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Alynzia
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Norwich City
Mar 2001
time: 05:13
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I am all against starting threads unnecessarily, so not in context with the previous discussion which appears to have died, here is my first and only chapter of The Planetary Datalinks. It is older than my registration on this forum but I couldn't resist putting it on because the speech took ages to write!
THE PLANETARY DATALINKS
From within the crowd of eminent scientists and the invited University media, Ikantha fidgeted uncomfortably, she despised crowds as a direct result of her hellish childhood growing up in ne of the numerous cramped and squalid housing areas of Communal Utopia.
She breathed deeply, luckily the air was cool, the spacious rooms in the University were always cold for some reason, perhaps to keep the people active and motile. There was an ambience of anticipation in this particular room, excitement, a tangible quantity you'd be hard pressed to find anywhere but in the central conference room of the main research facility here at University Base.
Murmurs in English, Russian and Unitas faded to awed silence as the researcher-in-chief Nicholas Ayscough took his place on the podium before them all. His clear turquoise eyes surveyed the hundred strong audience, making sure to avoid eye-contact with the live holo-feeds and still captures in the front row. He flipped his computer lenses down, his speech in front of him in the strange phonetic letters he preferred to read.
"Gentlemen, twelve years, six months and eight days ago the very foundation of our future was conceptualised. At the start of this project the idea was simple, a rigid construct to take through the motions of research and development, you saw the documentaries I am sure. Our desire here was to take the Ethical Calculus into the realm of cybernetic networking, a new system to define and regulate the increasingly computer-orientated culture here."
Ayscough paused, his English accent was difficult to decipher for those whose first language was Unitas. He stroked back his long strawberry blond hair, quickly scanning the audience for the young Hive diplomat. Upon the instant of eye-contact, Ikantha blushed, snapping Ayscough back into rhythm.
"The plan may have been simple but the research process itself was staggeringly complex. As in the complexity that feeds us, fuels us, and forces us to aspire to greater knowledge. I stand before you today to confirm the validated breakthrough we have accomplished here concerning Cyberethics."
A sudden cheer erupted in the room, mad claps from mad scientists, excited hoots from excited people.
Ayscough flashed his debonaire smile, "Thank you, and welcome to the revolution."
Silence descended once more over the room. Revolution was not a word people used lightly here. Ayscough continued,
"I speak really of an intellectual revolution. A paradigm shift in how life is conducted here and the use of computer technology in govening the way we live. To remind you of something gentlemen,"
The giant display overhead of Ayscough lit up, the seventh point of the University Precept flashed up in the four standard written languages,
'We seek to create a society made stable by the free flow of information. No individual shall be denied the right to data that belongs to the whole of humanity. Academic networks shall be open access and all information shall be free granted its ability to not compromise the safety and well being of this faction and its people.'
"The revolution, my friends, starts with us. Our research threw up many difficult questions concerning Intellectual Integrity moving beyond the organic constraints we impose on it, plus many questions involving the right of the individual verses the laws of the state on the networks spanning this planet. But difficult questions always lead to solid laws given the right approach. And our approach to these things yielded what I can only describe as the pursuit of knowledge as a social value."
"For more on that consult the chief of politics' report on the open access datalinks. Also our research took us into the realm of global information systems. You may have noticed faster services to Morgan Net and Secure Information Nexus recently,"
Many of the audience nod
"This is because of a new breed of software able to transverse Planet on a faster carrier wave by the utilization of mathematical labelling and streaming for various kinds of information. This software is progress by itself, but plans for so called Planetary Datalinks have been conceived based on it, the ultimate step in the free flow of information and ideas among the citizens of Planet."
A brash woman in the front row put her hand up,
"Sir, are you meaning to tell us you have researched a new potential Secret Project?" she said in her Morgan-style American drawl.
Ayscough shook his head, "Secret Project is the colloquial term, we choose to view the potential Planetary Datalinks as a faction-wide initiative."
More hands shot up, Ayscough looking behind the front rows of media representatives at a blatantly enthralled Ikantha, enhanced mind obviously storing every word exchanged here. Ayscough smiled, pointing to a man in grey ahead of him.
The man spoke,
"Do you have any plans to press the Provost for the instigation of this intiative?"
"Personally no. I trust him to order this of his own accord."
Another man, in a white jacket, was permitted to speak by a nod from Ayscough,
"Estimated cost?"
Ayscough sighed, "300 minerals is our current estimate. No more questions, thank you." Ayscough waved his hand at the audience before moving off the podium, keeping eye-contact with Ikantha for as long as he could.
Ikantha watched Ayscough leace the room, attempting to remain calm as the mass of bodies around her beagn to move. She closed her eyes, olfactory improvements to her enlarged Jacobsen's organ allowing her to chemically perceive the arousal and excitement Ayscough's delivery had stimulated.
Ikantha remained perfectly still, allowing the room to empty, she would wait until she was one of the last ten people leaving, to avoid the bustle.
'The Chairman will not be that impressed with the benefits of the University's latest breakthrough,' she thought, 'But I guess He'll find someway of turning the free flow of information into the free flow of the appropriate information.'
Ikantha stood up, the room virtually emptied. Perhaps she had better go straight to her office in the Foreign Embassy before attending to her personal needs.
She hurried out of the conference room, grey silk robes sliding comfortably with each stride. The transcript of the preliminaries itself would be easy, but it was never the words alone the Chairman was interested in, always the betrayal of emotion in the voice, the phrases spoken without words, he found the most informative.
moving quickly along the dull white corridors of the assembly building, Ikantha paused without stopping to catch a familiar scent in the air behind her,
Nicholas Ayscough...
"Miss Fa," came the voice of the man behind her. Ikantha spun around to face Nicholas, her silver eyes reading his face to gauge what excuse would work to avoid a long conversation.
"I was wondering if we could have a talk at some point, perhaps over lunch, I have some things I feel I could add to your preliminary report for your Chairman." He smiled at her nervously, attempting to soften his accent to make it easier for her to understand.
Ikantha politely smiled back, "Perhaps some other time, I have some persoanl needs to attend to." She began to walk off, angry at herself for not accepting his offer. But it was imperative she gave unbiased information to the Chairman, and gave it quickly.
Nicholas merely stood in the corridor, watching Ikantha slip away. It was important he convince her to get Yang to accept Cyberethics instead of Bio-Engineering in exchange for the Hive's Advanced Military Algorithms.
With Ikantha out of sight, Nicholas decided he had better make an appointment with Zakharov now, to implement his plan to twist the Provost's arm to commission The Planetary Datalinks.
(Woo! I liked that. How about you?)
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19-01-2001 03:33
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