Or worse, if someone else came up with the same idea and the story started all over again. At least they knew how to deal with nanotechnology like that now.
Skylar and Alex were given a single afternoon off before they were to report back to the safe house. Then they would be shipped back to the United States to tie up all the other administrative loose ends. That handful of hours to themselves wasn’t enough to explore the fjords by boat like Skylar wished. But it was enough to finally sneak off for those promised drinks.
They strolled past the famous fish market, where tourists snatched up sandwiches made with fresh shrimp and cod, along with crabs and lobsters by the bagful. Other stands offered delicacies made with whale meat.
“Any interest?” Alex asked, pointing to one of the chunks of dark-red meat with his broken finger in a splint.
“Looks like a steak, but I think I’ll pass,” Skylar said. “Liquid diet only for the afternoon.”
The walkway around the harbor took them to a row of colorful wooden buildings. These were Bergen’s most iconic attractions. Each wooden structure seemed to tilt slightly, as though they were bracing against the wind. A metal sign posted in front of one told Skylar they had been established in the Middle Ages and used as warehouses for seafaring merchants. Over the years, they’d been rebuilt after fires or storms. Now, instead of housing goods for merchants in the age of three-masted ships, they had been turned into cafes and art galleries and bars for tourists visiting the city.
Skylar had never been one for souvenirs. For one thing, she couldn’t tell her family back home where she’d been. For another, she preferred making memories to cheap tchotchkes.
She and Alex walked between two of the former warehouses into an alley that hid even more cafes and shops lining the cramped cobblestone sidewalks. Crooked steps led up to catwalks that looked like a light rain might knock them over. The place gave Skylar a vibe like she’d just stepped into a neighborhood for witches and wizards.
“Think there’s actually somewhere to grab a drink in here?” she asked, looking around at the menagerie of small museums, art galleries, and jewelry stores.
“Looks like it,” Alex said, pointing straight ahead.
A small clearing between the warehouses opened into a square. Sunlight filtered through the cloud-covered sky, shining its warmth over a group of picnic tables. Behind the tables, a man worked a bar stand, selling two different types of local draft beers.
“Don’t see that whiskey you wanted,” she said. “Maybe we can check inside?”
Alex shook his head. “Beer is fine for now. It’ll go well with the fresh, salty air.”
They found a seat. Not hard to do given most of the tables were empty. The tourists seemed more enchanted with the buildings from the harborside view. Most of them didn’t bother delving into those intricate pathways back there.
“We did it,” Skylar said, tipping her glass toward Alex. “No more Ring of Solomon.”
“No more Ring of Solomon,” Alex said. “To us. To Rahel Arnon and David Friedman.”
“And Elad Luria too,” she added.
He met her glass in toast.
“You really trusted Elad?” Alex asked her. “Even after everything we know now?”
She took a sip, eying an older couple slowly meandering by a long statue of a fish carved out of a log. “I do. He had the chance to infect me with those particles. To give in to Ballard. But he didn’t. Instead, he ran after Ballard to save us.”
“Maybe he was trying to help his partner,” Alex said.
“Don’t play devil’s advocate,” she said. “I saw the look on his face. He promised he would help me when you were infected by those particles.”
Alex traced his finger around the rim of his pint glass. “I can only assume it was him who took the C-4 from my tac vest when I was infected. I don’t think it just fell out.”
“All I know is that I didn’t take it,” Skylar said. “And after he went into that manufacturing facility, it wasn’t long before the place exploded like a pus-filled zit.”
“You have a way with words, partner,” Alex said. “But point taken.”
“In a way, I think the Ring of Solomon is what saved that guy from dying as a total asshole. His brain being zapped might’ve been the best thing to happen to him.”
“Hope it doesn’t have any long-term effects on us.”
Skylar shrugged. “If it means you loosen up a bit, it’s not the worst thing in the world. Look at you, drinking beer!”
Alex gave her a slight grin. “Hard to loosen up when we’re chasing down rogue agents trying to brainwash people with chemical weapons.”
Skylar couldn’t exactly disagree. She took another long swig, staring out at the wooden buildings and staircases around them. A few people walked by, taking pictures of the whimsical place.
“Some days, I wish I could do that,” she said, nodding toward the tourists.
“I’m sure we can get you a camera.”
She shook her head. “You know what I mean. To be carefree. To explore a place like this without looking for the exits and blind spots.”
“We do what we do so they can do that. I’m going to guess you didn’t join the Marines because you wanted an easy nine-to-five in an office.”
“True,” she said. “Not a hell of a lot for me to do in a cubicle. Never been a fan of just sitting on my ass.”
“Except when you’ve got a beer in hand.”
“Now you’re learning.”
“I learn from the best,” he replied. Alex’s expression changed, growing troubled. “But there’s something still bothering me.”
“Oh?”
“When my mind snapped back at Gadriel, I had my fingers around your neck. You were seconds away from death. And you had my knife in your hand.”
“Yeah, I remember.”
“Why didn’t you end it?”
“You mean, why didn’t I end you?”
Alex nodded.
Skylar didn’t really feel like drinking anymore. She set the glass down.
“You made me make that promise,” he pressed. “You promised to do what you had to for the mission.”
Skylar hesitated for a moment before answering. “When I lost my leg, I escaped my chopper alive, but the guys I was trying to protect… they didn’t make it. I couldn’t live with that again.”
“But you could’ve gone after Ballard with Elad.”
“I tried,” she said. “I tried to restrain you, to stop you without roughing up that pretty face of yours. But you weren’t having it. Even when that knife was in my hand, even when I knew it’s what I had to do… well, there was no way I could plunge that knife into my brother’s chest.”
“Even with the mission at stake.”
“Even then,” she said. “Guess I talk a big game, huh?”
“I wouldn’t say that,” Alex said. “And I’m always going to be grateful you didn’t just leave me on that rig as a mindless nanoparticle-infected zombie.”
“That makes two of us,” she said. “But now that I saved your ass, you owe me.”
Alex looked up at the gray clouds. A few drops of rain began to fall. Not that either of them really cared about a little water now.
“What do I owe you?” he asked.
“I haven’t decided yet.” Skylar picked up her glass again and knocked back the rest of her pint before the rain could ruin it. “I’ve got a good feeling you’ll have a chance to make it up to me soon enough.”
The End of Demon Mind, Vector, Book 2
-Author’s Note-
One of my first research projects as an undergraduate student at the University of Iowa involved nanoparticles. My goal was to track what happened to these nanoparticles as cells essentially sucked them up. We wanted to see how the cells stored the particles after they penetrated the cell membrane.
The project itself was relatively simple and wasn’t all that groundbreaking.
But the potential applications for nan
oparticles astounded me. For example, nanoparticles could be used to deliver life-saving drugs to specific diseased organs or tissues, potentially preventing side effects by limiting the rest of the body’s exposure to those drugs. These particles can also be used to aid in imaging techniques, like magnetic resonance imaging, making it easier for clinicians to see particular organs or tissues—or even making tiny tumors visible long before a doctor might normally notice them.
Researchers have also discovered strategies to add antibodies or other molecules on the surface of the nanoparticles that can help the particles find cancer cells within the body. They can then either deliver a payload of anti-cancer therapeutics, kind of like a homing missile hitting its target. Or the particles might be absorbed into the cells of a cancerous tumor. A clinician could then apply an external magnetic field, for example, to selectively heat the particles and destroy the cancerous tissues while sparing healthy organs or tissues. This level of precision can beat nearly any surgeon with a scalpel.
And that’s just scratching the surface of nanoparticle applications in medicine.
Nanoparticles have been deployed in research ranging from being used to break down spilled oil into biodegradable components or incorporated into composite materials to make stronger windmill blades, for instance.
The nanoscopic realm of technology is massive.
Just as a frame of reference, let’s say a nanoparticle is roughly the size of a basketball. Then a human would be about the height of four Earths stacked on top of each other. A cell would be somewhere around a football field or two (depending on the type of cell).
For such small objects, they can really pack a punch.
And they certainly packed a hell of a punch in Demon Mind.
Like most books I write, the scientific studies I mentioned are largely based on actual research.
There is no shortage of interesting literature when it comes to nanoparticles.
Concocting a chemical weapon unlike any Vector had ever seen was only a matter of tying together disparate, budding technologies from various realms of nanoparticle research.
So yes, nanoparticles are reality. Mostly in very helpful applications.
Researchers have in fact used nanoparticles to manipulate brain cell activity. They have attached different targeting molecules to the nanoparticles. These molecules can then selectively bind to the membrane of brain cells—or neurons. Heating the particles up with various methods—some applications use light as a trigger, others use magnetic fields—can cause the neurons to generate a nerve impulse. These impulses allow neurons to communicate and might cause a reaction like a person curling their finger or evoking feelings of fear.
That’s a super simplified explanation of what’s going on. But it’s not a far stretch to imagine that through the advancement of this tech, activating nanoparticles inside a person’s brain through an external input could be used to selectively activate brain cells to elicit specific feelings, reactions, or even behaviors in a person.
There are all kinds of strategies to achieve these goals. For example, one research group designed DNA-based nanobots—basically nano-sized constructs with the ability to perform some task or function—attached to iron oxide nanoparticles. Inside these nanobots were payloads of drugs.
When an electromagnetic field was applied to these constructs, the nanoparticles essentially unlocked the bots and released the drugs. They tested these nanoconstructs in cockroaches to see if they could remotely trigger the release of the drug payloads—and they were quite successful.
Researchers have also used nanoparticles in antenna applications. For example, scientists have pioneered the use of tiny nanoparticle clusters to study biological processes by controlling the production and activation of fluorescent proteins. Others have proposed creating nanoparticle-based sprays that could be used on trees to turn them into huge, ready-made antennae. Nanoparticles have also been used to construct antennae for electronic devices and wireless sensors.
Hopefully this gives you the groundwork for the ideas that I scrapped together for Solomon’s Ring. You can imagine how these technologies can be blended. First, using a set of targeting proteins attached to our nanoparticles, we can guide them to specific locations within the human brain. Then they could be activated by an external source, acting like the nanoantennae. Those signals would lead to the delivery a drug that influences their host. Or perhaps to heat up, activating specific neural pathways.
Fortunately, current day and future applications of nanoparticles and nanotechnology have a much more noble goal of helping people. Everything from improving human health to protecting the environment or creating new methods of manufacturing electronic devices are impacted by nanoparticles.
As for the scene setting in this book, I was heavily inspired by my research of and travels through Jordan. The country is small enough to make for an easy road trip, but packed full of so much history you could travel hundreds of thousands of years into the past and still find evidence of human activity there.
Empires have risen and fallen around Jordan. The country is steeped with sites of immense religious importance.
Everywhere I traveled, I found myself awestruck. First, by the remnants of ancient empires—the Citadel, namely—standing in the middle of Amman. Then by the delicious food and the overwhelming friendliness of strangers. Floating in the Dead Sea is an experience. Disconcerting at first when you’re practically pushed out of the water thanks to the extraordinarily high salt content that creates that buoyant force. Then painful if you’ve got any neglected scratches, no matter how nanoscopic.
The Wadi Rum desert is jaw-dropping. Looks straight out of a Martian landscape.
And finally, there is Petra. An ancient city carved into the cliffsides, appearing majestically in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
Yes, you will see lots of individuals advertising donkey rides through Petra. And yes, for some reason, many of them claim their donkeys are named Shakira. (Or at least that was the case for me and several of my friends.)
Currently, science and technology is the fastest growing industry in Jordan. So when you combine all these factors, I could not help but see Jordan as a significant player in Skylar and Alex’s race to stop Solomon’s Ring.
I hope you enjoyed this journey with Vector, and I cannot wait to share more adventures in the future.
Anthony J. Melchiorri
April 2021
-Dear Reader-
Thank you for reading Demon Mind, Book Two in the Vector series. I truly hope you’re enjoying the series. If you are, would you please leave a review? You can leave one as short or as long as you like.
Reviews let me know if you’d like to see more in the series. The good news is that if you’re interested in book three in the Vector series, you can check it out here: Silent Fire: Vector, Book Three
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Demon Mind (Vector Book 2) Page 36
