Hi, Habr! The nonsense continues :) Thank you all for your support and comments, because it is very important. Today it’s the turn of the story “About the first school kisses and the devilishly cunning invention of Russian engineers”. I am very sensitive to the senior age. I think this is the best time to live (as it turned out :). The story is called
"Copper River" .
Copper River
In a year I will finish school and become an adult. Then everything will change. There will be no breaking cars and freezing computer programs. There will be no crumbling roofs of stadiums and collapsing houses. There will be no breaking through dams and falling planes.
There will be no broken children's toys and falling buttons on cell phones. There will be no burned-down processors and bent antennas. Because if everything is done correctly, in accordance with science, it will turn out by itself. Just adults have forgotten what they were taught in school, and from this all the troubles. Well, nothing, just a year left. ADULTS - DO YOU HEAR ME? Give me a hand something. At least a caliper and a slide rule. And in five years you will not recognize this world.
With these thoughts, I came home from the lessons and turned on the TV.
')
Click ...
The construction program of Russia is expanding. Additional funding will be directed to 158 cities. New residential buildings will be built, as well as shops, hospitals and schools. These cities were selected by a special commission on social issues. But the question is what will happen to cities that are not included in the list of financing. When will the residents of Russia get cheap and high-quality housing? ...
Click ...
- Nobody knows about the “Copper River” project, and this is not surprising. If you ask official sources, they will simply answer you that there is no such project. I myself found out about him almost by accident. But having learned, I can no longer calmly see how it is not known what billions of rubles of our voters are spending on.
- Tell me, what is known about this project?
- As you understand, nothing is known about him, because no one says anything. But I can say what is the matter. The point is in the extraction of uranium from developed copper ore. During the time when the world is disarming and spending more and more money on social programs, our government ...
Click ...
Yesterday the Institute of Applied Computing presented a new version of the Russian microprocessor Orion. The processor showed record peak performance in its class. But under what conditions do the creators of the miracle of Russian science live? We visited the junior researcher at home ...
Click ... Click ... Click ...
I also thought that when I became an adult, there would be no stupid news and television programs. The only worthwhile event is the Orion processor. And they could not properly tell. What is the performance? How many cores? We must call Slavka, discuss.
Slavka is my best friend. This is the only person with whom you can normally talk. We spent long nights discussing everything with him - from science and technology to the global problems of civilization. But the most interesting thing was to talk with him about computing. He knew something that no one knew, even professors at the institute, and where he got this knowledge from, I had no idea.
I took the cell in hand, I wanted to dial the number, but suddenly the cell phone rang right in my hands. Called Slavka.
- Hello, Slava, I just wanted to call you, you do not know ...
- After, all after. There is an important thing, - a tense Slavkin whisper came from the phone.
- What is the deal?
- I'm telling you - IMPORTANT. Approach the building of the Design Bureau Breeze. But not from the front, but from the side of the alley ... Well, you know there ...
There were short beeps in the receiver. I knew the buildings of the Breeze KB, as did the more or less famous buildings of our city. What's up? It was interesting. Slavka will not call in vain. I put on my jacket, locked the front door and went out into the street.
* * *
I approached the KB building from the side of the alley and waited for Slavka. There was no one around, except for the homeless, who was trying to get to the garbage can, and the guard, whose duties, apparently, were also to ensure that the homeless did not dig in the garbage. Nearby, I also noticed whether a girl or a girl in a short cloak. She stamped her frozen legs in thin pantyhose, but did not leave. “I guess I’ve come on a date, I thought. And what a freak in such places dates girls to appoint. ”
I looked at my watch, but Slava was not there. Suddenly, the bum began to move in my direction. When the homeless man came up to me and looked out from behind the collar of his filthy coat, I was surprised to recognize Slava.
The girl also came up, and I identified Katya Yepifanova in her - a girl from the 8th class. She adjusted her bangs and asked:
- Boys, when will we start kissing? ..
I took Glory aside.
- Glory, what kind of circus? Why are you here Yepifanova dragged. She's a complete fool!
- Dura, but beautiful! This is more important for business!
- For what business? Kissing what?
Slava looked at me and twisted his finger at his temple.
- What are you Tolyan? How has Epifanova already become? An important thing you can not distinguish from nonsense?
- What did you do, “business, business”. Say at last what is the matter?
At this moment, the emergency exit of the Breeze KB opened wide and two workers in a uniform threw a large plastic bag into the trash can.
“Yeah, that's it,” said Slavka happily. - Epifanova, come here. Kisses still have to earn. Your task is to distract the guard.
- And what shall I tell him?
- Well, think of something. You're a smart girl!
“Okay,” agreed Epifanova and went to the side of the guard.
- Uncle, tell me if you have a beautiful wife? - it was heard from behind the column.
“Well, stupid ...” Slawka whispered, “Okay, Tolyan, there’s no time to lose.” Our task is to find a box labeled A-108. How do we find, just doing the legs ...
We crept up to the tank and began gutting the package.
- Nikolai Sergeevich, what kind of skirts do you like in a fold or with a slit? - continued to broadcast a voice from behind the column.
The desired box was not found.
- What do you have that gun? Oh, how interesting ... Is it heavy?
Finally, Slavka grunted happily and removed a small box from the bag. At this time, from the side of the alley, a van appeared with the inscription “Special chemical garbage”.
“We managed to do it in time,” said Slavka, shoving a cardboard box in his bosom, “Everything, we wash off!”
* * *
When we, out of breath, ran into the gateway of a nearby alley, the garbage truck had already left. Slavka took out a box from his bosom and carefully opened it. In the cardboard cells lay several large chips. On the hulls was written "Orion 75". Below is an OTC stamp crossed out by a red stripe. I whistled:
- So much for the KB Breeze!
Slavka looked at me and whispered:
- And you thought they are developing fans for vegetable stores?
* * *
“So what are we going to do now?”
“Let's go and find out the truth that they have designed there,” Glory said, hiding the box and heading towards the intersection.
- Where to go?
“Where, where ...,” Slavka mimicked me - let's go to the library, to the school library, let's take the book “The Secret Processors of Russia, a guide for the second class” there.
Then he thought and added:
- In general, we will go to the LIBRARY, only to OTHER ...
I realized that nothing more could be achieved from Slava. Deciding that everything would be settled soon, I followed him along the alley. Approaching the intersection, we encountered Epifanova.
- Boys, where did you run away, I'm looking for you, looking for. I did everything as you said. Kiss when we will?
Yepifanova stood in a thin raincoat in the wind and was shaking from the cold. Slava approached, quickly smacked her cheek and said:
- Everything, Epifanova, is free, stomp home, and you will catch a cold ...
- Is that all? No, no. I want it for real…
Slavka waved his hand, and went on, I followed him, and I followed Epiphanova with short steps.
- Epifanova, you could not get warm? - I could not resist. - Do you have anything longer in your closet? At least five centimeters?
Yepifanova just snorted and stubbornly followed us to the side ... Although I can not say which way we were going, because only Slavka knew this.
* * *
We left the districts with new nine-storey buildings, then passed five-story buildings, then walked along the back streets between the old three-story houses for a long time. Then landfills, vacant lots, garages, boiler houses and old destroyed workshops began. For myself, I was not particularly afraid, because in my childhood I climbed and not in such slums. I was afraid for Epifanov. She looked around with huge, fearful eyes, but stubbornly continued to go forward.
Finally, Slavka crossed a small wasteland and went to the old garage with a rusty gate. He removed the lock and opened the door with a creak. We went inside. Slavka flicked a switch and we closed our eyes from the bright light.
- Here is my LIBRARY! - Said Slavka showing around.
Along the wall was a workbench with strange devices. On the wall in perfect order hung sets of tools of different sizes. I also noticed on the workbench a magnifying glass, a microscope and a powerful lamp. Throughout the garage were posted drawings, diagrams and photographs. In the far corner was a computer, lay layouts for a layout with a bunch of connectors and several power supplies.
* * *
- Oh, boys, what is it - shoes to clean? - Epifanova apparently already warmed up a bit and gained the ability to speak.
- Epifanova, don't touch anything, - Slavka rushed to the device, - this is a high-precision grinding machine. By the way, we need it. Now we will find out where our brave scientists stole architecture from - from Intel or Motorola.
With these words, Slavka secured the processor in the holder and turned on the machine.
While the machine was working, I continued to inspect the garage. Well Slavka and partisans. How much we know, but he did not tell me anything about this place. Now I understand how he knows everything. From the books of such knowledge you will not get.
- Yeah, let's see, - Slavka put the processor with the ground body under the microscope, - This seems to be a copper power bus, only it is strange, it bends through the whole processor — never seen this ...
Puzzled, the processor hacker stopped looking through a microscope and began to sway in his chair thoughtfully. I also looked in the microscope.
- Oh, and I can, - Epifanova jumped to the table and looked into the eyepiece, - So this is a river!
- What is the river?
- Yes, our river, Northern, which flows through our city.
- You, Epifanova, think with your head, which river? This is a processor. Computing device. Brainstorming?
- What I do not know our river? - offended said Epifanova. On my map of the city, it is drawn - one to one! By the way, I have it with me, I can show you, if you do not believe.
- On the map?!?? Epifanova, why do you need a map?
“Well, why, why,” Epifanova mumbled in embarrassment, “I have shops there, clothes there, cosmetics.”
- And what not to remember?
- You know how many, unless you remember everything. And when you buy something, for example a blouse, you have to go through everything. Here it happens ...
- Okay, Epifanova, stop grind nonsense, give your card.
Epifanova pulled out a neatly folded map from her inner cloak and unfolded it on the table. It was the usual tourist map of our city. On the map in different places by hand were marked points connected by multi-colored broken lines. In some places there were incomprehensible inscriptions like “Gr3. Spg.45. C30% ". In some places there were even hieroglyphs.
Slavka looked at the map, and then with surprise looked at Epifanov, and suddenly, even for me, he said:
- And you Yepifanova ... you are Katyukh, well done ... It feels like a systematic approach. You need to develop. Math learning. Physics ... Look, sense and succeed.
And I listened to them with the edge of my ear, because I looked at the map with all my eyes and was surprised. And I was surprised that Epifanova was right. What I saw in the microscope almost exactly corresponded to what I saw on the map of the city. Moreover, not only the river coincided, but everything that was around. Streets, houses ...
Slavka also seemed to understand. Because I stopped teaching Epiphanov and rushed to the microscope with a shout of the “Christmas tree-stick”. There was a murmur. Scientific terms are mixed with interjections, and even with just curses. After a while he acquired the ability to speak normally.
- They did not lick the architecture from Intel, or Motorola. They licked it ... at our city!
- Is it even possible?
- Why not? - Slavka seems to have caught on the idea, - the same two-dimensional topology. The same elements. Communications. Connections. Highways. This is ... Everything has been checked for centuries ... For example, a river. Water from it flows into each apartment. Also in the processor. Copper bus power must be supplied to each cell. All the same ...
“Copper Rivers,” I muttered suddenly to myself ...
- What you said?
- Copper River ...
- Yes, that's right, copper rivers, flint flats, 64-bit streets.
- And how optimal is this architecture? - I asked Slavka.
- You know, I suddenly remembered here a story about one academician. Before asphalt tracks in Akademgorodok, he simply allowed people to tread the paths. And then I put asphalt right on them. So, the scheme of roads obtained in this way turned out to be much simpler and more convenient than all the projects proposed by certified architects.
“This is brilliant,” continued Slavka. This is the minds in our laboratories! In fact, we all participated in the creation of this processor, as well as all those who lived in this city before, built streets, paved trails, and even those who simply cut their way along the lawn, despite the sign "Do not walk on lawns." And I think the process continues. After all, new areas, streets, houses are being built ...
* * *
“M-yes,” I said only.
- Yes, we are with such a processor, we will be the first in the world! The time of the bombs is over. Now those countries that have more powerful processors are winning ... - suddenly Slavka stopped, - It is necessary that no one should know about it. If we blurt out - the Motherland will die ...
“Boys, have you forgotten about me here?” - Epifanova sat on a chair, putting her legs on a leg, - You, Egorov, did you promise me when you called me supposedly for a date? So, consider, if someone does not kiss me immediately, I will tell the whole school what is happening here for your “dates”.
Slava came up to me and said in a low voice:
- Come on, Tolya ...
- Why me?
“Because it’s necessary,” he nodded at Epifanov, “You don’t see, the Motherland is in danger!”
- Well, if the homeland ...
* * *
When I got home, I turned on the TV first.
Click ... Local Channel.
- Now we will talk with the director of KB Briz Alexey Alekseevich Sobolev. The fact is that he has been combining his post for three years with the post of chief architect of the city. How do you manage it and do you have enough time for it?
- You know, this practice exists in many cities, not only here. The main thing that it went to the benefit of the city itself, and its inhabitants ...
Click ... Channel Russia.
... Today the festival "Cities of Russia". Representatives from all the subjects of the federations came to Moscow ...
Click ... Channel Science
... The press center of the Russian Academy of Sciences announced that in two months the launch of a Russian supercomputer based on Orion processors will take place. The total number of processors is 158. Specialists are faced with the question: can processors work together to show the same performance as separately ...
Click ... Click ... Click ...
I turned off the TV, brushed my teeth and lay down in bed. I first thought that those who invented the slide rule and caliper were probably much smarter than me. I thought that the processors in the supercomputer would definitely work together, and even knew exactly why. I thought that there is no foolish news. We just do not know much.
And I didn’t get enough of the stubborn fool of Epifanov.