" I must have lost consciousness, because the next thing I remember was Bobby pushing me up into the backseat of the helicopter. Mae was already inside, and she leaned over to buckle me in. They were both looking at me with expressions of concern. I wondered dully if I had been injured. I didn't feel any pain. The door slammed beside me, and Bobby got into the front next to the pilot.
We had done it. We had succeeded.
I could hardly believe it was over.
The helicopter rose into the air and I saw the lights of the lab in the distance." (pg. 293)
I think they used a great plan to destroy the black cloud. It was very creepy though, that they could still function in the nightfall, because they were originally designed to be only able to function with solar energy, but in true nano- particle fashion they were able to evolve and move without sunlight. They followed the body of the swarm into their nest, and they blew it up. It was a smart plan, and probably their best one to destroy the swarm. The purpose of this passage is to show that they worked hard to kill the nano-particles.
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Prey #5
"The program presets certain strategies to help attain goals. The strategies model what real predators do. So one preset strategy is to freeze where you are and wait, to ambush. Another is to random-walk until you stumble on your prey, and then pursue. A third is to camouflage yourself by taking on some element of the environment, so you blend in. And fourth is to mimic the prey's behavior- to imitate it." (pg. 225)
What this swarm is doing is unbelievable. They are able to evolve on their own due to their situation, and that is far beyond what Jack thought this cloud could do. Jack and Rosie went out of the facility to try, and get something so they can be able to kill the nano-particle's and they were not going to let it happen. The black cloud is much bigger in appearance now, because it has reproduced, and has become faster. The black cloud was able to track down Jack and Rosie in the parking lot, and they trapped them in a car. While trapped the black cloud was able to configure themselves, and make a mirror image of Jack and Rosie's terrified expression. This black cloud has literally become like a predator, and they evolve quickly. I can not believe that nobody has called in for help from the government. Are they waiting for it to be too late, and for everyone to die, and the black cloud to have a million nano-particle's. I find it selfish that Ricky the manager of the company does not want to call in help, because he doesn't want to lose his job, because right now people are losing their life's. The purpose of this passage is to convey to the reader that the black cloud will continue to evolve and adapt to kill it's prey. The depiction of the future reveal's that the present believe's that a man made plague will continue and evolve to kill everybody.
What this swarm is doing is unbelievable. They are able to evolve on their own due to their situation, and that is far beyond what Jack thought this cloud could do. Jack and Rosie went out of the facility to try, and get something so they can be able to kill the nano-particle's and they were not going to let it happen. The black cloud is much bigger in appearance now, because it has reproduced, and has become faster. The black cloud was able to track down Jack and Rosie in the parking lot, and they trapped them in a car. While trapped the black cloud was able to configure themselves, and make a mirror image of Jack and Rosie's terrified expression. This black cloud has literally become like a predator, and they evolve quickly. I can not believe that nobody has called in for help from the government. Are they waiting for it to be too late, and for everyone to die, and the black cloud to have a million nano-particle's. I find it selfish that Ricky the manager of the company does not want to call in help, because he doesn't want to lose his job, because right now people are losing their life's. The purpose of this passage is to convey to the reader that the black cloud will continue to evolve and adapt to kill it's prey. The depiction of the future reveal's that the present believe's that a man made plague will continue and evolve to kill everybody.
Prey #4
"One possibility is that it's a territorial thing. As you know, the original PREDPREY code includes a concept of range, of a territory in which the predators will roam. And within that core range, it defines a sort of home base, which the swarm may consider to be inside of this facility."
I said, "You believe that?"
"Not really, no." He hesitated." Actually," he said, most of us think that it comes looking for your wife, Jack. It's looking for Julia." (pg. 177)
This swarm is getting more dangerous by the second, but I now believe it could get stopped. The swarm is self sustaining, learns from experience, has collective intelligence, and can innovate to solve problems.These are all things that make the swarm even harder to destroy, but Julia may be the wild card in all this. Julia created the program, and she treated as if she were its mother. When the swarm was small and did not pose a threat to anybody Julia used to entertain the child, and the swarm would be happy to see her. It is unfortunate that she is in the hospital, because maybe she knows how to destroy the swarm or maybe when they see her they will stop being violent. I can infer that it will be Julia to stop the destruction of these nano- particle's because nobody else seems to have a clue about them. It is also Julia's fault for all of this because she didn't want the swarm to be destroyed, and now it has gone out of control. The purpose of this passage is to foreshadow that Julia will have a big part in stopping the black cloud. The swarm has human characteristics because they can reproduce and evolve, and can solve problems. The depiction of this future is of a man- made plague that can kill humans, but one person seems to hold the key to all of this, and this reveal's about the present that people are afraid of only one person being able to save all of mankind, and that when they need them they are not around.
I said, "You believe that?"
"Not really, no." He hesitated." Actually," he said, most of us think that it comes looking for your wife, Jack. It's looking for Julia." (pg. 177)
This swarm is getting more dangerous by the second, but I now believe it could get stopped. The swarm is self sustaining, learns from experience, has collective intelligence, and can innovate to solve problems.These are all things that make the swarm even harder to destroy, but Julia may be the wild card in all this. Julia created the program, and she treated as if she were its mother. When the swarm was small and did not pose a threat to anybody Julia used to entertain the child, and the swarm would be happy to see her. It is unfortunate that she is in the hospital, because maybe she knows how to destroy the swarm or maybe when they see her they will stop being violent. I can infer that it will be Julia to stop the destruction of these nano- particle's because nobody else seems to have a clue about them. It is also Julia's fault for all of this because she didn't want the swarm to be destroyed, and now it has gone out of control. The purpose of this passage is to foreshadow that Julia will have a big part in stopping the black cloud. The swarm has human characteristics because they can reproduce and evolve, and can solve problems. The depiction of this future is of a man- made plague that can kill humans, but one person seems to hold the key to all of this, and this reveal's about the present that people are afraid of only one person being able to save all of mankind, and that when they need them they are not around.
Prey #3
" I felt a wave of nausea. My knees buckled. I sagged against the wall. I looked at Mae and Ricky through the second glass doors; they seemed far away. As I watched, they receded even farther, moving away into the distance. Soon they were too far away for me to worry any longer. I knew I was dying. As I closed my eyes, I fell to the ground, and the roar of the air handlers faded into cold and total silence."(pg. 169)
I do not feel bad for Jack's near death experience. It is clear that he tried to be a hero, and he nearly died from his ignorance. He believed that the nano- particles weren't actually coordinated, and that it was just a figment of the other worker's imagination. He also that he would be able to outsmart the nano-particles, and that they were like a dog chasing a stick which was clearly not true. I find it truly incredible that the nano- particles were able to somehow sense that Jack's destination was to get to the door and evade the predator. Jack also believed that it was not actually the intention of the swarm to kill the rabbit, and that it was more of an accident. He thought it was an accidentally killing of the rabbit, and that the nano-particle's just blocked it's way of breathing. The nano-particle's are also able to see movement, because they were originally designed to be small cameras to be used in the war. I believe it will be very difficult to take down this PREDPREY program, because it is rapidly adapting and the thing even reproduces itself. If they cannot stop a small swarm how are they going to be able to deal with this when it reproduces and there are thousands of them. The purpose of this passage is for the reader to realize that this will be no easy win for the humans, and that PEOPLE, not just little bunnies will be killed by these black clouds. What it means to be human in this book is to be able to do things independently, and in this case the nano-particle's are almost human like because they can do that.
I do not feel bad for Jack's near death experience. It is clear that he tried to be a hero, and he nearly died from his ignorance. He believed that the nano- particles weren't actually coordinated, and that it was just a figment of the other worker's imagination. He also that he would be able to outsmart the nano-particles, and that they were like a dog chasing a stick which was clearly not true. I find it truly incredible that the nano- particles were able to somehow sense that Jack's destination was to get to the door and evade the predator. Jack also believed that it was not actually the intention of the swarm to kill the rabbit, and that it was more of an accident. He thought it was an accidentally killing of the rabbit, and that the nano-particle's just blocked it's way of breathing. The nano-particle's are also able to see movement, because they were originally designed to be small cameras to be used in the war. I believe it will be very difficult to take down this PREDPREY program, because it is rapidly adapting and the thing even reproduces itself. If they cannot stop a small swarm how are they going to be able to deal with this when it reproduces and there are thousands of them. The purpose of this passage is for the reader to realize that this will be no easy win for the humans, and that PEOPLE, not just little bunnies will be killed by these black clouds. What it means to be human in this book is to be able to do things independently, and in this case the nano-particle's are almost human like because they can do that.
Prey #2
"Ricky switched the monitor view. We now watched at ground level. The three clouds converged on the terrified bunny, which was moving fast, a whitish blur on the screen. The clouds swirled after it with surprising speed. The behavior was clear: they were hunting. I felt a moment of irrational pride. PREDPREY was working perfectly! Those swarms might as well be lionesses chasing a gazelle, so purposeful was their behavior. The swarms turned sharply, then split up, cutting off the rabbit's escape to the left and right. The behavior of the clouds clearly appeared coordinated." (pg. 148)
It was obvious to me that the swarm of nano-particles would end up turning violent, because they were programmed to act like predators. I also notice that the book is named Prey, because the workers at this plant, and maybe the rest of the world may be it's prey if they do not think of a way to stop it. Another thing I believe is amazing that these nano- particles are able to all act in one coordinated motion, but they do not have a nucleus. How could they possibly interact with each other or even know what to do to chase down prey if they do not have a brain. I can infer that somebody is somehow controlling this swarm, because it is plain impossible for them to be able to know what to do to chase down a food source. This passage's purpose is to convey the reader that this black cloud can indeed kill creatures, and it is not just aimlessly floating in the air. The author described this as if the nano- particles were in pursuit, and indeed they were. The depection of the future is one of human technology coming back to kill creatures, which reveal's that the present is insecure about what scientists and biologists are creating. The language in this book is describing the human's as victims or "prey" which make's people think we will be attacked. This also reflects on the last post, because what the swarm was going to do was a mystery, but now it is well understood that they are in attack mode.
It was obvious to me that the swarm of nano-particles would end up turning violent, because they were programmed to act like predators. I also notice that the book is named Prey, because the workers at this plant, and maybe the rest of the world may be it's prey if they do not think of a way to stop it. Another thing I believe is amazing that these nano- particles are able to all act in one coordinated motion, but they do not have a nucleus. How could they possibly interact with each other or even know what to do to chase down prey if they do not have a brain. I can infer that somebody is somehow controlling this swarm, because it is plain impossible for them to be able to know what to do to chase down a food source. This passage's purpose is to convey the reader that this black cloud can indeed kill creatures, and it is not just aimlessly floating in the air. The author described this as if the nano- particles were in pursuit, and indeed they were. The depection of the future is one of human technology coming back to kill creatures, which reveal's that the present is insecure about what scientists and biologists are creating. The language in this book is describing the human's as victims or "prey" which make's people think we will be attacked. This also reflects on the last post, because what the swarm was going to do was a mystery, but now it is well understood that they are in attack mode.
Blogging Project Phase 2 Prey#1
"I saw what appeared to be a small, swirling cloud of dark particles. It looked like a dust devil, one of those tiny tornado- like clusters that moved over the ground, spun by convection currents rising from the hot desert floor. Except that this cloud was black, and it had some definition- it seemed to be pinched in the middle, making it look a bit like an old fashioned coke bottle. But it didn't hold that shape consistently. The appearance kept shifting, transforming." (pg.141-142) "It was, I thought, a problem no one had ever imagined before. In all the years that I had been programming agents, the focus had been on getting them to interact in a way that produced useful results. It never occurred to us that there might be a large control issue, or a question of independence. Because it simply couldn't happen." (pg. 143)
I knew that there was something suspicious going on at this plant. The main character's name is Jack, and he has a wife that works at this facility, and ever since she began working there she has been acting weird. His wife got into a car crash, and when she did she was taken to the hospital, and while she was hurt and not thinking well she kept saying black cloud over and over. I find it amazing that a bunch of biologist's allowed this nanotechnology to grow into a swarming cloud that cannot be controlled. The fact that this has the ability to swarm is also crazy. The biotechnology that is being worked on at this plant may be harmful to people, but they have not called in for help from the government. There is also a literary technique being used, and that is a simile. It is used to describe the swarm of the nano particles as a dust devil, and an old fashioned coke bottle. The purpose of this passage is to foreshadow that this nanotechnology swarm will be a big part of this novel. The fact that this is something that no one has ever seen before also convey's to the reader that there is something extremely unusual going on at this plant. The nano particles are almost human like because they can independently move, and are no longer controlled by the people that created it. The overall effect of this is to force us to believe that this cloud of nano-particles will be a huge mystery to the worker's at this plant. Our depictions of the future reveal about the present that we will accidentally create a man-mad thing that has never been seen before.
I knew that there was something suspicious going on at this plant. The main character's name is Jack, and he has a wife that works at this facility, and ever since she began working there she has been acting weird. His wife got into a car crash, and when she did she was taken to the hospital, and while she was hurt and not thinking well she kept saying black cloud over and over. I find it amazing that a bunch of biologist's allowed this nanotechnology to grow into a swarming cloud that cannot be controlled. The fact that this has the ability to swarm is also crazy. The biotechnology that is being worked on at this plant may be harmful to people, but they have not called in for help from the government. There is also a literary technique being used, and that is a simile. It is used to describe the swarm of the nano particles as a dust devil, and an old fashioned coke bottle. The purpose of this passage is to foreshadow that this nanotechnology swarm will be a big part of this novel. The fact that this is something that no one has ever seen before also convey's to the reader that there is something extremely unusual going on at this plant. The nano particles are almost human like because they can independently move, and are no longer controlled by the people that created it. The overall effect of this is to force us to believe that this cloud of nano-particles will be a huge mystery to the worker's at this plant. Our depictions of the future reveal about the present that we will accidentally create a man-mad thing that has never been seen before.
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