mc.prey-第6章

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f　a　pencil　point。　We　can　fabricate　a　kilogram　of　these　cameras　in　an　hour。　〃I'm　sure　you　are　all　skeptical。　We're　well　aware　that　nanotechnology　has　made　promises　it　couldn't　deliver。　As　you　know；　the　problem　has　been　that　scientists　could　design　molecular…scale　devices；　but　they　couldn't　manufacture　them。　But　Xymos　has　solved　that　problem。〃
　It　suddenly　hit　me；　what　she　was　saying。　〃What？〃　I　said；　sitting　up　in　bed。　〃Are　you　kidding？〃　If　it　was　true；　it　was　an　extraordinary　development；　a　genuine　technological　breakthrough；　and　it　meant…
　〃It's　true；〃　Julia　said　quietly。　〃We're　manufacturing　in　Nevada。〃　She　smiled；　enjoying　my　astonishment。
　Onscreen；　Julia　was　saying；　〃I　have　one　of　our　Xymos　cameras　under　the　electron　microscope；　here〃…she　pointed　to　the　screen…〃so　you　can　see　it　in　parison　to　the　red　blood　cell　alongside　it。〃
　The　image　changed　to　black…and…white。　I　saw　a　fine　probe　push　what　looked　like　a　tiny　squid　into　position　on　a　titanium　field。　It　was　a　bullet…nosed　lump　with　streaming　filaments　at　the　rear。　It　was　a　tenth　of　the　size　of　the　red　blood　cell；　which　in　the　vacuum　of　the　scanning　electron　microscope　was　a　wrinkled　oval；　like　a　gray　raisin。
　〃Our　camera　is　one　ten…billionth　of　an　inch　in　length。　As　you　see；　it　is　shaped　like　a　squid；〃　Julia　said。　〃Imaging　takes　place　in　the　nose。　Microtubules　in　the　tail　provide　stabilization；　like　the　tail　of　a　kite。　But　they　can　also　lash　actively；　and　provide　lootion。　Jerry；　if　we　can　turn　the　camera　to　see　the　nose　。。。　Okay；　there。　Thank　you。　Now；　from　the　front；　you　see　that　indentation　in　the　center？　That　is　the　miniature　gallium　arsenide　photon　detector；　acting　as　a　retina；　and　the　surrounding　banded　area…sort　of　like　a　radial　tire…is　bioluminescent；　and　lights　the　area　ahead。　Within　the　nose　itself　you　may　be　able　to　just　make　out　a　rather　plex　series　of　twisted　molecules。　That　is　our　patented　ATP　cascade。　You　can　think　of　it　as　a　primitive　brain；　which　controls　the　behavior　of　the　camera…very　limited　behavior；　true；　but　enough　for　our　purposes。〃
　I　heard　a　hiss　of　static；　and　a　cough。　The　screen　image　opened　a　small　window　in　the　corner；　and　now　showed　Fritz　Leidermeyer；　in　Germany。　The　investor　shifted　his　enormous　bulk。　〃I'm　sorry；　Ms。　Forman。　Tell　me　please　where　is　the　lens？〃
　〃There　is　no　lens。〃
　〃How　can　you　have　a　camera　with　no　lens？〃
　〃I'll　explain　that　as　we　go；〃　she　said。
　Watching；　I　said；　〃It　must　be　a　camera　obscura。〃
　〃Right；〃　she　said；　nodding。
　Camera　obscura…Latin　for　〃dark　room〃…was　the　oldest　imaging　device　known。　The　Romans　had　found　that　if　you　made　a　small　hole　in　the　wall　of　a　dark　room；　an　upside…down　image　of　the　exterior　appeared　on　the　opposite　wall。　That　was　because　light　ing　through　any　small　aperture　was　focused；　as　if　by　a　lens。　It　was　the　same　principle　as　a　kid's　pinhole　camera。　It　was　why　ever　since　Roman　times；　image…recording　devices　were　called　cameras。　But　in　this　case…
　〃What　makes　the　aperture？〃　I　said。　〃Is　there　a　pinhole？〃
　〃I　thought　you　knew；〃　she　said。　〃You're　responsible　for　that　part。〃
　〃Me？〃
　〃Yes。　Xymos　licensed　some　agent…based　algorithms　that　your　team　wrote。〃
　〃No；　I　didn't　know。　Which　algorithms？〃
　〃To　control　a　particle　network。〃
　〃Your　cameras　are　networked？　All　those　little　cameras　municate　with　each　other？〃
　〃Yes；〃　she　said。　〃They're　a　swarm；　actually。〃　She　was　still　smiling；　amused　by　my　reactions。
　〃A　swarm。〃　I　was　thinking　it　over；　trying　to　understand　what　she　was　telling　me。　Certainly　my　team　had　written　a　number　of　programs　to　control　swarms　of　agents。　Those　programs　were　modeled　on　behavior　of　bees。　The　programs　had　many　useful　characteristics。　Because　swarms　were　posed　of　many　agents；　the　swarm　could　respond　to　the　environment　in　a　robust　way。　Faced　with　new　and　unexpected　conditions；　the　swarm　programs　didn't　crash；　they　just　sort　of　flowed　around　the　obstacles；　and　kept　going。
　But　our　programs　worked　by　creating　virtual　agents　inside　the　puter。　Julia　had　created　real　agents　in　the　real　world。　At　first　I　didn't　see　how　our　programs　could　be　adapted　to　what　she　was　doing。
　〃We　use　them　for　structure；〃　she　said。　〃The　program　makes　the　swarm　structure。〃　Of　course。　It　was　obvious　that　a　single　molecular　camera　was　inadequate　to　register　any　sort　of　image。　Therefore；　the　image　must　be　a　posite　of　millions　of　cameras；　operating　simultaneously。　But　the　cameras　would　also　have　to　be　arranged　in　space　in　some　orderly　structure；　probably　a　sphere。　That　was　where　the　programming　came　in。　But　that　in　turn　meant　that　Xymos　must　be　generating　the　equivalent　of…
　〃You're　making　an　eye。〃
　〃Kind　of。　Yes。〃
　〃But　where's　the　light　source？〃
　〃The　bioluminescent　perimeter。〃
　〃That's　not　enough　light。〃
　〃It　is。　Watch。〃
　Meanwhile；　the　onscreen　Julia　was　turning　smoothly；　pointing　to　the　intravenous　line　behind　her。　She　lifted　a　syringe　out　of　a　nearby　ice　bucket。　The　barrel　appeared　to　be　filled　with　water。　〃This　syringe；〃　she　said；　〃contains　approximately　twenty　million　cameras　in　isotonic　saline　suspension。　At　the　moment　they　exist　as　particles。　But　once　they　are　injected　into　the　bloodstream；　their　temperature　will　increase；　and　they　will　soon　flock　together；　and　form　a　meta…shape。　Just　like　a　flock　of　birds　forms　a　V…shape。〃
　〃What　kind　of　a　shape？〃　one　of　the　VCs　asked。
　〃A　sphere；〃　she　said。　〃With　a　small　opening　at　one　end。　You　might　think　of　it　as　the　equivalent　of　a　blastula　in　embryology。　But　in　effect　the　particles　form　an　eye。　And　the　image　from　that　eye　will　be　a　posite　of　millions　of　photon　detectors。　Just　as　the　human　eye　creates　an　image　from　its　rods　and　cone　cells。〃
　She　turned　to　a　monitor　that　showed　an　animation　loop；　repeated　over　and　over　again。　The　cameras　entered　the　bloodstream　as　an　untidy；　disorganized　mass；　a　kind　of　buzzing　cloud　within　the　blood。　Immediately　the　blood　flow　flattened　the　cloud　into　an　elongated　streak。　But　within　seconds；　the　streak　began　to　coalesce　into　a　spherical　shape。　That　shape　became　more　defined；　until　eventually　it　appeared　almost　solid。
　〃If　this　reminds　you　of　an　actual　eye；　there's　a　reason。　Here　at　Xymos　we　are　explicitly　imitating　organic　morphology；〃　Julia　said。　〃Because　we　are　designing　with　organic　molecules；　we　are　aware　that　courtesy　of　millions　of　years　of　evolution；　the　world　around　us　has　a　stockpile　of　molecular　arrangements　that　work。　So　we　use　them。〃
　〃You　don't　want　to　reinvent　the　wheel？〃　someone　said。
　〃Exactly。　Or　the　eyeball。〃
　She　gave　a　signal；　and　the　flat　antenna　was　lowered　until　it　was　just　inches　above　the　waiting　subject。
　〃This　antenna　will　power　the　camera；　and　pick　up　the　transmitted　image；〃　she　said。　〃The　image　can　of　course　be　digitally　stored；　intensified；　manipulated；　or　anything　else　that　you　might　do　with　digital　data。　Now；　if　there　are　no　other　questions；　we　can　begin。〃　She　fitted　the　syringe　with　a　needle；　and　stuck　it　into　a　rubber　stopper　in　the　IV　line。
　〃Mark　time。〃
　〃Zero　point　zero。〃
　〃Here　we　go。〃
　She　pushed　the　plunger　down　quickly。　〃As　you　see；　I'm　doing　it　fast；〃　she　said。　〃There's　nothing　delicate　about　our　procedure。　You　can't　hurt　anything。　If　the　microturbulence　generated　by　the　flow　through　the　needle　rips　the　tubules　from　a　few　thousand　cameras；　it　doesn't　matter。　We　have　millions　more。　Plenty　to　do　the　job。〃　She　withdrew　the　needle。　〃Okay？　Generally　we　have　to　wait　about　ten　seconds　for　the　shape　to　form；　and　then　we　should　begin　getting　an　image　。。。　Ah；　looks　like　something　is　ing　now　。。。　And　here　it　is。〃　The　scene　showed　the　camera　moving　forward　at　considerable　speed　through　what　looked　like　an　asteroid　field。　Except　the　asteroids　were　red　cells；　bouncy　purplish　bags　moving　in　a　clear；　slightly　yellowish　liquid。　An　occasional　much　larger　white　cell　shot　forward；　filled　the　screen　for　a　moment；　then　was　gone。　What　I　was　seeing　looked　more　like　a　video　game　than　a　medical　image。
　〃Julia；〃　I　said；　〃this　is　pretty　amazing。〃
　Beside　me；　Julia　snuggled　closer　and　smiled。　〃I　thought　you　might　be　impressed。〃　Onscreen；　Julia　was　saying；　〃We've　entered　a　vein；　so　the　red　cells　are　not　oxygenated。　Right　now　our　camera　is　moving　toward　the　heart。　You'll　see　the　vessels　enlarging　as　we　move　up　the　venous　system　。。。　Yes；　now　we　are　appr