mc.prey-第29章

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utton　at　knee　level。　〃That's　the　safety　cutoff　there；〃　he　said。　〃Just　in　case。　Hit　it　with　your　knee　if　your　hands　are　full。〃
　I　said；　〃So　you　use　high　magnetic　fields　to　do　part　of　your　assemb…〃
　But　Ricky　had　already　turned　and　headed　out　the　door；　again　glancing　at　his　watch。　I　hurried　after　him。
　〃Ricky　。。。〃
　〃I　have　more　to　show　you；〃　he　said。　〃We're　getting　to　the　end。〃
　〃Ricky；　this　is　all　very　impressive；〃　I　said；　gesturing　to　the　glowing　arms。　〃But　most　of　your　assembly　line　is　running　at　room　temperature…no　vacuum；　no　cryo；　no　mag　field。〃
　〃Right。　No　special　conditions。〃
　〃How　is　that　possible？〃
　He　shrugged。　〃The　assemblers　don't　need　it。〃
　〃The　assemblers？〃　I　said。　〃Are　you　telling　me　you've　got　molecular　assemblers　on　this　line？〃
　〃Yes。　Of　course。〃
　〃Assemblers　are　doing　your　fabrication　for　you？〃
　〃Of　course。　I　thought　you　understood　that。〃
　〃No；　Ricky；〃　I　said；　〃I　didn't　understand　that　at　all。　And　I　don't　like　to　be　lied　to。〃
　He　got　a　wounded　look　on　his　face。　〃I'm　not　lying。〃
　But　I　was　certain　that　he　was。
　One　of　the　first　things　scientists　learned　about　molecular　manufacturing　was　how　phenomenally　difficult　it　was　to　carry　out。　In　1990；　some　IBM　researchers　pushed　xenon　atoms　around　on　a　nickel　plate　until　they　formed　the　letters　〃IBM〃　in　the　shape　of　the　pany　logo。　The　entire　logo　was　one　ten…billionth　of　an　inch　long　and　could　only　be　seen　through　an　electron　microscope。　But　it　made　a　striking　visual　and　it　got　a　lot　of　publicity。　IBM　allowed　people　to　think　it　was　a　proof　of　concept；　the　opening　of　a　door　to　molecular　manufacturing。　But　it　was　more　of　a　stunt　than　anything　else。
　Because　pushing　individual　atoms　into　a　specific　arrangement　was　slow；　painstaking；　and　expensive　work。　It　took　the　IBM　researchers　a　whole　day　to　move　thirty…five　atoms。　Nobody　believed　you　could　create　a　whole　new　technology　in　this　way。　Instead；　most　people　believed　that　nanoengineers　would　eventually　find　a　way　to　build　〃assemblers〃…miniature　molecular　machines　that　could　turn　out　specific　molecules　the　way　a　ball…bearing　machine　turned　out　ball　bearings。　The　new　technology　would　rely　on　molecular　machines　to　make　molecular　products。　It　was　a　nice　concept；　but　the　practical　problems　were　daunting。　Because　assemblers　were　vastly　more　plicated　than　the　molecules　they　made；　attempts　to　design　and　build　them　had　been　difficult　from　the　outset。　To　my　knowledge；　no　laboratory　anywhere　in　the　world　had　actually　done　it。　But　now　Ricky　was　telling　me；　quite　casually；　that　Xymos　could　build　molecular　assemblers　that　were　now　turning　out　molecules　for　the　pany。　And　I　didn't　believe　him。
　I　had　worked　all　my　life　in　technology；　and　I　had　developed　a　feel　for　what　was　possible。　This　kind　of　giant　leap　forward　just　didn't　happen。　It　never　did。　Technologies　were　a　form　of　knowledge；　and　like　all　knowledge；　technologies　grew；　evolved；　matured。　To　believe　otherwise　was　to　believe　that　the　Wright　brothers　could　build　a　rocket　and　fly　to　the　moon　instead　of　flying　three　hundred　feet　over　sand　dunes　at　Kitty　Hawk。
　Nanotechnology　was　still　at　the　Kitty　Hawk　stage。
　〃e　on；　Ricky；〃　I　said。　〃How　are　you　really　doing　this？〃
　〃The　technical　details　aren't　that　important；　Jack。〃
　〃What　fresh　bullshit　is　this？　Of　course　they're　important。〃
　〃Jack；〃　he　said；　giving　me　his　most　winning　smile。　〃Do　you　really　think　I'm　lying　to　you？〃
　〃Yes；　Ricky；〃　I　said。　〃I　do。〃
　I　looked　up　at　the　octopus　arms　all　around　me。　Surrounded　by　glass；　I　saw　my　own　reflection　dozens　of　times　in　the　surfaces　around　me。　It　was　confusing；　disorienting。　Trying　to　gather　my　thoughts；　I　looked　down　at　my　feet。
　And　I　noticed　that　even　though　we　had　been　walking　on　glass　walkways；　some　sections　of　the　ground　floor　were　glass；　as　well。　One　section　was　nearby。　I　walked　toward　it。　Through　the　glass　I　could　see　steel　ducting　and　pipes　below　ground　level。　One　set　of　pipes　caught　my　eye；　because　they　ran　from　the　storage　room　to　a　nearby　glass　cube；　at　which　point　they　emerged　from　the　floor　and　headed　upward；　branching　into　the　smaller　tubes。　That；　I　assumed；　was　the　feedstock…the　slush　of　raw　organic　material　that　would　be　transformed　on　the　assembly　line　into　finished　molecules。
　Looking　back　down　at　the　floor；　I　followed　the　pipes　backward　to　the　place　where　they　entered　from　the　adjacent　room。　This　junction　was　glass；　too。　I　could　see　the　curved　steel　underbellies　of　the　big　kettles　I'd　noticed　earlier。　The　tanks　that　I　had　thought　were　a　microbrewery。　Because　that's　certainly　what　it　had　looked　like；　a　small　brewery。　Machinery　for　controlled　fermentation；　for　controlled　microbial　growth。
　And　then　I　realized　what　it　really　was。
　I　said；　〃You　son　of　a　bitch。〃
　Ricky　smiled　again；　and　shrugged。　〃Hey；〃　he　said。　〃It　gets　the　job　done。〃　Those　kettles　in　the　next　room　were　indeed　tanks　for　controlled　microbial　growth。　But　Ricky　wasn't　making　beer…he　was　making　microbes；　and　I　had　no　doubt　about　the　reason　why。　Unable　to　construct　genuine　nanoassemblers；　Xymos　was　using　bacteria　to　crank　out　their　molecules。　This　was　genetic　engineering；　not　nanotechnology。　〃Well；　not　exactly；〃　Ricky　said；　when　I　told　him　what　I　thought。　〃But　I　admit　we're　using　a　hybrid　technology。　Not　much　of　a　surprise　in　any　case；　is　it？〃　That　was　true。　For　at　least　ten　years；　observers　had　been　predicting　that　genetic　engineering；　puter　programming；　and　nanotechnology　would　eventually　merge。　They　were　all　involved　with　similar…and　interconnected…activities。　There　wasn't　that　much　difference　between　using　a　puter　to　decode　part　of　a　bacterial　genome　and　using　a　puter　to　help　you　insert　new　genes　into　the　bacteria；　to　make　new　proteins。　And　there　wasn't　much　difference　between　creating　a　new　bacteria　to　spit　out；　say；　insulin　molecules；　and　creating　a　man…made；　micromechanical　assembler　to　spit　out　new　molecules。　It　was　all　happening　at　the　molecular　level。　It　was　all　the　same　challenge　of　imposing　human　design　on　extremely　plex　systems。　And　molecular　design　was　nothing　if　not　plicated。
　You　could　think　of　a　molecule　as　a　series　of　atoms　snapped　together　like　Lego　blocks；　one　after　another。　But　the　image　was　misleading。　Because　unlike　a　Lego　set；　atoms　couldn't　be　snapped　together　in　any　arrangement　you　liked。　An　inserted　atom　was　subject　to　powerful　local　forces…magnetic　and　chemical…with　frequently　undesirable　results。　The　atom　might　be　kicked　out　of　its　position。　It　might　remain；　but　at　an　awkward　angle。　It　might　even　fold　the　entire　molecule　up　in　knots。
　As　a　result；　molecular　manufacturing　was　an　exercise　in　the　art　of　the　possible；　of　substituting　atoms　and　groups　of　atoms　to　make　equivalent　structures　that　would　work　in　the　desired　way。　In　the　face　of　all　this　difficulty；　it　was　impossible　to　ignore　the　fact　that　there　already　existed　proven　molecular　factories　capable　of　turning　out　large　numbers　of　molecules：　they　were　called　cells。
　〃Unfortunately；　cellular　manufacturing　can　take　us　only　so　far；〃　Ricky　said。　〃We　harvest　the　substrate　molecules…the　raw　materials…and　then　we　build　on　them　with　nanoengineering　procedures。　So　we　do　a　little　of　both。〃
　I　pointed　down　at　the　tanks。　〃What　cells　are　you　growing？〃
　〃Theta…d　5972；〃　he　said。
　〃Which　is？〃
　〃A　strain　of　E。　coli。〃
　E。　coli　was　a　mon　bacterium；　found　pretty　much　everywhere　in　the　natural　environment；　even　in　the　human　intestine。　I　said；　〃Did　anyone　think　it　might　not　be　a　good　idea　to　use　cells　that　can　live　inside　human　beings？〃
　〃Not　really；〃　he　said。　〃Frankly　that　wasn't　a　consideration。　We　just　wanted　a　well…studied　cell　that　was　fully　documented　in　the　literature。　We　chose　an　industry　standard。〃
　〃Uh…huh　。。。〃
　〃Anyway；〃　Ricky　continued；　〃I　don't　think　it's　a　problem；　Jack。　It　won't　thrive　in　the　human　gut。　Theta…d　is　optimized　for　a　variety　of　nutrient　sources…to　make　it　cheap　to　grow　in　the　laboratory。　In　fact；　I　think　it　can　even　grow　on　garbage。〃
　〃So　that's　how　you　get　your　molecules。　Bacteria　make　them　for　you。〃
　〃Yes；〃　he　said；　〃that's　how　we　get　the　primary　molecules。　We　harvest　twenty…seven　primary　molecules。　They　fit　together　in　relatively　high…temperature　settings　where　the　atoms　are　more　active　and　mix　quickly。〃
　〃That's　why　it's　hot　in　here？〃
　〃Yes。　Reaction