　to　ask　them。　But　yesterday　one　of　them…〃
　Suddenly；　from　a　clump　of　cactus　near　the　building；　a　cottontail　rabbit　sprinted　away　across　the　desert　floor。　Immediately；　the　three　swarms　turned　and　pursued　it。　Ricky　switched　the　monitor　view。　We　now　watched　at　ground　level。　The　three　clouds　converged　on　the　terrified　bunny；　which　was　moving　fast；　a　whitish　blur　on　the　screen。　The　clouds　swirled　after　it　with　surprising　speed。　The　behavior　was　clear：　they　were　hunting。　I　felt　a　moment　of　irrational　pride。　PREDPREY　was　working　perfectly！　Those　swarms　might　as　well　be　lionesses　chasing　a　gazelle；　so　purposeful　was　their　behavior。　The　swarms　turned　sharply；　then　split　up；　cutting　off　the　rabbit's　escape　to　the　left　and　right。　The　behavior　of　the　three　clouds　clearly　appeared　coordinated。　Now　they　were　closing　in。　And　suddenly　one　of　the　swarms　sank　down；　engulfing　the　rabbit。　The　other　two　swarms　fell　on　it　moments　later。　The　resulting　particle　cloud　was　so　dense；　it　was　hard　to　see　the　rabbit　anymore。　Apparently　it　had　flipped　onto　its　back；　because　I　saw　its　hind　legs　kicking　spasmodically　in　the　air；　above　the　cloud　itself。
　I　said；　〃They're　killing　it　。。。〃
　〃Yeah；〃　Ricky　said；　nodding。　〃That's　right。〃
　〃I　thought　this　was　a　camera　swarm。〃
　〃Yeah；　well。〃
　〃How　are　they　killing　it？〃
　〃We　don't　know；　Jack。　But　it's　fast。〃
　I　frowned。　〃So　you've　seen　this　before？〃
　Ricky　hesitated；　bit　his　lip。　Didn't　answer　me；　just　stared　at　the　screen。
　I　said；　〃Ricky；　you've　seen　this　before？〃
　He　gave　a　long　sigh。　〃Yeah。　Well；　the　first　time　was　yesterday。　They　killed　a　rattlesnake　yesterday。〃
　I　thought；　they　killed　a　rattlesnake　yesterday。　I　said；　〃Jesus；　Ricky。〃　I　thought　of　the　men　in　the　helicopter；　talking　about　all　the　dead　animals。　I　wondered　if　Ricky　was　telling　me　all　he　knew。
　〃Yeah。〃
　The　rabbit　no　longer　kicked。　A　single　protruding　foot　trembled　with　small　convulsions；　and　then　was　still。　The　cloud　swirled　low　to　the　ground　around　the　animal；　rising　and　falling　slightly。　This　continued　for　almost　a　minute。
　I　said；　〃What're　they　doing　now？〃
　Ricky　shook　his　head。　〃I'm　not　sure。　But　they　did　this　before；　too。〃
　〃It　almost　looks　like　they're　eating　it。〃
　〃I　know；〃　Ricky　said。
　Of　course　that　was　absurd。　PREDPREY　was　just　a　biological　analogy。　As　I　watched　the　pulsing　cloud；　it　occurred　to　me　that　this　behavior　might　actually　represent　a　program　hang。　I　couldn't　remember　exactly　what　rules　we　had　written　for　individual　units　after　the　goal　was　attained。　Real　predators；　of　course；　would　eat　their　prey；　but　there　was　no　analogous　behavior　for　these　micro…robots。　So　perhaps　the　cloud　was　just　swirling　in　confusion。　If　so；　it　should　start　moving　again　soon。
　Usually；　when　a　distributed…intelligence　program　stalled；　it　was　a　temporary　phenomenon。　Sooner　or　later；　random　environmental　influences　would　cause　enough　units　to　act　that　they　induced　all　the　others　to　act；　too。　Then　the　program　would　start　up　again。　The　units　would　resume　goal　seeking。
　This　behavior　was　roughly　what　you　saw　in　a　lecture　hall；　after　the　lecture　was　over。　The　audience　milled　around　for　a　while；　stretching；　talking　to　people　close　to　them；　or　greeting　friends；　collecting　coats　and　belongings。　Only　a　few　people　left　at　once；　and　the　main　crowd　ignored　them。　But　after　a　certain　percentage　of　the　audience　had　gone；　the　remaining　people　would　stop　milling　and　begin　to　leave　quickly。　It　was　a　kind　of　focus　change。　If　I　was　right；　then　I　should　see　something　similar　in　the　behavior　of　the　cloud。　The　swirls　should　lose　their　coordinated　appearance；　there　should　be　ragged　wisps　of　particles　rising　into　the　air。　Only　then　would　the　main　cloud　move。
　I　glanced　at　the　timeclock　in　the　corner　of　the　monitor。　〃How　long　has　it　been　now？〃
　〃About　two　minutes。〃
　That　wasn't　particularly　long　for　a　stall；　I　thought。　At　one　point　when　we　were　writing　PREDPREY；　we　used　the　puter　to　simulate　coordinated　agent　behavior。　We　always　restarted　after　a　hang；　but　finally　we　decided　to　wait　and　see　if　the　program　was　really　permanently　stalled。　We　found　that　the　program　might　hang　for　as　long　as　twelve　hours　before　suddenly　kicking　off；　and　ing　back　to　life　again。　In　fact；　that　behavior　interested　the　neuroscientists　because…
　〃They're　starting；〃　Ricky　said。
　And　they　were。　The　swarms　were