the facilities. Not just the hangar, but the production and storage areas as well.”
Her eyes tightened imperceptibly. “I’m afraid that’s impossible. Access is strictly limited to a handful of people.”
“Let me put it this way.” Steepling his fingers, Briggs rested his elbows on the glimmering steel arms of his chair. “Either I inspect them or I shut you down. It’s your choice.”
“Be reasonable.”
“This isn’t a request. It’s an order. And it’s not my order either. My employer wishes to—”
“I know, I know.” She exhaled in frustration. “I need some time to coordinate with my people.”
“Very good.” Without fanfare, Briggs stood up and walked across the frosted glass floor. Opening an aluminum door, he vanished into the hallway.
The door started to close, but a petite hand caught it at the last minute. Seconds later, Tessie glided into the office. “How long is he going to be here?” she said in a tone that spoke volumes about her feelings toward Briggs.
“Too long.” Simona spun her padded leather chair to the side. Her second-floor office overlooked the interior of a sizable airport hangar. It featured frosted glass walls instead of windows. “He wants documentation pertaining to the model’s structure.”
“How much should I give him?”
“Everything.” Simona would’ve preferred to keep Briggs in the dark. But drowning him in paperwork was the next best option.
Tessie smirked. “I’ll get right on it.”
Simona opened a concealed compartment under her desk. Her forefinger pressed a button. A section of frosted glass turned clear.
She looked into the one-way glass. The hustle and bustle of the hangar lay below her. She focused her attention on the area almost directly beneath her office. Rows and rows of computers covered oversized aluminum tables. People flitted about the space, moving endlessly. As per her orders, there were no chairs to be seen. That was important.
Simona didn’t like people sitting down on the job.
“Ms. Wolcott?”
Simona’s eyes remained glued to the glass. “What is it, Tessie?”
“I almost forgot. Jeremy is on the line. He says—”
“He can wait.” Simona waved at the glass. “What do you see down there?”
“But—”
“Answer the question, please.”
Tessie walked to the wall and took a good look at the frenzied movements taking place within the hangar. “People,” she said softly. “I see people.”
“That’s not what I mean. Tell me about the patterns.”
“It’s just chaos.”
“Where you see chaos, I see a system of feedback loops.” Simona pointed at a blonde woman standing in front of a computer. “Take her, for instance. If she mistypes a word, she’ll adjust her behavior in almost imperceptible ways. Her fingers might slow down. Her eyes may stare harder at the screen. She’ll type another word, study her work, and make more adjustments. Each time she takes action, a new environment emerges in which she then takes another action.”
“Sounds like chaos to me.”
“Not so.” Simona watched the little people moving around from machine to machine, dancing an endless dance. “It’s a self-stabilizing system controlled by feedback loops. The human brain can’t even begin to comprehend all those loops. But our computers can handle them.”
“I hate to interrupt, but—”
“If we wanted to, we could model all those people as a cybernetic system. And we could use those models to predict future behaviors.”
Tessie tapped her foot impatiently on the floor. “I really must insist you take Jeremy’s call. He said it was important.”
“Very well.” Simona pressed the button under her desk and the glass frosted over. She waited until Tessie had left the room before pressing a button on her screen. The monitor fired up and the image of a serious, agitated man appeared before her. “Hello, Jeremy.”
“We have a problem, Simona.”
Simona studied her security chief. Jeremy Pascal was
Her eyes tightened imperceptibly. “I’m afraid that’s impossible. Access is strictly limited to a handful of people.”
“Let me put it this way.” Steepling his fingers, Briggs rested his elbows on the glimmering steel arms of his chair. “Either I inspect them or I shut you down. It’s your choice.”
“Be reasonable.”
“This isn’t a request. It’s an order. And it’s not my order either. My employer wishes to—”
“I know, I know.” She exhaled in frustration. “I need some time to coordinate with my people.”
“Very good.” Without fanfare, Briggs stood up and walked across the frosted glass floor. Opening an aluminum door, he vanished into the hallway.
The door started to close, but a petite hand caught it at the last minute. Seconds later, Tessie glided into the office. “How long is he going to be here?” she said in a tone that spoke volumes about her feelings toward Briggs.
“Too long.” Simona spun her padded leather chair to the side. Her second-floor office overlooked the interior of a sizable airport hangar. It featured frosted glass walls instead of windows. “He wants documentation pertaining to the model’s structure.”
“How much should I give him?”
“Everything.” Simona would’ve preferred to keep Briggs in the dark. But drowning him in paperwork was the next best option.
Tessie smirked. “I’ll get right on it.”
Simona opened a concealed compartment under her desk. Her forefinger pressed a button. A section of frosted glass turned clear.
She looked into the one-way glass. The hustle and bustle of the hangar lay below her. She focused her attention on the area almost directly beneath her office. Rows and rows of computers covered oversized aluminum tables. People flitted about the space, moving endlessly. As per her orders, there were no chairs to be seen. That was important.
Simona didn’t like people sitting down on the job.
“Ms. Wolcott?”
Simona’s eyes remained glued to the glass. “What is it, Tessie?”
“I almost forgot. Jeremy is on the line. He says—”
“He can wait.” Simona waved at the glass. “What do you see down there?”
“But—”
“Answer the question, please.”
Tessie walked to the wall and took a good look at the frenzied movements taking place within the hangar. “People,” she said softly. “I see people.”
“That’s not what I mean. Tell me about the patterns.”
“It’s just chaos.”
“Where you see chaos, I see a system of feedback loops.” Simona pointed at a blonde woman standing in front of a computer. “Take her, for instance. If she mistypes a word, she’ll adjust her behavior in almost imperceptible ways. Her fingers might slow down. Her eyes may stare harder at the screen. She’ll type another word, study her work, and make more adjustments. Each time she takes action, a new environment emerges in which she then takes another action.”
“Sounds like chaos to me.”
“Not so.” Simona watched the little people moving around from machine to machine, dancing an endless dance. “It’s a self-stabilizing system controlled by feedback loops. The human brain can’t even begin to comprehend all those loops. But our computers can handle them.”
“I hate to interrupt, but—”
“If we wanted to, we could model all those people as a cybernetic system. And we could use those models to predict future behaviors.”
Tessie tapped her foot impatiently on the floor. “I really must insist you take Jeremy’s call. He said it was important.”
“Very well.” Simona pressed the button under her desk and the glass frosted over. She waited until Tessie had left the room before pressing a button on her screen. The monitor fired up and the image of a serious, agitated man appeared before her. “Hello, Jeremy.”
“We have a problem, Simona.”
Simona studied her security chief. Jeremy Pascal was
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