Chapter 16 Chapter 2 Third Generation Computer

But at this moment, Texas is long gone, and even the United States is hard to see.Although the low thrust of the plasma flow had been turned off long ago, "Discovery" was still gliding, its arrow-like hull turned away from the earth, and all its high-energy optical instruments were pointed at the outer planets, in the direction of its destination. However, there is also a telescope that is always aimed at the earth.Mounted like a sight on the tip of the ship's remote antenna, it was constantly calibrated to keep the huge bowl exactly on its distant target.As long as the Earth remains in the center of the crosshairs, this vital communication link can be maintained, sending messages back and forth through the invisible electric beam, which grows two million miles per day.

On the shrinking crescent it was difficult to make out any geographical features, for they were often obscured by clouds; but even the dark parts of the earth were not enough to be seen.It was littered with towns of lights; sometimes they glowed steadily like everlasting lamps, and sometimes, interrupted by lightning, they blazed like fireflies. Sometimes, too, the moon goes round and round in its orbit, hanging like a gigantic lamp over the darkened seas and lands of the earth.At this time, Bowman could often instantly recognize the familiar coast in the magical moonlight, and couldn't help being very excited.There were times when the Pacific was really calm and he could see the moonlight shining on the mirror-like surface; he would think of moonlit nights and palms on tropical lagoons.

Yet he has no regrets about all the lost beauty.He had enjoyed it all in his short life of thirty-five years; when he became famous and prosperous, he made up his mind to visit the scenic spots again.At this moment, thinking of these things in a distant place makes them even more precious. The sixth member of the crew is unmoved by all this because it is not human.It was a superb Hal 9000 computer, the brain and nervous system of the spacecraft. Hal (referring to the "heuristic program cycle step computer") is a masterpiece that marks the third breakthrough of computers.Every twenty years, it seems, a breakthrough occurs, and the thought of another one just around the corner already makes many people skeptical.

The first breakthrough came in the 1940s, when the now-obsolete vacuum tubes gave rise to hulking, high-speed guys like the ENIAC and its descendants.Then, in the 1960s, solid-state microcircuits were perfected.Henceforth, computers as powerful as the human intellect obviously don't need to be larger than the average desk—the key is knowing how to build them. That may never be known, but it doesn't matter.In the 1980s, Minsky and Goode had shown that a neutral circuit could be automatically generated—self-replicating—by an arbitrarily chosen program.Computers can be made to grow in a process very similar to the development of the human brain.In any instance, the specific details can never be known, and if known, are millions of times more complicated than human comprehension and cannot be understood.

However it works, the end result is a kind of machine intelligence that can reproduce—some philosophers still prefer to use the word “imitate”—most of the activities of the human brain, much more quickly and easily. Much more reliable.It was extremely expensive to manufacture, and only a few Hal 900O systems have been built so far; but the old joke that "it's easier for unskilled workers to make organic minds" sounds a little less funny now. For this mission, Hal and his human partner were equally thoroughly trained—and his absorptive capacity was many times greater than his partner's, since in addition to his inner agility he required no sleep, his main The mission is to monitor life support systems.Constant checks of oxygen, pressure, air temperature, hull leaks, radiation, and every other interacting factor are necessary to keep the delicate cargo of man alive.

When a course change is required, he can perform complex navigation corrections and direct the necessary flight movements.He can also take care of people who have entered hibernation, making necessary adjustments to their environment, and injecting small amounts of fluid into their veins enough to maintain life. The input of the first generation of computers relied on beautified typewriter keyboards, and its output relied on high-speed printing or visual display.Hal can do that when he has to, but most of the time he interacts with fellow human beings by talking.Poole and Bowman could talk to Hal as if he were a real person.He could also answer in the idiomatic English that he had learned in the fleeting few weeks of his electronic infancy.

There might even be a day when Hal would take over command of the ship.In extreme cases, if no one responded to his signals, he would attempt to wake the sleeping crew members through electrical and chemical stimulation; if they did not respond, he would simply radio to Earth for instructions. If the earth does not answer, he will take the measures he thinks necessary to ensure the safety of the spacecraft and continue the mission-the real purpose only he knows, but his human partners can never guess. Poole and Bowman often humorously refer to themselves as caretakers or gatekeepers, since the spacecraft actually steers itself entirely.They would be surprised and annoyed if they found that the joke contained a great deal of truth.