Dr. Doppler paced up and down the rows of glass enclosures in the robotics research lab. Many of the cages contained a copy of specimen BF6974. One cage contained the first copy they had made and intentionally infected with the Sigma Virus alongside a clean uninfected copy of the robotic butterfly. Doppler paused at this cage once again to observe the pair. Both of them calmly remained stationary in the shared space. What wonderful secrets are held within these beautiful machines? Occasionally, one of them would get startled by the impact of one of the neighbouring Maverick specimens crashing into the adjoining wall. Then it would gently flit about in the air, producing a gentle hum from its flapping wings. The hum went silent as it once again rested on the bottom. Neither of the two exhibited signs of aggressive behaviour.
"How long did you say they were in there together?" Doppler asked.
"It's been over 24 hours and the second specimen still comes up negative on all scans," Alia replied. She was sitting at one of the computer consoles with one elbow on the table. The polished red metal plating on her arms, chestplate, and wide boots, contrasted with the rest of her synthetic, all-black body which had the human shape of a woman. She had spent enough time digging through BF6974's algorithms and now just sat and contemplated while chatting with Dr. Doppler. "If they were going to transmit the virus, they would have done it by now. Only the one we infected ourselves is carrying the virus. It appears that BF6974, in addition to being asymptomatic, also doesn't pass on the virus."
Doppler continued his slow walk. The other enclosures contained only one copy. Most of these butterflies were going berserk. Their intricately designed, thin metal wings flapped violently as they crashed and scratched away at the glass that barred their exit. Only one other copy was calm.
BF6974 was such a mystery. Neither Doppler nor Alia could figure out how it was able to resist the Sigma Virus. They had extracted the parts of its algorithms that made it unique compared to other butterflies found in the jungle. They then split these unique programming characteristics into several modules, and loaded each one into a unique copy of BF6974. Only one of these maintained the ability to neutralize the virus.
"Okay, let's focus on this copy." Doppler stopped in front of the sedate, solitary butterfly. "We know that the module we loaded into this one is what is granting it this remarkable ability. It should be easier to analyze it now that we know what to concentrate our efforts on. We can also try another iteration. Let's break down this module into smaller components that we can load into more copies, further narrowing down our search."
Alia had a considerable amount of work ahead of her, setting up specimens for more self replication cycles, loading more modules onto them, and administering the virus to each one. The programming work involved in separating various components of the algorithm section in question was particularly taxing. However, the work was exciting and she went about her research gladly. She felt a strong sense that they were on the verge of a breakthrough.
"Computer, journal entry." Dr. Doppler began to dictate his latest log. "A transmissibility test on specimen BF6974 has concluded that this butterfly will not pass on the Sigma Virus to other robotic lifeforms despite being infected itself. We have narrowed down the section of programming that gives it this capability. We will be performing a further iteration."
Dr. Doppler spent less time in the robotics research lab today and left early. He was eager to make his way down to the neural cybernetics lab. The latest design of the neuro-augmentor was ready for testing.
On the way down in the elevator, Doppler reflected on the many tests the device had already undergone, all ending in failure. He wondered if today's test would yield the same result. When the elevator doors opened, he walked over to his bench. Ignoring the mess of tools and unused parts, he began the activation sequence of the device. The neuro-augmentor was not a very sleek looking gadget. It was bulky, with a mess of exposed components haphazardly affixed to its surface. Doppler placed it on his head.
He started by thinking of a difficult mathematical computation, the square root of a random decimal number. To his surprise, the answer just came to him. Was he imagining this? Did his mind just make up a number out of his desire for his invention to work? He punched in the same computation on the computer terminal at his bench. It yielded the same result. He tried a couple of other tedious calculations that would be difficult for a person but quite trivial for a computer. He found himself coming up with the correct answer every time. Doppler's excitement was building.
Next he tried recalling the exact date of a historical event, a random fact stored in the computer's databanks. This time he drew a blank. The neuro-augmentor still needed some work, but Doppler was encouraged by this promising progress.