Read Online Extinction by Mark Alpert - Free Book Online

along the wall. Bobbing and weaving, the ornithopter whizzed over the desk lamps and computers and telephones. The computer screen on Tom’s desk showed a dizzying riot of video, but apparently the Flier’s microchip could make sense of the information, sending navigational corrections to the rudder and wing motor whenever the drone came too close to an obstacle. Layla was impressed but also a little disconcerted. It was easy to imagine the government using these things for other purposes besides hunting terrorists.
    Tom continued demonstrating the Flier for another two minutes. Then, without any warning, the ornithopter’s wings stopped beating and the drone fluttered to the floor. “What happened?” Layla asked.
    “The battery ran out.” He stepped to the place where the Flier landed. “We need to use lightweight batteries, and they can power the drone for only two or three minutes.” Bending over, he picked up the ornithopter. “It’s our biggest problem, actually. The Flier’s an amazing machine, but we can’t keep it in the air. We’ve tried all kinds of ideas, even a tiny combustion engine that runs on a few drops of gasoline. But it didn’t last any longer than the batteries.”
    “And I guess that limits the drone’s appeal to the military?”
    Tom nodded. His face was serious, drained of its earlier enthusiasm. “Yeah, you can’t do a lot of surveillance in three minutes. The officials at DARPA have been pretty patient, waiting for us to solve the power problem. But now it looks like they’re pulling the plug.” He placed the ornithopter and the wireless controller on his desk. “We just heard that DARPA isn’t going to renew our grant. So I’m gonna have to find a new research group pretty soon.”
    “What made them change their minds? About funding your work, I mean?”
    He looked at her for a moment, his face so serious and beautiful. Then he pointed at the pouch in her hand. “I think it might have something to do with what’s in your bag. Can I look at it now?”
    Layla unzipped the pouch and removed the specimen jar. She felt a little hesitant as she handed it to Tom, even though this was why she’d come here. She had a bad feeling about the thing.
    Tom sat down in the chair in front of his desk. He opened one of the drawers and removed a few tools—tweezers, an X-Acto knife, a small screwdriver. Then he unscrewed the jar and used the tweezers to pick up the insect. Layla stood behind him, watching carefully. It’s just a dead fly , she thought. Nothing to be afraid of.
    Tom held the thing up to the light. “I’ve heard about this. You see, DARPA never puts all its eggs in one basket. They’ve funded dozens of research groups that are developing different kinds of microdrones. And at least three of the groups are working on cyborg insects. Instead of building mechanical fliers, they attach the radio controls and surveillance cameras to flying bugs.”
    Layla thought about it for a second. “Interesting. I guess that would solve the power problem.”
    “Exactly. A moth or a fly can go for hours on just a crumb of food. It’s a superefficient biological engine. The bug dies after a few weeks, but that’s long enough for most surveillance missions.”
    “But how can you control the insect’s flight?”
    Tom raised the tweezers to give her a closer look. “You see the tiny wires in its head? Those are electrode stimulators. By delivering pulses to the optic lobes of its brain, you can make the insect start flying and stop. There are also electrodes in its thorax that send pulses to the flight muscles, which allow you to turn the bug left and right. The radio antenna is connected to the microchip on its thorax, and the video camera is attached to its abdomen. This is an incredible camera. It’s the smallest I’ve ever seen.”
    Layla was amazed that the bug could carry so much hardware. “It looks like the chip is actually embedded in the thorax.”
    “Yeah, researchers at