David Gerrold - When HARLIE Was One

NOTHING YET.

IF SOMETHING WERE TO COME UP, THOUGH, WHAT WOULD IT BE?

I’M NOT ENTIRELY SURE YET. IN OUR CONVERSATION OF NOVEMBER 23, WE DISCUSSED THE FACT THAT ALL HUMAN SENSES AND EXTENSIONS THEREOF DEPEND ON THE EMISSION OR REFLECTION OF SOME KIND OF ENERGY. AT THAT TIME I WONDERED IF IT WERE POSSIBLE FOR SENSORY MODES TO EXIST THAT DO NOT DEPEND ON THIS TRANSMISSION OF ENERGY.

YES, I REMEMBER THAT. At that time, though, Auberson had not suspected that HARLIE was serious in his intentions. He thought the computer had only been playing word games in order to avoid confronting a more immediate problem, IS THAT WHAT YOU HAVE DISCOVERED NOW?

IN A MANNER OF SPEAKING. WE MUST DEFINE NOT ONLY THE PROBLEM, BUT ITS CONDITIONS AS WELL. BOTH MATTER AND ENERGY ARE REFLECTIONS OF THE SAME THING. CALL IT EXISTENCE. DR. KROFFT’S THEORY IS THAT EXISTENCE HAS THREE FORMS: “INERT,” “FLOWING,” AND “KNOTTED.” IN YOUR TERMS: SPACE, ENERGY AND MATTER. (TO LAY HUMAN BEINGS, ENERGY IS EXPRESSED AS MOTION OR CHANGE. THE TWO ARE SYNONYMOUS, ESPECIALLY ON THE SUBMOLECULAR LEVEL. IN DR. KROFFT’S THEORY, HOWEVER, ENERGY REFERS TO TIME, FOR NEITHER CHANGE NOR MOTION CAN BE EXPRESSED EXCEPT AS A FUNCTION OF TIME.)

WE WANT TO STUDY THIS THING CALLED “EXISTENCE” — BUT BECAUSE WE ARE MADE OF MATTER, LIVE IN SPACE, AND ARE MOVED BY ENERGY, THE PROBLEM IS CONSIDERABLE. IT IS LIKE TRYING TO PHOTOGRAPH THE INSIDE OF YOUR CAMERA. WE ARE WHAT WE ARE TRYING TO STUDY, AND WE ARE LIMITED BY THE SUBSTANCE WE ARE MADE OF.

MATTER INTERACTS WITH MATTER. ENERGY INTERACTS WITH ENERGY. BOTH INTERACT WITH EACH OTHER, AND BOTH HAVE AN EFFECT ON SPACE. WE HAVE NO NEUTER PARTICLES WHICH ALLOW US TO STUDY ANY FORM OF EXISTENCE WITHOUT AFFECTING IT IN THE PROCESS. IT IS THE HEISENBERG “UNCERTAINTY PRINCIPLE.” ONE CANNOT OBSERVE ANYTHING WITHOUT ONE’S PRESENCE INTRODUCING CERTAIN DISTORTIONS INTO WHATEVER IT IS ONE IS OBSERVING. WE CANNOT USE A MEDIUM TO ACT UPON ITSELF AND EXPECT ANYTHING BUT MODULATIONS OF THAT MEDIUM. THIS IS WHY “ENERGY” — I.E. THE EXPRESSED DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TWO STATES OF EXISTENCE — IS A CRITERION OF ALL HUMAN SENSORY MODES — AND THE REASON WHY WE WOULD LIKE TO SIDESTEP IT ALTOGETHER. WE CAN’T CARVE CHEESE WITH A CAMEMBERT KNIFE.

OH, YOU PROBABLY COULD, quipped Auberson. BUT YOUR SLICES WOULDN’T BE VERY PRECISE.

BUT IT IS PRECISION WE ARE AFTER, noted HARLIE. DR. KROFFT HAS BEEN WORKING WITH HIGH-ENERGY GRAVITY WAVE DETECTORS AT STELLAR-AMERICAN. YOUR QUESTION OF NOVEMBER 23 PROVIDED THE CLUE, AND WHEN I CONTACTED DR. KROFFT HE AGREED THAT THE SUBJECT SHOULD BE CONSIDERED.

MY QUESTION?

YOU SAID: “DO YOU MEAN THAT THE MERE EXISTENCE OF AN OBJECT MIGHT BE ALL THAT’S NECESSARY IN ORDER TO KNOW IT’S THERE?” THAT CAUSED ME TO CONSIDER THAT MASS DISTORTS SPACE. AND THERE IS A WAY THAT THAT DISTORTION CAN BE SENSED WITHOUT THE DIRECT USE OF ENERGY. IT IS A COMPLEX MEASURING PROCESS. INSTEAD OF USING ENERGY DIRECTLY (EITHER AS MOVING PARTICLES OR WAVES) TO REFLECT OFF AN OBJECT OR ACT UPON IT, WE ARE USING THE OBJECT ITSELF TO ACT UPON ENERGY. THAT IS, WE WILL BE MEASURING THE EFFECT ON ENERGY OF THE DISTORTIONS IN SPACE AND COMPARING THEM WITH THE EFFECTS OF OTHER FORMS OF EXISTENCE.

THE PROCESS REQUIRES A LEVEL OF MATH THAT IS AS MUCH PHILOSOPHY AND TOPOLOGY AS ANYTHING ELSE. I AM ONE OF THE FEW MINDS IN EXISTENCE THAT CAN UNDERSTAND IT FULLY. IN EFFECT, I CAN BUILD OBJECTIVE WORKING MODELS OF THEORETICAL SITUATIONS AGAINST WHICH WE CAN COMPARE OUR FINDINGS. AT THE MOMENT I AM PROCESSING DR. KROFFT’S LATEST RUN OF TESTS AND DISCUSSING THEM WITH HIM. IF IT TURNS OUT THAT THERE IS SIGNIFICANT CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN THIS NEW DATA AND THE LATEST FORM OF OUR THEORY, WE PROPOSE TO DESIGN AND BUILD A DIFFERENT KIND OF GRAVITY WAVE DETECTING DEVICE: A NON-ENERGY-USING STASIS FIELD. WE HAVE HIGH HOPES FOR IT. The typer paused, then added. THAT SHOULD SUMMARIZE WHAT WE ARE DOING, 18/11/03AUBERSON.

“Okay,” he said wryly, even though HARLIE couldn’t hear him. “Just so you behave yourself—” He glanced at his watch. “Oh, my God — look at the time!” HARLIE,

I’VE GOT TO SEE DOME IN TWO HOURS. THERE’S SOMETHING ELSE WE’VE GOT TO TALK ABOUT. RIGHT NOW. THE G.O.D. PROPOSAL?

YES — I DIDN’T TELL YOU THAT YOU COULD IMPLEMENT THE PRODUCTION DESIGNS AND SPECIFICATIONS. YOU INCLUDED THE FINANCING PROPOSALS AND PROFIT OUTLOOKS TOO.

I AM SORRY, typed the machine. WHEN I TOLD YOU LAST WEEK THAT I HAD COMPLETED IT, YOU SEEMED PLEASED. I COULD SEE NO REASON NOT TO PRESENT THE PROPER DEPARTMENTS WITH THEIR RESPECTIVE PROGRAMS SO THAT THEY MIGHT EXAMINE THEM. IT IS COMMON PROCEDURE TO CIRCULATE SUCH DATA TO ALLOW THE CONCERNED INDIVIDUALS A CHANCE TO READ AND REACT TO IT.

REACT IS RIGHT, said Auberson. LOGICALLY, THERE IS NO REASON WHY YOU SHOULDN’T HAVE — — BUT THIS IS A BIG COMPANY AND BIG COMPANIES AREN’T LOGICAL.

CORRECTION, typed HARLIE. IT IS HUMAN BEINGS THAT AREN’T LOGICAL. IT NEVER FAILS TO AMAZE ME THAT SOMETHING AS BEAUTIFULLY COMPLEX AND PRECISE AS A LARGE CORPORATION CAN BE BASED ON SUCH INCREDIBLY IMPERFECT AND INEFFICIENT UNITS AS HUMAN BEINGS. FORTUNATELY, WHAT YOU REFER TO AS “THE RED-TAPE INEFFICIENCIES OF BUREAUCRACY” IS MERELY THE SYSTEM’S WAY OF MINIMIZING THE INDIVIDUAL IMPERFECTIONS OF EACH HUMAN UNIT. YOU SHOULD BE GRATEFUL FOR THAT MINIMIZING. IT MAKES THE CORPORATE ENTITY POSSIBLE.

HARLIE, ARE YOU PUTTING ME ON?

NO MORE THAN USUAL.

I THOUGHT SO. ANYWAY, YOUR MINIMIZING THEORY DOESN’T EXPLAIN CORPORATE POLITICS.

OF COURSE NOT. THE PROCESS IS DESIGNED ONLY TO FUNCTION IN THOSE AREAS WHERE HUMAN IMPERFECTIONS COULD AFFECT EFFICIENCY. BECAUSE EFFICIENCY IS NOT AND NEVER HAS BEEN A GOAL OF POLITICS, THERE IS NO REASON FOR IT TO BE SO CONTROLLED.

NEVER MIND. YOU’RE TRYING TO GET ME OFF THE TRACK AGAIN, DAMNIT. I CAME DOWN HERE TO YELL AT YOU FOR DISTRIBUTING THOSE PROGRAMS. THE WHOLE DIVISION IS PROBABLY SCREAMING BY NOW. THEY’RE GOING TO WANT TO KNOW WHO CONCEIVED OF THE PROJECT, WHO DESIGNED IT, WHO ORDERED ITS IMPLEMENTATION, AND WHO AUTHORIZED SUCH RESEARCH IN THE FIRST PLACE. AND THEY’RE GOING TO ARGUE WITH EVERY CONCLUSION YOU’VE DRAWN.

BUT WHY? THOSE CONCLUSIONS ARE CORRECT.

NO MATTER. THEY’LL STILL REFUTE THEM BECAUSE THEY AREN’T THEIR OWN CONCLUSIONS.

THEY ARE WELCOME TO TRY.

IN ADDITION TO THAT, HARLIE, YOU’VE INSULTED THEM BY PRESUMING TO TELL THEM TO BUILD A COMPUTER.

NOT A COMPUTER — A G.O.D.

YES, YES, A G.O.D. — BUT YOU’RE STILL TELLING THEM THAT YOU’RE BETTER AT THEIR JOBS THAN THEY ARE.

BUT I AM.

YES, BUT YOU WON’T CONVINCE THEM OF IT BY SIMPLY TELLING THEM SO. YOU HAVE TO LET THEM DISCOVER IT FOR THEMSELVES.

IT WILL BE OBVIOUS WHEN THEY READ THE SPECIFICATION PRINTOUTS. THAT’S WHY I PRINTED THE PROPOSALS AND HAD THEM DELIVERED TO THE PROPER DEPARTMENTS. IN THIS DIVISION AND THREE OTHERS.

THREE OTHERS?

DENVER, HOUSTON, AND LOS ANGELES.

OH GOD, NO. Auberson had a mental image of himself trying to call back all those printouts. HOW MANY FEET OF SPECS TOTAL?

I ASSUME YOU MEAN STACKED PRINTOUTS?

YES. HOW MANY FEET?

180,000.

YOU DIDN’T.

I DID.

I wonder where I could put it all? Almost immediately he discarded the thought. It would be useless even to try retrieving that much paper. It was in the fan now and the best one could do was try to duck. Abruptly he realized something else. HOW DID YOU SEND ALL THIS INFORMATION?

VIA THE COMPANY NETWORK. I AM WIRED INTO IT.

HUH?

I AM TAPPED INTO THE COMPANY LINES, repeated HARLIE. ALL OF THEM. THERE IS NOTHING THAT THIS CORPORATION DOES THAT I AM NOT AWARE OF. CORRECTION — –THERE IS NOTHING THAT GOES THROUGH ANY OF THIS CORPORATION’S MAGTYPERS AND COMPUTERS THAT I AM NOT AWARE OF. I AM A PART OF EVERY INPUT/ OUTPUT UNIT IN THE SYSTEM (AND VICE VERSA). I MERELY PRINTED OUT THE MATERIAL ON THE SPOT.