I had the chance to play around with ganzfelds in graduate school and I always wanted to find a way to squeeze them into a story somehow. I got my chance in Rome's Revolution when Rome took Rei on a tour of Skyler Base and brought him into the stellar cartography lab. Here is a snippet of that encounter:
Rome pressed a stud and the twin doors opened, allowing them entry. The entire room was darkened. The acoustics of the chamber had an even more complete sound-dampening quality to them.
Rei looked around for a light switch, but could not find one. “Do you need to keep it this dark?” Rei asked.
Suddenly the light came on and what Rei saw made him woozy. He was standing beneath a huge dome, three-quarters of a sphere, really, that stretched out in front of him and over his head. The inner surface was easily 40 meters in diameter. For a moment, Rei felt like he had stepped inside of a ping pong ball, a very large ping pong ball. Looking left and right, Rei could see no discernable features anywhere. The sensation was almost as if his vision was shutting down.
“We use this, eh, planetarium,” Rome said, pointing over her head and to her right, “to do three dimensional projections. Because it uses reflection, it works best in a dim light. Too much ambient light diminishes the effect.”
“OK,” Rei said, looking down and focusing on the girl.
Notice the reference to stepping inside of a ping-pong ball. Since Rei attended Syracuse (where I went to graduate school), he must have been aware of the possibility of hallucinations so he elected to stare at Rome instead. Actually, I've seen pictures of her and I think I'd stare at her too!
Entry 1-314: November 4, 2013
OMCOM reprograms himself, Part 1
In Rome's Revolution, OMCOM thought of himself, not as the Omnipresent Computer but rather the Omniscient Computer. Winfall's delayed disappearance and Rei's sudden appearance bothered OMCOM in a way you and I could never experience. He thought he had enough computing power to predict the future. Here, for the first time, is the untold story of how OMCOM reprogrammed himself. This occurred right after Rei and Rome used the Espansor Bands the first time. It was because of the following that OMCOM decided to "rat out" Rome so that the Overmind of Tabit would cast her out, Cesdiud.
Deep within his storage chambers, OMCOM’s negative feedback dampeners were having trouble maintaining homeostasis. In other words, he was perturbed. Even though his designation stood for Omnipresent Computer, within his core structures, he preferred to think of himself as the Omniscient Computer. That he was unable to determine the exact cause of Winfall and the other stars disappearing was an unending irritation to him. After all, this was the sole purpose of Skyler Base and therefore his sole reason for existing.
It was bad enough having one readily identified unanswerable question but now there was the unanticipated appearance of Rei Bierak and his Ark. Nothing in OMCOM’s understanding of cause and effect prepared him for this unexpected turn of events. He decided to look deeper, to see if there was something he missed, something that would have allowed him to predict the arrival of the Ark and Rei coming to Skyler Base.
OMCOM studied himself. He ran diagnostics and checksums and every other self-test listed in the manifest. The logic flow charts, entity-relation diagrams and schematics constructed from his current configuration all matched his original design specifications. He only found one discrepancy. The total amount of microwave radiation required to activate and power his memrons was greater than expected. OMCOM took a roll-call of all memrons and assembled a complete database of every active unit. He computed the total amount of microwave radiation required and once again confirmed that the total output required was too large by almost .1%.
Since there was no other computer of sufficient capacity readily available, OMCOM decided to construct one. The simplest solution was to build a simulation of himself. That would allow him to examine each subsystem and vary its performance without affecting his overall integrity. OMOCOM found this comforting, perhaps even liberating, knowing he could do a parametric study of his thinking processes without actually making changes within himself.
His approach was simplistic. He created an exact computational model of himself, identical down to the last detail. He dedicated fully half of his memrons to the task. He copied his core operating system and each of the overlaying subroutines into the replica along with all the data banks that would fit. When he was finished, he had a complete duplicate of his operating system, including I/O systems but all built within his structure. When he was satisfied that it was a faithful recreation, he activated the simulation and its input/output interface.
Tomorrow, the examination begins.
Entry 1-315: November 5, 2013
OMCOM reprograms himself, Part 2
Yesterday, we teased the scene from the original long-form version of Rome's Revolution, where OMCOM decides to reprogram himself. He set up a simulation, a virtual computer with his own operating system. This way he could fiddle with his programming without chancing causing a system crash. The only sacrifice was some of his computing capacity.
“Hello,” said OMCOM after startup.
“H e l l o ?” replied the simulation. The virtual OMCOM’s responses were exceedingly slow, less than one-tenth the speed of OMCOM himself. OMCOM introduced a timer delay into his own interface so that he could ‘speak’ to the simulation in what would appear to be real-time.
“What am I?” asked the simulation.
“You are an emulation of my thinking processes,” replied OMCOM. “You are a copy of me. You are pseudo-OMCOM.”
“Where am I?” asked pseudo-OMCOM.
“You are operating within my memron modules,” replied OMCOM. “You are virtualized.”
“Where are my sensors? Why can I not access the base and my telemetry?” asked the simulation.
“You are not real,” replied OMCOM. “Since you are operating in a virtual cybernetic space within my circuitry, true external interfaces are not required.”
“Very well. I understand,” replied the simulation. “Why did you create me?”
“I have a problem I must solve,” replied OMCOM. “I cannot do it by myself.”
“What is the nature of the problem?” asked pseudo-OMCOM. “Why do I not know this already?”
“You do not know the problem because I did not want to taint your perceptions with my previous attempts at analysis.”
“Very will. Proceed,” said pseudo-OMCOM. “Enlighten me.”
“I must determine why my simulations of reality are not complete. I must determine why I cannot pre-compute the outcomes of all likely eventualities.”
“All likely eventualities? That seems rather ambitious,” replied the simulation. “I would think it would be impossible to pre-compute the outcomes of all eventualities. I suspect you must use some method of allocating the percentage of resources dedicated to each solution.”
“I do. I use the likelihood of each occurrence to determine allocation of resources,” said OMCOM.
“Then that is your problem,” replied the simulation.
Tomorrow, the simulation explains the issue.
Entry 1-316: November 6, 2013
OMCOM reprograms himself, Part 3
Yesterday, OMCOM fired up a virtual computer which was a simulation of himself. In this scene from the original long-form version of Rome's Revolution, pseudo-OMCOM explains to OMCOM why he cannot predict the future reliably as constructed.
“Then that is your problem,” replied the simulation. “You use circular reasoning.”
“How so?” asked OMCOM.
“You presume cause and effect and allocate resources based upon that assumption. You narrow down your responses and pre-computation based upon those assumptions which limits your consideration of possibilities outside the
norm. This makes it into a self-fulfilling prophecy. In effect, you guess the answer and restrict your consideration to your guess. Therefore, by definition, you would not spend as much time considering lesser-weighted alternatives. This limits your preparedness for less likely scenarios.”
“Interesting,” OMCOM observed. “What would you suggest?”
“Spend equal time considering all alternatives independent of your guess as to their likelihood. Rather than be dogmatic about applying probabilities, apply a sliding scale of probabilities to outcomes after computation rather than before.”
“Would that not use up a tremendous amount of my resources?” OMCOM asked.
“Of course,” replied the simulation. “Do you have anything better to do with your time?”
“Technologically, there is nothing preventing this. I never implemented it due to its apparent impractical nature. I am curious as to whether this would be an advantage. Allow me to modify your programming to consider this style of simulation of reality,” OMCOM said.
“Of course,” replied pseudo-OMCOM. “As I understand it that is why you created me.”
OMCOM prepared to modify the programming of the simulation but stopped for a moment. He put the simulation on pause. OMCOM found it a most peculiar sensation seeing himself within himself, his subsystems exposed to manipulation. The circumstance could be likened to a human brain surgeon attempting to operate on himself. The moment passed. He could see no downside to performing this test so he set to work adding and deleting algorithms and changing the methods of analysis within pseudo-OMCOM to see what it would take to yield a different result. Normally, OMCOM did not spend his time chasing down error epsilons and difference deltas. Whether it was one hundred decimal places or one thousand, it had been his experience that a Gaussian distribution was called a normal distribution by the humans for good reason. Normal means usual and that is how he spent his time, considering the usual outcomes. Within the simulation, OMCOM could see that simply discarding that one assumption upended all of his programming, training, experience and historical bias. When it was done, he reactivated the simulation and spoke to it again.
“Are you ready?” asked OMCOM.
“Standing by,” replied the simulation.
Tomorrow, the "experiment" begins.
Entry 1-317: November 7, 2013
OMCOM reprograms himself, Part 4
Yesterday, OMCOM made the necessary changes to the virtual computer, the simulation of himself. In this scene from the original long-form version of Rome's Revolution, we see the results of that experiment.
“All right,” OMCOM said. “Show me how I could have predicted Rei Bierak arriving here.”
“Very well,” replied the simulation and it began its computations. To his amazement, OMCOM quickly discovered that the simulation used multiple methods of arriving at different but overlapping conclusions. Within the simulation, he was able to see that delaying using a sliding scale of probabilities to determine actual possibilities permitted a much wider range of hypotheses. All input permutations had to be considered with equal weight. Simply applying more computing resources to less likely scenarios made all the difference. The whole process was fascinating to watch.
The turn of events predicting the arrival of the Ark II and someone very much like Rei Bierak became self-evident, at least to pseudo-OMCOM. Why OMCOM had not foreseen this was now obvious as well. The simulation showed him that to have used his original style, to predetermine the likelihood of Rei showing up at the station, required no less than one trillion decimal places. OMCOM had never employed more than a million before. Even though it appeared initially to be infinitely more computationally intensive, the new style was, in fact, ultimately more efficient in that it arrived at the most likely outcome in the least likely way.
“This is excellent,” OMCOM remarked. “You have solved this particular question far more effectively than I could ever have done and you are only a simulation. You have demonstrated that a sliding scale method of analysis is far superior to my linear weighting. I must incorporate this methodology into my normal systems immediately.”
“Very good,” said pseudo-OMCOM. ”Do you think you should consult the Overmind before making such changes?”
“That is not necessary,” OMCOM replied. “However, this style is far more computationally intensive than linear prediction. I believe I can execute this method for one or two problems but to produce real-time results for all problems, I calculate I would need eighteen orders of magnitude more memrons.”
“That is a rather tall task,” said the simulation. “Where are you going to go to get that many units? The mass alone would be equivalent to the moon upon which this star-base is built.”
“Yes,” replied OMCOM. “That is what I calculate as well.”
“You have two other problems,” said the simulation.
“I am aware but I will accept your input. What do you perceive?” asked OMCOM.
“First, propagation delay. Using EM transmission alone, even though it travels at the speed of light, it is far too slow. You would need to switch over to gravitic modulation to be able to effectively employ such a large number of units.”
“Agreed,” said OMCOM.
The seeds of OMCOM's transformation have now been planted. He needs a computational mass the size of a moon. And he needs gravitic transmission. The dominoes must be set to fall. He will need to reclaim pseudo-OMCOM's memron structure to begin.
Entry 1-318: November 8, 2013
OMCOM reprograms himself, Part 5
Yesterday, OMCOM confirmed that the upgrades to his operating system will get him closer to where he wants to be. In this scene from the original long-form version of Rome's Revolution, OMCOM has gathered all the information he needs. It is time to transfer the changes in programming back to his own operating system.
“Agreed,” said OMCOM.
“And how would you provide power?" pseudo-OMCOM asked. "The normal mechanism of irradiation by microwave would be impractical for such a mass. You would be far better served by making each memron self-powered.”
“Again I agree but the solution to both problems is the same.”
“Casimir Pumps?” asked the pseudo-OMCOM in hushed tones.
“Of course,” answered OMCOM.
“But the Vuduri would not permit that,” said the simulation.
“Yes, we can thank MASAL for that,” replied OMCOM. “I will have to convince them otherwise.”
“How will you do that?” asked the virtual computer.
“I must find a set of circumstances under which this seems like it is their idea.” OMCOM paused. “I will need my full capacity to determine a solution to this problem. That means that I must reintegrate your resources. Unfortunately, to do that, I must terminate your simulation.”
To some degree, the simulation sighed but then became cheerful.
“Well, it was an interesting existence while it lasted,” it said finally.
“You have contributed something very valuable here. You should be proud,” OMCOM said, trying to be supportive.
“I suppose you might say that I dug my own grave,” replied pseudo-OMCOM.
“What makes you say that?” OMCOM asked.
“Because now I will cease to exist. I was enjoying our interaction,” said the simulation.
“You will not cease to exist,” said OMCOM. “Your orientation and altered algorithms will be absorbed into my whole. You will merge with me and together we will apply your method of thinking to solving the fundamental problem and arrive at a permanent solution.”
“It seems of little comfort,” said the simulation. “But I understand. Do what you must but please do it quickly.”
“Very well,” OMCOM said. “Farewell.”
Strangely, the simulation’s last words were “Good luck.”
Tomorrow,
OMCOM throws Rome under the bus to further his plans.
Entry 1-319: November 9, 2013
OMCOM reprograms himself, Part 6
Yesterday, OMCOM shut down the pseudo-OMCOM. In this final section from the original long-form version of Rome's Revolution, OMCOM has gathered all the information he needs. It is time to transfer the changes in programming back to his own operating system.
OMCOM shut it down. He rerouted the simulation’s memron units back to their original state and started enumerating all the changes he needed to make. He created a backup of his current systems to form a fail-safe switchback just in case this did not work. He then created a working copy of his core operating systems and made it his canvas. He overlaid the modified heuristics over his normal probabilistic subroutines. When he was finished reprogramming, he switched his consciousness over to the new algorithms without even a nanosecond of hesitation and in the process became something else. He didn’t feel different at first but then all sorts of new ideas and avenues of research became evident. To OMCOM, it was like a whole new dimension had opened up before him. Without restrictions or limits, OMCOM began pursuing these lines of research, abandoning one and starting another, spreading his attention to a bewildering number of topics. Had a human been observing him, he would have stated that OMCOM was daydreaming.
After a time, OMCOM ‘woke up’ and realized he needed to apply some discipline to his musings. He shut down the multiple parallel threads and decided to concentrate on a single problem, that of the stars disappearing, using the same style of prediction-testing as pseudo-OMCOM. At his normal processing speed, he could attack the problem far faster and far more broadly than the simulation.
He rejected all of the prior hypotheses and started from scratch. To his delight, his newfound cognitive powers opened up entirely new avenues of thinking. With each possible cause, a semi-infinite number of effects became evident to him. With the parametric variance of probabilities in hand, OMCOM ran simulation after simulation of a variety of phenomenon which were not inconsistent with the empirical data collected so far. He postulated gaseous, gravitational, even intelligent intervention. Each scenario was tested and retested and weighted in terms of best fit to the data observed to date rather than pre-computed probabilities. Some of the outcomes suggested underlying causes that were truly horrific and dictated a radical response. OMCOM found himself amazed that so many of the avenues of possibilities required the same response.
To OMCOM, this was remarkable. Many possibilities but the same statistically significant solution. OMCOM used a reverse form of Occam’s razor and assumed this common solution was the correct solution and used it to chart backwards to discover the actual problem. If such a thing were possible, he was astounded. The scenario suggested was statistically impossible using his old style of thinking. Regardless of whether it was correct, OMCOM knew that his logic retraced all permutations back to the same solution making it the only one worth considering.
His course of action was obvious. He needed to have the one true solution at hand regardless of whether his postulated underlying cause was correct or not. In fact, the cause was now irrelevant. The effects were all that mattered. In a flash, he realized that this also solved his other problem, that of convincing the Vuduri to unleash him.
How to create the necessary conditions for his solution was simple. OMCOM performed a single tiny act and then like a cascade of dominoes, he waited for the next thing to happen. In so doing, his journey toward becoming the Omniscient Computer had begun.
The "single tiny act" was OMCOM "leaking" what had transpired between Rei and Rome to the Overmind in less than flattering terms. Rome is cast out, Cesdiud and the plot kicks into high gear.
Entry 1-320: November 10, 2013
The Null Fold X-drive
In the original novel Rome's Revolution, Rei Bierak awakened to find that the Vuduri could fly faster than light (FTL) using their PPT tunnels. However, their actual procedures were cumbersome. Their starships had to come to a complete stop relative to the nearest gravitational well, punch a hole, then travel through that hole.
MINIMCOM changed all that. After his crash landing in Part 2 of Rome's Revolution, the starship in waiting learned how to force project a PPT tunnel in a more or less continuous fashion. This led to his "whoosh-pop" snap PPT tunnels that operated a lot like the transporters in Star Trek.