[From Bill Powers (941103.1100 MST)]
Atlantis is in orbit. I have to change the predicted launch time in my
copy of STPLUS by +3 minutes. Neat.
···
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Bruce Abbott (941102.1630) continued --
Spok: One moment captain. I have communicated to the aliens that they
have programmed a control system and they concur. I am going to
send them another simulation, in which pressing the space bar
causes the E. coli organism to tumble just as before, but now the
screen remains blank until the end of the run, when it shows the
final position of the spot. I have asked them whether pressing
the space bar still controls the movements of the spot. Please
stand by ...
[Pause while spot appears on screen, blanks out, then appears in a new
position a few seconds later. Spok mind-melds with the console and
speaks to the aliens in alienese...]
Spok: Just as I thought, Captain. They say that even though the entity
pressing the space bar can't see the movements of the spot, the
presses of the space bar still control its position. They say
... one moment.
[Spok converses further with the aliens]
Spok: Captain, they are saying that I described the original simulation
incorrectly. Pressing the space bar, they say, is controlled by
the changes in spot position. So now they are saying that if we
can't see the spot position, it does not control the behavior.
Fascinating. Kleebo? [Spok listens] Ah. They are saying that
something else must be controlling the behavior in the second
simulation.
Kirk: Thank you, Mr. Spok. This is interesting. Can you find any way to
show them that the person is controlling the spot? Report.
McCoy: Jim, they've got me half convinced that they're right.
Spok: Possibly, Doctor. Ah, yes. I will send them a simulation in which
the movements of the spot are caused by a model of the E. coli
system, but the space bar has no effect. So if the person
presses the bar, that behavior must be controlled by the spot
movements.
McCoy: Hell, Spok, that will prove they're right!
Spok: We shall see. I shall simply send them the simulation and ask
them whether it, too, demonstrates control of behavior by the
spot.
Uhura: Channel open, sir.
[Spok sends the program and the aliens run it. They run it again. And
again. There is a long pause. They run it once more and they finally
communicate again at length, in some agitation.]
Spok: As I thought. They have not been able to find a participant who
will go through the whole simulation run. The participants begin
as they did before, but they soon stop and complain that the
apparatus is broken. The spot seems to control behavior at first,
but evidently some other contingency comes into play, or perhaps
a new discriminative stimulus, or an extinction effect, and
participants cease to behave as before. The Lord High Klopno,
they say, actually destroyed the keyboard by pounding on it,
shouting something that means "Behave, expletive deleted!"
McCoy: Dammit, Spok, you tricked them! That's not fair!
Spok: I am simply subjecting their system of explanation to logical
tests. Fairness is a subjective human judgment. Captain, do I
have your permission to conduct further tests?
Kirk: Hold on a bit, Spok. I'll have to check this with Starfleet. We
may be in danger of violating the Prime Directive here.
[Kirk disappears into ready room, emerging 20 minutes later after the
commercials.]
Kirk: Starfleet says to exert extreme caution. This race has been known
to launch vicious attacks when cornered. Proceed carefully, Mr.
Spok. Condition Yellow.
Spok: Very well, Captain. While you were away I modified the first
simulation so that every 14 kneebnits, about 12 Galactic seconds,
the program displaces the spot by a small distance toward
the bottom of the screen. By their reasoning, this should control
the behavior in a way appropriate to the spot's missing the target
by about 15 centimeters. Of course we know that the participant
will be able to bring the spot to the target as usual. It will be
most interesting to see how they explain the result.
McCoy: Well, hell, Spok, it _will_ miss the target, won't it?
Kirk: Dr. McCoy, I know you believe in good old fashioned medicine,
but I do wish you would attend Scotty's seminars on control
theory. Proceed, Mr. Spok.
Spok: I will transmit the simulation now.
Uhuru: Message acknowledged, sir.
[Very long pause]
Spok: Captain, the aliens say that an important emergency has arisen,
and ask if we could continue this conversation later today.
Kirk: Condition Red!
Spok: I do not believe that will be necessary, Captain. They simply need
time to consider the results. As Dr. McCoy would say, I believe
their hearts are in the right place, which in this case is in
their lower thoraxes.
Kirk: Cancel Condition Red. Very well, Mr. Spok, suggest to them that
we resume at 20:00 hours.
[Senior officers are again assembled in bridge, after 11 commercials.
Spok is mind-melding with the console again. He nods wisely.]
Spok: Yes, that is logical.
McCoy: Dammit, Spok, what did they say?
Spok: They have found an explanation, as I suspected they would. They
say that the noncontingent movements of the spot were actually
not instances of controlling variations in spot position, but
discriminative stimuli which occasioned the momentary shift to
a new schedule under which noncontingent spot movements controlled
the behavior in such a way as to compensate for the sudden
movements of the spot.
McCoy: Shit, they did it.
Kirk: Bones....
Spok: I believe we almost have them, Captain. What I propose to do now
is to permanently bias the randomness of the tumbles so they favor
a direction away from the target. Now there will be no
discriminative stimulus that can be seen, so ....
Kirk: Hold on, hold on, Mr. Spok. We all know what will happen. The
subject in the experiment ...
Uhuru: Participant.
Kirk: Thank you, Lieutenant. The participant in the experiment will
control the movement as usual and bring the spot to the target.
_We_ know that, Mr. Spok. Every child entering a Federation high-
school knows it. Even Starfleet knows it. But this race does not
know it. You and I and every officer in Starfleet have taken an
oath, Mr. Spok. We have sworn to uphold the Prime Directive, not
to interfere in the development of alien races until they have
shown themselves capable of assimilating an advanced technology
without damage. I must call a halt to this endeavor; you are
leading these sentients where they are not ready to go.
Spok: Very well Captain. You are right. What shall I tell them?
Kirk: Tell them that they are right.
McCoy: But cripes, Jim, they _are_ right!
Spok: Very well, Captain.
Kirk: Helm, set course for the Sprague sector, Warp 3. Mr. Spok, the
bridge is yours. Dr. McCoy, may I see you in my ready room?
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Best,
Bill P.