Weissenbaum's Eye - Stetten - Chapter 24
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    CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

    Sand followed Backdoor's engineer to the cathedral, where, according to Don Andrews, he was to connect the tools she needed. Since Judy's requirements came first, it was clear to Sand that in some way the spheres must hold the future of their mission.
    "With four couches, and what we can already get out of the spheres," Judy explained, "our total detail in Backdoor is over ten thousand blocks." Her obvious pride in this accomplishment astonished Sand, for it was a paltry sum compared to what he was used to back on Earth. However, he said nothing as they entered the cathedral through the little door near the spheres. "When they are fully functional," she gestured towards the stacks of globes, "we will have even more."
    "Why do they glow like that?" Sand inquired with interest, for the changing light within each sphere was without pattern, but seemed somehow to not be random. Judy clearly restrained her impatience, as if willing to respect Sand just because Don Andrews had commanded it.
    "The beams are making circuits," she said. "First we coat the inside surface with a substrate, and remove the air. Then circuits are etched or erased on the substrate by beams from a small gun at the center of each sphere. Don Andrews' goal is for the circuits to control the gun, while the gun is changing the circuits. His theory is that such a system will evolve much faster."
    It may have been Don Andrews' theory, thought Sand, but he imagined somehow that Judy did most of the work. Evidently it was delicate work indeed, and as he climbed the central pillar after Judy, he began to formulate some plans on how to help her. Lying down on Judy's couch high on the pillar, Sand quickly began creating a room, the kind that Judy might have had as a child. The wallpaper was bright, happy colors, and in the corner stood a dresser with a mirror.
    On the dresser, where a jewelry box might have been placed, Sand made a miniature cathedral in complete detail from the plans that had been provided, and connected it to the controls. Then he got off the couch, and told her it was ready.
    She lay down. Standing before the dresser, Judy was entranced by the little toy cathedral. The ceiling was a vague shadow through which she could reach, and as she did, the shadow cleared, and her hand transformed into one of the claws that hung from the ceiling. The motion of her hand was governed by the claw's massive inertia, and it took a moment to get used to the feeling. Her first movements were just a little wider than expected. Sand instinctively ducked as the enormous appendage swung past, barely missing the pillar. He was happy and relieved when Judy seemed to quickly gain control and master the basics of the program, but he made a mental note next time to have her practice first before connecting a new system.
    After a minute of playing, Judy got off the couch, her shy face filled with wonder at her new abilities. Smiling, she asked, "Can you do the same thing with the micro-manipulators? Can you magnify them so I can use my hands on the smallest circuits?"
    "That, and more," Sand laughed. "You keep practicing, and I'll get to work on them up in my room." She nodded.
    After Sand had left, Judy sat up on her pillar thinking about the claw. Its power in thrilling contrast to her gentle soul, its weight and fluid smoothness in her hand, she could feel it still.
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