Charged (3 page)

Mr. Murphy is easily one of my favorite teachers. He’s older, perhaps in his fifties, with mostly silver hair and a soft midsection. Not a very tall man, it’s his excitement that makes him seem larger than life, and when he’s really excited, his faces flushes red.

“Special class today, guys!” Mr. Murphy says exuberantly. “We will be focusing on BioNano and watching their news conference in a half hour. Big things happening people, big things!”

B
ecause Mr. Murphy is one of our favorite teachers, we try hard to match his excitement and enthusiasm for today’s class. He jumps right in, explaining exactly what has him so pumped up. “Okay, so who can tell me what BioNano has been focusing on, anybody?” I glance around, surprised no one else has the answer. So I shrug and raise my hand, “Yes, Kat.”

“I believe they are leading ground-breaking research on nanotechnology?” This is more of a question than an answer.

“Precisely,” Mr. Murphy continues. “This morning they have released to the scientific community that they have had a breakthrough, which they will be announcing shortly, and we will get to watch history in the making.” He pauses to clean his glasses, something he does when he is excited. “Since we have some time left, I’m going to give you a brief background on the company, their research, and what it is going to mean for you.

“Since 1996, BioNano has been a leader in the field of nanotechnology. They mastered many of its facets. Without them, all of your smart phones would be non-existent, and many other technological advances would not have been possible. After their successes in technology, they decided to begin research on utilizing nanotechnology for the greater good, things like medical advances. Can anyone tell me what kind of impact this could have if they were successful?”

This is way over my head. Sure, I have a basic knowledge of it, -I’m amazed everyone doesn’t with as much as BioNano is in the news. I’m grateful that before Mr. Murphy could glance in my direction again, Jason pipes up. “They have been working on self-replicating nanobots, the size of an atom. If they succeed, they will have created a nanobot with the ability to rearrange a single atom-using its properties to change it to something else. This can be incredibly useful externally, but the real focus is in the medical field. These nanobots will be able to eradicate bacterial infections, repair damaged tissues and blood cells. The possible advances in modern medicine will be astounding.”

If Mr. Murphy could explode with pride I think he just would have. “Perfect, Jason. Any questions, class? I want us all on the same page.”

We all murmur our understanding. Though, I suspect some of us understand more than others.

Brie’s hand shoots up next to me, and Mr. Murphy nods his head at her. “Mr. Murphy, can’t that be dangerous though?” My best friend, ever the pessimist, leave it to her to argue against anything. “I mean, what is going to keep these things in line. Are they going to make nano-police?”

Mr. Murphy chuckles. “Great question, Brie. Yes, there is a danger factor, but each nanobot is specifically designed to do a specific task, and no more.”

My eyebrows raise and I inadvertently say, “What’s to keep them from manipulating themselves around this safety measure?”

Mr. Murphy claps his hands together and points at me. “And therein lays the problem. That’s a valid concern, and something I believe they will be addressing in today’s press conference.” He glances at the clock on the wall. “Which will be starting soon, if you need a drink or to use the restroom, please do so now. I want all of us to see the entire presentation if possible.”

During our short break, Brie turns to me. “So, how was your walk this morning?”

I feel my face warm and my heart kicks up a notch. “It rocked. I keep waiting for something to happen, though. Girls like me can never hold the attention of a guy like Mason for long.”

Brie shakes her head at me. “I don’t want to hear any of that nonsense.” She waves a finger in my face. “You know how I feel about your lack of self-esteem.
I’m
just shocked Mason is the first guy to notice.”

I stick my tongue out at her, but I’m saved from replying by the lights dimming and Mr. Murphy calling our attention to the television. It starts with a brief history of BioNano, the company’s founders, and their recent advances in technology. When the short film is over, the camera focuses on an older gentleman behind a podium. His name is listed below as Dr. Harris, and he jumps full speed ahead into explaining their newest, self-replicating nanobots, and what this will mean for our medical community and beyond.

“Imagine being able to reset atoms as we need to, being able to change and remap atoms as we need to. This means we can create water from sand, or manipulate carbon into diamonds. An oil spill will no longer require months of cleanup and have such damaging effects on our environment. We can now utilize our nanotechnology to change these damaging atoms back into the natural elements they were prior to any accident.

“This stands true for the use of nanotechnology in medicine. Gone are the days where tissue takes weeks to repair itself, where we lose lives to bacterial infections. We are even able to regenerate tissue, giving us the power to regrow lost limbs. This is the medical advance we’ve been striving for, and I’m proud to announce that our day is here.”

We watch the rest of the special broadcast, watch some of the same questions we had get answered. Something still bothers me, though. Dr. Harris is so quick to deem this new technology as safe. Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s great and all…if it does what they say, how they say. Mr. Murphy switches off the television and flicks the classroom lights back on. “How cool is that, guys?” Collectively the classroom hums in excitement. “Well, I have even more exciting news for you. We will be taking a tour of the BioNano facilities this Friday, and you will all get a chance to see nanotechnology in action, first hand. This will be an all-day trip, -permission slips on my desk.”

Brie turns to me, “I will take a Friday field trip anytime, even if it means going to Frankenstein’s factory.”

I make a face at her. “I think it will be interesting. And yes, a Friday field trip is kickass, regardless.”

We make our way into the congested hallway. Our high school has the typical institutional feel. Two stories, the large brick rectangle houses grades nine through twelve. The inside walls are aquamarine, the floors tan pebbled tile, the lockers painted fire-engine red, and typical high school flyers, posters and art dominate. There is nothing outstanding about its appearance, but we make it work.

Brie and I spilt up. My stomach flutters at the thought of seeing Mason again in Calculus. I find him waiting, sitting in the seat next to the one I was in yesterday. I give him a shy smile and am rewarded with his brilliant, brain numbing grin. Managing to catch myself before I trip over the last desk in the row, I make my way to my seat without further incident. I give myself a second to compose myself under the pretense of settling in and getting out my textbook and notes.

When I have gathered enough courage, I turn and give him my best smile. “How’s your morning going?” I ask.

The look he gives me literally smolders. My heart kicks up a notch, and I almost miss him say, “My morning just got better.” He follows this with another grin and I am left gaping at him, my mouth slightly ajar. He continues, “How about you?”

I shake my head minutely to clear the fog, not missing his small chuckle as I do so. “My morning was good. Did you hear about the field trip on Friday yet?” Mason shakes his head so I give him a brief rundown before the bell rings. We both focus on Ms. Nahlik, a necessary evil in Calculus, and don’t have a chance to talk again until the end of class.

Maybe it’s because my odds are more even, now that I have both Brie and Mason flanking me, or because she just didn’t feel like it today, but I manage to brush past Kiera and her minions with only a snarky look between us. We grab a table in the lunchroom, gathering a bit of attention still, but not quite as much as yesterday. I’m sure everyone expected Mason to fall in line at Kiera’s table. She obviously had, as she glares openly at me. I roll my eyes as I shift my gaze away from her and over to Brie and Mason.

“I’m grabbing something,” Brie says, getting out of her chair. “You want anything?”

I shake my head. All of this extra attention is making me queasy. “I’m good, thanks.”

Mason shifts a little closer towards me. “You look a little…panicked, you alright?”

I blush and put my head down a little, letting my hair shield my face. “Everyone is staring at us. It makes me a little uneasy.”

He smirks. “Says the singer. So, what, you’re saying that you
don’t
like to be watched?”

I shake my head. “It’s different when I’m playing music. I’m preoccupied with the guitar, and singing, and Brie’s rhythm in my ears. But this is awkward, mostly people just gawking at us for no apparent reason.”

“I guess I can see the differentiation.” He glances around. “I suppose we are attracting a bit of attention. They’ll get over it, eventually.”

I shrug. “I hope so.”

By the time Friday arrives, my life feels a bit surreal. I blame it on Mason, and part of me keeps waiting for him to have the realization that I
am
a total loser, and run off. Brie keeps telling me I’m nuts, and it’s about time that a guy picked up on how great I am. I think she is just biased. But that’s just my opinion.

We are all excited to go on our field trip. We pile onto the buses in a flurry of chatter and movement. It makes me feel good that Mason weaseled his way onto our bus and into our group. He was supposed to stay with his class, but Mr. Murphy gave him permission to stay with us. I have to remember to do something nice for Mr. Murphy in return.

The field trip consists of two parts, so the morning classes (and Mason) will first see the presentation while the afternoon classes take the tour. Then we will switch off. Mr. Murphy sticks with our group, the substitute Biology teacher, Mr. Williams, stays with the other group. They’re both great teachers, but Mr. Murphy’s excitement is way more fun than Mr. Williams’ stoicism.

The presentation is similar to what we learned in class. The three of us manage to pay attention, though I have to smack Brie’s arm a couple times for making faces. She leans in towards the end. “Not for nothing,” she whispers, “but I still have yet to hear how they plan on keeping these things in line.”

I nod my agreement, and try to focus on the rest of the presentation. Brie has a good point. Don’t get me wrong, everything they are showing to us is very exciting. It’s really life changing for every person. I’m just waiting to see the checks and balances they have in place. I’m also a firm believer that when something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

We take a break to eat our bagged lunches before we start the tour. Brie, Mason and I dump out our paper sacks, trading food until we are all happy with our choices. Mason takes a swig of his soda before he says, “I find it a little creepy,” he takes another swig, “that if I go break my arm in a month, they’re going to put this little robot inside me to fix me. It seems like it would be violating.”

Brie laughs, “I agree, it’s creepy. Just wait until they start using them for
other
things.”

My brow furrows as I look at her. “Like what?” I ask.

She swallows a bite of her sandwich before answering. “Think about it, Kat. How long until they start using them to gather information on everybody. Or using them to control people, I’m telling you, this is some freaky shit right here.”

I notice Mr. Murphy passing our table to throw away whatever was left of his lunch. I flag him down. “Mr. Murphy, during our tour, are they going to touch on the safety measures for this new technology?”

“Good question, Kat. I’ll make you a deal, my good friend is the lead scientist in that department. If we can’t get you any answers on the tour, then I will take you three for a private Q&A session while everyone else visits the gift shop.”

I ignore the fact that I think it’s odd for such a major company to have a gift shop, “That’d be cool, Mr. Murphy. Thanks!”

With that, Mr. Murphy calls us to order and we all fall into line for the tour. We are shown to a display area, filled with glass cases depicting different stages and advances in nanotechnology. Our tour guide speaks, monotonously, regarding the company’s history as we roam through the display cases. Brie, Mason and I goof off a little, but not enough that I don’t process what I’m seeing and hearing about the company’s history.

I stop, as one glass case catches my eye, and move in for a closer look. It shows magnified pictures of nanobots self-replicating. The card states: ‘Productive nanosystems are "systems of nanosystems" which will be complex nanosystems that produce atomically precise parts for other nanosystems, not necessarily using novel nanoscale-emergent properties, but well-understood fundamentals of manufacturing.’