Amygdala Hijack - A Genetic Engineering Sci-Fi Story of Impending Dystopia

EP. 17 - THE BARD

EARLY WEDNESDAY MORNING, THE team prepped for the Bard's interview in the car.

Peter was worried about getting stuck without their mapping apps. "We're headed out of town where?"

"Not far from here. Get us to the turnpike first then over to Waltham. He's in a hotel by Brandeis," Ears directed. "Molli, your friends appear to be following us just fine. Do those guys ever eat?"

"Yes, sometimes. And the two who were with us at BioEthel's interview shared that hundred thou with the rest of our class. Plus, I'm asking you two to pitch-in a little to help them with expenses and such. Some of my kung fu brothers and sisters are even taking time off work to protect us."

"Great," Peter observed. "You'd hope we had enough PD or FBI resources, but they're too stretched. We really appreciate your friends, and I assume they know that."

They arrived in Waltham at a standard business-class hotel.

"He's a nanotech professor from the West Coast, and remember to be sensitive about questions on his background," Ears warned. "I'm sure he has tenure and might be concerned about jeopardizing his position."

"No problem," they replied.

After phoning from him the lobby, the professor asked them to come up to his room. The Bard fit the classic professorial genre with a long beard and disheveled clothing, and it appeared as if he could tend to nothing beyond his work. They greeted him and introduced themselves.

"Obese chest-breather. Twenty breaths a minute," Molli surmised. "I'm at five when excited. How different people are."

They sat around a small alcove in his room on the fifth floor overlooking the campus.

"Beautiful this time of year," he began. "Reminds me of the Pacific Coast where trees are turning and fall is in the air. Seasons come and go for all things, don't they? Now, let's discuss what we're covering."

Peter was ready to explain, but the man held his hand forward to stop him.

"Wait. Meant to tell you. I listened to the podcasts from the last few weeks. Saw the news, and all that surrounds it is viral. In a related sense, viral is what I plan to talk about today."

"Thanks," Peter replied. "It's great you listened to understand our format. We'll use this little Sony recorder since we couldn't bring our usual studio setup, but it works just fine for quality. Let's get started, understanding we'll be sensitive to exposing who you are."

"Perfect."

Peter commenced with his usual introduction.

"Today we are interviewing a renowned scientist and researcher in nanotech and synthetic life tech. We'll get right to the topic on how these technologies might protect us from future threats, real or imagined. We agreed to call our guest William, after the Bard, our friend from sixteenth century England. That Bard is credited with creating the phrase 'fight fire with fire.' You'll understand the reference as we get through the interview."

Peter paused as he always did to allow the intro sting to play.

"William, I gave a short introduction. Do you care to add more?"

"No. That's close enough."

"Fine then. Can you describe possible responses to the alien or obelisk threat within the larger nanotech and synthtech fields?"

"Sure. But to be more specific, nanotech and synthtech, or synbio, were once separate areas of science with clear-cut distinctions. From those early days of this century, the two evolutionary paths have evolved and converged. Synbio is nanotech, inherently."