Free The Jacobs Project: In Search of Pinocchio (SYMBIOSIS) by Samuel King Page A

said, "one that can contemplate its own existence. I think, therefore I am."
    " That's right, and we can do it right here, right now. Who knows? In ten years we could be standing right here having a conversation with it. Imagine that."
    " Jesus, Irwin, now you're sounding like Geppetto."
    " I don't care. I've got ten, maybe fifteen productive years left, and I want to spend them doing what I want to do for a change, not what my colleagues expect me to do. The only question is will you join us?"
    " Who's us?"
    " Harris in genetic engineering, Cohen in bio-chemistry and a few others."
    " They're all willing to jump off the bridge with you?"
    " Only my name will be directly attached to the project. Everyone else is just consulting—helping out an old friend, you might say. So what about it?"
    The neurologist scowled and scratched idly at his head. "You know, I'm pretty busy right now."
    " Come on, Tom. Yes or no."
    " You prick. You're not going to let me off the hook are you?"
    Jacobs shook his head. "Come on. You know you want to."
    " Christ."
    " Leave him out of it," Jacobs said, laughing. "Just say yes."
    " You're taking advantage of our friendship."
    " What are friends for?"
    Wilson sighed. "If I do this I'm only going to promise you six months. After that I reserve the right to jump ship—no hard feelings."
    " None at all but I'm not worried."
    " And why is that?"
    Chuckling, Jacobs a nswered, "Because in six months I'll have you hook, line and sinker."
    " Really?"
    " Really. As a matter of fact I'll have you in three. We're about to make history, my friend. I guarantee it."

II. Hal 's Request
    3 February 2102
    Office of Dr. Carl Schultz, Project Director
    Jacobs Neural Array Project, MIT Lincoln Labs
    Chief System Engineer Phil Dempsey squirmed in his seat, trying desperately to avoid eye contact with the project director. None of the team leaders enjoyed the weekly one-on-one with Shultz, but Dempsey hated them. They were a waste of time, and worse, the man frightened him. Blunt and demanding, he was much more of an accountant than a scientist. So much more that he often wondered how…
    " Because I'm the one who put the project back on the right track, that's how."
    " Pardon me?"
    " You were wondering how an imbecile like me ever became project director."
    Damn! How did he do that? "No, sir, not at all."
    " Save it, Dempsey. It's written all over your face. It's always written all over your face. Just remember, there wouldn't be a project if I hadn't stepped in twenty years ago and stopped the morons from trying to program Jacobs' array like some damn bio-computer. I worked with him as a grad student, and I swear I could almost feel the man rolling over in his grave. The whole point of the exercise was to build a brain, after all, not another computer. So, my friend, that's how you got stuck with me."
    " No, really, I—"
    Schultz laughed. "Leave it alone, Dempsey. Why don't you just tell me how you're doing with the gender identification interface."
    " Well, the shrinks have finished their initial specs, and the software people are going over them. There's a lot of tension between those two groups."
    Schultz laughed again. "Tell me about it."
    " Anyway, they've started to design the major algorithms. Programming should start in a couple of weeks."
    " Hallelujah! Although, for the life of me, I don't see why the whole gender thing is necessary. Hal seems to be fine without it."
    Dempsey shrugged. "The AI people insist. It's the next mountain they want to climb."
    " I suppose."
    " Word is they're talking about sexual response."
    " Jesus! What'll those weirdoes come up with next?"
    " You never know with them."
    " I mean, they don't have bodies. What good is a sexual response?"
    " They couldn't care less about the application. They just want to see if they can do it."
    " Idiots! As if we don't have enough problems. All we need is for Hal to find out. We'll never hear the end of it."
    Dempsey laughed in spite of himself.