Forbidden Knowledge by Stephen R. Donaldson Page A

applied to the source and drain, the chip’s state could be altered; its data could be changed.
    The invention of SOS (silicon on sapphire) CMOS chips was a step in the direction of real permanence. However, true datacores were not possible until the development of silicon on diamond semiconductors. SODCMOS chips were too intractable for ordinary computer use; but they were ideal for storing data in an unalterable form. Crudely put, SOD semiconductors never changed state at all: they added state. Instead of storing data in the normal on-or-off binary form, they stored it in an accumulation of on-then-off sequences. Therefore the “on” which preceded the “off” remained transparent when the data was accessed.
    Not only were the data unalterable, but any attempt to alter them was unalterably recorded. In effect, this provided a kind of Write Only Memory: with the proper UMCP codes, it could be read; but it could never be rewritten.
    Inevitably the impulse toward chaos took exception to the whole idea of the datacore.
    At this period, however, the instinct for order was ascendant. The threat of forbidden space gave it an unprecedented legitimacy. For that reason, the requirements of the UMCP—backed by the imponderable commercial muscle of the United Mining Companies—were usually granted. No economically vulnerable government of a genophobic species could refuse—especially when the requirement sounded so reasonable. By law, every human ship carried a datacore. If it did not, it was denied registration; which in turn meant that it would be denied dock anywhere in human space.
    Vehement protestation founded on arguments for self-determination and individual liberties gained only two compromises in the final legislation. First, since the police were given sovereignty over all datacores, they were prohibited from seizing access to any datacore unless they possessed evidence that some crime had been committed. Second, to protect the privacy of ordinary citizens, any non-UMCP—or non-Security—ship was permitted to keep its sickbay log separate from its datacore; in effect, to operate its sickbay systems hermetically. Ordinary citizens might not be able to travel without id tags from which their files could be read by any UMCP or Security computer; they might not be able to control the contents of those files; but at least aboard ship they could sedate their insomnia or treat their warts without making that information available to the police.
    The impulse toward chaos feared—loudly—that it was only a matter of time before the instinct for order began to supply ships with datacores which contained programming designed to override anything the ship or its captain might decide to do—programming intended to limit the ship’s choices, control the ship’s actions. In most circles, however, this fear was considered implausible. For the UMCP to prejudge the exigencies which a ship might encounter a thousand light-years from Earth would involve carrying the instinct for order to suicidal extremes.
    Even the most frightened nonconformists, the most paranoid libertarians, had no cause to think that either the United Mining Companies or the United Mining Companies Police were suicidal.

CHAPTER        4
 
    S he had so little time—and no idea what to do. Nick had said ten minutes, heavy g in ten minutes. And she knew almost nothing about her gap-sickness; she didn’t know how to control it.
    She’d already disabled her zone implant’s capacity to simply shut her off, render her catatonic.
    Fool.
    Something else. She had to do something else, and do it fast. Nick wasn’t going to wait for her to master her panic. He was punishing her for her small triumph on the bridge, that was one reason he’d decided to go into full acceleration so quickly, even though he risked burning her brain away—
    He had a gift for revenge.
    At most only a minute or two remained. A minute or two before heavy g drove her completely