"Hogan, James P - The Genesis Machine p260-end" - читать интересную книгу автора (Hogan James P)

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the Brunnermont machine locked into a defense-only kind of role. But our security policy still requires an effective means of attack.Ф He swept his eyes around the table to invite support. УMy suggestion is this:
Since Brunnermont is ruled out, we get together another scientific team, probably with the nucleus from ACRE, and figure out how to build another one. After all, the design data for Brunnermont itself is all available; it shouldnТt be too difficult.Ф
Cleary pursed his lips and shook his head.
УIТm afraid it wouldnТt work, Don. You see, the essential part of any other machine thatТs built to work on the same principles would be the artificial black hole that sits inside the J-reactor. The hole constitutes an intense emission source of hi-radiation; it would stand out like a lighthouse in the local regions of space.Ф
УSo?Ф
УThe Brunnermont surveillance mechanism would detect it straight away. The whole system has been programmed to function as a never-sleeping .
watchdog, if you like . . . in hi-space. It will fire automatically on any phenomenon of that kind that it identifies. In other words, if we build another J-bomb, Brunnermont will blow it sky-high the first instant we switch it on.Ф
Reyes looked at him aghast.
УYou mean here . . . in our own country? If we built one here and turned it on, weТd get zapped off the planet?Ф
УThat is exactly what I mean.Ф
Reyes thought for a moment; his face slowly formed into a frown. He looked up again.
УBut thatТs crazy. It leaves us wide open. What happens if the other side hits on the same technology? Their system wouldnТt have any of these lunatic proso~
grams. TheyТd be able to blow us all to hell over here, and we wouldnТt be in a position to even turn on anything to hit back with.Ф
Cleary was shaking his head again before Reyes had finished.
УNot so. Brunnermont would fire on any black hole that they tried to turn on as well. If they did make one, theyТd never be able to use it.Ф
УBut . . .У Reyes was getting confused again. УBut I thought you said Brunnermont wouldnТt fire outside the West. You donТt expect that Peking would set up their J-bomb in the Nevada desert or somewhere, do you . . . just to make it easy for us to wipe it out?Ф
УTheyТve been rather cunning,Ф Cleary replied. УOr rather, Clifford has. You see, the limitations on the range of the target coordinates that the system will accept only apply to fire commands issued through the operator interface programs; they donТt apply to fire commands issued by the watchdog programs. So if the operator tries to hit a target, say, in Mongolia, the system simply wonТt work. But if somebody puts a J-bomb in Mongolia and switches it on, itТll get blasted automatically. ItТs neat. We canТt build another one and they canТt build another one.Ф
УIn fact, when you think about it, the whole thing is very subtle,Ф Foreshaw came in. УThere can be no question now of keeping a security blanket over our k-technology. If anyone anywhere in the worldЧ maybe in some research lab somewhere or in a university in the middle of a cityЧquite innocently stumbles on the same thing and makes himself a piece of equipment similar to the GRASER that they built at Sudbury, Brunnermont will fire on it. We have to publish full details of all the factsЧand fast.Ф
УWeТre already working on a preliminary statement for communication through diplomatic channels and
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for all the news media,Ф the Secretary of State informed them from his seat next to Sherman. УIt should be going out any time now.Ф
Reyes sighed with exasperation as he turned it all over again in his mind. The West had the worldТs one and only J-bomb, it was true, but it had no value as a tool for exerting international leverage or for extracting concessions, for it would only respond to deliberate commands if the West were physically attacked
or at least inside prescribed geographic limits, which amounted to the same thing. As long as Brunnermont remained functioning, there was no way out of it.
УTell me again why we donТt just turn it off,Ф he said at last.
УBecause we canТt,Ф Cleary told him simply.
УBut, hellЧit canТt stay sealed off all the time. Every machine ever built has to be maintained. Somebody has to be able to get in sooner or later, if only to do routine maintenance on . . .У He caught the look on ClearyТs face. УNo . . . ? Why? DonТt tell me itТll never need it.Ф
УOh, youТre right enough about that. ItТs just that it isnТt sealed off . . . for that very reason. You could walk right into any part of it now if you wanted to.Ф
УReally?Ф
УReally.Ф
УSo why couldnТt I just do that and pull out all the right wires while IТm in there?Ф
УBecause . . .У ClearyТs voice became very sober, Уif you did that, you would completely eliminate the United States from the world scene as a viable military power.Ф
УI.. . donТt understand. What dТyou mean?Ф
Cleary took a deep breath and placed his hands firmly palms-down on the table in front of him.
УAll the critical components of the system have power regulators that will keep the voltages on the power lines high enough for the circuits to carry on functioning for a couple of seconds after the power supplies are cut. They are also equipped with sensor circuits that will detect the falling supply-line voltages and automatically transfer control of the computers to a power-down routine. The first function that that routine will perform will be to activate a special firecontrol sequence for the J-bomb; its effect would be to blow up the White House, the Pentagon, and just about every major military base and installation in the country. In short, you donТt tamper with it.Ф
Reyes stared at him, openly appalled.
УThatТs insane.Ф
УThose are the facts.Ф
Reyes turned toward Sherman as if pleading for a note of reason to be reinjected into the conversation.
УAlex, you canТt let them get away with that. TheyТre both mad.Ф
Sherman shrugged.
УWhat do you want me to do?Ф
УWell, damn it, youТre the President. Use your Presidential authority. Order them to disarm it.Ф
УThereТd be no point, Don. I wouldnТt expose the Presidential image to the public indignity of being told to go to hell. They wouldnТt do it.Ф
УThen you could shoot the bastards.Ф
УTheyТd let me, too. IТm telling youЧthey just wouldnТt do it and nobody else knows how to. Forget it.Ф
Reyes looked wildly from one end of the table to the other.
УHow the hell am I supposed to forget it?Ф he shouted. УIf anything goes wrong with that psycho machine we could all be zapped right here in this

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