mc.prey-第37章

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　DAY　6　
　11：12　A。M。
　〃Don't　move。〃
　Something　icy…cold　coursed　through　my　veins。　I　shuddered。
　〃Jack。　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　winced。　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。　Squinting　in　the　glare；　I　saw　Mae　standing　beside　me；　bent　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　reassuring。〃　I　lifted　my　head　to　see　what　she　was　doing。　My　temples　throbbed。　I　groaned；　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　allergic　reaction。　Your　throat　almost　closed　up。〃
　〃Allergic　reaction；〃　I　said。　〃That's　what　it　was？〃
　〃Severe　one。〃
　〃It　was　from　the　swarm？〃
　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　inert。　I　think　you　reacted　to　a　coliform　toxin。〃
　〃A　coliform　toxin　。。。〃　My　throbbing　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　e　from？〃
　〃From　the　swarm；〃　she　said。
　That　made　no　sense　at　all。　According　to　Ricky　the　E。　coli　bacteria　were　only　used　to　manufacture　precursor　molecules。　〃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　salvage　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　override　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　ribs　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　crumpled　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　juggling　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　puter　workstation　in　one　of　those　small　rooms。　The　project　engineer；　David　Brooks；　sat　beside　me。　As　he　talked；　David　continuously　straightened　his　clothes…he　smoothed　his　tie；　shot　his　cuffs；　snugged　his　collar；　pulled　up　the　creases　in　his　trousers　from　his　thighs。　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　mobility　in　wind。　The　test　swarm　was　blown　away　in　a　strong　breeze。　That　was　six　weeks　ago。
　〃You　tested　more　swarms　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　runaway　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　vented　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；　gnats　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　random　event。〃
　A　swarm　appeared　again　a　couple　of　days　later；　he　said；　and　by　then　it　was　much　better　organized。　〃It　displayed　distinctive　swarming　behavior；　that　sort　of　swirling　in　the　cloud　that　you've　seen。　So　it　was　clear　that　it　was　our　stuff。〃
　〃And　what　happened　then？〃
　〃The　swarm　swirled　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　puters　were　dead。　These　days　all　automobiles　have　microprocessors　built　into　them。　They　control　everything　from　fuel　injection　to　radios　and　door　locks。〃
　〃But　now　the　puters　were　not　functi