“They are aware of that and have made the right choice,” Raj said calmly and thoughtfully, “I’ve got a feeling that we have less time than we think. The customer has brilliant specialists, and soon they will figure out how to make a limiting program for the processor. Consequently, they’ll take away the prototype at once. Then they’ll make every possible effort to keep the discovery in secret.”
“Then why don’t we start the experiment, guys? Potentially, everything is ready for it! We’ve got three new interfaces. Out clearance level allows us to use them without any applications and approvals.” Asha wheeled inside a laboratory cart with three small containers. “Absolem itself suggested using the lab on the ground floor. By the way, the good news is that the whole of the ground floor area will be at our disposal till morning; there will no personnel there! Absolem’s whole resource will be available to us. What a rare chance!”
“We must take this chance now as we may not get it later” Nestor said thoughtfully, getting up off a chair.
“Then let’s go to the lifts,” Atarva held the door to enable Asha to wheel out the cart into the hallway.
Meanwhile, the holographic projector on Asha’s table came to life and then came a melodious sound of an incoming system message. In the air above the table, emerged a written message and then started rotating, pulsing with yellow color.
“What is it?” Atarva asked, without looking back at the table. He held the door, helping Asha to roll out the cart into the hallway.
“System notification. It says that the only lift going down to the ground floor will be suspended from operation in five minutes,” Asha read. “We must hurry, guys!”
When the cart with containers rolled smoothly into the lift and its door slowly closed down, Nestor looked closely at Atarva. “You are being nervous, my friend. You cannot start synchronization in such a state!”
“I’m scared, Nestor! I’m really scared! And besides I am not sure we’ve done everything right.” Atarva was breathing fast and broke into perspiration out of excitement.
“Atarva, look me in the eye,” Asha said calmly. She put her hand on his shoulder. “I feel like huddling myself up in a corner and cry, but this will not help. You understand? The only way to escape is to perform the experiment and put at once the result on the web for general access. As you know, all it takes to rescue us is to record the contact with the Noosphere! We’ll make it public immediately! They will not dare to touch us after that!”
Asha’s voice sounded so confident and enthusiastic that Atarva began to regain his temper. He started blinking fast with his misty eyes, and a smile appeared on his lips. “That was a minute’s weakness, guys, I am sorry about that! I am the master of my mind and I will get back to normal now. Of course, they will not touch us if we put the results on the Internet!”
“The Internet network will not be available for a few hours. Server failure, Sir. Probably, it won’t take long. It’s all because of the storm. If you wish, I’ll find out in detail what has happened there,” a shift engineer of the Center said guiltily, trying hard to show his readiness to solve the problem.
Having listened to his report, the Center’s director silently nodded and let him know with a gesture that he could leave. The engineer nodded in reply and already walked off towards the door, when the secretary came in and stood at the doorway. “City line call, Sir,” Sangeeta’s voice sounded anxious, and she expressly pointed with her eyes at an old-fashioned phone standing on the edge of his desk.
Raj met his secretary’s gaze and calmly nodded in reply. Then he slowly walked up to the desk, cast a look at his switched off communicator and with a confident gesture picked up the phone.
“Be on the site. I am taking the prototype,” said an unexpressive and sharp voice, followed with frequent beeps.
The director abruptly put down the receiver directly on the desk and quickly walked away from the office.
It was not for the first time that Asha had been in synchronization with the AI, the total time she had spent merging her mind with the machine exceeded ten hours.
She remarked that the new interfaces were much more powerful than the previous ones. In less than a minute, she felt the state of slight euphoria, which indicated that her synchronization with the machine had successfully completed. Now she could start to exchange data with the AI and to display her image in that virtual world.
Light spots stopped blinking before her eyes, and she felt herself standing on the Ocean shore. Absolem always chose that reality as a background for its communication with human beings. The view turned out to be perfectly realistic.
Now Asha had to create her virtual image, or avatar, to be seen by Absolem and the whole of her group in that world. Therefore, she made a realistic picture of a nice-looking girl similar to herself, dressed in a white linen dress, slightly opening her knees. Having critically inspected her avatar from different sides, she slightly highlighted her lips and eyes, while her legs remained bare. After that the girl got synchronized with her avatar and started walking along the Ocean shore, waiting for Atarva’s and Nestor’s avatars to appear. In a couple of seconds her bare feet felt light chilliness from an Ocean wave, and the morning ocean breeze softly cooled off her face.
Absolem itself always appeared in the form of a well-built tall man with regular, yet ordinary, face features. He chose to dress in loose-fitting clothes. As a rule, the AI Absolem met his guests, standing beside a stone on the Ocean shore, however, occasionally, he preferred to remain unseen.
Everyone who got into communication with the AI remarked his good manners and sincere willingness to be of help to people.
Asha was well-aware of the laws of that world: one could pass years and even dozens of years in that reality, while in the world of people he would be absent for a few seconds! In essence, time and speed are conventional values and variable as well.
While staying in that virtual reality, one could stretch a second virtually forever. It was only enough for one to wish that and visualize vividly that event and then put one’s own avatar in that period of time. People have always underestimated the power of mind and thought in their world. While here things were different.
Asha gazed at the Ocean for a while and then walked off unhurriedly towards Absolem, who was waiting for her near a small stone sticking out of sand. Her inner voice was whispering to her that at the moment even seconds counted, that’s why the girl decided to speed up the time. In an instant, Atarva and Nestor emerged before her. Both of them looked rather anxious. In accordance with the unspoken rule, guests avoided breaking the laws of the world created by Absolem at will, but now the situation was different. With a mental effort, Nestor simply moved the space where Absolem was closer to himself, letting him know that they had no time for greetings and had to get straight to business.
“You are right, Nestor. Now each moment is of value,” Absolem said instead of greetings and a soft smile appeared on his kind open face. The Curators and one more Dangerous Man are now heading towards the place where you are staying. They are aimed to take away the prototype. They have reached the lift that leads to the ground floor. And your group is their target. The Dangerous Man is the leader of their group; he’s got a generator in his suitcase, whose field can interrupt you communication with the Super Mind of the new processor that I am creating for you right now.