Pulling The Dragon's Tail Read Online Free PDF Page B

the ubiquitous monitors. Then he muttered
aloud, just enough for the ears of CLUES, “I won’t let cyber-sleuth
win this one.”
    He resolved to be non-verbal in his frantic
search . Let CLUES make sense of me now, he challenged,
glancing and posturing in the direction he believed the monitors
were mounted . At least they can’t read my thoughts. He
shuddered, for he knew indeed, that science was closing in on
accurately interpreting the neuronal patterns that comprise human
mental activity.
    He checked through the drawers of the light
brown dresser beside his bed, then rustled through the suitcase on
top of the small table. Inside the tiny bathroom he found the
desired item—a small emergency flashlight hidden under the vanity.
“Ugh, it looks ancient!” He pushed the button in the center of the
plastic tube. Nothing! Turning it over, he remembered that these
pre-2040 lights just needed a shake to activate the long-life
battery. He slapped it against the palm of his fumbling, sweaty
hand.
    Thank you, Father Abraham, it works! Now
let’s give Mr. CLUES something to report on! Rushing back to
the window, he sent a message to Dugan,
“N-E-E-D-S-O-L-U-T-I-O-N-T-O-P-U-Z.” He stopped, fearing the
flashlight was already growing dimmer.
    Tense moments followed as Nate awaited the
reply. Then it came. R-19-X-42-M-29. Suddenly the flashes stopped
as the sun disappeared behind a cloud, rendering the mirror
useless. Cursed global warming, too many clouds, too much rain.
Do I wait for the sun to return?
    Shaking the flashlight vigorously he sent a
message back. He hoped the CCR’s eyes would still be powerful
enough to decipher the fading flashlight. ”W-R-I-T-E-I-T.”
    Millions of humans had welcomed robotic implants
into their bodies. Additionally, there were transhumans who not
only welcomed the implants, but sought to become one with the
machines. While detesting the transhuman movement, he had to admit
he was part-machine himself. His implanted dataport microcomputer
was also installed with a wireless CCR port to communicate with
Dugan, as well as a netphone controlled with wrist implants.
‘Monitor glasses had been installed underneath the skin next to his
eyes. The signals from these glasses were projected directly in
front of his vision, allowing for seamless reception for Net-based
work, gaming, calling, texting, emailing, or for anything else that
traditional scroll computer screens had been used for in the
earlier days of computer technology. The imbedded wrist sensors
sent wireless signals to his dataport system, essentially serving
as a mouse. Nate also had installed a second invaluable tool next
to his eyes: telescopic magnification.
    He stared in the direction of Dugan’s rooftop
location. In a few seconds the effects began to grow. The small
computer chip located behind his right eye increased the
magnification two times, four times, twenty times, and finally two
hundred times higher than normal vision.
    Blurry patches of buildings swirled at the
periphery of his vision, and the rooftop zoomed into view. Scanning
around the rooftop, he located Dugan who was already displaying the
paper produced from his internal printer. There it was!
L-8-P-43-B-12.
    That was all Nate needed. “G-O-T-I-T,” he
signaled back with the nearly dead flashlight. Calmly he committed
the precious answer to memory. Teasingly he said directly into a
camera monitor, “Blin waln guk zown!” and then flashed a toothy
smile. In case CLUES is onto me, I’ve gotta throw it off the
scent.
    He returned to the tri-level puzzle, which was
literally the brainchild of artificial intelligence. Only a
computer brain could create this monster! And I’ve been hanging
around robotic AIs too long to think I can do it too!
    In a sign of growing confidence, Nate chuckled
to himself. He had the solution to the toughest section, the
external octagonal part, with its unnerving twenty-six sides of
algorithms derived from pi. Upon completion of that,