Avogadro Corp: The Singularity Is Closer Than It Appears by William Hertling Page A
Book: Avogadro Corp: The Singularity Is Closer Than It Appears by William Hertling
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Authors: William Hertling
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outdoors. Going to their ranch was one of the highlights of his year. Especially in the middle of the rainy Portland winter.
Unfortunately, he was far from joy at the moment. The more he thought about it, the more he was sure that ELOPe was somehow originating emails on its own. He still hoped that he and Mike could take care of it without telling anyone else. He was becoming more afraid for his career by the minute. If he did anything that materially affected the Avogadro Mail service on top of the deceptions he’d already done, he’d never work there or at any of the other big Internet companies again. It was no wonder his throat felt tight, and his stomach a boiling pit of despair.
He hadn’t been able to remove the code changes without Mike’s help. And now, to top it off, David was headed out of town. He couldn’t cancel his trip with Christine on an unconfirmed fear, nor did he really want her to know how worried he was.
The only consolation, and it was a small one, was the holiday break. Most people at Avogadro would be out of the office. With a little luck, there wouldn’t be that much that ELOPe could do with so little email moving around. But he still hoped that it was just his own worries running away with themselves.
Christine was gesturing at him from the terminal gate, and he could see people boarding the plane. Reluctantly, he got up and went over to her, managing a weak smile. He gripped his luggage tightly and followed Christine toward the plane.
He tried to tell himself that when they got back from New Mexico, everything would be fine, just perfectly normal. He’d be able to laugh at everything that he was so worried about now. Meanwhile, a stiff drink, or better yet, two stiff drinks, would be really nice.
* * *
Bill Larry flew out by helicopter to visit ODC #4 again. Since his last visit, the standard “data center in a box” cargo containers had been replaced with specially hardened units, and iRobot had delivered their automated defenses.
On this visit, for the first time, in order to land on the floating helicopter pad, Bill had to authorize their visit via the iRobot services administrator before the helicopter took off. It unnerved Bill to step onto the deck of the ODC knowing that robots with lethal force were onboard the vessel. He realized that part of his unease came from the lack of positive feedback. Unlike with a person, there was no obvious way to know that the robots were in stand-down mode. They just stood there like any other piece of machinery.
He inspected one of the deck robots, more than a little terrified that it would suddenly lurch into motion and kill him. The robot looked like a miniature tank. It was about four feet long, three feet wide, and three feet tall. It had treads like a tank on either side of a small lower chassis that contained the motors and power supply. A rectangular box on a hinged and rotating scissor arm extended up another three feet. The rectangular box look incongruously like a box of roses he had once bought for his ex-wife.
He ran his fingers over the glass panes that he knew covered the optical and infrared sensors. Small metal covers would presumably retract to expose the armament. Peering around it, he looked for the directional acoustic sensors that must be there, somewhere. He knew infrared lighting and cameras, as well as sonar, allowed the robot to see in 3D even when normal visibility was obscured. Speakers allowed the robot to instruct would-be attackers to back off. If they failed to obey, the robot had several non-lethal deterrents. It could emit pepper spray in a 60 degree arc and it could fire taser-like electrical shocks directly in front of it. The same speakers that would tell attackers to back off could deliver a 18.9Hz acoustic blast that would vibrate the eyeballs of anyone within thirty feet. It was supposed to be incredible painful and disorienting. Should the non-lethal defenses fail to be sufficient deterrent, as a
Unfortunately, he was far from joy at the moment. The more he thought about it, the more he was sure that ELOPe was somehow originating emails on its own. He still hoped that he and Mike could take care of it without telling anyone else. He was becoming more afraid for his career by the minute. If he did anything that materially affected the Avogadro Mail service on top of the deceptions he’d already done, he’d never work there or at any of the other big Internet companies again. It was no wonder his throat felt tight, and his stomach a boiling pit of despair.
He hadn’t been able to remove the code changes without Mike’s help. And now, to top it off, David was headed out of town. He couldn’t cancel his trip with Christine on an unconfirmed fear, nor did he really want her to know how worried he was.
The only consolation, and it was a small one, was the holiday break. Most people at Avogadro would be out of the office. With a little luck, there wouldn’t be that much that ELOPe could do with so little email moving around. But he still hoped that it was just his own worries running away with themselves.
Christine was gesturing at him from the terminal gate, and he could see people boarding the plane. Reluctantly, he got up and went over to her, managing a weak smile. He gripped his luggage tightly and followed Christine toward the plane.
He tried to tell himself that when they got back from New Mexico, everything would be fine, just perfectly normal. He’d be able to laugh at everything that he was so worried about now. Meanwhile, a stiff drink, or better yet, two stiff drinks, would be really nice.
* * *
Bill Larry flew out by helicopter to visit ODC #4 again. Since his last visit, the standard “data center in a box” cargo containers had been replaced with specially hardened units, and iRobot had delivered their automated defenses.
On this visit, for the first time, in order to land on the floating helicopter pad, Bill had to authorize their visit via the iRobot services administrator before the helicopter took off. It unnerved Bill to step onto the deck of the ODC knowing that robots with lethal force were onboard the vessel. He realized that part of his unease came from the lack of positive feedback. Unlike with a person, there was no obvious way to know that the robots were in stand-down mode. They just stood there like any other piece of machinery.
He inspected one of the deck robots, more than a little terrified that it would suddenly lurch into motion and kill him. The robot looked like a miniature tank. It was about four feet long, three feet wide, and three feet tall. It had treads like a tank on either side of a small lower chassis that contained the motors and power supply. A rectangular box on a hinged and rotating scissor arm extended up another three feet. The rectangular box look incongruously like a box of roses he had once bought for his ex-wife.
He ran his fingers over the glass panes that he knew covered the optical and infrared sensors. Small metal covers would presumably retract to expose the armament. Peering around it, he looked for the directional acoustic sensors that must be there, somewhere. He knew infrared lighting and cameras, as well as sonar, allowed the robot to see in 3D even when normal visibility was obscured. Speakers allowed the robot to instruct would-be attackers to back off. If they failed to obey, the robot had several non-lethal deterrents. It could emit pepper spray in a 60 degree arc and it could fire taser-like electrical shocks directly in front of it. The same speakers that would tell attackers to back off could deliver a 18.9Hz acoustic blast that would vibrate the eyeballs of anyone within thirty feet. It was supposed to be incredible painful and disorienting. Should the non-lethal defenses fail to be sufficient deterrent, as a
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