ThegreenandyellowtaxidroppedthemoffatthetopendofTheBund,Shanghai’stwokilometersofEuropeanbrownstonebuildingsthatharkedbacktothecity’scolonialpast.ZhongshanLu,theroadthatwassandwichedbetweentheneoclassicalfa?adeofTheBund,theHuangpuRiverandtheconstantlychangingmetropolisofPudong,wasamaelstromofneon,vehiclelights,myriadflyoversandthebuzzofacityalive.TheviewwassobreathtakingthatCaldwelljuststoodonthepavementinfrontofoneoftheEuropean-stylebuildingsandstaredatthePudongskyline.They’ddecidedtoeherefirsttotestrunKenzoYamamoto’sconsolebeforedealingwiththeproblemoftheAI.MeiLinhadalsoreasonedthatfollowingthePLAallthewaytothehospitalwastoodangerous.Itwasmuchbettertosneakinandcatchthembysurprise.
Gleamingtowersofsteelandconcretedisappearedintoasmog-filledsky,theirneonsscreamingtobenoticed.Giantroboticcranesmovedslowlybetweenthebuildingsgivingtheimpressionthattheyweregoingtocrashthroughtheshinyedifices.ThelogosofcountlessChinese,Japaneseandglobalconglomeratespulsatedinthenight,thehornsofshinycarsblaredandanultra-modernversionofhumanityweaveditswayamongthebuildings.Caldwellreckonedthatifyoupointedanaugmentedrealityunitinanydirectionitwouldbeoverwhelmedwithdata.Ashetookintheviews,thetimecapsuleofTheBund,thecrazypedestrianandvehiculartrafficofZhongshanLu,thenauticaltrafficontheHuangpuriver,thefieryneonandlight-refractingsteelandglassofPudong,andthenumeroushelicoptersandotheraircrafttraversingthesky,hefounditdifficultnottobeoverwhelmed.Andallthewhilehauntedbythatunmistakablefeelingofdéjàvu.
“Ihavebeenherebefore,”Caldwellsaidfinally.
“HardlysurprisingCad.”
“ButIhavenomemoryofitatall,justthisoverwhelmingfeelingthatIhavebeenherebefore.”
“Let’scrossovertothebanksoftheHuangpu.There’saniceelevatedriversidepromenade.”
“Yes,let’sseewhetherthisWangLincharacterwasjustboastingidlyortherereallyissomethingelseoutthere.”
TheycrossedZhongshanLuviaanundergroundtunnelandemergedontheotherside.TherewasasmallcrowdofpeopleadmiringthenightviewofPudongandfromthissideoftheroad,withtheundulatingblackexpanseoftheriverinfullview,thevistareallywasbreathtaking.TheyfoundaparkbenchinamoresecludedspotclosetotherivertourferrypiersandCaldwellremovedtheconsolefromhisknapsackandplaceditonthebench.MeiLinlookedonashedonnedthegogglesandswitchedtheconsoleon.
“Whatcanyousee?”MeiLinaskedwithmountingexcitement.Caldwell’sheartwasbeatingfasttoo.Thiscouldbethemostexcitingthinghe’deversethiseyeson.
“Em,nothing,justthemandlineandtheviewofTheBundoutside.”HeturnedhisheadtowardsPudong.Nothing.Theconsolewasnotpickingupanynetworks.
“Maybeyouaresupposedtoissueamandorsomething,”MeiLinsuggested.Thenightwasabitchillyandshehadherarmsfoldedacrossherchestandherheadhunchedintohershoulders.
“Maybe.AugmentedRealityMode,”Caldwellsaidintothemicrophoneembeddedinthegoggles.
“What?”
“Nothing.Justissuingamandtotheconsole.OK,wehaveanARoverlay.”
Thegoggles’displaywaspickingupsomesophisticatedaugmentedrealitydata.ThebuildingsinPudonghadchangedcolorandbeetransparent,showingthevariousfloorsandinternalstructures.Textlabelsdescribedthecorporationsinthebuildingsandlogosappearedwheretheydidnotexistinreallife.Virtualadvertising.
ThesystemnotifiedCaldwellthattheword“Bund”wasofAnglo-Indianoriginanddescribedanembankmentalongamuddywaterfront.Forawhile,theBionicTowerinthePudongmetropolishadbeenoneofthetallestbuildingsintheworldandprovidedwork,livingandrecreationspaceformorethanonehundredthousandShanghairesidents.TherewereseveralotherarcologiesthathadsincepletelydwarfedtheBionicTowerandtheARhaddetailedinformationabouttheconstructionofthosemonoliths.Withthegloveson,CaldwellguessedthatyoucouldmanipulatetheseintelligentbuildingsinthreedimensionsandbreakthemapartlikeLegotounderstandtheirecology,howtheyfunctioned.
“Anythinginteresting?”MeiLinaskedagain.Anoteofimpatiencewasgrowinginhervoice.
“StandardARstuff.Waitaminute.”
Caldwellpeeredthroughthegogglesattheamber-litexteriorsofthebuildingsonTheBund.Hehadnotbeenpayingattentiontothebottomrightcornerofthescreenbutitappearedthattheconsolewasdetectingseveralnetworksinthesurroundingarea.Mostofthemseemedtobecorporatenetworks.
“Youhavesomething?”
“Yes,theconsoleseemstobecyclingthroughallthenetworksithasdetectedinthevicinity.Therearemany,asyou’dexpectgiventhedensityofthisplace,thesheernumberofskyscrapers.”
“Well,that’sgood.Atleastifthereisanetworkitwouldbepickedup.”
“Exactly.Itseemstobegivingthenetworkssomekindofgreenlight.Probablymeansitcanaccessthem.Thereareoneortworedsintherebutmostaregreen.”
“MaybethePLAnetworkisoneoftheredones.Inaccessible.”
“Let’swaittillitloopsthroughallofthem.Hey,whatifitisactuallynotsimplydetectingavailablenetworksbutactuallylookingforthenetwork?”
“That’spossible.”
“Whichmeansthatholyshit”
“What?”
“It’sthere,”Caldwellshouted.Thedisplayhadchanged.Thecross-sectionedskyscrapersinPudonghadbeenreplacedbytherealimagesofthebuildingsbutsuperimposedontopofthepanoramawasatotallynewskylineandabovethatthegraysmog-ladenskyhaddisappeared,replacedwithacrystal-cleargrayskywithbrightly-litstarstwinklingbetweenfluffyslow-driftingwhiteclouds.Aircraftintermittentlycriss-crossedtheskyleavingwhitestreaksinthegrayexpanse.
Caldwellcouldn’tbelievehiseyes.Inthedistance,onthegentlyundulatingsurfaceoftheHuangpuriver,theboatshadbeentransformedintobeautifulmarinecraftrenderedinstunningthreedimensions.Hecouldmakeoutpeopleonthepromenadeinthedistance.HeturnedroundtofaceTheBund.Itwasstilltherebutthecrowds,thelights,thecarsandthemyriadflyovershadalldisappeared.HeturnedtowhereMeiLinwasstanding.She’dvanishedtoo.CaldwelltookoffthegogglesandfoundhimselfstaringintoMeiLin’sdarkeyes.Caldwell’sfacewasflushedwithexcitement.
“Youlooklikeyoujustbecameafatherforthefirsttime.”
“Close,MeiLin,close.Takealookatthis,”hesaidhandingMeiLinthegoggles.Sheputitonandhermouthopenedindisbelief.
“Wow.Wow.Wow,”sheexclaimed.Herbodywasrotatingthroughthreehundredandsixtydegreesasshetookitallin.
“Impressiveisn’tit?”Caldwellsaid,smiling.
“Sure.Youthinkthosearerealpeople?TheycouldbebotsbutI’veneverseenbotsmovelikethat.Avatars.Theyseemtobeactuallydoingsomethinguseful.Theyhaveasenseofpurpose.”
“Yeah.”
“TheyareheadingtowardsthosevirtualbuildingsinPudong.Idon’tthinktheycanseeus.”
“Iguessthisisjustlikeanobservationwindow.Youcanseethembuttheycan’tseeyoubecausewearenotactuallypartofthenetwork,”Caldwellsaid.
“Iamgoingtotakeacloserlook,”MeiLinsaid,walkingtowardstheedgeoftheriver.
“No.It’stoodangerous.Whatyouareseeingmaynotbeanexactmatchofthephysicalenvironment.Wedon’twantyouintherivernow,dowe?LookatTheBund,itisempty.Thisparktoo.Imaginetryingtocrossthatroadwiththeglasseson.You’dberoadkillinseconds.”
“Iseewhereyouareingfrom.Thisissobeautifulitmakesmewonderwhywearehere.Whydestroysomethinglikethis?”
Caldwellthoughtaboutthequestionforawhilebutcouldn’tfindasuitableanswer.ItseemedashamethattheUnionwouldwanttodestroyorbooby-trapthetechnologyjustbecauseitwasn’tinventedthere.Caldwellhadseenelaboratevirtualrealitysystemsbeforebutnotonethatoverlappedtherealworldwiththiskindofprecisionandhighresolutiongraphics.Thefactthattheconsolecouldviewitatall,withoutanydiscernablelag,wastestamenttoitsputingpower.Hereckonedthatifheevermanagedtoopentheimpregnablechassis,he’dfindaprocessorunlikeanyhe’deverseen.Infactthatwasprobablywhytheconsole’screatorhadbuiltthechassisasanelaborateworkoforigami.Sothatitcouldneverbeopened,hisopuswouldbeinterredwithintheblackcasingforever.ThenapossibilitydawnedonCaldwell.Hewonderedwhyhehadneverthoughtaboutitbefore.
“Thenetwork,Iknowwhatitisallabout.”
“What?”
“It’snothingbutanelaboratetestingground.Ibetthisnetworkactuallyhasaneconomy.Itissomekindofdigitaleconomywithstockmarkets,electricitygrids,airtrafficnavigationsystemsandputer-controlledindustrialplants.Thosebotswesawareontheirwaytowork.”
“Testinggroundforwhat?”MeiLinasked,adistinctnoteofapprehensioncreepingintohervoice.
“FortheAI.InsertingtheAIintothenetworkisapreliminarysteptomakingsureitdoeswhatitissupposedtodo.”
“Andwhatisthat?Don’tsaywhatIamthinking,”MeiLinimplored.
“TheAIisgoingtocontrolcyberspace.”
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