exchanged looks. “It could work. But I’m not sure how quickly. We’d have to do a data dump and then go through testing, which takes longer than anything else. More importantly, the translations would be very slow without a separate server. The processor in the vest is small which is why we offload the bulk of the work to other servers. When are you and Dulce supposed to leave?”
“How about tomorrow?”
Lee rolled his eyes. “I don’t think we can make that. The data dump would take almost that long, leaving us virtually no time to test. Could you leave on Saturday?”
DeeAnn frowned. “I have a friend in trouble.”
“And you need an IMIS system to help?”
“Yes. And Dulce too.”
Lee was still pondering when Juan spoke. “We could probably put it together in time, but with only minimal testing. If it didn’t work, it would be a wasted trip. It also means we have no backup or spare if we have problems during the open water test. And speaking from a technical standpoint, having no backup is a really bad idea.”
“Have you had any problems so far with the first vest?” Alison asked.
“Not yet.”
“Well, that sounds encouraging.”
“We’re still in a controlled environment. Sending the second vest off without thorough testing, especially if you need it so badly, scares the hell out of me.”
“Well,” DeeAnn interjected, with her hand resting over her mouth. “Maybe we can test on the way.” They all turned and looked at DeeAnn, who smiled at Juan. “Ever been to South America, Juan?”
Juan returned the smile. “I can be packed in ten minutes.”
DeeAnn looked at Alison playfully. “I hate that about men.”
“Hold on,” Lee said. With a sigh, he ran his hand over his face. “There’s something else.” Lee circled the other end of the workbench and headed for his computer. “Something I need to show you both.”
He fell into his black chair and rolled forward, placing his hands on an extra wide keyboard. “We have another problem.” He opened a window that filled the entire screen, displaying another frame of video footage. The long list of system log entries appeared alongside of the video. The frequency of red colored errors in the log was increasing. “I’ve been trying to track it down, but I can’t seem to find it.”
“Track what down?”
“This.” He pointed to the list of errors on the screen. “This is the main system log for IMIS’ translation process. This is where identification and translation happens. And these red entries are indicating problems.”
Alison leaned in closer, staring at the text. “What kind of problems?”
“Problems with the translations…as in mistakes .”
Both of the women’s eyes widened. “Mistakes?”
“Yes.” Lee sighed again, turning around to face them. “There’s a lot involved in what IMIS does. It starts with converting the analog wavelengths of our voice into digital data. It then parses that data into chunks that can be matched against spelling and grammatical rules looking for errors. Then it applies dozens of-” he suddenly stopped when he noticed their eyes beginning to glaze over.
“Okay,” he continued. “So that’s basically how it works…but here’s the problem: the communication is increasingly becoming less systematic. In other words, it’s unraveling.” Lee swung back around to his screen. He grabbed the mouse and scrolled up through the log until the entries displayed the time and date from four days ago. “Look at this. Not as many errors as today.” He then scrolled up further. “And even less last week.”
“So they’re increasing?”
“Exactly.”
“So what are the errors saying?” asked DeeAnn.
“What they seem to be indicating is that an increasing number of language translations are no longer matching. The time synchronizations are off. Which means the data is
“How about tomorrow?”
Lee rolled his eyes. “I don’t think we can make that. The data dump would take almost that long, leaving us virtually no time to test. Could you leave on Saturday?”
DeeAnn frowned. “I have a friend in trouble.”
“And you need an IMIS system to help?”
“Yes. And Dulce too.”
Lee was still pondering when Juan spoke. “We could probably put it together in time, but with only minimal testing. If it didn’t work, it would be a wasted trip. It also means we have no backup or spare if we have problems during the open water test. And speaking from a technical standpoint, having no backup is a really bad idea.”
“Have you had any problems so far with the first vest?” Alison asked.
“Not yet.”
“Well, that sounds encouraging.”
“We’re still in a controlled environment. Sending the second vest off without thorough testing, especially if you need it so badly, scares the hell out of me.”
“Well,” DeeAnn interjected, with her hand resting over her mouth. “Maybe we can test on the way.” They all turned and looked at DeeAnn, who smiled at Juan. “Ever been to South America, Juan?”
Juan returned the smile. “I can be packed in ten minutes.”
DeeAnn looked at Alison playfully. “I hate that about men.”
“Hold on,” Lee said. With a sigh, he ran his hand over his face. “There’s something else.” Lee circled the other end of the workbench and headed for his computer. “Something I need to show you both.”
He fell into his black chair and rolled forward, placing his hands on an extra wide keyboard. “We have another problem.” He opened a window that filled the entire screen, displaying another frame of video footage. The long list of system log entries appeared alongside of the video. The frequency of red colored errors in the log was increasing. “I’ve been trying to track it down, but I can’t seem to find it.”
“Track what down?”
“This.” He pointed to the list of errors on the screen. “This is the main system log for IMIS’ translation process. This is where identification and translation happens. And these red entries are indicating problems.”
Alison leaned in closer, staring at the text. “What kind of problems?”
“Problems with the translations…as in mistakes .”
Both of the women’s eyes widened. “Mistakes?”
“Yes.” Lee sighed again, turning around to face them. “There’s a lot involved in what IMIS does. It starts with converting the analog wavelengths of our voice into digital data. It then parses that data into chunks that can be matched against spelling and grammatical rules looking for errors. Then it applies dozens of-” he suddenly stopped when he noticed their eyes beginning to glaze over.
“Okay,” he continued. “So that’s basically how it works…but here’s the problem: the communication is increasingly becoming less systematic. In other words, it’s unraveling.” Lee swung back around to his screen. He grabbed the mouse and scrolled up through the log until the entries displayed the time and date from four days ago. “Look at this. Not as many errors as today.” He then scrolled up further. “And even less last week.”
“So they’re increasing?”
“Exactly.”
“So what are the errors saying?” asked DeeAnn.
“What they seem to be indicating is that an increasing number of language translations are no longer matching. The time synchronizations are off. Which means the data is
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