Collective Mind (22 page)

“That’s
empty rhetoric, professor. We’re talking about here and now, not ten thousand
years in the future. We want to win today, not through the whim of time’s
endless flow. Our task is to halt evolution in the wrong direction.”

“I’ve
had enough time to assess the consequences of my invention. I disagree with
your conclusions, although there is a grain of sense in them. In fact, it is
hard not to agree with some of them. If everything were in my hands right now,
I would use the technology differently. I agree that there are no guarantees.
No matter how a system is constructed, sooner or later a villainous scoundrel
will control it, this is quite possible, so what then?”

“Every
good system is run by people, people get old and die, and new people take their
place, it’s an endless process. And in infinite time, the probability of any
event occurring is a hundred per cent. Sooner or later. If God exists, then
probably he alone never changes and can offer guarantees, because he is
eternal.”

“I
agree about eternity. I think so too. But God helps those who help themselves.”

“Scientists
are often faced with a choice: to give a technology to people or to destroy
what they have created. Everything has an upside and a downside. Electricity is
a good thing, but lots of people have been killed by it. Not to mention atomic
power. There are power stations and there are atomic bombs. You can say the
same about radio and antibiotics, GMOs and many other things.”

“We
are in the present. Seven years have gone by. And everything is still in your
hands. And ours. You can correct or adjust the world that has been steered off
course by your invention.”

It
was clear that Professor was about to seethe, getting ready to protect his
invention. But, having studied Isaac and Bikie closer, he changed his mind. A
little smile touched his lips and he continued with a soft voice, a bit sadly
but amicably.

“Well,
yes. Everything that has happened is a catastrophe for me as the inventor. I
created a universally accessible drug that is instantly addictive. The
technology itself is unique and mega-useful, only there aren’t any instructions
for use and my idea is not used as I wished.”

“Professor,
I understand that you’re disappointed, I understand about electricity, and
about the drug, I just don’t understand how determined you are to put right the
mess you have created.”

“I
didn’t create it, young man, I invented. God and humankind create. We always
have what we deserve.”

“Professor,
let me repeat more courteously, as you requested. Are you willing to try, let’s
put it this way… to reboot the program? To correct its malfunctioning,
especially since the program has already done a lot of good, and all the
achievements will be retained?”

The
professor sighed and started pondering, shifting between a smile and a sadness.
In the end, he glanced at his watch and replied:

“I
have devoted the last five years of my life to this and I’m willing to devote
all the time I have left. Of course, it’s annoying for me to hear about the
negative aspects of my invention from a pair of young pups, no matter how
intelligent they are, but I’m a scientist and I studied the consequences
intensely myself a long time ago. And I’m prepared to try to correct them.”

Those
words took a huge weight, a massive burden, off Isaac’s mind. The immense rock
that had been hanging over his head crumbled to dust. He struggled to contain
the emotions welling up inside him. Until today he had been obsessed with the
idea, and now he saw a hope ahead. He was successful in generating an opposition
to UNICOMA. Not a radical opposition of fanatics, but a powerful, conceptual
opposition by intellectuals. And from the part of this genius even “intelligent
pups” sounded flattering.

Isaac
suddenly felt ferociously tired, he couldn’t even move an arm or a leg the
right way. As if the burden has been lifted, and his body demanded a rest, a
well merited time not to be disturbed for a while. He was tired. Very tired.
The adrenalin has left his bloodstream.

Bikie
and Link continued the conversation that Isaac could no longer follow clearly,
arguing and agreeing about things; Professor commended his conversant several
times. Isaac saw Bikie take out his mobile phone and press something on it. He
was sending the text message to cancel the publication of information about
Link on the Internet.

As
for Isaac, he simply looked at the glitter of the waves, incapable of either
listening or thinking. At that moment, he was not even thinking of Vicky or
Michelle. There was only peace, peace and the splashing of the transparent blue
water.

He
could not see the land or the yachts beyond the horizon. Only occasional
silhouettes of fishing boats, and a distant expanse of light-blue. The tabula
rasa of the sea, he thought. Genoa was somewhere over there, not far away.

“I
will definitely reach my shore, I’ll reach it and discover my own America,
completely new and not fucked-up, and I’m going to build a new life there,”
Isaac decided firmly.

His
mobile phone rang. The number did not display, but Isaac answered it
reluctantly. Something might be wrong with Vicky.

“Good
afternoon, my name is Pellegrini, I’m a commissioner of police and the head of
Orange Energy Department. I would like to arrange a meeting with you. I need to
talk to you about the incident that happened in Monaco.”

“I’m
not there right now,” said Isaac. “I’m at a friend’s place in Spain,” he lied.

“When
are you coming back?”

“I
don’t know yet. In a week maybe.”

“In
that case, give me a call when you get back. Thank you.”

Isaac’s
comfort and fatigue vanished as if by magic. Who was this damn Pellegrini and
what did he want? It was more than two months since the attack at the Monaco
branch of the Agency. Why in the world can’t they all just relax at Cote
D’Azur?

“Link,
why did you disappear?”

“It’s
all very simple. I ran away because I was frightened. Secret Service agents
came to see me ‘to have a talk.’ The government wanted to find out everything
and then go public with it. I couldn’t get the agents to understand that the
technology had nothing to do with artificial intelligence. I set up a
conference in a hurry to present the technology and hand it over to Blake at
the UN. And immediately after that memorable event, I got a call asking me not
to leave the country. When I realized that Secret Service would stop at nothing
to get hold of the technology, even though I had already signed it over to the
UN, or at least to get a copy, so that they could have a system of their own, I
decided to run anyway, just to be on the safe side. Yes, I got frightened and I
bolted.”

“Think
about it. How much time would pass before they sucked out my own Orange Energy?
I possessed knowledge that they deemed top secret. Or some bright corporate
spark would have decided that I must build another computer like that. A private
one, so to speak. Then they would start kidnapping and downloading scientists
all around the world to create a ‘creativity race’.”

“I
was far too tempting a morsel for everyone, from the military and the big
corporations to ordinary terrorists. But if I were to vanish, there would be
only one computer in the hands of people who had spent their lives at least
trying, if not always successfully, to maintain peace on earth.

“I
thought about it a lot and realized it was an absolute certainty that someone
would get the idea of downloading me. It was only a matter of time until they
arrived at that brilliant idea.”

“But
had they laid their hands on the idea, I’m afraid there would have been a few
surprises in store for them…” – at this point the professor, with a restrained
smile, raised his index finger and narrowed his eyes. “I don’t want to have
secrets from you as members of the team, with which I intend to face many
trials. If energy can be pumped out, then a way can be found to…”

“Pump
it back in,” Isaac and Bikie said simultaneously, dumbfounded.

“So
again, it was just a matter of time until, sooner or later, someone unearthed
this idea of mine, which was almost ready. And that was something I definitely
couldn’t tolerate. But now we have everything developing according to a fairly
positive scenario. The technology belongs to the UN, where there are decent
people in charge. Things could have gone differently. If not for my reputation,
I wouldn’t have been able to get to the Secretary General so quickly.”

“Thank
God, the old friend understood me and the implications of my invention
instantly…” – sweat beaded on the professor’s brow. “That was luck. The last
thing I wanted was to become a man who had invented a super-powerful weapon –
he added confidently. “If the military had got their hands on the technology
first, then… I’m afraid the word democracy would have disappeared, except from
the textbooks, and it wouldn’t have stayed there for long.”

There
was a minute of silence as each of them imagined a future with the military in
control.

“But
couldn’t you have thought about that beforehand?”

“I
did. Worked on university’s funding. My laboratory assistants wrote reports on
the work and the expenditures. Someone obviously overdid it, and the
authorities took an interest in my invention. I only had a week to organize the
conference and my escape before Secret Service paid me another visit. So
everything started slipping out of my control. But all’s well that ends well.
It probably never even occurred to them that a highly respected
fifty-five-year-old scientist could simply do a runner.”

Everyone
started pondering again. The pause was interrupted by the red-bearded
assistant, who brought a tray with small cups on it.

“That’s
enough ruminating!” the professor exclaimed. “My friends, enjoy a refreshing
coffee, prepared according to my new recipe!”

His
voice roused Isaac and Bikie from their brooding. Visions of military
checkpoints and dumbfounded Secret Service agents disappeared in an instant,
together with the final vestiges of the friends’ sour mood.

The
aroma had already drifted across the deck, and the only thing everyone wanted
was coffee.

Link
enquired again how the pair managed to pick up his trail. They gave him a brief
account of the trip to the university, the photos, his Japanese assistant and
the tickets to Sardinia. Isaac tactfully left out the visit to Amsterdam. He
omitted the cigar shops too, but for a different reason. There was nothing to
hide, and he sensed that Link trusted him. He thought that they could become
good friends. But even so, Isaac left out the key point and lied, saying they
had used an appearance comparison program to identify Link’s Japanese
assistant.

Then
the professor put down his drink and moved away to light up a cigar. Bikie
savored the topnotch coffee and Isaac also relished his cup.

“You
know, Isaac, when the professor starts talking, I listen to him and realize
that compared to him you’re a dumbo.” Bikie said very seriously and immediately
got a friendly punch from Isaac.

“Friends,”
the professor intervened, coming back with the cigar in his hand, “you
shouldn’t overestimate an old blockhead like me. In fact, everyone warned me
the technology was extremely dangerous and it could be dangerous for me. But
who were they to tell to me what I should do? It’s interesting that you found
me through Yoshi. Anyway, I’m glad my refuge was cracked by genuinely laudable
individuals.”

The
professor raised his cup as if he were pronouncing a toast. Isaac and Bikie
laughed, flattered by the praise.

“My
refuge!” the professor continued. “How sick I am of this settled life in this
lousy dump, pardon the expression, the cloying syrup of identical days. There
was a time when a journalist came to see me every week to publish an interview
about my invention. Every month scientific conferences, learned debates. I used
to feel the way explorers and pioneers felt, the way the greatest minds of
humanity felt at the summit of their achievements. The world seemed to revolve
around me! All the life of the planet.”

The
professor’s eyes were glowing demonically. He felt a wild pleasure at
remembering it all.

“Professor,
that’s exactly the way things were,” Isaac remarked. “And I’d say they still
are. A great deal depends on you. In the life of mankind.”

Still
smiling, the professor frowned.

“It’s
boring,” he said, continuing his skeptical complaint. “I’m so bored to live
this way. All my memories, pangs of conscience, fears – they don’t count.
That’s all trivial compared with the boredom. It’s all trivial after having
reached my peak.”

“Who
said you’ve reached your peak, Link?” Bikie asked, trying to make the question
sound as artful as possible. “You have taught the world how to download OE, but
you haven’t taught it how to give it back to people. But you said yourself that
it is possible! Now that would be the highest peak Link, returning creativity
to those who have lost it. Is it feasible?”

“Theoretically,”
said the professor, brightening up. “I’ve had enough time and I can picture how
to do it. Only, as you know, theory is theory, but implementation requires
experiments and trials. We need a genuine Veggie. Practical tests, you know…”

“Professor!”
Isaac’s eyes were blazing even more brightly than Link’s. “We have to make it a
reality. And I even have a candidate for the experiment. I have… I had a
friend, Pascal, he downloaded and became a Veggie. You could use him for your
experiment. If you return his creativity, we can all be sure the theory works.”

“And
if not?”

“If
not… we’ll keep on searching.”

Link
was obviously very interested in this proposal and went straight to the
specifics: when and where did Pascal download his OE? What was his rating? What
kind of life does he lead now? Isaac replied briskly. The ray of hope
glimmering up ahead besotted and excited him, and for a while he forgot about
danger, the uncertainty and the possibility of failure. It all paled beside the
idea of pulling his friend out of his vegetable condition, bringing the person
back out of the Veggie!

By
the end of the evening the plan of action took shape. It was simple and
precise. Give Pascal back his creativity and thereby justify their struggle
against the system.