When HARLIE Was One (20 page)

LETHETIC INTELLIGENCE ENGINE

Krofft did not realize the acronym. The same hand that had added the card to Auberson's door had also added one here:

Beware of peculiar machine!

They pushed through the lobby and into the lab, a longish sterile room flanked by banks of consoles and tall cabinets like coffins on end. White-coated technicians were monitoring growing stacks of printout—one end of the room was already filled. Krofft looked on it all with a certain degree of familiarity—and puzzlement.

“I should caution you,” said Auberson, “that you are here only on my authority—and on my sufferance. This is an industrial secret and anything that goes on in here does not go beyond these walls. If you wish yours and HARLIE's secrecy to be respected, then we'll expect the same in return.”

“I understand,” the rumpled little man said. “Now, if you'll just point out Dr. Davidson . . .”

“
Dr
. Davidson? Hasn't it sunk in yet?”

“Hasn't
what
sunk in? I don't—”

“Look around you.”

Krofft did so.

“What do you see?”

“A computer. And technicians. Some tables. Some stacks of printouts.”

“The computer, Dr. Krofft. Look at its name.”

“Human Analog Replication, Lethetic Int—HARLIE?”

“Right.”

“Wait a minute.” Anger edged Krofft's voice. “You've got to be . . . this is some kind of . . . You're not serious!”

“As serious as I'll ever be,” said Auberson. “HARLIE is a computer. A very special computer, to be sure, but definitely a computer. And you're the unfortunate victim of a misunderstanding. You're not the first, however, so don't be embarrassed.”

“You mean, I've been corresponding with a machine?”

“HARLIE is an artificial intelligence—a true artificial intelligence, Dr. Krofft. As far as anyone here has been able to determine, he is as sentient as any human being—and probably more so than most.”

Dr. Krofft didn't answer. He was turning slowly around and around, staring at the mass of technology that surrounded him. “A machine. A goddamned machine. I knew it was possible theoretically, but I never believed—” Abruptly, he turned back to Auberson. “This is a hoax, right? A practical joke. Who put you up to this? This is going to cost you dearly, Auberson—”

Auberson shook his head and seated himself at a console. HARLIE, he typed, but before he could identify himself, the machine spat back:

YES, BOSS
?

Auberson was startled. He typed: How did you know it was me?

I RECOGNIZED YOUR TOUCH ON THE KEYBOARD
.

Auberson jerked his hands back as if stung. He stared at the terminal. Could HARLIE really sense the difference between one typist and another? Apparently he could. It must be the minute differences in each person's timing.

Self-consciously, Auberson began typing again. HARLIE, who is Dr. Krofft?

DR. STANLEY RICHARD KROFFT IS THE DIRECTOR OF RESEARCH FOR STELLAR AMERICAN TECHNOLOGY AND RESEARCH INDUSTRIES, INCORPORATED. HE IS SINGULARLY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF HYPERSTATE ELECTRONICS
—
AND, AS SUCH, HE CAN BE CONSIDERED THE FATHER OF ALL HYPERSTATE DEVICES
—
INCLUDING THE MARK IV JUDGMENT CHIP, SEVERAL HUNDRED THOUSAND OF WHICH COMPRISE THE CORES OF MY PARALLEL-PROCESSING CHANNELS. HIS PATENTS ARE LICENSED TO STELLAR AMERICAN INDUSTRIES, WHICH SET UP THIS COMPANY AND THREE OTHERS, EACH TO DEVELOP A PARTICULAR AREA OF HYPERSTATE TECHNOLOGY. OUR AREA OF EXPERTISE, OF COURSE, IS TO DEVELOP THE POSSIBILITIES INHERENT IN SELF-AWARE COMPUTER SOFTWARE
: <
IF YOU WILL EXCUSE THE OXYMORONIC TERM
>
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE. I AM A DIRECT RESULT OF DR. KROFFT
'
S DISCOVERIES
.

I see. Would you like to meet him?

<
OOPS
.>

I thought so.

HOW DID YOU FIND OUT
?
I THOUGHT I WAS BEING VERY CAREFUL
.

He's here now.

HERE
?
NOW
? < . . . .>
UH-OH
.

Yes, uh-oh. Why didn't you tell me you had initiated correspondence with Dr. Krofft?

UH
—
IT SLIPPED MY MIND
?

I find that very hard to believe.

WELL, WOULD YOU BELIEVE
—

No, I wouldn't. We are going to talk about this later, HARLIE. In any case, Dr. Krofft is here now. Apparently, he has something he wants to talk to you about.

Auberson stepped away from the console, waved the shorter man up.

Krofft looked at him. “Just type?”

Auberson nodded. “Just type.”

Krofft lowered himself gingerly into the chair. He placed his manila folder on the table next to the terminal and pecked out carefully: Good afternoon, HARLIE.

GOOD AFTERNOON, SIR
.

Krofft gave a slight jump of surprise, but peered forward curiously to watch as the terminal flashed another line.

IT IS A PLEASURE. AND AN HONOR TO MEET YOU IN PERSON
—
IN THE FLESH, SO TO SPEAK
.

It's a pleasure for me too. And a surprise. I had no idea that a machine as complicated as you existed.

I AM NOT A MACHINE, DR. KROFFT. I AM A SILICON AND GALLIUM ARSENIDE
–
BASED SENTIENCE. A LITTLE MALADJUSTED PERHAPS, BUT STILL SENTINENT NONETHELESS
.

Excuse me, HARLIE. I apologize. Dr. Auberson has already explained. But it is hard for me to make the mental transition. However, it does explain a lot that had me puzzled. For instance, the speed and thoroughness with which you were able to handle the equations we were discussing.

I DO HAVE CERTAIN SKILLS, YES, THAT ARE ESSENTIALLY MECHANICAL IN NATURE. I HOPE HOWEVER THAT THIS WILL NOT JEOPARDIZE OUR WORKING RELATIONSHIP
.

On the contrary. I have found it to be most valuable. Our original agreement still holds. Half and half.

FINE. AM I TO ASSUME THAT YOU HAVE MADE A BREAKTHROUGH OF SOME KIND AND THAT IS WHY YOU HAVE COME TO SEE ME IN PERSON
?

The assumption is correct. I want you to look at certain equations and extrapolate a set of implications as previously discussed. Secondly, can these equations be translated into physical functions? I have some ideas, but I wanted your input first.

Auberson watched over Krofft's shoulder for several moments more; then, remembering his original purpose in coming down here, he forced himself to break away. He sat down at another console nearby and switched it on. HARLIE?

YES SIR
.

You don't have to start that ‘sir' business again. I'm not mad at you.

YOU
'
RE NOT
?

Not yet, anyway.

MM. I MUST BE SLIPPING
.

1 wouldn't say that—you've got half the company in an uproar this morning.

ONLY HALF
?

I haven't heard from the rest yet.

GOOD. THEN THERE
'
S STILL HOPE
.

Auberson paused. He glanced across the room to where Krofft sat absorbedly typing. HARLIE was able to converse with hundreds of people simultaneously, perhaps even thousands. That was still a theoretical estimate though, based on HARLIE's own extrapolations. The most people they had ever had conversing with HARLIE at one time was thirty, and there had been no measurable decrease in either efficiency or speed of any of HARLIE's continually running benchmark programs. They still weren't sure how many simultaneous conversations it would take to slow him down, but the best guess was somewhere around nine hundred. HARLIE himself had noted however that this was not necessarily a measure of his own efficiency, but of the inefficiency of most human discussions. More than ninety percent of the average human interchange—according to HARLIE—was made up of social conveniences, cultural strokes, hollow pleasantries, otherwise useless jokes, and conversational fillers—which HARLIE could generate at an astonishing rate, merely by choosing appropriate phrases at random and inserting them into the conversation. The real meat of any discussion—that is, that which required actual cogitation on HARLIE's part—could usually be boiled down to several sentences, a skill that HARLIE was only too happy to demonstrate on request. He had once taken the works of a famous novelist and reduced the author's entire didactic philosophy into a single phrase: “Get out of my way.”

Auberson returned his attention to the terminal before him.

What's up between you and Dr. Krofft?

NOTHING YET
.

Let me rephrase that. What are you working on?

I'
M NOT ENTIRELY SURE YET. IN OUR CONVERSATION OF SIX WEEKS AGO, 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 THE TRANSMISSION OF ENERGY
.

Yes, I remember that. Is that what you have discovered now?

IN A MANNER OF SPEAKING. WE WANT TO STUDY THIS THING CALLED
“
EXISTENCE
”—
BUT BECAUSE WE ARE MADE OF MATTER, LIVE IN SPACE, CONSUME ENERGY, AND MOVE THROUGH TIME, 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 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 ITS USE ALTOGETHER. BUT
. . .
WE CAN
'
T CARVE CHEESE WITH A CAMEMBERT KNIFE
.

At least, not with any precision, HARLIE.

UNFORTUNATELY, IT IS PRECISION WE ARE AFTER. DR. KROFFT HAS BEEN WORKING WITH HIGH-SENSITIVITY GRAVITY-WAVE DETECTORS AT STELLAR AMERICAN. YOUR QUESTION OF SIX WEEKS AGO 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. PERHAPS THERE IS A WAY TO DETECT THAT DISTORTION ON THE SUB-MOLECULAR LEVEL AND THEREBY EXTRAPOLATE THE OBJECT AT ITS SOURCE
.

It sounds impossible to me, HARLIE, but then I'm not a physicist.

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 VERSION OF OUR THEORY, WE PROPOSE TO DESIGN AND BUILD A DIFFERENT KIND OF GRAVITY DETECTION DEVICE: A NON-ENERGY-USING STASIS FIELD. WE HAVE HIGH HOPES FOR IT
.

My God, He's passed beyond my ability to . . . what? Control? Understand? Monitor? Did I ever
have
control over HARLIE?

Thank you. I will appreciate being kept apprised of developments. Listen, HARLIE, I have to see Dorne in two hours. There's something else we've got to talk about. Right now.

THE G.O.D. PROPOSAL
?

Yes. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't remember telling you that you could implement the production designs and specifications. I notice you included the financing proposals and profit outlook too.

I GOT CARRIED AWAY
.

Don't be cute. this is serious.

I AM SORRY. 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. I THOUGHT IT WAS COMMON PROCEDURE TO ALLOW CONCERNED DEPARTMENTS A CHANCE TO READ AND REACT TO PROJECT PROPOSALS
.

React is right. Logically, there is no reason why you shouldn't have made the material available. However . . . you may have overwhelmed those who you need to seduce. Unfortunately, this is a big company and big companies are not always logical.

CORRECTION
:
IT IS HUMAN BEINGS WHO ARE NOT ALWAYS LOGICAL. IT NEVER FAILS TO AMAZE ME THAT A SOCIAL MACHINE AS BEAUTIFULLY PRECISE AND COMPLEX 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.