mc.prey-第38节

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　Like　Mae；　Charley　was　seeing　it；　too：　Ricky　had　dragged　his　feet　every　step　of　the　way。　It　was　as　if　Ricky　wanted　to　keep　the　swarms　alive。　Which　made　no　sense　at　all。　But　that's　how　he　was　behaving。
　I　would　have　said　something　to　Charley　about　Ricky；　but　over　our　headsets　everybody　heard　everything。　The　downside　of　modern　munications：　everybody　can　listen　in。　〃Hey　guys？〃　It　was　Bobby　Lembeck。　〃How's　it　ing？〃
　〃We're　getting　there。　Why？〃
　〃The　wind's　dropping。〃
　〃What　is　it　now？〃　I　said。
　〃Fifteen　knots。　Down　from　eighteen。〃
　〃That's　still　strong；〃　I　said。　〃We're　okay。〃
　〃I　know。　I'm　just　telling　you。〃
　From　the　next　room；　Rosie　said；　〃What's　thermite？〃　In　her　hand　she　held　a　plastic　tray　filled　with　thumb…sized　metal　tubes。
　〃Careful　with　that；〃　David　said。　〃It　must　be　left　over　from　construction。　I　guess　they　did　thermite　welding。〃
　〃But　what　is　it？〃
　〃Thermite　is　aluminum　and　iron　oxide；〃　David　said。　〃It　burns　very　hot…three　thousand　degrees…and　so　bright　you　can't　look　directly　at　it。　And　it'll　melt　steel　for　welding。〃
　〃How　much　of　that　have　we　got？〃　I　said　to　Rosie。　〃Because　we　can　use　it　tonight。〃
　〃There's　four　boxes　back　there。〃　She　plucked　one　tube　from　the　box。　〃So　how　do　you　set　'em　off？〃
　〃Be　careful；　Rosie。　That's　a　magnesium　wrapper。　Any　decent　heat　source　will　ignite　it。〃
　〃Even　matches？〃
　〃If　you　want　to　lose　your　hand。　Better　use　road　flares；　something　with　a　fuse。〃
　〃I'll　see；〃　she　said；　and　she　disappeared　around　the　corner。
　The　radiation　counter　was　still　clicking。　I　turned　to　the　sink。　Mae　had　capped　the　isotope　tube。　She　was　now　pouring　the　straw…colored　liquid　into　a　Windex　bottle。　〃Hey；　guys？〃　It　was　Bobby　Lembeck　again。　〃I'm　picking　up　some　instability。　Wind's　fluctuating　at　twelve　knots。〃
　〃Okay；〃　I　said。　〃We　don't　need　to　hear　every　little　change；　Bobby。〃
　〃I'm　seeing　some　instability；　is　all。〃
　〃I　think　we're　okay　for　the　moment；　Bobby。〃
　Mae　was　going　to　be　another　few　minutes；　in　any　case。　I　went　over　to　a　puter　workstation　and　turned　it　on。　The　screen　glowed；　there　was　a　menu　of　options。　Aloud；　I　said；　〃Ricky；　can　I　put　up　the　swarm　code　on　this　monitor？〃
　〃The　code？〃　Ricky　said。　He　sounded　alarmed。　〃What　do　you　want　the　code　for？〃
　〃I　want　to　see　what　you　guys　have　done。〃
　〃Why？〃
　〃Ricky；　for　Christ's　sake；　can　I　see　it　or　not？〃
　〃Sure；　of　course　you　can。　All　the　code　revisions　are　in　the　directory　slash　code。　It's　passworded。〃
　I　was　typing。　I　found　the　directory。　But　I　wasn't　being　allowed　to　enter　it。　〃And　the　password　is？〃
　〃It's　l…a…n…g…t…o…n；　all　lowercase。〃
　〃Okay。〃
　I　entered　the　password。　I　was　now　in　the　directory；　looking　at　a　list　of　program　modifications；　each　with　file　size　and　date。　The　document　sizes　were　large；　which　meant　that　these　were　all　programs　for　other　aspects　of　the　swarm　mechanism。　Because　the　code　for　the　particles　themselves　would　be　small…just　a　few　lines；　maybe　eight；　ten　kilobytes；　no　more。　〃Ricky。〃
　〃Yes；　Jack。〃
　〃Where's　the　particle　code？〃
　〃Isn't　it　there？〃
　〃God　damn　it；　Ricky。　Stop　screwing　around。〃
　〃Hey；　Jack；　I'm　not　responsible　for　the　archiving…〃
　〃Ricky；　these　are　workfiles；　not　archives；〃　I　said。　〃Tell　me　where。〃
　A　brief　pause。　〃There　should　be　a　subdirectory　slash　C…D…N。　It's　kept　there。〃
　I　scrolled　down。　〃I　see　it。〃
　Within　this　directory；　I　found　a　list　of　files；　all　very　small。　The　modification　dates　started　about　six　weeks　ago。　There　was　nothing　new　from　the　last　two　weeks。　〃Ricky。　You　haven't　changed　the　code　for　two　weeks？〃
　〃Yeah；　about　that。〃
　I　clicked　on　the　most　recent　document。　〃You　got　high…level　summaries？〃　When　these　guys　had　worked　for　me；　I　always　insisted　that　they　write　natural　language　summaries　of　the　program　structure。　It　was　faster　to　review　than　documentation　within　the　code　itself。　And　they　often　solved　logic　problems　when　they　had　to　write　it　out　briefly。　〃Should　be　there；〃　Ricky　said。
　On　the　screen；　I　saw：
　　
　/*Initialize*/
　For　j=1　to　L　x　V　do
　Sj　=　0　/*set　initial　demand　to　0/
　End　For
　For　i=l　to　z　do
　For　j　=　1　to　L　x　V　do
　ij　=　（state　（x；y；z））　/*agent　threshold　param*/
　？　ij　=　（intent　（Cj；Hj））　/*agent　intention　fill*/
　Response　=　0　/*　begin　agent　response*/
　Zone　=　z（i）　/*　intitial　zone　unlearned　by　agent*/
　Sweep　=1　/*　activate　agent　travel*/
　End　For
　End　For
　　
　/*Main*/
　For　kl=1　to　RVd　do
　For　tm=1　to　nv　do
　For　=　i　to　j　do　/*　tracking　surrounds*/
　？　ij　=　（intent　（Cj；Hj））　/*agent　intention　fill*/
　ij　　（state　（x；y；z））　/*agent　is　in　motion*/
　ikl　=　（filed　（x；y；z））　/*track　nearest　agents　*/
　　
　I　scanned　it　for　a　while；　looking　for　how　they　had　changed　it。　Then　I　scrolled　down　into　the　actual　code；　to　see　the　implementation。　But　the　important　code　wasn't　there。　The　entire　set　of　particle　behaviors　was　marked　as　an　object　call　to　a　something　titled　〃pstat_do。〃
　〃Ricky；〃　I　said；　〃what's　'pstat_do'？　Where　is　it？〃
　〃Should　be　there。〃
　〃It's　not。〃
　〃I　don't　know。　Maybe　it's　piled。〃
　〃Well　that　isn't　going　to　do　me　any　good；　is　it？〃　You　couldn't　read　piled　code。　〃Ricky；　I　want　to　see　that　damn　module。　What　is　the　problem？〃
　〃No　problem。　I　have　to　look　for　it；　is　all。〃
　〃Okay　。。。〃
　〃I'll　do　it　when　you　get　back。〃
　I　glanced　over　at　Mae。　〃Have　you　gone　through　the　code？〃
　She　shook　her　head。　Her　expression　seemed　to　say　it　was　never　going　to　happen；　that　Ricky　would　make　up　more　excuses　and　keep　putting　me　off。　I　didn't　understand　why。　I　was　there　to　advise　them　on　the　code；　after　all。　That　was　my　area　of　expertise。　In　the　next　room；　Rosie　and　David　were　poking　through　the　shelves　of　supplies；　looking　for　radio　relays。　They　weren't　having　any　success。　Across　the　room；　Charley　Davenport　farted　loudly　and　cried；　〃Bingo！〃
　〃Jesus；　Charley；〃　Rosie　said。
　〃You　shouldn't　hold　things　in；〃　Charley　said。　〃It　makes　you　sick。〃
　〃You　make　me　sick。〃　Rosie　said。
　〃Oh；　sorry。〃　Charley　held　up　his　hand；　showing　a　shiny　metal　contraption。　〃Then　I　guess　you　don't　want　this　remote…controlled　pression　valve。〃
　〃What？〃　Rosie　said；　turning。
　〃Are　you　kidding？〃　David　said；　going　over　to　look。
　〃And　it's　got　a　pressure　rating　of　ADC　twenty　pi。〃
　〃That　should　work　fine；〃　David　said。
　〃If　you　don't　fuck　it　up；〃　Charley　said。
　They　took　the　valve　and　went　to　the　sink；　where　Mae　was　still　pouring；　wearing　her　heavy　gloves。　She　said；　〃Let　me　finish　。。。〃
　〃Will　I　glow　in　the　dark？〃　Charley　said；　grinning　at　her。
　〃Just　your　farts；〃　Rosie　said。
　〃Hey；　they　already　do　that。　'Specially　when　you　light　'em。〃
　〃Jesus；　Charley。〃
　〃Farts　are　methane；　you　know。　Burns　with　a　hard　blue　gemlike　flame。〃　And　he　laughed。
　〃I'm　glad　you　appreciate　yourself；〃　Rosie　said。　〃Because　nobody　else　does。〃
　〃Ouch；　ouch；〃　Charley　said；　clutching　his　breast。　〃I　die；　I　die　。。。〃
　〃Don't　get　our　hopes　up。〃
　My　headset　crackled。　〃Hey　guys？〃　It　was　Bobby　Lembeck　again。　〃Wind's　just　dropped　to　six　knots。〃
　I　said；　〃Okay。〃　I　turned　to　the　others。　〃Let's　finish　up；　guys。〃
　David　said；　〃We're　waiting　for　Mae。　Then　we'll　fit　this　valve。〃
　〃Let's　fit　it　back　in　the　lab；〃　I　said。
　〃Well；　I　just　want　to　make　sure…〃
　〃Back　at　the　lab；〃　I　said。　〃Pack　it　up；　guys。〃
　I　went　to　the　window　and　looked　out。　The　wind　was　still　ruffling　the　juniper　bushes；　but　there　was　no　longer　a　layer　of　sand　blowing　across　the　ground。
　Ricky　came　on　the　headset：　〃Jack；　get　your　fucking　team　out　of　there。〃
　〃We're　doing　it　now；〃　I　said。
　David　Brooks　said　in　a　formal　tone；　〃Guys；　there's　no　point　in　leaving　until　we　have　a　valve　that　we　know　fits　this　bottle…〃
　〃I　think　we　better　go；〃　Mae　said。　〃Finished　or　not。〃
　〃What　good　would　that　do？〃　David　said。
　〃Pack　up；〃　I　said。　〃Stop　talking　and　pack　it　up　now。〃
　Over　the　headset；　Bobby　said；　〃Four　knots　and　falling。　Fast。〃
　〃Let's　go；　everybody；〃　I　said。　I　was　herding　them　toward　the　door。
　Then　Ricky　came　on。　〃No。〃
　〃What？〃
　〃You　can't　leave　now。〃
　〃Why　not？〃
　〃Because　it's　too　late。　They're　here。〃
　　
　DAY　6　
　3：12　P。M。
　Everyone　went　to　the　window；　we　banged　heads　trying　to　look　out　in　all　directions。　As　far　as　I　could　see；　the　horizon　was　clear。　I　saw　nothing　at　all。　〃Where　are　they？〃　I　said。　〃ing　from　the　south。　We　have　them　on　the　monitors。〃
　〃How　many？〃　Charley　said。
　〃Four。〃
　〃Four！〃
　〃Yeah；　four。〃
　The　main　building　was　south　of　us。　There　were　no　windows　in　the　south　wall　of　the　shed。
　David　said；　〃We　don't　see　anything。　How　fast　are　they　ing？〃
　〃Fast。〃
　〃Do　we　have　time　to　run　for　it？〃
　〃I　don't　think　so。〃
　David　frowned。　〃He　doesn't　think　so。　Jesus。〃
　And　before　I　could　say　anything；　David　had　bolted　for　the　far　door；　opened　it；　and　stepped　out　into　the　sunlight。　Through　the　rectangle　of　the　open　door　we　saw　him　look　to　the　south；　shading　his　eyes　with　his　hand。　We　all　spoke　at　once：
　〃David！〃
　〃David；　what　the　fuck　are　you　doing？〃
　〃David；　you　asshole！〃
　〃I'm　trying　to　see　。。。〃
　〃Get　back　here！〃
　〃You　stupid　bastard！〃
　But　Brooks　remained　where　he　was；　hands　over　his　eyes。　〃I　don't　see　anything　yet；〃　he　said。　〃And　I　don't　hear　anything。　Listen；　I　think　maybe　we　can　make　a　run　for…uh；　no　we　can't。〃　He　sprinted　back　inside；　stumbled　on　the　door　frame；　fell；　scrambled　to　his　feet；　and　slammed　th