"Edward M. Lerner - Presence of Mind" - читать интересную книгу автора (Lerner Edward M)

тАЬI agree, it'll be astonishing. However, that's not exactly what we're working on here.тАЭ
 тАЬClose, though.тАЭ
тАЬOne step along the way,тАЭ he conceded. тАЬMind if I do a quick overview of what we're up to here in
my little corner of BioSciCorp?тАЭ
тАЬI'd like that.тАЭ
тАЬOK, then. Basically, we're trying to walk before we run. The human brain is the most complex piece
of neural engineering that we know, right?тАЭ She nodded to fill in his pause. тАЬThe truth is,
we-humans-don't begin to understand how the brain works. We're not even close to cracking the code.
That's why BSC is trying to connect a computer to a much simpler structure of nerve cells.тАЭ
тАЬSay you do connect a lower life-form to a computer. How would you know if any communication
was taking place?тАЭ
тАЬWho said anything about lower life-forms?тАЭ He took a moment's malicious satisfaction from her
puzzled look, then relented-sort of. He raised his right arm, thinking hard about his hand. The
microprocessor-controlled prosthetic hand slowly rotated a full 360┬░, its wrist seam unseen behind a shirt
cuff. In the suddenly silent room, Doug heard the whirrr of the motor by a freak of sound conduction
through his own body.
тАЬYou've connected to the nervous system.тАЭ Her eyes were wide with wonder. тАЬThat's astonishing.тАЭ
Then the other aspect of Doug's revelation struck home, and she cringed. тАЬOh, I'm sorry. I just get so
wrapped up in technology. I don't mean to make light of your, uh....тАЭ
тАЬNo need to feel uncomfortable, Cheryl.тАЭ He lifted a wry eyebrow. тАЬIn the land of the prosthesis
manufacturer, the one-armed man is king.тАЭ
She had to laugh-a trait he couldn't help but find endearing in a prospective employee. тАЬUm, but
seriously, how did you do that?тАЭ
тАЬMy stomach alarm went off ten minutes ago. What say BSC springs for lunch, and we pick up
afterward?тАЭ тАЬThat's a deal.тАЭ
***
After lunch and a promising continuation of Cheryl's interview, Doug did some management by
walking around.
There'd been a virus attack while he'd been eating. They'd been semi-lucky. On the one hand, the
invader was not benign. On the other hand (an expression from which Doug could not break himself), the
program was clumsy and well understood. Well understood, that was, at the Inter-Agency Computer
Network Security Forum, the federal crisis-management organization that strove valiantly, if with mixed
success, тАЬto stem the rising tide of computer break-ins.тАЭ The Web announcement of the forum's
formation had brought unbidden to Doug's mind the image of King Canute drowning in a sea of hostile
data. A far-from-bitsy bit sea.
The virus was brand-new that day, and hence unknown by and invisible to the company's Internet
firewall, but the forum's web site already listed eighteen attacks. Behind a cute pop-up window
(Dyslexics of the World Untie) hid a cruel, if apt, intent: randomly scrambling the memory of the invaded
computers computers. It had to be a new infestation: their backup files were all uninfected.
In short, they'd had a close call. He wondered if they'd be as lucky the next time.
[Back to Table of Contents] Chapter 2
Cheryl's stomach rumbled with apprehension as she approached the BSC lobby. So long as it only
rumbles, she thought. Spending my first day on the job in the Women's Room is no way to make a good
first impression.
She didn't exactly understand the source of her misgivings. Both interviews had gone well, and Doug
had extended the job offer quite quickly. She certainly seemed to hit it off with her new boss. Maybe that
was the problem-she didn't want to hit it off too well. She knew the effect that her looks had on men,
and-on the job-it annoyed the hell out of her. Off the job, she never found the time for it to matter.
After replaying the interviews in her mind, she decided that neither Doug nor his all-male staff had
seriously questioned her. They'd concentrated instead on selling BioSciCorp. Why were they so eager to