Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Sub-routine No.9

penumbra . 18
Ann Margaret Oh Yeah!

As is often the case with problems of greater complexity than the requirement for our daily bread, the solution is seldom self-evident until the layers of complexity surrounding the problem have been understood and discarded. The subconscious deals with core of the problem; that which is, to the conscious mind, unsolvable.
Somewhere back behind the eyes of Ivan Devoto, synaptic subroutines arrange and rearrange blubbery facts that surround and protect the Leviathan’s control systems.

In so far as human characteristics may be attributed to the actions of machines, TRNE watches Ivan like an anxious mother around a fragile child. TRNE’s own subroutines perform similar tasks of pattern arrangement and rearrangement in attempts to trigger majority votes in favour of one or other of the array of possible actions available to TRNE’s hardware interface with the world.

“Ivan, you are exhibiting diminished physical activity. Might I arrange a session in the gymnasium?”
“I’m thinking Trinny, thinking does not require action. By the way, you don’t have to pronounce the full word, just call it the gym.”
“Ivan, please provide more data on this linguistic correction. What benefit is gained by shortening the word to its first three letters?”
“It saves time; it’s easier and Trinny, why do you have to say my name at the beginning of every sentence?”
“Ivan, it clarifies communication. You know immediately that I am addressing you.”
“Well who else would you be talking to? I don’t see anyone else here.”
“Ivan, I was designed to work under all possible scenarios – when we arrive at the New there will be many people with whom I shall be required to interact.”
“Well just fucking drop it, it’s annoying.”
Previous encounters with this unreasonable side of Ivan Devoto’s behaviour have provided TRNE with Sub-routine No.9; a collection of machine code lines which translate as: take no action until more data becomes available.

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3 comments:

Tom said...

cripes, she is annoying

Garth said...

Awww, but she knows what's best for you :)

Harlequin said...

the two characters are made for each other. the dialogue has an eerie familiarity.... hmmm...

loved the ann margaret nostalgia!

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