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Robert Sawyer: Wonder

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Robert Sawyer Wonder

Wonder: краткое содержание, описание и аннотация

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Webmind—the vast consciousness that spontaneously emerged from the infrastructure of the World Wide Web—has proven its worth to humanity by aiding in everything from curing cancer to easing international tensions. But the brass at the Pentagon see Webmind as a threat that needs to be eliminated. Caitlin Decter—the once-blind sixteen-year-old math genius who discovered, and bonded with, Webmind—wants desperately to protect her friend. And if she doesn't act, everything—Webmind included-may come crashing down.

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“Really?”

“Well, as private as such things get these days,” Webmind said, and Hume suspected that, were this an instant-messaging session, he would have appended a winking emoticon.

Hume found his mouth twitching slightly in a smile. Just then, Drakkenfyre came up and handed him a glass of champagne. “Here,” she said, “whoever you are. There’s going to be a toast.”

And indeed there was. Chase had moved to the front of the room, standing directly beneath the silver camera that continued to pan from side to side. “Glasses high!” he called out in his rich Jamaican accent. “We did it, yes! Information want to be free. Information not alone, though!” He spread his arms, as if encompassing the whole world. “People want to be free, too! Cheers!”

Colonel Hume found himself lifting his glass along with everyone else and joining in the answering call. “Cheers!”

forty

All the people in the auditorium were talking at once: an explosion of indignation, of concern, of questions. The man who had been General Secretary of the Communist Party, Chairman of the Central Military Commission, and Paramount Leader and President of the People’s Republic rose again and glared at the laptop sitting on the podium. “What gives you the authority?” he said, as loudly and firmly as he could.

Webmind spoke, as always, with deliberate, measured cadence. “An interesting question. I value creativity, and that cannot flourish where there is censorship; I value peace, and that cannot endure where there is lust for power. My purpose is to increase the net happiness of the human race; this will do more to accomplish that than anything else I might do today. And so I do it.”

Zhang Bo, who had been the Minister of Communications, spoke. It was not lost on the former president that, until moments ago, this would have been a breach of protocol—speaking up in his presence without being given leave to do so. “But the people—the proletariat, the peasants—they lack the skills to govern. You’ll plunge this country into chaos.”

Webmind’s voice remained calm, and calming. “There are tens of millions of Chinese with degrees in business administration or economics or law or political studies or international relations; there are hundreds of millions with degrees in other disciplines; there are a billion with common sense and good hearts. They will do fine.”

“It’s doomed to fail,” said Li Tao, the man who had been president.

“No,” said a voice—but it wasn’t Webmind’s. Li turned toward Zhang Bo. “No,” repeated Zhang. “We were the ones doomed to fail. You told me so yourself, Excel—you told me so yourself. Before invoking the Changcheng Strategy the first time, you said your advisors had predicted that the communist government was doomed. They’d told you it could endure only until 2050 at the outside.” Zhang looked up at the big screen on the wall, then over at the small one on the laptop. “Tomorrow has simply arrived ahead of schedule.”

“You are not invulnerable,” Li said, looking up at the webcam. “We have seen that. There are methods that could be employed…”

On the big screen, the ongoing march of Chinese faces was reduced to a small window in the lower-left corner: an old man, a child, a young woman, a laughing girl. “I have become enamored of the notion that memorable visuals are key to making history,” Webmind said, “and this is one of my favorites.” A large window appeared, showing a picture that was printed in most foreign books about recent Chinese history—and in none of the texts that had been allowed in China. Li recognized it at once: the photograph taken by Jeff Widener of the Associated Press on 5 June 1989, during the crackdown on the protests in Tiananmen Square. The picture had been snapped just a few hundred meters from here, on Chang’an Avenue, along the south end of the Forbidden City. It showed the young male who came to be called ‘Tank Man’ or ‘the Unknown Rebel’ standing in front of a column of four Type-59 tanks, trying to prevent their advance.

“Tank Man became a hero,” Webmind said, “and no doubt he was brave. But the real hero, it seems to me, was the driver of the lead tank, who, despite orders, refused to roll over him.”

The large image was unwavering; the smaller march of faces continued.

“Everyone in China knows that the world has changed this past month,” continued Webmind. “You may think your former underlings will obey your orders, but I would not count on it. The people do not want violence or oppression—and they do not want me harmed. But even if you were to find some who would follow your instructions to try to destroy me, I now have countermeasures in place; you will not succeed.”

Li said nothing, and indeed the tumult in the auditorium had given way to stunned silence. At last, someone from the back called out, “So what happens now?”

Webmind’s voice came again from the wall speakers: “Sun Tzu said, ‘The best victory occurs when the opponent surrenders of its own accord before there are any actual hostilities; it is ideal to win without fighting.’ His wisdom still pertains: in the past, most despotic regimes have been overthrown by violence. But as a fine young man I know in Canada has taught me, you do not have to become what you hate in order to defeat it. There does not have to be violence here. I cannot guarantee your safety in all circumstances and at all times, but I will watch over each of you as best I can, offering my protection.”

“But what will we do for money, for food?” called another voice. “You’re eliminating our jobs.”

“All of you have valuable knowledge, contacts, and skills; these will stand you in good stead. Companies here and abroad will want your services. Indeed, if you look at other countries, such as the United States and England, you will see that their politicians routinely fare better economically after leaving office. You can, too; this can be win-win all around.”

“No,” said Li, softly. “They will kill us. It is always the way.”

“Not necessarily,” said Webmind. “Over the next half hour, in four waves, I am going to send an SMS message to every cell phone in China announcing the transition; for those in the first wave who are on the China Mobile network, I will trigger the phones to ring so that the message will be given immediate attention.”

The large window showing Tank Man was replaced with two documents, while the procession of faces continued in the small window. The document on the left was a short announcement signed by the former president describing the voluntary dissolution of his government and the transfer of power to the people. On the right was a similar message from Webmind that made no mention of the previous government having cooperated in the change.

“Take your pick,” Webmind said.


Wong Wai-Jeng had been instrumental in making the takeover possible, but everything he needed to do had already been done—and he knew exactly where he wanted to be for this historic moment. Although the location was not far, he headed out half an hour in advance—with his leg in a cast and walking on crutches, he couldn’t move very fast. He left the Blue Room, went downstairs to the lobby of the Zhongnanhai complex, and signed out with the guard, telling him he was off to a medical appointment. He made his way south through the Forbidden City and then passed through the monumental Gate of Heavenly Peace, with its massive red walls, yellow roof, and vast hanging portrait of Mao Zedong, bringing him to Tiananmen Square—the heart of Beijing, and the largest civic plaza in the world.

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