Read Online Limit of Vision by Linda Nagata - Free Book Online

spoke carefully. “What we are seeing evolve in the L ov colonies is a growing ability to learn about the world, and to interact with it.”
    Summer turned skeptically to the glittering projection of Epsilon-3 on the center screen.
    Virgil understood her doubt. “You’re thinking it’s the classic brain-in-a-bottle, with no connection to physical reality. But the same could be said of any one of us. All that we know of the world comes to us through our nervous system. The eyes are our visual sensors. The ears are our auditory sensors. Our body’s mass and mobility give us a sense of space. The L ov s are similar. They see through cameras. They hear through microphones. They explore physical space through the aerostat. You should talk to the station personnel. They’ll tell you that the aerostat sometimes acts just like a puppy, or a baby. It will fix on someone and follow them around for hours. Or it will purposely get in the way, over and over again, as if it’s testing what it takes to get a reaction out of the world. When there’s music playing it will hover in front of the speakers, exploring different zones of sound.”
    “And E-3 can speak,” Panwar said. “After a fashion.”
    “Silicon computers can speak,” Summer countered. “And quite well.”
    “Certainly far better than our L ov s,” Panwar conceded, an edge to his voice.
    “That’s right,” Virgil said. “Speech is hard. The L ov s don’t pursue it on their own, like they pursue vision. Vision seems to come naturally to the L ov s. Language doesn’t.”
    Summer arched an eyebrow. “Is ‘natural’ the right word?”
    “I’d like to think so.” He sighed. “If you’re expecting a slick performance, you’re going to be disappointed. The colony doesn’t do anything well. It just does lots of things in very interesting ways.”
    “And forgets in fascinating ways as well,” Panwar added, a bit sharply. “That’s the price we pay for fluid connections between the L ov s.”
    Virgil nodded. “When a cognitive path dissolves, though, it’s not all lost. Relearning the skill is far easier than acquiring it.” He looked at Panwar. “Can we get it talking?”
    “It is talking,” Panwar said. “I’ll raise the volume.” He tapped at his keyboard. Then he looked at Summer, a half smile on his face. “Hear it now? This is the first step in regaining speech. Epsilon-3 is speaking in tongues.”
    Summer cocked her head as babbling sounds emerged from the speakers in a voice that sounded remarkably similar to Virgil’s. Only an occasional English word could be discerned. She turned to Virgil with a baffled look.
    He shrugged, feeling a bit embarrassed, but nothing could be done. E-3 always started this way. No one knew why. “It is frustrating,” he mused, “but fascinating too. Why does it organize at all? Why does the organization fail? It’s almost as if it’s trying out different ways of being—”
    Here Panwar chuckled.
    Virgil sighed. “Metaphorically speaking, of course.”
    Within a few minutes all the sounds were English words, but only now and then did two pull together in a sensible way: Speak quick, clean air, arm reach, man move, remote talk .
    Summer looked skeptical. “Is there any conception of meaning in these phrases?”
    Virgil shrugged. “At this stage? I’m not sure. It might just be an exercise, like singing scales, to reestablish verbal pathways. The vocabulary, though, has been taught because it’s relevant. These are the words E-3 needs to describe its experience.”
    As he fell silent, so did Epsilon-3. Virgil found himself leaning forward, his hands squeezing the arms of his chair as he waited for what would come next. Then, with an abruptness that always startled him, words tumbled from the speaker, but this time they issued forth in a new, breathless rhythm Speak quickly play remote talk with other not you .
    Summer looked at Virgil as if he were a charlatan in a street show.
    “The grammar