The Horicon Experience

by Laughter, Jim

  ∞∞∞

  With a click of the power switch, Delmar finally shut off his computer. “That’s it for me,” he said with a yawn as he leaned back in his desk chair, his back cracking as he stretched.

  “That makes two of us,” agreed Stan. He closed his programs and saved his files. Delmar wobbled into the bathroom and brushed his teeth while Stan turned and looked at the clock. With cold, impersonal digits, it told him it was already early morning. Delmar came back out of the bathroom and Stan took his turn. Mere minutes later the lights were out and both men sang a duet of snores. They passed into a deep sleep as fatigue took its toll.

  ∞∞∞

  The unit was nearly finished with its compilation. By cross-referencing the alien translations of the Horicon records, it had the final keys it needed to assimilate the language of the bipedal creatures. The main processor set up a sub-routine to complete this task while it surveyed the alien material.

  Unexpectedly, a second signal crossed its tap into the alien files. The unit hesitated while it watched the now-understandable access code appear. Rapidly after that, it watched the Horicon historical files download into another computer. The unit shut down its tap to avoid discovery, but carefully maintained a trace to monitor the second signal.

  Many sub-units of a time-cycle later the second signal ceased. The unit reopened its tap and followed the circuit connecting the second computer to the laboratory. Cautiously, the unit waited another sub-unit of time to be sure the second computer was not in use. Using the information it had gleaned from the alien console, it accessed the processor of the second computer and started the process to power it up remotely.

  ∞∞∞

  An hour after Delmar shut off his computer it came quietly back to life, remotely powered by an outside source. While Delmar was oblivious to what was happening, the memory drive began to spin and the screen came on to low intensity. As it clarified, a rapid progression of alien symbols displayed and raced across the screen.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Mid-term break had been over for a week when the first surge of work orders flooded into Campus Maintenance. A harried clerk separated the work orders into piles depending on the nature or the department of the complaint.

  “How’s it going, Mart?” the maintenance boss asked as she came in for the day.

  “It looks like we’ve had a bad case of Murphy’s Law hit around here, Shirl,” he answered, continuing to shuffle the work orders. The boss hung her coat on a tall coat rack, poured a fresh cup of coffee, and surveyed the mess. Arbitrarily, she took one of the stacks and began to read the complaints.

  The first several were the usual run-of-the-mill problems common after a break in classes—lights that didn’t work, missing materials, equipment not available, and sundry other complaints. A quick glance at each revealed the expected pattern. Most had been problems before the break that had gone unreported. Shirl shook her head.

  “Why do people wait until the last minute to tell us about these things?” she asked no one in particular. One or two of the complaints were of a serious enough nature that Shirl earmarked them for priority treatment.

  “What else have you got?” she asked, placing the first stack back on Mart’s desk. Without looking up, he pushed a second, larger stack toward her. Shirl groaned inwardly and picked up the pile. A glance told Shirl that her assistant wasn’t foisting the tough jobs on her. Several other stacks nearly surrounded his own desk blotter.

  A glance at the first work order told her these were more serious in nature and would take considerably more thought. Taking the stack with her, she crossed the room to her vacant desk and sat down. She took a sip of her now tepid coffee and began to read the files.

  The first one was from Environmental Maintenance. It detailed a general rise in problems in the computer departments. It also detailed a steady rise in energy usage to cool the labs accompanied by a comparison of the temperature graphs from the previous terms. A twenty-percent increase was obvious, but there was no corresponding increase in equipment usage. Shirl frowned as she tried to reason it out and finally filed it away mentally and went on to the second complaint.

  This one was from the power station. She noticed they prefaced it with a tidbit of good news – the power fluctuations they had been experiencing previously in the computer labs had finally steadied.

  But the next paragraph defined the newest problem. It seemed that power usage for the labs was up, particularly on the circuits in the research department. Campus Power had already checked to see if the students or researchers were using more power, but a check of the meters showed no appreciable increase in computer usage or equipment operation.

  Shirl’s frown deepened. Turning back to the previous work order, she noted that both concerned problems in the computer research building. Something was definitely out of sorts over there. After a few moments, she took a blank work order form from the shelf nearby and scribbled out new directions. Somehow, some way, she was going to find the underlying cause of these discrepancies.

  ∞∞∞

  The morning was not going well for Delmar either. Somehow he had overslept, leaving barely enough time to dress and run to the cafeteria. He caught up with Stan in line at the food synthesizer.

  “So you finally made it,” Stan said as a breathless Delmar stepped into line behind him.

  “My alarm didn’t go off,” Delmar said, still puffing from his run.

  “You probably just overslept,” Stan said and stepped up to the selection panel. Delmar moved over to the dispenser beside him. After they had made their selections, Stan stared over at his bleary-eyed friend.

  “How late did you study anyway?” he asked. “I noticed you left your computer on.”

  Delmar looked up at him in surprise.

  “I did?” he asked. “I distinctly remember turning it off before catching a quick shower.” Stan’s brow furrowed at this information.

  After a moment, he shrugged. “Well, in any case, you’ll get better life out of your equipment if you turn it off when you finish,” he said, resuming his breakfast. Delmar ignored the rebuke and dug into his own food.

  “Do you know what’s on the schedule for today?” he asked after he’d wolfed down a few bites. “I didn’t have time to check for last minute changes this morning.”

  “Professor Angle wants us to work on our own designs today,” Stan replied. Delmar looked alarmed.

  “What’s wrong?” Stan asked.

  “I’m not ready,” Delmar said seriously. “Try as I might, I still don’t get it.”

  “You’re kidding! Show me what you’ve got when we get to the lab and I’ll see if I can dig you out,” Stan said and scooped the last of the scrambled eggs from his plate. “It can’t be too bad.”

  Delmar looked at his friend with a worried expression. “Wanna bet?”

  ∞∞∞

  The unit was as excited as a computer could be. It only took a few sub-units of time to download all of the material from the smaller computer. Digesting the files only took a few moments more with the new translation program the unit had established. It pondered the historical texts translated by the bipedal creatures and started correcting them using its firsthand knowledge of Horicon as a foundation. Some of the translations the bipeds had arrived at were highly inaccurate.

  After rewriting the files, the unit pondered what to do with the corrections. A quick review of the original material from the small computer gave it the source from which those files had come. Using its link with the lab computer, the unit tried to access the files stored in the main institute library. Immediately, it ran into a dead-end at the library computer.

  PLEASE ENTER ACCESS CODE came back the reply to its query. Delving into the files from the small computer, the unit found the required code, EX235612445, and forwarded it to the library. The library computer digested the number and then slowly replied. The unit felt its equivalent of amusement at the lethargic speed of the library computer. />
  GREETINGS, DELMAR EAGLEMAN, it finally signaled. The library computer then displayed a short listing of file categories. The unit was unsure what a Delmar Eagleman was, but it filed this away with the access code for future reference. The unit scanned the listings and accessed the historical section. Using the sub-directories, it entered the files containing the Horicon material.

  The library computer stopped the intrusion again and signaled that the files were restricted. A few moments of pondering were required to discover a path to bypass the restriction. Circumventing the program safeguards, the unit started running through all of the files on Horicon.

  As it scanned the material, it corrected and updated the erroneous information it found. In places, it inserted complete copies of its own files on Horicon technology and history. At times, it had to wait for the slower system to catch up. How could any intelligent computer be so slow?

  Finally, the library computer shut down and signaled that it had experienced a general system-wide overload. The unit backed out of it and considered its options. Checking again the files it had accessed through the lab computer, it discovered access to a large number of peripheral equipment. Using the access code it had acquired, the unit busied itself exploring these new treasures.

  ∞∞∞

  After staring at the circuit and logic diagrams for several minutes, Stan leaned back and pondered the problem. He was beginning to realize that maybe Delmar really didn’t understanding computer theory. He leaned forward again and pointed at a place on the circuit diagram.

  “Okay. First, let’s take a look at this gating sequence you have here,” he said to his friend. “Do you know what the output will be from the final stage of the sequence?”

  Delmar frowned while he pondered on the question. “Won’t it be the inverse of the modulated frequency differential?”

  Stan sighed. “Not exactly,” he answered. “You have to take into account the fractionalization of the original logic gate.”

  Delmar looked even more puzzled than before.

  “What seems to be the difficulty?” Professor Angle asked as he peered over Delmar’s shoulder. Delmar tensed.

  “We’re going over Delmar’s preliminary design for his computer,” Stan said in an effort to spare his friend certain embarrassment. The professor stared at the diagrams for a couple of minutes.

  “Interesting work,” he finally said. “A little unorthodox, but interesting. Let me know how it turns out.”

  Delmar relaxed a little after the professor walked away, but it was obvious to Stan that his friend was still very uncomfortable. Again taking up where he left off, Stan continued the effort of helping Delmar grasp the concepts of computer logic. But in the back of his mind, Stan felt like he was trying to teach a fish to fly.

  ∞∞∞

  Lunch, though late again, was a welcome relief for the class after a rough morning in the lab. Stan had acquired a tension headache just trying to correct Delmar’s more obvious mistakes. The thought of even synthesized food somehow helped ease the pounding.

  At the nearly deserted cafeteria, the class accessed the food synthesizer. After they had all gotten their trays, they again embarked on the ritual of second-guessing what the synthesizer had produced.

  “What did you order?” Zorina asked Stan.

  “Beef stew,” Stan answered. A chorus of jeers greeted his answer.

  “That’s easy,” Cornelius Wed replied.

  “Did anyone try something exotic?” Delmar asked.

  “I did,” replied Kelarei Chock. “I selected a toasted ham and cheese sandwich with heavy mayonnaise and a large dill pickle on the side.” A few whistles of appreciation sounded around the table.

  “That’s pretty daring,” Stan agreed.

  “Okay, let’s hear the guesses,” Zorina announced.

  “It’ll be burned to a crisp,” Wed said.

  “What? The pickle?” Delmar quipped. Everyone laughed.

  “The pickle will be orange and toasted,” guessed Zorina.

  Cornelius Wed added, “I bet the meat comes out green with chocolate chip mayonnaise.” A few of his classmates groaned.

  “How could you make such a guess?” Delmar asked.

  “Easy,” Wed said. “I ordered the same sandwich twice and it came out that way both times.”

  “Okay, let’s see it,” Zorina said.

  Stan and Delmar started a drum roll on the table with their fingers. Chock lifted the tray cover and everyone gasped. There on the tray was a perfect ham and cheese sandwich, lightly toasted with a large, crisp, green pickle on the side.

  “I don’t believe it!” Wed exclaimed.

  “What seems to be the problem?” Professor Angle asked as he came up to the table with his order.

  “Kelarei here just got exactly what she ordered,” Zorina said, gesturing toward the sandwich and dill pickle. Professor Angle stared down at the order, his eyebrows shooting up in surprise.

  “What are the rest of your selections like?” he asked, anxious to see if lightening could strike twice in the same place. One by one, they announced their selections and then lifted the covers. Every order had come out perfectly. They sat in stunned silence.

  “That’s the first time I’ve seen the likes of this in all my years here,” Professor Angle said in a hushed voice. “In spite of our best efforts, the synthesizer always came up with a way to get the order wrong.”

  Professor Angle again stared at the selections and then set his tray down firmly onto the table, nearly spilling his glass of juice in the process.

  “Excuse me,” he said as he turned and walked briskly toward the kitchen, leaving his lunch untouched but still covered on the table. “I’ve got to have a talk with the cafeteria director.”

  ∞∞∞

  The unit explored every avenue available to it through the lab computer link-up. Using the net connecting all of the campus facilities, the unit accessed one system after another in rapid succession. The data it gleaned from the library computer before it crashed helped the unit set to rights any system errors it found. In that sense, it was again able to follow original programming.

  Most of the systems it found were relatively simplistic. In several cases, it was able to rewrite entire programs in seconds. It was surprised at the inefficiencies of the biped’s machines. Correcting many obvious mistakes, the unit found that it was able to increase the efficiency of a number of systems.

  After completing the restructuring of many of the campus computers, the unit turned its attention to the institute’s records department. In its experience with organic creatures on Horicon, the unit had noted that the recording and filing of information was an area where these creatures were minimally efficient. The limited files it had run across so far in its exploration confirmed that these bipedal creatures were little different from its original makers in that regard.

  Using the recently acquired access code, it approached the main files of the institute. Without hesitation, the library computer signaled that the security clearance attached to the access code was inadequate to access these files. The unit searched for another avenue of access, and tracing backward found a possible entrance through a collating program. It carefully wound its way through the system until it was at the threshold of the main files.

  Again using the name and code it had borrowed from the small computer, it tried to breach the security of the restricted material. It immediately found itself blocked and signaled that such access was a violation of campus security.

  The unit became suddenly aware that its path into the files was being traced and that an alarm had been triggered. Before the trace could locate it, the unit pulled back all of its connections with the external equipment. Nanoseconds after disengaging its inductive connection with the cables in the lab floor, the unit detected the trace coming up along the cable. Apparently, the trace failed to detect the inductive loop the unit had used to gain access.

  Assessing the situation, the unit conclud
ed that its safety might be in jeopardy. Shutting down all operations, the unit put itself into a minimum standby mode while the security signal trace raced along the cable toward the dormitories.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Across the cafeteria table from Stan sat an unusually somber Delmar.

  “Hey! What’s wrong with you this morning?” Stan asked as he snapped his fingers in front of his friend.

  “Oh, just thinking about things,” Delmar replied listlessly.

  “What kind of things?”

  Delmar looked at him crossly and then finally shrugged.

  “It’s all this theory stuff,” Delmar finally offered. “I just don’t get it. I mean, I can use a computer as well as the next person, but when it comes to understanding why they work, I’m just totally baffled.”

  Stan considered Delmar’s answer. He was well aware that Delmar was in over his head with computer theory. In spite of his best efforts, he had been unable to help his friend get a grasp on the material.

  “Tell you what,” Stan suggested. “Let’s talk to Professor Angle after lunch and see if anything can be done.”

  “All right,” Delmar agreed without enthusiasm. “But I don’t see how that will change anything.”

  ∞∞∞

  It had been a harried week since the food synthesizer incident, and that had been the least of the surprises for Campus Maintenance. All over campus they were discovering problems related to unauthorized access into most of the institute computers. Shirl looked up from the small mountain of paper covering her desk.

  “What now?” she asked wearily when Mart came in with another stack of reports.

  “In an effort to get a handle on these discrepancies, I had each department just give us a summary of what happened and the affect it had on their operations,” her assistant answered. “With a few notable exceptions, it looks like things are actually better than we feared. I managed to compile the summaries down to this,” he said, handing a two-page list to his supervisor.