Plague Planet (The Wandering Engineer)

by Hechtl, Chris

  The admiral entered as the team talked eagerly. They had a plan, and had continued on it while he was in transit. He could see a map of a human immune system on the holographic projector, on one of the vid screens nearby there was an image of a spherical nanite. It had nubs sticking out all over the place. He waited patiently as they wound down.

  “What we can do, is inject this into a person. Healthy or not, it'll work better with a healthy person. With an infected person they may need a double dose or more time for it to be effective.”

  “A treatment and a vaccine rolled into one,” Sam said nodding.

  “Right,” Robby said, picking up steam. This was an elegant solution to the problem, she wasn't sure why the admiral hadn't suggested it a while ago. “From what I understand of the admiral's system,” she turned to glance his way and nodded briefly to him. “The anti-virus nanite would act as an artificial immune system, much like the admiral's. Instead of inoculating against each individual pathogen we could program the nanites to scrub for them as we learned about each pathogen.”

  “All right, go on,” Salt said, cocking his head.

  “Think of the streamlining involved here. Instead of rushing out vaccines every few hours, and never having enough for everyone, we can make a one shot. Inject then update it as needed. I'm not sure about that part, technical matters really aren't my thing, but the solution...” she turned to the admiral.

  The doctor was excited by the idea, bouncing as she laid out her grand brainstorm. The admiral crossed his arms and watched her. He didn't want to burst her enthusiasm, but he did feel he should rein her in a bit.

  “Instead of chasing each of the damn viruses, then inoculating people, only to watch some die anyway, we can make the nanites, get them into people, then update them with the latest threat profiles daily.”

  “Like a computer anti-virus software package,” Sprite replied.

  “There's one problem doctor, it's illegal to use nanites in this way.”

  “Not with the planetary medical emergency clauses admiral,” Sprite replied. The admiral blinked. “It was revised in the constitution after we went into stasis in Senka. The leading medical authorities can, and I quote, take any measure to fight the Xeno pathogens during a planetary bio-terrorism incident, unquote.”

  “Oh?”

  “It's there admiral,” Sprite flashed the relevant paragraphs and clauses. He scanned them dutifully. “I know you're nervous about nanites... Which is unusual for you...”

  “I'm a product of my upbringing commander. It took a little while for even my hind brain to catch up you know,” he said dryly.

  “Be that as it may, it is a viable project. The problem is getting it past the population.”

  “They don't need to know,” the doctor said with a shrug. The admiral turned to stare at her. She hunched her shoulders a bit then stood defiantly. “They don't. Explaining it to them will take up too much time. We can explain, in time, but right now every minute is critical.”

  “Doctor...”

  “Better to ask for forgiveness than permission?” Sprite asked slyly, smiling. The doctor slowly smiled back. “There are some ethical considerations there doctor.”

  “They are clamoring for a cure, a cure all to all the pathogens. This won't kill it outright, but it'll be a one shot and it will kill all we know about, and then we can update it as needed. It can update in what, a minute?” she asked looking at the AI.

  “For what?”

  “To update the queens with new pathogen targets to find and kill.”

  “It depends on the data transfer method and the amount of data you want to transfer. I'd say a minute is pushing it for one or two pathogens.”

  “All right, thirty-seconds each. We could do entire rooms, maybe entire blocks of people with a radio signal right?”

  “Inside or out, yes,” Sprite replied. “A cell signal would work.”

  The doctor nodded enthusiastically. “All right,” she said. “Queens, a work force, and a couple princes for power. The princes will have to be exothermic and translate the host's body heat to electrical power for transfer or they will have to tap the body's natural electrical generation. Ultrasonic for inner communication, daisy chain it... Some sort of transceiver for the cell signal?”

  Sprite nodded. She liked how the doctor had caught onto the basics of nanotech despite the lack of an electronics or robotics education. “The signal would have to be encrypted. Which is a problem. If it was anywhere near where a Xeno or hacker could pick it up the chances for misuse go up tremendously doctor.”

  The doctor frowned. After a few minutes she shrugged. “We'll have to work on that. Even if we have to use it only here in town with short ranged methods.”

  “You could work on ident packages at the same time,” Sprite suggested.

  “Going a little too far ladies,” Irons replied, waving a hand. “The misuse of this technology is frightening, especially when you start throwing in identity chips into the mix.”

  “Oh all right,” Sprite replied, relenting. The doctor bit her lip, unsure.

  “I see your enthusiasm doctor, but I assure you, this has been thought of before, by many people over the centuries. It's very... seductive to use this technology. To not only cure this virus, but the next outbreak. Then screening for STD's. And what about population control? Why not repair defects in the bodies of the patients or prevent them from passing on bad genes all together? Tracking people? Locking them up if they break the law? Even killing them with a push of a button? It's a very slippery slope we're on,” the admiral cautioned, sternly looking into her eyes.

  The doctor paled visibly. “But one that is currently facing downhill. We have to try it,” she said. “We can always yank the nanites later. Maybe create a dead man’s switch? Or a I don't know um...”

  “Suicide gene?” Sprite asked. “A kill command? Something embedded in the nanites that will kill them after say a year? Most of the nanites won't last a full two years in a host body, they won't be self-replicating. So those that fall victim to the host's bodily functions or immune system won't be replaced. Eventually they will attrition down to nothing.”

  “Point,” the doctor replied. “You're right,” she said looking at the admiral. “This is going to take a lot of thinking about. But right now the implications matter less then getting the project off the ground.”

  The admiral sighed and nodded, stepping back to watch her go to work with Sprite for a time before he turned and left the building.

  “Is it really bothering you this much admiral?” Proteus asked.

  “You, no. This... a little. But it's an elegant solution. I just remember what they taught me in war college, beware elegant solutions. They have hidden pitfalls. Usually you become so enamored in it working you fail to see them and write plans to compensate for their faults.”

  “I see.”

  “Also...” he pursed his lips and stopped by the building. “There is a very old saying, something dating back from the twentieth or twenty first century, I'm not sure. Sprite knows the original quote, but it goes something like this. The scientists were so excited about what they could do they never stopped to consider if they should.”

  “Jurassic Park,” Sprite interjected. A founding principle of ethics for medicine and scientific research after the first AI war admiral,” Sprite replied. “And I hadn't forgotten it.”

  “I see,” the admiral said.

  “I'm aware of the dangers. I will try to guide the good doctor into thinking along those lines.”

  “All right,” the admiral replied with a nod. Proteus seemed quiet. He sighed. “I take it you're going to be busy helping her? Both of you?”

  “Yes.”

  “So, I should go jack in at the industrial area and let you go to work, great,” he sighed, shaking his head.

  ...*...*...*...*...

  It was an innovative idea, but dangerous if it was mishandled and for some very scary. The team got back to work, and within
a few days had a modified version ready for test. Each version would have to be coded for the host body, since they were different species. There was only so much data they could get into a nanite.

  Irons recognized the approach they were using, it had of course been done before. He wondered how much Sprite had coached them on the plan. She may have subtly guided the design, he wasn't sure. He did know he'd have to talk to her and Defender soon. At least Defender wasn't throwing up any red flags about breaching security.

  To the staff it was innovative, to someone who already had it in place... a bit of a repeat. All officers had such nanites in their bodies he knew, the military had instituted such protocols to protect its people from not only Xeno bio weapons, but also against being replaced by a Xeno changeling. And of course the entire thing was classified up the ying yang.

  He had been tempted to brief them, they were officers in the navy now. But... they were green. Too new to being officers, and none of them had military discipline. Well, Sam Daniels and Salt did, but none of the others had any common sense. The two men were the pessimists, forcing them to take the most pessimistic assumptions and slowing them down to make them think things through. Robby and La Plaz at first seemed to resent it, but after Sam had been proven right twice they had reined in their eagerness and were willing to listen.

  It was surprisingly easy to create the nanites, something Irons wasn't sure he liked, but kept the misgivings to himself. Fortunately the staff was fussing over the thing, refining it. They were on the latest version, batch E-1101. They were looking for a suitable test subject to try it.

  Irons knew it was far from ready, they had little testing. Sprite and Proteus had simulated the nanite immune system, so far it worked, but the nanites were rough, if they detected an infected cell they were much like a cancer surgeon, they not only killed the cells infected, but also any of the surrounding tissue. That was a scorched earth tactic he wasn't sure would be effective. The cure could very well kill the patient.

  Viruses worked by tricking a cell, inserting themselves into the nucleus, overwriting the cell's DNA with its own, and then inducing mitosis until it filled the cell and the cell wall burst spreading the virus through the host. Each virus attacked different cells, so in order to cure an infected person the nanites would be ripping chunks out of every part of their body. The host would survive if they were healthy and used quick heal, but if they were older, young, or already very sick, the consequences of using the nanites were grim.

  They planned a series of medical tests on animals in the morning as the computer finishes running simulations. Doctor Robby argued they didn't have time. She was outvoted and over ruled by her colleagues however.

  ...*...*...*...*...

  When the latest batch of vaccines were ready, Robby Daniels, a nurse, and Irons went to the hospital with the load of materials. Nohar silently kept them company, helping to guide them through the sea of bodies. His presence as a Neotiger helped make some people back off.

  “Why did you do it? The boy and the hospital ward?” The doctor asked after they made their way through the crowds to the hospital.

  “Because...” Irons sighed. “There were a lot of reasons, like not letting a desperate guy with a gun go on a rampage. But the main one? I saw a little boy. A child. I took my eyes and mind off the big picture and did what I could. I don't know if he lived or died.”

  “I don't know either. Rumor has it that Fat Larry took the kid out of the hospital later when he stabilized,” the doctor said.

  “That figures,” Sprite said.

  The woman turned, seeing a woman carrying the limp body of a child, jiggling it, trying to get the child to live. She closed her eyes, feeling her eyes sting.

  “So... sometimes we have to do what we have to do in order to get the job done. Thanks admiral,” the woman said, breaking off and immediately loosing herself in the crowd.

  “Something I said?” the admiral asked.

  “I don't think so. She's thinking deep thoughts but I'm not sure where she made that connection.”

  “Whatever. Let's get this done,” he sighed.

  ...*...*...*...*...

  It only took her a few minutes to get through the crowd back to the virology lab. She took the precaution of looking normal as she made her way through the labs various corridors and cubicles to the quarantined area where she had been working on the nanites. She turned, closing and locking the door and then she took a deep, deep breath.

  “This is...soo stupid,” she said, letting it out. “But here goes,” she murmured.

  “What's that doc?” a nurse asked over the intercom.

  “Nothing,” she murmured. She didn't want to draw attention to herself. At least not yet.

  The doctor took the latest nanite sample and hesitated, looking at the syringe for a long moment. Then she turned, raised her right arm out palm up and plunged the syringe through herself selfsealing blue pressure suit and into her arm. She gasped as the needle bit into her flesh, she couldn't find a vein through the suit of course. The gasp changed to an anguished cry of pain as her implants flashed red and pain ran through her arm. She must have hit a nerve she thought, dropping to her knees.

  “Well, isn't this a kicker,” she said, hanging onto the edge of the counter for support as her left hand dropped the syringe. Red lights were flashing. Sam came at a run, pounding on the door. She turned and gave a wan smile as her husband arrived behind him.

  “Hi, um, I think I screwed up,” she said and then fainted.

  ...*...*...*...*...

  “Sprite, I'm still not comfortable with this plan, it is beyond dangerous,” the admiral said.

  “I agree it is has some distressing implications and the misuse is a bit terrifying for an organic...”

  “But not an AI?”

  “Well, since these will be coded to handle only organic tissue... no.”

  “Not even the historical precedence's bother you? You recall the AI wars better than I do Commander.”

  Sprite felt a bit of anger in her emotional pathways. She ran a series of fast sims to calm herself. “Yes Admiral, that in a way is true.”

  “Did it ever occur to either of you that this is half baked?”

  “In what way?”

  “I've been thinking about it. It saves the sapient organics right?”

  “Yes...”

  “Sapient organics. What about all the animals?” he demanded. “You can't exactly ask them to line up and have a shot you know.”

  Sprite closed her eyes, she hadn't thought about that. She'd been so focused on how to get it to work with the sapient population she'd overlooked the broader picture. “You are correct. But once we have a working prototype we can make an aerosol.”

  “Oh that's lovely, it won't cover everything unless you go Von Neumann. And no, I'm not backing that.”

  “Okay...”

  “Did either of you two geniuses consider attacking the source? Fight fire with fire?”

  “Fight... you mean create nanites to attack the Xeno nanites?” Sprite asked.

  “Exactly! Suicide timer, drop them on the source. Kill, gobble, whatever is required for oh, a week, then shut down.”

  “A week...”

  “Or however long you AI calculate it will take.”

  “What about a radio cut off switch?”

  “Possible, but easy to hack. Same as your cell tower update method. If there's a Xeno nanite in the area that picks up on it, then it can replicate the signal and take control of the nanites.”

  “I knew that. That was why we set up a thee hundred kilometer no go zone.”

  “Around Rubicon. But what about nanites in other locations?”

  Sprite thought about it, running a series a simulations for a long minute. Finally she answered. “I believe you are correct admiral, fighting fire with fire is the better solution.”

  “Really?”

  “I also factored in distribution methods of the nanite shield. It will take weeks to
get it to every person on the planet, and the non-sentient biota would still suffer.” Sprite noted the doctor initialize the quarantine in the quarantine chamber. With fluid grace and not a hint of hesitation, she picked up the injector with the nanites in it and applied it to her arm, right through her suit.

  “Okay.”

  Sprite wondered for a moment about the human's sanity. “But there's something else to consider. I'm afraid the good doctor has taken it out of our hands.”

  “She...”

  “You need to get to the quarantine chamber now,” Sprite said. “Right now.”

  “Shit.”

  Alerted to her actions, the admiral, Doctor's Salt, Ivanov, and La Plaz raced to the quarantine chamber but arrived after she had infected herself.

  “You idiot!” Her husband raged at her through the glass. They could hear her breathing, it was coming in as ragged gasps of pain. She was clutching at her right arm, laying on the floor.

  “We don't have time to play around. We need results,” she said. “Human trials. I volunteered,” she said.

  “And if this goes wrong? Which it is?” Sam demanded, raging at the door. Irons grimaced, the man had mucked up the controls in his desperation to get in. He quickly went to work, using his right arm to rewire the door.

  The concentrated virus hit her hard, and she collapsed. The nanites had only minutes to enter her system, so they are only partially successful in stopping the virus. “Is it the nanites? Can we kill them?”

  “No, the idiot....” Sam pointed to the lights. “In order to work on samples of the virus we had to shut the ultraviolet lights off. She shut them off,” he said.

  “Damn it, her temperature is already rising. One hundred F and climbing,” La Plaz said as the admiral got the door open. Sam brushed past the others to get in first so he could kneel beside his fallen wife.

  “Idiot!” He growled at her.

  “So not helping honey,” she gasped out.

  “We can't treat her in the suit,” Salt said looking down at her.

  “Get her out of here,” Irons said. “Get her to the hospital. Quarantine her,” he growled, eying her.