The enthusiasm of the last couple of days was slowly drying up. As a reploid, Alia was programmed to display all of the visible signs of frustration. These behaviours were just as convincing as the ones Dr. Doppler himself exhibited. The pair were sitting at an empty table in the robotics research lab. They had done everything they could think of at the computer terminals and felt there was nothing else to learn from observing the specimens in the cages. Now, they simply sat and conversed, trying to think up new ideas. Alia leaned over the table and rested her chin on her hands. Doppler was slouched back with the back of his head against the top of his chair.
"We need to find a way to break down this algorithm into even smaller pieces." Dr. Doppler was pretty sure he had already proposed this earlier.
"Every attempt we've made to separate it any further results in specimens that do not have the immunity." Alia believed in the importance of thinking out loud as a team and was very patient with the conversation going in circles. "I believe we've reached the point of irreducible complexity."
The team had isolated the programming that results in resistance to the Sigma Virus but were still struggling to understand it. They felt they were so close, that the answer was staring them right in the face, but they could just not figure out how this worked. This butterfly's programming had been modified so many times since it was touched by any designer, through the automated self replication of the jungle. It was difficult to make any sense out of it.
Doppler considered taking another break from this project and heading down to the neural cybernetics lab. Work on the neuro-augmentor was in the complete opposite situation. After the last big breakthrough with the successful test, he was able to work out many of the outstanding issues and develop a very functional prototype. However, he realized they had made no tangible progress in the robotics research lab today, and didn't want to leave it like this. That's when his next idea came to him.
"What if I connect the neuro-augmentor to BF6974?" Doppler thought out loud. "I can have a whole different understanding of how the algorithm works if I interface directly with it while it's running as opposed to looking through it offline."
Alia remained silent as she thought through how this was going to work. She was assigned to the research of the self replicating specimens and was not much involved with the neuro-augmentor. However, if Doppler was able to successfully connect his mind to a computer, there's no reason he couldn't connect with a robotic butterfly. As a reploid, Alia has always been capable of this, but for her, the experience would not be substantially different than the analysis she had already performed.
"I'm going to go get it." Doppler sprung up from the table and headed toward the lift.
In Doppler's brief absence, Alia started to prepare. She selected a specimen of BF6974 that was loaded with the most simplified algorithm that was still functional. She reached into its cage and connected the necessary cables to enable live diagnostics from the computer.
Doppler returned with the neuro-augmentor. He had haphazardly scooped up all the associated cabling and had his hands full. He set all of this down on the table and put on the bowl shaped head piece. Alia helped him with the cabling and connections.
Alia carefully watched the expression on Doppler's face for any reaction indicating whether he managed to learn anything useful. Doppler's eyes focused on something in the distance and glazed over. After only a few seconds, he made eye contact with her.
"I think I've got it." Doppler's initial reaction was reserved. "I think we can make an antivirus for the Sigma Virus with this. I'm going to need to connect to an infected sample without this algorithm loaded to be sure."