mc.prey-第13章

按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页，按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页，按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部！
————未阅读完？加入书签已便下次继续阅读！


　〃Sor…ry。〃
　She　looked　on　the　verge　of　tears。　I　said　to　her；　〃Honey；　I'm　really　sorry　you　didn't　get　the　part　you　wanted。　I　know　you　wanted　it　badly；　and　it　must　be　very　disappointing。〃
　〃No。　I　don't　care。〃
　〃Well；　I'm　sorry。〃
　〃Really；　Dad；　I　don't　care。　It's　in　the　past。　I'm　moving　on。〃　And　then　a　moment　later；　〃You　know　who　got　it？　That　little　suckup　Katie　Richards！　Mr。　Blakey　is　just　a　dick！〃　And　before　I　could　say　anything；　she　burst　into　tears；　sobbing　loudly　and　histrionically。　Eric　looked　over　at　me；　and　rolled　his　eyes。
　I　drove　home；　making　a　mental　note　to　speak　to　Nicole　about　her　language　after　dinner；　when　she　had　calmed　down。
　I　was　chopping　green　beans　so　they　would　fit　in　the　steamer　when　Eric　came　and　stood　in　the　kitchen　doorway。　〃Hey　Dad；　where's　my　MP3？〃
　〃I　have　no　idea。〃　I　could　never　get　used　to　the　idea　that　I　was　supposed　to　know　where　every　one　of　their　personal　possessions　was。　Eric's　Game　Boy；　his　baseball　glove；　Nicole's　tank　tops；　her　bracelet　。。。
　〃Well；　I　can't　find　it。〃　Eric　remained　standing　in　the　doorway；　not　ing　any　closer；　in　case　I　made　him　help　set　the　table。
　〃Have　you　looked？〃
　〃Everywhere；　Dad。〃
　〃Uh…huh。　You　looked　in　your　room？〃
　〃All　over。〃
　〃Family　room？〃
　〃Everywhere。〃
　〃In　the　car？　Maybe　you　left　it　in　the　car。〃
　〃I　didn't；　Dad。〃
　〃You　leave　it　in　your　locker　at　school？〃
　〃We　don't　have　lockers；　we　have　cubbies。〃
　〃You　look　in　the　pockets　of　your　jacket？〃
　〃Dad。　e　on。　I　did　all　that。　I　need　it。〃
　〃Since　you've　already　looked　everywhere；　I　won't　be　able　to　find　it　either；　will　I？〃
　〃Dad。　Would　you　please　just　help　me？〃
　The　pot　roast　had　another　half　hour　to　go。　I　put　down　the　knife　and　went　into　Eric's　room。　I　looked　in　all　the　usual　places；　the　back　of　his　closet　where　clothes　were　kicked　into　a　heap　（I　would　have　to　talk　to　Maria　about　that）；　under　the　bed；　behind　the　bed　table；　in　the　bottom　drawer　in　the　bathroom；　and　under　the　piles　of　stuff　on　his　desk。　Eric　was　right。　It　wasn't　in　his　room。　We　headed　toward　the　family　room。　I　glanced　in　at　the　baby's　room　as　I　passed　by。　And　I　saw　it　immediately。　It　was　on　the　shelf　beside　the　changing　table；　right　alongside　the　tubes　of　baby　ointment。　Eric　grabbed　it。　〃Hey；　thanks　Dad！〃　And　he　scampered　off。　There　was　no　point　in　asking　why　it　was　in　the　baby's　room。　I　went　back　to　the　kitchen　and　resumed　chopping　my　green　beans。　Almost　immediately：
　〃Daa…ad！〃
　〃What？〃　I　called。
　〃It　doesn't　work！〃
　〃Don't　shout。〃
　He　came　back　to　the　kitchen；　looking　sulky。　〃She　broke　it。〃
　〃Who　broke　it？〃
　〃Amanda。　She　drooled　on　it　or　something；　and　she　broke　it。　It's　not　fair。〃
　〃You　check　the　battery？〃
　He　gave　me　a　pitying　look。　〃　'Course；　Dad。　I　told　you；　she　broke　it！　It's　not　fair！〃
　I　doubted　his　MP3　player　was　broken。　These　things　were　solid…state　devices；　no　moving　parts。　And　it　was　too　large　for　the　baby　to　handle。　I　dumped　the　green　beans　on　the　steamer　tray；　and　held　out　my　hand。　〃Give　it　to　me。〃
　We　went　into　the　garage　and　I　got　out　my　toolbox。　Eric　watched　my　every　move。　I　had　a　full　set　of　the　small　tools　you　need　for　puters　and　electronic　devices。　I　worked　quickly。　Four　Phillips　head　screws；　and　the　back　cover　came　off　in　my　hand。　I　found　myself　staring　at　the　green　circuit　board。　It　was　covered　by　a　fine　layer　of　grayish　dust；　like　lint　from　a　clothes　dryer；　that　obscured　all　the　electronic　ponents。　I　suspected　that　Eric　had　slid　into　home　plate　with　this　thing　in　his　pocket。　That　was　probably　why　it　didn't　work。　But　I　looked　along　the　edge　of　the　plastic　and　saw　a　rubber　gasket　where　the　back　fitted　against　the　device。　They'd　made　this　thing　airtight　。。。　as　they　should。
　I　blew　the　dust　away；　so　I　could　see　better。　I　was　hoping　to　see　a　loose　battery　connection；　or　a　memory　chip　that　had　popped　up　from　heat；　anyway　something　that　would　be　easy　to　fix。　I　squinted　at　the　chips；　trying　to　read　the　writing。　The　writing　on　one　chip　was　obscured；　because　there　seemed　to　be　some　kind　of…
　I　paused。
　〃What　is　it？〃　Eric　said；　watching　me。
　〃Hand　me　that　magnifying　glass。〃
　Eric　gave　me　a　big　glass；　and　I　swung　my　high…intensity　lamp　low；　and　bent　over　the　chip；　examining　it　closely。　The　reason　I　couldn't　read　the　writing　was　that　the　surface　of　the　chip　had　been　corroded。　The　whole　chip　was　etched　in　rivulets；　a　miniature　river　delta。　I　understood　now　where　the　dust　had　e　from。　It　was　the　disintegrated　remains　of　the　chip。　〃Can　you　fix　it；　Dad？〃　Eric　said。　〃Can　you？〃
　What　could　have　caused　this？　The　rest　of　the　motherboard　seemed　fine。　The　controller　chip　was　untouched。　Only　the　memory　chip　was　damaged。　I　wasn't　a　hardware　guy；　but　I　knew　enough　to　do　basic　puter　repairs。　I　could　install　hard　drives；　add　memory；　things　like　that。　I'd　handled　memory　chips　before；　and　I'd　never　seen　anything　like　this。　All　I　could　think　was　that　it　was　a　faulty　chip。　These　MP3　players　were　probably　built　with　the　cheapest　ponents　available。
　〃Dad？　Can　you　fix　it？〃
　〃No；〃　I　said。　〃It　needs　another　chip。　I'll　get　you　one　tomorrow。〃
　〃　'Cause　she　slimed　it；　right？〃
　〃No。　I　think　it's　just　a　faulty　chip。〃
　〃Dad。　It　was　fine　for　a　whole　year。　She　slimed　it。　It's　not　fair！〃　As　if　on　cue；　the　baby　started　crying。　I　left　the　MP3　player　on　the　garage　table；　and　went　back　inside　the　house。　I　looked　at　my　watch。　I　would　just　have　time　to　change　Amanda's　diaper；　and　mix　her　cereal　for　dinner；　before　the　pot　roast　came　out。
　By　nine；　the　younger　kids　were　asleep；　and　the　house　was　quiet　except　for　Nicole's　voice；　saying；　〃That　sounds　pretty　serious。　That　sounds　pretty　serious。　That　sounds　。。。　pretty　serious。〃　She　was　standing　in　front　of　the　bathroom　mirror；　staring　at　herself　and　reciting　her　lines。
　I'd　gotten　voice　mail　from　Julia　saying　she'd　be　back　by　eight；　but　she　hadn't　made　it。　I　wasn't　about　to　call　and　check　up　on　her。　Anyway；　I　was　tired；　too　tired　to　work　up　the　energy　to　worry　about　her。　I'd　picked　up　a　lot　of　tricks　in　the　last　months…mostly　involving　liberal　use　of　tinfoil　so　I　didn't　have　to　clean　so　much…but　even　so；　after　I　did　the　cooking；　set　the　table；　fed　the　kids；　played　airplane　to　get　the　baby　to　eat　her　cereal；　cleared　the　table；　wiped　down　the　high　chair；　put　the　baby　to　bed；　and　then　cleaned　up　the　kitchen；　I　was　tired。　Especially　since　the　baby　kept　spitting　out　the　cereal；　and　Eric　kept　insisting　all　through　dinner　that　it　wasn't　fair；　he　wanted　chicken　fingers　instead　of　the　roast。
　I　flopped　down　on　the　bed；　and　flicked　on　the　TV。
　There　was　only　static；　and　then　I　realized　the　DVD　player　was　still　turned　on；　interrupting　the　cable　transmission。　I　hit　the　remote　button；　and　the　disc　in　the　machine　began　to　play。　It　was　Julia's　demo；　from　several　days　before。
　The　camera　moved　through　the　bloodstream；　and　into　the　heart。　Again；　I　saw　that　the　liquid　of　blood　was　almost　colorless；　with　bouncing　red　cells。　Julia　was　speaking。　On　the　table；　the　subject　lay　with　the　antenna　above　his　body。
　〃We're　ing　out　of　the　ventricle；　and　you　see　the　aorta　ahead　。。。　And　now　we　will　go　through　the　arterial　system　。。。〃
　She　turned　to　face　the　camera。
　〃The　images　you　have　seen　are　fleeting；　but　we　can　allow　the　camera　to　cycle　through　for　as　much　as　half　an　hour；　and　we　can　build　up　highly　detailed　posites　of　anything　we　want　to　see。　We　can　even　pause　the　camera；　using　a　strong　magnetic　field。　When　we　are　finished；　we　simply　shunt　the　blood　through　an　intravenous　loop　surrounded　by　a　strong　magnetic　field；　removing　the　particles；　and　then　send　the　patient　home。〃
　The　video　image　came　back　to　Julia。　〃This　Xymos　technology　is　safe；　reliable；　and　extremely　easy　to　use。　It　does　not　require　highly　trained　personnel；　it　can　be　administered　by　an　IV　nurse　or　a　medical　technician。　In　the　United　States　alone；　a　million　people　die　each　year　from　vascular　disease。　More　than　thirty　million　have　diagnosed　cardiovascular　disease。　mercial　prospects　for　this　imaging　technology　are　very　strong。　Because　it　is　painless；　simple；　and　safe；　it　will　replace　other　imaging　techniques　such　as　CAT　scans　and　angiography　and　will　bee　the　standard　procedure。　We　will　market　the　nanotech　cameras；　the　antenna；　and　monitor　systems。　Our　per…test　cost　will　be　only　twenty　dollars。　This　is　in　c