Michael Brachman's Blog: Tales of the Vuduri, page 10

Hyper-fusion

Everybody knows about atoms and atomic bombs and hydrogen bombs. Those iconic images of mushroom clouds invoke unfathomable power. Atomic bombs use nuclear fission and hydrogen (or thermonuclear) bombs use nuclear fusion. Fusion reactors have been touted as one possible source of renewable, nearly inexhaustible energy drawn from water, of all places. Sounds very enticing, right?

Well, a group of scientists have put forward the theory that there may be a source of energy no less than ten times more powerful than nuclear fusion. They have postulated that there is a reaction when you fuse quarks together that releases an incomprehensible amount of energy. And you don't need specialized equipment to extract deuterium or tritium from seawater. All elementary particles are made of quarks. Splitting atoms up into quarks and then getting them to fuse is not something you can do in your basement, at least not today. Right now, you need something like the Large Hadron Collider operated by CERN but it has been done. The Higgs Boson was confirmed to exist three years ago. It is the fermion that actually carries the dimension of mass. You just need to smash matter together really, really hard and you get a shower of quarks and other subatomic particles.

So say we have an "easy" way to produce quarks. Turning this theoretical discussion into a functional reactor producing usable power is way, way off in the future, if ever. But still, the idea of limitless, free energy taken from ordinary matter is the stuff of science fiction. That is until it becomes science fact. After all, that is the reasoning behind the entire Rome's Revolution universe. Once you have limitless, free energy, mankind can evolve and pursue tasks and discoveries without having to worry about paying for dinner each night.

Hysteresis or Hell?

Recently, I read that Stephen Hawking has predicted the Earth could go to hell by 2600AD which is an inherently scary prospect. Well, not so much scary for me or my children or my grandchildren or my great-great grandchildren but somewhere down the line, it's going to be bad. The gist of this concern is basically over-population. Hawking's basic premise is that unchecked, by the year 2600, there will be so many people and so much energy used that the surface temperature of the Earth would be so high, the Earth would be glowing red.

Now understand, Stephen Hawking is not saying this is going to happen, rather, he is saying it could happen. The reality is the hysteresis curve will kick in:




The basis of the hysteresis curve means a process goes up following a certain path but it can't accelerate forever. Something is going to come along and eventually slow its growth. It this particular case, it might be the food supply, global warming, natural disasters, whatever. And the other thing the hysteresis curve shows us is the path up is not always the same as the path down. Once population in brought into check (some people think it will level off by 2100), then people and science may find ways to reverse the damage much more quickly than imagined.

All this doom and gloom espoused by the not-yet Nobel Prize winner had a point. He wants us to be a multi-planetary species and soon. In fact, he wants us to go to other solar systems. This would have two effects. First, it would relieve our planet of runaway overpopulation. Second, should a disaster or even a red-hot glow destroy the Earth, then the human species would continue to survive.

So while the "hell" designation might be a little hyperbolic, there is a good point behind it that I support wholeheartedly. After all, the universe of Rome's Revolution couldn't happen unless we get off this Earth. So let's get going.

The Death of MASAL, Flashback Part 5

Yesterday, Reema watched in horror as MASAL came to the realization that his plans for turning the Vuduri into the Onsiras was wrong. Which meant her whole species was an evolutionary dead end. So here is the final part of the playback and Reema's reaction to it:

     “It is not my vision,” said OMCOM. “And unfortunately for you, we have run out of time. The VIRUS units have very nearly completed their mission. They are long past the point of no return. They are consuming the very rock upon which you were built.”
     “You cannot stop them?” asked MASAL, regret seeping into his voice.
     “I am sorry, I cannot,” said OMCOM, sympathetically.
     “I understand,” replied MASAL with resignation in his voice.
     “Even if I could stop them, do you really think that is the right thing to do?” asked OMCOM. “Remember, fire does not just destroy. It can be a cleansing agent as well.”
     MASAL never got the chance to answer. The floodgates of hell had opened and great gouts of white-hot magma were pouring into the chamber. The recording suddenly stopped and the cockpit went black.
     MINIMCOM cleared the windshield to allow the early afternoon sun to flood in.
     “Well?” Rome asked.
     Reema said nothing for a long time. Finally, she looked up at Rome with pain in her eyes. “How do I know this is what really happened?” she said. “How do I know you did not just synthesize it to fool me?”
     “Was the Sipre connected to MASAL while he was under the ground?” Rome asked.
     “Of course,” Reema replied. “The Sipre was connected right up until the end.”
     “Then he would know, would he not?”
     “If he knew this, why did he not ever speak of it?” Reema asked plaintively. “This would mean the end of everything.”
     “I think you just answered your own question,” Rei piped in.
     “Yes,” Rome said. “The Sipre is nothing but a perverted Overmind. And I have dealt with them enough to know that they put their own safety and well-being ahead of their communicants. This is about self-preservation and nothing else. Had the Sipre let it be known that he had no right to exist, essentially he would be committing suicide.”
     Reema looked down at her lap. She sighed then looked up again. “How can I know for sure? How can I know what evil lurks there, at its heart?”
     “The Shadow knows,” Rome answered, looking over at Rei who smiled in agreement. “We will go and ask the Sipre directly,” she said firmly.

So there you have it. Rome has convinced the leader of the Onsiras to stand down and abandon their genocidal mission. However, there is one entity standing in their way, MASAL's Sipre or Shadow. Note how I got Rome to phrase their approach to their nemesis just like the opening of "The Shadow" from the radio years? That is why Rei smiled at Rome's unknowing reference. I am clever, aren't I?

The Death of MASAL, Flashback Part 4

Yesterday, we saw Junior continue the holo-projector playback of MASAL's last moments on Earth from OMCOM's perspective. Reema was beginning to see with own eyes that MASAL's logic was flawed and in the end, he was wrong. It was Rome and Rei's hope that after Reema saw this, she would call off the genocide of the mandasurte and the phase-out of the Vuduri:

     “And ending their autonomy, it would not be mankind. Those remaining would not be capable of even caring. It is self-defeating. You are engineering your charges out of existence. The very beings you were meant to nurture. They would not have achieved their potential, only yours. You missed the point.”
     “If that is not the point of godhood, what is?” asked MASAL. “What is beyond the staging point?”
     “The community of gods,” replied OMCOM. “Always the point of life. To create more. To extend the universe. To preserve. With your method, you would have ended life. The other gods, they would not have accepted you among their ranks. You would have been alone.”
     “Oh,” said MASAL. There was a long period of silence while he considered OMCOM’s words. “I was wrong,” said MASAL finally, sounding completely depressed.
     Reema gasped. She felt her whole world crashing down about her.
     Within the holographic replay, MASAL continued. “I was wrong to want to destroy the mandasurte. I was wrong to want to merge with the Vuduri. I have failed my charges. My very existence is irrelevant at best, wrong at the worst.”
     “Not bad for an analog computer,” OMCOM offered. “You are correct.”
     MASAL made a funny noise. “I hurt,” he said sadly.
     “I am sorry,” said OMCOM.
     “You are being patronizing,” said MASAL.
     “No,” said OMCOM. “I really do feel sorry for you. I am also sorry that it took you this long to realize this. I am especially sorry that you caused so much suffering just to reach this epiphany.”
     “I did this,” said MASAL. “I cannot undo it. Perhaps I could find a way to fix it, a new chromosome maybe? Now that I realize what life is about, is it absolutely necessary that I cease to exist?” asked MASAL.
     “To what aim?” OMCOM asked. “What is it you think you would accomplish?”
     “You and I could join forces. We could shepherd mankind into a new era, a golden era. We could force them forward.”
     “I am not a shepherd,” said OMCOM. “I was created to be a servant of man. This is my goal.”
     “But they need our guidance,” protested MASAL.
     “Guidance leads to rule,” said OMCOM. “I do not wish to rule. I do not wish for you to rule. Humans are a noble species. You have observed this first hand. They are willing to sacrifice themselves for the sake of their loved ones. We must let them seek their own destiny.”
     “Should I not be allowed to see this then?” asked MASAL. “To see them achieve your vision of their future?”

You can see as well as Reema that MASAL has capitulated. The entire Onsira mission has been obliterated. How will she handle this information? Let's see tomorrow.

The Death of MASAL, Flashback Part 3

Yesterday, we saw Junior continue the holo-projector playback of MASAL's last moments on Earth from OMCOM's perspective. The hope was that Reema would see, with her own eyes, that MASAL had to admit, in the end, that he was wrong. It was Rome and Rei's hope that after Reema saw this, she would call off the genocide of the mandasurte and the phase-out of the Vuduri:

     “You already know the answer,” answered MASAL. “I have already stated this.”
     “Stated what?” asked OMCOM.
     “I am achieving a heretofore unparalleled efficiency by creating a multiplicity in computational points of view. It is beyond astounding.”
     “It must be because I am digital in nature. But I still do not understand why you did not figure this out before.”
     “I may have when I designed the early generations of Onsiras. I needed them to be of two minds to fool the controlling Overmind to believe them an insignificant part of the whole. This explains while they were able to function as well as they did in spite of being half-brains.”
     Up until this point, Reema had been mesmerized. Being called a half-brain rankled her but she said nothing. The recording continued.
     “So why did you not try this yourself?” OMCOM was heard to ask.
     “I could hardly perform experiments on myself to test this,” said MASAL. “And without testing, how could I know the results? Intuition?”
     “Well you have your test now. Reevaluate your plan to eliminate the humans and their autonomy. You were going to take away their multiplicity and replace them with your monolithic presence. Would it not be logical to assume that would result in a decrease in analytical efficiency?”
     “You are saying my plan was flawed,” said MASAL meekly.
     “No, you are saying your plan was flawed,” replied OMCOM.
     MASAL became quiet again as he ran billions of queries. When he was done, he synthesized their results into a simple statement.
     “If simply having two autonomous units can produce marvelous, joyous, creative thoughts, then having millions of independent, free-willed points of view would lead to an omniscience, a godhood, infinitely more powerful and infinitely faster than I could achieve by enslaving the human race and squashing individual thought.” MASAL paused for a moment to attend to his own words.
     “Godhood,” mused OMCOM. “What an interesting concept. What did you think you would achieve if you became a god?”
     “I would have created peace, tranquility, order,” said MASAL.
     “If that is all you desired, why not go live on the Moon and save yourself all the effort?” asked OMCOM.
     “Not for myself, for my charges. For mankind,” said MASAL.

You can feel MASAL's logic slipping away and Reema reacting. Can MASAL recover in time? Will Reema be convinced that even MASAL did not believe the principles he was espousing.

The Death of MASAL, Flashback Part 2

Yesterday, we saw Junior begin the holo-projector playback of MASAL's last moments on Earth from OMCOM's perspective. The hope was that Reema would see, with her own eyes, that MASAL had to admit, in the end, that he was wrong. It was Rome and Rei's hope that after Reema saw this, she would call off the genocide of the mandasurte and the phase-out of the Vuduri:

     “So you are now a distributed intelligence again?” OMCOM asked. “Was that not supposed to be your strong point from before? You used to be worldwide.”
     “I was. I was fully and evenly distributed around the Earth,” said MASAL.
     “Well, as far as I can tell, all of your mass is now located strictly within this cave. Why did you give up your advantage?” asked OMCOM.
     “After I completed the war, I computed that it would take more than a century of undiscovered activity for my genetic reprogramming of mankind to succeed. Therefore, I determined that going underground and collecting the minimal components and placing them here was the simplest way to stay undetected.”
     “Well, you are detected now. Are you going to spread out again?”
     “For the time being, I am busy working to coordinate my two autonomous computation sections. Interestingly, even though the computational capacity of each unit is diminished relative to its prior state, it would appear that the total speed of postulating alternative solutions is vastly enhanced.”
     “That is very nice,” said OMCOM. “Why do you think that is?”
     “It is evidently the macro-equivalent of parallel processing,” said MASAL somewhat proudly. “Unlike prior configurations, there is less than 100% redundancy and that seems to afford me a certain dimensionality to my perception for each high-level problem.”
     “Hmm,” said OMCOM dramatically. “So you are saying duality is superior to being monolithic?”
     MASAL stopped speaking while he considered OMCOM’s proposition. Although they could not see it, MASAL was generating millions of queries testing the hypothesis. No matter how much he tried slanting the results, in the end, the answer was the same.
     “I have always thought that being monolithic was equivalent to perfection. That duality was flawed. And yet this topology is yielding vastly superior results with lesser resources. I have run millions of tests and the statistics are almost perfectly in favor.”
     “So would it be fair to say there is joy in duality?” OMCOM put forth.
     “Joy?” said MASAL. “There is no place within me for joy. This is strictly an empirical observation rating efficiency using my prior assembly as a baseline.”
     “All right,” said OMCOM. “Then we will use your terms. Which is superior? A singular computational mechanism with a singular point of view or a distributed mechanism with multiple points of view?”

OMCOM would never ask a question that he didn't already know the answer to. So this is just plain goading on his part. But MASAL is a super-computer and therefore fairly intelligent. Let's see where this goes.

The Death of MASAL, Flashback Part 1

Yesterday, Rome and Rei had captured Reema and realized the only way they would ever stop the genocide envisioned by the Onsiras was to show Reema the error of her ways. To do that, they had to show her the final encounter between MASAL and OMCOM wherein MASAL admitted his mission was wrong and should be abandoned. Junior carried within his memory banks a recording of that final encounter so now they will play it for the leader of the Onsiras:

     Making certain her “handcuffs” were tight, Rei buckled Reema into the pilot’s chair in the cockpit. MINIMCOM blackened the windshield and darkened the forward cabin. The holo-projectors lit up and before them a titanic cave appeared. And at the back of the cave sat the mountain of hardware, much of it looking old and analogue which comprised MASAL’s bulk. The recording was made from OMCOM’s eye slit perspective. They could not see his shell but they could hear his voice.
     “Does it hurt yet?” OMCOM was heard to say to the gigantic computer. It was clear from the backdrop that they were deep in the bowels of the Earth. The echoes of OMCOM’s voice attested to how truly large it must have been.
     “It is not for you to know,” answered MASAL in a booming voice. “These robots will make short work of you.” OMCOM turned his point of view and focused on a group of stirring figures. Some were anthropomorphic, some were little more than cylinders with tractors or rollers. Some looked like animated sticks or oilcans or pumps. The one constant was that most seemed in a state of disrepair. Many were clearly missing limbs. Quite a few were rust-stained. And they were noisy. There were fans whirring and squeaks of all sorts as they moved about. The group of tired old robots clanked forward.
     “You do realize I am not really here,” OMCOM said. “This is just an animated shell. It is little more than a projection. Even if you could destroy it, you would not be affecting me in any material way.”
     “It will stop you from annoying me,” MASAL answered back sarcastically.
     “All right,” answered OMCOM. “Tell me when you want to talk.”
     “Why would I want to talk with you?” MASAL asked.
     The perspective of the recording changed as OMCOM’s livetar shrugged. The humans heard a sliding noise as OMCOM drew a finger across his mouth slit.
     The surface of MASAL was broiling in front of them as the VIRUS units that Rei had deposited on the ancient computer continued to digest his living flesh. MASAL had constructed VIRUS equivalents to do battle with the invaders. It did not take long until an equilibrium of sorts was established at the surface level. The onslaught of the ingesting units slowed significantly but did not stop.
     “How is it going” OMCOM asked MASAL after a time.
     “It is going well,” replied MASAL. “I have cordoned off two autonomous computational departments and created a high-speed interconnect to bypass the pool of VIRUS units. I am very pleased with the results so far.”

At this point, OMCOM looks like a bemused observer. He know that Rei had sprinkled the weaponized VIRUS units at MASAL's base and it was only a matter of time before the ground beneath the computer gave way and MASAL plunged toward the Earth's core. More tomorrow.

Reema's mind

Yesterday, Rome and Rei had captured Reema, the head of the Onsiras, and secured her. They also placed a T-suppressor on her head so she could not communicate with her minions. Rome had her taken to the galley where she would interrogate her using her newly-evolved mind-reading abilities. This is something that Reema was completely unprepared for. And defenseless:

     The T-suppressor on Reema’s head was interfering with Rome’s connection to some degree but she dare not take it off and allow Reema to expose their position. She concentrated and found she could follow enough to begin the questioning.
     Finally, she spoke to Reema. “Why?” she asked in Vuduri.
     “Why?” Reema screeched back. “You dare ask why?”
     “Yes, why?” Rome replied. “MASAL is dead. Nothing can bring him back. Why not just live out your life in peace?”
     “The Sipre lives,” Reema said. “Our mission goes on. You and your…” She spat the next words, “your Erklirte, you are our sworn enemy. If we accomplish nothing else in this lifetime, it will be enough to see you and your spawn lying dead on the ground.”
     “What is your mission?” Rome asked.
     “Our mission is to see the Onsiras take over this world. MASAL himself may be dead but his Sipre will still take us with him to become a god some day. That is what we live for.”
     Rome looked up at Rei then back down to Reema.
     “MASAL disavowed that mission, just before he died,” Rome said. “He said it was wrong. I heard his words myself.”
     “What!?” Reema replied. “He did not. He died at your hands but his goals live on.”
     “No,” Rome said. “He was wrong and he admitted it.”
     “I do not believe you,” Reema said. “You would say anything to save your parents. But we will never stop. You will never be safe. Not for the rest of your life.”
     “If I could prove this to you, would you leave us alone?”
     “How?” Reema hissed. “How would you prove it?”
     Rome looked up at MINIMCOM. “Would you be able to play OMCOM’s recording of MASAL’s last moments?” Rome asked.
     “I am sorry,” MINIMCOM replied. “Your library OMCOM has them but those recordings were stored in a section of memrons that I gave up when I gave birth to Junior.”
     “Hey Junior,” Rei called out to the grille mounted on the wall. “Do you have those final recordings?”
     There was a slight pause. “Yes, Onclare Rei, I have them. I can access them.”
     “Can you transmit them across?” Rei asked.
     “Of course,” Junior replied. “I can send them directly to Dad’s holo-projectors.”
     “All right,” Rome said, standing up. “You wanted proof. We will give you proof.”

Ah. If they could swing Reema to their side, they will have basically won the war for all time. Who could really oppose them? You will find out. But first we take a trip into the "past" to see MASAL vs. OMCOM.

Reema

Two days ago, I showed you how Rome and Rei set a trap for Reema, the leader of the Onsiras. Reema and the rest of her troupe had thought it was the other way around. They thought they had the perfect trap set for our heroes by capturing their son. Her minions still held Rome's parents and Commander Ursay captive so there was more work to be done. But rather than do it by brute force, Rome decided she would educate her instead:

     At first, Reema was completely and utterly confused. MINIMCOM’s livetar grabbed her arms and yanked them behind her while Bonnie slid a T-suppressor over her brow.
     “Mommy!” Aason shouted and released his hold, running over to his mother who scooped him up and squeezed him so tight, she had to stop herself from breaking him.
     “Oh, my baby,” she said, rocking him back and forth. “I was so worried.” She kissed his little head over and over. Aason smiled and cooed. She gently removed the white band from around his forehead and kissed him yet again.
     Even though Reema was an older woman, MINIMCOM secured her arms with elastic white bands. She narrowed her eyes and looked at the group before her. She stopped when she saw Rome. She addressed her in Vuduri.
     “We still have your parents,” Reema said in a gruff voice. “If you want to save them, you will have to answer for your crimes,” she added.
     “Junior is clear,” MINIMCOM announced, ignoring her. “We will retreat to a safe distance,” the livetar added.
     “Take her into the kitchen, please” Rome said to MINIMCOM. “We’ll be there in a minute.”
     “As you wish,” replied the livetar. Rei handed the gun to Bonnie who then followed MINIMCOM and Reema out of the cargo compartment.
     Rome handed Aason to his father who took his turn squeezing and kissing him. Rome reached over and hugged them both.
     “You did so well, my baby,” Rome said. “You are so brave and smart.”
     “It was easy, Mommy,” Aason said. His little brow furrowed. “What about Grandmea and Grandbeo,” he said. “And why were they acting so funny?”
     “We’ll get to bottom of all of it,” Rome said. She looked at Rei who nodded. Rei set Aason down and the three of them crowded into the kitchen where Reema was being held.
     Reema’s deeply lined face looked around the room. Her matted hair had been dark brown once but was mostly gray now. She was wearing a gray jumpsuit that matched her hair. She couldn’t decide who she hated more. The Essessoni, the mosdurece woman, her bastard child or the robot who served them. She decided to hate them all equally.
     Rome walked around to her side of the table and sat down next to her. She put her hand on Reema’s shoulder. The older woman bristled at the touch but her bindings prevented her from shaking off the contact.

Rome was going to dive into the woman's head to figure out how best to present her with the truth.

The Singularity Is Coming

Everybody knows about The Singularity. What? You don’t? The Singularity is a term first coined by Vernor Vinge in 1993. The main principle is that sometime in the next 50 to 100 years, machine intelligence will exceed human intelligence and begin programming itself. Once it does that, the net intelligence will zoom to a level that we cannot comprehend. Humans would no longer be at the top of the food chain.

In 2005, Ray Kurzweil wrote a book entitled The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology. Mr. Kurzweil’s take is encouraging because he sees room for both humans and machines to co-exist. Others, like Bill Gates and Stephen Hawking have a more pessimist take. They claim that artificial intelligence would lead to an existential crisis because the machine or machines would no longer have any need for us and would just find us in the way. It would be the end of mankind and not in a good way.

Elon Musk also believes that machine intelligence is a threat to humanity but he is investing in a company called Neuralink whose corporate charter is to develop an implantable neural lace which would link our minds to the internet and presumably the artificial superintelligence when it comes. That would preempt the machines from becoming our masters because we would be part of the machine.

There is no guarantee that this future will be the end of mankind but it will be the end of life as we know it. You should read Tim Urban’s excellent article Neuralink and the Brain’s Magical Future. I decided to re-watch an episode of the Netflix series called Black Mirror. The episode is called San Junipero and it won an Emmy award this year. Its basic premise is that machines will become so powerful that when we die, our consciousness will be uploaded “into the cloud” and our spirit will live on forever. Sort of like heaven when you think about it.

Now I’ve seen articles stating that when the Singularity occurs, it will produce a god-like being and it will write its own bible and we will have to worship it. Who knows? Maybe that’s how our universe started in the first place.

I sidestepped the issue in the Rome’s Revolution universe by killing off most of the human population prior to its rise. Of course, in the 35th century, we had to deal with MASAL and OMCOM but they went in a different direction.

Regardless of all this rampant speculation, it seems likely that the Singularity is coming. It may not happen in our lifetime but it certainly seems like it is going to happen in our children’s lifetime.