╔═════════════╦════════════╦══════════════════╗ ╔═════╗ ║ Sudden Jump ║ 2025 07 27 ║ Fiction, Strange ║ ║ <<< ║ ╚═════════════╩════════════╩══════════════════╝ ╚═════╝ ╔════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ ║ ║ Marcus is an assistant researcher at Larabee Data Centers, a scientific research company that uses its vast amounts of ║ ║ computing power to simulate just about anything the company wants. Marcus works with a team led by Dr. Branch, simulating ║ ║ evolutionary models and the progression of advanced lifeforms. ║ ║ ║ ║ Marcus walks into the team's conference room. In the room is no one but Dr. Phthaeliossusen, an eccentric figure who carries ║ ║ around the brightest red binder, in which he is presently writing in. He is also a senior researcher within the team Marcus is ║ ║ also a part of. ║ ║ ║ ║ "Mornin'," Marcus greets. ║ ║ ║ ║ Dr. Phthaeliossusen stops writing and freezes for a moment. He looks up and replies, "Oh. Oh! Hello… Marcus." He sets his ║ ║ binder down, keeping one hand on the cover, as if a draft would blow it open. ║ ║ ║ ║ "What'cha workin' on there?" ║ ║ ║ ║ "Oh, ideas. Lots and lots of ideas." ║ ║ ║ ║ Marcus pulls his chair to take a seat, unsurprised at the vague answer. He pulls his phone out to pass the time, as Dr. ║ ║ Phthaeliossusen continues. ║ ║ ║ ║ "Y'know how we're studying evolution, right?" ║ ║ ║ ║ Marcus puts his phone away, and attempts to answer when Dr. Phthaeliossusen continues once more. ║ ║ ║ ║ "It's so very slow. The whole process is like if you–" Dr. Phthaeliossusen pauses, trying to think of an analogy. ║ ║ ║ ║ "Like a–" Marcus replies, in an attempt to look as if he remotely cares about the Dr.'s crazy lecture. ║ ║ ║ ║ "Monkeys! If you made a monkey type a story, and you kept doing it…no, but if you killed–" ║ ║ ║ ║ Marcus utters a confused syllable. ║ ║ ║ ║ "Nevermind. We both know evolution is heckin' slow," Dr. Phthaeliossusen finally says, "But it created you! It created me! It ║ ║ created this," he continues, as he touches the side of his head with his finger, meaning his brain, "And it made that," he ║ ║ still continues, trying to do the same pointing gesture to Marcus' mind from across the 12 foot table. Dr. Phthaeliossusen ║ ║ instead is reaching over the top of the table, pointing at Marcus' head. ║ ║ ║ ║ "Your point?" ║ ║ ║ ║ "I think we 'oughta give evolution the old boot and help–" ║ ║ ║ ║ Before Dr. Phthaeliossusen finishes explaining his strange scheme, Dr. Branch enters the room. ║ ║ ║ ║ "Sorry I'm a little late, but this meeting was a little off-schedule anyway. Well I called you here for an interesting find." ║ ║ ║ ║ "Where's everyone else?" Marcus asks Dr. Branch. ║ ║ ║ ║ "I didn't schedule this meeting until last night, so I don't expect everyone to have time for it. Anyway, the find." ║ ║ ║ ║ A wall illuminates, revealing Dr. Branch's laptop's screen. Then, after some troubleshooting (this darn technology never works ║ ║ properly), the wall reveals a graph. ║ ║ ║ ║ The graph starts with a relatively shallow slope. Then, it steepens a little, before plateauing in the end. The horizontal ║ ║ axis is labeled "time" while the vertical axis is labeled "advancement." ║ ║ ║ ║ "Looks like one of our evolution models," Marcus comments. ║ ║ ║ ║ "Yes, but look at what happens when I expand the graph to the latest time." ║ ║ ║ ║ The graph reveals a sudden jump from the plateau. Dr. Phthaeliossusen exclaims an excited syllable of temporary bewilderment. ║ ║ ║ ║ Dr. Branch elaborates on the anomaly in the data, "What seemed to be an end in evolutionary advancement suddenly led to a ║ ║ massive spike in–" ║ ║ ║ ║ Looking for the right word, Marcus chimes in, "Progress?" ║ ║ ║ ║ Dr. Branch agrees with this word. ║ ║ ║ ║ Dr. Phthaeliossusen, somewhat indifferent to the data in comparison to the contents of his red binder, asks, "Perhaps this is ║ ║ just an outlier? How'd this happen?" ║ ║ ║ ║ Dr. Branch taps a key on the laptop. Suddenly, the wall is populated with dozens of graphs, showing similar jumps. ║ ║ ║ ║ "It looks like when evolutionary advancement gets high enough, something besides the basic laws of evolution kick in." ║ ║ ║ ║ "Can we investigate the possible cause of this sudden jump?" Marcus asks. ║ ║ ║ ║ "It's a whole lotta data, it can take years for us to figure anything out," Dr. Branch says, "Of course we've got access to ║ ║ the company's AI models, but that amount of data scraping with a model like Larabee's can consume Michigan's entire energy ║ ║ source. We'll have to be creative." ║ ║ ║ ║ Dr. Branch checks her watch, and leaves the room with a hasty goodbye. Dr. Phthaeliossusen then looks at Marcus, then his ║ ║ binder, and then giggles a little. ║ ║ ║ ╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝