The bright blue eyes of the whizkid shine on Doctor Harold Pockley.
“Dang it Lenny!” Abe stomps his feet, “I thought I made it obvious that we don’t need to mention the price of this operation!”
Lenny, indifferent to Abe’s admonition, continues. “The reason we’re able to run thousands of algorithms simultaneously and do what other computers would take 10,000 years to do in just 10 seconds is due to the quantum nature of this supercomputer. As far as we know, it is the first of its kind in the world.”
Quantum computing. Harry has actually heard of this concept. He’s seen it on the news. It’s what big-tech companies have invested billions of dollars into, yet there is speculation as to the financial feasibility of such a venture. Excited to share his minute understanding of this topic, he opens his mouth: “Google has developed one, right?”
Lenny looks down and slowly shakes his head “Google, IBM, Apple…they may think they have solved quantum computing to a degree” he scratches his bushy cranium, “but PAINN is living proof that they have barely scratched the surface. They do not function properly, for they are very susceptible to noise and error.”
Abe recovers. He dumps his perturbed emotions and steers into a demeanor of confidence. Hovering over Lenny’s shoulder and patting him on the back, he adds, “It’s true. PAINN is unique. Supercomputers have been around for some time. These beasts perform with an absurd amount of speed and computational power. However, they are no secret to the world, as major companies utilize them to keep up with everyone else. Quantum Computers, however, are not as prevalent. While the few quantum computers in existence may meet the bare minimum to earn the title, they fall way short of what we have accomplished with PAINN. Not only have we eliminated noise and errors, but we’ve also managed to combine both super-computing AND fully effective quantum-computing to create…well…no other word would do her justice-PAINN!” Abe rubs his eye, wiping away an emotional tear of pride. “This allows us to execute all the algorithms simultaneously at unimaginable speed, and…do other things as well.”
Other things? Harry senses he is hiding something, but does not summon the audacity to call him out. Instead his reflexively asks,“How?” He immediately realizes he may open a can of worms with that simple question. However, it is not Abe that rises to the challenge. It is Lenny.
“Regular computers” Lenny remarks “simply operate on bits. The smallest, most basic parts of digital information.” He picks up two M&Ms and places them flat on the table nearest Harry. One Green showing the trademarked letter, and one Yellow showing the blank backside. “Bits are binary, so they could represent either a ‘1’ or a ‘0’.” He points to the green candy bit: “One.” Then to the yellow: “Zero…Combinations of these are what regular computers use to perform very basic functions, which combine to make complex functions.” He then reaches behind and grabs a red M&M, but instead of placing it down on the table flat, however, he spins it like a top. “This would be a qbit. It is both a ‘one’ and a ‘zero.’ ”
“A Superposition!” Abe excitedly interjects.
The mathematical guru, however, pays him no mind. “That is until we observe it…” The red spheroid stops spinning and lands flat on the table, the blank side facing upwards. “Now it’s a ‘zero.’ The superposition state, however, is where quantum computing comes in.”
He then turns behind him again. Not taking away from his carefully constructed arrangement, Lenny grabs a handful of M&Ms from a side pile. He starts to make a new arrangement in front of Harry. Four groups of two M&Ms, side by side. Each group shows a different combination:
Blank-side, ’M’.
‘M’, Blank-side.
‘M’, ‘M.’
Blank-side, Blank-side.
“If each small candy represents a classical bit, then the state can only be one of the four combinations.” He shields the first three groups with his hand to reveal the remaining combination:
Blank-side, Blank-side.
He removes his hand. “But with quantum computing”, he then grabs all the candies with one sweep, “It can be in all of these states simultaneously.” His tone is very matter-of-fact. Harry realizes that he finds more credibility in this cool, strange young man than he does in the excitable professor Abe. “That is, until we observe the state.” He loosens his grip over the table so that two M&Ms fall through the bottom of his fist, just under his pinky. They dance on the table and land a few inches apart from each other. Lenny pushes the two candies without flipping them over, so that they’re side by side:
‘M’, ‘M’.
“One One. More possible states at once means the ability to process complex information simultaneously. If I increase the number of qbits, the simultaneous possibilities increase exponentially. Here, wwo possible states, one or zero, with groups of two is a very basic situation. This is just ‘2’ to the second, so four possibilities. If we have sixty-four qbits, that’s 2 to the power of ’64”, which would be…” Lenny looks up at the ceiling for four seconds, slowly lowers his neck so that he is looking straight at Harry, and says “18,446,744,073,709,600,000 possible states. Therefore, a lot more information to simultaneously process. That is how we operate so efficiently.” He then grabs the ten M&M’s he used for his little presentation, drops them into his mouth, and lies down on the table, folding his arms behind his head.
Harry then asks his daring question. “Ok, so the quantum computing helps PAINN make all of these decisions simultaneously, but is there something else it does that I should know about?”
Abe is caught off-guard. He nervously shifts his gaze from side to side, checking the pulse of the room while unable to control his own. He takes a deep breath and starts to open his mouth, but he is too late. Lenny answers.
“Decryption” he casually states, remaining in the same supine condition. He sits back up on the table, cross-legged and scratches behind his ear while looking at his feet. Harry realizes for the first time that this guy is not wearing shoes! Just black socks. “PAINN can hack any database in the world. We have access to all the private and governmental information that we want-it’s always just a matter of time, and it usually does not take that much time.”
“Lenny!” Abe starts to turn red again. This time his changed pigment is attributed to chagrin mixed with anger. However, he tries to recover his composure. He takes a deep breath and gives a disturbingly artificial smile. Surely he does not believe he can trick the psychiatrist any further. “Yes…it’s true…the concept of privacy is foreign to PAINN. However, we do not exploit it to the discomfort of any citizens. Strictly protection. You’re telling me if you knew there was a nuclear strike coming and that there was something you could do to stop it, like say, corrupt the launch’s base-data, you wouldn’t?! I mean, Hell, it’s not like it’s even unconstitutional. Just go check the Patriot act. What we essentially have here is a lightsaber to anybody’s digital security system. We are very responsible with such a weapon, though, trust me.”
“PAINN even has access to your text messages, right now” Lenny volunteers.
“What?!” Harry feels another level of discomfort. “How do you guys do that?!”
“Easy. Shor’s algorithm” Lenny answers seriously. “Every password is encrypted with an immensely long number that can only be hacked by entering the two prime numbers that multiply to get this number. A regular computer could take thousands of years to guess those numbers. But quantum computing makes it easy. Using Shor’s algorithm, we just use the superpositions of many inputs, get the superpositions of many outputs, and then we use an equation that makes all wrong possible answers destructively interfere, or cancel out. What is revealed next is a repeating property that allows us to use Fourier’s Transform to solve a simple frequency equation. Then we plug that value in to get our two prime numbers. Easy.” He lies back down.
“I assure you Harry, we do not play with any sensitive information irresponsibly. You are a smart, educated man. You’ll understand the nuances of our morality. Just give it time.”
“Man, you have gotta stop with this ‘we’ shit” Maria blurts out. “I do my job, you do yours. Sometimes I don’t know what the fuck you’re up to.”
Abe rolls his eyes, “Let’s just move past this. I think it’s finally time we discuss your purpose for being here.”
Harry grounds himself on a some level closer to reality. What an educational experience this all was, and what a backdrop it provides for his new job. He can only think about all the insecurities and worries of Puppet Sanchez. Abe assumes Sanchez is fine with his role. Or simply doesn’t care. Doctor Pockley’s gut, however, is telling him that the president is in a very troubled state. He feels bad for his patient, even though he hasn’t met yet. “Ok…I’m sure I can help President Sanchez. When can I meet with him and where?”
Abe cackles. “Oh no. You misunderstood. You are not giving Sanchez psychiatric treatment.” He stands up and towards the grand computer. “You’re here to psychoanalyze PAINN.”
Only one word escapes. “What?”
To be continued…
