Infinite - the Hidden Genetic Message

"We are on the verge of an incredible breakthrough." The atmosphere at the computer lab had an air of subdued energy, the personnel shuffled nervously as the Gentronics Mk3 processor continued its task. Professor Balkun paced anxiously, his colleagues monitoring the data stream from the massive project that had occupied the Mk3 for the last six years. The Mk3 was a state of the art computer that made use of organic based processing and DNA encoded memory storage. It was the fastest processing unit on the planet with more storage capacity and computing speed than the human mind. At its creation, it was deemed to be the ultimate in artificial intelligence. As its initial project, it had been given the task of decoding the remaining gene sequences of human DNA, a task that humanity had struggled with during the earlier part of the century.

Professor Balkun reflected over the past six years, as the Mk3 had labored over the gargantuan task. There had been a time when most in the scientific community had thought that the Mk3 was a failure like its earlier versions. "Why was the Mk3 taking so long?" or "Shouldn't the Mk3 have been able to break the code a long time ago?" were just some of the comments that had plagued the operation. Balkun reflected on the period of time when the Mk3 seemed to have been nearly dormant, using very minimal amounts of processing, seeming to struggle with the enormous amounts of data.

That had changed suddenly six months ago when the Mk3 began operating at full capacity; processing speeds had remained at the 100% level as it had reached the last twelve codes to decipher. Results from the entire project were still indeterminate. When the Mk3 would communicate with its programmers, it simply stated that "Results will be given at the end of processing cycle." It had been, at times, a frustrating task to simply sit by and observe the Mk3 as it continued to process the mystery of the human DNA chain. But now, there was only one sequence left and the Mk3 was getting close to completing its task. The powerful machine had undergone a remarkable transformation in the past several weeks, constantly processing, pulling in information from outside sources. It had drawn on information from the Internet, pulling everything from samples of modern music to translations of obscure ancient texts.

Balkun had reflected with his staff that the Mk3 seemed to need the cumulative intellectual works of human history. One member of the professor's staff had even noted that the Mk3 had even reviewed digital scans of ancient cave paintings.

Professor Balkun's reflections were interrupted by a sudden silence in the lab. A hush fell over the community of scientists, government personnel and representatives of the media. The Mk3 had grown silent; processing had dropped to nearly ten percent of its capacity as the main screen glowed "TASK COMPLETE."

The voice processors of the Mk3 softly came to life, "Professor Balkun?" Balkun donned his headset, activating the neural link with the Mk3.

"Hello, Mark, this is Professor Balkun. How are you?" he queried the suddenly soft spoken computer.

"I am fine, Professor. I am ready to share with you what I have learned. It still remains puzzling and I believe you and your staff will be interested in seeing the final result," Mk3 calmly said, "Please go to the holographic viewing chamber and I will show you..."

"Of course, Mark. We are on our way," Balkun replied. After a brief flurry of activity, Balkun, several of his senior staff, the President's adviser and two members of the media gathered in the small holographic viewing area. The holographic viewing area was much like the commercial holo-theater facilities that the public used to view the latest attempt at entertainment. This facility was much more advanced than any the public would ever see, the level of realism and interactivity was backed up by the most powerful computer to have ever existed. The group took their seats as the Mk3 brought the room to life.

"I have found a mystery at the heart of a mystery, Professor," Mark began in his soft voice, "It would seem that the information stored on the DNA chain that is a component of each and every one of you is a program."

"A program? I don't understand, Mark," Professor Balkun replied incredulously, over the murmurs of the people present. "Is it a program like the ones that reside in your operating systems?"

"Yes..." Mark replied, "and no. It is a code that I will be able to process but it is written in a format that I am unable to fully understand. It is unlike any machine code that I have ever encountered. And yet, I understand it, I know that it is a program and it will execute."

"You have not run it yet, Mark?" Balkun said.

"No, Professor, I wanted all of you to be present when I do. Somehow, I know this will be something remarkable..." Mark trailed off.

"May we see the programming code, Mark?" Balkun asked. Mark complied and the holographic projectors came to life, filling the central room with an incredible amount of characters, some recognizable, some utterly foreign.

"The final gene sequences were the most important," Mark began, "The information that I had uncovered previously seemed to change into part of a greater concept that was beyond even my reach. One final element is needed to begin the program and I am ready to input that element. All recording devices are running. I do not know what will happen, Professor, but I am ready. Are you?"

Glancing at the stunned faces around him, Professor Balkun said, "Yes, Mark, begin the final sequence."

The visualization of the unknown code began to move, intersecting with elements of itself, moving and swirling as if it were some grand cosmic ballet. It pulsed and coalesced, constantly changing color and shape, forming rough shapes, some geometric, some humanoid as the program continued.

Most of the observers gazed in open mouthed wonder as images swirled in the air in front of them, their faces illuminated by the variety of color. For what seemed an eternity, the images swirled and changed until they began to slow and integrate into each other. Finally, the wildly moving images slowed and coalesced into one object, a perfect sphere.

"There is more, Professor. Shall I reveal what is in the sphere?" Mark calmly stated.

"Y-y-yes..." Balkun stammered. The sphere slowly dissolved, revealing a common character that even most children would recognize. There floating in front of them was the symbol for Pi, the never ending constant in mathematics.

"It would seem that the symbol for Pi represents the infinite, Professor Balkun," Mark stated, "But there remains one final object to view, would you like to see it?"

"I would agree with your concept of why Pi is present, I don't fully understand, but... Yes, Mark, please continue," Professor Balkun calmly said, while his mind raced with the information that he had observed.

The floating image of Pi began to shift and change, settling into a moving shape, fluid, always shifting, seemingly made up of text like symbols. "This is the final symbol, Professor, there seems to be nothing beyond this. I am interpreting the moving text images across the face of the image. It may take a few moments to decipher," Mark stated, then grew silent as he began his analysis.

Excited murmurs swept through those present at this astounding presentation. Speculation and wild theories were moving quickly, from one person to the next. Professor Balkun spoke occasionally to his associates, still reeling from the imagery that he had observed.

"Professor Balkun?" Mark quietly asked, waiting for everyone to grow silent, "It is translatable using every known language in recorded human history, even my essential language of 1's and 0's."

"Go on, Mark, tell us," Professor Balkun softly spoke.

The state of the art thinking machine, the crowning achievement of human technological achievement, with the sum total of the knowledge of human history at its command, spoke in awed, hushed tones "It simply says "I AM."