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.Reynolds hasn't witnessed the beauty that I have; he's stood before lovely insights, oblivious to them.The sole gestalt that inspires him is the one I ignored: that of the planetary society, of the biosphere.I am a lover of beauty, he of humanity.Each feels that the other has ignored great opportunities.He has an unmentioned plan for establishing a global network of influence, to create world prosperity.To execute it, he'll employ a number of people, some of whom he'll give simple heightened intelligence, some meta-self-awareness; a few of them will pose threats to him.“Why assume such a risk for the sake of the normals?""Your indifference toward the normals would be justified if you were enlightened; your realm wouldn't intersect theirs.But as long as you and I can still comprehend their affairs, we can't ignore them."I can measure the distance between our respective moral stances precisely, see the stress between their incompatible radiating lines.What motivates him is not simply compassion or altruism, but something that entails both those things.On the other hand, I concentrate only on understanding the sublime.“What about the beauty visible from enlightenment? Doesn't it attract you?""You know what kind of structure would be required to hold an enlightened consciousness.I have no reason to wait the time it would take to establish the necessary industries."He considers intelligence to be a means, while I view it as an end in itself.Greater intelligence would be of little use to him.At his present level, he can find the best possible solution to any problem within the realm of human experience, and many beyond.All he'd require is sufficient time to implement his solution.There's no point in further discussion.By mutual assent, we begin.It's meaningless to speak of an element of surprise when we time our attacks; our awareness can't become more acute with forewarning.It's not affording a courtesy to each other when we agree to begin our battle, it's actualizing the inevitable.In the models of each other that we've constructed from our inferences, there are gaps, lacunae: the internal psychological developments and discoveries that each has made.No echoes have radiated from those spaces, no strands have tied them to the world web, until now.I begin.I concentrate on initiating two reinforcing loops in him.One is very simple: it increases blood pressure rapidly and enormously.If it were to continue unchecked for over a second, this loop would raise his blood pressure to stroke levels—perhaps 400 over 300—and burst capillaries in his brain.Reynolds detects it immediately.Though it's clear from our conversation that he never investigated the inducement of biofeedback loops in others, he recognizes what is happening.Once he does, he reduces his heart rate and dilates the blood vessels throughout his body.But it is the other, subtler reinforcing loop that is my real attack.This is a weapon I've been developing ever since my search for Reynolds began.This loop causes his neurons to dramatically overproduce neurotransmitter antagonists, preventing impulses from crossing his synapses, shutting down brain activity.I've been radiating this loop at a much higher intensity than the other.As Reynolds is parrying the ostensible attack, he experiences a slight weakening of his concentration, masked by the effects of the heightened blood pressure.A second later, his body begins to amplify the effect on its own.Reynolds is shocked to feel his thoughts blurring.He searches for the precise mechanism: he'll identify it soon, but he won't be able to scrutinize it for long.Once his brain function has been reduced to the level of a normal, I should be able to manipulate his mind easily.Hypnotic techniques can make him regurgitate most of the information his enhanced mind possesses.I inspect his somatic expressions, watching them betray his diminishing intelligence.The regression is unmistakable.And then it stops.Reynolds is in equilibrium.I'm stunned.He was able to break the reinforcing loop.He has stopped the most sophisticated offensive I could mount.Next, he reverses the damage already done.Even starting with reduced capabilities, he can correct the balance of neurotransmitters.Within seconds, Reynolds is fully restored.I too was transparent to him.During our conversation he deduced that I had investigated reinforcing loops, and as we communicated, he derived a general preventative without my detecting it.Then he observed the specifics of my particular attack while it was working, and learned how to reverse its effects.I am astonished at his discernment, his speed, his stealth.He acknowledges my skill.“A very interesting technique; appropriate, given your self-absorption.I saw no indication when—” Abruptly he projects a different somatic signature, one that I recognize.He used it when he walked behind me at a grocery store, three days ago.The aisle was crowded; around me were an old woman, wheezing behind her air filter, and a thin teenager on an acid trip, wearing a liquid crystal shirt of shifting psychedelic patterns.Reynolds slipped behind me, his mind on the porn mag stands.His surveillance didn't inform him of my reinforcing loops, but it did permit a more detailed picture of my mind.A possibility I anticipated.I reformulate my psyche, incorporating random elements for unpredictability.The equations of my mind now bear little resemblance to those of my normal consciousness, undermining any assumptions Reynolds may have made, and rendering ineffectual any psyche-specific weapons of his.I project the equivalent of a smile.Reynolds smiles back.“Have you ever considered—” Suddenly he projects only silence.He is about to speak, but I can't predict what.Then it comes, as a whisper: “self-destruct commands, Greco?"As he says it, a lacuna in my reconstruction of him fills and overflows, the implications coloring all that I know about him.He means the Word: the sentence that, when uttered, would destroy the mind of the listener
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