Chapter Twenty-One: Running Tests

Bill runs computational tests on JOVAH hardware to solve a mysterious problem, framing the request to Hugh as related to the Thoth crisis. He then meets with Garfield on his deck and proposes a collaborative arrangement whereby they both run simulations on their respective projects, agreeing to help whichever yields results first.

Bill contacts Hugh via video to request running a large computational simulation on JOVAH hardware, which is primarily used for VRs. Hugh resists, citing the need to shut down other processes and questioning the legitimacy of the request. Bill suggests framing it as a response to the Thoth crisis, which Hugh sees through as lawyering. After some banter about past mistakes, Hugh reluctantly agrees to set it up as a low-priority job. Bill notes that his simulation uses simulated annealing to search through value domains and could converge on a solution within days or centuries depending on initial conditions. Bill then meets Garfield in person on his deck. When Garfield asks what Bill is working on, Bill deflects and instead proposes a deal: both will run simulations on their respective projects—Bill's mystery project and Garfield's origin-of-life research—and whoever gets results first will have the other's help. Garfield is suspicious of the setup but ultimately agrees to a simpler arrangement: if Bill gets results, Garfield will help; if Bill needs help with Garfield's project, that would be awkward given their former boss-employee relationship. They shake on it.