Chapter 18
Anand stood together with the technology and biology teams in the back of the assembly hall. This room was the largest on the compound and it was full beyond capacity. Everyone wanted to be there. Everyone even loosely associated with the project wanted to be in the room when the first organic robot came online. History was in the making.
The crowd was naturally segregated by the colors that they were wearing. The technicians and scientists were clustered in the back of the assembly hall, all wearing clean white lab coats. Occupying the seats in the middle of the room were the olive and tan uniforms of the military men. Filling in and forming a perimeter around the outside of the room, standing near the walls, were the dark blue suits of the civilian staff; the lawyers and non-military Government officials. On a small platform at the front of the assembly hall the three colors sat together, white, olive, and blue. Each wore the uniform of their cadre; the leaders of each of the teams led the assembly, Christopher Mark, General Mueller, and Al McKnight.
Al McKnight approached the podium confidently. When he spoke his presence was commanding.
Today we bear witness to a landmark in scientific research and human endeavor. At this place and on this day, biological sciences and computer technology have combined together, and this integration is leading us into a new frontier. The way forward for humanity is now, through our new understanding of integrated computers and biology. What we witness here is only the beginning; a crude prototype. But, it shows us the way. It shows us the possibilities. It shows us a glimpse into the future.
A glimpse into a future where young men no longer risk life or limb in distant battlefields, where dangerous, or menial tasks are done for us, where people are free to think, create, and live; while the hard work and heavy lifting is done for us.
Anand was only half listening to McKnight’s speech. It was one for the history books, but Anand knew the real historic moment had already passed. The warmth and closeness generated by the crowd combined with the lack of sleep from the last three days put Anand into a dreamy trance. Listening to McKnight’s steady voice carried him back to a few hours earlier to when McKnight, Mark, and Anand gathered privately together in the surgery recovery room.