mc.prey-第7章

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the　heart。　You'll　see　the　vessels　enlarging　as　we　move　up　the　venous　system　。。。　Yes；　now　we　are　approaching　the　heart　。。。　You　can　see　the　pulsations　in　the　bloodstream　that　result　from　the　ventricular　contractions　。。。〃　It　was　true；　I　could　see　the　camera　pause；　then　move　forward；　then　pause。　She　had　an　audio　feed　of　the　beating　heart。　On　the　table；　the　subject　lay　motionless；　with　the　flat　antenna　just　over　his　body。
　〃We're　ing　to　the　right　atrium；　and　we　should　see　the　mitral　valve。　We　activate　the　flagella　to　slow　the　camera。　There　the　valve　is　now。　We　are　in　the　heart。〃　I　saw　the　red　flaps；　like　a　mouth　opening　and　closing；　and　then　the　camera　shot　through；　into　the　ventricle；　and　out　again。　〃Now　we　are　going　to　the　lungs；　where　you　will　see　what　no　one　has　ever　witnessed　before。　The　oxygenation　of　the　cells。〃
　As　I　watched；　the　blood　vessel　narrowed　swiftly；　and　then　the　cells　plumped　up；　and　popped　brilliantly　red；　one　after　another。　It　was　extremely　quick；　in　less　than　a　second；　they　were　all　red。　〃The　red　cells　have　now　been　oxygenated；〃　Julia　said；　〃and　we　are　on　our　way　back　to　the　heart。〃
　I　turned　to　Julia　in　the　bed。　〃This　is　really　fantastic　stuff；〃　I　said。
　But　her　eyes　were　closed；　and　she　was　breathing　gently。
　〃Julia？〃
　She　was　asleep。
　Julia　had　always　tended　to　fall　asleep　while　watching　TV。　Falling　asleep　during　your　own　presentation　was　reasonable　enough；　after　all；　she'd　already　seen　it。　And　it　was　pretty　late。　I　was　tired　myself。　I　decided　I　could　watch　the　rest　of　the　demo　another　time。　It　seemed　pretty　lengthy　for　a　demo；　anyhow。　How　long　had　I　been　watching　so　far？　When　I　turned　to　switch　off　the　TV；　I　looked　down　at　the　time　code　running　at　the　bottom　of　the　image。　Numbers　were　spinning；　ticking　off　hundredths　of　a　second。　Other　numbers　to　the　left；　not　spinning。　I　frowned。　One　of　them　was　the　date。　I　hadn't　noticed　it　before；　because　it　was　in　international　format；　with　the　year　first；　the　day；　and　the　month。　It　read　02。21。09。
　September　21。
　Yesterday。
　She'd　recorded　this　demo　yesterday；　not　today。
　I　turned　off　the　TV；　and　turned　off　the　bedside　light。　I　lay　down　on　the　pillow　and　tried　to　sleep。
　
　DAY　2　
　9：02　A。M。
　We　needed　skim　milk；　Toastie…Os；　Pop…Tarts；　Jell…O；　dishwasher　detergent…and　something　else；　but　I　couldn't　read　my　own　writing。　I　stood　in　the　supermarket　aisle　at　nine　o'clock　in　the　morning；　puzzling　over　my　notes。　A　voice　said；　〃Hey；　Jack。　How's　it　hanging？〃　I　looked　up　to　see　Ricky　Morse；　one　of　the　division　heads　at　Xymos。　〃Hey；　Ricky。　How　are　you？〃　I　shook　his　hand；　genuinely　glad　to　see　him。　I　was　always　glad　to　see　Ricky。　Tanned；　with　blond　crewcut　hair　and　a　big　grin；　he　could　easily　be　taken　for　a　surfer　were　it　not　for　his　SourceForge　3。1　T…shirt。　Ricky　was　only　a　few　years　younger　than　I　was；　but　he　had　an　air　of　perpetual　youthfulness。　I'd　given　him　his　first　job；　right　out　of　college；　and　he'd　rapidly　moved　into　management。　With　his　cheerful　personality　and　upbeat　manner；　Ricky　made　an　ideal　project　manager；　even　though　he　tended　to　underplay　problems；　and　give　management　unrealistic　expectations　about　when　a　project　would　be　finished。　According　to　Julia；　that　had　sometimes　caused　trouble　at　Xymos；　Ricky　tended　to　make　promises　he　couldn't　keep。　And　sometimes　he　didn't　quite　tell　the　truth。　But　he　was　so　cheerful　and　appealing　that　everyone　always　forgave　him。　At　least；　I　always　did；　when　he　worked　for　me。　I　had　bee　quite　fond　of　him；　and　thought　of　him　almost　as　a　younger　brother。　I'd　remended　him　for　his　job　at　Xymos。
　Ricky　was　pushing　a　shopping　cart　filled　with　disposable　diapers　in　big　plastic　bundles；　he　had　a　young　baby　at　home；　too。　I　asked　him　why　he　was　shopping　and　not　at　the　office。　〃Mary's　got　the　flu；　and　the　maid's　in　Guatemala。　So　I　told　her　I'd　pick　up　some　things。〃
　〃I　see　you've　got　Huggies；〃　I　said。　〃I　always　get　Pampers；　myself。〃
　〃I　find　Huggies　absorb　more；〃　he　said。　〃And　Pampers　are　too　tight。　They　pinch　the　baby's　leg。〃
　〃But　Pampers　have　a　layer　that　takes　moisture　away；　and　keeps　the　bottom　dry；〃　I　said。　〃I　have　fewer　rashes　with　Pampers。〃
　〃Whenever　I　use　them；　the　adhesive　tabs　tend　to　pull　off。　And　with　a　big　load；　it　tends　to　leak　out　the　leg；　which　makes　extra　work　for　me。　I　don't　know；　I　just　find　Huggies　are　higher　quality。〃
　A　woman　glanced　at　us　as　she　pushed　past　with　her　shopping　cart。　We　started　to　laugh；　thinking　we　must　sound　like　we　were　in　a　mercial。
　Ricky　said　loudly；　〃So　hey；　how　about　those　Giants？〃　to　the　woman's　back　as　she　continued　down　the　aisle。
　〃Fuckin'　A；　are　they　great　or　what？〃　I　said；　scratching　myself。　We　laughed；　then　pushed　our　carts　down　the　aisle　together。　Ricky　said；　〃Want　to　know　the　truth？　Mary　likes　Huggies；　and　that's　the　end　of　the　conversation。〃
　〃I　know　that　one；〃　I　said。
　Ricky　looked　at　my　cart；　and　said；　〃I　see　you　buy　organic　skim　milk　。。。〃
　〃Stop　it；〃　I　said。　〃How　are　things　at　the　office？〃
　〃You　know；　they're　pretty　damn　good；〃　he　said。　〃The　technology's　ing　along　nicely；　if　I　say　so　myself。　We　demoed　for　the　money　guys　the　other　day；　and　it　went　well。〃
　〃Julia's　doing　okay？〃　I　said；　as　casually　as　I　could。
　〃Yeah；　she's　doing　great。　Far　as　I　know；〃　Ricky　said。
　I　glanced　at　him。　Was　he　suddenly　reserved？　Was　his　face　set；　the　muscles　controlled？　Was　he　concealing　something？　I　couldn't　tell。
　〃Actually；　I　rarely　see　her；〃　Ricky　said。　〃She's　not　around　much　these　days。〃
　〃I　don't　see　much　of　her　either；〃　I　said。
　〃Yeah；　she's　spending　a　lot　of　time　out　at　the　fab　plex。　That's　where　the　action　is　now。〃　Ricky　glanced　quickly　at　me。　〃You　know；　because　of　the　new　fabrication　processes。〃
　The　Xymos　fab　building　had　been　pleted　in　record　time；　considering　how　plex　it　was。　The　fabrication　building　was　where　they　assembled　molecules　from　individual　atoms。　Sticking　the　molecule　fragments　together　like　Lego　blocks。　Much　of　this　work　was　carried　out　in　a　vacuum；　and　required　extremely　strong　magnetic　fields。　So　the　fab　building　had　tremendous　pump　assemblies；　and　powerful　chillers　to　cool　the　magnets。　But　according　to　Julia；　a　lot　of　the　technology　was　specific　to　that　building；　nothing　like　it　had　ever　been　built　before。　I　said；　〃It's　amazing　they　got　the　building　up　so　fast。〃
　〃Well；　we　kept　the　pressure　on。　Molecular　Dynamics　is　breathing　down　our　necks。　We've　got　our　fab　up　and　running；　and　we've　got　patent　applications　by　the　truckload。　But　those　guys　at　MolDyne　and　NanoTech　can't　be　far　behind　us。　A　few　months。　Maybe　six　months；　if　we're　lucky。〃
　〃So　you're　doing　molecular　assembly　at　the　plant　now？〃　I　said。
　〃You　got　it；　Jack。　Full…bore　molecular　assembly。　We　have　been　for　a　few　weeks　now。〃
　〃I　didn't　know　Julia　was　interested　in　that　stuff。〃　With　her　background　in　psychology；　I'd　always　regarded　Julia　as　a　people　person。
　〃She's　taken　a　real　interest　in　the　technology；　I　can　tell　you。　Also；　they're　doing　a　lot　of　programming　up　there；　too；〃　he　said。　〃You　know。　Iterative　cycles　as　they　refine　the　manufacturing。〃
　I　nodded。　〃What　kind　of　programming？〃　I　said。
　〃Distributed　processing。　Multi…agent　nets。　That's　how　we　keep　the　individual　units　coordinated；　working　together。〃
　〃This　is　all　to　make　the　medical　camera？〃
　〃Yes。〃　He　paused。　〃Among　other　things。〃　He　glanced　at　me　uneasily；　as　if　he　might　be　breaking　his　confidentiality　agreement。
　〃You　don't　have　to　say；〃　I　said。
　〃No；　no；〃　he　said　quickly。　〃Jeez；　you　and　I　go　way　back；　Jack。〃　He　slapped　me　on　the　shoulder。　〃And　you　got　a　spouse　in　management。　I　mean；　what　the　hell。〃　But　he　still　looked　uneasy。　His　face　didn't　match　his　words。　And　his　eyes　slid　away　from　me　when　he　said　the　word　〃spouse。〃
　The　conversation　was　ing　to　an　end；　and　I　felt　filled　with　tension；　the　kind　of　awkward　tension　when　you　think　another　guy　knows　something　and　isn't　telling　you…because　he's　embarrassed；　because　he　doesn't　know　how　to　put　it；　because　he　doesn't　want　to　get　involved；　because　it's　too　dangerous　even　to　mention；　because　he　thinks　it's　your　job　to　figure　it　out　for　yourself。　Especially　when　it's　something　about　your　wife。　Like　she's　screwing　around。　He's　looking　at　you　like　you're　the　walking　wounded；　it's　night　of　the　living　dead；　but　he　won't　tell　you。　In　my　experience；