标题: 《Periodic Table Chlorine》作者： - Michael Swanwick【EPUB】 [打印本页] 作者: zaq 时间: 2013-8-18 08:37 标题: 《Periodic Table Chlorine》作者： - Michael Swanwick【EPUB】 Michael Swanwicks Periodic Table of Science Fiction 17 Cl Chlorine35.453 Seven Days of Creation On Monday we filled the swimming pool with sterile water and added the self-replicating long-chain polymers. It was a shoestring operation from the first. The lab used to be a publicswimming pool before we bought it cleaned it and rigged it with our makeshiftinstrumentation. We added some sugar to the mix and let things simmer. Tuesday the pool was filled to capacity with nanotechnic life forms. We set about teachingthem first how to compute and then how to reason. Since they reproduced at the rate ofthousands of generations per hour evolutionary pressures quickly boosted their intelligence.Wednesday the nanotech organisms achieved full consciousness. We broke out the champagne.Perhaps a few of us had too much. Dr. Wilkinson was discovered in a supply closet with a younglab tech. Who could blame her though We were all feeling exultant. Thursday the pool-life demanded Internet access. By the time we discovered they were dealingwith our corporate rivals and buying stock on margin they were heavily invested in newtechnology and owned several valuable patents. Dr. Wilkinson had a stern talk with them aboutthe necessity of going through proper channels. Friday we discovered that the lab had been bought by a consortium that turned out to be ablind for our pool life. It felt a little strange to be working for our own experiment but Dr.Wilkinson called us all together and reminded us that we live in a capitalist system and thatits useless to complain about its rules. The pool life were so pleased with her speech thatthey gave her a cash bonus. Saturday decadence set in. A memo from our superiors directed us to devote all efforts towardthe development of water-soluble drugs. A second memo declared that henceforth all labpersonnel were to dress appropriately for Victorian Lingerie Tuesdays. A third memo stated thatDr. Wilkinson was required to change her name