mc.prey-第19章

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　And　she　hung　up。
　I　pulled　my　cell　phone　out　of　my　pocket　and　checked　it。　There　was　no　message。　I　checked　the　phone　log。　There　were　no　calls　last　night。
　Julia　hadn't　called　me。　No　one　had　called　me。
　I　began　to　feel　a　sinking　sensation；　that　descent　into　depression　again。　I　felt　tired；　I　couldn't　move。　I　stared　at　the　produce　on　the　supermarket　shelves。　I　couldn't　remember　why　I　was　there。
　I　had　just　about　decided　to　leave　the　supermarket　when　my　cell　phone　rang　in　my　hand。　I　flipped　it　open。　It　was　Tim　Bergman；　the　guy　who　had　taken　over　my　job　at　MediaTronics。　〃Are　you　sitting　down？〃　he　said。
　〃No。　Why？〃
　〃I've　got　some　pretty　strange　news。　Brace　yourself。〃
　〃Okay　。。。〃
　〃Don　wants　to　call　you。〃
　Don　Gross　was　the　head　of　the　pany；　the　guy　who　had　fired　me。　〃What　for？〃
　〃He　wants　to　hire　you　back。〃
　〃He　wants　what？〃
　〃Yeah。　I　know。　It's　crazy。　To　hire　you　back。〃
　〃Why？〃　I　said。
　〃We're　having　some　problems　with　distributed　systems　that　we've　sold　to　customers。〃
　〃Which　ones？〃
　〃Well；　PREDPREY。〃
　〃That's　one　of　the　old　ones；〃　I　said。　〃Who　sold　that？〃　PREDPREY　was　a　system　we'd　designed　over　a　year　ago。　Like　most　of　our　programs；　it　had　been　based　on　biological　models。　PREDPREY　was　a　goal…seeking　program　based　on　predator/prey　dynamics。　But　it　was　extremely　simple　in　its　structure。
　〃Well；　Xymos　wanted　something　very　simple；〃　Tim　said。
　〃You　sold　PREDPREY　to　Xymos？〃
　〃Right。　Licensed；　actually。　With　a　contract　to　support　it。　That's　driving　us　crazy。〃
　〃Why？〃
　〃It　isn't　working　right；　apparently。　Goal　seeking　has　gone　haywire。　A　lot　of　the　time；　the　program　seems　to　lose　its　goal。〃
　〃I'm　not　surprised；〃　I　said；　〃because　we　didn't　specify　reinforcers。〃　Reinforcers　were　program　weights　that　sustained　the　goals。　The　reason　you　needed　them　was　that　since　the　networked　agents　could　learn；　they　might　learn　in　a　way　that　caused　them　to　drift　away　from　the　goal。　You　needed　a　way　to　store　the　original　goal　so　it　didn't　get　lost。　The　fact　was　you　could　easily　e　to　think　of　agent　programs　as　children。　The　programs　forgot　things；　lost　things；　dropped　things。　It　was　all　emergent　behavior。　It　wasn't　programmed；　but　it　was　the　oute　of　programming。　And　apparently　it　was　happening　to　Xymos。
　〃Well；〃　Tim　said；　〃Don　figures　you　were　running　the　team　when　the　program　was　originally　written；　so　you're　the　guy　to　fix　it。　Plus；　your　wife　is　high　up　in　Xymos　management；　so　your　joining　the　team　will　reassure　their　top　people。〃
　I　wasn't　sure　that　was　true；　but　I　didn't　say　anything。
　〃Anyway；　that's　the　situation；〃　Tim　continued。　〃I'm　calling　you　to　ask　if　Don　should　call　you。　Because　he　doesn't　want　to　get　rejected。〃
　I　felt　a　burst　of　anger。　He　doesn't　want　to　get　rejected。　〃Tim；〃　I　said。　〃I　can't　go　back　to　work　there。〃
　〃Oh；　you　wouldn't　be　here。　You'd　be　up　at　the　Xymos　fab　plant。〃
　〃Oh　yes？　How　would　that　work？〃
　〃Don　would　hire　you　as　an　off…site　consultant。　Something　like　that。〃
　〃Uh…huh；〃　I　said；　in　my　best　nonmittal　tone。　Everything　about　this　proposal　sounded　like　a　bad　idea。　The　last　thing　I　wanted　to　do　was　go　back　to　work　for　that　son　of　a　bitch　Don。　And　it　was　always　a　bad　idea　to　return　to　a　pany　after　you'd　been　fired…for　any　reason；　under　any　arrangement。　Everybody　knew　that。
　But　on　the　other　hand；　if　I　agreed　to　work　as　a　consultant；　it　would　get　rid　of　my　shelf…life　problem。　And　it　would　get　me　out　of　the　house。　It　would　acplish　a　lot　of　things。　After　a　pause；　I　said；　〃Listen；　Tim；　let　me　think　about　it。〃
　〃You　want　to　call　me　back？〃
　〃Okay。　Yes。〃
　〃When　will　you　call？〃　he　said。
　The　tension　in　his　voice　was　clear。　I　said；　〃You've　got　some　urgency　about　this　。。。〃
　〃Yeah；　well；　some。　Like　I　said；　that　contract's　driving　us　crazy。　We　have　five　programmers　from　the　original　team　practically　living　out　at　that　Xymos　plant。　And　they're　not　getting　anywhere　on　this　problem。　So　if　you're　not　going　to　help　us；　we　have　to　look　elsewhere；　right　away。〃
　〃Okay；　I'll　call　you　tomorrow；〃　I　said。
　〃Tomorrow　morning？〃　he　said；　hinting。
　〃Okay；〃　I　said。　〃Yes；　tomorrow　morning。〃
　Tim's　call　should　have　made　me　feel　better　about　things；　but　it　didn't。　I　took　the　baby　to　the　park；　and　pushed　her　in　the　swing　for　a　while。　Amanda　liked　being　pushed　in　the　swing。　She　could　do　it　for　twenty　or　thirty　minutes　at　a　time；　and　always　cried　when　I　took　her　out。　Later　I　sat　on　the　concrete　curb　of　the　sandbox　while　she　crawled　around；　and　pulled　herself　up　to　standing　on　the　concrete　turtles　and　other　playthings。　One　of　the　older　toddlers　knocked　her　over；　but　she　didn't　cry；　she　just　got　back　up。　She　seemed　to　like　being　around　the　older　kids。　I　watched　her；　and　thought　about　going　back　to　work。
　〃Of　course　you　told　them　yes；〃　Ellen　said　to　me。　We　were　in　the　kitchen。　She　had　just　arrived；　her　black　suitcase　unpacked　in　the　corner。　Ellen　looked　exactly　the　same；　still　rail…thin；　energetic；　blond；　hyper。　My　sister　never　seemed　to　age。　She　was　drinking　a　cup　of　tea　from　teabags　that　she　had　brought　with　her。　Special　organic　oolong　tea　from　a　special　shop　in　San　Francisco。　That　hadn't　changed；　either…Ellen　had　always　been　fussy　about　food；　even　as　a　kid。　As　an　adult；　she　traveled　around　with　her　own　teas；　her　own　salad　dressings；　her　own　vitamins　neatly　arranged　in　little　glassine　packs。
　〃No；　I　didn't；〃　I　said。　〃I　didn't　tell　them　yes。　I　said　I'd　think　about　it。〃
　〃Think　about　it？　Are　you　kidding？　Jack；　you　have　to　go　back　to　work。　You　know　you　do。〃　She　stared　at　me；　appraising。　〃You're　depressed。〃
　〃I'm　not。〃
　〃You　should　have　some　of　this　tea；〃　she　said。　〃All　that　coffee　is　bad　for　your　nerves。〃
　〃Tea　has　more　caffeine　than　coffee。〃
　〃Jack。　You　have　to　go　back　to　work。〃
　〃I　know　that；　Ellen。〃
　〃And　if　it's　a　consulting　job　。。。　wouldn't　that　be　perfect？　Solve　all　your　problems？〃
　〃I　don't　know；〃　I　said。
　〃Really？　What　don't　you　know。〃
　〃I　don't　know　if　I'm　getting　the　full　story；〃　I　said。　〃I　mean；　if　Xymos　is　having　all　this　trouble；　how　e　Julia　hasn't　said　anything　about　it　to　me？〃
　Ellen　shook　her　head。　〃It　sounds　like　Julia　isn't　saying　much　of　anything　to　you　these　days。〃　She　stared　at　me。　〃So　why　didn't　you　accept　right　away？〃
　〃I　need　to　check　around　first。〃
　〃Check　what；　Jack？〃　Her　tone　conveyed　disbelief。　Ellen　was　acting　like　I　had　a　psychological　problem　that　needed　to　be　fixed。　My　sister　was　starting　to　get　to　me；　and　we'd　only　been　together　a　few　minutes。　My　older　sister；　treating　me　like　I　was　a　kid　again。　I　stood　up。　〃Listen；　Ellen；〃　I　said。　〃I've　spent　my　life　in　this　business；　and　I　know　how　it　works。　There's　two　possible　reasons　Don　wants　me　back。　The　first　is　the　pany's　in　a　jam　and　they　think　I　can　help。〃
　〃That's　what　they　said。〃
　〃Right。　That's　what　they　said。　But　the　other　possibility　is　that　they've　made　an　incredible　mess　of　things　and　by　now　it　can't　be　fixed…and　they　know　it。〃
　〃So　they　want　somebody　to　blame？〃
　〃Right。　They　want　a　donkey　to　pin　the　tail　on。〃
　She　frowned。　I　saw　her　hesitate。　〃Do　you　really　think　so？〃
　〃I　don't　know；　that's　the　point；〃　I　said。　〃But　I　have　to　find　out。〃
　〃Which　you　will　do　by　。。。〃
　〃By　making　some　calls。　Maybe　paying　a　surprise　visit　to　the　fab　building　tomorrow。〃
　〃Okay。　That　sounds　right　to　me。〃
　〃I'm　glad　I　have　your　approval。〃　I　couldn't　keep　the　irritation　out　of　my　voice。
　〃Jack；〃　she　said。　She　got　up　and　hugged　me。　〃I'm　just　worried　about　you；　that's　all。〃
　〃I　appreciate　that；〃　I　said。　〃But　you're　not　helping　me。〃
　〃Okay。　Then　what　can　I　do　to　help　you？〃
　〃Watch　the　kids；　while　I　make　some　calls。〃
　I　figured　I　would　first　call　Ricky　Morse；　the　guy　I'd　seen　in　the　supermarket　buying　Huggies。　I　had　a　long　relationship　with　Ricky；　he　worked　at　Xymos　and　he　was　casual　enough　about　information　that　he　might　tell　me　what　was　really　going　on　there。　The　only　problem　was　that　Ricky　was　based　in　the　Valley；　and　he'd　already　told　me　that　the　action　was　all　at　the　fab　building。　But　he　was　a　place　for　me　to　start。
　I　called　his　office；　but　the　receptionist　said；　〃I'm　sorry；　Mr。　Morse　is　not　in　the　office。〃
　〃When　is　he　expected　back？〃
　〃I　really　couldn't　say。　Do　you　want　voice　mail？〃
　I　left　Ricky　a　voice…mail　message。　Then　I　called　his　home　number。　His　wife　answere