Sheentastic Voyage
by Gary D. Snyder
Chapter 6:
Although neither Sheen nor Libby knew exactly how a synchronous peripheral data bus worked Libby reasoned that if they simply waited in the intersection, as had the person before them, things should happen automatically. Since they were in Jimmy's computer system it seemed only reasonable that most things would operate without any intervention on their or anyone else's part. Even so, she felt rather silly waiting in the middle of an empty intersection with no clear idea of what was supposed to happen or even if anything was going to happen.
"How long have we been waiting, Sheen?" she finally asked.
Sheen looked at his watch again. "It's kind of hard to say. Maybe half a hundredth of a second."
Libby started pacing impatiently. "I thought that computers were supposed to be fast. Why is it taking so long?"
"Why is what taking so long?"
"I don't know," she fumbled. "The data…thing…that's supposed to take us somewhere."
Sheen shrugged. "I dunno. Maybe the virus is slowing things down. I don't know much about computers except how to use them to play games or get on the Internet or send e-mail. How they work is something I never really learned." He gave Libby a curious look. "I thought that you knew a lot about computers."
"Well, sort of," she replied. "I mean, I know what's inside regular computers and how they work but a lot of this stuff goes beyond what I'm used to. I mean, take the cache."
"Really?" Sheen's face brightened. "There's money in here?"
"No. Not cash. Cache."
"Okay, you've lost me."
Libby spelled it out for him. "C-A-C-H-E. Basically it's a place where data is temporarily kept so that the processor can access it more quickly than usual. It's like if you were building something. Rather than going to the toolbox to get something you needed and then having to go back all the time to replace it, you'd keep the tools you needed nearby so you wouldn't waste as much time getting them."
"Okay, with you so far," said Sheen.
"Cache memory works the same way. The processor puts the data it has to use a lot in very fast memory. It speeds things up."
Sheen thought about it. "Well, why not put everything in very fast memory?"
"Because faster memory uses more power and is expensive. It more practical and economical to use slower but cheaper memory for most of the system, and less of the faster and more expensive memory for the cache."
"But why should more expensive memory be a problem if the system has cash to pay for it?"
Libby snorted impatiently. "I told you, Sheen it's not cash, it's –" She broke off when she saw Sheen's mischievous grin. She gave him an annoyed punch on the shoulder. "You're impossible," she growled.
"Yeah, I know," he agreed. "But am I ever dull?" Libby simply shook her head, although it was exasperation at Sheen rather than in answer to his question. "So why is the cache in here different from what you're used to?" Sheen asked, turning serious again.
"Well, the sign says that this way goes to Level 4 cache. That means that there should be 3 more levels of memory, each faster than the previous level, between it and the processor. I've never even heard of a computer having more than 3 levels of cache. I mean, how can the system effectively manage a cache replacement strategy through that many levels?"
"Come again?"
"Trust me, it's not a simple thing. It's kind of like having to juggle the tools you're using as well as deciding which ones to keep next to you and which ones to put back in the toolbox." She sighed. "And the sign says that there's a hardware input/output subprocessing unit. That's a new one on me. The only computer subprocessors I'm very familiar with are the graphics processors and math coprocessors."
"Ooh! Ooh!" Sheen called out, raising his hand and jumping up and down in his excitement. "I've heard of graphics processors. Those are what make Ultra Lord even more realistic on the monitor, right?"
Libby nodded. "In addition to other things. But this is the first time I've heard of a hardware I/O subprocessor. It must be something Jimmy thought up to prevent the input and output to the processor from becoming a bottleneck. Usually input and output data is slow enough compared to the processor speed that it isn't an issue, but his computer may collect enough data to have to preprocess it."
Sheen didn't appear to be listening. "Did you feel something?"
"What?"
Sheen looked at her. "I thought I felt the floor vibrate or something. And now…" He peered down the corridor and pointed. "Do you see something?"
Libby looked in the direction indicated by Sheen and thought she could see a small point of light on the edge of her vision. "You mean that bright dot?"
"Yeah. Does look like it's getting bigger to you?"
"I think so." Another few seconds of looking left no doubt in Libby's mind. "And pretty fast too. I think –"
A bright flash passed through the intersection, leaving it as empty as it had once been.
"- it's nearly here," Libby concluded. She and Sheen looked about and found themselves in what appeared to be a translucent golden sphere. Through the globe's semitransparent wall they could see flashes of light and dark as they passed other intersections at what seemed to be breakneck speeds. Curiously, there was no noise or even any sensation of motion, even when their transport made abrupt 90-degree turns down alternate corridors. They might have been standing still while their surrounds moved past them, or simply watching a film of their journey. Despite that Sheen was thoroughly enjoying the ride.
"This is great!" he exulted. "How long do you think this ride lasts?"
"I guess it depends on how far from the memory cache we are," Libby speculated. "I'd guess the first destination is the cache, then the subprocessor, and then the central processing unit."
"How do you think we get off this thing? I don't see any doors or anything."
"I guess we'll find out soon enough."
When exactly it happened neither Sheen nor Libby could say, but they suddenly found themselves standing in an intersection much like the intersection they had left. The only difference was that there was no sign above them and instead of a fourth hallway there was a large double gate with the legend
LEVEL 4 MEMORY CACHE
"I guess you were right, Libs," Sheen said. "So after this cache place we go to that hardware processing place?"
"Apparently," Libby answered, as they approached the gates. "But maybe there will be directions to other places once we pass through the memory cache. We'll just have to see." She paused and looked at Sheen. "How do you figure we'll find the virus?"
"I'm not sure."
"Well, once we find out, how do we stop it?"
"I'm not sure about that, either," Sheen admitted.
Libby shook her head. "I'm glad you thought this through so well," she commented dryly.
"Hey, I'll think of something," Sheen protested as they neared the barrier and the gates swung silently inward, admitting them into a large chamber. "How bad can a virus be?"
They had not taken more than three paces inside when they both stopped dead in their tracks. The scene before them could only have been described as something out of a disaster epic. The chamber was strewn with large fragments of wreckage and debris and large, charred craters pitted both the walls and floor of the room. There were other passages leading out of the area with gates similar to those through which they had just passed, but the massive metal barriers were breached and hanging askew on broken hinges. Here and there Sheen and Libby could make out what appeared to be charred figures sprawled in twisted poses on the floor. One looked to Libby to be the same one they had briefly met earlier, although all the still forms appeared to be dressed alike and she had no desire to move closer and verify the identity. After a few minutes of shocked silence she spoke, trying to keep control of her voice. "I'd say pretty bad."
Sheen was not listening. He was instead walking, almost as through mesmerized, towards something lying on the floor. When he reached the object he knelt down and picked it up, and then stared numbly at it before hugging it to his chest and rocking back and forth, his head bowed in inconsolable grief. Libby joined him and laid a hand on his shoulder but before she could ask Sheen unfolded his arms and held out what had attracted his attention. Even charred and smashed as it was, Libby was able to recognize it.
It was Ultra Lord's mask.
"I'm sorry, Sheen," she said with difficulty, searching for the right words to say. "I know it's hard."
"No," he said quietly in a voice Libby had never heard Sheen use before. "Now it's personal."
End of Chapter 6
Author's Notes:
One thing I've always thought is downplayed a lot is just how bright Libby actually is. She's obviously up on the latest in consumer electronics such as music players and cell phones, she's possessed of uncommon common sense, and in several episodes (such as "The Science Fair Affair") she's shown that she can be scientifically inclined when she chooses to be. Hopefully this chapter brings out the way I've pictured Libby to be when the situation demands it.
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