Chapter 43 Chapter 42: The Ghost in the Machine

"I'm sorry, Heywood—I don't believe in ghosts. There must be a rational explanation for that, nothing the human mind can't comprehend." "I agree, Tanya. But let me remind you that Haldane (J.B.S. Note) quote: The universe is not only stranger than we imagined — but stranger than we can imagine.” "And Haldane," Curnow interjected mischievously, "is a devout communist." "Maybe, but it's going to be used to support all sorts of extravagant nonsense. Howl's behavior must be the result of a program, and the personality he... has built up must be artificial. You Agree, Chandra?"

That was waving a red scarf in front of a pit bull, and Tanya must have been desperate.However, Chandra's reaction was unexpectedly mild, if not more than usual.He seemed absorbed, as if he was seriously considering the possibility of yet another computer malfunction. "There must be some kind of external input, Captain Oleva. Hal couldn't have constructed such a self-contained audio-visual illusion out of thin air. If Dr. Floyd's description is accurate, someone must be manipulating it. And it must be real-time control, because There was no time delay in the conversation."

"Then I'm prime suspect," Max exclaimed. "I'm the only one awake except him." "Don't be stupid, Max," snapped Nikolay. "Audible effects are easy to make, but illusions are impossible without some very sophisticated equipment. Laser beams, electrostatic scanning—I don't know. Maybe the stage A magician can do it, but he has to prepare a truckload of props in advance." "Wait a minute!" Raniya had an idea, and said, "If it really happened, Hal will definitely remember it, you can ask..." When she saw the frowning faces around her, her voice stopped.Floyd came out first to make a clearance.

"We tried, Rania, he has no memory of what happened. But as I pointed out to others, that proves nothing. Chandra has demonstrated how Hal's memory can be selected Sexual elimination—and the speech synthesis module is an auxiliary part that has nothing to do with his subject, so it can be manipulated without Hal's knowledge..." He paused, and then launched his prepared counterattack. "I admit that there are not many answers, either I made up the whole thing, or it really happened. I know this is not a dream, but I am not sure if it is some kind of hallucination. However, Katerina saw me ’s health report – she knows that if I had a problem on my part, I wouldn’t be here. Still, the possibility cannot be ruled out – and I don’t blame anyone who finds this most suspicious. I will most likely do the same.

"The only way I can prove it wasn't a dream is to find some evidence to back it up. Let me remind you, then, that another strange phenomenon occurred not too long ago. We know that David Bowman entered the 'big--Rangodak.'Something emerged from there again, aiming for Earth.Vasily saw it—not me!Then your nuke exploded mysteriously in orbit—" "Yours." "Sorry—Holy See. And more mysteriously, shortly thereafter, old Mrs. Bowman passed away peacefully, without any apparent medical cause. I'm not saying there's any connection between those things, but—er, Have you ever heard such a proverb? Once is an accident, twice is a coincidence, and three times is a tacit understanding."

"One more thing," Max interrupted suddenly excitedly, "I saw it in a daily news--just a few sentences. A former girlfriend of Commander Bowman claimed that she got the message from him. .” "Yes—I saw that too," Sasha confirmed. "And you never mentioned it?" Floyd asked in disbelief, both of them looking embarrassed. “People thought it was a joke, though,” said Max uneasily. “This lady’s husband reported it, and she denied it — I think so.” "Critics say it's a blockbuster gimmick - like all the flippant UFO sightings that come out at the same time. Dozens the first week and then they stop."

"Maybe some of it is true. If this message has not been erased, can you pull it from the ship's archives, or ask the mission center to send a copy?" "A hundred legends won't convince me," Tanya mocked. "We need solid evidence." "for example?" "Oh—what Hal couldn't possibly know, and what none of us ever told him, tangible—well, concrete stuff." "An old-fashioned wonderful miracle?" "Yes, I'll be content with that. At this time, I'm not going to report this to the mission center, and I suggest you do the same, Heywood."

When Floyd heard this, he knew it was a direct order, so he nodded in agreement. "I'd be happier not talking about it, but I have a suggestion." "Ok?" "We should be prepared just in case. Let's assume the warning is valid - and I do." "What can we do? Nothing. Of course, we can leave Jupiter space whenever we want - but we won't be able to enter a return orbit until the launch window opens." "That's eleven days after the deadline!" "Yes. I'm happy to be able to leave sooner, but we don't have the fuel needed for a higher energy orbit..." Tanya's lingering voice dragged on, seeming a bit hesitant, "I plan to announce this later, but since the question is raised Out……"

There was a noticeable gasp, and the audience immediately fell silent. "I would like to delay departure by five days to bring our orbit closer to the ideal Hohmann orbit for higher fuel reserves." The announcement was no surprise, but it still drew sighs and groans. "How does that affect our arrival time?" Katerina asked, with a hint of foreboding in her tone.The two formidable ladies looked at each other like a pair of equal opponents, they respected each other, but they would never give up. "Ten days," Tanya finally replied. "Better late than never," Max said cheerfully, trying to ease the tension, but with little success.

Floyd paid little attention to Tanya's announcement, lost in his own thoughts.The length of the journey was the same for him and his two companions, in a dreamless sleep.But that question doesn't matter at all right now. He was sure—and this knowledge made him feel hopeless—that if they hadn't left by that mysterious deadline, they wouldn't have gotten away at all. "...This is an unbelievable situation, Dimitri, and downright scary. You're the only person on Earth who knows about it—but soon Tanya and I will have to have a showdown with Mission Center. "Even if some of your fellow materialists could accept—at least as a functioning assumption—that some kind of existence had—well, invaded Hal. Sasha racked his brains to come up with a brilliant phrase: 'The machine Ghosts in '.

"Theories are so rich, and Vasily comes up with a new theory every day. Most of them are variations on the clichés of old science fiction—organized energy fields. But what kind of energy is that? It can't be electrical energy, either Our instruments have already detected it easily. Radiation is also unlikely—at least not as far as we know. Vasily went further, talking about standing neutrinos, and the intersection of dimensions. Tanya said, It's all ramblings—she likes the wording—and they're glaring at each other, and the tension is higher than ever. Last night, we actually heard them yelling at each other, which is Bad for morale. "I'm afraid we're all overstretched and tired right now. This warning, along with the delayed return date, just adds to the frustration we've had with 'Big Brother'. If I can get in touch with the thing calling itself Bowman , will - probably - help. I don't know where the hell it's gone? Maybe it's not interested in us after that encounter. How much can it tell us if it wants to! To hell Damn - I'm using Sasha's most hated Russian English again. Let's change the subject. "I can't thank you enough for what you've done and what you've told me about my family. I feel better now - have more important things to worry about, maybe a panacea for an incurable disease. "For the first time, I'm starting to worry if any of us will ever see Earth again."