Geosynchron

  "Our best guess is that we'll have infoquakes to start, or something like them," said Gonerev. "Spontaneous and unexplained death throughout the civilized world. Random system failures. The collapse of certain pieces of infrastructure ..." Gonerev's eyes were beginning to glaze over with dread, and moreover, so were the eyes of her audience. "Look, I have plenty of academic papers discussing how exactly a catastrophic failure of the computational system would occur. We have teams of people in the Council who've tried to predict exactly how something like this might happen so we can get ahead of it. We've got contingency plans that get revised and reformulated every couple of years.

  "But the bottom line is that nobody knows.

  "The one thing that the infrastructure experts are in agreement about is that there's a point of no return." She gestured at the chart, causing a red line to appear about two-thirds of the way up the growth curve. "Below that threshold, the computational system will eventually heal itself. The holes will be patched up. Once we cross that threshold, however, interdependent systems will begin crashing each other. Faults in Dr. Plugenpatch might cause OCHRE failures, which might cause the messaging system to overload, which might bring down the multi network. It's all theoretical at this point.

  "You've seen the damage infoquakes can do. If we cross that red line, we could experience infoquakes without end. The destruction could approach the level caused by the Autonomous Revolt. We're talking about tens of millions or even billions dead within a few weeks.

  "That's not just a crisis. That's a potentially civilization-ending crisis."

  A collective shiver passed through the room. The Band of Twelve looked on with intense interest.

  Magan found himself playing a horror slideshow in his head of the iconic images from the Big Divide that followed the end of the Autonomous Revolt. According to the authoritative histories, most of the carnage and death were not a direct result of the Revolt-they were caused by the decades of starvation, disease, radiation poisoning, mass rioting, and chaos the Revolt produced. As one historian deftly put it, If the Autonomous Revolt was the nativity of a new world, then the Big Divide was the bloody afterbirth.

  Jara spoke.

  "I know I'm not exactly a bio/logic engineer," she said. "I don't have any great insight into the architecture of the computational system. But how do you know any of this will happen?"

  "Statistical modeling," piped up Papizon. "Logarithmic increases in bandwidth utilization based on prior patterns of adoption."

  "But how can you create an accurate statistical model when you don't even have a reliable baseline?" continued the fiefcorp master with a dubious face.

  "She's got a point," added Horvil. "I can't see where you're getting these numbers from. Nobody in the Council has actually used Possibilities 1.0 before, much less Possibilities 2.0. You haven't taken it apart and put it back together in MindSpace. You haven't tested it to see how much processing power it uses."

  Jara nodded and clasped the engineer's hand briefly on the tabletop. "The fact of the matter is, you're just making glorified guesses. For all we know, MultiReal might only cause a brief hiccup in the system. It might just stop working. Brone could be right about this.

  "And your estimates of the entire computational system collapsing? Again, forgive my ignorance here-but aren't there safeguards built in to these networks? You can't just create a program that sucks up all of the world's processing cycles and crashes everything to the ground, or the black coders would be doing it every week. There are basic principles of computational design here. Redundancy. Isolation. Compartmentalization." She ticked the principles off on her fingers. "Even if Dr. Plugenpatch implodes tomorrow, that shouldn't cause tube trains to crash and gravitational systems to go haywire."

  Everyone turned back to Rey Gonerev for a response.

  But it was Quell the Islander who spoke up from farther down the table. "You're absolutely right, in theory," he said, his voice quiet, introspective. "It should be impossible for one program to crash the whole system. But don't forget that MultiReal already does the impossible. It shouldn't be able to circumvent the Data Sea access controlsbut it does. It shouldn't be able to hook into other people's neural systems and start zapping memories without their permission-but it does. By all logical and rational programming standards, MultiReal shouldn't exist.

  "But you're basing your judgments about what's possible on a system that the Surinas designed from the ground up. One family, multiple generations. Who knows what you could stick in a system like that if you had hundreds of years to do it? If you created the rules for bio/logic programming, then certainly you could create a program that breaks those rules too.

  "And make no mistake. This program doesn't just break rules-it creates its own. It does not stay between the lines. I'm guessing that Papizon is going to say that there are safeguards and firewalls and protections that are supposed to prevent this kind of apocalypse, but MultiReal skips right over them."

  "Papizon is indeed going to say just that," quipped Papizon.

  Quell nodded. "I've seen MultiReal at work. I've measured the number of computing cycles it uses. I have no idea how accurate the Council's estimates about adoption are, and whether that red line belongs where it is. Maybe the point of no return happens when fifty million people run the program. Maybe it happens when a hundred million or five hundred million or two billion people run the program.

  "But that line exists. And I, for one, believe what the Defense and Wellness Council is saying."

  Papizon discreetly dismissed the chart floating over the center of the table with a wave of his hand. The Islander's words seemed to satisfy Jara and all the others in the room-all except for one.

  Speaker Khann Frejohr pushed himself back from the table and stood. The dissatisfaction had been growing on his face for several minutes and had now blossomed into outright anger. "You all might believe what Magan Kai Lee is telling you," he snapped. "But have you forgotten who he is?"

  All eyes turned surreptitiously towards the lieutenant executive, as if expecting him to make some caustic retort. Magan took a quick glance at the Band of Twelve and their lofty promises made with fingers crossed behind their backs. No, that would not be him. He had pledged that everyone in the room should speak freely, and he intended to abide by that pledge. He motioned for Frejohr to continue.

  Frejohr began pacing slowly around the end of the table opposite the representatives of the Council. "Magan Kai Lee is a lieutenant executive of the Defense and Wellness Council. He faithfully served High Executive Len Borda for nearly a decade before he started this rebellion. How do we know we can trust him?"

  "Are you suggesting he's still working for Len Borda?" said Bali Chandler with a wry look on his face. "I think once you try to assassinate someone, the companionship's over." Frederic and Petrucio chuckled.

  "No, of course I'm not suggesting that," said Frejohr, either not noticing or not acknowledging Chandler's sarcasm. "I'm saying that until a few months ago, the lieutenant executive was a loyal member of the current administration. Until a few months ago, he was working to bring MultiReal into Len Borda's hands.

  "Jara's right. The Blade tells us that releasing MultiReal onto the Data Sea is a recipe for overloading the computational system and triggering a catastrophe like the Autonomous Revolt. But all we have to go on is her word, and Magan's word, and Papizon's. All we've seen is a chart." Papizon stretched his hand out as if about to conjure the holographic diagram again, but Speaker Frejohr angrily waved him off. "Have any of you actually seen these reports that supposedly back their conclusions?"

  "They will be made available to any of you who wish to read them," replied Magan.

  "Fine," said Frejohr. "But I can show you reports commissioned by the Congress of L-PRACGs that conclude exactly the opposite."

  "And how do you know those reports weren't written by secret devotees of Creed Thassel?" snapped Gonerev.

  "That's not the point. What did Brone tell Natch in Ol
d Chicago? He said Len Borda was using the fear of computational collapse to seize additional power. He said that Borda had created the infoquakes to scare us, to pave the way for him to seize MultiReal. Think about it. This Possibilities 2.0 could give everyone the power to throw off the centralized government forever. The ability to live multiple lives simultaneously! The ability to live a life of ultimate selfishness! Doesn't that scare Len Borda? How do we know that Brone isn't right? How do we know that this isn't just a manufactured crisis?"

  Rey Gonerev rose to her feet, incensed.

  "Do you really believe that the Defense and Wellness Council is behind the infoquakes?" she shouted. "Do you really think that even Len Borda would murder tens of thousands of innocent people for some ... political game?"

  Frejohr had circled around the far end of the table to Jara's posi tion, and now began circling back. "I'm saying that we still don't have an explanation for the infoquakes. We still don't have an explanation for Margaret Surina's death. For process' preservation, we still don't have an explanation for Marcus Surina's death.

  "And now here we have the lieutenant executive of the Defense and Wellness Council, a member of the very organization that many believe responsible for these atrocities." He turned to address Magan directly. "Your organization kept the Islanders under your thumb for decades. Your organization put down the Melbourne riots with intimidation and murder. Your organization instilled the fear of the white robe and yellow star in every man, woman, and child from here to Furtold. And now you tell us to just trust your word about the release of Possibilities 2.0?" He turned back to face the rest of the table. "What assurances do we have that Magan Kai Lee can be trusted? What assurances do we have that Magan won't overthrow Len Borda and then seize control of MultiReal for himself?"

  There was a long and tense silence in the room. Rey Gonerev stood behind her chair gripping the back so hard that her knuckles had turned white. Once again, everyone turned expectantly to the lieutenant executive for answers.

  "You ask for assurances," said Magan, choosing his words carefully. "But what can I say that you'll believe? Trust only comes after a long pattern of promises made and promises delivered. As you have pointed out, Khann, only a short time ago I was a loyal member of Len Borda's team. So all I can do now is state my intentions and state the truth about what I know."

  Frejohr scowled. "And what do you know?"

  "I know that the Defense and Wellness Council did not create the infoquakes, and we were not responsible for the death of Margaret Surina."

  "What about her father?"

  Magan stared down at the tabletop for several seconds, weighing truth and consequences on an imaginary scale in his head. "Your suspicions about Marcus Surina are correct," he said. "Len Borda had him killed."

  The room exploded into shocked silence.

  Khann Frejohr walked slowly back to his seat and collapsed into it, looking as if he had aged a decade. Rey Gonerev, too, returned to her seat without comment. Quell's forearms flexed dangerously, as if he were strangling some invisible enemy on the table. The fiefcorpers were all slumped down in their chairs in disbelief. As for Josiah-the person most affected by Borda's actions-he wore a look of plain sadness, but did not appear particularly surprised.

  "I heard the conspiracy theories," muttered Robby Robby to himself, opening his mouth for the first time in the meeting. "I just never believed they were true."

  "High Executive Len Borda has much to answer for, Khann," said Magan after the room had settled back into some semblance of normalcy. "Marcus Surina's death is only one example. There are others. But you're yelling accusations at the one man who actually intends to hold him responsible."

  "So what-what happened?" asked Merri softly. "To Marcus Surina?"

  Magan shook his head firmly. "This is neither the time nor the place to unearth old skeletons. Suffice to say that I intend to reveal the real circumstances of his death in a truth commission at some point in the future. After the crisis of MultiReal has been dealt with, when the world is not on the brink of apocalypse. Until that point, the information I've told you should not leave this room."

  Speaker Frejohr had been staring morosely at the mural of the Band of Twelve, but at the mention of the MultiReal crisis, he spoke up again. "Again we come back to the issue of trust."

  "You want to talk about trust?" said Rey Gonerev, still irked at the Speaker. "You want to talk about leaps of faith? What proof do we have that this Possibilities 2.0 program even exists?"

  Frejohr held up his index finger as if starting to speak, then thought better of it and put his hand back in his lap, chagrined.

  "Natch is the only person outside of that complex in the Twin Cities who has actually seen this program. Quell has indicated that he was not aware of Margaret's experiments in that direction. So we're only taking Natch's word that the concept of multiple simultaneous realities is even feasible. We're only taking his word that Brone has gained access to MultiReal. If we were to rely solely on trusted sources of information, we wouldn't be holding this meeting at all. Do you want to know what the Council files say about this man Brone? Hardworking businessman, extraordinarily wealthy, keeps to himself. No trace of criminality. What if Natch and Brone conjured up this entire story between the two of them for some unknown reason? What if Natch is exaggerating the issue as a way to pursue his personal vendetta against this man?"

  All eyes turned toward the entrepreneur, who, Magan realized, had not spoken a word since the council was called to order. He had been sitting at the far end of the table, listening intently, his face betraying no clues as to his thoughts. He appeared to bear no ill will towards Rey Gonerev for her suspicions.

  "What do you want me to say?" Natch rasped. "I worked at Brone's side. I've seen the program. I've used it. It's real."

  Serr Vigal leaned forward, as if hearing his charge's voice had given him permission to speak as well. "And do you believe that releasing Possibilities 2.0 on the Data Sea would have the effect the Council is claiming? Do you think it would overload the computational system?"

  "Yes. I think, if anything, their projections are too conservative."

  This seemed to have more of an effect on Frejohr than any chart of Papizon's or any word of the Blade's.

  "So when you talk about trust, the issue cuts both ways," continued Rey Gonerev bitterly in the Speaker's direction. "This is a man known for breaking his word, known for his elaborate scheming. This is a man with a personal interest in the outcome of the MultiReal crisis. You say you don't trust the Council, Khann-well, how can the Council trust Natch?"

  Before the Speaker could think of a suitable rejoinder, Horvil slapped one hand on the table. "Hey, I've got a good idea. Why don't we have Serr Vigal make a speech? I'm sure he's still got the last one queued up."

  Horvil's joke was the tension breaker that the room so desperately needed. Both sides of the table spontaneously combusted in laughter, prompting a red-faced Vigal to stand up and raise one finger in the air like the proverbial self-important politician. Khann Frejohr withered under this assault of mirth and made a deferential gesture towards the Blade. Even Natch bowed his head and smiled.

  "The point I'm making," said Rey Gonerev after the laughter had died down, "is that we're all in the same position. We're all relying on mutual trust. If the Defense and Wellness Council can accept that Natch is telling the truth, then it shouldn't be unreasonable for you to accept that we're dealing on the level as well."

  Frejohr rocked his jaw back and forth for a moment, contemplative. Then he finally placed his palms flat on the table, closed his eyes, and gave a nod of assent in Magan's direction. The atmosphere in the room had suddenly become much more tolerable.

  "So now that trust and goodwill have been restored among all the enemies of Len Borda, the question remains," said the lieutenant executive. "How do we stop Brone from releasing Possibilities 2.0 on the Data Sea and take care of the problem of Borda at the same time?"

  31


  Bali Chandler raised his hands up in mock surrender.

  "I think I'm missing something important here," he said. "And believe me, it wouldn't be the first time. But what does Brone have to do with Len Borda? Why can't we deal with the MultiReal question, and then tackle Borda-or the other way around?"

  "Two months ago, we could have," said the lieutenant executive. "But now Borda is aware that the Thasselians have access to MultiReal. He knows that the window of opportunity is short, and he will try to seize the program before Brone can launch it on the Data Sea."

  The Islander scratched his perpetually stubbled chin. "How did he find out?"

  "Krone made sure of it," said Natch.

  Everyone stared at the entrepreneur uncomprehendingly.

  "You don't know Brone like I do," continued Natch. "He's hoping that Len Borda comes after him. He's hoping that we do too. Armed Council officers storming his compound would be the perfect justification for releasing the program on the Data Sea and starting his Revolution of Selfishness. And it would give him the perfect vehicle for getting the word out about it.

  "That's why he moved his base of operations from Old Chicago to the Kordez Thassel Complex. He either believes the program's ready for release-or that he's almost out of time. So he's hunkering down in his own building in a public space where he's much more difficult to get to.

  "Now he's got both you and Len Borda in a stalemate. You've been too preoccupied with outmaneuvering each other to pay attention to MultiReal. But sooner or later, Borda will go after MultiReal, whether he needs it to defeat the rebellion or whether the rebellion's been crushed and there's no one to stand in his way. Until then, Brone can afford to wait for someone to make a move. He can continue polishing up Possibilities 2.0 and getting it ready for public release."

  Chandler buried his face in his hands. "This is all so confusing."

  "Let me put it in simpler terms," put in Rey Gonerev. "Krone is looking for any excuse whatsoever to launch MultiReal on the Data Sea. Len Borda is looking for any excuse whatsoever to seize MultiReal. We need to prevent both of those things from happening. We need to kill or capture Brone, and we need to nullify Borda."