"Charles Stross - Missile Gap" - читать интересную книгу автора (Stross Charles)

тАЬReally?тАЭ Sagan smiles. тАЬThen IтАЩll try it.тАЭ
They order, and Gregor waits for the waiter to depart before he continues. тАЬSuppose thereтАЩs an alien race out
there. More than one. You know about the multiple copies of Earth. The uninhabited ones. WeтАЩve been here
before. Now letтАЩs seeтАжsuppose the aliens arenтАЩt like us. Some of them are recognizable, tribal primates who
use tools made out of metal, sea-dwelling ensemble entities who communicate by ultrasound. But
othersтАУmost of themтАУare social insects who use amazingly advanced biological engineering to grow what
they need. ThereтАЩs some evidence that theyтАЩve colonized some of the empty Earths. TheyтАЩre aggressive and
territorial and theyтАЩre so different thatтАжwell, for one thing we think they donтАЩt actually have conscious minds
except when they need them. They control their own genetic code and build living organisms tailored to
whatever tasks they want carrying out. ThereтАЩs no evidence that they want to talk to us, and some evidence
that they may have emptied some of those empty Earths of their human population. And because of their,
um, decentralized ecosystem and biological engineering, conventional policy solutions wonтАЩt work. The
military ones, I mean.тАЭ
Gregor watches SaganтАЩs face intently as he describes the scenario. There is a slight cooling of the
exobiologistтАЩs cheeks as his peripheral arteries contract with shock: his pupils dilate and his respiration rate
increases. Sour pheromones begin to diffuse from his sweat ducts and organs in GregorтАЩs nasal sinuses
respond to them.
тАЬYouтАЩre kidding?тАЭ Sagan half-asks. He sounds disappointed about something.
тАЬI wish I was.тАЭ Gregor generates a faint smile and exhales breath laden with oxytocin and other peptide
messengers fine-tuned to human metabolism. In the kitchen, the temporary chef who is standing in for the
regular oneтАУoff sick, due to a bout of food poisoningтАУwill be preparing SaganтАЩs dish. Humans are creatures of
habit: once his meal arrives the astronomer will eat it, taking solace in good food. (Such a shame about the
chef.) тАЬTheyтАЩre not like us. SETI assumes that NHIs are conscious and welcome communication with humans
and, in fact, that humans arenтАЩt atypical. But letтАЩs suppose that humans are atypical. The human species has
only been around for about a third of a million years, and has only been making metal tools and building
settlements for ten thousand. What if the default for sapient species is measured in the millions of years?
And they develop strong defense mechanisms to prevent other species moving into their territory?тАЭ
тАЬThatтАЩs incredibly depressing,тАЭ Sagan admits after a minuteтАЩs contemplation. тАЬIтАЩm not sure I believe it without
seeing some more evidence. ThatтАЩs why we wanted to use the Arecibo dish to send a message, you know.
The other disks are far enough away that weтАЩre safe, whatever they send back: they canтАЩt possibly throw
missiles at us, not with a surface escape velocity of twenty thousand miles per second, and if they send
unpleasant messages we can stick our fingers in our ears.тАЭ
The waiter arrives, and slides his entree in front of Sagan.
тАЬWhy do you say that?тАЭ asks Gregor.
тАЬWell, for one thing, it doesnтАЩt explain the disk. We couldnтАЩt make anything like itтАУI suppose I was hoping
weтАЩd have some idea of who did? But from what youтАЩre telling me, insect hives with advanced
biotechnologyтАжthat doesnтАЩt sound plausible.тАЭ
тАЬWe have some information on that.тАЭ Gregor smiles reassuringly. тАЬFor the time being, the important thing to
recognize is that the species who are on the disk are roughly equivalent to ourselves in technological and
scientific understanding. Give or take a couple of hundred years.тАЭ
тАЬOh.тАЭ Sagan perks up a bit.
тАЬYes,тАЭ Gregor continues. тАЬWe have some informationтАУI canтАЩt describe our sourcesтАУbut anyway. YouтАЩve seen
the changes to the structure of the galaxy we remember. How would you characterize that?тАЭ
тАЬHmm.тАЭ Sagan is busy with a mouthful of delicious tetrodotoxin-laced meatballs. тАЬItтАЩs clearly a Kardashev
type-III civilization, harnessing the energy of an entire galaxy. What else?тАЭ
Gregor smiles. тАЬAh, those Russians, obsessed with coal and steel production! This is the information age, Dr.
Sagan. What would the informational resources of a galaxy look like, if they were put to use? And to what
use would an unimaginably advanced civilization put them?тАЭ
Sagan looks blank for a moment, his fork pausing halfway to his mouth, laden with a deadly promise. тАЬI donтАЩt
seeтАУah!тАЭ He smiles, finishes his forkful, and nods. тАЬDo I take it that weтАЩre living in a nature reserve? Or