Negative Energy

The Lassie Effect

Matt woke up feeling refreshed and alert. When was the last time he had fallen straight to sleep and slumbered soundly through the night? There was no urgent pressure in his bladder, no fog of drowsiness, nor any stiffness of joints. While the content of his dreams escaped him, their comforting afterglow lingered on.

After showering, Matt headed for the sunroom, where coffee and a hot breakfast were already waiting for him in the pickup oven. The front wall displayed a sunrise spreading its pastel wings over a glassy lake, but it was the Venus orchid that gave the place its homey feel. He ate quickly, eager to see what the day had in store. No sooner had he finished, than Logos appeared. Or at least, it looked like Logos. He seemed different somehow, more upbeat. An electric orb fizzed and crackled in his right hand. Sparks reflected in his eyes.

"Ready to get to work?" Logos asked.

"Looking forward to it," Matt said genuinely.

"That's the spirit. I've put together a personalized training program to equip you with the skills of an overseer." He tossed the orb into the air, where it expanded into a glowing wireframe.

Without further ado, Matt plunged into the layer. There were no lectures or tedious training manuals. Each simulation dropped him smack in the middle of a crisis, challenging him to quest and fumble his way to a solution. If he found himself in a tight spot, he could summon up Logos once per simulation. The MAGI would serve up explanations and tips but never dictate what he should do. It was up to Matt to master and apply this just-in-time knowledge before the Mesch succumbed to catastrophe.

The simulations were harder than any video game, demanding a level of mental agility beyond anything Matt thought himself capable of. But whether it was due to his new body or the enhancing influence of the neural prosthetic, he found himself equal to the challenge. His thoughts were sharper and better organized than ever before. Instead of conducting a single train of thought, he was now able to manage a whole switchyard of them, analyzing and re-routing ideas on the fly, seeing each through to its conclusion. He was no longer plagued by self-doubt and second-guessing. When he made a mistake, he easily shrugged it off. He felt not only smarter but also less encumbered, like he'd shed a heavy weight he hadn't known he was carrying.

By the time lunch rolled around, Matt was settling into the pace of the simulations. Some scenarios were slow, drawn-out affairs while others demanded snap, heat-of-the-moment decision-making. His favorites were the puzzlers that forced him to think hard and deep; he had always had a knack for getting to the root of complex problems. No two challenges were quite the same. What to do if the rains lasted into June, the kinetic batteries broke down, or a solar flare overloaded the surface network?

After each simulation, Logos insisted Matt take a short break to mentally recharge. Mood music, something with a dash of jazz, would strike up while the front wall transformed into a scenic location, from the Flint Hills of Kansas to calving glaciers in Iceland.

"What does the arcology need with all this energy?" Matt asked during a cooldown break. He wasn't sure how much was normal for a city to use, but the arcology seemed to sponge up a prodigious amount. He could visualize the ceaseless flow coursing through its foundations and structures.

"Computation," Logos said. "The primary function of the arcology is information processing."

"Don't we have quantum computing by now?"

"Naturally. But it's finicky and costly, so it's reserved for specialized tasks. It turns out that good ole classical computing is still the best way to solve most logic problems."

"What about Moore's Law?" Matt asked. "Weren't computer chips supposed to get ever faster and smaller until we reached some kind of runaway technological explosion?"