Self-discovery

“Aha, that's what I was thinking about: there is a transparent wall between the source of art information and its receptor — a concrete human being. What is that wall? Damn it, will life experience always be the main factor in the formation of the personality? Do you have to suffer yourself, to understand the suffering of others? Make mistakes to learn the right way? Like a child who has to burn himself to keep from sticking his hand in the fire. But that's a hard way to learn, life experience, and not everyone can master it. Life can ennoble you but it can also make you bitter and stupid.”

He lit a cigarette and paced back and forth in front of the bench.

“Information from art is not processed thoroughly enough by man so that he can use it to solve his own problems in life. Wait! The information is not processed to the point of problem solving…. I've heard that before! When? In the beginning of the experiment: the early complex sensors — crystal unit — TsVMN — 12 did not absorb my information — Krivoshein's information — it's the same thing! And then I used feedback!”

Adam was no longer pacing; he was running on the spit — covered pavement from the wastebasket to the lamp post.

“Feedback, that's what I want! Feedback, which increases the effectiveness of information systems a thousand times. That's why there's a wall. That's why the effect of art information is so low — there is no feedback between the source and the receptor. There is some, of course: reviews, readers' conferences, critical magazines, and so on, but that's not it. There has to be direct, technical feedback, so that the information from art that is being introduced into a person can be changed to suit his individuality, character, memory, abilities, even appearance and biography. In that way his own behavior in critical situations can be played for him during synthesis (let him make his mistakes, learn from them, seek the correct solutions!); he can be displayed to himself — instead of an invented hero — with his spiritual world, abilities, qualities, and flaws. He can help him find himself.. and then that great information will become his life experience. It will take on the universal force of truth that comes from scientific information. This will be a new kind of art — not written, not acted, not musical — everything together, expressed in biopotentials and chemical reactions. The art of synthesizing man!”

Suddenly he stopped. “Yes, but how do you do that in the computer — womb? How do you create that kind of feedback? It won't be easy. Well — experiments, experiments, and more experiments — we'll do it! We managed to create feedback between the parts of the complex. The important thing is we have the idea!”

Vano Aleksandrovich Androsiashvili wasn't sleeping either, in his dacha outside Moscow. He was standing on the veranda, listening to the rustle of the rain. Today at a department meeting they discussed the work of their students. Krivoshein came out looking the worst: in a year's time he hadn't taken a single exam; lately his attendance at lectures and labs had been erratic; and he hadn't chosen a topic for his dissertation. Professor Vladimir Veniaminovich Valerno expressed the opinion that the man was taking up a place in the graduate department for nothing, getting a fellowship, and that it wouldn't be a bad idea to free that spot for someone more deserving. Vano Aleksandrovich had wanted to say nothing, but lost his temper, and said many rash and angry things to Vladimir Veniaminovich about condescension and disdain in judging the work of young researchers. Valerno was stunned, and Androsiashvili himself felt bad: Vladimir Veniaminovich didn't deserve that kind of rebuke.

Vano Aleksandrovich had spent many an evening pondering the miraculous healing of the student after he was hit by the icicle, remembering their conversation about controlling metabolism in the organism, and came to the conclusion that Krivoshein had discovered and developed the ability to regenerate tissue rapidly, an ability characteristic of the simplest coelenterates. He couldn't imagine how he had done it. He was waiting for Krivoshein to come and tell him: Vano Aleksandrovich was willing to forget his injured feelings and promise silence, if necessary. He'd do anything to find out! But Krivoshein was silent.

Now Androsiashvili was mad at himself for not finding out why the police were holding the student when he had talked to them yesterday on their videophone. “Has he done something? When did he have time? He came by the department in the morning to announce that he had to go to Dneprovsk for a few days. Krivoshein's second mystery.” The professor chuckled. But the anxiety didn't go away. All right, there might have been a mishap, but what if it was something serious? Say what you will, but Krivoshein was the discoverer and bearer of an important discovery about man. That discovery must not perish.