mc.prey-第29节

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ediately；　the　three　swarms　turned　and　pursued　it。　Ricky　switched　the　monitor　view。　We　now　watched　at　ground　level。　The　three　clouds　converged　on　the　terrified　bunny；　which　was　moving　fast；　a　whitish　blur　on　the　screen。　The　clouds　swirled　after　it　with　surprising　speed。　The　behavior　was　clear：　they　were　hunting。　I　felt　a　moment　of　irrational　pride。　PREDPREY　was　working　perfectly！　Those　swarms　might　as　well　be　lionesses　chasing　a　gazelle；　so　purposeful　was　their　behavior。　The　swarms　turned　sharply；　then　split　up；　cutting　off　the　rabbit's　escape　to　the　left　and　right。　The　behavior　of　the　three　clouds　clearly　appeared　coordinated。　Now　they　were　closing　in。　And　suddenly　one　of　the　swarms　sank　down；　engulfing　the　rabbit。　The　other　two　swarms　fell　on　it　moments　later。　The　resulting　particle　cloud　was　so　dense；　it　was　hard　to　see　the　rabbit　anymore。　Apparently　it　had　flipped　onto　its　back；　because　I　saw　its　hind　legs　kicking　spasmodically　in　the　air；　above　the　cloud　itself。
　I　said；　〃They're　killing　it　。。。〃
　〃Yeah；〃　Ricky　said；　nodding。　〃That's　right。〃
　〃I　thought　this　was　a　camera　swarm。〃
　〃Yeah；　well。〃
　〃How　are　they　killing　it？〃
　〃We　don't　know；　Jack。　But　it's　fast。〃
　I　frowned。　〃So　you've　seen　this　before？〃
　Ricky　hesitated；　bit　his　lip。　Didn't　answer　me；　just　stared　at　the　screen。
　I　said；　〃Ricky；　you've　seen　this　before？〃
　He　gave　a　long　sigh。　〃Yeah。　Well；　the　first　time　was　yesterday。　They　killed　a　rattlesnake　yesterday。〃
　I　thought；　they　killed　a　rattlesnake　yesterday。　I　said；　〃Jesus；　Ricky。〃　I　thought　of　the　men　in　the　helicopter；　talking　about　all　the　dead　animals。　I　wondered　if　Ricky　was　telling　me　all　he　knew。
　〃Yeah。〃
　The　rabbit　no　longer　kicked。　A　single　protruding　foot　trembled　with　small　convulsions；　and　then　was　still。　The　cloud　swirled　low　to　the　ground　around　the　animal；　rising　and　falling　slightly。　This　continued　for　almost　a　minute。
　I　said；　〃What're　they　doing　now？〃
　Ricky　shook　his　head。　〃I'm　not　sure。　But　they　did　this　before；　too。〃
　〃It　almost　looks　like　they're　eating　it。〃
　〃I　know；〃　Ricky　said。
　Of　course　that　was　absurd。　PREDPREY　was　just　a　biological　analogy。　As　I　watched　the　pulsing　cloud；　it　occurred　to　me　that　this　behavior　might　actually　represent　a　program　hang。　I　couldn't　remember　exactly　what　rules　we　had　written　for　individual　units　after　the　goal　was　attained。　Real　predators；　of　course；　would　eat　their　prey；　but　there　was　no　analogous　behavior　for　these　micro…robots。　So　perhaps　the　cloud　was　just　swirling　in　confusion。　If　so；　it　should　start　moving　again　soon。
　Usually；　when　a　distributed…intelligence　program　stalled；　it　was　a　temporary　phenomenon。　Sooner　or　later；　random　environmental　influences　would　cause　enough　units　to　act　that　they　induced　all　the　others　to　act；　too。　Then　the　program　would　start　up　again。　The　units　would　resume　goal　seeking。
　This　behavior　was　roughly　what　you　saw　in　a　lecture　hall；　after　the　lecture　was　over。　The　audience　milled　around　for　a　while；　stretching；　talking　to　people　close　to　them；　or　greeting　friends；　collecting　coats　and　belongings。　Only　a　few　people　left　at　once；　and　the　main　crowd　ignored　them。　But　after　a　certain　percentage　of　the　audience　had　gone；　the　remaining　people　would　stop　milling　and　begin　to　leave　quickly。　It　was　a　kind　of　focus　change。　If　I　was　right；　then　I　should　see　something　similar　in　the　behavior　of　the　cloud。　The　swirls　should　lose　their　coordinated　appearance；　there　should　be　ragged　wisps　of　particles　rising　into　the　air。　Only　then　would　the　main　cloud　move。
　I　glanced　at　the　timeclock　in　the　corner　of　the　monitor。　〃How　long　has　it　been　now？〃
　〃About　two　minutes。〃
　That　wasn't　particularly　long　for　a　stall；　I　thought。　At　one　point　when　we　were　writing　PREDPREY；　we　used　the　puter　to　simulate　coordinated　agent　behavior。　We　always　restarted　after　a　hang；　but　finally　we　decided　to　wait　and　see　if　the　program　was　really　permanently　stalled。　We　found　that　the　program　might　hang　for　as　long　as　twelve　hours　before　suddenly　kicking　off；　and　ing　back　to　life　again。　In　fact；　that　behavior　interested　the　neuroscientists　because…
　〃They're　starting；〃　Ricky　said。
　And　they　were。　The　swarms　were　beginning　to　rise　up　from　the　dead　rabbit。　I　saw　at　once　that　my　theory　was　wrong。　There　was　no　raggedness；　no　rising　wisps。　The　three　clouds　rose　up　together；　smoothly。　The　behavior　seemed　entirely　nonrandom　and　controlled。　The　clouds　swirled　separately　for　a　moment；　then　merged　into　one。　Sunlight　flashed　on　shimmering　silver。　The　rabbit　lay　motionless　on　its　side。
　And　then　the　swarm　moved　swiftly　away；　whooshing　off　into　the　desert。　It　shrank　toward　the　horizon。　In　moments；　it　was　gone。
　Ricky　was　watching　me。　〃What　do　you　think？〃
　〃You've　got　a　breakaway　robotic　nanoswarm。　That　some　idiot　made　self…powered　and　self…sustaining。〃
　〃You　think　we　can　get　it　back？〃
　〃No；〃　I　said。　〃From　what　I've　seen；　there's　not　a　chance　in　hell。〃
　Ricky　sighed；　and　shook　his　head。
　〃But　you　can　certainly　get　rid　of　it；〃　I　said。　〃You　can　kill　it。〃
　〃We　can？〃
　〃Absolutely。〃
　〃Really？〃　His　face　brightened。
　〃Absolutely。〃　And　I　meant　it。　I　was　convinced　that　Ricky　was　overstating　the　problem　he　faced。　He　hadn't　thought　it　through。　He　hadn't　done　all　he　could　do。　I　was　confident　that　I　could　destroy　the　runaway　swarm　quickly。　I　expected　that　I'd　be　done　with　the　whole　business　by　dawn　tomorrow…at　the　very　latest。　That　was　how　little　I　understood　my　adversary。
　　
　DAY　6　
　10：11　A。M。
　In　retrospect；　I　was　right　about　one　thing：　it　was　vitally　important　to　know　how　the　rabbit　had　died。　Of　course　I　know　the　reason　now。　I　also　know　why　the　rabbit　was　attacked。　But　that　first　day　at　the　laboratory；　I　didn't　have　the　faintest　notion　of　what　had　happened。　And　I　could　never　have　guessed　the　truth。
　None　of　us　could　have；　at　that　point。
　Not　even　Ricky。
　Not　even　Julia。
　It　was　ten　minutes　after　the　swarms　had　gone　and　we　were　all　standing　in　the　storage　room。　The　whole　group　had　gathered　there；　tense　and　anxious。　They　watched　me　as　I　clipped　a　radio　transmitter　to　my　belt；　and　pulled　a　headset　over　my　head。　The　headset　included　a　video　camera；　mounted　by　my　left　ear。　It　took　a　while　to　get　the　video　transmitter　working　right。　Ricky　said；　〃You're　really　going　out　there？〃
　〃I　am；〃　I　said。　〃I　want　to　know　what　happened　to　that　rabbit。〃　I　turned　to　the　others。　〃Who's　ing　with　me？〃
　Nobody　moved。　Bobby　Lembeck　stared　at　the　floor；　hands　in　his　pockets。　David　Brooks　blinked　rapidly；　and　looked　away。　Ricky　was　inspecting　his　fingernails。　I　caught　Rosie　Castro's　eye。　She　shook　her　head。　〃No　fucking　way；　Jack。〃
　〃Why　not；　Rosie？〃
　〃You　saw　it　yourself。　They're　hunting。〃
　〃Are　they？〃
　〃Sure　as　hell　looked　like　it。〃
　〃Rosie；〃　I　said；　〃I　trained　you　better　than　this。　How　can　the　swarms　be　hunting？〃
　〃We　all　saw　it。〃　She　stuck　her　chin　out　stubbornly。　〃All　three　of　the　swarms；　hunting；　coordinated。〃
　〃But　how？〃　I　said。
　Now　she　frowned；　looking　confused。　〃What　are　you　asking？　There's　no　mystery。　The　agents　can　municate。　They　can　each　generate　an　electrical　signal。〃
　〃Right；〃　I　said。　〃How　big　a　signal？〃
　〃Well　。。。〃　She　shrugged。
　〃How　big；　Rosie？　It　can't　be　much；　the　agent　is　only　a　hundredth　of　the　thickness　of　a　human　hair。　Can't　be　generating　much　of　a　signal；　right？〃
　〃True　。。。〃
　〃And　electromagnetic　radiation　decays　according　to　the　square　of　the　radius；　right？〃　Every　school　kid　learned　that　fact　in　high　school　physics。　As　you　moved　away　from　the　electromagnetic　source；　the　strength　faded　fast…very　fast。
　And　what　that　meant　was　the　individual　agents　could　only　municate　with　their　immediate　neighbors；　with　agents　very　close　to　them。　Not　to　other　swarms　twenty　or　thirty　yards　away。　Rosie's　frown　deepened。　The　whole　group　was　frowning　now；　looking　at　each　other　uneasily。
　David　Brooks　coughed。　〃Then　what　did　we　see；　Jack？〃
　〃You　saw　an　illusion；〃　I　said　firmly。　〃You　saw　three　swarms　acting　independently；　and　you　thought　they　were　coordinated。　But　they're　not。　And　I'm　pretty　certain　that　other　things　you　believe　about　these　swarms　aren't　true；　either。〃
　*　*　*
　There　was　a　lot　I　didn't　understand　about　the　swarms…and　a　lot　I　didn't　believe。　I　didn't　believe；　for　example；　that　the　swarms　were　reproducing。　I　thought　Ricky　and　the　others　must　be　pretty　unnerved　even　to　imagine　it。　After　all；　the　fifty　pounds　of　material　they'd　exhausted　into　the　environment　could　easily　account　for　the　three　swarms　I　had　seen…and　dozens　more　besides。　（I　was　guessing　that　each　swarm　consisted　of　three　pounds　of　nanoparticles。　That　was　roughly　the　weight　of　a　large　bee　swarm。）
　As　for　the　fact　that　these　swarms　showed　purposeful　behavior；　that　was　not　in　the　least　troubling；　it　was　the　intended　result　of　low…level　programming。　And　I　didn't　believe　the　swarms　were　coordinated。　It　simply　wasn't　possible；　because　the　fields　were　too　weak。　Nor　did　I　believe　the　swarms　had　the　adaptive　powers　that　Ricky　attributed　to　them。　I'd　seen　too　many　demos　of　robots　carrying　out　some　task…like　cooperating　to　push　a　box　around　the　room…which　was　interpreted　by　observers　as　intelligent　behavior；　when　in　fact　the　robots　were　stupid；　minimally　programmed；　and　cooperating　by　accident。　A　lot　of　behavior　looked　smarter　than　it　was