Post by Tol on Sept 11, 2016 15:51:57 GMT -4
Infovore(n): a person who craves, seeks and displays a large capacity for absorbing information.
--------------------
Today was the day.
Either a monumental stride would be made through modern science, or years of painstaking effort and strained budgets would collapse into an unceremonious lump in the toilet.
Damn. Gotta stop being such a pessimist. Everything will be fine.
The researcher ran a shaking hand through his messy, tangled hair and adjusted his position in the revolving office chair. This did not remedy the ache in his tailbone, and he sighed, stretching and trying no look calm and collected. On the inside he was, as we have previously seen, fretting over the course of the next few hours.
Our researcher friend, who will remain nameless for no particular reason, was an overworked and undervalued member of what used to be known as Topographical Tech, colloquially referred to by many people as T.T. The organization was essentially an overstaffed marine biology lab, until a recent discovery was made that made scientists across the globe fail to provide an explanation and propelled T.T to the center spotlight of media attention and even changed its name.
Routine checks of the ocean terrain for signs of tectonic activity, monitoring of aquatic ecosystems, and other mundane tasks were commonplace in their unmanned submersibles. But this find had been so incredibly complex that it needed to be seen with their own eyes. Even after that, they had no idea what to do with the result.
The find in question was a section of ocean floor about 1400 square meters in area. To the ordinary observer there was nothing even slightly suspicious about the ridges and undersea hill formations. When viewed on a topological map, the section of sea floor resembled MEG imaging of a human brain.
Eighty-four percent human, to be more accurate. In some areas were activity would be expected, there was nothing. It was as though the ocean had been imprinted with the brain of a man who had no nervous system.
Obviously, when these findings were released they were immediately dismissed as a hoax. That notion was dispelled just as quickly when NASA stepped forward and claimed a similar formation had been located on the far side of the moon, and that the Chinese were hiding its existence from the world. Panic spread when the Chinese denied this and refused further questions. A UN meeting was called. Then the conspiracies and religious calls to action began. People came up with any number of unlikely explanation; aliens, ancient civilizations, God. Some believed it was a sign, just like a monolith of the Space Odyssey. That understanding it would be the key.
And today was that day, as we know.
Richard (the name of our nameless researcher) was one of the three dozen people waiting in a sterilized (why was it sterilized? Christ, they’re running a computer sim, not a hospital) room and watching through a glass window as scientists from who-even-knows-what branches of technology were collaborating to upload the simulation.
The plan was simple. Modify conditions in the simulated brain until it matched the manifested pattern in the ocean. In any other scenario this would have been viewed as pure pseudo-scientific bullshit. And it was, by practically anyone who was competent enough to understand computers. But influential morons with a lot of disposable income had pooled together a ludicrous amount of resources and media attention into the “Big Day”.
“Sherioushly.” Richard bit into an unsatisfying candy bar and flicked the wrapper onto his table. “We didn’t even need to prepare for this. We could have literally just scanned a dude’s brain and subtracted the Parietal lobe region, or something like that. Right?”
Nobody in the room responded to his comment, and he sank back awkwardly in his uncomfortable chair to wait like everyone else. This was going to be a massive disappointment, he realized. Pessimism aside, this was literally hundreds of millions of dollar funneled into the dumbest scientific venture on the planet. Ironic since it was one of the most significant scientific findings on the planet, but still. It was a bit tragic to see something get handled so badly.
And there it goes, he thought, as he watched someone give a go-ahead and beckon for the other scientist to turn on the imaging device. We are simulating the image of a brain made of underwater rocks and hoping it somehow reveals to us where we came from, or what the meaning of life is. Stupid shit basically. It’s kind of astonishing.
The MEG screen lit up and went through the motions, until someone pressed a button and the section of the brain responsible for the sensation of touch blooped out of existence. The room collectively held their breath. Richard found himself doing so. He hadn’t even realized how despite the absurdity of the situation, he was caught up in the hype. Blame the news for blowing it all out of proportion.
For a stretch of thirty seconds the image just froze and the screen displayed a pop-up explaining that an unexpected error had occurred. What were the odds?! Attempting to run a computer simulation of a human brain while subtracting vital components of the cerebrum had failed. Turns out we need a nervous system, who’d’ve thought, right?
Richard could feel the bitter, sullen disappointment in the people responsible for creating such a stupid experiment. This garbage was being broadcasted live? Nothing more than a publicity stunt. Some reporter would probably start explaining how much data was gained from this first attempt. The screen was turned off and people stood up from their seats.
“Why are they turning it back on?”
Heads turned towards the test room window to see that the screen had been reactivated. And the simulation was running successfully. “Oh, hey, they got it to-“
The mounted television screen cracked down the middle with the MEG live feed still playing. Activity swelled in regions outside of the actual brain as one half of the screen shattered. The wires tore from the walls and waved frantically around with sparks every time they collided with one another. This was probably the best time to run.
The screen exploded and the test room was filled with smoke. Silicon fragments pelted the window as the smoke obscured the view. The rooms had already been cleared of people, filing calmly through the doors. Something had overheated, some expensive equipment had malfunctioned. Nobody was injured, and to be honest, this was the only exciting thing to happen all day, if a bit disheartening. Pretty screwed up, all things considered. Total media flop, Richard suspected. Those rich idiots are gonna get what they deserve and their reputation will plummet, if there is any justice in the world.
------------------------
The smoke settled and the screen sparked as pieces crumbled off and fell to the floor.
A ghostly image of the altered brain rose from the ground. Smoke was pulled in to a mysterious vacuum and the false brain, filling it like inky black liquid filling a plastic mold. The large brain filled in missing “regions”, spots that a human brain did not feature, nor did any other organism on Earth.
Pieces of the room picked up and began to surround the black floating brain as unknown energies gravitated the shining metal debris. Eventually a crude casing, comprised of metal bits mashed together, hid the entire brain from view with silicon and steel.
The encasing drifted through the broken window, examining the ugly, ruined desks, chairs and bookshelves. Mmmm. This facility does not have a very good taste in furniture. The contents of the bookshelves, though. That was what was important.
Small shadowy tendrils reached out and wrapped around the books, drawing them into makeshift slots on the metal and stashing them away.
The ancient being celebrated the moment. The first pieces of knowledge on a strange, fragile world. And it celebrated its success.
“I can’t believe that worked.”
--------------------
Today was the day.
Either a monumental stride would be made through modern science, or years of painstaking effort and strained budgets would collapse into an unceremonious lump in the toilet.
Damn. Gotta stop being such a pessimist. Everything will be fine.
The researcher ran a shaking hand through his messy, tangled hair and adjusted his position in the revolving office chair. This did not remedy the ache in his tailbone, and he sighed, stretching and trying no look calm and collected. On the inside he was, as we have previously seen, fretting over the course of the next few hours.
Our researcher friend, who will remain nameless for no particular reason, was an overworked and undervalued member of what used to be known as Topographical Tech, colloquially referred to by many people as T.T. The organization was essentially an overstaffed marine biology lab, until a recent discovery was made that made scientists across the globe fail to provide an explanation and propelled T.T to the center spotlight of media attention and even changed its name.
Routine checks of the ocean terrain for signs of tectonic activity, monitoring of aquatic ecosystems, and other mundane tasks were commonplace in their unmanned submersibles. But this find had been so incredibly complex that it needed to be seen with their own eyes. Even after that, they had no idea what to do with the result.
The find in question was a section of ocean floor about 1400 square meters in area. To the ordinary observer there was nothing even slightly suspicious about the ridges and undersea hill formations. When viewed on a topological map, the section of sea floor resembled MEG imaging of a human brain.
Eighty-four percent human, to be more accurate. In some areas were activity would be expected, there was nothing. It was as though the ocean had been imprinted with the brain of a man who had no nervous system.
Obviously, when these findings were released they were immediately dismissed as a hoax. That notion was dispelled just as quickly when NASA stepped forward and claimed a similar formation had been located on the far side of the moon, and that the Chinese were hiding its existence from the world. Panic spread when the Chinese denied this and refused further questions. A UN meeting was called. Then the conspiracies and religious calls to action began. People came up with any number of unlikely explanation; aliens, ancient civilizations, God. Some believed it was a sign, just like a monolith of the Space Odyssey. That understanding it would be the key.
And today was that day, as we know.
Richard (the name of our nameless researcher) was one of the three dozen people waiting in a sterilized (why was it sterilized? Christ, they’re running a computer sim, not a hospital) room and watching through a glass window as scientists from who-even-knows-what branches of technology were collaborating to upload the simulation.
The plan was simple. Modify conditions in the simulated brain until it matched the manifested pattern in the ocean. In any other scenario this would have been viewed as pure pseudo-scientific bullshit. And it was, by practically anyone who was competent enough to understand computers. But influential morons with a lot of disposable income had pooled together a ludicrous amount of resources and media attention into the “Big Day”.
“Sherioushly.” Richard bit into an unsatisfying candy bar and flicked the wrapper onto his table. “We didn’t even need to prepare for this. We could have literally just scanned a dude’s brain and subtracted the Parietal lobe region, or something like that. Right?”
Nobody in the room responded to his comment, and he sank back awkwardly in his uncomfortable chair to wait like everyone else. This was going to be a massive disappointment, he realized. Pessimism aside, this was literally hundreds of millions of dollar funneled into the dumbest scientific venture on the planet. Ironic since it was one of the most significant scientific findings on the planet, but still. It was a bit tragic to see something get handled so badly.
And there it goes, he thought, as he watched someone give a go-ahead and beckon for the other scientist to turn on the imaging device. We are simulating the image of a brain made of underwater rocks and hoping it somehow reveals to us where we came from, or what the meaning of life is. Stupid shit basically. It’s kind of astonishing.
The MEG screen lit up and went through the motions, until someone pressed a button and the section of the brain responsible for the sensation of touch blooped out of existence. The room collectively held their breath. Richard found himself doing so. He hadn’t even realized how despite the absurdity of the situation, he was caught up in the hype. Blame the news for blowing it all out of proportion.
For a stretch of thirty seconds the image just froze and the screen displayed a pop-up explaining that an unexpected error had occurred. What were the odds?! Attempting to run a computer simulation of a human brain while subtracting vital components of the cerebrum had failed. Turns out we need a nervous system, who’d’ve thought, right?
Richard could feel the bitter, sullen disappointment in the people responsible for creating such a stupid experiment. This garbage was being broadcasted live? Nothing more than a publicity stunt. Some reporter would probably start explaining how much data was gained from this first attempt. The screen was turned off and people stood up from their seats.
“Why are they turning it back on?”
Heads turned towards the test room window to see that the screen had been reactivated. And the simulation was running successfully. “Oh, hey, they got it to-“
The mounted television screen cracked down the middle with the MEG live feed still playing. Activity swelled in regions outside of the actual brain as one half of the screen shattered. The wires tore from the walls and waved frantically around with sparks every time they collided with one another. This was probably the best time to run.
The screen exploded and the test room was filled with smoke. Silicon fragments pelted the window as the smoke obscured the view. The rooms had already been cleared of people, filing calmly through the doors. Something had overheated, some expensive equipment had malfunctioned. Nobody was injured, and to be honest, this was the only exciting thing to happen all day, if a bit disheartening. Pretty screwed up, all things considered. Total media flop, Richard suspected. Those rich idiots are gonna get what they deserve and their reputation will plummet, if there is any justice in the world.
------------------------
The smoke settled and the screen sparked as pieces crumbled off and fell to the floor.
A ghostly image of the altered brain rose from the ground. Smoke was pulled in to a mysterious vacuum and the false brain, filling it like inky black liquid filling a plastic mold. The large brain filled in missing “regions”, spots that a human brain did not feature, nor did any other organism on Earth.
Pieces of the room picked up and began to surround the black floating brain as unknown energies gravitated the shining metal debris. Eventually a crude casing, comprised of metal bits mashed together, hid the entire brain from view with silicon and steel.
The encasing drifted through the broken window, examining the ugly, ruined desks, chairs and bookshelves. Mmmm. This facility does not have a very good taste in furniture. The contents of the bookshelves, though. That was what was important.
Small shadowy tendrils reached out and wrapped around the books, drawing them into makeshift slots on the metal and stashing them away.
The ancient being celebrated the moment. The first pieces of knowledge on a strange, fragile world. And it celebrated its success.
“I can’t believe that worked.”
