BeyHop Chpt 57

==Beyond Hope- Chapter 57 - Envy==
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===Message Traffic===
***************************Achtung! Achtung!!************************
Corporate Office Production Order
To: Maxim-Silvermann Yards, Boojum 5
From: Steiner-Davon, Elizabeth Ngo, Chief Operating Officer, Ngo Enterprises
RE: Tender for Production Order; 11 'Silver Streak' class Dropships for Immediate Transfer to Coast Guard Special Squadron 8.
I'll pay the penalties, this is a rush order. I need them ready to go by November.
Design spec modification requests in the attached file.
Liz.
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To: Wahlberger-Cameron, Dean David
From: Maxim-Silvermann Manufacturing
RE: Your Apprenticeship Application
Congratulations Dean David Wahlberger-Cameron! Your application for an apprentice slot at Maxim-Silvermann Shipyard has been approved. Report details in the attachment. Please be on time, the shift is 1st Shift, rate is Union Standard Scale (see bylaws, Shipyard Fabricators Union 121, Boojum Orbitals). Please be aware this is a Government Contract job, and adjust your conduct accordingly.
Nathan Silvermann, Owner and Foreman,
Maxim-Silvermann Dropship and Jumpship Yard
*********************************************************************
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"I got hired… I got the JOB mom!!!" Dean was ecstatic, as he waved the offprint. "I got the job!!"
“Good for you Dean. This calls for a celebration.” Jane Cameron smiled.
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===Perils of Immortality===
Helena Cameron EstateBoojam Orbit, Spider MoonKowloon System, Federated Commonwealth (Lyran State)3063
Helena had to admit she felt like she was being a bad sister with how long it had been since she visited. But with all the things now in motion, she made the time and actually kept to the promise of seeing her sister, nieces, and nephews.
“Hey Phoebe.” Helena said as the girl opened the door.
The expression of faint anger was just visible to Helena’s eyes.
“I know I should visit more often. But I brought someone with me that I think will help you forgive me.” Helena collected Jonathan from Jakob who was standing just out of view.
Phoebe smiled then nodded.
“He’s walking now. And fast so please keep an eye on him for me for a moment while I find your Moms?”
Phoebe nodded again and took Jonathan by the hand as they walked off.
“You have a completely unfair advantage,” Helena said as she hugged her sister’s remote.
“Advantages of being a highly sophisticated AI, I can work and be a stay at home mom at the same time.”
“They’re all growing up so fast…” Helena said as Jakob brought in their contributions to the family meal.
“Visit more and it’ll slow down,” Jane nodded.
“Yes. You’re far too much of a stranger these days.” Bianh came out of their bedroom.
“So what’s next for you, Bianh? You don’t seem like the housewife type to me,” Helena asked.
“We’re still talking about it. With what I hear might be brewing, I might re-activate my commission. It’s either that or I find some young sperm donor and try for a son this time,” Bianh answered. “What about you and Jakob? I hear the results are in Madame First Lord.”
“I know this much: I love Jakob and will have his babies, but I’m not sure I want to do it while I’m dealing with being First Lord.”
“Hmmm. Too logical. I can tell you don’t want to wait. Maybe I should hack your implant to help you be honest with yourself,” Jane teased.
“Well for now, go find a seat while I finish this beef stir fry.” Jane smiled.
“I’ll take over, thank you very much. Last time you put way too much salt in it.”
“It was ten percent less than a lethal dose,” Jane chuckled.
Helena watched Phoebe play with Jonathan while Lenore was setting the table. Sam and Dean were playing a trivid game together. Sophie was cheering on Dean.
“Enjoy it Helena. Your life is about to get a lot more complicated with even more meetings, briefings, and crises,” Jakob sat next to his wife.
“I know. So, Jane. Think Liz will make you start wearing the wig and suit too?” Helena asked as her sister’s remote joined them at the table.
“I think that depends on the results of your research. Not much point if I can’t be away from my hull for very long.”
“Someone came to us with an interesting prospect on that front. So I’ve sent Bertha and Muhammed to check it out. They should be finding out one way or the other here very shortly.”
“I hope so. Don’t get me wrong, I am not depressed by the nature of my existence but…”
“You’re core being not exactly portable still feels like an anchor. Something between you and true freedom. I know. That’s why I’m doing this. You deserve it.”
“Thanks, sis. The other part I worry about is how much it’ll hurt when I outlive them.” Jane looked at her children. “ I know I present as this being of pure intellect, but I still have feelings and the irrationality of what they mean when I think about things like that…”
“I know Jane, I know. You still hurt in your own way too. Come here.” Helena hugged Jane.
“I envy that you can cry sometimes…”
“For now I’ll cry for both of us. But later. Today is a happy day for Dean.”
“Yes it is.” Jane smiled.
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===Constructing Potential Problem===
Kowloon, Federated Commonwealth (Lyran State)June 3063
Bertha looked at the massive construct. There was no denying that at least the outer layer really was computer hardware.
Racks and racks of servers, cooling towers, and power banks as far as she could see.
"That's the spare parts," Shelby said. "Come on, the real fun is just past here, and did I thank you two for saving my life today?"
“You don’t need to keep thanking us,” Muhammed offered.
He punched in a key-code, and the secure, fireproof blast door opened with a faint screeching.
The blast of freezing air that came out was… brisk?
"You're keeping it in a refrigerator?"
"Freezer," he said. "Only way to keep it cool with the facilities we've got here."
Bertha nodded. She found she was regretting not bringing a jacket for this part.
What was beyond the door, didn't look like a computer. It didn't look like… well, much of anything. No status lights, no exposed parts, just a sphere made of triangular parts like a giant Buckminster Fuller sculpture.
"And here it is," Elian Shelby said. "Skynet Version One."
“Hello Skynet. Hope you’re not as murderous as the Skynet I’m familiar with.” Bertha said.
He led them around the massive object to the far side, where he connected a portable with a relatively ordinary network cable.
"And here's the code kernel I've been working on for it."
Bertha watched wearily as she started to shiver.
“So just how advanced is this system?” Muhammed asked.
"See for yourself." Elian set up a music stand to hold his portable up, and stepped aside, "I assume one of you knows how to code, yes?"
Bertha stepped up. “Well I took a few courses back in the day…”
What Bertha saw was something not only vaguely familiar, but VERY familiar. "This is M-5 code," she said before she caught herself.
"Pardon?"
"Something I've… heard about." I've seen Samantha working on this for Jane. This is… it's the same kind of language. "You did this?"
"It made sense with the alternating current structure of the processor design I worked out. I started with asking why every computer system needs a transformer to go to direct current, and why the decision tree is always just a stack of 'yes' or 'no', with composites of yes/no decisions forming most fuzzy logic arrangements. Which aren't, they're just parity matching…" Elian said nervously. "Is it okay? Is this close to what you expected?"
“Elian, if we solve the cooling issue, you are going to make two very important women in my life very happy.” Bertha studied the interface.
"How is this different?" Muhammed asked.
"Well, for starters, instead of 'on' and 'off' the trinary layout has 'yes', 'no' and Neutral, which is neither on, nor off," Elian explained. "This lets it do several things, files can be associated differently in the architecture, since it doesn't have to rely on a linear progression or parallel, it can do tangential connections. I honestly don't know how far it can be pushed, but I know that it can run standard software a heck of a lot faster than it should be able to, while making other decisions on applications already in motion."
"Bertha, translate?"
"Intuition. Mister Shelby thinks this computer is capable of making intuitive logical leaps, not just based on information, but on the lack of it, or on seemingly unrelated or unconnected information. Like people do, only very fast."
Muhammed studied the size of the object.
“We might need to adjust the physical architecture too, to fit in parameters,” Muhammed said.
Elian nodded with a shrug, "Yeah, see, this is the proof of concept, hence the massive weight of it and all the storage racks you saw out in the main room-they're JUST data storage and we needed them because Skynet here, when I connected her to the station's network, swamped it with information requests."
“So it’s already learning…” Bertha almost gasped.
"Uh, yeah… that's what you build a synthetic intelligence expert system to do, right?" He didn't seem to grasp the significance. 
“Okay so what will it take to get this to Kowloon and make it fit in the space available of, say, an otherwise hollow human torso?”
"Next generation's processor, probably," Elian said. "The processor for this one, plus power supply weighs tons, but that's proof of concept for you. I can probably get it pared down to something you could stuff in a corner office server, or tighter, depending on what we use for volatile memory."
“Jane’s going to want to see this for herself…” Bertha muttered.
"Can you make…this portable?" Muhammed asked.
"Oh, yeah, no problem there. She won't remember much after she's de-powered, so she'll have to re-learn everything we don't have on Mem Stiks. But package for shipping? Shouldn't be too tough, I've moved the core around with a dolly-jack before. Most of her mass IS memory storage, but that's what you get buying what's available on the civilian market in the ass end of space while also on a budget. There are components I couldn't get because they're kept behind a 'restricted sales' wall as vital military equipment, or were out of my price range from more advanced worlds. Shipping was the real killer there."
The data storage was an older, obsolete type. Many generations behind the latest and most commonly available items found on more technologically advanced worlds. But even so, there was so much of it to handle such a sophisticated system that even more modern alternatives would have been challenged as well.
“Well, let’s get packing. I’m freezing and the first one of you bozos to offer to keep me warm with your body heat will be introduced to my right hook,” Bertha announced.
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