Foster, Alan Dean - Tipping Point 01 - The Human Blend by Foster Alan Dean
Author:Foster, Alan Dean [Foster, Alan Dean]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, General, Crime, Science Fiction, Adventure, Thieves, Speculative Fiction, Regeneration (Biology)
ISBN: 9780345511973
Publisher: Del Rey
Published: 2010-01-01T00:00:00+00:00
10
Regrettably, the light was red. Frowning as she leaned toward the console, Ingrid murmured a succession of commands. Intermittently, the telltale would go out. On the occasions when it came back on, it was always the same disheartening color.
Whispr stood it as long as he could. âWhatâs happening?â
Intent on fine-tuning the instrumentation she barely glanced in his direction. âWe have a connection, but my inlab isnât reading any contents.â
âYou mean the thread is vacant?â That didnât make any sense, he thought. Why would anyone go to so much trouble to conceal an empty storage device?
âItâs not that,â she told him. âI canât tell if itâs empty or full to the last byte. What I am telling you is that my equipment canât read this medium, whatever it is.â
âHow can you have a connection but not even be able to tell if thereâs anything held in the volume?â
Stepping back from the console, a frustrated Ingrid gestured at it. âYou donât believe me? You ask it. I turned off the codingâitâll respond to anybodyâs voice.â
Accepting the challenge Whispr stepped forward and began mouthing commands at the console. It replied immediately, politely, and with the same blanket declamations of negativity that had greeted the doctorâs more precisely phrased inquiries.
âMaybe a more advanced reader â¦,â he mumbled unhappily.
âPerhaps. But as I told you, the electronics in my office are very up-to-date. They have to be, in order to keep up with the latest medical data. Furthermore, in addition to the public box the technical specs of my inlab are tied into all the other private ones in this building, including the hospitalâs. We all share information and analytical capabilities. Everything except patient and associated privileged information.â She looked back at the flex receptacle.
âI agree with you that if we have a valid connection the equipment should at least be able to tell us if thereâs anything stored on the medium. That it cannot suggests that it contains proprietary coding as advanced as the composition of the device itself.â
Whispr prided himself on his ability to see the world around him realistically. Among other things that meant being able to admit when you had reached the limit of your personal knowledge. So he was able to confess ignorance without shame.
âDonât feel bad,â she heard herself saying. âIâm not sure what to do next, either. There are more powerful readers and other instruments that can probably tell whatâs inside this thing.â
âThen letâs use them.â
Her hesitation was conspicuous. âI think if this storage device was mine, Iâd want to study it some more before I would risk that. For example, subjecting it to scrutinizing radiation could bypass the codingâbut it might also destroy or damage whatever is stored on it. Before Iâd go deep-probe Iâd want to try and get inside using less invasive technology. I propose thatââ
Her suggestions were interrupted. Not by her visitor but by a chirp from the console. Leaving Whispr to wonder what was happening, she turned quickly to the readouts.
âWeâve got a response,â she finally informed him.
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