Doc's Place

Chapter 9 | Part 4

Wednesday, October 3, 1984

After stopping to pee, I step into Liz' office where she's chatting with George. He gets up to let us talk so I thank him and close the door. "You know people at the university graduate business school?"

"Sure, why?"

"Why do you think? I have budget approval."

"Wow, that was quick. Did you have to hurt anyone?" When I pause, she says, "Don't answer that."

Grin and say, "Please contact the graduate business school and set up a framework for two graduate students to help us with the project. The school should sign off on your supervision of them, the hours and so on."

"You'll do the interviews?"

"No, you handle the entire selection process. Choose people you can work with, Liz. We need everything ready by the end of the month."

"Am I authorized to do that?"

"I'm authorizing you."

"Then I'll do it. Oh, may I ride with you to the Exchange after work, Jill?"

"Sure, Liz."

A few minutes later, I'm sitting in Morty's office, shooting the shit with him and Glenn about gaming, history, security, catching scams and on. Carlos stops by, takes a chair and joins in. We get a little noisy so Dick pokes his head in for split second, sees me and quickly leaves.

"I don't think he likes you, Jill," says Morty.

"Yeah," says Glenn. "Told me he thinks you're an asshole."

"Rather be an asshole than what he is," I tell them.

Carlos asks, "And what's that?"

"Timid. Peeks into a room were everybody's laughin' and talkin.' If he goes in, the room goes quiet," I tell them. "So he doesn't go in."

We sit quietly for a moment, each thinking our own thoughts.

Standing, I say, "One thing about being an asshole is I'm always close to the action, right? Going home, guys. Good night." "Good night, asshole," they say in chorus, laughing.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License

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Doc's Place Chat
© 2008, Michel Grover.
Chapter 9 | Part 4
Early Autumn 2008

Lucia :

Mic has posted in the left frame paragraphs from Doc's Place, one of his copyrighted stories. I'm moderating chat here in the right frame. I post every day, but I don't post everything. I have formed a secondary group from which I may also post comments.

Carlo :

Can't believe it: 3 days and the woman's tight with the seasoned veterans of gaming operations. It's taken me 3 years just to get a nod of recognition from the operations secretary.

Les :

Good point, Carlo. You're in with the ops veterans if they call you asshole.

Amalie :

This is something I do not understand about knowledgeable, experienced people. Why do they consider it a good thing to curse you in your presence?

Jules :

It's how people who are close to one another conduct everyday business conversation, Amalie. It's a sign that they trust you.

Amalie :

So, is the opposite true?

Jules :

Yes. If such men are polite to you and avoid cursing around you, they do not trust you. I'm not saying this is always true but it is usually true. For example, when powerful businesspeople first meet, they're quite formal but as they learn to trust one another, they let down their guard and start cussin' one another. However, if they never learn to trust someone, they never let down their guard so they never cuss him—unless he's absent.

Benny :

Okay, I reviewed the way all of you chat with me. Cyrus is right. Just as the ops guys do with Jill in this story part, you people do give me a ration of shit. That doesn't mean you don't think I'm a bit of a freak, but you obviously respect me and care for me. Anyway, I appreciate that.

Doug :

Screw you Benny, you arrogant little prick. Despite your `amazing insight,' you completely missed a major clue to Jill's intentions regarding the old man's destruction. Do you know what it is?

Benny :

I'm an arrogant prick? You're becoming more like your dad every day, Doug. Lucia calls you out every time you hide the intent of your questions but you still keep doing it. I'll tell you why. Just like your father, you think people don't see your manipulation but we do, you dickhead.

Oh, and I didn't mention your `major clue' for a reason. The detectives and the feds know very well that Jill was hunting those hit men in the woods when they make her describe her attack twice. The reason they don't call Jill on it is the same reason Trooper Carmine Locaccio didn't call her on her description of what happened with Mark Tanner and Linda Peterson—Melanie. It's the same reason Detective Don Locaccio didn't call her on the murder she committed at Walter's junkyard. It's also the reason Federal Agent Tony George doesn't say so even though he realizes that Jill is manipulating him to get at the old man. Do you know the reason that cops at every level give Jill a pass whenever she hunts or kills, smart ass?

Doug :

As a matter of fact, I do, genius. Just as my father wants her operating in shadow, so do the cops and the feds. They use her just as she uses them, although for a different reason. She does it to quench her thirst for hunting and killing; they do it because they can't get at these criminals as she can—and does. More than likely it happens throughout societies all over the world and throughout time.

By the way, I respect you but I don't like you because the women love it when you rave on but when I do the same thing, they chew me out. What's that about?

Benny :

I do it without effort because it comes natural, so it's a class move. You have to work at it so you look like you're trying too hard, which is completely classless.

Maria :

If you 2 boys have finished stroking each other's egos, I have a question. Liz asks Jill if she hurt anyone to get budget approval, pauses and then withdraws her question. Tonight's the night that Jill attacks the warehouse supervisor, right? Does Liz suspect what Jill is going to do?

Carlo :

Tonight's the night but I don't think Liz knows. Even if she does, it's more of a gut feeling.

Benny :

Probably disgust Suze again with talk like that.

Suze :

Wrong, Benny, I don't care what this group talks about any more.

Benny :

Is that why you still read every word we post?

Suze :

For your information, I don't, so piss off, you little jerk.

Alice :

Be nice, Suze.

Suze :

Shut up, you old hag.

Alice :

Does the street number of your condo happen to be 6746? Does your checking account balance happen to be $1273.44? Does your grocer happen to deliver only on Wednesday afternoon when your caregiver is there? Shall I continue?

Suze :

No. I apologize to both you and Benny.

Alice :

That's a good girl.

Amalie :

This exchange among Suze, Alice and Benny illustrates my point. People who consider themselves weak and ineffectual usually differ from knowledgeable, experienced people in their use of cursing. The former curse you when they think they have anonymity and the latter curse you to your face. On first view, it seems counter-intuitive but it makes sense when I think about it.

Suze :

So now you consider me weak and ineffectual?

Amalie :

You cannot deny how your words make you seem, Suze.

Marcus :

Have you met some powerful people recently, Amalie?

Amalie :

Yes. I guess it shows, no?

Marcus :

Anyone you care to tell us about?

Amalie :

I've been meeting Midori and Pere executives. All have been with the company for at least 10yrs, many for 20 and some from the beginning. Not one speaks of Jill and Ume with any particular reverence. Nevertheless, they do revere these women as if they were gods on earth.

Marcus :

How can you tell, Amalie?

Amalie :

Most, like Lizzie, mention their freedom to operate on any scale, anywhere in the world.

Doug :

I thought Pere operates domestically in the US and Midori operates internationally.

Lizzie :

They do; however if an executive or talented manager wants to operate outside her sphere, she can work dotted line for the term of a project.

Marcus :

Have Pere and Midori become bureaucratic?

Amalie :

I don't see any evidence of that, and I am familiar with the signs, being French. In France, bureaucracy is life. No one I've met in Midori or Pere mentions writing reports, filling out forms or even attending meetings. No one gripes about incompetent superiors or wasted money.

Lizzie :

Pere has been digital and database-driven since 1997. Pere search engine technology and communication has developed beyond popular, de facto standards. For example, we don't write reports or conduct meetings. Instead of submitting plans, we discuss them in real time.

Marcus :

What about hallway conversations and so on?

Lizzie :

It would drive you and most men like you crazy, Marcus. At the executive level, Pere is like one huge hallway chat, which is ideal for most women but chaotic and inefficient for all but a few men. We also have almost zero privacy because everything is recorded, video and audio. It takes getting used to, you might say, but Amalie seems born to it.

Amalie :

They showed me on my second day. Every conversation, however trivial, is recorded and retrievable. Every behavior pattern can be searched, called up, analyzed and discussed with little effort. Sorry, I didn't mean to slip into passive voice—a bad habit from my French upbringing. I have found deep, involved discussions about seemingly insignificant behaviors by Benny and me because these behaviors show tendencies and biases. I have even found executives changing my schedule based upon one of my passing comments, shrugs or a shake of my head.

Carlo :

How do you retrieve a shrug or the shake of a head?

Lizzie :

All system interaction is context-based and neural. The best way to describe the process is you begin chatting with the databases about what you want to know and they begin flooding you with information. You simply disapprove this and approve that until you're in the specific context of your interest.

Marcus :

This is nuts. How do you handle internal levels of access and security?

Lizzie :

Told you it'd drive you crazy, Marcus. If you don't have clearance, you simply don't see or hear things. If you do have clearance, the system tips you off and keeps you abreast without queries or searches. We don't employ security clearances, passwords or Kerberos. Instead, we use super-efficient, fast and tiny data packets for data storage and retrieval.

Carlo :

You're saying that the network, the system, the database or whatever it is can instantly identify each of you when you attempt to access it?

Lizzie :

Yes, but we never leave the system. We don't logon and logoff, if you will. Even when Amalie and I are naked on an island in the French Polynesians, we are still in contact through layers of redundant, portable technology.

Jules :

Now, see? That right there. That's not fair, Lizzie. Amalie is only 16. It's just not right, you putting an image like that in our heads.

Raj :

Inestimably so on.

Lizzie :

Smoke a bowl, Jules. Chill. I ain't lyin'. Besides, Amalie's mother is here with us.

Amalie :

A Pere executive named Sara is my mentor. I've seen her grant or deny approval with a nod or a shake of her head, even out here on the beach. I guess you'd say all of the executives are mentoring me through her.

Amalie :

It's true, Jules. That's where we are right now.

Jules :

Well, that's just great. Sitting on a beach naked with a notebook computer on your lap.

Benny :

Hold it, people. We're being bamboozled, as my father often says. We were moving toward a discussion of network security and now we're fantasizing about naked women. Try again, Lizzie. When you wake up after 8hrs sleep, how does the net know it's really you?

Lizzie :

We're not trying to bamboozle you, Benny; on the contrary, we're trying to lock in on your wavelength. The net, as you call it, uses biometrics and speech patterns mostly, but it goes deeper. If you're conversing with your parents over a digitized link that carries no inflection or video, can't you figure out with some certainty that you're speaking with your parents?

Benny :

I guess so, but changes in people over time are hard to track. Take yourself for example, Amalie. When you joined the group, you sounded like a Catholic schoolgirl. You sound much more cosmopolitan now.

Amalie :

As do you, mon petit frère.

Minnie :

Don't you have just one mentor, Amalie?

Doug :

Okay, you and several other women are naked on the beach. How in the hell can you transmit a head movement? Don't tell me that you have surgical implants.

Lizzie :

Implants but not surgical. Pere has had a couple dozen satellites in orbit since 1997. We put up more every year to exploit technological advances.

Doug :

Sounds like the illuminati—a super-rich ruling class unknown to the masses. Are you the only ones with implants?

Lizzie :

No, we implant every living thing—plant and animal—earth's entire biomass.

Raj :

What?

Lizzie :

By the way, Doug, that itching under right ear is from a minor infection under the fingernail of your right index finger. Apply a topical for a couple days and it'll go away. Jules, that ache in your right hip? Don't put it off. Get it looked at right away.

Carlos :

You have records on what every living thing on earth is doing?

Lizzie :

We have records of what every living thing has done since 1997 and is doing now, yes.

Marcus :

How and where do you store and retrieve? What protocols do you use?

Lizzie :

The implants give us access to infinitely large, redundant and fast storage and retrieval. The protocols are genetically coded so they are extremely small, fast and efficient.

Amalie :

Actually, we are computers and media, Doug. Also, you're living in reality, not a virtual world as the movie suggested.

Marcus :

What?

Doug :

Holy shit, she's talking about us—and other living things. It's like The Matrix, only instead of batteries, we're computers.

Jules :

So if I had access, I could know everything?

Amalie :

Not quite. Unlike Benny and I, you have limited capacity to process multiple layers of data in simultaneous streams. In other words, you don't have the capacity to have access, Jules. No offense but the average person like you limits himself or herself to a single stream and maybe two or three layers of data. No one can know everything, but then knowing is unnecessary. Instead, given patience, talent and skill, those of us with the capacity and the access can eventually find anything. Some are gifted at it.

Jules :

So I really am old and stupid.

Amalie :

You are sweet and I love you, Jules. Lizzie and Benny love you too.

Jules :

A naked teenaged girl on the other side of the world loves me. Think I'm gonna get drunk.

Amalie :

If you do, take a cab, Jules. You have 0.083% alcohol by volume in your blood so you're already over the legal limit.

Jules :

What are my chances of getting laid if I go out?

Amalie :

Your chances are nearly zero if you go to The Hook as you usually do; however, your chances are nearly 100% if you walk two doors north and tap on the door. You should have forgiven her months ago and she keeps a bottle of Stolichnaya in the freezer. Good luck to you, my dear.

Jules :

I'm out.

Marcus :

Can you predict the outcome of any endeavor?

Lizzie :

For most individual efforts, no we can't; for group efforts, yes with reasonable certainty depending upon the sample size. However, over time, we can predict the behavior of any group with increasing certainty.

For example, the sports entertainment industries of the world spend millions on identifying boys and girls with marvelous athletic ability at an early age. We spend millions on identifying boys and girls with marvelous intellectual ability at an early age. Therefore, no one on earth can interrupt our primacy and continued ascendancy because we can identify people like Benny and Amalie before any other group can. No one else has the capacity to understand what we're doing let alone figure out how to stop us. Is that what you're asking, Marcus?

Marcus :

Yes, I believe so. Thank you, I think.

Annie :

Amalie, are you the heir apparent to the current Pere CEO?

Amalie :

I am one of the possible heirs, yes. Which of us becomes CEO and when depends upon individual capability and situational requirements.

Raj :

Can you read minds?

Lizzie :

No. To us, all behaviors are data: call them signs. We are developing patterns and applying those patterns to extract meaning and gain understanding. Look up semiotics, especially semiosis, semiosphere and umwelts.

Steph :

Why is Mic so stupid and why does he piss me off?

Amalie :

Mic is no more or less intelligent that you, Stephanie. The two of you have about the same capacity: that is, you both process in what we call a main stream and a small side channel. You may have described this as watching yourself interact with others. While you dedicate your main channel to obsessive reflection on your appearance and your side channel to watching others watch you, Stephanie, Mic obsessively edits his view of events over and over in his main stream while simultaneously laughing at himself in his side channel. He pisses you off, as you say, because he finds amusement in your limitations as well as his.

Lizzie :

To those of us with the capacity to process multiple layers in multiple streams, this is our concept of beauty. The more channels an individual can process and the more layers within each channel, the more beautiful that person is.

Maria :

Benny must be gorgeous.

Lizzie :

Benny is beautiful beyond description. His capacities appear infinite so we have no idea of his capabilities. His processing seems completely chaotic. We're feeding him resources to see where he goes and what he does. Forgive me, Benny, as I answer questions about you.

Benny :

It's fine by me. Besides, it's interesting.

Annie :

What about Jill and Ume, the founders of all this?

Lizzie :

Jill, like Stephanie and Mic, has a thick, deep main channel. Jill's side channel has no humor, however; instead, it is filled with an obsessive and specific rage. Ume has multiple channels flowing with love and concern for all things living, especially Jill and her family. Both Ume and Jill are obsessively protective and vengeful, however. Ume has arranged more deaths than Jill can hope to match due to her superior efficiency. The good news is that both will kill you quickly. However, Jill thinks nothing of killing you while Ume kills you out of love, if that is any consolation.

Cyril :

I do not understand how you can use biological organisms as computers and media. Are you using binary?

Amalie :

It's much more thick and rich than binary, Cyril. While it is true that at the molecular level, all charges are either positive or negative, implying binary, it is also true that each charge has theoretically infinite power levels. When you raise those molecular charges to the level of single-celled organisms, you discover a huge reservoir of computational and storage power. By the time you reach the DNA level, well, you can see the implications.

Cyril :

Yes, I can see the implications but how do you communicate with the electrical charges in an organism, whether it be single-celled, multi-celled, plant or animal?

Lizzie :

All organisms radiate unique electrical charges, however weak. One simply has to know how to tap into those charges and then modulate them as one requires: read, write or compute.

Cyril :

How?

Lizzie :

Come on, Cyril. You're the one preparing for publication an IEEE committee paper on how to read drainage patterns from supposedly dead batteries used in electrical devices.

Cyril :

Very well, what device do you use to do so?

Amalie :

Actually, it's not a device, Cyril, unless you call an organism a device.

Cyril :

What?

Lizzie :

When any organism, however large or small, comes in proximity with other organisms, they exchange charges which can be called signals. Some organisms are genetically and even molecularly predisposed to act as boosters and transceivers of such signals. The reason it took 9yrs to develop technology that could boost such signals is because we had to find organisms that could survive in deep space, receive the signals, boost them and re-transmit them back to earth without changing the original signal characteristics. Once we found them, we enhanced them for that purpose, stuck them in a satellite and shot them into high orbit where they will live and thrive forever and ever.

Cyril :

I hope you are using fundamentalist Christians and Muslims in that role. Wait, that wouldn't work because they can't receive and re-transmit without changing signal characteristics.

Lizzie :

Funny. No, we used multi-celled organisms that thrive in the environment we prepared for them, which is deep space for uncountable generations.

Carlos :

Can you retrieve data from the DNA of dead organisms?

Lizzie :

Yes, but we can't write to it. Dead organic matter is read-only media, if you will. We can however, read from and write to the single-celled organism digesting the fecal matter in your septic tank, Carlos.

Doug :

Why do you keep saying "if you will?" What does that mean?

Lizzie :

It means "if you will permit me to make this point or this comparison" and so on.

Benny :

Hang on, did you just say you can dig up the bones of Thomas Jefferson and read his life story?

Amalie :

Lizzie never said we could read thoughts, Benny dear. In fact, she expressly denied it. We can, however, tell you a great deal about Mr. Jefferson's ailments, including an enlarged prostate, as well as his diet and his daily routine.

Raj :

How dig down his bones without police smashing their heads?

Lizzie :

We don't need to dig up his bones, Raj. It makes no difference how many layers of organic and inorganic material cover the man's remains. We can still read his DNA from a satellite in space. When I said proximity, I meant anywhere on earth from anywhere else on earth or in orbit about the earth. A signal, however weak, is still a signal.

Carlos :

So much for the right to privacy.

Lizzie :

The right to privacy has been an illusion since 1997. Would you like an extremely personal example?

Carlos :

Sure, hit me with all you got.

Lizzie :

You have not been able to develop an erection for 2yrs, even with chemical help. Sit down with your wife Donna and encourage her to have an affair with a younger woman she finds attractive. She deserves that happiness and she will never embarrass you or leave you. She loves you more than that.

Carlos :

Damn