Read Online Extinction by Mark Alpert - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Mark Alpert
Tags: Suspense
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Cornell developed that technique. They implant the microprocessor into the pupa while the insect is metamorphosing. When the adult bug emerges from the chrysalis, the chip is part of its body.”
She cocked her head. “You’re shitting me, right?”
“No, they’ve been implanting the chips since 2007. It sounds far-fetched, but it’s a routine thing now. Just go on YouTube and search for ‘cyborg insect.’ You can watch videos of the critters flying around.” Tom maneuvered the tweezers so he could look at the fly from another angle. “But this bug has something new. An extra chip.” He studied it for several seconds. “Well, look at that. It’s a piezoelectric device.”
“What’s it doing there?”
“It converts the mechanical energy from the bug’s movements into electricity. For powering all the other implants. Nice engineering.”
“So this fly is more advanced than the others you’ve seen?”
“Definitely. More advanced and much smaller. The experiments at Cornell and Berkeley used moths and flying beetles. But a housefly’s better. Totally inconspicuous. And perfect for surveillance indoors.” He shook his head. “Now I see why DARPA’s canceling our funding. They already have their microdrone. Where the hell did you get this?”
Layla paused, wondering how much to reveal. Tom would probably be very interested to learn that this cyborg fly came from China, not an American lab. But she didn’t want to endanger the guy by telling him too much. She was staring at the dead insect and trying to decide what to do when she noticed something else on its body, a tiny barb protruding from its underside. “What’s that thing next to the camera? On the abdomen?”
Tom squinted at it. “You mean this?” He moved his index finger closer to the bug. The fly’s body suddenly jerked and the barb struck his fingertip.
Layla jumped back. “Holy shit! It’s alive!”
Tom stared at the fly. “No, it’s dead. The implant moved, not the fly.” He held up his finger, which had a small bead of blood on it. “Huh, very clever. It must’ve detected my body heat.”
Then his eyes closed and he toppled out of his chair. He hit the floor and started convulsing.
Layla stayed calm. She’d always been good in emergency situations. She reached for the phone on Tom’s desk and called 911. Then she knelt beside him and slipped a mouse pad under his head so he wouldn’t bash it on the floor. Her father had taught her the basics of first aid, so she knew the most important thing was to make sure he didn’t choke or give himself a concussion. She kept watch over him for the next three minutes, until she heard the ambulance’s siren. Then she rose to her feet and picked up the tweezers and carefully returned the fly to the specimen jar, which she closed and put back into her pouch.
She unlocked the door and held it open for the ambulance crew, who pushed a gurney into the room. The paramedics were accompanied by a pair of men wearing blue blazers and radios clipped to their belts. These were the campus security guards, she realized. One of them, a huge guy with a bushy mustache, stood directly in front of her and stretched his arm across the doorway. “What’s going on?” he shouted. “What are you doing here?”
Layla didn’t answer. She ducked under his arm and bolted down the corridor.
SIX
Supreme Harmony observed the Internet. Using its wireless links to the computers in the Analysis Room, the network of Modules searched through the many gigabytes of information stored on servers at the Yunnan Operations Center and other facilities across China. In this way, it learned its origins.
It had been created by the Guoanbu, the Ministry of State Security, which had ordered Dr. Zhang Jintao and a dozen other bioengineers to work on the project. The network had been built to analyze the thousands of hours of surveillance video collected by the ministry in four Chinese provinces—Xinjiang, Qinghai,
She cocked her head. “You’re shitting me, right?”
“No, they’ve been implanting the chips since 2007. It sounds far-fetched, but it’s a routine thing now. Just go on YouTube and search for ‘cyborg insect.’ You can watch videos of the critters flying around.” Tom maneuvered the tweezers so he could look at the fly from another angle. “But this bug has something new. An extra chip.” He studied it for several seconds. “Well, look at that. It’s a piezoelectric device.”
“What’s it doing there?”
“It converts the mechanical energy from the bug’s movements into electricity. For powering all the other implants. Nice engineering.”
“So this fly is more advanced than the others you’ve seen?”
“Definitely. More advanced and much smaller. The experiments at Cornell and Berkeley used moths and flying beetles. But a housefly’s better. Totally inconspicuous. And perfect for surveillance indoors.” He shook his head. “Now I see why DARPA’s canceling our funding. They already have their microdrone. Where the hell did you get this?”
Layla paused, wondering how much to reveal. Tom would probably be very interested to learn that this cyborg fly came from China, not an American lab. But she didn’t want to endanger the guy by telling him too much. She was staring at the dead insect and trying to decide what to do when she noticed something else on its body, a tiny barb protruding from its underside. “What’s that thing next to the camera? On the abdomen?”
Tom squinted at it. “You mean this?” He moved his index finger closer to the bug. The fly’s body suddenly jerked and the barb struck his fingertip.
Layla jumped back. “Holy shit! It’s alive!”
Tom stared at the fly. “No, it’s dead. The implant moved, not the fly.” He held up his finger, which had a small bead of blood on it. “Huh, very clever. It must’ve detected my body heat.”
Then his eyes closed and he toppled out of his chair. He hit the floor and started convulsing.
Layla stayed calm. She’d always been good in emergency situations. She reached for the phone on Tom’s desk and called 911. Then she knelt beside him and slipped a mouse pad under his head so he wouldn’t bash it on the floor. Her father had taught her the basics of first aid, so she knew the most important thing was to make sure he didn’t choke or give himself a concussion. She kept watch over him for the next three minutes, until she heard the ambulance’s siren. Then she rose to her feet and picked up the tweezers and carefully returned the fly to the specimen jar, which she closed and put back into her pouch.
She unlocked the door and held it open for the ambulance crew, who pushed a gurney into the room. The paramedics were accompanied by a pair of men wearing blue blazers and radios clipped to their belts. These were the campus security guards, she realized. One of them, a huge guy with a bushy mustache, stood directly in front of her and stretched his arm across the doorway. “What’s going on?” he shouted. “What are you doing here?”
Layla didn’t answer. She ducked under his arm and bolted down the corridor.
SIX
Supreme Harmony observed the Internet. Using its wireless links to the computers in the Analysis Room, the network of Modules searched through the many gigabytes of information stored on servers at the Yunnan Operations Center and other facilities across China. In this way, it learned its origins.
It had been created by the Guoanbu, the Ministry of State Security, which had ordered Dr. Zhang Jintao and a dozen other bioengineers to work on the project. The network had been built to analyze the thousands of hours of surveillance video collected by the ministry in four Chinese provinces—Xinjiang, Qinghai,
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