John Thurman, accustomed to dealing with the powerful on Earth, was just a commoner, but he invented the programming model, which led to the birth of the most advanced computer that directed war by itself.Some well-known military strategists have to listen to him, even the members of the parliament are no exception.It is said that there is a special language in the new Pentagon, and the scars left by the war can be seen from the face of the military strategist Witte.Werther is well versed in ciphers.Senator Brandt, with his smooth face and bright eyes, also smoked Tainabin with an air of leisure that seemed to show his patriotism and was known to all.However, he is allowed to be so free here.

Now Thurman—tall, a brilliant first-level programmer—stands unafraid before both of them.He made a gesture: "Your Excellency, this is my artificial brain robot Apo." "The gift you invented and gave to us was purely accidental." Brandt cast a casual glance at Thurman, and then he looked curiously at the little egg-shaped, bald-headed figure Thurman had brought. The little man, with an unpleasant air, turned towards the two present, afraid of spraining his fingers, for he had never stood before a great man in this way. You know, he is a skilled, but low-level technician.He was given long ago as a gift in service to humanity.Failed in many trials.Later, he was arranged to do ordinary unskilled manual labor. It was in his spare time activities that unusual programmers discovered his genius, which resulted in such a chaotic situation.

Werther smiled and said, "I find there is a mysterious atmosphere here." "After a while you don't think that way," Thurman said. "There's no question of revealing secrets to the first visitor here—about Po. What matters now is what he can do, and he can do anything, even though his name is only one syllable." Then Thurman said in the tone of a real programmer to a technician: "Tell me, how much is seven nines?" Apo hesitated for a moment, but only saw a trace of hesitation in his gray eyes.There was a gleam in his eye as he considered the question.He replied, "Sixty-three."

Brandt raised his eyebrows: "Is this answer correct?" "Mr. Congressman, you'd better figure it out yourself!" Thurman said. Brandt took out his pocket computer and did some calculations, nodded, and asked again: "Did you bring this here to perform calculations? Is it a magician?" "It's far more than that. Apo memorizes the calculation methods and can use them to perform calculations on paper." Thurman explained, but Brandt and Werther still didn't know. "No, sir," Thurman explained patiently, "it's not just a computer, it needs a piece of paper, a military strategist, can you just come up with a number?"

"Seventeen," Witter said. "Please mention one too, Mr. Congressman." "Let's mention 23." "Okay, Po, multiply these two numbers together, and write down your calculation process to show the two gentlemen." Thurman explained. "Yes, programmer." Apo quickly lowered his head.He took a small book from his shirt pocket, and a thin pointed pen from another pocket.As he wrote symbols on the paper, deep wrinkles appeared on his forehead. Werther suddenly interrupted his action: "Let me see." Werther snatched the paper in Apo's hand, and then he called out, "Hey, does it really look like the figure of 17?"

Brandy nodded. "Yeah, it's true. I think any computer can do it, though. I can draw a decent 17 without even having to practice." "Your Excellency, do you want Apo to continue?" Thurman said calmly. Apo continued to work, his hands kept moving, and finally reported in a very low voice: "The answer is 391." Brandt took out his computer again and performed calculations: "It's absolutely correct, what he said was indeed this number. Oh, how did he guess it?" "It wasn't a guess, Mr. Congressman," Thurman said. "He calculated it. He calculated it on this piece of paper."

"What's going on here?" Werther continued in amazement, "A computer is not the same thing as a symbol on paper!" "Explain, Po," Thurman said. "Okay, Programmer. Your Excellency, I'll write 17 first, and right below it I write 23. Then I say to myself 3 times 7..." Brandt interjected, "Po, the question now is 17 times 23." "I know" the little technician Apo said confidently: "I calculated 3 times 7 first, because that is a step in my work. I first calculated 3 times 7 is 21." "How do you know this?" the congressman asked suddenly.

"I remember. On a computer it's always 21. I can find the product of any number." "Not necessarily!" the MP asked. "Although I am not a mathematician, my answers are always correct." Apo said. "Go on!" "3 times 7 is 21, so I wrote down 21, and then 1 times 3 is 3, so I wrote 3 under the 2 of 21." Apo continued. "Why is it written below the 2?" Congressman Brandt asked again. "Because..." Apo looked at the programmer with wide eyes, he seemed a little at a loss, "It's hard to explain." Thurman said: "If you accept his current work performance, then we can leave these details to the mathematicians to solve."

Brandt sat down slowly.Apo said: "3 plus 2 is 5, so, you see, 21 becomes 51 at this time. Next, multiply 7 and 2 to get 14, multiply 1 and 2 to get 2, and then add 2 to 14 to get ten digits." Count, you get 34. Now you use the same method to move 34 to the bottom of 51, so that 5 and the tens digit in 34 are aligned, and after adding, you get 391, which is the answer." Everyone was silent.Later, Werther said: "I don't believe it. How can a machine imitate the human way of thinking to do multiplication? I can't understand it." "Oh, no, sir." Apo smiled. "It seems difficult to understand. That's because you haven't really understood it. In fact, this principle is very simple, and any number can be calculated."

"Any number is fine?" Witt said, "Okay. I'll come up with another number." He took out the computer and pressed a random number, "Please write 7239 on the paper." "Yes, sir." "Please multiply these two numbers together." "However, it will take some time." Po said apologetically. "Yes." Werther looked at his watch. "Hurry up, Po." Thurman urged him from the sidelines. Awa started to work nervously with a piece of paper.Werther took out his watch and looked at it: "Are you calculating with your digital method? Technician."

"I've done it. Sir. The answer is 52, 403, 121, and Apo took out the answer. Werther nodded with a smile. He pressed the multiplication gear on his computer and started multiplying the two numbers again. Then he yelled in amazement: "That's right, it's absolutely correct, it's absolutely correct." The governor of the Earth Alliance sat in the office and felt more and more irritable, and he was secretly worried.It turned out that there was a once melancholy expression on his sensitive face. The "Tai Nabin" campaign has been fought for such a long time. It was so vigorous at the beginning, with frequent success reports almost every day, but now it is deserted, and it has gradually fallen into a tragic predicament.There is a growing sense of intense discontent among the human race on Earth.Maybe it's the same in "Tai Na Bin"!The war has dragged on for too long, but it cannot end immediately.This is why the Governor is worried. Meanwhile, Senator Brandt, now head of an important military appropriations committee, passed the hour-and-a-half very happily and peacefully through the appointment, talking big and blah blah blah. "There is no computer calculation." The Governor said irritably, "This is a contradiction in our ranks." "Computing," said the Senator, "is just a system for processing large amounts of data. A computer can do it, or a human brain can do it. Let me show you an example!" Learned the latest techniques to work out the total amount and the result until the governor gradually felt a strong interest, he didn't stop. "Has it always been done like this?" asked the Governor. "It's like that every time, Mr. Governor. It's very simple and clear." "So is it difficult to learn?" "I got the real knack of it in a week. You can learn it faster, I think," replied the Senator modestly. "Well," the governor counted thoughtfully, "it's a good parlor game, but what's the practical use of it?" "Then what's the use of a newborn baby, Mr. Governor! It's the same for both. It doesn't seem to be of much use now, but you don't see the point, it points a way to liberate the machine. Consider it Come on, Mr. Governor." The senator rose to his feet, speaking in the lilting tone he used to address to the public: "The Battle of Taina Beach was a computer against a computer. Their computers had created an unbelievable Detected anti-missile shields against our missiles, and we built a shield against them. If we improve the efficiency of our computers, as they have done, then in five years time, a An unstable and unhelpful equilibrium situation will appear. Now I adopt a new method to surpass the general computer and get rid of the limitations of the general computer. We will create a machine that combines the functions of the human brain and the computer. computer, and there are tens of thousands of such machines in number. Although I cannot predict all their details, it is indeed difficult to predict them. If the "Tinabin" attacks us in the original way, they will definitely be attacked. Inescapable destruction. The governor asked perplexedly, "What are you going to do?" "Come out with the vigor of business management to formulate a plan for artificial brain and spinal cord sensation. Let's call it a 'digital plan'! If you agree, my committee can fully undertake the task of manufacturing, but it needs your strong support." "How can such a computer be built?" "This question is more complicated. According to the programmer Thurman who I knew at the time to make artificial brain computers..." "I've heard of this man." "That's good. Thurman told me that in theory, everything that a computer can do, an artificial brain can do. What a computer can do is a limited number of control processes. This is a process that an artificial brain can completely repeat." The Governor thought for a moment and said, "If Thurman is saying that, then in theory it can be believed. But in practice, does anyone know how a computer works?" Brandt smiled mildly and said, "Mr. Governor, I think so too. Now it seems that the work of a computer is controlled by people at a certain stage. Of course, it may be some relatively simple computers. , if the computer can reason, think and solve problems by itself, then it is obviously a big step forward, do you agree with me?" "Of course, please continue!" "Awa Technician apparently has this 'artificial brain' which, in its spare time, has inadvertently completed old plans. It learns the ways of the human mind, and then he imitates the human mind to do the same. His multiplication The thinking process is amazing, and it is unmatched by ordinary computers.” Brandt further explained. "Oh, that's amazing," exclaimed the Governor. The congressman coughed lightly for a while and said: "Please allow me to point out another point, Mr. Governor. From a long-term perspective, we can divert the energy that the federal government spends on computer production and repair, and replace the work done by computers with artificial brains." A large amount of human energy is used in peacetime construction, so that the manpower tied up by war can be greatly reduced. This is of course useful for further tapping our country's human resources." "Oh," the Governor nodded understandingly, "I understand what you're saying. Sit down, Mr. Councilor. I'll need some time to think about this—but please tell me about Po's multiplication trick." Again, maybe I can catch the gist of it." Thurman, the programmer, can't expect everything to go very smoothly, because he met Finza, a conservative Finza is very conservative, and he likes to use computers everywhere like his father and grandfather.He is a very powerful figure, he controls the computer group in Western Europe, if he is persuaded to participate in the "digital project," if he has full confidence in this plan, then everything will be solved.He said: "I don't believe I would like this plan to weaken our computers. Artificial brains are infinitely changeable, and computers can give the same answers to the same types of questions at the same time. How can we ensure that our artificial brains Do that too?" "Finza computer master, the artificial brain is only from the perspective of multiplication. It is not the same thing as a computer. A computer is just a tool." Thurman tried to convince Fenza. "Yes, I basically understand what you said. The artificial brain can completely take over the work of the computer. I accept this theory, but let's imagine what results can be caused by this theory?" Fensha asked rhetorically. . "I think we'll get there. Sir, from the history of mankind, computers haven't been needed all along. The people in the cave had their own warships, stone axes, and they didn't have computers," Thurman said. "Maybe they didn't even have to calculate then." "You know better about these cases, no doubt. Some kind of calculation is required when building railroads, for example, and they certainly don't use computers, as far as we know," said Thurman slowly. "Are you sure they calculated it in the way you say?" Fenza asked again. "Probably not in this way. All in all, the method we call 'writing' has something to do with ancient calculations. The word 'gropho' in ancient Europe, meaning 'to write'... has now been developed. Of course the cavemen It can’t be that the Prophet thought it would take this approach before we did, can you?” Thurman asked. "It's lost, everything is lost. Are you going to study those lost things?" Fensha laughed. "No, no, I'm not a fan of lost virtue. Although I can't say that those ahistorical times have no shadow of the present, people also ate rice before the invention of 'hydroponics'. If primitive man were to eat rice If so, then they must also know that rice is planted in soil with water, why can they do this?" "I don't know, but I saw some people sowing rice in the soil, so I will believe that the seeds can grow when sown in the soil. As long as I see something with my own eyes, I will believe it." Fensha said. Thurman smiled and said, "Okay, so let's talk about 'writing', which is part of those subtle processes I was just talking about. Compare your pocket computer with the work of a thousand years of human beings. Comparing it, you will find that the computer also has the shadow of antiquity, but it is not an antiquity after all. Everything is moving forward, come on, sir, or support our "writing method" and join our "digital project". This is A leap forward, a big progress, I sincerely hope to get your support and help. If patriotism is not enough to move you, then please also consider the situation of intellectuals, they cannot always be bound by computers." "Progress? What do you mean by progress? What else can you do besides multiplication? Can you find functions and integrals?" Finza was not convinced. "Sir, please don't worry, what you can do will increase as time goes by. I learned some new things last month. I can already measure and correct integer quotients and decimals." Thurman said confidently Say. "Oh, decimal quotient, how many digits after the decimal point can it be accurate?" Fensha asked unrelentingly. Thurman kept his nonchalance: "Any number will do." Finza asked again: "Don't you need a computer?" "Yes, please come up with a question." "Divide 27 by 13 with 6 decimal places." About five minutes later, Thurman reported the answer: "2.076923." Fenza took out his computer and checked: "Well, this is really surprising. Multiplication doesn't impress me, because it's all round numbers. I think you can do mental calculations if you have a certain skill, but decimal points..." "I have mastered more than these, and I also have a newer German operation technology, which is very remarkable, and I shouldn't have said it. Well...that is, we have broken through the level of finding the square root." Thurman was proud. "Square root?" "It took some tricks, but we've figured it out. Now Technician Po can do a great job with this knowledge, and there's very little he can't solve. Po's just a technician, and a well-trained guy like you It is even less of a problem for gifted mathematicians to master the method." "Square root?" Finza muttered. "Square root can be opened, how about it? You can do it with us!" At this time, Fensha suddenly reached out and held Thurman's hands tightly. He seemed to have made up his mind and said, "Okay, count me in." Thurman laughed heartily.The military strategist Werther would feel uneasy when speaking in front of a room full of people. He felt like a rude teacher who was difficult to deal with a group of naughty students, because these people were the leaders of the "digital plan" .Werther was the general manager of the program and had to bear a great deal of responsibility for it.He said: "Now the method of finding the 'square root' is very common. Although I can't practice it myself, and I don't understand this method, I know that it is very useful to the whole human being. I can't immediately transfer the 'plan' to In terms of what you call the basic principles, after the war, you can use the 'handwriting' to play games as you like, but not yet, we still have many specific practical problems to be solved urgently." In a peaceful corner, technician Apo was listening to Werther's speech.Po is no longer a technician, and of course his original duties have also been relieved.His maker gave him a nice name and a big deal, and assigned him to this ongoing project.Of course, he does not have the prestigious title of "scientist", because those high-status scientific leaders will never admit that Awa belongs to the same establishment as them, so they will never regard Awa as a member of their team , and will not understand Apo correctly, and Apo feels awkward when he is with these big people, just like a scientist feels extremely impatient when he is with Abo. Witt said: "Our goal is very clear, sir. It is to replace computers. We want to allow ordinary space planes to fly in space without computers. Anything that can be done in Tainabin, we can do it." To do it, they can't do it, we can do it too, if we can get rid of the computer, we will definitely be able to defeat the 'Tai Na Bin'. Some people in the audience were impatient and complained softly, but Witte still insisted on speaking: "At present, our key is to solve the limited intelligence problem of missiles. The range of computers controlling missiles is too small. It is easy to encounter anti-missile devices in nature, so that only a few missiles can reach their intended targets, so wars with missiles always lead to failure. This is true for the enemy, and it is also true for us. On the other hand, if the missiles contain If there are one or two "artificial brains" that use "writing" to control the flight, then it must be lighter and more flexible, and more unpredictable and intelligent like the human brain, and it will guide us on the road to victory. In addition, Your Excellency, the long war requires us to remember that a person is far less valuable than a computer. In this way, we can save a lot of money. The missile can be controlled by a large number of numbers. This kind of missile is not controlled by a computer. Everyone here is very concerned about it..." He was still talking, but Apo couldn't listen anymore. Apo wanted to retire.Finally, he left the following passage in his notebook: "When I started to study the subject that you now call 'writing', I didn't think it was more important as an amateur pastime, I just regarded it as An interesting entertainment, a way to exercise the brain. When the 'digital plan' is implemented, I think other people are smarter than me, and my 'handwriting' imparted to everyone may be of some benefit to human beings and can help human beings Increased productivity levels. However, now that I see it being used only for accelerated destruction that leads to death, I regret that I do not want to take responsibility for inventing 'writing' and do not want to cooperate with you." After he finished writing, he unhurriedly turned the switch of the "protein depolarizer" on his body and died painlessly in an instant. When people were about to pay Po a big reward, people found his body. Programmer Thurman nodded triumphantly to everyone present, but Apo's head would never move again. Apo had fulfilled its historical mission and was no longer needed.His invention of 'writing' cannot be carried away with its own death.Now that everything has started, it will continue unstoppably until the test of a missile operated by an artificial brain is successful.How everything will change, poor Po will never know. "The multiplication of 7 and 9 is equal to..." Thurman remembered with satisfaction: "By the way, it is equal to 63. How good it is, now I don't need the computer to tell me, the computer is in my head." He was very pleased with the intelligence that "handwriting" provided him, but he didn't miss Apo at all, because now that he had money and status, he lacked nothing.