mc.prey-第28节

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hing　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。　〃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