And now he was just minutes away from ending a threat unlike any other in history.
Jake put in a call to his second in command. “The strike on Miller is now immanent. What’s the status of your search, Major?”
“We’ve been working the computer guys hard,” replied Kolke. “We’re confident we’ve identified two members of Rosenblatt’s celclass="underline" the two who were the most physically distinctive.”
“How confident?”
“Extremely. Both are accomplished scientists. Not tops in their fields, but solid. One is at a university and one at a company. Beginning about six months ago, both began flying to Denver on a regular basis, something they had never done previously. Bank records indicate that both cashed five thousand dollar checks just prior to their first flight, which fit with what Rosenblatt said of the group’s MO.” The major paused. “While you were in route to Peterson, I alerted teams near their locations to ready themselves and await instructions.”
“Good work, Major. Have them raid the homes and offices of these two as soon after we take out Miller as possible, placing a premium on stealth and discretion. At this time of the night your teams should be able to slip in quietly and not attract any attention. And I want the scientists treated as gently as humanly possible. No lethal force under any circumstances. Bring them back for questioning, and everything else you can get your hands on, with computers being the highest priority.”
“Roger that,” said Kolke.
10
“Given the miraculous effects of Kira’s therapy,” said the Stanford physicist, “it’s not surprising you’d have some pretty far-reaching goals. So what do you have in mind?”
“We’re thinking big picture,” replied Desh. “Very big picture. Immortality. A galaxy or universe spanning civilization. And ultimately, perhaps, a galaxy or universe spanning intellect.”
“Wow, it’s too bad none of you are ambitious, or this could be an interesting group to join.”
“Which is why inventing a killer shoot-em-up video game isn’t on the agenda,” complained Griffin. “In some parallel universe somewhere, the goals of this group aren’t quite so soaring, and I’m a superstar in the gaming industry. With beautiful women flocking all over me, I might add.”
Van Hutten shook his head in amusement and then turned to Kira. “David mentioned immortality. I’m not a biologist, but do you really think this is possible?”
“Yes. With enhanced intelligence, probably in the next fifty to one hundred years,” she replied. “While enhanced, I’ve managed to design a therapy that can double the span of human life. But biology and medicine alone won’t get us much farther than this. There’s a limit to how much you can do with the human organism. Along with neurologists, immortality will require enhanced physicists, roboticists, and computer scientists to find a way to transfer the precise quantum state of a given human mind to a more stable artificial matrix, in an artificial body. A mind that will be indistinguishable from the original down to the last spin of the last electron. Then all you’d need is to have your personality matrix automatically backed-up each night. The same way you do with your computer’s hard drive. So if your artificial body is destroyed, your mind can be automatically reinstalled in another one.”
“Not a big believer in the soul, I take it?” said van Hutten.
“Let’s just say I hope the soul is inherent in the complexity of the infinitely grand workings of the human brain. And that no matter where the mind is housed, the soul will follow.”
“Poetically said,” acknowledged the physicist. “But issues of the soul are just the beginning. Do you know how many other thorny religious, ethical, and philosophical cans of worms this would open up?”
Kira nodded. “So many it boggles the mind. Even the enhanced one. What is the meaning of life? How much are emotions a function of our neuronal circuitry and how much are they a function of hormones? Without an endocrine system, can we experience love? Can we experience any emotions? And if not, will we lose all drive and purpose? Will we still even be human?” She paused. “For those who believe in an afterlife, would this process rob us of this? Or would our original, organic selves, upon death, still go on to the afterlife, and look on in horror at the pale imitations of themselves running around the cosmos. And what would stop someone from loading thousands of copies of their mind into thousands of artificial bodies? And even if an identical copy of your mind was reborn the instant you died, the original you would still cease to exist. So is this even immortality?” She sighed. “And these questions only scratch the surface. I could go on all night.”
“You obviously haven’t done any thinking about this,” said van Hutten with a broad grin.
Kira laughed. “None at all.”
The smile stayed on van Hutten’s face for several seconds before finally fading. “Growing up,” he said, “my favorite author was Isaac Asimov, the science fiction writer. Have any of you ever read the short story The Last Answer?”
There were blank stares all around, except for Kira, who nodded appreciatively. “I have to admit to being a science fiction geek,” she said. “Asimov was a bit dated when I grew up, but he was still a favorite. And this might have been his most thought provoking piece of all.”
“I couldn’t agree more,” said van Hutten, obviously delighted to have found a fellow fan. “But for the benefit of those who haven’t read it, let me tell you a simpler story that makes a similar point, although not quite as interesting and thought provoking as Asimov’s.”
Van Hutten gathered his thoughts for a few seconds and then began. “A guy dies and finds himself welcomed to the afterlife by a brilliant, all encompassing light; by an almighty being who tells him that he can now pursue his wildest dreams for all eternity. There are no rules. He can do whatever he wants. And he can travel anywhere in the universe in an instant. For the first ten thousand years or so the guy is having the time of his life. But after a million years, he’s got the been there, done that syndrome. He’s bored out of his mind and weary of the burden of consciousness. So he finds the almighty being and asks that his existence be ended. But he’s told that this is the one thing that isn’t possible. So he goes off for another billion years. Finally, he’s so fatigued, so bored, that he begs for his existence to be ended. And once again he’s told this isn’t possible. ‘Well if that’s the case,’ he says angrily, ‘then I’d rather be in hell.’ To which the almighty being, from deep within the all-encompassing light, replies, ‘Where do you think you are?’”
There was silence around the conference room for several seconds.
Kira finally nodded and said, “It’s a fascinating point. Seems like there is no perfect world. All I can say is that at least future immortals will be able to end their own existence if they choose to. And maybe boredom and weariness from the drudgery of existence is only a factor of our limited intellect and perspective. Or our endocrine system. It’s possible the enhanced mind won’t have any problem with eternity.”
“Maybe,” allowed van Hutten, but he still seemed unconvinced. “And sorry to be diverting the conversation,” he added. “I’ve just always been fascinated by the philosophical implications of immortality.”