mc.prey-第31章

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y　the　wind　across　hundreds　of　miles　of　desert。　They'll　decay　from　sunlight　and　cosmic　radiation。　They'll　break　up；　depose。　In　a　few　hours　or　days；　they're　gone。　Right？〃
　Ricky　shrugged。　〃Actually；　Jack；　that's　not　what…〃
　It　was　at　that　moment　that　the　alarm　went　off。
　It　was　a　quiet　alarm；　just　a　soft；　insistent　pinging；　but　it　made　Ricky　jump。　He　ran　down　the　walkway；　feet　clanging　on　the　metal；　toward　a　puter　workstation　mounted　on　the　wall。　There　was　a　status　window　in　the　corner　of　the　monitor。　It　was　flashing　red：　PV…90　ENTRY。
　I　said；　〃What　does　that　mean？〃
　〃Something　set　off　the　perimeter　alarms。〃　He　unclipped　his　radio　and　said；　〃Vince；　lock　us　down。〃
　The　radio　crackled。　〃We're　locked　down；　Ricky。〃
　〃Raise　positive　pressure。〃
　〃It's　up　five　pounds　above　baseline。　You　want　more？〃
　〃No。　Leave　it　there。　Do　we　have　visualization？〃
　〃Not　yet。〃
　〃Shit。〃　Ricky　stuck　the　radio　back　on　his　belt；　began　typing　quickly。　The　workstation　screen　divided　into　a　half…dozen　small　images　from　security　cameras　mounted　all　around　the　facility。　Some　showed　the　surrounding　desert　from　high　views；　looking　down　from　rooftops。　Others　were　ground　views。　The　cameras　panned　slowly。
　I　saw　nothing。　Just　desert　scrub　and　occasional　clumps　of　cactus。
　〃False　alarm？〃　I　said。
　Ricky　shook　his　head。　〃I　wish。〃
　I　said；　〃I　don't　see　anything。〃
　〃It'll　take　a　minute　to　find　it。〃
　〃Find　what？〃
　〃That。〃
　He　pointed　to　the　monitor；　and　bit　his　lip。
　I　saw　what　appeared　to　be　a　small；　swirling　cloud　of　dark　particles。　It　looked　like　a　dust　devil；　one　of　those　tiny　tornado…like　clusters　that　moved　over　the　ground；　spun　by　convection　currents　rising　from　the　hot　desert　floor。　Except　that　this　cloud　was　black；　and　it　had　some　definition…it　seemed　to　be　pinched　in　the　middle；　making　it　look　a　bit　like　an　old…fashioned　Coke　bottle。　But　it　didn't　hold　that　shape　consistently。　The　appearance　kept　shifting；　transforming。　〃Ricky；〃　I　said。　〃What　are　we　looking　at？〃
　〃I　was　hoping　you'd　tell　me。〃
　〃It　looks　like　an　agent　swarm。　Is　that　your　camera　swarm？〃
　〃No。　It's　something　else。〃
　〃How　do　you　know？〃
　〃Because　we　can't　control　it。　It　doesn't　respond　to　our　radio　signals。〃
　〃You've　tried？〃
　〃Yes。　We've　tried　to　make　contact　with　it　for　almost　two　weeks；〃　he　said。　〃It's　generating　an　electrical　field　that　we　can　measure；　but　for　some　reason　we　can't　interact　with　it。〃
　〃So　you　have　a　runaway　swarm。〃
　〃Yes。〃
　〃Acting　autonomously。〃
　〃Yes。〃
　〃And　this　has　been　going　on　for　。。。〃
　〃Days。　About　ten　days。〃
　〃Ten　days？〃　I　frowned。　〃How　is　that　possible；　Ricky？　The　swarm's　a　collection　of　micro…robotic　machines。　Why　haven't　they　decayed；　or　run　out　of　power？　And　why　exactly　can't　you　control　them？　Because　if　they　have　the　ability　to　swarm；　then　there's　some　electrically　mediated　interaction　among　them。　So　you　should　be　able　to　take　control　of　the　swarm…or　at　least　disrupt　it。〃
　〃All　true；〃　Ricky　said。　〃Except　we　can't。　And　we've　tried　everything　we　can　think　of。〃　He　was　focused　on　the　screen；　watching　intently。　〃That　cloud　is　independent　of　us。　Period。〃
　〃And　so　you　brought　me　out　here　。。。〃
　〃To　help　us　get　the　fucking　thing　back；〃　Ricky　said。
　　
　DAY　6　
　9：32　A。M。
　It　was；　I　thought；　a　problem　no　one　had　ever　imagined　before。　In　all　the　years　that　I　had　been　programming　agents；　the　focus　had　been　on　getting　them　to　interact　in　a　way　that　produced　useful　results。　It　never　occurred　to　us　that　there　might　be　a　larger　control　issue；　or　a　question　of　independence。　Because　it　simply　couldn't　happen。　Individual　agents　were　too　small　to　be　self…powered；　they　had　to　get　their　energy　from　some　external　source；　such　as　a　supplied　electrical　or　microwave　field。　All　you　had　to　do　was　turn　off　the　field；　and　the　agents　died。　The　swarm　was　no　more　difficult　to　control　than　a　household　appliance；　like　a　kitchen　blender。　Flip　the　power　off　and　it　went　dead。
　But　Ricky　was　telling　me　this　cloud　had　been　self…sustaining　for　days。　That　just　didn't　make　sense。　〃Where　is　it　getting　power？〃
　He　sighed。　〃We　built　the　units　with　a　small　piezo　wafer　to　generate　current　from　photons。　It's　only　supplementary…we　added　it　as　an　afterthought…but　they　seem　to　be　managing　with　it　alone。〃
　〃So　the　units　are　solar…powered；〃　I　said。
　〃Right。〃
　〃Whose　idea　was　that？〃
　〃The　Pentagon　asked　for　it。〃
　〃And　you　built　in　capacitance？〃
　〃Yeah。　They　can　store　charge　for　three　hours。〃
　〃Okay；　fine；〃　I　said。　Now　we　were　getting　somewhere。　〃So　they　have　enough　power　for　three　hours。　What　happens　at　night？〃
　〃At　night；　they　presumably　lose　power　after　three　hours　of　darkness。〃
　〃And　then　the　cloud　falls　apart？〃
　〃Yes。〃
　〃And　the　individual　units　drop　to　the　ground？〃
　〃Presumably；　yes。〃
　〃Can't　you　take　control　of　them　then？〃
　〃We　could；〃　Ricky　said；　〃if　we　could　find　them。　We　go　out　every　night；　looking。　But　we　can　never　find　them。〃
　〃You've　built　in　markers？〃
　〃Yes；　sure。　Every　single　unit　has　a　fluorescing　module　in　the　shell。　They　show　up　blue…green　under　UV　light。〃
　〃So　you　go　out　at　night　looking　for　a　patch　of　desert　that　glows　blue…green。〃
　〃Right。　And　so　far；　we　haven't　found　it。〃
　That　didn't　really　surprise　me。　If　the　cloud　collapsed　tightly；　it　would　form　a　clump　about　six　inches　in　diameter　on　the　desert　floor。　And　it　was　a　big　desert　out　there。　They　could　easily　miss　it；　night　after　night。
　But　as　I　thought　about　it；　there　was　another　aspect　that　didn't　make　sense。　Once　the　cloud　fell　to　the　ground…once　the　individual　units　lost　power…then　the　cloud　had　no　organization。　It　could　be　scattered　by　wind；　like　so　many　dust　particles；　never　to　re…form。　But　evidently　that　didn't　happen。　The　units　didn't　scatter。　Instead；　the　cloud　returned　day　after　day。　Why　was　that？
　〃We　think；〃　Ricky　said；　〃that　it　may　hide　at　night。〃
　〃Hide？〃
　〃Yeah。　We　think　it　goes　to　some　protected　area；　maybe　an　overhang；　or　a　hole　in　the　ground；　something　like　that。〃
　I　pointed　to　the　cloud　as　it　swirled　toward　us。　〃You　think　that　swarm　is　capable　of　hiding？〃
　〃I　think　it's　capable　of　adapting。　In　fact；　I　know　it　is。〃　He　sighed。　〃Anyway；　it's　more　than　just　one　swarm；　Jack。〃
　〃There's　more　than　one？〃
　〃There's　at　least　three。　Maybe　more；　by　now。〃
　I　felt　a　momentary　blankness；　a　kind　of　sleepy　gray　confusion　that　washed　over　me。　I　suddenly　couldn't　think；　I　couldn't　put　it　together。　〃What　are　you　saying？〃
　〃I'm　saying　it　reproduces；　Jack；〃　he　said。　〃The　fucking　swarm　reproduces。〃　The　camera　now　showed　a　ground…level　view　of　the　dust　cloud　as　it　swirled　toward　us。　But　as　I　watched；　I　realized　it　wasn't　swirling　like　a　dust　devil。　Instead；　the　particles　were　twisting　one　way；　then　another；　in　a　kind　of　sinuous　movement。
　They　were　definitely　swarming。
　〃Swarming〃　was　a　term　for　the　behavior　of　certain　social　insects　like　ants　or　bees；　which　swarmed　whenever　the　hive　moved　to　a　new　site。　A　cloud　of　bees　will　fly　in　one　direction　and　then　another；　forming　a　dark　river　in　the　air。　The　swarm　might　halt　and　cling　to　a　tree　for　perhaps　an　hour；　perhaps　overnight；　before　continuing　onward。　Eventually　the　bees　settled　on　a　new　location　for　their　hive；　and　stopped　swarming。
　In　recent　years；　programmers　had　written　programs　that　modeled　this　insect　behavior。　Swarm…intelligence　algorithms　had　bee　an　important　tool　in　puter　programming。　To　programmers；　a　swarm　meant　a　population　of　puter　agents　that　acted　together　to　solve　a　problem　by　distributed　intelligence。　Swarming　became　a　popular　way　to　organize　agents　to　work　together。　There　were　professional　organizations　and　conferences　devoted　entirely　to　swarm…intelligence　programs。　Lately　it　had　bee　a　kind　of　default　solution…if　you　couldn't　code　anything　more　inventive；　you　made　your　agents　swarm。
　But　as　I　watched；　I　could　see　this　cloud　was　not　swarming　in　any　ordinary　sense。　The　sinuous　back…and…forth　motion　seemed　to　be　only　part　of　its　movement。　There　was　also　a　rhythmic　expansion　and　contraction；　a　pulse；　almost　like　breathing。　And　intermittently；　the　cloud　seemed　to　thin　out；　and　rise　higher；　then　to　collapse　down；　and　bee　more　squat。　These　changes　occurred　continuously；　but　in　a　repeating　rhythm…or　rather　a　series　of　superimposed　rhythms。　〃Shit；〃　Ricky　said。