It was one of the occasions when the normally smooth-working pieces of Corrigan’s mind grated and jammed. First, after the success with Pinocchio One, Pinocchio Two had been enthusiastically pushed as the next logical step: extension of the existing system into the pons, in preparation for going further to the thalamus and hence being able to add DNC vision and acoustic. Then SDC had come along, offering a quicker fix through a hybrid approach using VIV technology, and that had become the mainline thrust in the form of EVIE, with P-Two relegated to longer-term, secondary status. But now, suddenly, EVIE was obsolete. What did it mean? Were the original priorities being reinstated?
“Everything, via direct neural?” Corrigan repeated. “That’s what Evelyn’s work is aimed at. So what are you saying? P-Two is on track again, after all?”
Pinder shook his head. “Fooling around at the pons—it’s still years away from going to vision.”
“What, then?”
“We can DNC to the thalamus right now. Scrub P-Two. Forget messing around with hybrids. Full DNC with vision in under a year.”
“How?” Corrigan asked, nonplussed. This was obviously the whole point that Pinder had been leading up to.
Pinder sat forward to rest his arms on the desk, fixing Corrigan with a direct stare. He held a breath for a second or two, then exhaled heavily. “Frank Tyron has drawn our attention to some recently declassified work that has been going on in SDC for some time, which changes the picture considerably. Basically, they already have a working method that couples to synapses in the thalamus. It’s called DIVAC: DIrect Vision and ACoustics. He’s put a proposal to the Board for going straight to a combined Pinocchio/DIVAC system now, rather than Pinocchio combined with VIV, and shooting for a full direct-neural system in half to a quarter of the time you’re talking about. The Board’s reaction is extremely favorable. Ken Endelmyer’s with it all the way.”
Pinder sighed and made an open-handed gesture that seemed meant to indicate that it was all as much a surprise to him as to Corrigan. But Corrigan didn’t believe it. This kind of thing was not hatched overnight, without the involvement of somebody in Pinder’s position. Shipley, he remembered, had seen something like this coming. At his house, Shipley had voiced his suspicion that EVIE was falling into disfavor, and putting Corrigan in charge of it was not necessarily to his advantage. Meanwhile, Tyron had been talking directly to the Board. The straws that Shipley had glimpsed had been in the wind for months.
Suddenly, a lot of things came back to Corrigan that he should have seen the significance of immediately, long ago. Hans Groener, in California, had talked about thalamus-level research going on there, and had mentioned the Air Force’s involvement. But Corrigan had been so immersed in his own, self-centered universe that it had barely registered.
“So . . .” Corrigan waved a hand meaninglessly while he struggled to collect his thoughts. “What about Evelyn and the pons interface that she’s working on? We brought her in with the aim of eventually setting up a neurophysiology group. What happens to that?”
Pinder nodded sympathetically. “I hear what you’re saying, Joe. But the corporation has to take account of developments in other parts of the world. Not all of anyone’s plans always work out as hoped. The decision is made: further major funding, either for EVIE or for further pons work, is out. But we would be prepared to keep it going in a low-key mode in case the DIVAC-based approach runs into snags—if that’s something you’d be interested in doing.” It didn’t need Pinder’s tone to convey that it equated to consignment to oblivion. Corrigan’s expression said that he would not be interested. “Alternatively,” Pinder said, coming to what was effectively the only option, “you could move into the mainline operation.”
Just for a second, Corrigan had thought Pinder was about to offer him the job of heading it, but his use of the word “into” promptly scotched that.
“Naturally, positions will be available for you—yourself and Evelyn,” Pinder said.
Corrigan swallowed dryly. His gut-feel already told him what the answer to the only outstanding question had to be, but there was no way around it.