Author’s Notes

For the audiobook listeners, thank you again for journeying beyond the Threshold.  Here is the referenced list of technologies in Threshold.

Chapter One

The earliest known writing systems are Sumerian cuneiform, then Egyptian hieroglyphs, and finally Akkadian cuneiform. Cuneiform is wedge-shaped writing pressed into clay tablets.

Update June 2023 – Recent discoveries at Göbekli Tepe indicate that a written language may predate Sumerian Cuneiform by nearly ten thousand years.

Chapter Two

BOINC and parallel processing are an ever-expanding set of research tools. Thousands of personal computers are linked, looking for answers.

Chapter Three

Göbekli Tepe was first noticed in 1963. Excavation began in 1995. Translated to English, Potbelly Hill is a Neolithic archaeological site near Şanlıurfa in Southeastern Anatolia, a geographical region of Türkiye.

Chapter Four

Artificial Intelligence, AI, is merely computer code written in highly advanced programming languages.

Chapter Five

AI code is, at its core, a series of decision trees. Yet to achieve a broad Artificial General Intelligence, incidents of narrowly focused AGI are not uncommon.

Chapter Six

A strong enough power surge will arc across suppression gaps and fry everything in its path.

Chapter Seven

Network Nodes are every device in the path of a data packet. Unless packets are encrypted, every network node (modems, hubs, bridges, switches, digital handsets, printers, or host computers) can read the content of the data packet.

Chapter Eight

A DMZ, or Demilitarized Zone, is an additional layer of protection. It functions as a small, isolated network between the Internet and a private network.

Chapter Nine

Unless you actively turn off the feature, Google’s Assistant, Amazon’s Alexa, Microsoft’s Cortana, Apple’s Siri, and other automated assistants listen to you.

Chapter Ten

AIs are tools. No computer has yet to pass the Turing Test.

Chapter Eleven

The Dark WEB is full of wonder, awe, and many illegalities that will have the authorities knocking on your door if you believe the Internet is private.

Chapter Twelve

Media Access Control Address (MAC Address) is a unique identifier primarily assigned by manufacturers. For example, the phone in your purse or pocket has a unique MAC Address. In rare cases, MACs can be anonymized, hiding the device’s location.

Chapter Thirteen

A Faraday cage prevents electromagnetic fields from reaching inside an enclosure. Also known as a Faraday shield, it may be constructed from a continuous covering of conductive material or, in the case of a Faraday cage, from a mesh. Faraday cages are named after the scientist Michael Faraday, who invented the concept in 1836.

Chapter Fourteen

Nikola Tesla (10 July 1856 – 7 January 1943) was an inventor, electrical engineer, mechanical engineer, and futurist. His design of the alternating current (AC) electricity supply system sends electrical power everywhere.

Chapter Fifteen

None.

Chapter Sixteen

All AI projects have stated goals and design limitations. The goal with the highest level of social relevance is that AI is designed for the Common Good.

Chapter Seventeen

Three Laws of Robotics (Asimov’s Laws):

First Law: A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.

Second Law: A robot must obey the orders given to it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.

Third Law: A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection doesn’t conflict with the First or Second Law.

Chapter Eighteen

On September 26, 1983, the nuclear early-warning radar of the Soviet Union reported the launch of intercontinental ballistic missiles. A Soviet Air Defense Forces officer, Stanislav Petrov, decided the missile attack warnings were a false alarm. He waited for corroborating evidence.

Rather than immediately relaying the warning up the chain of command, Petrov waited for the confirmation that did not arrive. This decision to wait is widely viewed as having prevented a retaliatory nuclear attack against the United States. Investigation of the satellite warning system later determined that the system had malfunctioned.

Location relics from the Cold War have been repurposed and continue to function as a defensive deterrent. The Cold War may have ended, but the concept of Mutual Destruction continues to guide global military powers.

Chapter Nineteen

A Neural Network is a computer system developed to emulate the human brain and nervous system. It’s a series of algorithms designed to identify underlying relationships in data using a process that mimics the brain’s functionality.

Chapter Twenty

Body language utilizes physical mannerisms, expressions, and actions to convey meaning in a non-verbal manner. Non-verbal communication allows us to be at ease with others. Conversely, non-verbal interaction often confuses and, possibly, forms an uncomfortable environment.

No AI can yet read body language correctly 100% of the time.

Expansion

NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Signed on 4 April 1949, also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military coalition of thirty-plus member states. The bulk membership is in Europe, with two members in North America.

I’m happy to take questions and look forward to hearing your thoughts on Threshold.