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Stories from the Verse
Con Version
Chapter 135: Takano 126
Table of Contents
Previous chapter: Brown 330
On Wednesday Mister Keller took them out to lunch. It was a very fancy and expensive restaurant, but Keller ordered for them so she didn’t have to think about the prices. They had a private dining room. As they settled into their seats their host got straight to business.
“So,” he said, “tell me everything. This room is private; we can speak freely.”
Brian began with what they had been doing at work, explaining the concepts and directions they had proposed and the progress that had been made. Tommy noted that he was specific about her contributions to the effort. He then continued with their mutual heroic adventures, brushing over the electronics company theft because of course Keller had been there, as Tell. He went on to describe a rescue effort he had assisted at a mine in the mountain, and his meeting a Native American who turned into a hawk.
“That sounds like Green Hawk,” Keller reacted. “I had no idea he was still around.”
“Well, I think he’s retired,” Brian said, “but he still has powers including some kind of precognition or insight. He helped only in that he pointed me to the disaster before it happened.”
“Probably keeps a low profile because of that. Tell the police that there’s going to be a disaster before it happens, and they’ll be investigating how you knew. By the way, I don’t know if it’s significant, but those crystals Blue Ray was trying to steal were stolen a couple days later by someone else. It’s still unsolved, but apparently someone wanted those, whatever they are, badly enough to induce a couple of thieves, one of them very high profile, to acquire them.”
“They’re superconducting crystals,” Brian offered, “and the only application I can think of for them is building high-speed electronics, like a supercomputer. I didn’t think anyone had that technology yet, although I suppose if they did they might want to keep it secret.”
This had everyone thinking for a moment. Tommy was enjoying her meal, the traditional surf and turf, sirloin beef and lobster, and thinking it must be nice to be rich.
That reminded her.
“I ran into Robinette the other night.”
“You didn’t capture her?” Keller said.
“It was kind of awkward. I was dangling from the edge of a building when the roof on which I’d landed started to fall apart, and she saved me from a rather painful death. She admitted that she’d just come from some illegal activity, but it didn’t seem right to arrest her under the circumstances.”
The men nodded; she was gratified that they didn’t think she had made the wrong choice.
“She seems to have her own ethic. Thinks of herself as a female Robin Hood, robbing from people who are unfairly wealthy and giving the proceeds to people in need. I almost admire her, but that she admitted keeping a sizeable slice of the take for herself.”
“Yes, it is interesting sometimes how these criminals think,” Keller said. “Many of them don’t see themselves as villains at all. But back to this super computer idea. What could someone do with such a thing?”
Tommy and Brian looked at each other. “You go first,” he said.
“In our world, computers do everything. You can watch television on them; you can create television, with extremely realistic animation. People play interactive video games, in which the computer generates the board and the players interact with it and with each other. We use them to communicate rapidly around the world.” She looked at Brian, who picked up the thread.
“Our government used them to calculate everything needed to put men on the moon and bring them back. There were computers on the ground, but also in the space ships they used. Nearly all information in the future is stored and manipulated as data--banking, census, government benefits, insurance, even detailed personal information such as buying habits and personal interests. Scientists and government agencies use them to analyze data, such as examining satellite photos to predict weather and climate change, or locate missile launch sites and terrorist bases.”
“They’re also used,” Tommy suggested, “to control complex weapon systems, from smart guns to intercontinental ballistic missiles. But they’re also used, little ones, in ovens and dishwashers and other household appliances, to make them easier to use and more reliable. Really, they’re in everything. I think the phone company started using them very early to connect callers and eliminate the need for operators, and now as we showed you they’re in almost every telephone in the world--or, that is, will be within half a century.”
“Which begs the question,” Keller said, “of why any villain would want to build one now.”
Thoughtfully, Brian said, “The best guess is that he’s building some kind of machine that needs to be controlled very quickly and accurately in ways that would be too difficult for a single person or even a team to do. Beyond that, I have no idea what might be done with it.”
Keller suddenly said, “Is that the time? I’d better get you back to work. We don’t want too many questions.” He rose, left a wad of cash on the table, and led the way back to his car.
As to the old stories that have long been here:
