"John G. Hemry - Do No Harm" - читать интересную книгу автора (Hemry John G)

host of macro and nano-based devices swarming through the hull to keep all
subsystems working right and in repair. ItтАЩs all networked under the central control
system, linked into one entity.тАЭ Yasmina shrugged. тАЬIтАЩve got a subspecialty in
psychocybernetics so I was involved in some of the design discussions. Not that
Sandra has consciousness or can develop it. But her functions run along lines
suggested by things like the human brain stem.тАЭ
Kevlin saw commands racing through the depiction of SandraтАЩs тАШnervous
system,тАЩ then the ship lurched as it detached from the station, pushing clear of the
rotating structure and swinging around. The main drive cut in and slammed him
against the back of his seat. A black fringe wavered around the edge of his vision as
the acceleration grew.
тАЬSandra!тАЭ The captain called in a voice tortured by pressure. тАЬKeep shipтАЩs
movement within crew comfort parameters.тАЭ
тАЬCommand understood. Complying.тАЭ SandraтАЩs voice, of course, wasnтАЩt
stressed at all.
The acceleration slacked off. Kevlin took a grateful breath and shook his head
carefully. тАЬWhy did she have to be reminded of that?тАЭ
Yasmina was watching the crew in the command seats arguing among
themselves. тАЬI imagine that question is being debated right now.тАЭ
After that, very little happened of interest to Kevlin. Sandra bored a hole
through empty space on a trajectory avoiding normal space traffic, while the
engineers put her through various tests. Kevlin monitored the crewтАЩs physical states,
spotting the reactions that told him when Sandra had performed particularly well and
the other reactions that indicated something Sandra had done had generated concern.
That got old, too, until on a whim he brought back up the display showing SandraтАЩs
inner workings and compared it to the human crewтАЩs as the ship went through her
paces.
тАЬWhatтАЩs so fascinating?тАЭ Yasmina asked.
Kevlin blinked at her, taking a moment to refocus. тАЬI was just watching the
behavior of the shipтАЩs subsystems. If I didnтАЩt know better, IтАЩd think I was seeing
autonomous physical reactions.тАЭ
 тАЬI told you it was modeled on that.тАЭ
тАЬNo, I donтАЩt just mean actions in response to commands. It looks like
reactions to the commands, to how well the ship performs. See?тАЭ
Yasmina peered across, her face intent. тАЬThatтАЩs weird. I havenтАЩt seen that
reported. No, wait. ThereтАЩs been some reports of transient system behaviors. The
geeks thought they were caused by learning routines and would damp out as the
system matured. Are you seeing that?тАЭ
тАЬNo. TheyтАЩre getting stronger and more obvious.тАЭ Kevlin took a look at the
crew, who seemed calm enough, then checked their physical states. Stress was
obvious there in a lot of cases. Something was bothering them. тАЬHas Sandra failed
any tests so far?тАЭ
тАЬNot as far as I can tell. Results keep showing her exceeding expectations.тАЭ
SandraтАЩs voice sounded again. тАЬCooling subsystem module seven suffering
from degraded performance.тАЭ
Kevlin focused on that component, seeing the images marking nano- and
macro-scale automated maintenance drones hastening to the site. Nothing seemed to
happen for a while as the devices clustered on the ailing component, then a second
wave of repair drones appeared, bulling past the first wave. Within moments, the
moduleтАЩs performance markers improved. тАЬDid Sandra just create a new repair