Beam Me Up-Hypothetical Question
The most amazing thing has happened! The Star Trek teleporter has been created in a super secret prototype and YOU get to test it. Our head honcho wants to impress the client by having it ready for a demo where he will beam himself in from outside the demostration area and back out again in 3 months time. Nothing has been tested yet, but our engineer believes the prototype is complete and ready for testing.
How do you proceed?
How do you proceed?
Kill yourself now, because you'll be tried for murder in 3 months. (:
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Well, my job is to do tests to provide info on the readiness of the system, which I'm being paid a gazillion space credits to do. I'd be excited to work on a project like this! Stress, yes, but great opportunity.
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First thought was to beam up the engineer. Lol. I'll probably start with discussing with him on how he implemented it, what makes him think it would work, what steps has he done to test it, etc. Then work with something inanimate, not moving, and with short distances gradually moving up to beam my engineer in the same scenario that head honcho wants to demo.
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Great idea to ask those questions! He says that it breaks down the molecular structure of the item and reassembles it at the final coordinates. It requires a validated starting and ending location before the breakdown process begins and a backup is made first so that it comes with an "undo" feature. He has unit tested each command in isolation and they "pass", so now it is up to you to tell him how it he did. Ready for testing.
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This exercise somehow makes me think of Lego.
I'm curious about how determining the initial and final location goes, esp since I suppose there are systems that are always in flux inside of us. And also considering what if the subject moves to pick something up as he's being transported... he wouldn't want his face to end up somewhere on his knees.
Re: "breaks down the molecular structure" - I wonder how to safely test this for painlessness.
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First thing on the agenda is to ask the engineer why s/he thinks the prototype is complete. Second thing on the agenda is to narrow down the expectations for this demo. We need to get an idea of the requirements for minimum distance, line of sight barriers, extraneous issues like clothing, number of times they'll want to be transported, and the like. I would then compare the two answers and create a plan for reconciling them when I revealed the two states to be wildly disparate.
Oh and I would make sure no flies are anywhere near the teleporter. That always ends poorly.
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The engineer says that each part is unit tested and passes. In addition he teleported some books from another room about 10 feet away and it seemed ok to him, so it is ready for testing.
Minimum distance is the to and from coordinates can not overlap in any way or you will not be able to start the teleportation process. The machine must validate the coordinates are reachable to it before starting. Clothing of any type is fine. They should be able to be transported any number of times without ill effects, but not repeatedly to/from the same coordinates as you must reset them each time in this prototype (no custom defaults). Also, multiple objects are accounted for and expected, so a fly should be processed in it's own scalable "transport bubble".
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OK, with some trepidation, I'll play.
First thing I do is look around the vicinity for good stuff to throw in the transporter: biggest, smallest, weirdest. I make sure it all goes in and then comes out and seems to be OK.
Second thing I do is take it all apart. If I saw any sparks from the operations above, I look for the source. I ask what they were thinking when they built it like that.
Together we reassemble the whole thing. Then using what I have learned, I look for even bigger, smaller, weirder stuff to throw in. I document everything.
Based on that, I recommend that it might be ready for a live demo, under the conditions described in the project documentation, updated and expanded with my empirical results from actual use.
This assumes that I am confident in the upstream process: automated tests are in place to cover historical decisions; code review is in place for new decisions and is effective; changes to the system are validated against the historical code coverage.
This is really nothing new.
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Third thing I will do after the 2nd is ask the engineer to go into the transporter and ask him if it is ok with him to be Beamed Up. If he/she refuses you can ask where the risks are and continue testing. Take into account the risk attitude of the engineer. A daredevil will step in right away. A risk averse engineer will never go in.
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The engineer asks why you want to start with humans right away? It's been tested with one lab rat as the sanity test and good Bob the Rat seems ok, but we haven't tried any mammals yet, so how about starting with some other items first. The sky is the limit for budget, and we've signed up for some corpses donated to science to use as well as a few prisoners on death row, so once those pass, I'll be next, but let's make sure our safety systems are all working first.
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How do we know Bob is ok? Does he look ok? Is he doing the things he did before? What about looking for any side affects?
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Well, we don't know for sure, but he isn't dead or obviously ill right now and that was a few days ago. Any ideas on how to test that?
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hmm...
Is it Bob? or a copy of Bob? Has anybody looked to see that there's not another similar looking lab rat looking like Bob left in the other room?
Has he always had a permanent smile?
What is Bob's molecular structure? and would that help? What about his behaviour? Is that measurable? How long would we want to monitor anything that's been teleported? Has Bob gained or lost some weight? Does this matter? Has Bob changed in any way? Colour? fur eyes, nose, teeth etc
Bobs eyes look a bit wider?
And does this all matter as long as Bob's not dead?
Wait a minute...Are we supposed to be doing this to Bob, where was the test being performed? Which country and aren't there some laws against using animals....do we have scientific justification for this?
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In the US (assuming that this is were the test on Bob took place) the Animal Welfare Act ensures that no cruelty against animals in experiments happens.
Unfortunately for rats, mice and all animals for food consumption they are included from this Act. Basically under the law they are not animals but things so do with them what you will. Don't get me started on this.
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You find a staple, a box that held a refrigerator, and a lava lamp. You teleport them from one room to the other and they all seem the same.
This prototype is super secret. These are private classes, so you find big categories, but you can't get inside of all of them. This is because of our super secret patents. The engineer tells you that this is required to protect the data from our competitors, you see. This isn't an open source teleporter and we don't want Star Wars getting it, but you can ask him and he'll tell you what you need to know about how it works. He tells you that the parts are an object identifier, a location handler, a teleport operation, a disassembler and a reassembler. Then there is the backup create, test and restore system. The teleport operation requires verified data from the location handler, object identifier, completed backup that is tested, and a good state from the restore system before it can be activated. It is designed this way for safety and effectiveness. It isn't yet perfect, but it is the first one ever! Because the object identifier is separate we can scale that as we go to handle more objects, and we can scale the location settings a bit once we get further in the project.
The new thing is the ability to teleport! So yes, your engineer is telling you that is brand new. It's still testing, but what's next to test this thing for the demo?
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Interesting challenge, and some good questions so far!
Now for the first of my gazillion questions - bare with me - you answer fast, we'll be done in no time!
Health&Safety: What's the requirement on the resulting DNA structures after they've been through the machine?
Do we have the biologists & molecular-scientists on-board to help with interpreting them?
If all should be as it started out: How do we validate that the DNA of every single cell is unchanged, undamaged in transportation?
If there is a certain tolerance/variance allowed - what is the calculated max number of transportations? Do we end up in some sort of forced-evolutionary process - is it safe for those genes to be passed on?
Accuracy: What are the tolerances on transport definition - ie the boundary that is captured for transport.
Any environmental conditions known to affect pick-up, transport & set-up?
Do we have a set of validated "subjects" for test purposes? No, how do we specify those to a manufacturer...
Is transport affected by animate objects? No? Let's test that... Yes? Ok, let's see how...
Leftfield: Can you smoke whilst in teleport? Will teleporting a microwave oven during operation affect the oven or the contents? Under/over-cooked?
More standard:
What's the budget for the team & equipment?
How readily available are the needed team members? Do we have everyone needed - a batch of scientists, design engineers & testers?
That's the first 11-14 Q's...
Anyway.....
Establish the groundwork - team/project set-up, costs, limits on usage (it's an expensive prototype...), environmental factors (increase in low-level ozone during op? No smoking? etc, etc..)
Establish expectations - what's supposed to be working now - can anything be tested now - on a "safe" transportable item - and test it - put it through the machine and get the scientists to analyze the result (even if it's just a piece of plastic)
Then prototype - test and fail fast - get the feedback going...
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Well, we know there is SOME risk at first, but severe damage isn't acceptable. Risks up to as bad as smoking are ok for us, but more than that could mean a lawsuit.
Yes-biologist and other other experts you need we will get as you request! Whatever you need to determine that to the best of your ability we can fund. This is why we need you to lead our testing effort.
We'd like to start out with a maximum of 10 transports per object total (not round trip). This is coded into our object identifier component, so unless we change it we simply will not transport any object more than 10 total times. This is to limit our liability and risk until more is known. Please test this too. As far as we know there is no forced evolution, but we do want to know about it if you find any potential dangers.
The location and destination bounds are the limits of what you can transport in terms of size, l, h, w. Each object gets a unique ID and a bubble that captures its bounds that contains all of the broken down molecules. If reassemble fails, we restore the backup.
Let us know what test subjects to get for you. We've gotten some corpses donated to science and a few criminals from death row so far, as well as Bob the lab rat who we used for our sanity test, but you tell us what you need and we'll get it. So far no environmental hazards have been detected, but we haven't tried smoking.
Great questions!
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To be completely honest with you, it's not that hard to test a transporter...
First, throw some inanimate objects into it. And not just one but at least a couple 10-20 maybe or more. If everything goes fine, proceed with things like:
- Moving objects: Try to track and teleport an object which moves.
- Objects in outer space.
- Objects indoors
- Objects in Water
- Objects in toxic environment: Since it should only teleport things and not the air around it.
- Objects in air that makes the object only survive in that environment: Because it also should be able to teleport a portion of the air around the object
- Objects under pressure.
- Objects under energy fire
- Objects under high energy based attack that destabilizes its molecular structure: Is the teleporter able to calculate the structure even though the structure is somewhat out of consistency?
- Object under time/space distortion: While warping into space and achieving the light of speed in which the object would be in a state of "out of time".
After all these operations you should have to repeat it with ANIMALS or living tissue. And AFTER that you should test it with more complex living beings like a monkey.
After that there are a bunch of other tests like:
- Seperate a human from it's flawed DNA
- Restore a human to its formal state.: cancels out mutations that are brought to the ship while off world.
- The teleporter is able to disassemble and reassemble a human being from it's molecular structure. That means that one little screwup could make end you up with you leg behind your head.
So these are my first ideas.. There are a bunch more though...
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Some good test ideas. No questions though. If you have other ideas check the answers to my questions if you want to play more for the summary.
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Great challenge!
Since the molecular structure is broken up: test how well the teleporter works with materials of different densities / molecular structures.
How are the molecular structures transmitted? Is there a way to interrupt / manipulate / distort the transmission?
How are the starting and ending positions validated?
Does the teleporter check that there's enough space at the destination to reassemble? For example: What happens if the previous teleportee hasn't left the teleporter yet?
Regarding the backups: Can the "undo" functionality be used to create copies?
What happens if the teleportation was successful and the "undo" is used?
Since we're moving humans - do we need to comply to TSA / ICAO requirements?
Since human bodies are taken apart to some extent - do we have to fulfill FDA requirements? (or any other legal / governmental implications I'm not aware of)
What about export limitations - I guess teleporting WMDs is not acceptable? (or at least only if the teleporter is operated by the military)
On an unrelated note: Why am I forced to write a comment first before checking the "Subscribe to this entry" check box?
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The structures are first backed up, then encrypted one of 87 ways, then sent directly to the ending location with verification of completeness before they are passed to reassembly. There will be 5 retries before time out if the transfer fails and the backup will be restored to the original location.
Starting and ending positions are validated by writing a drop of water to and from the location boundaries, but if you have ideas for improvements we are open to changing this. Simultaneous transports are supported up to 10 objects. If more objects are present the transportation will not be attempted and an error will appear.
We are only moving humans who've signed an extensive waiver so far, so right now we are worried about death or serious illness, yes. You can hire other experts to help you determine results.
Anything that fits within the bounds equal or less than the smallest of the location sizes can be transported presently. Please suggest restrictions the team should consider. The transport itself has been designed with encryption and we believe it is secure.
No idea. This is due to my CSS I think which I didn't write myself. I'll try fixing it soon.
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Interesting challenge!
As Green2 mentioned, asking the engineer to take the test I think is a must. In this scenario it's the ultimate question - do you trust your life on the quality of your work?
Adding to that I'd have a look at the human side. What's the character of the engineer like? Is he the "Come on, let's do it, it will work" type or the "Let's check this again number 302" type? If it's the former I'd have a slightly different approach as I couldn't trust the engineer not to throw away his/her life.
The question about budget springs to mind, am I on my own or what's the budget?
How does the system work in detail? Is it deconstructing the human body at a molecular level? Does it work with chemically inert material, gold for example? Would gold crowns be left behind? What about Titanium screws that people might have in their bones (after an accident)?
All in all testing is a risk reduction process so the overall question here is "Can we reduce the risk so far that it becomes safe for a human being to use this equipment?" So starting a list of risks is a good idea. I'd point out that from a software testing point of view this application might not be groundbreaking. From a medical point of view it most definitely is, so we might need to ask some Medical experts for their opinion. They might say that this is actually a medical instrument and needs to comply to the 'Medical Device Directive' - depending in which country you're in.
We might want to look at how people approached risks to human health historically. I'm thinking specifically about Laika, the first dog in space. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/2367681.stm
Understanding the inner workings of the system I believe is vital to understand the risks. Is there any impact if the temperature is too high/low? Is it impacted by humidity? An X-Ray unit next door? Any other external influences?
With a system like this a failover mechanism I think is a must. Is the system reliant on electricity? What happens if the power goes down in the middle of operation? Is there a buffer that saves the information after de-construction (if it works that way) and before re-construction?
Important for the presentation is also that the client BELIEVES that the system is save. Demoing the system could be construed as recklessness rather that safe operation so what do we need to do to convince the client that this is actually safe?
Thinking about it, SHOULD we demo this application to the client? Who is the client? The system could potentially be used for the military and misused by crime groups. Does the client need security clearance of a certain level?
Since this system is potentially very dangerous, what security measures do WE have in place to ensure the system is not stolen or damaged/destroyed?
I'm coming to the end of the character limit here so just want to thank you for making me think, I enjoyed it.
Thomas
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These are great questions and ideas! I like how you think. The misuse portion is interesting.
The engineer tells you that the failsafe is that we validate the start and finish bounds, the number of objects, and the times that object ID has been transported. We then make a backup. We transfer the backup to another machine just in case as well and verify it made it. The backup and transmission is encrypted one of 87 ways. We only transfer to disassemble/reassemble after all of the checks are complete. If we detect an error in the transfer the backup is restored.
The client is the CIA.
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I'm not sure that I understand "the failsafe is that we validate the start and finish bounds", can you please elaborate? What do you see as start and finish boundary?
How do you determine the boundary and how are you sure that they are correct?
"We only transfer to disassemble/reassemble after all of the checks are complete. If we detect an error in the transfer the backup is restored."
Do you mean to say that if an error in the transfer is detected that the operation is canceled? Since no disassembly has taken place at this point, if I understand you correctly, there is nothing to restore to. In fact there's a case to be made that, when the validation fails, we don't want to change any data but want to use it to track down the reason for why it failed in the first place.
"The backup and transmission is encrypted one of 87 ways."
We can restrict access to the backup by physical security measures but we don't have that choice for the transfer. Assuming that any encryption is eventually cracked, what are the mechanisms for transfer?
Can we prevent or make it harder for anyone listening in to the data stream by using a technology that isn't widely available and costly to introduce?
If the client is the CIA you might ask them about providing security measures to the laboratory and office areas, the assumption here is that they are more familiar with that than we will.
There might be a requirement for security checks that we should be thinking of introducing, especially if we want to ramp up the project team.
I'm not a US citizen and might not be considered for this project for security reasons.
I also might decline working on this project for moral reasons. I'm not entirely at ease to provide the CIA with such technology. In fact we might want to think about how this technology can, will and might be used and what the moral implications are.
You mentioned using death row candidates somewhere else. Again this is standing on somewhat shaky moral grounds. What is the legal situation around that? What do you think about this from a moral point of view? I might have reservations about that and might leave the project on moral grounds.
Burke and Hare made a living for providing corpses to science. In this example history tells us that if we need something for science we'll get it..
Are we interested in long term effects on the body and mind?
I note that you haven't answered some of my questions, for example what about inert material; external influences; how are we managing the clients expectations and what is it that they are looking for to convince them; what security measures do we have in place for the site and also the people working here, at work and at home?
Lanette, as a side note you might want to read Weinberg's book "The Aremac project" which is close to this project. Also Glaswegian sci-fi writer Richard Morgan wrote a book that touches on this subject called "Altered Carbon", I recommend it.
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I propose the Dog Food method here, since nothing was tested so far:
Ask the engineer that developed it to use it for 3 months from now. If he refuses to do so, we're done testing, the product needs further development. If he's still alive in 3 months, the product may be worth for use.
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The engineer thanks you for your time, but chooses a less "risk adverse" tester.
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Now, the point is, the criticality level of this product is on the "loss of life" level. Therefore it's pretty ridiculous to have the engineer develop this piece in such a manner. So, blame management.
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Umm, I would ask him to check out what he really wanted, a time machine or a transporter? He's going to be seriously disappointed if he's expecting a time machine and a transporter. From my limited memory of the star trek transporter it only did space, not time?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transporter_(Star_Trek)
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The client is the CIA and we've told them we have groundbreaking new transportation technology that may help with stealth operations for up to 10 people on rare occasions when it is worth the health risk. We may also use this to capture key enemy suspects for questioning.
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FYI Anne-Marie, in an episode of Andromeda (TV show), a Gene Roddenberry creation that came after the Star Trek series, they played around with transporter technology. It only happened in the one episode and they used it to transport someone 300 years through time by sending the transporter beam through a black hole. I can't speak to the Science here, but if you can imagine a thing such as transporter, you can imagine the ability to creatively exploit the time-space continuum.
Having said that, your clarification question is still valid.
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Nice thought challenge
Talking about Humans for the teleporter .. what about the "soul" "brain" "intellect" "moral" etc.?
Even if we assume (hehe) that an inanimated item like a stone *does not* have a "soul"; we probably agree that a Human has something like that.
Comparing cells and molecules might be "easy", but how to verify, that a Human hasnt changed (that is, if the scope of the teleporter is *not* to change the initial object).
Also another thought: What happens with whatever is on the destination location? Another object or only "air".. will it be pushed aside? Or is it a "two way" teleporter and this object is teleported back? Is that intended?
Cheers,
Maik
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Cool ideas. The point of the teleporter is to limit dangerous change, so there will be some risk, but we expect up to 10 transported beings or objects to make it through 10 transports with 95% success. You are welcome to whatever experts are needed to test the souls, brains, morals, and intellect of the test subjects. It takes only objects in a scalable bubble from location a to location b. A round trip case would be 2 separate transports and you would need to transport them again. For our demo, the head honcho will be using 2 of his 10 total transport trips.
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Cool ideas. The point of the teleporter is to limit dangerous change, so there will be some risk, but we expect up to 10 transported beings or objects to make it through 10 transports with 95% success. You are welcome to whatever experts are needed to test the souls, brains, morals, and intellect of the test subjects. It takes only objects in a scalable bubble from location a to location b. A round trip case would be 2 separate transports and you would need to transport them again. For our demo, the head honcho will be using 2 of his 10 total transport trips.
Hi Lanette,
thanks for the answers. Picking up on them.. i am not sure i got the answer for "What happens with the matter at the destination place, when new matter from the starting place arrives?" What is the intented result? Destroyed? switched to starting location? Pushed aside? In last case, what happens with the matter which is pushed away? Where does that go?
Other topic. I understand it, that the object is *NOT* copied, but broken down and teleported. Correct? Because a "copy" can never be the "original", correct?
Brings me to the "backup". How is it avoided, that a restore is done, when the teleport is successfull? Are there scenarios, where the restored Copy and the Original exists? What consequences has that for a Human?
Is it possible/intended to only partial restore from the backup?
A Human teleports, two days later his "brain" is restored from Backup?
In a maybe more "scientific" way, we could utilize the copies to see differences.
Aka make a Backup. Teleport the object. Compare Backup and Original on lowest detail level and Bottom-Up.
Thinking, that it is possible to create "exactly" the same environment for the Backup and Original, we could ask questions and the resulting answers should be the same.There *will* be deviations, but we can try to minimise them by providing the same environment and relaxed situation.
Cheers,
MaikNog
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Hi,
I think this is fairly simple to answer. I'd start small. Maybe a Yorkshire Terrier dog. If that works then I'd move on to humans, well.., students maybe. If that works then it might be an idea to "trick" a member of senior management in to trying out the device. If that works, then the next logical step is a junior tester. If that works then it could be time to ship it.
If any of the above fail, start again at the bottom. Note it is possible to swap out the different breed of dog. Even swap a dog for a rabbit or something like that. However, I would never use a cat as they don't do as told. You'd know that
If you get to the day before and it's still not working, I say hire a magician. Use smoke, mirrors and loud bangs.
Good luck. May the force be with you. Or something like that.
Rob..
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I just wanted to say... There's a Yorky next door to which you are entirely welcome.
Just trying to be helpful,
Your friend,
---Michael B.
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This is similar to my idea, but I started way smaller. With water, because the order doesn't matter. Rocks, Plants. Then amoebas, worms, jellyfish, snakes, rats, that sort of thing. I like the backup plan! Awesome!
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Who is the Head Honcho and why and what does he want to impress the client with? Can I have a meeting with the Head Honcho?
Who is the client? and what do they want? Do they want impressing or what they asked for? What did they ask for?
Why do they want it? What benefit would they client get from this? Can I speak to the client?
What is a Star Trek Teleporter?
What is a super secret prototype?
Can I see the source code for any of that? :o)
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The honcho is The Situation from the Jersey Shore. He may be drunk during the demo and shirtless.
The client is the CIA. They want a way to rescue operatives and capture enemy suspects easily if needed and worth the risk. You can speak to them, but they'd have to kill you.
A super secret prototype means serious non-disclosure on pain of death. The teleporter is a device that takes up to 10 objects from 1 location and very rapidly moves them to another location. It deconstructs them to the molecular level so it can move them quickly and reassembles them at the final location, kind of like a camp chair that folds up for easy storage, but more magical.
You can talk to the engineer, but these are mostly private and so the source code isn't available.
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Ok, I'll arrange the CIA to come over let them tell me everything they know (whilst they are strategically placed for teleporting) then if they try to kill me I'll Teleport them somewhere else, I'll make sure my Aston Martin is ready for me to jump into if required...
oops...bad idea...
Hang on...somone has already created a Telporter...
http://teleporterznews.blogspot.com/2003_05_01_archive.html
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Questions:
0) May I ask questions? If yes, go to (1) below. If no, go to (
1) Oh, good. Has any testing been done on this device yet? If so, can you tell me about it? Who was the test team? What happened? Can I see their results?
2) May I see any information that's available on the design of this device? Who else has analyzed those designs? Are there existing teleportation devices in the world against which we could compare the behaviour of this one? In what ways were they found
3) Could I please chat with the programmers and designers about this device, and how it was developed?
3a) In particular, was there a means of stringent, constant technical review (pair programming, review sessions)? Was there scientific review?
4) What equipment or tools will be available for us test with? What "test data" will we be able to use? Inorganic materials? Bacteria? Yeasts? Amoebae? Bugs? Mice? Sheep?
4a) What's our budget?
5) You want this *when*?
6) How would you like me to present my findings to you?
Issues:
- A human body is an immensely complex system, and *it's not all human*; it's a symbiotic system of human cells and bacteria, organic and inorganic materials, and the like.
- We don't fully understand the operation of the human body, never mind human consciousness.
- Failures may be extremely hard to spot on the one hand, and devestating on the other.
Risks:
- A dead head honcho, approximately three months hence.
- Lots of dead animals and people leading up to that.
- Loss of corporate reputation for our teleporting project.
- Loss of credibility for the field (that is, no one will invest in ANY teleporting project).
- Failure of a perfect teleportation such that problems take a long time to manifest themselves, and that we don't observe the consequences until much later on, after our test period has ended.
- Intermittent mechanical failure (we don't, apparently, have time for tests that involve observations longer than three months).
- Intermittent software failure (ditto).
- We may not have time to run the tests that we would intend to run. There seems not to be a whole lot of slack in the schedule.
That's enough for me for ten minutes.
(A) It's been very nice chatting with you. Good bye.
---Michael B.
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As you might imagine, one missing link and one missing word.
In the top line, that should be "go to ( A ), farther below".
Later, "In what ways were they found ...
" should include the word "wanting?"
---Michael B.
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1) The engineer did unit testing and our lab rat Bob seems ok 3 days after going through it, but that is all the testing we've done.
2) This is the first ever prototype. We have nothing to compare it against. However, here is all I know of the design & you can talk to the engineer. Minimum distance is the to and from coordinates can not overlap in any way or you will not be able to start the teleportation process. The machine must validate the coordinates are reachable to it before starting. Clothing of any type is fine. They should be able to be transported any number of times without ill effects, but not repeatedly to/from the same coordinates as you must reset them each time in this prototype (no custom defaults). Also, multiple objects are accounted for and expected, so a fly should be processed in it's own scalable "transport bubble".
3. He tells you that the parts are an object identifier, a location handler, a teleport operation, a disassembler and a reassembler. Then there is the backup create, test and restore system. The teleport operation requires verified data from the location handler, object identifier, completed backup that is tested, and a good state from the restore system before it can be activated. It is designed this way for safety and effectiveness. It isn't yet perfect, but it is the first one ever! Because the object identifier is separate we can scale that as we go to handle more objects, and we can scale the location settings a bit once we get further in the project.
3a)He said that he is a super genius and no one else can possibly understand the complex code. No code review or pair programming has happened, but he did unit test it and Bob is here to prove it is ready for testing. However, if you request it an engineering review will be ordered and paid for.
4) Anything you need we can get. We just need to make about 95% sure we don't kill our head honcho at the demo. He realizes there is a risk and has signed a huge waiver.
4a) A gazillion space credits. We can cover it.
5) Well, in 3 months we are meeting with our client, the CIA, and what? Why would you possibly need more than 3 months?
6) I'd like it sent to my data crystal directly so that it can't fall into enemy hands and all backups destroyed.
Great risks and issues!
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1) Oh. The engineer unit tested it himself, and a rat seems okay. All my concerns are behind me now.
Any notion of trying this on something larger?
2) What happens when something is occupying the space at the destination co-ordinates? What happens if something moves into that space during teleportation?
3) What has anyone seen or heard to suggest that "it isn't perfect"? In what ways is it not perfect?
3a) Let's be clear about this: if he believes that no one else can understand the code, then there's a problem here. The code will be unmaintainable if he's incapacitated (see below); it would be possible for him to hold the organization hostage; and he shows evidence of some flaws in his ability or willingness to solve those problem(s), even to see them as problems. That's a big warning sign to me. Note also his response to Markus, and how he wants a more risk-averse tester. That's just strange.
Jerry Weinberg suggests that a programmer who believes that he is not replaceable should be replaced now.
I'll recommend and request the engineering review as a means of reducing some of the risks, and if it happens, I'd like to see its results.
Meanwhile, what does our super genius think about getting in and taking a little trip across the lab? (Is he brown and grey? Long nose? First name "Wile", perchance?)
4) I'm interested in your concept of "95 per cent" sure. Could you expand on that?
5) Oh, I don't need more than three months. I'm going to test for as long as you give me, and if you or the honcho wants to get into the machine after seeing the test results, you're welcome to do it.
6) If you want me to destroy the backups, you're asking me to eliminate an opportunity to defend myself when the head honcho's estate comes after me.
---Michael B.
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Ok, Lanette, I'll bite.
So I've got three months. What's my expected budget? Do I have a limit on what I can spend? And can my boss give me a percentage chance he expects the equipment to work safely?
Keep in mind, you don't get 100%. The best you can get is something like 99.99998%, which is (about) the odds you'll wake up tomorrow morning.
I drove to work for ten years, and only got in one life-threatening accident; so the odds on that are closer to 99.9996.
Likewise, the US space shuttle crashes about one in on hundred missions; there's a fair amount of documented fancy math about that plus empirical evidence.
So how safe should this thing be - as safe as the space shuttle, or a typical north American commute, or as safe as a typical American day spent at home eating health food and resting? About about what do you expect to pay for it?
I'd start the conversation there, and likely segue into something like Bolton's questions. But please, answer this and we'll see!
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You have a gazillion space credits as this is a huge project. This means whatever you need, we get you for the next 3 months. We've arranged for some corpses donated to science and some death row inmates, but it wasn't cheap to get those, so use them wisely. Bob the rat is now yours.
The head honcho would like us to be at least 95% sure since it is going to cost us the sale and his life if we fail. That is why he'll be only in a 1 piece spandex hero suit with no objects or shoes in the next room to minimize complications at the demo. He's quite a boozer, so you might try some subjects with a quart of scotch in them or so.
We expect to pay whatever is needed because we'll change the WORLD if we make this demo work.
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Lanette, now you'll know what to do come June - taking on Project Management of the teleported project answering all questions. Looks like you have a large test team with lots of interested people on your hands
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We need to establish the cost of this testing. I imagine a huge amount of energy is involved.
I also have fundamental physics and ethics questions.
- Why is the molecular structure "broken down"? Why not just leave it alone and make a copy of the thing being transported?
- Making a copy would require VAST energy. Where does that energy come from?
- How are dynamic processes with kinetic energy, such as metabolism and blood circulation, preserved?
- Couldn't this technology be used as a superweapon?
- Is this thing software controlled? Isn't it true that a tiny corruption or mistake could lead to the instant destruction of life and property by, say, transporting half a person, or half a car?
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Lucky for us, solar power has been harnessed, so we aren't using any power but the sun itself.
We break down the structure into particles so that we can transport the objects instantly. It isn't possible for the technology to work unless we break down the objects for transport first. You see, we are able to process each molecule seperately to contribute to the whole with billions of different machines. One large item would work only on one machine, so transport wouldn't be possible. The breakdown and reassembly is the only reason we can teleport at all. We do make a copy first before transporting and back it up, which is part of why we limit the number of objects to 10 for items transported.
Energy is from the sun, so we do require the sun be present, but we can store that power for up to several days so we can teleport at night.
This is a secured secret project for the CIA, so yes, it has risk, but the potential is great, so we need your advice on how to secure it.
Yes, this thing is software controlled, but we think our safety measures are a good start. Our goal is 95% safety and our client knows some risk will be involved. They have signed a waiver and intend to use it when death is the likely alternative.
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Is the backup procedure tested? Is reassambling the structure at the original location not the same as on the ending location? How is the backup information stored?
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I tried to avoid reading the responses from others to help let my own questions flow, admittedly though I did read some others. Very good lines of questions
The first thing I would want to do is sit down with the client and have a chat to ask the following:
Does it have to be in three months? Why did you select that time? What happens if you don't present to your customer at that time?
What is the primary purpose of this item? Is there something already existing that could provide the same result? If so, why wasn't that selected?
What will it be used for? Will it every be used for anything outside of it's primary function? Does that need to be tested at this time or would that be tested at a later date?
What are the risks of operation? What are the risks to the operator?
How does it operate? What does it need to operate? When does it need to operate? How long does it take? Does it take too long? What happens if it stops operating mid processing of what it is that it does?
Where is the demonstration area? How might that impact the operation of the teleporter?
What can impact the ability of the teleporter to function properly?
What fail safes are in place? Are the systems redundant? Do they need to be? What about the backup failing?
What do you want to see tested? What don't you don't want tested? Why don't you want it tested if things exist that you don't want tested?
What do we have as comparison for before and after? To what degree do we want to verify before and after (eyeball it, component, cellular, atomic level?), behaviors, memories, personality, and the list goes on...
Thought on Bob - is he a clone? Can we clone him? Can we get another rat and clone it and then send it through and compare them via various tests? What tests would be pertinent? where do we think there might be problems? Do we have logs of his behaviors before and after - alive vs alive and well are two very different things.
That's about 10-15 minutes of thought around questions.
I would want to test some of the following conditions/variables:
Inorganic matter: Plastics, Glass, stone with a variety of density and composition, silicon, water, paper, wax, a contained measure of various gases such as nitrogen, oxygen, hydrogen,
Organic matter: start with dead organic matter such as cork, wood, corpses,
Plant life: simple grasses, algae, seeds from varieties of plants, weeds, flowers, trees both deciduous and conifer,
and I didn't even get to the various types of animals to test...(Keeping myself time boxed here to 10 or so minutes)
Other off the top of my head in 30 seconds
Motion, sounds, elevation, temperature, light, darkness, mood, time, gravity
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Hey, Lanette... You just got spammed by an actual doorknob.
---Michael B.
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