mc.prey-第38章

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he　little　workstation　on　the　desk　and　clicked　it　on。　A　menu　came　up　and　I　searched　for　some　kind　of　inter。　I　didn't　see　anything　like　that；　although　I　poked　around　the　interface　for　a　while。　I　must　have　set　something　off；　because　a　window　opened　and　Ricky　appeared；　smiling　at　me。　He　said；　〃So；　you're　awake。　How　do　you　feel？〃
　〃Unlock　the　goddamn　door。〃
　〃Is　your　door　locked？〃
　〃Unlock　it；　damn　it。〃
　〃It　was　only　for　your　own　protection。〃
　〃Ricky；〃　I　said；　〃open　the　damn　door。〃
　〃I　already　did。　It's　open；　Jack。〃
　I　walked　to　the　door。　He　was　right；　it　opened　immediately。　I　looked　at　the　latch。　There　was　an　extra　bolt；　some　kind　of　remote　locking　mechanism。　I'd　have　to　remember　to　tape　over　that。　On　the　monitor；　Ricky　said；　〃You　might　want　to　take　a　shower。〃
　〃Yeah；　I　would。　Why　is　the　air　so　loud？〃
　〃We　turned　on　full　venting　in　your　room；〃　Ricky　said。　〃In　case　there　were　any　extra　particles。〃
　I　rummaged　in　my　bag　for　clothes。　〃Where's　the　shower？〃
　〃Do　you　want　some　help？〃
　〃No；　I　do　not　want　some　help。　Just　tell　me　where　the　goddamn　shower　is。〃
　〃You　sound　angry。〃
　〃Fuck　you；　Ricky。〃
　The　shower　helped。　I　stood　under　it　for　about　twenty　minutes；　letting　the　steaming　hot　water　run　over　my　aching　body。　I　seemed　to　have　a　lot　of　bruises…on　my　chest；　my　thigh…but　I　couldn't　remember　how　I　had　gotten　them。
　When　I　came　out；　I　found　Ricky　there；　sitting　on　a　bench。　〃Jack；　I'm　very　concerned。〃
　〃How's　Charley？〃
　〃He　seems　to　be　okay。　He's　sleeping。〃
　〃Did　you　lock　his　room；　too？〃
　〃Jack。　I　know　you've　been　through　an　ordeal；　and　I　want　you　to　know　we're　all　very　grateful　for　what　you've　done…I　mean；　the　pany　is　grateful；　and…〃
　〃Fuck　the　pany。〃
　〃Jack；　I　understand　how　you　might　be　angry。〃
　〃Cut　the　crap；　Ricky。　I　got　no　goddamn　help　at　all。　Not　from　you；　and　not　from　anybody　else　in　this　place。〃
　〃I'm　sure　it　must　feel　that　way　。。。〃
　〃It　is　that　way；　Ricky。　No　help　is　no　help。〃
　〃Jack；　Jack。　Please。　I'm　trying　to　tell　you　that　I'm　sorry　for　everything　that　happened。　I　feel　terrible　about　it。　I　really　do。　If　there　were　any　way　to　go　back　and　change　it；　believe　me；　I　would。〃
　I　looked　at　him。　〃I　don't　believe　you；　Ricky。〃
　He　gave　a　winning　little　smile。　〃I　hope　in　time　that　will　change。〃
　〃It　won't。〃
　〃You　know　that　I　always　valued　our　friendship；　Jack。　It　was　always　the　most　important　thing　to　me。〃
　I　just　stared　at　him。　Ricky　wasn't　listening　at　all。　He　just　had　that　silly　smile…and…everything…will…be…fine　look　on　his　face。　I　thought；　Is　he　on　drugs？　He　was　certainly　acting　bizarrely。
　〃Well；　anyway。〃　He　took　a　breath；　changed　the　subject。　〃Julia's　ing　out；　that's　good　news。　She　should　be　here　sometime　this　evening。〃
　〃Uh…huh。　Why　is　she　ing　out？〃
　〃Well；　I'm　sure　because　she's　worried　about　these　runaway　swarms。〃
　〃How　worried　is　she？〃　I　said。　〃Because　these　swarms　could　have　been　killed　off　weeks　ago；　when　the　evolutionary　patterns　first　appeared。　But　that　didn't　happen。〃
　〃Yes。　Well。　The　thing　is；　back　then　nobody　really　understood…〃
　〃I　think　they　did。〃
　〃Well；　no。〃　He　managed　to　appear　unjustly　accused；　and　slightly　offended。　But　I　was　getting　tired　of　his　game。
　〃Ricky；〃　I　said；　〃I　came　out　here　on　the　helicopter　with　a　bunch　of　PR　guys。　Who　notified　them　there's　a　PR　problem　here？〃
　〃I　don't　know　about　any　PR　guys。〃
　〃They'd　been　told　not　to　get　out　of　the　helicopter。　That　it　was　dangerous　here。〃
　He　shook　his　head。　〃I　have　no　idea　。。。　I　don't　know　what　you're　talking　about。〃
　I　threw　up　my　hands；　and　walked　out　of　the　bathroom。
　〃I　don't！〃　Ricky　called　after　me；　protesting。　〃I　swear；　I　don't　know　a　thing　about　it！〃　Half　an　hour　later；　as　a　kind　of　peace　offering；　Ricky　brought　me　the　missing　code　I　had　been　asking　for。　It　was　brief；　just　a　sheet　of　paper。
　〃Sorry　about　that；〃　he　said。　〃Took　me　a　while　to　find　it。　Rosie　took　a　whole　subdirectory　offline　a　few　days　ago　to　work　on　one　section。　I　guess　she　forgot　to　put　it　back。　That's　why　it　wasn't　in　the　main　directory。〃
　〃Uh…huh。〃　I　scanned　the　sheet。　〃What　was　she　working　on？〃
　Ricky　shrugged。　〃Beats　me。　One　of　the　other　files。〃
　　
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　｛　ikl　（x1；y1；z1）　move　（x2；y2；z2）　｝　/*track*/　｛0；1；0；01）
　　
　〃Ricky；〃　I　said；　〃this　code　looks　almost　the　same　as　the　original。〃
　〃Yeah；　I　think　so。　The　changes　are　all　minor。　I　don't　know　why　it's　such　an　issue。〃　He　shrugged。　〃I　mean；　as　soon　as　we　lost　control　of　the　swarm；　the　precise　code　seemed　a　little　beside　the　point　to　me。　You　couldn't　change　it；　anyway。〃
　〃And　how　did　you　lose　control？　There's　no　evolutionary　algorithm　in　this　code　here。〃　He　spread　his　hands。　〃Jack；〃　he　said；　〃if　we　knew　that；　we'd　know　everything。　We　wouldn't　be　in　this　mess。〃
　〃But　I　was　asked　to　e　here　and　check　problems　with　the　code　my　team　had　written；　Ricky。　I　was　told　the　agents　were　losing　track　of　their　goals　。。。〃
　〃I'd　say　breaking　free　of　radio　control　is　losing　track　of　goals。〃
　〃But　the　code's　not　changed。〃
　〃Yeah　well；　nobody　really　cared　about　the　code　itself；　Jack。　It's　the　implications　of　the　code。　It's　the　behavior　that　emerges　from　the　code。　That's　what　we　wanted　you　to　help　us　with。　Because　I　mean；　it　is　your　code；　right？〃
　〃Yeah；　and　it's　your　swarm。〃
　〃True　enough；　Jack。〃
　He　shrugged　in　his　self…deprecating　way；　and　left　the　room。　I　stared　at　the　paper　for　a　while；　and　then　wondered　why　he'd　printed　it　out　for　me。　It　meant　I　couldn't　check　the　electronic　document。　Maybe　Ricky　was　glossing　over　yet　another　problem。　Maybe　the　code　really　had　been　changed；　but　he　wasn't　showing　me。　Or　maybe…
　The　hell　with　it；　I　thought。　I　crumpled　up　the　sheet　of　paper；　and　tossed　it　in　the　wastebasket。　However　this　problem　got　solved；　it　wasn't　going　to　be　with　puter　code。　That　much　was　clear。
　Mae　was　in　the　biology　lab；　peering　at　her　monitor；　hand　cupped　under　her　chin。　I　said；　〃You　feel　okay？〃
　〃Yes。〃　She　smiled。　〃How　about　you？〃
　〃Just　tired。　And　my　headache's　back。〃
　〃I　have　one；　too。　But　I　think　mine's　from　this　phage。〃　She　pointed　to　the　monitor　screen。　There　was　a　scanning　electron　microscope　image　of　a　virus　in　black　and　white。　The　phage　looked　like　a　mortar　shell…bulbous　pointed　head；　attached　to　a　narrower　tail。　I　said；　〃That's　the　new　mutant　you　were　talking　about　before？〃
　〃Yes。　I've　already　taken　one　fermentation　tank　offline。　Production　is　now　at　only　sixty　percent　capacity。　Not　that　it　matters；　I　suppose。〃
　〃And　what're　you　doing　with　that　offline　tank？〃
　〃I'm　testing　anti…viral　reagents；〃　she　said。　〃I　have　a　limited　number　of　them　here。　We're　not　really　set　up　to　analyze　contaminants。　Protocol　is　just　to　go　offline　and　scrub　any　tank　that　goes　bad。〃
　〃Why　haven't　you　done　that？〃
　〃I　probably　will；　eventually。　But　since　this　is　a　new　mutant；　I　thought　I　better　try　and　find　a　counteragent。　Because　they'll　need　it　for　future　production。　I　mean；　the　virus　will　be　back。〃
　〃You　mean　it　will　reappear　again？　Re…evolve？〃
　〃Yes。　Perhaps　more　or　less　virulent；　but　essentially　the　same。〃　I　nodded。　I　knew　about　this　from　work　with　genetic　algorithms…programs　that　were　specifically　designed　to　mimic　evolution。　Most　people　imagined　evolution　to　be　a　one…time…only　process；　a　confluence　of　chance　events。　If　plants　hadn't　started　making　oxygen；　animal　life　would　never　have　evolved。　If　an　asteroid　hadn't　wiped　out　the　dinosaurs；　mammals　would　never　have　taken　over。　If　some　fish　hadn't　e　onto　land；　we'd　all　still　be　in　the　water。　And　so　on。　All　that　was　true　enough；　but　there　was　another　side　of　evolution；　too。　Certain　forms；　and　certain　ways　of　life；　kept　appearing　again　and　again。　For　example；　parasitism…one　animal　living　off　another…had　evolved　independently　many　times　in　the　course　of　evolution。　Parasitism　was　a　reliable　way　for　life…forms　to　interact；　and　it　kept　reemerging。　A　similar　phenomenon　occurred　with　genetic　programs。　They　tended　to　move　toward　certain　tried…and…true　solutions。　The　programmers　talked　about　it　in　terms　of　peaks　on　a　fitness　landscape；　they　could　model　it　as　three…dimensional　false…color　mountain　range。　But　the　fact　was　that　evolution　had　its　stable　side；　too。
　And　one　thing　you　could　count　on　was　that　any　big；　hot　broth　of　bacteria　was　likely　to　get　contaminated　by　a　virus；　and　if　that　virus　couldn't　infect　the　bacteria；　it　would　mutate　to　a　form　that　could。　You　could　count　on　that　the　way　you　could　count　on　finding　ants　in　your　sugar　bowl　if　you　left　it　out　on　the　counter　too　long。
　Considering　that　evolution　has　been　studied　for　a　hundred　and　fifty　years；　it　was　surprising　how　little　we　knew　about　it。　The　old　ideas　about　survival　of　the　fittest　had　gone　out　of　fashion　long　ago。　Those　views　were　too　simpleminded。　Nineteenth…century　thinkers　saw　evolution　as　〃nature　red　in　tooth　and　claw；〃　envisioning　a　world　where　strong　animals　killed　weaker　ones。　They　didn't　take　into　account　that　the　weaker　ones　would　inevitably　get　stronger；　or　fight　back　in　some　other　way。　Which　of　course　they　always　do。
　The　new　ideas　emphasized　interactions　among　continuously　evolving　forms。　Some　people　talked　of　evolution　as　an　arms　race；　by　which　they　meant　an　ever…escalating　interaction。　A　plant　attacked　by　a　pest　evolves　a　pesticide　in　its　leaves。　The　pest　evolves　to　tolerate　the　pesticide；　so　the　plant　evolves　a　stronger　pesticide。　And　so　on。
　Others　talked　about　this　pattern　as　coevolution；　in　which　two　or　more　life…forms　evolved　simultaneously　to　tolerate　each　other。　Thus　a　plant　attacked　by　ants　evolves　to　tolerate　the　ants；　and　even　begins　to　make　special　food　for　them　on　the　surface　of　its　leaves。　In　return　the　resident　ants　protect　the　plant；　stinging　any　animal　that　tries　to　eat　the　leaves。　Pretty　soon　neither　the　plant　nor　the　ant　species　can　survive　without　the　other。
　This　pattern　was　so　fundamental　that　many　people　thought　it　was　the　real　core　of　evolution。　Parasitism　and　symbiosis　were　the　true　basis　for　evolutionary　change。　These　processes　lay　at　the　heart　of　all　evolution；　and　had　been　present　from　the　very　beginning。　Lynn　Margulies　was　famous　for　demonstrating　that　bacteria　had　originally　developed　nuclei　by　swallowing　other　bacteria。
　By　the　twenty…first　century；　it　was　clear　that　coevolution　wasn't　limited　to　paired　creatures　in　some　isolated　spinning　dance。　There　were　coevolutionary　patterns　with　three；　ten；　or　n　life…forms；　where　n　could　be　any　number　at　all。　A　cornfield　contained　many　kinds　of　plants；　was　attacked　by　many　pests；　and　evolved　many　defenses。　The　plants　peted　with　weeds；　the　pests　peted　with　other　pests；　larger　animals　ate　both　the　plants　and　the　pests。　The　oute　of　this　plex　interaction　was　always　changing；　always　evolving。　And　it　was　inherently　unpredictable。
　That　was；　in　the　end；　why　I　was　so　angry　with　Ricky。
　He　should　have　known　the　dangers；　when　he　found