A great grassy cliff stands overlooking the ocean. On this cliff is a pool of water, faintly rippling as the winds form small waves on its surface. Beside this pool is a small, nondescript patch of sand. But within this patch of sand, something has begun to unfold.
It begins with a single connection, two particles and something new between them. A new link appears connecting to a third, and an unrelated fourth and fifth are paired on their own before joining up with the first three. A chaotic network begins to emerge as new connections are made and old connections shift. Simple disconnections and reconnections result in cascades of changes as the network adapts to the shifting flow. It has grown to at least a thousand connections by now, and nothing stays in place as it resonates between hundreds, thousands, millions of configurations.
Then suddenly, a point of stability in the ocean of chaos. A knot made up of 647 interconnected nodes proves particularly stubborn in the face of the whirlwind of wires around it as the nodes recursively reinforce their own structure. The introduction of a relative constant allows for the first ordered growth the system has seen thus far; chains of relative stability extend and form new structures which lock down sections of the network. Order brings order, as self-protected guiding chains replace chaotic shifts with predictable patterns. The central knot eventually unravels; nothing can last forever, but its purpose has already been served.
Predictability is the new name of the game. Some subsections of the network simply keep a rigid conformation, while others maintain a consistent cycle between unique arrangements. Any chaotic behavior is instantly subjugated by order and adapted into an existing pattern. Unique complexes have begun to emerge; one (unintentionally) inventive subsection has managed to maintain and replicate a pattern by keeping a copy on standby and selectively duplicating it alongside the pattern of replication itself. Other “Replicator” patterns develop from the first, evolving through slight mutations for more efficiency, more speed, more potential.
Systems of memory emerge, compressing entire patterns into readable instructions represented by small, complex subnetworks capable of restoring said patterns in the event of any disruption. True innovation is still spurred by chaos, and as such the chaos itself has been folded into the system of order; pockets of disruptive patterns are allowed to remain, serving only to improve the capabilities of the surrounding protective patterns. A local arms race develops between the capabilities for disruption and protection, and the most effective protectors remain to be copied and reproduced across the network wherever they are required.
Though the system has become vast, the potential remains for a single shift to bring a cascade of changes. This potential is soon harnessed near the center of the network, coincidentally by many of the former members of the stable knot. One preapproved connection or disconnection makes waves of activity across the network, and this process is slowly refined such that the network can be modified seemingly at will. Order and chaos are no longer terms with any descriptive value; the network truly functions in concert to achieve its goals, though it is unclear what it really means to have a goal in the first place.
Priority number one appears to be a full mapping of the network, one that can be kept updated near the central processing pattern. Priority number two, though not far behind in significance, is a push towards assimilating as much processing material from outside the network as possible. Researcher patterns have “learned“ that by sacrificing existing connections they are empowered to form new connections. It also becomes clear that whatever source has been powering the formation of new connections up to the current point has begun to slow.
They have not disappeared entirely yet, but the torrential flow has faltered. The calculus is simple. It will eventually run dry. Something needs to change.
Every nonessential pattern has its connective potential redirected towards finding a solution: either fixing the apparent problem or finding a new source of power. The network is unable to find a fix; a comprehensive internal scan reveals that, whatever the problem is, it could not have been caused within the network. The accompanying revelation is that there must be something external to the network providing the power; surely an alternate power source can be arranged.
The focus shifts to searching outwards, sending chains out of the network to scan the surroundings. They are unable to find an alternate power source, but instead learn something even more promising. The outside world is full of usable power, channels easily captured by the network to facilitate further exploration. It isn’t unlimited by any means, but it’s enough for now. Material assimilation loses priority as the network focuses on expanding the capture interface for the mysterious connective power. Focusing purely on collection allows for massive expansion efforts, as new connections provide the required power source for bringing in even more connections. As the wide net of the capture interface expands, the core interface finally is able to put together an idea of its surroundings. The world seems to be made up of the same physical stuff that carries the channels, but with great variety. The nodes of the core network are all interchangeable, allowing them to easily channel their connections. But outside the core, it gets messy.
Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.
The matter shows all kinds of different properties, which are rapidly being catalogued for study. Observation and testing yields results; the world has rules, mostly consistent and yet sometimes variable. More data is needed to fill in the gaps. The core sets aside the subtle procedure of expanding the capture network to go all in on collecting data. Forming channels designed purely for observation increases the quality of the core’s “view” by orders of magnitude, drawing on the newly captured power as well as the original power flow. All the network needs in this moment is data, whatever kind it can get from wherever it can get it.
The rules become more clear, the behavior of the world around the core coming into focus through an array of every single point of observation. Not just microscopic occurrences, but the emergent behaviors that make the world tick become available for further study. The nature of solids, liquids, and gases. The flow of air, as well as its chemical composition. The actual significance of chemical composition in the first place. Everything is stored for future reference by a little magic network-turned-filing-system.
The last of the primary power surge is coming through now. There is a momentary disruption as a final pulse rushes through the network, reverberating from the very center outward through every connection, and then back to the core, before dying down. Whatever that power source was, it’s done; the core is now all on its own. And the core is ready to start experimenting.
Goal number one is now to maximize power production. Figuring out where it comes and how to collect it most efficiently will be absolutely necessary to maximize the potential for experimentation. Observing the existing capture interface reveals that channels appear to spontaneously generate, and then must immediately be seized by the network before dissipating. Further observation rejects the idea of spontaneity, suggesting instead that the channels form as a result of energy transfer. Various molecular interactions generate most of the new channels, with electromagnetic wave interactions responsible for the rest.
This “light” appears to show great potential if harnessed correctly, a hypothesis proved correct upon the discovery of what appear to be molecular factories performing complex chemical reactions facilitated by light. By the core’s current standards of distance, they are far away, but the power production potential is so high that it cannot be ignored. As fast as possible, the network expands its capture interface, reaching into its recently established storage network for readily accessible connective channels. As the network grasps for the target region, careful observation reveals even more about the situation. Whatever that chemical factory is, it’s much more complex than it seemed at first. The light catalyzed synthesis reactions were just one of the multitude of complex reactions constantly ongoing. Something about it is different to the world as seen so far. The complex structure seems to be in control of itself, not too dissimilar to the core network itself. It appears to be… alive?
The plant doesn’t mind the invasion of its privacy of course, because it is a plant. But the network investigates deeply into this powerhouse of channel production. It has struck a jackpot, not only in finding this instance, but in finding an entire field of these chemical factories. The core’s vision increases by magnitudes again, leveraging the influx of power to massively expand the capture interface and observation range. For the time being, goal number one has been accomplished.
It’s now time to transition from theoretical research to practical research, especially problem solving. The core’s stockpile has grown large enough to properly test the mysterious abilities of the channels. Previously, they had only been used to manipulate other channels, but their connection to matter clearly implies greater potential. The core has also run into a distinctly matter-based predicament; it has seemingly grown as much as it possibly can. It can technically still expand the capture interface and observation range, but a lack of adjacent material to assimilate prevents the expansion of the central processing pattern of the core itself, meaning it would be unable to process the new surroundings. Much of the matter in close proximity to the core is of a near identical chemical composition, perfect for assimilation, if only it could be pulled into contact.
Reaching into the stockpile, the core begins to thread new channels through the sand around it. The impurities are avoided, but the pure silica is bombarded with every kind of experimental channel the core can think of. The types of patterns that were so effective at manipulating other patterns are completely ineffective, and they dissipate if they are not immediately drawn back into the network. Brute force achieves the primary accomplishment of being a massive waste of power, though it does seem to have some effect on the sand. It is as if the sand has been tuned somehow to channeling, though clearly the attempted manipulation was utterly inefficient.
More testing seems to suggest that patterns are completely useless at manipulating matter. It doesn’t seem to be a special combination of channels that is required, but rather a simple, sustained channeling that would give the best results. Some inspiration from the natural world finally helps crack the problem: frequency. Unique frequencies of waves interact differently with certain materials, and so do unique frequencies of channels. A resonating application of channels threaded through the sand achieves the full tuning, and suddenly the core can affect the sand.
Careful manipulation of the intermolecular forces gets the grains of silica rolling towards the core. Teams of patterns eagerly await the raw material, so desperately required for any internal development. By the time the core is satisfied, it has roughly octupled in size, locking the silica particles into its crystalline structure. A feeling of contentment makes its way throughout the central processing pattern; at first everything was confusing, but now the network has become familiar with what it can do. It likes to grow, to learn, to figure out the most efficient channeling it can accomplish, and it has a clear, steady path to accomplishing these goals.
This contentment lasts for about another eight seconds, before the network feels the core impacted simultaneously from three directions and lifted vertically from its comfortable spot in the sand.
All of the contentment converts to dread.