Chapter 143: Technology Ark
On December 25th, the front-page headlines of all major newspapers were about that black machine at the New York Mathematicians’ Christmas Party the night before.
Among them, Ralph Fox sat facing an empty chair, with a massive chassis behind, and this scene became one of the most classic photos of the 1960s.
“Last night, at the New York Mathematicians’ Christmas Party held in Manhattan, a novel human-machine chess match attracted numerous gazes. The chess program ‘Deep Blue,’ newly developed by IBM with assistance from Randolph Lin, defeated Professor Ralph Fox, head of the Columbia University Mathematics Department, in the match. This event marked a breakthrough in computer technology in the field of intellectual competition.
The match took place at the New York Mathematicians’ Christmas Party, with a large number of top-tier mathematicians gathered on site. IBM’s ‘Deep Blue’ is a program running on the company’s latest computer system, reportedly capable of analyzing the chessboard through complex algorithms and making decisions. Deep Blue turned the game around through a series of precise moves and ultimately forced Professor Fox to concede.
‘This is an opponent I’ve never seen before,’ Professor Fox said about it. ‘Every move it makes is incredibly precise, but if there’s a next time, I’m confident I can win.’
Professor Lin stated that the true deciding factor in the Cold War between America and the Soviet Union is not who reaches the moon first, but who develops a sufficiently powerful artificial intelligence program first.
And without a doubt, America has now taken the lead.
“Coming up in our reports, The New York Times’ exclusive interview with Professor Randolph Lin will be published tomorrow, further covering the story behind Deep Blue, as well as Randolph Lin’s views on the technological singularity, the Cold War, the Soviet Union, and other events. Stay tuned for the follow-up reports.”
National newspapers such as The New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, and others rushed to report on it.
Especially since Deep Blue is opening at New York’s Times Square, where the public can buy tickets to experience the feeling of playing chess against artificial intelligence, this news swept across America like a category 12 hurricane.
Especially after The New York Times published the full exclusive interview Jenny did with Lin Ran on the front-page headline, it was as if overnight all American people knew what computers were and what artificial intelligence was.
Everyone was discussing what Lin Ran said: that victory in the Cold War depends not on the space race but on artificial intelligence, and whether that made sense.
Ordinary people were like this, and science fiction writers even more so.
After Philip K. Dick signed a long-term contract with Avon Books.
On one hand relying on Avon Books’ packaging, and on the other hand the publication of The Man in the High Castle, Philip K. Dick leaped from an obscure science fiction writer in the California region to a somewhat famous writer nationwide.
The Man in the High Castle even sold overseas, becoming the only science fiction novel to sell to China that year.
This Christmas, he took his wife Annie and daughter Laura on a plane to New York.
Not for tourism, but for work; The Truman Show, co-authored with Lin Ran, is about to be released, and Avon Books chose New Year’s Day 1964 to hold a signing event for him in New York.
Lin Ran couldn’t possibly do a signing for you, so only Philip came.
Boarding the flight to New York, before departure, the divination Philip did for himself was great luck.
Great luck and great profit.
On the United Airlines Boeing 707 jet, just seeing all kinds of newspapers on the plane discussing Lin Ran and Deep Blue, Philip knew this trip to New York would definitely be a huge hit.
Avon Books had already prepared the promotional copy: a novel adapted from Randolph Lin’s dream.
No need for anything else, just this one line, and selling five million copies wouldn’t be a problem.
“Daddy, this time in New York I want to go see Deep Blue!” Laura said loudly, looking at the sci-fi aesthetic photo in the newspaper.
“Good, we’ll definitely go.” Philip K. Dick said.
His wife Annie was curious about the event itself: “Do you think this is real?”
Annie was referring to the machine beating the human.
Philip K. Dick stared at the New York Times exclusive interview with Lin Ran, at the eyes in Lin Ran’s portrait, trying to ponder what this most spotlighted scholar really wanted.
Everyone has needs.
From the most basic clothes and food to spiritual satisfaction.
People of different social statuses definitely have different needs, but it’s certain that everyone has needs.
As a writer, Philip K. Dick called this motivation.
Every character in his writing must have motivation before acting.
Even though he assigns actions to characters through divination, the actions need sufficiently strong motivation.
So professor, what is your motivation? Philip pondered inwardly.
Moments later he realized Annie was asking him a question, “Oh, you mean Deep Blue? It must be real.
IBM is exhibiting it publicly, how could it be fake?
And if it were fake, the reporters on site would have questioned it long ago.”
Annie was already used to Philip being like this.
“But do you think artificial intelligence is really as powerful as the professor says, able to replace human scientists?” Annie asked next.
Philip thought for a moment: “In the long term, machines will eventually be able to do it.
But how long this long term is—ten years, twenty years, fifty years, or centuries—no one knows.”
After getting off the plane, Philip K. Dick didn’t expect John Miller to come pick him up personally.
John Miller is a senior executive of the Hearst family; after the Hearst Group acquired Avon Books, he was transferred to Avon Books as CEO and was responsible for purging the original management team at Avon Books.
“Mr. Dick, congratulations.” John Miller said after giving him a big hug.
Philip K. Dick didn’t know where the congratulations were coming from.
“Mr. Miller, congratulations for what?” Philip K. Dick asked.
John Miller said: “Originally your signing event was to be held at the Hearst Building, but due to Miss Jenny, after communicating with IBM, the signing for The Truman Show will be held at the Times Square Theater.”
John Miller continued: “It’s the current Deep Blue exhibition hall.
Its fan-shaped auditorium is for the exhibition, and the back hall after exiting is provided for your signing event.
The book itself has the professor’s name on it, I believe it will sell extremely well, it will be an astonishing number.”
John Miller was responsible for purging Avon Books’ original executive team.
Purging by what? By performance.
Digging up Philip K. Dick doesn’t count as much of an achievement.
With Avon Books’ marketing resources and sales network, turning Philip K. Dick into a somewhat famous science fiction writer isn’t really an achievement at all.
Basic operation, that’s all.
But issuing Lin Ran’s first novel and having it sell big—that’s definitely a performance milestone.
After John Miller finished speaking, he pulled a “ticket” from his pocket and handed it to Philip, “Mr. Dick, this is Deep Blue’s match ticket. After the signing event ends, you can also go try the feeling of playing against the machine.”
Philip took the “ticket,” with a deep blue ticket face, black lines forming a vortex, with only the word Deep Blue on it, and the number in the upper right corner: No.1984.
“This one ticket is 50 US dollars; if you beat Deep Blue, it’s like winning 50 US dollars directly from IBM.” John Miller joked.
The 50 US dollar pricing is very high.
Precisely to get chess players who think they’re skilled to compete.
After all, there’s only one Deep Blue, it can’t provide chess for everyone.
After resting one night, the next day was January 1, 1963, the first day of ’63.
Philip got up early and, with his wife and daughter, arrived at the former Times Square Theater, now modified into the Deep Blue exhibition hall, via Avon Books’ special car pickup.
The entire theater, from exterior to interior, used deep blue and black lines to create a eerie feeling.
Combined with the ticket, this eerie feeling was even stronger.
Not that it wasn’t beautiful; this Klein blue was absolutely top-tier coloring at the time.
The lines also shaped an artistic aesthetic.
But the blue-black was too avant-garde; the beauty you sense from it is completely different from the conventional.
“Very special, isn’t it? This was specially designed by IBM hiring Stanley Kubrick.”
As Philip K. Dick gazed at the thoroughly renovated building before him, with the entrance queuing banner filled with densely packed New York citizens there to see the spectacle.
A familiar voice sounded in his ear.
Philip turned his head and saw Jenny had appeared by his side at some point.
“Miss Jenny, you’re here too, where’s the professor?”
Philip asked, curious why the professor wasn’t there.
He had previously seen these two similarly prominent, somewhat ambiguous man and woman in Avon Books’ meeting room.
“Randolph proposed entirely new viewpoints on the technological singularity and the Cold War deciding factor; the White House side required him to return to Washington for a meeting immediately. If I guessed right, he’s probably already in the president’s Oval Office now,” Jenny said lightly.
“Oh.” Philip nodded, then continued about the modified building before them: “Stanley? That name sounds familiar.”
Jenny nodded: “A director, has made quite a few works.
IBM thought he was suitable; after understanding Deep Blue and Randolph’s concepts on the technological singularity and artificial intelligence, he expressed strong willingness to cooperate.
Later, the design proposal he provided was also the one that most impressed Randolph.
So IBM chose him.”
Stanley’s most famous work is 1968’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, an eternal classic in the hearts of countless sci-fi fans.
Because The Truman Show is about to be released, not only signed by Lin Ran, but also with the protagonist’s parents changed to Randolph and Jenny.
This put Jenny in a good mood.
She continued: “This building is the Deep Blue exhibition hall, but its name should more accurately be called Technology Ark.
He hoped to create a non-human, mechanized atmosphere through the combination of Klein blue’s cool tones and the hard lines of black, hinting at Deep Blue’s essence transcending human emotions.”
Klein blue was invented by Klein in 1958, and in May 1960 registered a paint patent at the French National Industrial Research Institute under the name International Klein Blue.
Among dozens of blues, Stanley picked Klein blue at a glance.
They naturally didn’t have to queue like ordinary citizens, but since they arrived early, they also had no time to watch human vs. Deep Blue matches.
Just a quick glance in the fan-shaped auditorium.
The massive machine, on the vast stage only two chairs and a transparent box, inside the box densely packed circuitry and machinery, on the box the chess pieces and chessboard.
In the Technology Ark, the chassis was made transparent with glass to avoid any audience saying there was a human player hiding inside controlling the pieces.
Also to highlight the tech sense.
“What do you think?” Jenny asked.
Philip’s wife Annie said: “I feel the entire design is a bit too cold.
The strong contrast of black and blue gives me a sense of awe.
I just thought, in this environment, if I personally witnessed the machine beating a human, I would develop a deeper sense of worship toward technology.
And thus have the impression that IBM is a high technology company.
I don’t know if this is the effect IBM wants to achieve.”
America’s technology companies have a long history of promotion, traceable back to the 18th century.
Philip added: “This design is trying to present Deep Blue as an existence both sublime and awe-inspiring.
The large areas of Klein blue bring visual impact and philosophical depth, while the black lines inject order and austerity into the technology.
This feeling is very peculiar.”
Chess-related metaphors and scenes do frequently appear in Dick’s novels.
For example, in The Game-Players of Titan, the entire story revolves around a complex strategy game called Bluff.
Including works like last year’s The Man in the High Castle, he often uses chessboard-like layouts as symbolic imagery to depict struggles of power and fate.
Therefore, standing in the “Technology Ark,” Philip felt like inspirations in his mind were about to explode.
He had so many inspirations bursting in his mind; he had already determined to stay at the “Technology Ark” until the story’s outline was clear before returning to California.
At this point, he was no longer the him from last year; he no longer had financial tension, staying in New York for months or even a year was no issue.
After the “Technology Ark” opened to the public, Philip K. Dick’s signing event also began.
Because his signing spot was at the exit.
From start to finish, the signing never stopped.
Originally Philip K. Dick wanted to sneak away during a quiet moment to take a look in the fan-shaped auditorium.
But he had no time at all.
He didn’t even have time to eat, at most time for a sip of water.
Departing audience members, seeing books for sale—adapted from Randolph’s dream—couldn’t help but buy one just for that.
Some rednecks even mistook Philip for Randolph.
After he signed for Philip K. Dick, the other asked, aren’t you Randolph?
The staff nearby had to explain for him.
After explaining, the other still wouldn’t accept it.
Between the lines, wanting Philip K. Dick to sign Randolph Lin’s name on the book’s title page.
The Technology Ark’s exhibitions were in batches.
When one person who bought a match ticket goes in, a batch of public enters together.
After the match ends, they exit together.
This venue that can hold over a thousand people accommodated over ten thousand public in one day today.
Of course, including those who queued multiple times.
At seven o’clock when the venue closed, Philip K. Dick relaxed his wrist forcefully.
This was an experience he’d never had before.
He’d held signing events before, signing at most a hundred or so books.
Today he actually signed several thousand.
Good thing Avon Books prepared a stamp for him.
Except for the first half hour, afterward he used the stamp on the title pages.
Otherwise Philip felt he would be exhausted to death.
Accompanied by Technology Ark staff and his wife and daughter, he came again to the fan-shaped auditorium.
“Daddy, you don’t know, Deep Blue is too strong; today’s win rate exceeded 70%, out of 20 matches played, only 6 people won.
And among those 6 people, 5 were professional chess players.” Laura shared today’s observations with Philip.
A young child really couldn’t imagine a machine being this powerful.
“Actually, our estimate was fifty percent.
A 70% win rate somewhat exceeded our expectations,” an IBM staff member introduced.
“But afterward, the win rate will definitely slowly decrease.
After Deep Blue’s capabilities are reported, the chess players coming will definitely get stronger and stronger.
It will be increasingly difficult for Deep Blue to win,” the staff continued.
Philip countered: “But Deep Blue will also get stronger, right?”
The staff nodded: “Of course, but that takes time.
We plan a major upgrade to Deep Blue in 1965, that is, a year or so later.
Our goal is to defeat professional chess players.
By then, this machine vs. human match will be more interesting.”
Rarely able to ask professionals, for his writing inspiration Philip had to ask a few more: “In your opinion, when will machines completely defeat humans in the chess field?”
“The boss means achieving this goal before 1970,” the staff said. “But conservatively estimated, it might take until 1975.”
Philip thought thoughtfully, then asked next: “For the entire venue’s design, did Stanley explain his design concept to you?”
The staff said: “In his design proposal, it’s about guiding the audience to experience the narrative through space: the blue mist at the entrance symbolizes the unknown, the black chessboard in the core exhibition area symbolizes the match, and the bright lights at the exit symbolize reflection.
Roughly like that.
Actually I think it’s a bit weird, always feels like a horror movie scene.”
Philip actually had that feeling too, but sitting in the center of the fan-shaped auditorium, looking at the machine, chairs, chessboard on stage.
And on the left a number 14:6.
14 representing the number of times the machine won, 6 the number of times humans won.
On the right were names; the staff timely added: “The right side has the names of the human players who beat Deep Blue.
We’ve kept their contact information; after the second-generation Deep Blue launches, we’ll invite them back for challenges.
If Deep Blue wins, their names will be removed.
Ultimately IBM’s goal is to have no human names left on this wall.”
After hearing this, Philip didn’t think the building itself was eerie; he felt Lin Ran’s judgment was right—eventually machines will surpass humans in all aspects.
In the White House president’s Oval Office, the core members of the Kennedy administration were all gathered.
Everyone’s first question was:
“Professor, do you really think the deciding factor in the Cold War is artificial intelligence, not the space race?”
