mc.prey-第48章

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　〃She's　ing　out　here　tonight。〃
　〃We'll　talk　later；　Ricky。〃
　〃I　just　thought　you'd　want　to　know。〃
　〃Jesus；〃　Charley　said；　exploding。　〃Someone　tell　this　asshole　to　shut　up。　We're　busy！〃
　Bobby　Lembeck　said；　〃Eight　knots　of　wind　now。　No；　sorry　。。。　seven。〃
　Charley　said；　〃Jesus；　the　suspense　is　killing　me。　Where's　my　swarm　now；　Jack？〃
　〃Under　the　car。　I　can't　see　what　it's　doing　。。。　No；　wait　。。。　It's　ing　up　behind　you；　Charley。　Looks　like　it's　checking　out　your　taillights。〃
　〃Some　kind　of　car　freak；〃　he　said。　〃Well；　it　can　check　away。〃
　I　was　looking　over　my　shoulder　at　Charley's　swarm　when　Mae　said；　〃Jack。　Look。〃　The　swarm　outside　her　window　on　the　passenger　side　had　changed。　It　was　almost　entirely　silver　now；　shimmering　but　pretty　stable；　and　on　this　silver　surface　I　saw　Mae's　head　and　shoulders　reflected　back。　The　reflection　wasn't　perfect；　because　her　eyes　and　mouth　were　slightly　blurred；　but　basically　it　was　accurate。
　I　frowned。　〃It's　a　mirror　。。。〃
　〃No；〃　she　said。　〃It's　not。〃　She　turned　away　from　the　window　to　look　at　me。　Her　image　on　the　silver　surface　did　not　change。　The　face　continued　to　stare　into　the　car。　Then；　after　a　moment　or　two；　the　image　shivered；　dissolved　and　re…formed　to　show　the　back　of　her　head。　〃What　does　that　mean？〃　Mae　said。
　〃I've　got　a　pretty　good　idea；　but…〃
　The　swarm　on　the　front　hood　was　doing　the　same　thing；　except　that　its　silver　surface　showed　the　two　of　us　sitting　side　by　side　in　the　car；　looking　very　frightened。　Again；　the　image　was　somewhat　blurred。　And　now　it　was　clear　to　me　that　the　swarm　was　not　a　literal　mirror。　The　swarm　itself　was　generating　the　image　by　the　precise　positioning　of　individual　particles；　which　meant…
　〃Bad　news；〃　Charley　said。
　〃I　know；〃　I　said。　〃They're　innovating。〃
　〃What　do　you　figure；　is　it　one　of　the　presets？〃
　〃Basically；　yes。　I　assume　it's　imitation。〃
　Mae　shook　her　head；　not　understanding。
　〃The　program　presets　certain　strategies　to　help　attain　goals。　The　strategies　model　what　real　predators　do。　So　one　preset　strategy　is　to　freeze　where　you　are　and　wait；　to　ambush。　Another　is　to　random…walk　until　you　stumble　on　your　prey；　and　then　pursue。　A　third　is　to　camouflage　yourself　by　taking　on　some　element　of　the　environment；　so　you　blend　in。　And　a　fourth　is　to　mimic　the　prey's　behavior…to　imitate　it。〃
　She　said；　〃You　think　this　is　imitation？〃
　〃I　think　this　is　a　form　of　imitation；　yes。〃
　〃It's　trying　to　make　itself　appear　like　us？〃
　〃Yes。〃
　〃This　is　emergent　behavior？　It's　evolved　on　its　own？〃
　〃Yes；〃　I　said。
　〃Bad　news；〃　Charley　said　mournfully。　〃Bad；　bad　news。〃
　Sitting　in　the　car；　I　started　to　get　angry。　Because　what　the　mirror　imaging　meant　to　me　was　that　I　didn't　know　the　real　structure　of　the　nanoparticles。　I'd　been　told　there　was　a　piezo　wafer　that　would　reflect　light。　So　it　wasn't　surprising　that　the　swarm　occasionally　flashed　silver　in　the　sun。　That　didn't　call　for　sophisticated　orientation　of　the　particles。　In　fact；　you　would　expect　that　sort　of　silvery　ripple　as　a　random　effect；　just　the　way　heavily　trafficked　highways　will　clog　up　and　then　flow　freely　again。　The　congestion　was　caused　by　random　speed　changes　from　one　or　two　motorists；　but　the　effect　rippled　down　the　entire　highway。　The　same　would　be　true　of　the　swarms。　A　chance　effect　would　pass　like　a　wave　down　the　swarm。　And　that's　what　we　had　seen。
　But　this　mirroring　behavior　was　something　entirely　different。　The　swarms　were　now　producing　images　in　color；　and　holding　them　fairly　stable。　Such　plexity　wasn't　possible　from　the　simple　nanoparticle　I'd　been　shown。　I　doubted　you　could　generate　a　full　spectrum　from　a　silver　layer。　It　was　theoretically　possible　that　the　silver　could　be　precisely　tilted　to　produce　prismatic　colors；　but　that　implied　enormous　sophistication　of　movement。
　It　was　more　logical　to　imagine　that　the　particles　had　another　method　to　create　colors。　And　that　meant　I　hadn't　been　told　the　truth　about　the　particles；　either。　Ricky　had　lied　to　me　yet　again。　So　I　was　angry。
　I　had　already　concluded　something　was　wrong　with　Ricky；　and　in　retrospect；　the　problem　lay　with　me；　not　him。　Even　after　the　debacle　in　the　storage　shed；　I　still　failed　to　grasp　that　the　swarms　were　evolving　faster　than　our　ability　to　keep　pace　with　them。　I　should　have　realized　what　I　was　up　against　when　the　swarms　demonstrated　a　new　strategy…making　the　floor　slippery　to　disable　their　prey；　and　to　move　them。　Among　ants；　that　would　be　called　collective　transport；　the　phenomenon　was　well　known。　But　for　these　swarms；　it　was　unprecedented；　newly　evolved　behavior。　Yet　at　the　time　I　was　too　horrified　to　recognize　its　true　significance。　Now；　sitting　in　the　hot　car；　it　wasn't　useful　to　blame　Ricky；　but　I　was　scared；　and　tired；　and　I　wasn't　thinking　clearly。
　〃Jack。〃　Mae　nudged　my　shoulder；　and　pointed　to　Charley's　car。
　Her　face　was　grim。
　The　swarm　by　the　taillight　of　Charley's　car　was　now　a　black　stream　that　curved　high　in　the　air；　and　then　disappeared　in　the　seam　where　the　red　plastic　joined　the　metal。　Over　the　headset　I　said；　〃Hey；　Charley　。。。　I　think　it's　found　a　way。〃
　〃Yeah；　I　see　it。　Fuck　a　duck。〃
　Charley　was　scrambling　into　the　backseat。　Already　particles　were　beginning　to　fill　the　inside　of　the　car；　making　a　gray　fog　that　rapidly　darkened。　Charley　coughed。　I　couldn't　see　what　he　was　doing；　he　was　down　below　the　window。　He　coughed　again。
　〃Charley？〃
　He　didn't　answer。　But　I　heard　him　swearing。
　〃Charley；　you　better　get　out。〃
　〃Fuck　these　guys。〃
　And　then　there　was　an　odd　sound；　which　at　first　I　couldn't　place。　I　turned　to　Mae；　who　was　pressing　her　headset　to　her　ear。　It　was　a　strange；　rhythmic　rasping。　She　looked　at　me　questioningly。
　〃Charley？〃
　〃I'm…spray　these　little　bastards。　Let's　see　how　they　do　when　they're　wet。〃
　Mae　said；　〃You're　spraying　the　isotope？〃
　He　didn't　answer。　But　a　moment　later　he　appeared　in　the　window　again；　spraying　in　all　directions　with　the　Windex　bottle。　Liquid　streaked　across　the　glass；　and　dripped　down。　The　interior　of　the　car　was　growing　darker　as　more　and　more　particles　entered。　Soon　we　couldn't　see　him　at　all。　His　hand　emerged　from　the　black；　pressed　against　the　glass；　then　disappeared　again。　He　was　coughing　continuously。　A　dry　cough。
　〃Charley；〃　I　said；　〃run　for　it。〃
　〃Ah　fuck。　What's　the　point？〃
　Bobby　Lembeck　said；　〃Wind's　ten　knots。　Go　for　it。〃
　Ten　knots　wasn't　enough　but　it　was　better　than　nothing。
　〃Charley？　You　hear？〃
　We　heard　his　voice　from　the　black　interior。　〃Yeah；　okay　。。。　I'm　looking…can't　find…fucking　door　handle；　can't　feel　。。。　Where's　the　goddamn　door　handle　on　this…〃　He　broke　into　a　spasm　of　coughing。
　Over　the　headset；　I　heard　voices　inside　the　lab；　all　speaking　rapidly。　Ricky　said；　〃He's　in　the　Toyota。　Where's　the　handle　in　the　Toyota？〃
　Bobby　Lembeck：　〃I　don't　know；　it's　not　my　car。〃
　〃Whose　car　is　it？　Vince？〃
　Vince：　〃No；　no。　It's　that　guy　with　the　bad　eyes。〃
　〃Who？〃
　〃The　engineer。　The　guy　who　blinks　all　the　time。〃
　〃David　Brooks？〃
　〃Yeah。　Him。〃
　Ricky　said；　〃Guys？　We　think　it's　David's　car。〃
　I　said；　〃That's　not　going　to　do　us　any…〃
　And　then　I　broke　off；　because　Mae　was　pointing　behind　her　to　the　backseat　of　our　car。　From　the　seam　where　the　seat　cushion　met　the　back；　particles　were　hissing　into　the　car　like　black　smoke。
　I　looked　closer；　and　saw　a　blanket　on　the　floor　of　the　backseat。　Mae　saw　it；　too；　and　threw　herself　bodily　into　the　back；　diving　between　the　seats。　She　kicked　me　in　the　head　as　she　went；　but　she　had　the　blanket　and　began　stuffing　it　into　the　crack。　My　headset　came　off；　and　caught　on　the　steering　wheel　as　I　tried　to　climb　back　to　help　her。　It　was　cramped　in　the　car。　I　heard　a　tinny　voice　from　the　earpieces。
　〃e　on；〃　Mae　said。　〃e　on。〃
　I　was　bigger　than　she　was；　there　wasn't　room　for　me　back　there；　my　body　jackknifed　over　the　driver's　seat　as　I　grabbed　the　blanket　and　helped　her　stuff　it。　I　was　vaguely　aware　that　the　passenger　door　banged　open　on　the　Toyota；　and　I　saw　Charley's　foot　emerge　from　the　black。　He　was　going　to　try　his　luck　outside。　Maybe　we　should；　too；　I　thought；　as　I　helped　her　with　the　blanket。　The　blanket　wouldn't　do　any　good；　it　was　just　a　delaying　tactic。　Already　I　sensed　the　particles　were　sifting　right　through　the　cloth；　th