mc.prey-第14节

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u　hearing　me？　Am　I　getting　through　here？〃
　〃Yes；　but…〃
　〃No　buts；　Jack。　You've　got　to　talk　to　your　wife。　You've　got　to　figure　out　a　way　to　get　yourself　off　the　shelf。〃
　〃But　I　can't　leave　the　Valley。　I　have　to　stay　here。〃
　〃Here　is　not　so　good。〃　She　flipped　the　screen　up　again。　〃Whenever　I　bring　up　your　name；　I　keep　getting…listen；　what's　going　on　at　MediaTronics；　anyway？　Is　Don　Gross　going　to　be　indicted？〃
　〃I　don't　know。〃
　〃I've　been　hearing　that　rumor　for　months　now；　but　it　never　seems　to　happen。　For　your　sake；　I　hope　it　happens　soon。〃
　〃I　don't　get　it；〃　I　said。　〃I'm　perfectly　positioned　in　a　hot　field；　multi…agent　distributed　processing；　and…〃
　〃Hot？〃　she　said；　squinting　at　me。　〃Distributed　processing's　not　hot；　Jack。　It's　fucking　radioactive。　Everybody　in　the　Valley　figures　that　the　breakthroughs　in　artificial　life　are　going　to　e　from　distributed　processing。〃
　〃They　are；〃　I　said；　nodding。
　In　the　last　few　years；　artificial　life　had　replaced　artificial　intelligence　as　a　long…term　puting　goal。　The　idea　was　to　write　programs　that　had　the　attributes　of　living　creatures…the　ability　to　adapt；　cooperate；　learn；　adjust　to　change。　Many　of　those　qualities　were　especially　important　in　robotics；　and　they　were　starting　to　be　realized　with　distributed　processing。　Distributed　processing　meant　that　you　divided　your　work　among　several　processors；　or　among　a　network　of　virtual　agents　that　you　created　in　the　puter。　There　were　several　basic　ways　this　was　done。　One　way　was　to　create　a　large　population　of　fairly　dumb　agents　that　worked　together　to　acplish　a　goal…just　like　a　colony　of　ants　worked　together　to　acplish　a　goal。　My　own　team　had　done　a　lot　of　that　work。
　Another　method　was　to　make　a　so…called　neural　network　that　mimicked　the　network　of　neurons　in　the　human　brain。　It　turned　out　that　even　simple　neural　nets　had　surprising　power。　These　networks　could　learn。　They　could　build　on　past　experience。　We'd　done　some　of　that；　too。　A　third　technique　was　to　create　virtual　genes　in　the　puter；　and　let　them　evolve　in　a　virtual　world　until　some　goal　was　attained。
　And　there　were　several　other　procedures；　as　well。　Taken　together；　these　procedures　represented　a　huge　change　from　the　older　notions　of　artificial　intelligence；　or　AI。　In　the　old　days；　programmers　tried　to　write　rules　to　cover　every　situation。　For　example；　they　tried　to　teach　puters　that　if　someone　bought　something　at　a　store；　they　had　to　pay　before　leaving。　But　this　monsense　knowledge　proved　extremely　difficult　to　program。　The　puter　would　make　mistakes。　New　rules　would　be　added　to　avoid　the　mistakes。　Then　more　mistakes；　and　more　rules。　Eventually　the　programs　were　gigantic；　millions　of　lines　of　code；　and　they　began　to　fail　out　of　sheer　plexity。　They　were　too　large　to　debug。　You　couldn't　figure　out　where　the　errors　were　ing　from。
　So　it　began　to　seem　as　if　rule…based　AI　was　never　going　to　work。　Lots　of　people　made　dire　predictions　about　the　end　of　artificial　intelligence。　The　eighties　were　a　good　time　for　English　professors　who　believed　that　puters　would　never　match　human　intelligence。　But　distributed　networks　of　agents　offered　an　entirely　new　approach。　And　the　programming　philosophy　was　new；　too。　The　old　rules…based　programming　was　〃top　down。〃　The　system　as　a　whole　was　given　rules　of　behavior。
　But　the　new　programming　was　〃bottom　up。〃　The　program　defined　the　behavior　of　individual　agents　at　the　lowest　structural　level。　But　the　behavior　of　the　system　as　a　whole　was　not　defined。　Instead；　the　behavior　of　the　system　emerged；　the　result　of　hundreds　of　small　interactions　occurring　at　a　lower　level。
　Because　the　system　was　not　programmed；　it　could　produce　surprising　results。　Results　never　anticipated　by　the　programmers。　That　was　why　they　could　seem　〃lifelike。〃　And　that　was　why　the　field　was　so　hot；　because…
　〃Jack。〃
　Annie　was　tapping　my　hand。　I　blinked。
　〃Jack；　did　you　hear　anything　I　just　said　to　you？〃
　〃Sorry。〃
　〃I　don't　have　your　full　attention；〃　she　said。　She　blew　cigarette　smoke　in　my　face。　〃Yes；　you're　right；　you're　in　a　hot　field。　But　that's　all　the　more　reason　to　worry　about　shelf　life。　It's　not　like　you're　an　electrical　engineer　specializing　in　optical…drive　mechanisms。　Hot　fields　move　fast。　Six　months　can　make　or　break　a　pany。〃
　〃I　know。〃
　〃You're　at　risk；　Jack。〃
　〃I　understand。〃
　〃So。　Will　you　talk　to　your　wife？　Please？〃
　〃Yes。〃
　〃Okay；〃　she　said。　〃Make　sure　you　do。　Because　otherwise；　I　can't　help　you。〃　She　flicked　her　burning　cigarette　into　the　remains　of　my　latte。　It　sizzled　and　died。　She　snapped　her　laptop　shut；　got　up；　and　left。
　I　put　a　call　in　to　Julia；　but　didn't　get　her。　I　left　voice　mail。　I　knew　it　was　a　waste　of　time　even　to　bring　up　moving　to　her。　She'd　certainly　say　no…especially　if　she　had　a　new　boyfriend。　But　Annie　was　right；　I　was　in　trouble。　I　had　to　do　something。　I　had　to　ask。　I　sat　at　my　desk　at　home；　turning　the　SSVT　box　in　my　hands；　trying　to　think　what　to　do。　I　had　another　hour　and　a　half　before　I　picked　up　the　kids。　I　really　wanted　to　talk　to　Julia。　I　decided　to　call　Julia　again　through　the　pany　switchboard；　to　see　if　they　could　track　her　down。　〃Xymos　Technology。〃
　〃Julia　Forman；　please。〃
　〃Please　hold。〃　Some　classical　music；　then　another　voice。　〃Ms。　Forman's　office。〃
　I　recognized　Carol；　her　assistant。　〃Carol；　it's　Jack。〃
　〃Oh；　hi；　Mr。　Forman。　How　are　you？〃
　〃I'm　fine；　thanks。〃
　〃Are　you　looking　for　Julia？〃
　〃Yes；　I　am。〃
　〃She's　in　Nevada　for　the　day；　at　the　fab　plant。　Shall　I　try　to　connect　you　there？〃
　〃Yes；　please。〃
　〃One　moment。〃
　I　was　put　on　hold。　For　quite　a　while。
　〃Mr。　Forman；　she's　in　a　meeting　for　the　next　hour。　I　expect　her　to　call　back　when　it　breaks　up。　Do　you　want　her　to　call　you？〃
　〃Yes；　please。〃
　〃Do　you　want　me　to　tell　her　anything？〃
　〃No；〃　I　said。　〃Just　ask　her　to　call。〃
　〃Okay；　Mr。　Forman。〃
　I　hung　up；　stared　into　space；　turning　the　SSVT　box。　She's　in　Nevada　for　the　day。　Julia　had　said　nothing　to　me　about　going　to　Nevada。　I　replayed　the　conversation　with　Carol　in　my　mind。　Had　Carol　sounded　unfortable？　Was　she　covering？　I　couldn't　be　sure。　I　couldn't　be　sure　of　anything　now。　I　stared　out　the　window　and　as　I　watched；　the　sprinklers　kicked　on；　shooting　up　cones　of　spray　all　over　the　lawn。　It　was　right　in　the　heat　of　midday；　the　wrong　time　to　water。　It　wasn't　supposed　to　happen。　The　sprinklers　had　been　fixed　just　the　other　day。　I　began　to　feel　depressed；　staring　at　the　water。　It　seemed　like　everything　was　wrong。　I　had　no　job；　my　wife　was　absent；　the　kids　were　a　pain；　I　felt　constantly　inadequate　dealing　with　them…and　now　the　fucking　sprinklers　weren't　working　right。　They　were　going　to　burn　out　the　fucking　lawn。
　And　then　the　baby　began　to　cry。
　I　waited　for　Julia　to　call；　but　she　never　did。　I　cut　up　chicken　breasts　into　strips　（the　trick　is　to　keep　them　cold；　almost　frozen）　for　dinner；　because　chicken　fingers　were　another　meal　they　never　argued　about。　I　got　out　rice　to　boil。　I　looked　at　the　carrots　in　the　fridge　and　decided　that　even　though　they　were　a　little　old；　I'd　still　use　them　tonight。　I　cut　my　finger　while　I　was　chopping　the　carrots。　It　wasn't　a　big　cut　but　it　bled　a　lot；　and　the　Band…Aid　didn't　stop　the　bleeding。　It　kept　bleeding　through　the　pad；　so　I　kept　putting　on　new　Band…Aids。　It　was　frustrating。
　Dinner　was　late　and　the　kids　were　cranky。　Eric　plained　loudly　that　my　chicken　fingers　were　gross；　that　McDonald's　were　way　better；　and　why　couldn't　we　have　those？　Nicole　tried　out　various　line　readings　for　her　play；　while　Eric　mimicked　her　under　his　breath。　The　baby　spit　up　every　mouthful　of　her　cereal　until　I　stopped　and　mixed　it　with　some　mashed　banana。　After　that；　she　ate　steadily。　I　don't　know　why　I　never　thought　to　do　that　before。　Amanda　was　getting　older；　and　she　didn't　want　the　bland　stuff　anymore。
　Eric　had　left　his　homework　at　school；　I　told　him　to　call　his　friends　for　the　assignment；　but　he　wouldn't。　Nicole　was　online　for　an　hour　with　her　friends；　I　kept　popping　into　her　room　and　telling　her　to　get　off　the　puter　until　her　homework　was　done；　and　she'd　say；　〃In　just　a　minute；　Dad。〃　The　baby　fussed；　and　it　took　a　long　time　for　me　to　get　her　down。　I　went　back　into　Nicole's　room　and　said；　〃Now；　damn　it！〃　Nicole　began　to　cry。　Eric　came　in　to　gloat。　I　asked　him　why　he　wasn't　in　bed。　He　saw　the　look　on　my　face；　and　scampered　away。　Sobbing；　Nicole　said　I　should　apologize　to　her。　I　said　she　should　have　done　what　I　told　her　to　do　twice　before。　She　went　into　the　bathroom　and　slammed　the　door。　From　his　room；　Eric　yelled；　〃I　can't　sleep　with　all　that　racket！〃
　I　yelled　back；　〃One　more　word　and　no　television　for　a　week！〃
　〃Not　fair！〃
　I　went　into　the　bedroom　and　turned　on　the　TV　to　watch　the　rest　of　the　game。　After　half　an　hour；　I　checked　on　the　kids。　The　baby　was　sleeping　peacefully。　Eric　was　asleep；　all　his　covers　thrown　off。　I　pulled　them　back　on　him。　Nicole　was　studying。　When　she　saw　me；　she　apologized。　I　gave　her　a　hug。
　I　went　back　into　the　bedroom；　and　watched　the　game　for　about　ten　minutes　before　I　fell　asleep。
　　
　DAY　5　
　7：10　A。M。
　When　I　awoke　in　the　morning；　I　saw　that　Julia's　side　of　the　bed　was　still　made　up；　her　pillow　uncreased。　She　hadn't　e　home　last　night　at　all。　I　checked　the　telephone　messages；　there　were　none。　Eric　wandered　in；