Runaway: Hard Science Fiction (Proxima Logfiles Book 4) by Brandon Q. Morris

Author:Brandon Q. Morris [Morris, Brandon Q.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Hard-SF.com
Published: 2021-11-29T16:00:00+00:00

The autopsy was still not finished after two hours of subjective time. In reality, only around ten seconds had passed. The Omniscience had thoroughly examined his intestines, finding nothing. Now it was working on the hands. Marchenko looked at them. The skin was a little paler than his own, but otherwise it was an exact copy. The backs of the hands and the first phalanges were hairy. The right-hand fingernail was torn.

What did the Omniscience seek in his hand? Marchenko switched to a three-dimensional structure diagram. There he could see the function of the program structure that looked like his hand in the simulation. He floated above a gigantic maze, the paths of which were continually changing. That was the problem with a human consciousness. The Omniscience had fixed processes, but above all, certain areas could be assigned clear functions. The Grosnops had designed them in this way during the AI’s programming. Although they had changed over the decades, the basic structure was still recognizable.

This basic structure was missing in his consciousness. Everything was only temporarily arranged. Especially strong impressions attracted what fit or could fit. This worked surprisingly well but could also lead to mistakes, appearing as false memories of déjà-vu, for example. In the snapshot that spread out beneath it, the Omniscience had tried to mark certain areas. The hand it was currently working on glowed in a greenish tone. This area was obviously responsible for the execution of ideas, i.e., for the transition from thought to action. The corridors of the maze were unusually straight here. But here, too, there were dead ends and intersections, and paths with an impossibly four-dimensional structure.

Marchenko switched back to the simulation. The structural display confused him even more than the sight of the man cut open, especially when he realized that he had seen a static section. How could this structure only function in real life when everything was in flux? It was a miracle that people were able to make and implement reasonably sensible decisions.

“I have something,” the Omniscience announced.

“Oh, yeah?” Marchenko walked around the table and stood next to the Omniscience, who was operating on the patient’s palm.

“I have prepared the two muscles that move the thumbs and index fingers.”

Marchenko zoomed in on the image. The two muscle strands were clearly visible. A foreign body, which looked like a silverfish, stuck to each of them. “Those things there.”

“Right. These things don’t belong here. I don’t know what to call them.”

“They look like a species of insect from Earth.”

“The simulation only shows you that they do not belong here—the false-color display, remember? In reality, these are program routines that look very similar to the ones we have.”

“But not similar enough.”

“Right. They are definitely of foreign origin.”

“And what are they for?”

“I’m analyzing that right now. Wait. Ah. I think they can smuggle unconscious action potentials into you.”

“They can make my fingers move without me wanting them to?”

“They can move your fingers without you even noticing.”

Marchenko looked at his hands. He gave his thumb and index finger the order to touch and they carried out the command.

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