gave me a concerned look. “Well, Ms. Catharine, we’re sorry you couldn’t join us in the studio today, but we heard there’s quite the demonstration going on outside.”
I nodded, furrowing my brow. Darn, how did they get so good at looking concerned on command? I just looked angry. I dropped the expression. “Yes, safety concerns and all.”
They nodded in unison. “Well, lucky for us that we have the gift of technology at our hands and you can join us from your office.” I let my eyes dart toward the clock in the corner of the screen. This was the news. Surely this couldn’t last too long. I was already impatient for it to end. “So we heard today is the big day! The Go – er, Global Model is going live today.”
The audience cheered, covering her mistake. I smiled thinly. The God Machine, indeed. “That’s correct,” I replied. “We’ll be running our first simulations at midnight tonight.” I glanced at the numbers flashing over the doorway. 99.9999%. “We’re inputting all the last stray data today to bump up the accuracy as high as possible. We will continue to input data as it runs, but we are very nearly at 100%.”
The news anchors gasped in fake-surprise. “That’s incredible,” one of them said. “But before we get too deep into the technical stuff, can you give us a quick rundown on how the GM came to be?”
I nodded. “Of course. Well, the project began as a simple weather model. We have been using computers to predict weather and climate changes for many, many years. As we gain a greater understanding of all the feedback loops involved, they grow more and more accurate. My father,” I paused for a moment, catching a glimpse of the screen behind the news anchors, showing an old, imposing photo of my dad to the audience. “My father spear-headed the GM project as an attempt to create the ultimate model. Now, the universe is really ruled by only a few key laws. We know now that there is no real randomness to it. If you can gather enough data, down to the molecular level, you can use a hyper computer like the GM to predict exactly how each molecule will react with one another, then compress it all into useable information.”
The news anchors eyes had started to glaze over. “So how did that grow into the monitor-movement?”
“Well that was my mother’s idea.” I heard the audience laugh at my tone. “She was a student at the time and attended one of my father’s seminars on the project. She had the idea to include the human element and he hired her on the spot. If there was some way to monitor all the molecules – even ones embedded in our own systems, we could create the ultimate model. One that could essentially predict the future. The easiest way to do so was to begin implanting monitors in people to record and transmit all that data to the GM. In fact, I was the first baby implanted with a monitor.”
I knew what was coming next and I braced myself for the question. “So how did you become the head of the project? I understand your parents stepped down some years ago.”
“Well, it wasn’t an easy decision, but I grew up working on this project. I know it better than anyone, so when my parents retired, it was the logical choice.”
It wasn’t what they were asking and I knew it wouldn’t suffice. “Yes, but why did your parents retire so suddenly? It wasn’t a planned decision, was it?”
I hesitated, knowing my mom was probably watching the live feed. My dad too, maybe. “There were some personal issues,” I said shortly. “My father had a strong religious upbringing.”
The news anchors adopted a look of sympathy. It was a good enough answer. I wasn’t off the hook yet, though. “Let’s talk about that,” one of them said. “There has been a lot of controversy with this project. Many people have expressed outrage at the compulsory monitor-installation laws. What about the issue of privacy?”
I shrugged. “There are countless instances where the
I nodded, furrowing my brow. Darn, how did they get so good at looking concerned on command? I just looked angry. I dropped the expression. “Yes, safety concerns and all.”
They nodded in unison. “Well, lucky for us that we have the gift of technology at our hands and you can join us from your office.” I let my eyes dart toward the clock in the corner of the screen. This was the news. Surely this couldn’t last too long. I was already impatient for it to end. “So we heard today is the big day! The Go – er, Global Model is going live today.”
The audience cheered, covering her mistake. I smiled thinly. The God Machine, indeed. “That’s correct,” I replied. “We’ll be running our first simulations at midnight tonight.” I glanced at the numbers flashing over the doorway. 99.9999%. “We’re inputting all the last stray data today to bump up the accuracy as high as possible. We will continue to input data as it runs, but we are very nearly at 100%.”
The news anchors gasped in fake-surprise. “That’s incredible,” one of them said. “But before we get too deep into the technical stuff, can you give us a quick rundown on how the GM came to be?”
I nodded. “Of course. Well, the project began as a simple weather model. We have been using computers to predict weather and climate changes for many, many years. As we gain a greater understanding of all the feedback loops involved, they grow more and more accurate. My father,” I paused for a moment, catching a glimpse of the screen behind the news anchors, showing an old, imposing photo of my dad to the audience. “My father spear-headed the GM project as an attempt to create the ultimate model. Now, the universe is really ruled by only a few key laws. We know now that there is no real randomness to it. If you can gather enough data, down to the molecular level, you can use a hyper computer like the GM to predict exactly how each molecule will react with one another, then compress it all into useable information.”
The news anchors eyes had started to glaze over. “So how did that grow into the monitor-movement?”
“Well that was my mother’s idea.” I heard the audience laugh at my tone. “She was a student at the time and attended one of my father’s seminars on the project. She had the idea to include the human element and he hired her on the spot. If there was some way to monitor all the molecules – even ones embedded in our own systems, we could create the ultimate model. One that could essentially predict the future. The easiest way to do so was to begin implanting monitors in people to record and transmit all that data to the GM. In fact, I was the first baby implanted with a monitor.”
I knew what was coming next and I braced myself for the question. “So how did you become the head of the project? I understand your parents stepped down some years ago.”
“Well, it wasn’t an easy decision, but I grew up working on this project. I know it better than anyone, so when my parents retired, it was the logical choice.”
It wasn’t what they were asking and I knew it wouldn’t suffice. “Yes, but why did your parents retire so suddenly? It wasn’t a planned decision, was it?”
I hesitated, knowing my mom was probably watching the live feed. My dad too, maybe. “There were some personal issues,” I said shortly. “My father had a strong religious upbringing.”
The news anchors adopted a look of sympathy. It was a good enough answer. I wasn’t off the hook yet, though. “Let’s talk about that,” one of them said. “There has been a lot of controversy with this project. Many people have expressed outrage at the compulsory monitor-installation laws. What about the issue of privacy?”
I shrugged. “There are countless instances where the
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