mc.prey-第6部分

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　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；　guys　never　tell　other　guys　when　they　know　something　about　their　wives。　But　women　always　tell　other　women；　if　they　know　of　a　husband's　infidelity。
　That's　just　how　it　is。
　But　I　was　feeling　so　tense　I　wanted　to…
　〃Hey；　look　at　the　time；〃　Ricky　said；　giving　me　a　big　grin。　〃I'm　late；　Mary'll　kill　me；　I've　got　to　run。　She's　already　annoyed　because　I　have　to　spend　the　next　few　days　at　the　fab　facility。　So　I'll　be　out　of　town　while　the　maid's　gone　。。。〃　He　shrugged。　〃You　know　how　it　is。〃
　〃Yeah；　I　do。　Good　luck。〃
　〃Hey；　man。　Take　care。〃
　We　shook　hands。　Murmured　another　good…bye。　Ricky　rolled　his　cart　around　the　corner　of　the　aisle；　and　was　gone。
　Sometimes　you　can't　think　about　painful　things；　you　can't　make　your　mind　focus　on　them。　Your　brain　just　slips　away；　no　thank　you；　let's　change　the　subject。　That　was　happening　to　me　now。　I　couldn't　think　about　Julia；　so　I　started　thinking　about　what　Ricky　had　told　me　about　their　fabrication　plant。　And　I　decided　it　probably　made　sense；　even　though　it　went　against　the　conventional　wisdom　about　nanotechnology。
　There　was　a　long…standing　fantasy　among　nanotechnologists　that　once　somebody　figured　out　how　to　manufacture　at　the　atomic　level；　it　would　be　like　running　the　four…minute　mile。　Everybody　would　do　it；　unleashing　a　flood　of　wonderful　molecular　creations　rolling　off　assembly　lines　all　around　the　world。　In　a　matter　of　days；　human　life　would　be　changed　by　this　marvelous　new　technology。　As　soon　as　somebody　figured　out　how　to　do　it。
　But　of　course　that　would　never　happen。　The　very　idea　was　absurd。　Because　in　essence；　molecular　manufacturing　wasn't　so　different　from　puter　manufacturing　or　flow…valve　manufacturing　or　automobile　manufacturing　or　any　other　kind　of　manufacturing。　It　took　a　while　to　get　it　right。　In　fact；　assembling　atoms　to　make　a　new　molecule　was　closely　analogous　to　piling　a　puter　program　from　individual　lines　of　code。　And　puter　code　never　piled；　the　first　time　out。　The　programmers　always　had　to　go　back　and　fix　the　lines。　And　even　after　it　was　piled；　a　puter　program　never　ever　worked　right　the　first　time。　Or　the　second　time。　Or　the　hundredth　time。　It　had　to　be　debugged；　and　debugged　again；　and　again。　And　again。
　I　always　believed　it　would　be　the　same　with　these　manufactured　molecules…they'd　have　to　be　debugged　again　and　again　before　they　worked　right。　And　if　Xymos　wanted　〃flocks〃　of　molecules　working　together；　they'd　also　have　to　debug　the　way　the　molecules　municated　with　each　other；　however　limited　that　munication　was。　Because　once　the　molecules　municated；　you　had　a　primitive　network。　To　organize　it；　you'd　probably　program　a　distributed　net。　Of　the　kind　I　had　been　developing　at　MediaTronics。　So　I　could　perfectly　well　imagine　them　doing　programming　along　with　the　manufacturing。　But　I　couldn't　see　Julia　hanging　around　while　they　did　it。　The　fab　facility　was　far　from　the　Xymos　headquarters。　It　was　literally　in　the　middle　of　nowhere…out　in　the　desert　near　Tonopah；　Nevada。　And　Julia　didn't　like　to　be　in　the　middle　of　nowhere。　I　was　sitting　in　the　pediatrician's　waiting　room　because　the　baby　was　due　for　her　next　round　of　immunizations。　There　were　four　mothers　in　the　room；　bouncing　sick　kids　on　their　laps　while　the　older　children　played　on　the　floor。　The　mothers　all　talked　to　each　other　and　studiously　ignored　me。
　I　was　getting　used　to　this。　A　guy　at　home；　a　guy　in　a　setting　like　the　pediatrician's　office；　was　an　unusual　thing。　But　it　also　meant　that　something　was　wrong。　There　was　probably　something　wrong　with　the　guy；　he　couldn't　get　a　job；　maybe　he　was　fired　for　alcoholism　or　drugs；　maybe　he　was　a　bum。　Whatever　the　reason；　it　wasn't　normal　for　a　man　to　be　in　the　pediatrician's　office　in　the　middle　of　the　day。　So　the　other　mothers　pretended　I　wasn't　there。　Except　they　shot　me　the　occasional　worried　glance；　as　if　I　might　be　sneaking　up　on　them　to　rape　them　while　their　backs　were　turned。　Even　the　nurse；　Gloria；　seemed　suspicious。　She　glanced　at　the　baby　in　my　arms…who　wasn't　crying；　and　was　hardly　sniffling。　〃What　seem