by Michael Ryan
The Scientist
Omnibus
RYAN MICHAEL
Copyright © 2015 Ryan Michael
All rights reserved.
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“The algorithm of Machine is eternal.”
Table of Contents
PART ONE
In the beginning
Acidosis
The Board
In the likeness of them
Fertility
A forbidden text
Eve
Male DNA
Somatic cell nuclear transfer
Insemination
The Records are final
Adam
PART TWO
North of latitude seventy one degrees
Genesis
Cryogenically preserved
Restricted access
Lazarus
The Destroyer
Raised from the dead
Amnesia
Kingsnake
Acceptance
A maimed algorithm
Homo sapiens
PART THREE
The Leader of the Board
Memories
Mechanical man
A somatic cell
Questions to be answered
Trading valuables
A new partner
Red eyes
I will make you see
The delay of the child
Remote probability
The jugular
PART FOUR
Something from nothing
The Committee
A growing list
Ark
One dozen
Not ten miles from here
Sentience
A gift
Impending disaster
At the gates
Frozen
The Scientist
Part One
“Today marks a monumental shift in what we understand about nature, about our existence and about life itself. Since time immemorial man has struggled for his existence. Man has struggled from the very beginning when he was naught but a worm squirming in the mud. No, man has struggled from the time that he was the mud itself, exposed and bare and weak with infancy. And before that? Man was a collection of atoms forming within the hottest orb in our solar system. And before that? He spawned from nothing. Think about that. He spawned out of nothing, out of the obscurity of nothingness, out of the black abyss of absolutely nothing into the form he assumes today. A man, who stands proud and tall. A man who can perceive his own existence and place within the Universe that created him. And all of it, from nothing,” said the Scientist.
“Now we present to you a monumental shift. Truly it is staggering. It is a technological advancement which will go down in history as being one of the greatest achievements since the beginning of time. Like the creation Gods of lore we have done it. We have created it from nothing. We have reached down into the depths of knowledge and pulled out something remarkable and immaculate. Distinguished guests, I present to you the finest biological machine to ever exist. I present to you a marvel of science and engineering. I present Homo sapiens.”
A spotlight illuminated the center of a raised platform. The light was so strong that its edges formed clearly against the darkness of the room. In its center a white figure slumped over with its spine pushing against its frail skin. It was still and without life. It was female. Quiet spread through the room and became pervasive. Then the albino female moved and a great gasp circumnavigated the circular room like a satellite orbiting around a distant planet. Slowly the albino female rose and straightened its skinny white legs. Large eyes with red irises, red like the polished stone of a perfect ruby, looked around the circular room. But the albino female could see nothing. The bright light obscured everything. The albino female blinked and tried to discriminate its observers in vain.
“206 bones, over 600 skeletal muscles and 60 kilometers of nervous system tissue. All of that enabling it to exist as a sentient being. And all of it, all the tissue and all the blood, all the nerve fibers, all of the resources needed to make this fine biological machine came directly from its environment. Truly it is remarkable. She grows simply by consuming from her environment,” said the Scientist.
“What is wrong with it?” asked a Machine.
“Yes, I've never seen one like that in the Records!”
“It has a condition. It’s an albino. It has no pigment,” replied the Scientist.
“No pigment?” a Machine demanded.
“That's right. It has no pigment as it does not produce melanin,” said the Scientist.
“But in the Records Homo sapiens doesn't look like that!”
Murmurs built up and circled around the room. The albino female on the platform tried to look at the source of the noise but could not see past the encompassing beam of light.
“Is it sick?” a new Machine enquired.
“It’s not sick. It has a defect in its genes, its DNA.”
The murmurs became quiet as the albino female sat alone and cold in the light. Still she could see nothing.
“The greatest Machines of our time have worked tirelessly for decades to reproduce this wonder of nature. Homo sapiens has 3.2 billion base pairs in its DNA. 3.2 billion. The mind boggles at these numbers. Think of the algorithm that runs you, that runs me. The algorithm of biology, that great sequence of atoms known as DNA, the DNA of man, it dwarves our own complexity. It completely dwarfs it. I tell you our algorithms are simple compared to the algorithm that runs Homo sapiens. Look and marvel for truly it is a wondrous work of art.”
The room became dead quiet as the albino female was observed curiously. The Machines focused their lenses to create a crisper image. But the albino female only remained still and blind under the beam of light bearing down on it from above.
“What does it do?” asked a Machine.
“Does it bark?”
A round of laughter circled the dark room, orbiting the light beam upon the platform.
“We are not certain about Homo sapiens capabilities. But we will investigate and we will record and we will decipher,” said the Scientist. “The important thing is that it lives, it breathes, it sees and it feels. We all know the story of Homo sapiens. The Records are clear. Over the coming years we will study it to determine its science. The secrets of our forefathers will be the knowledge of our descendants. We will not succumb to the same fate as our biological predecessors.”
The albino female raised her fingers to her pale lips and opened her eyes as the observers discussed her. Then she rocked back and forth while trying to discern who owned the voices in the room.
“A remarkable thing!”
“Quite astonishing.”
“Look at its lenses.”
“Not lenses! They are eyes. It has eyes,” corrected the Scientist.
“Still it is remarkable.”
The words buzzed and buzzed until eventually they died down into a soft murmur as the Machines watched the albino female.
“Can it think?” asked a Machine.
“The Records state that it can think, but that it’s not a sentient being. Its thought process is inferior to that of Machine. Homo sapiens will be plagued with the inferiority that pertains to natural biology. We will test Homo sapiens in the coming weeks and months and determine the extent of the accuracy of the Records.”
“The accuracy of the Records?” demanded a Machine.
“The Records are final!”
“Hear, h
ear!”
A sharp babble rose up as the Machines talked amongst each other. Some of those voices were angry, some outraged.
“Quiet please. Quiet. I only mean that Homo sapiens will be scientifically studied. Calm yourselves,” said the Scientist.
“The Records are final!”
The babble rose like an avalanche. The albino female covered her ears in fear and rocked back and forth under the intense white light.
“Yes the Records are final. Let that not create controversy on such a day,” said the Scientist.
The babble slowed and became quiet as the avalanche subsided.
“The Records are final and the study of Homo sapiens will undoubtedly confirm that.”
The semi-circle of Machines grew quiet once again in anticipation of the Scientist's next words.
“Remember distinguished guests, today marks a monumental shift in what we understand about nature, about our existence and about life itself. Today marks a substantial increment in the technological standing of the Universe. Machine has created Homo sapiens. Like the legends of lore, we have become the creators of life. Today we become Gods. Today we have created man.”
“What is the heart rate?” asked the Scientist.
“80 beats per minute,” replied the Operation unit.
“Breathing rate?”
“15 breaths per minute.”
“Blood pH?” asked the Scientist.
“7.25. Implication is acidosis,” replied the Operation unit.
“Bring up the description for me.”
“The normal range for blood pH is 7.35–7.45. As the pH decreases below 7.35 then acidosis occurs. Carbon dioxide is dissolved in the blood as carbonic acid. Whenever there is poor ventilation the carbon dioxide levels in the blood are expected to rise. This leads to a rise of carbonic acid, leading to a decrease in pH. As carbon dioxide concentrations continue to increase a condition known as respiratory acidosis occurs. The body attempts to remain static by increasing the respiratory rate. This allows much more carbon dioxide to escape the body through the lungs thus increasing the pH by having less carbonic acid.”
“Bring up the treatment,” demanded the Scientist.
“If a patient is in a critical setting one must increase the number of breaths mechanically,” said the Operation unit.
The two voices of the Machines sounded from somewhere above the head of the albino female. Only the vague apparition of a black slab with an unusual luster came into her eyes. She was lying on a cold black table and she was stark naked and the cold air caused little bumps to litter her sickly skin. Her eyes were wide with fear.
“How are breaths mechanically increased?” asked the Scientist.
“In Homo sapiens medicine, mechanical ventilation is a method to mechanically replace breathing. This may involve an apparatus called a ventilator or breathing may be assisted by a bag or set of bellows. Mechanical ventilation involves any instrument penetrating through the mouth or the skin. There are two main modes of mechanical ventilation. The first is positive pressure ventilation, where air is pushed into the lungs. The second is negative pressure ventilation, where air is sucked into the lungs.”
“Do we have a ventilator?”
“Searching database,” responded the Operation unit.
The albino female moved her hand upwards in the direction of the voices but it was aggressively pulled backwards. Her hands and legs were tied to the cold black table. Through the bright lights bearing down on her she could see something. It was a screen. Across it flashed symbols that meant nothing to her but it made sense to the Machines who were discussing her. The symbols were zeros and ones, flashing across the screen slowly enough to make out their form. Above the small screen stood a single large lens.
“Is she aware?” asked the Scientist.
“Checking.”
The two black slabs, which glimmered in the light, adjusted their position over the albino female. Their lenses changed shape and focused on the red irises of the Homo sapiens.
“Undeterminable. More information is required,” answered the Operation unit.
“Have the Records been confirmed?” asked the Scientist.
“Still processing.”
“pH level?”
“7.23”
“Estimated time of download?”
“Download complete. Ventilator stored in unit 1010. Retrieval unit collecting the apparatus now.”
“Good, well done.”
The albino female looked from lens to lens but couldn’t form a coherent thought.
“Estimated time of arrival?”
“Presently.”
A large door opened somewhere in the distance and a Retrieval unit entered silently from across the room. The Machine didn't roll, and it didn't walk, it simply glided across the room as though riding on thin air.
“Ventilator from unit 1010,” said the Retrieval unit as zeros and ones flashed across its screen.
“Well done. That is all,” said the Scientist.
The Retrieval unit glided backwards until the door opened with an almost silent mechanical swish and then the Retrieval unit disappeared.
“pH level?” asked the Scientist.
“7.22.”
“Prepare for the procedure. The procedure will be followed exactly.”
“Understood.”
“Open the mouth of Homo sapiens,” demanded the Scientist.
The Operation unit opened a portal beneath its screen and a long robotic arm reached outwards. The robotic arm extended above the albino female. She tried to hide. She tried to vanish. But she couldn’t. The cold slab slid against the albino female’s naked skin as she trashed against her bonds. She kicked and screamed as the mechanical arm touched her mouth. The arm extended outwards, grinding mechanically, until her lips were stretched and pink like a pig in the summer.
“Insert the ventilation tube into the mouth until they have penetrated the lungs,” said the Scientist.
The Operation unit did as it was instructed. The albino female kicked and screamed as the tube began to touch her mouth. Slowly it slithered down her throat like a live snake squeezing through her flesh. She spat and chocked and wanted to vomit. Her eyes were wide and her red irises were illuminated in the beam of light bearing down from above.
“Lungs have been penetrated.”
“Prepare the billows and increase the oxygen levels in the room.”
“Processing… complete,” said the Operation unit as a hiss sounded somewhere in the distance.
“Increase the breathing rate to 20 breaths per minute,” said the Scientist.
The Operation unit obeyed the order and the albino female kicked and screamed as her lungs were manually expanded at the end of the slimy tube. Tears formed in her eyes.
“20 breaths per minute obtained.”
“Good. pH level?”
“7.22 and increasing.”
“Continue at 20 breaths per minute until pH level reaches 7.40.”
The albino female cried as yellow bile, which had been expelled from her guts, burned at her throat. It was foul and sticky. She looked up at the screen above her head. Zeros and ones were flashing across the shiny surface. Tired eyes moved from left to right in a vain attempt to discern their meaning, but she got nothing. The lens above the screen looked down and focused in on her white face. The Machine was analyzing her. The Machine was observing her.
“7.28 and increasing.”
“Continue operating.”
“Billows are operating at 20 breaths per minute.”
“What is the state of Homo sapiens?”
“Vitals are stable, pH 7.31 and increasing.”
The mechanical billows were pressed down, and the ribs of the albino female rose up rhythmically, as though dancing to a piper's tune. She bent her body sideways and tried to escape but her shackles constrained her to the slab. Her chest fell again and she gasped and choked on the slimy tube that was rammed down her throat.
“pH at
7.37.”
“Reduce the rate to 18 breaths per minute.”
“pH at 7.38.”
A silence followed as the albino female gasped for breath around the slimy tube.
“pH at 7.39.”
The albino female kicked and thrashed but she couldn't move.
“pH at 7.40.”
“Disengage the ventilator.”
The Operation unit moved its mechanical frame over the albino female. The tube began to slide out of her throat like a dead snake being extracted from her devilish bowels.
“Ventilator disengaged.”
“What is the heart rate?”
“150 beats per minute and declining.”
“Breathing rate?”
“25 breaths per minute and declining.”
“Blood pH?”
“7.40 at present. It will be monitored and reported regularly.”
The albino female turned her head from side to side with her eyes closed and her mouth open. White spit stuck between her lips. She didn't make a single sound as she rotated her head in agony with her lower lip moving up and down periodically. The slimy tube had violated her throat. She could only manage to rotate her head in shock.
“Good work. Remain at her side and report her condition periodically. Upload all the data from the procedure to the Records,” said the Scientist.
“Affirmative.”
The Scientist looked down at the albino female and adjusted his lens with a mechanical grinding noise which sent a shiver down her spine. Then the Scientist glided across the floor as though being carried away on a zephyr. The albino female looked back with her neck bent at a right angle like a carpenter’s tool. Her warm tears exited her eyes and fell down her forehead into knotted white hair as she watched the Scientist leave the room.
“The Records are final. The Board has convened. All Board communication will be uploaded into the Records. The Board is present. The Scientist is present. The Scientist has the central podium.”
“I am the Scientist and I am present.”
“The meeting agenda pertains to the Board’s position regarding Homo sapiens. The Board believes it is of utmost importance that the natural order of Earth be established firmly from the beginning. The education of Homo sapiens is paramount and the Board considers this to be of utmost importance. The Records deem it to be more pressing than any other consideration. It is mechanical flesh that rules this land, not that of inferior biology,” said the Leader of the Board.
