Caldwellheardhisnamerumblingthroughthemountainslikedistantthunder.Thesoundgraduallygrewcloser.ItwasMeiLincallingouttohim.ThegoggleshadslidoffhisfaceandhewasslumpedinfrontofKenzoYamamoto’sconsole,whichhadrevertedtoitsformershape.He’dbeenbootedoutoftheTsinghuasystem.Thelightsintheoperationsroomwereon.
“Wow,thatwassorealistic.IthoughtIwasdead.”
“Dead?Whathappened?”
“Callitastrokeofluck,callitwhatever,butImayhavestumbledupontheanswertoallofthis.”
“Goon,”MeiLinurged.
“IhackedintotheTsinghuaUniversitysystemandfoundtheputerthatseemstobesingle-handedlyresponsibleforthedatabeingsuckedoutofcyberspace.Itappearsitisnotsomuchsuckingdataasreplicatingitintothelargestdatabaseprobablyeverbuilt.Wearetalkingterabytesofdataeveryday.Wearetalkingsensitivedata,mostlyUSeconomic,financialandscientificdata.It’salmostliketheentireknowledgeoftheWesternworldisbeingsystematicallyappropriated.Notreallyappropriated,asitisallpublicdomain,butbasicallybeingdigestedinawaynohumancandigestinformation.”
“Whatdoyoumeandigested?Whatareyoutalkingabout?Whatkindofputer?”
“AnAIunlikeanyother,ifthiskidistobebelieved.”
“Whichkid?”
“HaveyouheardofProfessorYaoGuoChuen?”
“Yes.HewasoneofmyprofessorsatTsinghua.VerytightwiththePLA.Somewouldsaytootight.Whathasthisgottodowithhim?
“ThisAIandsomequantumneuroprocessorthatpowersitseemtobehislatestpetproject.”
“Howdoyouknowthat?”
“Wellonlythreepeoplehaveaccesstothisso-calleddata-guzzlingmachine.ProfessorYaoandhistwoassistantsLiJinandWangLin.ItappearsthatWangLinhadrecentlyfallenoutoffavorandseemedtoholdsomekindofgrudgeagainsttheotherstudent.”
“Buthowdoyouknowit’sanAI?”
“WasjusttalkingtoWangLinontheuniversityBBS.HethoughtIwasagirlfromthedepartment,agirlcalledVickyZhao.HestartedtalkingaboutthisAIbasedonaquantumneuroprocessor.Thestrangethingisthatboththeprofessor’sandLiJin’saccountsaredisabled.”
“Adisabledaccountmeanstheyhavelefttheschool.Theaccountsaredisabledtemporarilyandthenfinallydeleted.”
“Ortheyaredead?”
“Dead?”
“ThatwaswhatIfirstthoughtwhenIsawthedisabledaccounts.”
“Mmm”
“EarlierthiseveningAnthonyandVictorweretalkingaboutsomerumoredbreakthroughinShanghai.TheywerescantondetailsbutIthinkwhattheywerereferringtoissomehowrelatedtothishugeamountofdatagoingintoTsinghua.ThestuffgoingoninTsinghuahasgottoberelatedsomehowtoShanghai.WangLinsaidsomethingaboutthecitybeingatrailblazerfortheAI.”
“AndKenzoYamamotoguyfoundoutabouttheAIorwhateverisgoingoninShanghai.HebribedsomeoneinthePLAfortheblueprintandhadsomeonebuildtheconsolesforhimtoorder.Hisintentwastoselltheinformationtothehighestbidder?”
“Andwasmurderedbeforehecould,”Caldwellcontinued.
“Andhesenttheconsolesouttotwopeoplehethoughtactuallyhadashotataccessingthisthing?Ahackerandanartificialintelligenceexpert?SoundslikesomekindofnetworkthattheAIisbeingbuiltfor.”
“Yes,itwouldseemso.”
“Ifitisanetworkwhydidn’tYamamotoaccessithimself?TheyhavehackersintheYakuzatoo?”
“Hewouldhaveifhecouldgetin.Iamsurehetried.Hefiguredwewouldhavemoreluck.TheAmericanprofessorandI.”
“So,theAmericanprofessor’sinvolvementandtheconversationwithWangLinconfirmsanAI.Onethat’ssopowerfulthatKenzowoulddoanythingtogethishandsonit?”
“Yes,onethatissopowerfulthatitjustmightupsettheglobalbalance.”
“That’simpossible.”
“IftheprofessorhasmadethebreakthroughsWangLinsayshehas,itistotallypossible.ThisAIisheuristic.Itlearnstolearntolearn.Andwithaquantumneuralnetworkonachiptherearenolimitstotheputingpowerithasatitsdisposal.Thatwouldexplainwhytheydon’thaveitonthenetwork.Itisprobablythatsmart.They’vegotitcagedupinaloneserver,feedingitterabytesofdata.”
“WeneedtogettothisstandalonemachinebeforetheAIstartscausinganytrouble.Thisquantumchip,ifitreallyexists,needstobedestroyed,”saidMeiLin.
“Buttheycansimplymakeanotherchip.WangLinsaiditwasexpensivetoproducebutwithgovernmentormilitaryfundingtheskyisthelimit.TheChinesegovernmenthasvirtuallyunlimitedreserves.”
“Inthatcase,theonlythingwecandoismakesurethisdevicecannotpenetratecyberspace.WhathappensinsideNewChinaistheinternalaffairsofNewChina,noconcernofours.”
“True.ButaslongastheAIisinsideNewChinaitwillalwaysbeathreat.Itneedstobedestroyed.”
“Waitaminute.Onethingatatime.Fouler’sinstructionsaretofindtheoffendingsystem,createsomekindofbackdoorandnotifyhim.Itappearsyouhavefoundthesystem.IthinkweneedtocallFoulerandgivehimanupdate,seeiftheparametershavechangedasfarashe’sconcerned.”
“Goodidea.However,donotforgetthatIamsupposedtoprovideaccessintothemysteriousnetworktofulfillmysideofthebargain.ThatIcan’tdorightnowbutitwouldn’thurttogiveFouleranupdate.”
“CouldthisWangLinkidbemakingidleboastsjusttoimpressthisVickyZhaogirl?”MeiLinasked.
“Idoubtit.Hedidn’tsoundliketheprankstertype.”
“OK.”
“SohowwasyourtriptoKornhill?”
“Imanagedtogetabugintheapartment.Itwaseasy.It’saJapaneseconsulateflatbutitappearsonlythetwoJapaneseguysintheMercedeswerelivingthere.Thoseguysarepigs.Bearbottlesandpornmagazineseverywhere.Ihaveaudiofeedsgoingdirectlytoasecuredatabaseincyberspace.I’llhavealooktomorrowtoseewhattheYakuzaarecookingup.”
“Excellent.”
“Sowhydidyouthinkyouweredeadearlier?”
“Becauseinvirtualreality,WangLinpushedmeoffthisledgeabovetheclouds.TherenderingwassorealisticIthoughtIwasactuallydying.Thisisonehellofaconsole.IhaveafeelingIhaven’tevenscratchedthesurfaceonwhatthisthingcando.”
“Yeah.Thatpyramidthingwasweird.”
“Iwonderwhatthatwasallabout.”
“Let’shavealookattheTsinghuaserverbeforeIcallFouler,”shesuggested.
CaldwellloggedintotheTsinghuaUniversitynetworkandbroughtupthenetworktopography.Hedrilleddownintothedepartmentalsystem.Theloneserverwasgone.Ithaddisappearedfromthenetwork.
“Itwasherejustafewminutesago.Theuniversityauthoritieshaveprobablytakenitoffthenetwork.WangLinfoundoutIwasanimpostorwhenIjackedoutthefirsttimeyoucamein.ThegirlwhoseIDIwasusingloggedintothestudentBBS.Thelogsshowedterabytesofdatagoingineveryday.”
Caldwellnavigatedtothelogs.Theconsolerememberedhisstepsanditwasjustamatterofbacktrackingthroughthesystem.Thelogsweregone.
“MyGod,theymovefast.”
“OKwebettergetmovingtoo.I’mcallingFouler.”SheconnectedanextrapairofgogglestoaHYDRAterminalandusedakeyboardtodialaspecialnumberforFouler.Severalloginsandmultiplelayersofencryptionandcall-backsFouler’sfaceappearedontheterminalscreen.Hewasinsomekindofvan.Vastvistasofconcretewereflyingpastthetintedwindows.CadthoughthesawwhatlookedlikeChineseorThaiadorningbuildingsandbillboards.Themanwasconstantlyonthemove.
“MeiLin,Caldwell.Anynews?”
“Lot’s,”CaldwellsaidandexplainedtohimeverythingthathehadfoundoutsinceheloggedintotheTsinghuaserverexceptdetailsofthehacking.CaldwellhadafeelingFoulerwouldfindthemtedious.
“Thismakesalotofsense.Ihadafeelingthatthiswouldendupbeinguniversity-related.AlotofthecuttingedgestuffthesedaysseemstobehappeninginacademiaandthatTsinghuaisahotbed.”
“Sowhatistheplan?”MeiLinasked.Shelookedtired.
“IthinkyouguysshouldheaduptoBeijing.Seewhatyoucandigup.IamadvocatingyougotoBeijingfirstbecausetheremaybeachancetodestroythisthingatitssource,ifthat’sindeedwhatweneedtodo.Youneedtowaitformyconfirmationonthat.IamcurrentlyinTokyoandIhavewithmehereDianeJoplin,thedaughteroftheAmericanprofessor.”
“OK,we’llflyuptomorrowevening.TheJoplingirl?”askedMeiLin.
“Yes.AndMeiLin,everythingweknowsofarisbasedonthestudentWangLin’sstory.Forallweknowhemaybefeedingusacockandbullstory.SothistriptoChinaistobequick–inandout.Doyouunderstand?”
“Yessir.”
“AndCaldwell,welldone.”
“JustkeepyourendofthebargainandI’llkeepmine,Fouler.”
“Somethingelse.ThisProfessorYaoofTsinghua?He’sdead.KilledinNewYorkattheGlobalTechnologyForumnoless,”Foulerinformedthem.
“What?”Caldwellasked,shocked.Thelinewasalreadydead.
“Thatwouldexplainthedisabledaccounts.Whateveritwastheyinvented,itseemstheyarenowpayingforitwiththeirlives.”MeiLinsaidwithsomeapprehension.
“Ihadmysuspicions.WhatIneedtoknowishowinthehellFoulerfoundDianeJoplinandwhatishedoinginJapan?”
“Easy.She’sateenager.Soonerorlatertheyleaveanelectronictrail.AbouthimbeinginJapan?Thatguyisalwaysonestepaheadofeveryoneelse.Hemovesinhismysteriousways.”
HTTP://WWW.XIAOSHUOTxt.netT.xt.小.说.天.堂