The Hackers

THE HACKERS

Bangalore is the capital of India’s southern state of Karnataka. This remarkably beautiful city attracts flocks of tourists, pilgrims, businessmen. It is rightfully considered to be one of the most beautiful places on Earth!

Tourist guides will tell you in detail about its marvelous architecture, historical monuments, and all the wonders of Bangalore, including the Silicon Valley – the city of scientists. Located on the sidelines of the city’s business center, it consists of a number of high-rise buildings with impressing technological design.

You will find plenty of such data in travel brochures. But very few residents of the city know that these remarkable buildings, usually referred to as scientific centers, are merely a fancy signboard designed to attract customers and investors. There is not a single lab there. The Silicon Valley in the “country of sages”, as India is frequently called, is a city within the city, whose labs gather together scientists and researchers from all round the world to develop and sell technologies. And this real scientific facility is located far from the noisy and crowded research and exhibition centers.

Hidden amid a beautiful tropical forest behind high fence in the close proximity of the city of Bangalore, this inconspicuous area houses a group of small cosy buildings connected by walkways, a couple of shops, and a restaurant surrounded with fountains. In fact, it looks like an ordinary tourist destination. However, its blind, heavily guarded entrance gates have never let in a single tourist or any outsider.

These scientific centers are closed to the public and live by their own rules.

Employment contracts that are signed by personnel of such centers even stipulate that they refer to each other only by pseudonyms.

As a rule, anyone dealing with new technologies is supposed to keep his or her personal details in secret.

Early in the morning, when the night freshness had not yet given way to the daytime heat, a tall young man was walking quickly along a path that linked two opposite houses. He was dressed in jeans and white loose cotton shirt with rolled-up sleeves. His had dark hair and skin testified to his Hindu origin. While his neatly cut hair, glasses in metal frame and the way he handled himself showed that he preferred reading and observation to physical activity.

The young man was hurrying towards the nearest house with a concerned air, mumbling something under his breath and accompanying his thoughts with arms movements.

"Thereby, Absolem, we’ll reach the upper limit while preserving all the initial parameters. Tell this to the neurobiologists in the lab, and ask them to start after breakfast. That’s it, end of the line.” He ended up his reflections and stopped in front of a wide-open glass entrance door.

He came in and found himself in a spacious hall almost free of any furniture.

In the middle of the room, a motor bike was proudly standing, with a fresh dirty trace leading to the wide entrance door.

The bike was making a specific crackling sound, which indicated that it had been recently used. The engine was still hot.

“Asha! I’m gathering everyone for breakfast! Come out! I’m waiting for you!”

As there was no reply he made a few steps inside, looked around and then called again.

“Atarva, I’m already going down,” said someone’s voice on the top floor, and then a tall girl with blond hair combed into a ponytail lightly ran down the stairs.

She was dressed in skinny jeans and a T-shirt with a picture of Goddess Lakshmi.

“Hi Atarva! Nestor is already coming; he arrived from Delhi yesterday night. Did you sleep well?”

“I slept perfectly well! After all, I’m the master of my mind,” replied the young man. “And I consider yesterday’s news to be the customer’s reasonable wish, rather than his quirk as you put it!”

“Good morning everyone, I’ve got some news and an idea to offer. Let’s talk it over during breakfast.” A guy with long shoulder-length hair was approaching them, on his way combing his hair with his fingers and trying to fasten it with a band.

“Hi Nestor,” Asha and Atarva said almost simultaneously and both burst out laughing at that coincidence.

“What are the Curators saying? Have we delivered the job?” Nestor managed at last to cope with his hair and looked closely at Atarva.

"Yesterday, the Fourth Curator gathered all the groups’ leaders to inform them on the customer’s desire to block a part of the processor’s potential with a tough limiting program,” Atarva said and gave them a meaningful look. “The requirements to these programs are so specific that I even think they are…”

“Idiotic?” Asha suggested with a barely hidden annoyance.

“Asha, our development is so important that it has more Curators than developers. By the way, since yesterday our clearance level has been again increased.”

“I’ve noticed that! Yesterday evening when I set off on a ride, the security didn’t even let me out of the gates! I had to ride the bike within the perimeter on the test site. And the story repeated itself in the morning!”

“I guess they don’t let us out because of our clearance allowances! Luckily, I left earlier, otherwise I wouldn’t be able to see my father in hospital,” Nestor said.

“How is he? Atarva inquired politely.

“In my opinion, they can already release him from hospital, but the doctors, on the contrary, think that he will be forever their patient.”

“What is the diagnosis?” Atarva stared at Nestor over his glasses.

“As said before, schizophrenia! I talked to my father. He is in the right mind, while meds only render him weak. At parting, he gave me a pile of sheets with notes. He said that those were reports on his experiment that he had written from memory in his hospital room. I looked them through on a plane and I think you’ve got to look at them, too. In fact, he did not obtain a zero result – they were wrong. The contact did take place!”

“And where are the reports?” Atarva persisted.

“All the reports and documents were taken away. There is no longer any lab, the room is empty. The father’s apartment was raked through. So now not a single note is left.”

“That’s quite interesting! Let’s go and have breakfast now, tell us everything in the lab.”

Upon hearing the news, their good mood left them at once, and the group headed silently towards the canteen building.

Meanwhile, a secretary-girl dressed in a beige sari entered the office of the Scientific Center’s Director. She bowed respectfully and stopped silently at the door.

The owner of the office was standing motionlessly with his hands behind his back beside a large window with tinted glass. That was a man over fifty, tall, well-knit, dressed in a well-tailored, light-gray woolen suit and a white shirt without tie.

 His upright posture and strict look showed he was accustomed to give orders and was well-aware of such concepts as will and responsibility.

“Sangeeta, I have additional instructions for the Chief Security Officer, you’ll find them in your computer,” the boss said slowly and pensively, “Atarva’s group has a special status now. There will be a separate instruction on them. That’s all for now.”

The secretary silently bowed and noiselessly went out. The director stood for a while, looking at squirrels running along thick branches of a giant shorea tree, growing opposite the administrative building.

The noble tree was enclosed with a beautiful low fence with a marble slab informing that the tree had been planted on the day of the Center’s opening and that the Center was intended to help people of science to pursue research and scientific studies. Now that was part of the Scientific Center’s history.

The entrance door opened behind his back. Only one person was allowed to enter his office unannounced – Jagdish Chandra, Head of Research and Development. Since their university days, they have known each other well, and that was the only person to whom the director could confide his thoughts.

“Hello, Rajesh,” Jagdish greeted him in a cheerful voice and quickly walked towards his friend, opening his arms for a hug. That was a highly energetic, skinny man of average height.

“Hello, my friend! The director’s look grew softer at once; he vigorously turned around to welcome the friend of his youth.

In the East, people usually take some time before getting down to business, first they demonstrate their attention and favor towards each other.

“Let’s come over to the lounge room. Now it’s tea time, and we’ll be more comfortable there.” The director pointed with his eyes to a small door and then put his hand on Jagdish’s shoulder, slightly pushing him towards that door. The latter instantly got the point and said out loud:

‘Over a cup of tea I’ll tell you about the cricket match.”

The director’s personal recreation room was hidden behind that small door. It was quite spacious and well-designed. In addition, it was equipped with the special protective field, preventing any possibility of eavesdropping. Having closed the door firmly, Jagdish habitually walked towards a large armchair opposite a tea table with an old chess set.

“Raj, tell me what is going on here. The Curators that were pressed on us by the customer are now acting highly bizarrely. They are virtually spending whole nights in our labs while their bus is always waiting for them near the gates.

Have you seen the roof of their bus? It is packed full of electronics!

Who is this customer? I feel anxious about all this and the closer we get to the end of the works, the more intense this feeling gets.”

Is this all about the quantum processor? Atarva’s group has completed its development and tests. The results are more than impressing!

You should be happy about that! But instead you are being stressed out all the time! You think I don’t see this state of yours!”

“Waite a minute, Jagdish,” Raj cut short his friend’s lengthy speech, settling himself in a large cosy armchair. “First of all, I have always taken seriously your intuition. But you are right: I do need a piece of advice. Let’s go over the facts that beg questions: the quantum processor used to be our own development up to the moment when the information about it leaked out into the outside world. Then came that odd and generous customer and offered to buy out everything related to that processor, namely the rights to the concept and the technologies. We rejected his offer at the time, do you remember our meeting? Alright, I will go on. Then we began to face persistent calls and pressure from the above, as well as promises of new orders and funding. And here in this room, we both decided to take on the job, encouraged by the amount in the customer’s check. Am I right? So these facts beg the question: how come the confidential information on the technology that is ahead of our time and destined to change the world ended up beyond the limits of the Center? All this raises a red flag, doesn’t it?”

Jagdish nodded his head, looking fixedly at Raj.

“And then, out of the blue, appeared that company with an offer to select an appropriate development team for us. The best of the best, as they put it. That way, we acquired a group that we jokingly called the “Juniors”. However, we ceased making fun of them as we got to know them better; you yourself read me those data, sitting here in this armchair.

And as far as the Juniors are concerned, they’ve got extraordinary abilities coupled with the cause-and-effect relationships of their lives that seem to be accidently linked to the subject of the development. And then again comes this odd company that finds these specialists for us and then simply disappears. Doesn’t it seem to you that the story has too many coincidences? This is my second question!

And the third question is the most serious one, Jagdish!

A long time ago, we both recognized some sort of consistency in scientific events, but at the time that didn’t affect us immediately, and nothing went beyond words.

Remember I told you about certain oddity? That happened in the previous centuries and happens now days as well. Each time a new technology emerges, or even some scientific discovery that is ahead of its time, the same thing happens: the scientist who has made this discovery dies, his notes evaporate, as well as the machinery or the unit’s prototype. The giant shorea tree that grows opposite my window remembers those times.

Things are different these days, but this phenomenon with scientific discoveries is still there. Discoveries and technologies based on them are first bought up, and then they are locked down with the patent law, and the same thing happens to the authors of new ideas: at best they are clinically diagnosed as schizophrenics, and at the worst get involved in some tragic accidents.”

“The quantum processor is no news, Raj. And D-Wave 2000Q hasn’t been a sensation for a long time! Our development is doubtlessly ahead of…”

But the director took the liberty to interrupt his friend’s speech, which happened rather seldom.

“Do you remember the size of D-Wave? And its indicators? Our processor is not just quantum one, it’s virtually bio-processor the size of an orange and by dozens of times surpassing D-Wave! It does not require neuroelectronic interface at all! This is not merely the analogue of the human brain; this is the next stage of its evolution, if you will!”

–

.

D-Wave Systems sell their fourth generation quantum computer

Published: 2017-01-29

D-Wave Systems made public the release of the commercial version of D-Wave 2000Q, fourth generation quantum computer. The firm also announced the company TDS, (Temporal Defense Systems) which specializes in the sphere of cyber security, as the first purchaser of the new device.

As compared with the previous generation of D-Wave 2X computers, the new device has twice as many qubits, and its productivity has increased thousand fold. Like all the rest D-Wave Systems computers, the device is designed to deal with specific optimization problems.

The prototype of the new D-Wave Systems quantum computer was presented in September 2016 at a specialized conference in Saint-Francisco (USA). The fact that the company’s devices are only suitable for resolving a narrow range of problems does not allow, in the opinion of some scientists, to consider them as full-fledged quantum computers.

However, this does not prevent Google and NASA to take interest in the technologies of the Canada-based D-Wave Systems, which currently is the world’s only company selling quantum computers of its own production.

Unlike classic-type computers, quantum computers operate on the basis of the quantum mechanics laws, since their calculations are conducted with the use of qubits – quantum analogues of classic bites.

–

Jagdish sat silently for a while looking his friend in the eye. As was his long-term habit, he took some time to think through the information before setting forth ways of resolving the problem. Raj knew that attentive Jagdish kept in mind each of his words. The usually energetic and cheerful like all Hindus, Jagdish was now sitting motionlessly deep in his armchair with a highly pensive air. Raj did not interrupt his thoughts, and complete silence fell upon the room for some time.

“Everything would have looked quite clear and simple, but for the seemingly random coincidences and cause-effect relationships with respect to Atarva’s group and both of us. I consider them as unknown and variable data, but these will change the outcome of this incredibly dangerous situation. What forces have created these coincidences? I believe they are more likely to be our allies! And now let’s talk about those who oppose us. Do you remember the historical records?

There exists some force that reveals certain systematic consistency in its activity. What idea did Alexander the Great carry?”

“He sought to subdue others by force, to set up colonies, and to enrich himself at the expense of the defeated.” Raj was trying to capture the course of his friend’s thoughts.

“Who stopped the spread of his idea?”

“India, the East, Raj was beginning to get the point.

“What’s the idea of the East?”

“Knowledge and spirituality.”

“That’s it! Jagdish raised his index finger and his eyes lit up with enthusiasm. “Let’s take this as a basis. And add only one thing! Did you ask me for a piece of advice? It will be brief.”

   Looking his friend in the eye, Jagdish lifted up his palm with straddled fingers to the level of his eyes and then slowly began to curl them into a fist and then slightly nodded his head, smiling.

“We’ll unite our efforts and set reason against force. I got your point, my friend,” Raj interpreted his gesture and nodded in consent.

 “Keep me informed about the course of events, Raj. Every single detail will be of significance now.”

“Whenever I invite you by phone for a game of chess, you know what I really mean. It will be our secret sign, okay?”

“I see. Like Nestor from Atarva’s group says, “we’ll make it”.

The Scientific Center’s labs represented huge rings divided into segments pierced through by shafts of high-speed lifts in their central parts. These grand-scale remarkable facilities were located below the ground level. One of such underground sectors housed a lab where Atarva’s group was based at the time. Each one of its members had a separate room, but at the moment all of them gathered in the central room of their leader.

The whole internal space of his office was packed with racks containing equipment, prototypes of various strangely-looking devices resembling works of some futuristic designer on the subject of human brain discoveries.

It would be difficult for an outsider to make head or tail of all that pile of devices, prototypes of appliances, huge stacks of files over-packed with papers.

The central part of the room was occupied by an enormous table that clearly showed that the word “order” was seldom used by the owner of the room.

However, Atarva insisted that each and every thing was lying on its proper place and no one was allowed to touch anything so as not to disturb that system order, which would inevitably cause a change in the “positive flow of events”.

The members of his small group had long got accustomed to that peculiarity of the young scientist. There was a funny story about Atarva: once Asha, who was fond of jokes, asked Atarva where a report on some old prototype test was. Without a hitch, Atarva told her where she could find the required file. Then Asha enquired him about the color of the walls in his room, and Atarva stared at her in total confusion. But at the moment no one felt like joking.

Atarva’s group shifted into the room occupied by Asha. The reason for that choice was simple: the girl’s room was always in perfect order, free of any unnecessary things.

There was a round low table in the center with armchairs standing all around. The table was equipped with a holographic projector with voice interface. Asha’s room was always in semidarkness, with only one obscure lamp lighting up the narrow space above the table.

The atmosphere of the room inspired deep reflection.

 For that reason it was there that the group had usually conducted their internal meetings since the first days of their work. In addition, the room was fit out with the silence field, which was quite a useful option, given the huge number of Curators poking their noses into the internal affairs of the Scientific Center.

“The materials that Nestor brought us amount to a significant discovery. A contact with the World Ocean and a deliberate exchange of information were recorded. The data obtained are to make a major impact on all spheres of human life. These are the facts.

 Naturally, the forces controlling the society, including our Curators, wish to get this event under control, and as a result, the head of the contact project ended up in a mental hospital and his lab and equipment disappeared together with all reports. The fate of the rest of the personnel is unknown. And these are the facts as well!

Purely by chance, Nestor managed to leave the facility for a couple of days before all of us were switched over to the confidentiality mode.

And I believe that these events are interconnected! Those who stopped the disobedient scientists from pursuing their research in such a way are well aware that we have the data on that discovery. Nestor met his father and received his reports.

Therefore, they presume that we are now sitting and thinking of how to repeat the experiment on the contact with the Ocean Mind, as we may call it. Why have I made such an assumption? Knowing our psychological profiles, it wouldn’t be difficult to determine our actions with a certain degree of probability. There are special programs designed for that. Do you agree?”

Atarva stopped speaking for a while, giving a serious glance at his silent group.

“Please remember that what we have created is more than just a processor, in fact it is an artificially made rational being that is aware of its existence. And now this being is studying and comprehending the information accumulated by mankind over the whole period of its existence. For the time being, it is only studying the world and thinking. One of the customer’s requirements was to obtain access to such information.

Yesterday, we received an instruction from the Curators. I will read out the new requirements point by point. First, we are to limit the potential of our processor by ninety-nine percent. To do this, they suggested that we create some sort of complex locking algorithm and integrate it into the processor as its part.”

“Exactly like with the human brain! Asha remarked and spread her arms.

Atarva nodded in consent and continued. “It would be quite easy to technically perform this, but I convinced the Curators that it is a rather complex development and that it will require time. And now the most interesting point!

The second requirement is to create an access to all the capabilities of the processor, bypassing the limitations, only for a small group of people, whose genetic code will be an enter key as well as a set of conditions ruling out the possibility of the system hacking by unauthorized persons. In other words, only a few people on the planet must have access to the Super Brain!

While users will be communicating with this mind exactly through that lock-out program, naturally according to specific tariffs. This all will be presented as a major breakthrough in science! A plan of genius, isn’t it?

And now let’s talk about us: given the fact that the reasonable being we have created is a self-recovering organism and will not require any human interference in the future, after delivering our work to the customer we’ll become a redundant link which has the information that the customer would like to keep secret. Then it would be logical to presume that they would like to get rid of our group. I must confess that this bothers me, but we’ll discuss this later.

Therefore, we may have a couple of weeks left for the experiment, and we can use this processor to its full capacity until a lock will be integrated into it.

Who wouldn’t like to hack the Planet’s Noosphere! But once we start the experiment, we’ll become criminals from the point of view of the customer and the Curators! The consequences of such liberty may be very serious! While the result of our experiment may change the whole science on the Planet.

You are all aware of what will face us in case of a slightest leakage of information, aren’t you?”

“Nestor must carry on with the work of his father, and I have always chosen the path of Socrates and Giordano Bruno when it came to principles!” Asha shrugged her shoulders.

“Then I will proceed to the practical issues,” Atarva went on, “And here I’ve got a question! We’ll need Absolem’s resource. And there is certain difficulty here. The AI will not be able to keep that secret since Absolem will submit its regular report to the Curators, which will clearly show its involvement in our experiment. If this happens, all of us will face the fate of Nestor’s father, and that will be the best case scenario.”