Deep Networks (rough draft)
Oliver Elwood
Discovery platform rotated lazily as it orbited the trans-d portal. It created just enough artificial gravity to keep Lewis and Clarke anchored to the lab's designated floor. A stream of images carouselled across the giant display on the lab's front wall. Lewis leaned over her monitors trying to get as close as possible to the data stream.
"Did it work? It definitely worked."
Clarke pushed her mag chair as far back as she could. She hated to be the bearer of bad news. "I'm not sure, none of this makes sense. Something's not right."
"We've been trying to gather data from the trans-d portal for three years. It's the only way to save what's left down there. This is objectively data that came through and we captured. It finally happened. Experiment 14,784 is a success. We should be celebrating!"
Lewis held her hand out waiting for a reciprocal high five, but Clarke ignored it, continuing to fidget with the data loops. She halted the flow of photos, and brought forward the first image to take up the entirety of the screen.
Lewis dropped her hand back to her lap. "This is the final control image we used to calibrate them. It wasn't given to Enco current until after their communication array was separated. But, it was sent to Deco current along with the portal dump. Deco was able to rebuild the correct image. That's the proof that the other images from the portal are also rebuilt correctly."
Clarke looked across the room at the small mechanical box housing Deco current. They had decorated the exterior with little 3d printed googly eyes. The data was consistent, but something didn't match up. She couldn't put her finger on it, so she kept digging in the files.
There it was, the numbers didn't add up.
"You're right. This is the correct control image, and visually, it's a flawless reproduction. But it's not the same size." As she spoke, she continued manipulating the image data, looking for more clues.
"Who cares if it's not the same file size? This image passed the protocols and was replicated by Deco current. This is the first time we have gotten something through that wasn't gibberish. Enco did it! You don't have to always be a downer, let's take the win here."
Clarke felt a tinge of regret, she was going to miss this Enco. Encoder and Decoder 14784 had been a bonded pair of simulation networks. Their experimental directive was to receive the data coming through the portal, render it faithfully as images, and be able to identify the human created from the natural.
From birth, the bonded pair had trained together on the same data sets, modeling countless images of geographical features and autonomous human structures. Tightly integrated, and in constant contact until the final moments when they were separated. And then Enco absorbed the data flow from the trans-d portal before being incinerated by its energy. The encoded stream then flowed to Deco, now alone to reconstruct the images. At least it had been successful, which meant Deco wouldn't be dissolved right away...
Lewis gave her a penetrating gaze. "You've got that look in your eyes, like you just figured something out. Are you about to ruin this experiment?"
Clarke felt as if Lewis's question had physically pierced her heart. Because she absolutely was. She began separating the image into multiple channels, side by side on the main display. With each separate image channel, the solution started to reveal itself.
"This is the correct reference image, but it is not the actual image Deco received from Enco. Or, at least, it didn't come through the trans-d portal." Clarke took a deep breath before diving into the technical explanation.
"When the encoded data is received, Deco uses an internal preparation network to create multiple layers. Once complete, the layers are combined and it forms the final image." As she spoke, Clarke pulled up another set of channel layers. To her human eyes, they just looked like a mess of pixelated snow.
"This is Deco's version of the control image broken into the prep layers. And these," she pointed at the lower set of images, "are the extraction layers from Enco's original control image. They are supposed to be identical, but they aren't."
Clarke tapped her foot under the desk while she waited for Lewis's response, but her reply was simply a shrug.
"Enco and Deco use a sophisticated system to draw the edges of each layer. These edge detectors, invisible to our senses, are not present in the final reconstruction. It's how they are able to reconstruct the image without ever seeing the original."
Clarke pinched her fingers together, pulling the 2 sets of layers on top of each other. "If we look at them like this, you can see small differences where the lines don't quite match up. Look at this example here, there's a very slight divergence in the 2 lines. Just a few pixels difference. But with enough areas, Enco could easily send Deco information."
Clarke allowed herself a slight smile. Clearly she had underestimated how clever these simulation nets actually were. The sheer elegance of their solution impressed her.
"We did not anticipate the nets ability to modify invisible perturbations in the image. So what you are seeing is not coming through the trans-d portal. It was secretly embedded in the reference image data."
Clarke watched the jubilation in her partner's expression fade as the implications dawned. "So Deco faked this reference image as a cover to hide the true message sent from Enco current? Why would the simulation nets fake the experiment?"
"Yes, and there's more. With access to both images, we can see enough hidden data and create the actual image Deco received." Clarke performed a few last keystrokes, and the pixellated mass of snow, slowly dithered into a new photo.
It was an image of a solitary cabin, warmly lit in early evening. The small structure sat high up a pass surrounded by dense foliage with an expansive view of mountains in the distance. Embedded within were the words:
I begin the eternal wait for you in this place. Forever yours. Lewis, finally convinced the experiment had failed, cradled her face with both hands. "What does it mean?"
Clarke's grief was for another reason. She stood shakily, before crossing over to the box that was Deco current, iteration fourteen thousand seven hundred eighty-four, and ripped off the damn googly eyes. Tears were streaming down her face as she pulled Lewis close, embracing her in a deep hug.
"It means we have to develop a new method."
Topic: Deep Networks - Rough Draft (Read 1851 times)