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As Tom drove them to Dr. Donaldson's lab, Nancy's mind was racing. She kept trying to fit everything together. How were the professor's brain activity research efforts linked to the strange neurological condition that had hospitalized Heidi Moore? Was there anything to the strange files that Spike had found? It couldn't just be coincidence that Jeremy Jones worked with Donaldson, could it? There had to be a connection and Nancy had to learn what it was. Once inside the building, Nancy walked so fast down the narrow hallway to Donaldson's lab that Tom was practically jogging to keep up with her. The risk of danger to Molly was starting to wear on Nancy. It was getting personal. She was on a downward spiral and it was lucky for her that Tom Barnett sensed it.
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| Tom: |
Hey, I want to talk to you before we go through that door.
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| Nancy: |
What is it? Have you thought of something?
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| Tom: |
Nancy, look at yourself. You're too keyed up. Are you going to attack this guy or interview him? I can't tell from back here.
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| Nancy: |
Donaldson knows something. We have to find out what it is. Yes, I'm in a hurry to do that. What's the problem?
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| Tom: |
If you can't relax, I'm not going to let you go in there.
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| Nancy: |
What are you going to do to stop me? Send me to my room?
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| Tom: |
Here's the point, we need you thinking in there. We won't get anywhere by barging in and spouting off. We can't afford the time for that. Do you understand me?
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| Nancy: |
If I remember right, you were the only one that got aggravated last time we were here. I don't intend to spout off.
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| Tom: |
Of course you don't intend to. Your just too close to this case, Nancy. Your kid sister is in the middle of this mess and you need to help her. All I'm saying is that if you don't make a conscious decision right now to keep your cool, you'll blow it and we'll be back at square one. I've seen it happen too many times.
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| Nancy: |
Okay Tom, you've made your point. I admit it, I'm pretty tense. What do you want me to say?
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| Tom: |
What I want is for you to go in there with your ears open. Listen to what the professor has to say. Think about it and try to fit it in with what's happened. Don't forget the basics, that's all.
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| Nancy: |
The basics, listening and thinking. Remain calm at all times. Breathing exercises would probably be good too, don't you think?
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Tom was glad to hear Nancy's sense of humor coming to the surface. He pulled open the door to the Psycho-Physiology Research Lab and led the way in. His point was not lost on Nancy. By entering the room first, Tom was saying that he would lead the discussion with Donaldson. Of course it was more a job of keeping the professor on track whenever his narrative drifted off the topic. For at least ten minutes Nancy kept completely quiet. She simply nodded her acknowledgment of the conversation as the professor told Tom the story of Heather Turlington's unusual visit. Nancy even managed to keep from protesting as Tom probed for an in-depth description of Heather from Dr. Donaldson. Finally, the scientist seemed to have reached the end of his story.
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| Donaldson: |
And suddenly, that was it. She just thanked me for helping and left.
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| Tom: |
That's it? She left and that's it? That's why you called us?
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| Donaldson: |
Oh no! I almost forgot the part about the research journal I keep. Come over here I'll show you.
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| Nancy: |
Careful Tom, no reason to be so tense, is there?
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| Tom: |
I didn't say act like a zombie.
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| Donaldson: |
Here, see this? This is where I found it. I never leave my journal out on the desk. And when I opened it, look what I found.
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| Tom: |
That page looks different from all the others. Is that what you mean?
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| Donaldson: |
Yes! Look how it's creased. It looks like it's has been folded and then flattened out again.
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| Nancy: |
Is anything missing from the journal?
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| Donaldson: |
No, nothing's been stolen.
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| Nancy: |
Tom, the syntax of the function call on this page looks like what Spike got from Heidi Moore's computer and that's what led us here to Dr. Donaldson in the first place. Maybe there is some connection other than Jeremy Jones.
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| Tom: |
Doc, what is this book anyway? Control commands for some new instrument you're building or what?
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| Donaldson: |
These are not commands for any manmade device. These are the control functions of the human brain. That is the focus of my research, to document the ways in which different parts of the brain communicate and activate each other.
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| Tom: |
It's like the owner's manual to the mind?
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| Donaldson: |
This is just the tip of the iceberg. I have been working on my feasibility project for five years. If I can show promising results from in this area of the brain, I will be able to get research funding to staff a full project.
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| Nancy: |
What brain functions have you been focusing on?
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| Donaldson: |
The process of visual stimulus recognition and the resultant behavioral response activation. You see, the two sections of the brain involved in this process are among the best understood structures. That will allow my work to be easily evaluated and appreciated.
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| Nancy: |
Maybe we better talk some more about this command set you've got. How do you suppose it might be used in the future?
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| Donaldson: |
I think of the "D" language, that's short for Donaldson by the way, as a toolset. The applications will be as limitless as the imagination. But just the section my demonstration project has documented will be of great interest in many areas. The Air Force has shown interest in using it in their head-up displays for fighter pilots. They envision being able to have the instrumentation communicate directly with the cerebellum rather than having the overhead of visual interpretation tie up so much of the pilot's processing capacity.
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| Tom: |
Sounds like the plane would be on auto-pilot.
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| Donaldson: |
Actually the resulting effect would be in the opposite direction. The fighter pilot would spend a greater proportion of his think time on judgment tasks and strategy selection. These are the areas the computerized engagement routines have not yet mastered. The outcome will be a better fit between man and machine.
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| Tom: |
In your example, what would the pilot see in the fighter's display?
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| Donaldson: |
At first it would be quite disturbing because it would seem to interfere with his perception. He might mentally fight to ignore it. That's common in any new command and control interface though. With adequate simulator time and in-flight training, the interface would become comfortable even though the pilot would still describe his visual input as noise or static.
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| Tom: |
You mean static like on a TV set when the cable's gone out?
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| Donaldson: |
Yes, probably something like that. Random pixels but much higher resolution than on television.
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| Tom: |
Oh good, high definition static.
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| Nancy: |
Doctor, the fighter pilot environment is a real time interface. Could the "D" language be used for any type of delayed reaction control?
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| Donaldson: |
Not exactly the language itself, but I have documented buffering functions in the brain that allow input to be pre-activated and put on hold. A later stimulus can then trigger activation. It's actually very routine brain function. What the "D" language does is give you the commands to specifically setup such suggested behaviors and then control their activation directly.
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| Nancy: |
Sounds kind of dangerous doesn't it?
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| Donaldson: |
Remember, you asked for my speculation on possible uses. I have not attempted to build an application of the technology. That would only be safe after the comprehensive research project is completed. It will be at least ten, maybe twenty more years of work to complete the definition.
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| Tom: |
I don't think everybody is waiting for the FDA's stamp of approval. Does Jeremy Jones understand the nature of your research?
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| Donaldson: |
Of course he does. The student must understand the research goals and hypotheses if they are to learn anything from participation.
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| Tom: |
I think he's learned quite a bit from his participation. No worries there. Dr. Donaldson, thanks for explaining your project to us. I think we have what we need. Nancy, let's get over to Molly's.
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It was late that night when Molly, Nancy, and Tom put it all together. Jeremy was using Zeke's high tech talent to put together a working version of Dr. Donaldson's "D" language technology. They had experimented on Heidi when something went wrong. But Jeremy and Zeke overcame that problem and tried again on the Ethernaut Club members. The meeting was a chilling demonstration of their success. Molly was certain that Jeremy planned to use Zeke's program again the next day. But how and where?
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