mc.prey-第12节

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。　I　worked　quickly。　Four　Phillips　head　screws；　and　the　back　cover　came　off　in　my　hand。　I　found　myself　staring　at　the　green　circuit　board。　It　was　covered　by　a　fine　layer　of　grayish　dust；　like　lint　from　a　clothes　dryer；　that　obscured　all　the　electronic　ponents。　I　suspected　that　Eric　had　slid　into　home　plate　with　this　thing　in　his　pocket。　That　was　probably　why　it　didn't　work。　But　I　looked　along　the　edge　of　the　plastic　and　saw　a　rubber　gasket　where　the　back　fitted　against　the　device。　They'd　made　this　thing　airtight　。。。　as　they　should。
　I　blew　the　dust　away；　so　I　could　see　better。　I　was　hoping　to　see　a　loose　battery　connection；　or　a　memory　chip　that　had　popped　up　from　heat；　anyway　something　that　would　be　easy　to　fix。　I　squinted　at　the　chips；　trying　to　read　the　writing。　The　writing　on　one　chip　was　obscured；　because　there　seemed　to　be　some　kind　of…
　I　paused。
　〃What　is　it？〃　Eric　said；　watching　me。
　〃Hand　me　that　magnifying　glass。〃
　Eric　gave　me　a　big　glass；　and　I　swung　my　high…intensity　lamp　low；　and　bent　over　the　chip；　examining　it　closely。　The　reason　I　couldn't　read　the　writing　was　that　the　surface　of　the　chip　had　been　corroded。　The　whole　chip　was　etched　in　rivulets；　a　miniature　river　delta。　I　understood　now　where　the　dust　had　e　from。　It　was　the　disintegrated　remains　of　the　chip。　〃Can　you　fix　it；　Dad？〃　Eric　said。　〃Can　you？〃
　What　could　have　caused　this？　The　rest　of　the　motherboard　seemed　fine。　The　controller　chip　was　untouched。　Only　the　memory　chip　was　damaged。　I　wasn't　a　hardware　guy；　but　I　knew　enough　to　do　basic　puter　repairs。　I　could　install　hard　drives；　add　memory；　things　like　that。　I'd　handled　memory　chips　before；　and　I'd　never　seen　anything　like　this。　All　I　could　think　was　that　it　was　a　faulty　chip。　These　MP3　players　were　probably　built　with　the　cheapest　ponents　available。
　〃Dad？　Can　you　fix　it？〃
　〃No；〃　I　said。　〃It　needs　another　chip。　I'll　get　you　one　tomorrow。〃
　〃　'Cause　she　slimed　it；　right？〃
　〃No。　I　think　it's　just　a　faulty　chip。〃
　〃Dad。　It　was　fine　for　a　whole　year。　She　slimed　it。　It's　not　fair！〃　As　if　on　cue；　the　baby　started　crying。　I　left　the　MP3　player　on　the　garage　table；　and　went　back　inside　the　house。　I　looked　at　my　watch。　I　would　just　have　time　to　change　Amanda's　diaper；　and　mix　her　cereal　for　dinner；　before　the　pot　roast　came　out。
　By　nine；　the　younger　kids　were　asleep；　and　the　house　was　quiet　except　for　Nicole's　voice；　saying；　〃That　sounds　pretty　serious。　That　sounds　pretty　serious。　That　sounds　。。。　pretty　serious。〃　She　was　standing　in　front　of　the　bathroom　mirror；　staring　at　herself　and　reciting　her　lines。
　I'd　gotten　voice　mail　from　Julia　saying　she'd　be　back　by　eight；　but　she　hadn't　made　it。　I　wasn't　about　to　call　and　check　up　on　her。　Anyway；　I　was　tired；　too　tired　to　work　up　the　energy　to　worry　about　her。　I'd　picked　up　a　lot　of　tricks　in　the　last　months…mostly　involving　liberal　use　of　tinfoil　so　I　didn't　have　to　clean　so　much…but　even　so；　after　I　did　the　cooking；　set　the　table；　fed　the　kids；　played　airplane　to　get　the　baby　to　eat　her　cereal；　cleared　the　table；　wiped　down　the　high　chair；　put　the　baby　to　bed；　and　then　cleaned　up　the　kitchen；　I　was　tired。　Especially　since　the　baby　kept　spitting　out　the　cereal；　and　Eric　kept　insisting　all　through　dinner　that　it　wasn't　fair；　he　wanted　chicken　fingers　instead　of　the　roast。
　I　flopped　down　on　the　bed；　and　flicked　on　the　TV。
　There　was　only　static；　and　then　I　realized　the　DVD　player　was　still　turned　on；　interrupting　the　cable　transmission。　I　hit　the　remote　button；　and　the　disc　in　the　machine　began　to　play。　It　was　Julia's　demo；　from　several　days　before。
　The　camera　moved　through　the　bloodstream；　and　into　the　heart。　Again；　I　saw　that　the　liquid　of　blood　was　almost　colorless；　with　bouncing　red　cells。　Julia　was　speaking。　On　the　table；　the　subject　lay　with　the　antenna　above　his　body。
　〃We're　ing　out　of　the　ventricle；　and　you　see　the　aorta　ahead　。。。　And　now　we　will　go　through　the　arterial　system　。。。〃
　She　turned　to　face　the　camera。
　〃The　images　you　have　seen　are　fleeting；　but　we　can　allow　the　camera　to　cycle　through　for　as　much　as　half　an　hour；　and　we　can　build　up　highly　detailed　posites　of　anything　we　want　to　see。　We　can　even　pause　the　camera；　using　a　strong　magnetic　field。　When　we　are　finished；　we　simply　shunt　the　blood　through　an　intravenous　loop　surrounded　by　a　strong　magnetic　field；　removing　the　particles；　and　then　send　the　patient　home。〃
　The　video　image　came　back　to　Julia。　〃This　Xymos　technology　is　safe；　reliable；　and　extremely　easy　to　use。　It　does　not　require　highly　trained　personnel；　it　can　be　administered　by　an　IV　nurse　or　a　medical　technician。　In　the　United　States　alone；　a　million　people　die　each　year　from　vascular　disease。　More　than　thirty　million　have　diagnosed　cardiovascular　disease。　mercial　prospects　for　this　imaging　technology　are　very　strong。　Because　it　is　painless；　simple；　and　safe；　it　will　replace　other　imaging　techniques　such　as　CAT　scans　and　angiography　and　will　bee　the　standard　procedure。　We　will　market　the　nanotech　cameras；　the　antenna；　and　monitor　systems。　Our　per…test　cost　will　be　only　twenty　dollars。　This　is　in　contrast　to　certain　gene　technologies　that　currently　charge　two　to　three　thousand　dollars　a　test。　But　at　a　mere　twenty　dollars；　we　expect　worldwide　revenues　to　exceed　four　hundred　million　dollars　in　the　first　year。　And　once　the　procedure　is　established；　those　figures　will　triple。　We　are　talking　about　a　technology　that　generates　one　point　two　billion　dollars　a　year。　Now　if　there　are　questions　。。。〃　I　yawned；　and　flicked　the　TV　off。　It　was　impressive；　and　her　argument　was　pelling。　In　fact；　I　couldn't　understand　why　Xymos　was　having　trouble　getting　their　next　round　of　funding。　For　investors；　this　should　be　a　slam　dunk。
　But　then；　she　probably　wasn't　having　trouble。　She　was　probably　just　using　the　funding　crisis　as　an　excuse　to　stay　late　every　night。　For　her　own　reasons。
　I　turned　out　the　light。　Lying　in　bed；　staring　at　the　ceiling　in　the　dark；　I　began　to　see　fleeting　images。　Julia's　thigh；　over　another　man's　leg。　Julia's　back　arched。　Julia　breathing　heavily；　her　muscles　tensed。　Her　arm　reaching　up　to　push　against　the　headboard。　I　found　I　couldn't　stop　the　images。
　I　got　out　of　bed；　and　went　to　check　the　kids。　Nicole　was　still　up；　emailing　her　friends。　I　told　her　it　was　time　for　lights　out。　Eric　had　kicked　off　his　covers。　I　pulled　them　back　up。　The　baby　was　still　purple；　but　she　slept　soundly；　her　breathing　gentle　and　regular。
　I　got　back　into　bed。　I　willed　myself　to　go　to　sleep；　to　think　of　something　else。　I　tossed　and　turned；　adjusted　the　pillow；　got　up　for　a　glass　of　milk　and　cookies。　Eventually；　finally；　I　fell　into　a　restless　sleep。
　And　I　had　a　very　strange　dream。
　Sometime　during　the　night；　I　rolled　over　to　see　Julia　standing　by　the　bed；　undressing。　She　was　moving　slowly；　as　if　tired　or　very　dreamy；　unbuttoning　her　blouse。　She　was　turned　away　from　me；　but　I　could　see　her　face　in　the　mirror。　She　looked　beautiful；　almost　regal。　Her　features　looked　more　chiseled　than　I　remembered；　though　perhaps　it　was　just　the　light。　My　eyes　were　half…closed。　She　hadn't　noticed　I　was　awake。　She　continued　to　slowly　unbutton　her　blouse。　Her　lips　were　moving；　as　if　she　were　whispering　something；　or　praying。　Her　eyes　seemed　vacant；　lost　in　thought。
　Then　as　I　watched；　her　lips　turned　dark　red；　and　then　black。　She　didn't　seem　to　notice。　The　blackness　flowed　away　from　her　mouth　across　her　cheeks　and　over　her　lower　face；　and　onto　her　neck。　I　held　my　breath。　I　felt　great　danger。　The　blackness　now　flowed　in　a　sheet　down　her　body　until　she　was　entirely　covered；　as　if　with　a　cloak。　Only　the　upper　half　of　her　face　remained　exposed。　Her　features　were　posed；　in　fact　she　seemed　oblivious；　just　staring　into　space；　dark　lips　silently　moving。　Watching　her；　I　felt　a　chill　that　ran　deep　into　my　bones。　Then　a　moment　later　the　black　sheet　slid　to　the　floor　and　vanished。
　Julia；　normal　again；　finished　removing　her　blouse；　and　walked　into　the　bathroom。　I　wanted　to　get　up　and　follow　her；　but　I　found　I　could　not　move。　A　heavy　fatigue　held　me　down　on　the　bed；　immobilizing　me。　I　was　so　exhausted　I　could　hardly　breathe。　This　oppressive　sense　of　fatigue　grew　rapidly；　and　overwhelmed　my　consciousness。　Losing　all　awareness；　I　felt　my　eyes　close；　and　I　slept。
　　
　DAY　4　
　6：40　A。M。
　The　next　morning　the　dream　was　still　fresh　in　my　mind；　vivid　and　disturbing。　It　felt　utterly　real；　not　like　a　dream　at　all。
　Julia　was　already　up。　I　got　out　of　bed　and　walked　around　to　where　I　had　seen　her　the　night　before。　I　looked　down　at　the　rug；　the　bedside　table；　the　creased　sheets　and　pillow。　There　was　nothing　unusual；　nothing　out　of　order。　No　dark　lines　or　marks　anywhere。　I　went　into　the　bathroom　and　looked　at　her　cosmetics；　in　a　neat　line　on　her　side　of　the　sink。　Everything　I　saw　was　mundane。　However　disturbing　my　dream　had　been；　it　was　still　a　dream。　But　one　part　of　it　was　true　enough：　Julia　was　looking　more　beautiful　than　ever。　When　I　found　her　in　the　kitchen；　pouring　coffee；　I　saw　that　her　face　did　indeed　look　more　chiseled；　more　striking。　Julia　had　always　had　a　chubby　face。　Now　it　was　lean；　defined。　She　looked　like　a　high…fashion　model。　Her　body；　too…now　that　I　looked　closely…appeared　leaner；　more　muscular。　She　hadn't　lost　weight；　she　just　looked