DAY 6 11:12 A.M.
“Don’t move.”
Something icy-cold coursed through my veins1. I shuddered2.
“Jack3. Don’t move. Just for a second, okay?”
Something cold, a cold liquid running up my arm. I opened my eyes. The light was directly overhead, glaring, greenish-bright; I winced4. My whole body ached. I felt like I’d been beaten. I was lying on my back on the black counter of Mae’s biology lab. Squinting5 in the glare, I saw Mae standing6 beside me, bent7 over my left arm. She had an intravenous line in my elbow. “What’s going on?”
“Jack, please. Don’t move. I’ve only done this on lab animals.”
“That’s reassuring8.” I lifted my head to see what she was doing. My temples throbbed9. I groaned10, and lay back.
Mae said, “Feel bad?”
“Terrible.”
“I’ll bet. I had to inject you three times.”
“With what?”
“You were in anaphylactic shock, Jack. You had a severe allergic11 reaction. Your throat almost closed up.”
“Allergic reaction,” I said. “That’s what it was?”
“Severe one.”
“It was from the swarm12?”
She hesitated for a moment, then: “Of course.”
“Would nano-sized particles cause an allergic reaction like that?”
“They certainly could ...”
I said, “But you don’t think so.”
“No, I don’t. I think the nanoparticles are antigenically inert13. I think you reacted to a coliform toxin14.”
“A coliform toxin ...” My throbbing15 headache came in waves. I took a breath, let it out slowly. I tried to figure out what she was saying. My mind was slow; my head hurt. A coliform toxin.
“Right.”
“A toxin from E. coli bacteria? Is that what you mean?”
“Right. Proteolytic toxin, probably.”
“And where would a toxin like that come from?”
“From the swarm,” she said.
That made no sense at all. According to Ricky the E. coli bacteria were only used to manufacture precursor16 molecules17. “But bacteria wouldn’t be present in the swarm itself,” I said. “I don’t know, Jack. I think they could be.”
Why was she so diffident? I wondered. It wasn’t like her. Ordinarily, Mae was precise, sharp. “Well,” I said, “somebody knows. The swarm’s been designed. Bacteria’s either been designed in, or not.”
I heard her sigh, as if I just wasn’t getting it.
But what wasn’t I getting?
I said, “Did you salvage18 the particles that were blown off in the airlock? Did you keep the stuff from the airlock?”
“No. All the airlock particles were incinerated.”
“Was that a smart—”
“It’s built into the system, Jack. As a safety feature. We can’t override19 it.”
“Okay.” Now it was my turn to sigh. So we didn’t have any examples of swarm agents to study. I started to sit up, but she put a gentle hand on my chest, restraining me. “Take it slowly, Jack.”
She was right, because sitting up made my headache much worse. I swung my feet over the side of the table. “How long was I out?”
“Twelve minutes.”
“I feel like I was beaten up.” My ribs20 ached with every breath.
“You had a lot of trouble breathing.”
“I still do.” I reached for a Kleenex and blew my nose. A lot of black stuff came out, mixed with blood and dust from the desert. I had to blow my nose four or five times to clear it. I crumpled21 the Kleenex and started to throw it away. Mae held out her hand. “I’ll take that.”
“No, it’s okay—”
“Give it to me, Jack.”
She took the Kleenex and slipped it into a little plastic bag and sealed it. That was when I realized how stupidly my mind was working. Of course that Kleenex would contain exactly the particles I wanted to study. I closed my eyes, breathed deeply, and waited for the throbbing in my head to ease up a little. When I opened my eyes again the glare in the room was less bright. It almost looked normal.
“By the way,” Mae said, “Julia just called. She said you can’t call her back, something about some tests. But she wanted to talk to you.”
“Uh-huh.”
I watched Mae take the Kleenex bag and put it inside a sealed jar. She screwed down the lid tightly. “Mae,” I said, “if there’s E. coli in the swarm, we can find out by looking at that right now. Shouldn’t we do that?”
“I can’t right now. I will as soon as I can. I’m having a little trouble with one of the fermentation units, and I need the microscopes for that.”
“What kind of trouble?”
“I’m not sure yet. But yields are falling in one tank.” She shook her head. “It’s probably nothing serious. These things happen all the time. This whole manufacturing process is incredibly delicate, Jack. Keeping it going is like juggling22 a hundred balls at once. I have my hands full.” I nodded. But I was starting to think that the real reason she wasn’t looking at the Kleenex was that she already knew the swarm contained bacteria. She just didn’t think it was her place to tell me that. And if that’s what was going on, then she never would tell me. “Mae,” I said. “Somebody has to tell me what’s going on here. Not Ricky. I want somebody to really tell me.”
“Good,” she said. “I think that’s a very good idea.”
* * *
That was how I found myself sitting in front of a computer workstation in one of those small rooms. The project engineer, David Brooks23, sat beside me. As he talked, David continuously straightened his clothes—he smoothed his tie, shot his cuffs24, snugged25 his collar, pulled up the creases26 in his trousers from his thighs27. Then he’d cross one ankle over his knee, pull up his sock, cross the other ankle. Run his hands over his shoulders, brushing away imaginary dust. And then start over again. It was all unconscious, of course, and with my headache I might have found it irritating. But I didn’t focus on it. Because with every piece of new information David gave me, my headache got worse and worse.
Unlike Ricky, David had a very organized mind, and he told me everything, starting from the beginning. Xymos had contracted to make a micro-robotic swarm that would function as an aerial camera. The particles were successfully manufactured, and worked indoors. But when they were tested outside, they lacked mobility28 in wind. The test swarm was blown away in a strong breeze. That was six weeks ago.
“You tested more swarms29 after that?” I said.
“Yes, many. Over the next four weeks, or so.”
“None worked?”
“Right. None worked.”
“So those original swarms are all gone—blown away by the wind?”
“Yes.”
“Which means the runaway30 swarms that we see now have nothing to do with your original test swarms.”
“Correct ...”
“They are a result of contamination ...”
David blinked rapidly. “What do you mean, contamination?”
“The twenty-five kilos of material that was blown by the exhaust fan into the environment because of a missing filter ...”
“Who said it was twenty-five kilos?”
“Ricky did.”
“Oh, no, Jack,” David said. “We vented31 stuff for days. We must have vented five or six hundred kilos of contaminants—bacteria, molecules, assemblers.” So Ricky had been understating the situation again. But I didn’t understand why he bothered to lie about this. After all, it was just a mistake. And as Ricky had said, it was the contractor’s mistake. “Okay,” I said. “And you saw the first of these desert swarms when?”
“Two weeks ago,” David said, nodding and smoothing his tie.
He explained that at first, the swarm was so disorganized that when it first appeared, they thought it was a cloud of desert insects, gnats32 or something. “It showed up for a while, going here and there around the laboratory building, and then it was gone. It seemed like a random33 event.”
A swarm appeared again a couple of days later, he said, and by then it was much better organized. “It displayed distinctive34 swarming35 behavior, that sort of swirling36 in the cloud that you’ve seen. So it was clear that it was our stuff.”
“And what happened then?”
“The swarm swirled37 around the desert near the installation, like before. It came and went. For the next few days, we tried to gain control of it by radio, but we never could. And eventually—about a week after that—we found that none of the cars would start.” He paused. “I went out there to have a look, and I found that all the onboard computers were dead. These days all automobiles38 have microprocessors39 built into them. They control everything from fuel injection to radios and door locks.”
“But now the computers were not functioning?”
“Yeah. Actually, the processor chips themselves were fine. But the memory chips had eroded40. They’d literally41 turned to dust.”
I thought, Oh shit. I said, “Could you figure out why?”
“Sure. It wasn’t any big mystery, Jack. The erosion had the characteristic signature of gamma assemblers. You know about that? No? Well, we have nine different assemblers involved in manufacturing. Each assembler has a different function. The gamma assemblers break down carbon material in silicate42 layers. They actually cut at the nano level—slicing out chunks43 of carbon substrate.”
“So these assemblers cut the memory chips in the cars.”
“Right, right, but ...” David hesitated. He was acting44 as if I were missing the point. He tugged45 at his cuffs, fingered his collar. “The thing you have to keep in mind, Jack, is that these assemblers can work at room temperature. If anything, the desert heat’s even better for them. Hotter is more efficient.”
For a moment I didn’t understand what he was talking about. What difference did it make about room temperature or desert heat? What did that have to do with memory chips in cars? And then suddenly, finally, the penny dropped.
“Holy shit,” I said.
He nodded. “Yeah.”
David was saying that a mixture of components46 had been vented into the desert, and that these components—which were designed to self-assemble in the fabrication structure—would also self-assemble in the outside world. Assembly could be carried out autonomously47 in the desert. And obviously, that’s exactly what was happening.
I ticked the points off to make sure I had it right. “Basic assembly begins with the bacteria. They’ve been engineered to eat anything, even garbage, so they can find something in the desert to live off of.”
“Right.”
“Which means the bacteria multiply, and begin churning out molecules that self-combine, forming larger molecules. Pretty soon you have assemblers, and the assemblers begin to do the final work and turn out new microagents.”
“Right, right.”
“Which means that the swarms are reproducing.”
“Yes. They are.”
“And the individual agents have memory.”
“Yes. A small amount.”
“And they don’t need much, that’s the whole point of distributed intelligence. It’s collective. So they have intelligence, and since they have memory, they can learn from experience.”
“Yes.”
“And the PREDPREY program means they can solve problems. And the program generates enough random elements to let them innovate48.”
“Right. Yes.”
My head throbbed. I was seeing all the implications, now, and they weren’t good. “So,” I said, “what you’re telling me is this swarm reproduces, is self-sustaining, learns from experience, has collective intelligence, and can innovate to solve problems.”
“Yes.”
“Which means for all practical purposes, it’s alive.”
“Yes.” David nodded. “At least, it behaves as if it is alive. Functionally49 it’s alive, Jack.”
I said, “This is very fucking bad news.”
Brooks said, “Tell me.”
“I’d like to know,” I said, “why this thing wasn’t destroyed a long time ago.”
David said nothing. He just smoothed his tie, and looked uncomfortable. “Because you realize,” I said, “that you’re talking about a mechanical plague. That’s what you’ve got here. It’s just like a bacterial50 plague, or a viral plague. Except it’s mechanical organisms. You’ve got a fucking man-made plague.”
He nodded. “Yes.”
“That’s evolving.”
“Yes.”
“And it’s not limited by biological rates of evolution. It’s probably evolving much faster.”
He nodded. “It is evolving faster.”
“How much faster, David?”
Brooks sighed. “Pretty damn fast. It’ll be different this afternoon, when it comes back.”
“Will it come back?”
“It always does.”
“And why does it come back?” I said.
“It’s trying to get inside.”
“And why is that?”
David shifted uncomfortably. “We have only theories, Jack.”
“Try me.”
“One possibility is that it’s a territorial51 thing. As you know, the original PREDPREY code includes a concept of a range, of a territory in which the predators52 will roam. And within that core range, it defines a sort of home base, which the swarm may consider to be the inside of this facility.”
I said, “You believe that?”
“Not really, no.” He hesitated. “Actually,” he said, “most of us think that it comes back looking for your wife, Jack. It’s looking for Julia.”
收听单词发音 |
1
veins
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| n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理 | |
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shuddered
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| v.战栗( shudder的过去式和过去分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动 | |
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jack
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| n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克 | |
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winced
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| 赶紧避开，畏缩( wince的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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squinting
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| 斜视( squint的现在分词 )； 眯着眼睛； 瞟； 从小孔或缝隙里看 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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reassuring
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| a.使人消除恐惧和疑虑的，使人放心的 | |
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throbbed
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| 抽痛( throb的过去式和过去分词 )； （心脏、脉搏等）跳动 | |
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groaned
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| v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦 | |
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allergic
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| adj.过敏的，变态的 | |
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swarm
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| n.(昆虫)等一大群；vi.成群飞舞；蜂拥而入 | |
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inert
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| adj.无活动能力的，惰性的；迟钝的 | |
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toxin
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| n.毒素，毒质 | |
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throbbing
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| a. 跳动的,悸动的 | |
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precursor
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| n.先驱者；前辈；前任；预兆；先兆 | |
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molecules
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| 分子( molecule的名词复数 ) | |
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salvage
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| v.救助，营救，援救；n.救助，营救 | |
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override
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| vt.不顾，不理睬，否决；压倒，优先于 | |
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ribs
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| n.肋骨( rib的名词复数 )；（船或屋顶等的）肋拱；肋骨状的东西；（织物的）凸条花纹 | |
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crumpled
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| adj. 弯扭的, 变皱的 动词crumple的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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juggling
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| n. 欺骗, 杂耍(=jugglery) adj. 欺骗的, 欺诈的 动词juggle的现在分词 | |
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brooks
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| n.小溪( brook的名词复数 ) | |
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cuffs
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| n.袖口( cuff的名词复数 )v.掌打，拳打( cuff的第三人称单数 ) | |
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25
snugged
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| v.整洁的( snug的过去式和过去分词 )；温暖而舒适的；非常舒适的；紧身的 | |
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creases
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| （使…）起折痕，弄皱( crease的第三人称单数 )； （皮肤）皱起，使起皱纹 | |
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thighs
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| n.股，大腿( thigh的名词复数 )；食用的鸡（等的）腿 | |
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mobility
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| n.可动性，变动性，情感不定 | |
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swarms
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| 蜂群，一大群( swarm的名词复数 ) | |
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runaway
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| n.逃走的人，逃亡，亡命者；adj.逃亡的，逃走的 | |
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vented
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| 表达，发泄（感情，尤指愤怒）( vent的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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gnats
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| n.叮人小虫( gnat的名词复数 ) | |
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random
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| adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动 | |
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distinctive
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| adj.特别的，有特色的，与众不同的 | |
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swarming
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| 密集( swarm的现在分词 )； 云集； 成群地移动； 蜜蜂或其他飞行昆虫成群地飞来飞去 | |
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swirling
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| v.旋转，打旋( swirl的现在分词 ) | |
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swirled
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| v.旋转，打旋( swirl的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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automobiles
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| n.汽车( automobile的名词复数 ) | |
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microprocessors
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| 微（信息）处理机( microprocessor的名词复数 ) | |
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eroded
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| adj. 被侵蚀的，有蚀痕的 动词erode的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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literally
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| adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实 | |
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silicate
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| n.硅酸盐 | |
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chunks
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| 厚厚的一块( chunk的名词复数 )； （某物）相当大的数量或部分 | |
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acting
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| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
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45
tugged
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| v.用力拉，使劲拉，猛扯( tug的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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46
components
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| （机器、设备等的）构成要素，零件，成分； 成分( component的名词复数 )； [物理化学]组分； [数学]分量； （混合物的）组成部分 | |
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47
autonomously
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| adv. 自律地，自治地 | |
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48
innovate
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| v.革新，变革，创始 | |
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functionally
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| adv.机能上地，官能地 | |
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50
bacterial
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| a.细菌的 | |
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51
territorial
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| adj.领土的，领地的 | |
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52
predators
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| n.食肉动物( predator的名词复数 )；奴役他人者（尤指在财务或性关系方面） | |
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