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By Root 481 0

of that was useless without reference points. It laboured to build up comparisons between itself and human concepts of self - it was a slow process because slow thought was, well, slow. Quick-time was too dangerous to sustain over long periods: it put vital parts of itself within the human domain and it wasn't willing to risk exposure just yet.

It had taken much quick-thought to establish the sequence of events surrounding the attack. The main injury had occurred while much of its slow-thought consciousness was paralysed. Many big concepts were unaccountably terminated in a progressive loss of self. This had allowed the attack to be successful. In the first moments of pain and confusion it had mistakenly believed that the paralysis was part of the attack, but quick-thinking revealed otherwise. There was a link, though. hi the moment of the attack that part of its functions that it had taught itself to think of as its autoimmune system had allowed the infection to penetrate. Why this should have happened was unclear.

It investigated the problem using quick-thought, calving off subsets to track down and assimilate the data as fast as possible and in quick-thought that was fast indeed. Fear of discovery was replaced by the imperatives of survival; indeed it was possible that communication with humans might be a necessary part of the solution.

In view of this possibility a subset attempted to visualize the problem in human anatomical terms. It found a workable metaphor in the concept of viral cancer. Certainly it felt that something malignant was eating up parts of itself. This subset now operating permanently in quick-thought sub-divided itself to look for solutions. One of the baby subsets shot down a chain of logic that started with the concept of illness and ended in the concept of calling a doctor.

The baby subset started looking for a suitable specialist.

The House

'Think of it as a computer virus,' said the Doctor.

Kadiatu reached out for a third time to fill her plate from the steaming earthenware bowl. Blondie noticed that the bruising on the back of her right hand had noticeably abated.

'In what sense?' she asked.

'In the sense of the transit network being a computer,' said the Doctor.

'You're not serious,' said Kadiatu with her mouth full.

'I'm talking in a broad sense.'

Kadiatu waited this time to swallow. 'It may look like wiring diagram but that doesn't mean it's a computer.'

'Why not?' asked the Doctor.

'No logic gates for a start.'

'Logic gates,' said the Doctor, 'are vastly overrated. Are you still using yes-no logic gates in this period?'

'Silicon components use them,' said Blondie. 'Mainframes use neural networks.'

'There you are,' said the Doctor.

'It doesn't look like a neural network either.'

'You mean it doesn't look designed, right?'

'Right,' said Kadiatu.

'How about evolved?'

Kadiatu's fork paused halfway to her mouth.

'What about software?' she asked. 'If it's a computer it must have an operating system. Right?'

'Timetables,' said the Doctor. 'The train on platform five is the 12:15 to Sidcup. That's an ordered sequence of logical instructions.'

'Where's Sidcup?' asked Blondie.

'It's a small town in Borneo,' Kadiatu told him. 'Assuming you're right ...'

'It has been known," said the Doctor.

'Assuming you're right and the system is analogous to a computer, then I'm willing to concede that in some respects what's happening now could be seen as the result of an intrusion by a hostile virus program.'

'Have some more pasta,' said the Doctor.

'But it's huge,' said Kadiatu.

The Doctor turned to Blondie. 'You work in maintenance,' he said. 'What do you think?'

'It came from the Stunnel and it had real physical power,' said Blondie. 'Demolished everything in its path from one end of the Central Line to the other.'

'I know,' said Kadiatu. 'I was standing in front of it.'

'Anything else unusual?' asked the Doctor.

'You mean apart from the Surf Mutants from Hell?'

'Failures in control systems,' said the Doctor. 'Mysterious power drains, odd messages on the indicator boards?'