mc.prey-第33章

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d　the　neuroscientists　because…
　〃They're　starting；〃　Ricky　said。
　And　they　were。　The　swarms　were　beginning　to　rise　up　from　the　dead　rabbit。　I　saw　at　once　that　my　theory　was　wrong。　There　was　no　raggedness；　no　rising　wisps。　The　three　clouds　rose　up　together；　smoothly。　The　behavior　seemed　entirely　nonrandom　and　controlled。　The　clouds　swirled　separately　for　a　moment；　then　merged　into　one。　Sunlight　flashed　on　shimmering　silver。　The　rabbit　lay　motionless　on　its　side。
　And　then　the　swarm　moved　swiftly　away；　whooshing　off　into　the　desert。　It　shrank　toward　the　horizon。　In　moments；　it　was　gone。
　Ricky　was　watching　me。　〃What　do　you　think？〃
　〃You've　got　a　breakaway　robotic　nanoswarm。　That　some　idiot　made　self…powered　and　self…sustaining。〃
　〃You　think　we　can　get　it　back？〃
　〃No；〃　I　said。　〃From　what　I've　seen；　there's　not　a　chance　in　hell。〃
　Ricky　sighed；　and　shook　his　head。
　〃But　you　can　certainly　get　rid　of　it；〃　I　said。　〃You　can　kill　it。〃
　〃We　can？〃
　〃Absolutely。〃
　〃Really？〃　His　face　brightened。
　〃Absolutely。〃　And　I　meant　it。　I　was　convinced　that　Ricky　was　overstating　the　problem　he　faced。　He　hadn't　thought　it　through。　He　hadn't　done　all　he　could　do。　I　was　confident　that　I　could　destroy　the　runaway　swarm　quickly。　I　expected　that　I'd　be　done　with　the　whole　business　by　dawn　tomorrow…at　the　very　latest。　That　was　how　little　I　understood　my　adversary。
　　
　DAY　6　
　10：11　A。M。
　In　retrospect；　I　was　right　about　one　thing：　it　was　vitally　important　to　know　how　the　rabbit　had　died。　Of　course　I　know　the　reason　now。　I　also　know　why　the　rabbit　was　attacked。　But　that　first　day　at　the　laboratory；　I　didn't　have　the　faintest　notion　of　what　had　happened。　And　I　could　never　have　guessed　the　truth。
　None　of　us　could　have；　at　that　point。
　Not　even　Ricky。
　Not　even　Julia。
　It　was　ten　minutes　after　the　swarms　had　gone　and　we　were　all　standing　in　the　storage　room。　The　whole　group　had　gathered　there；　tense　and　anxious。　They　watched　me　as　I　clipped　a　radio　transmitter　to　my　belt；　and　pulled　a　headset　over　my　head。　The　headset　included　a　video　camera；　mounted　by　my　left　ear。　It　took　a　while　to　get　the　video　transmitter　working　right。　Ricky　said；　〃You're　really　going　out　there？〃
　〃I　am；〃　I　said。　〃I　want　to　know　what　happened　to　that　rabbit。〃　I　turned　to　the　others。　〃Who's　ing　with　me？〃
　Nobody　moved。　Bobby　Lembeck　stared　at　the　floor；　hands　in　his　pockets。　David　Brooks　blinked　rapidly；　and　looked　away。　Ricky　was　inspecting　his　fingernails。　I　caught　Rosie　Castro's　eye。　She　shook　her　head。　〃No　fucking　way；　Jack。〃
　〃Why　not；　Rosie？〃
　〃You　saw　it　yourself。　They're　hunting。〃
　〃Are　they？〃
　〃Sure　as　hell　looked　like　it。〃
　〃Rosie；〃　I　said；　〃I　trained　you　better　than　this。　How　can　the　swarms　be　hunting？〃
　〃We　all　saw　it。〃　She　stuck　her　chin　out　stubbornly。　〃All　three　of　the　swarms；　hunting；　coordinated。〃
　〃But　how？〃　I　said。
　Now　she　frowned；　looking　confused。　〃What　are　you　asking？　There's　no　mystery。　The　agents　can　municate。　They　can　each　generate　an　electrical　signal。〃
　〃Right；〃　I　said。　〃How　big　a　signal？〃
　〃Well　。。。〃　She　shrugged。
　〃How　big；　Rosie？　It　can't　be　much；　the　agent　is　only　a　hundredth　of　the　thickness　of　a　human　hair。　Can't　be　generating　much　of　a　signal；　right？〃
　〃True　。。。〃
　〃And　electromagnetic　radiation　decays　according　to　the　square　of　the　radius；　right？〃　Every　school　kid　learned　that　fact　in　high　school　physics。　As　you　moved　away　from　the　electromagnetic　source；　the　strength　faded　fast…very　fast。
　And　what　that　meant　was　the　individual　agents　could　only　municate　with　their　immediate　neighbors；　with　agents　very　close　to　them。　Not　to　other　swarms　twenty　or　thirty　yards　away。　Rosie's　frown　deepened。　The　whole　group　was　frowning　now；　looking　at　each　other　uneasily。
　David　Brooks　coughed。　〃Then　what　did　we　see；　Jack？〃
　〃You　saw　an　illusion；〃　I　said　firmly。　〃You　saw　three　swarms　acting　independently；　and　you　thought　they　were　coordinated。　But　they're　not。　And　I'm　pretty　certain　that　other　things　you　believe　about　these　swarms　aren't　true；　either。〃
　*　*　*
　There　was　a　lot　I　didn't　understand　about　the　swarms…and　a　lot　I　didn't　believe。　I　didn't　believe；　for　example；　that　the　swarms　were　reproducing。　I　thought　Ricky　and　the　others　must　be　pretty　unnerved　even　to　imagine　it。　After　all；　the　fifty　pounds　of　material　they'd　exhausted　into　the　environment　could　easily　account　for　the　three　swarms　I　had　seen…and　dozens　more　besides。　（I　was　guessing　that　each　swarm　consisted　of　three　pounds　of　nanoparticles。　That　was　roughly　the　weight　of　a　large　bee　swarm。）
　As　for　the　fact　that　these　swarms　showed　purposeful　behavior；　that　was　not　in　the　least　troubling；　it　was　the　intended　result　of　low…level　programming。　And　I　didn't　believe　the　swarms　were　coordinated。　It　simply　wasn't　possible；　because　the　fields　were　too　weak。　Nor　did　I　believe　the　swarms　had　the　adaptive　powers　that　Ricky　attributed　to　them。　I'd　seen　too　many　demos　of　robots　carrying　out　some　task…like　cooperating　to　push　a　box　around　the　room…which　was　interpreted　by　observers　as　intelligent　behavior；　when　in　fact　the　robots　were　stupid；　minimally　programmed；　and　cooperating　by　accident。　A　lot　of　behavior　looked　smarter　than　it　was。　（As　Charley　Davenport　used　to　say；　〃Ricky　should　thank　God　for　that。〃）　And　finally；　I　didn't　really　believe　that　the　swarms　were　dangerous。　I　didn't　think　that　a　three…pound　cloud　of　nanoparticles　could　represent　much　of　a　threat　to　anything；　not　even　a　rabbit。　I　wasn't　at　all　sure　it　had　been　killed。　I　seemed　to　recall　that　rabbits　were　nervous　creatures；　prone　to　die　of　fright。　Or　the　pursuing　particles　might　have　swarmed　in　through　the　nose　and　mouth；　blocking　the　respiratory　passages　and　choking　the　animal　to　death。　If　so；　the　death　was　accidental；　not　purposeful。　Accidental　death　made　more　sense　to　me。　In　short；　I　thought　that　Ricky　and　the　others　had　consistently　misinterpreted　what　they　saw。　They'd　spooked　themselves。
　On　the　other　hand；　I　had　to　admit　that　several　unanswered　questions　nagged　at　me。　The　first；　and　most　obvious；　was　why　the　swarm　had　escaped　their　control。　The　original　camera　swarm　was　designed　to　be　controlled　by　an　RF　transmitter　beaming　toward　it。　Now　apparently　the　swarm　ignored　transmitted　radio　mands；　and　I　didn't　understand　why。　I　suspected　an　error　in　manufacturing。　The　particles　had　probably　been　made　incorrectly。　Second　was　the　question　of　the　swarm's　longevity。　The　individual　particles　were　extremely　small；　subject　to　damage　from　cosmic　rays；　photochemical　decay；　dehydration　of　their　protein　chains；　and　other　environmental　factors。　In　the　harsh　desert；　all　the　swarms　should　have　shriveled　up　and　died　of　〃old　age〃　many　days　ago。　But　they　hadn't。　Why　not？　Third；　there　was　the　problem　of　the　swarm's　apparent　goal。　According　to　Ricky；　the　swarms　kept　ing　back　to　the　main　building。　Ricky　believed　they　were　trying　to　get　inside。　But　that　didn't　seem　to　be　a　reasonable　agent　goal；　and　I　wanted　to　look　at　the　program　code　to　see　what　was　causing　it。　Frankly；　I　suspected　a　bug　in　the　code。　And　finally；　I　wanted　to　know　why　they　had　pursued　the　rabbit。　Because　PREDPREY　didn't　program　units　to　bee　literal　predators。　It　merely　used　a　predator　model　to　keep　the　agents　focused　and　goal…oriented。　Somehow；　that　had　changed；　and　the　swarms　now　appeared　to　be　actually　hunting。
　That；　too；　was　probably　a　bug　in　the　code。
　To　my　mind；　all　these　uncertainties　came　down　to　a　single；　central　question…how　had　the　rabbit　died？　I　didn't　think　it　had　been　killed。　I　suspected　the　rabbit's　death　was　accidental；　not　purposeful。
　But　we　needed　to　find　out。
　I　adjusted　my　portable　radio　headset；　with　the　sunglasses　and　the　video　camera　mounted　by　the　left　eye。　I　picked　up　the　plastic　bag　for　the　rabbit's　body　and　turned　to　the　others。　〃Anybody　ing　with　me？〃
　There　was　an　unfortable　silence。
　Ricky　said；　〃What's　the　bag　for？〃
　〃To　bring　the　rabbit　back　in。〃
　〃No　fucking　way；〃　Ricky　said。　〃You　want　to　go　out　there；　that's　your　business。　But　you're　not　bringing　that　rabbit　back　here。〃
　〃You've　got　to　be　kidding；〃　I　said。
　〃I'm　not。　We　run　a　level…six　clean　environment　here；　Jack。　That　rabbit's　filthy。　Can't　e　in。〃
　〃All　right；　then；　we　can　store　it　in　Mae's　lab　and…〃
　〃No　way；　Jack。　Sorry。